AXA talks $750 million exchangeables for AXA Equitable at 6.75% to 7.25%, up 17.5% to 22.5%

By Abigail W. Adams

Portland, Me., April 26 – AXA SA plans to price $750 million in three-year bonds mandatorily exchangeable for AXA Equitable Holdings, Inc. stock on May 9 with price talk for a coupon of 6.75% to 7.25% and an initial conversion premium of 17.5% to 22.5%, according to a market source.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, JPMorgan Securities LLC, Barclays Capital Inc. and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. are bookrunners for the Rule 144A deal, which carries a greenshoe of $112.5 million.

The bonds are being offered concurrently with the initial public offering of AXA Equitable’s stock by AXA SA.

AXA Equitable Holdings launched the IPO on Thursday, saying that AXA SA will sell 137.25 million shares of common stock with the price expected to be between $24 to $27, according to a company news release.

Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC, JPMorgan Securities LLC, Barclays Capital Inc. and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. are also bookrunners for the IPO, which carries a greenshoe of 20,587,500 shares.

The mandatory exchangeable bonds are non-callable and have no put options.

There is dividend protection above 13 cents a quarter and takeover protection.

Proceeds from the mandatory exchangeable bonds will be used to help fund AXA’s acquisition of XL Group Ltd.

AXA Equitable is a New York-based financial services company with two divisions, AXA Equitable Life and AllianceBernstein. AXA SA is a Paris-based insurance company.

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