A life insurance policy that Equitable Life wrote for Thomas Edison. Credit: Allison Bell/Touchpoint Markets
The boards of Corebridge Financial and Equitable Holdings have agreed to an all-stock merger that would create an annuity issuer and asset manager with $1.5 trillion in assets under management and administration and about $50 billion in combined annual annuity sales, the companies said today.
The deal would value the combined company at about $22 billion.
Corebridge is a Houston-based company with $386 billion in assets, and Equitable Holdings is a New York-based company with $1.1 trillion in assets.
Equitable Holdings is the parent of the AllianceBernstein asset management business and wealth manager, as well as of the Equitable life insurance and annuity business.
The combined company would take the Equitable name.
Corebridge shareholders would get a 51% stake in the combined company. The headquarters offices would be in Houston.
Marc Costantini, the CEO of Corebridge, would be the CEO of the new, Houston-based Equitable.
Mark Pearson, the chair of Equitable, would be the chair of the new, combined Equitable.
The thinking: Costantini, the Corebridge CEO, said in the deal announcement that bigger is better. "The combined company will benefit from a strong competitive position," he said.
During a conference call Corebridge held Feb. 10 go over results for 2025 with securities analysts, Costantini talked about the need for the company to support retirement services sales growth by accelerating digitization and making strategic investments.
"The easier we are to do business with, the greater the market share we can capture from the demographic surge fueling growth in our industry," he told the analysts.
Pearson, the Equitable CEO, also talked about the importance of size in his comment on the deal. "We will enhance what we can deliver for clients," he said.
What it means: Today, life and annuity issuers are competing head to head with giant, non-life asset managers for investors' attention, facing the prospect of more credit market volatility, and making big investments in artificial intelligence systems and other new forms of technology.
The Corebridge-Equitable deal could be a sign that changing conditions and competitive pressure will lead to a new round of issuer consolidation.
The history: Both Corebridge and Equitable are businesses that were split off from bigger companies as a result of the changes in financial services sector accounting and risk-management rules caused by the 2007-2009 financial crisis.
Equitable descends from Equitable Life Assurance Society of the United States. Equitable Life was founded in 1859. It sold life insurance to people like Thomas Edison, the inventor of the incandescent light bulb.
AXA, a French insurer, bought control over Equitable in 1991, then began to separate from it in 2018. Equitable shares debuted on the New York Stock Exchange in May 2018.
American International Group formed Corebridge to house American General, SunAmerica, VALIC and other life and annuity operations. Corebridge gained its own listing on the New York Stock Exchange in September 2022.
Corebridge: Today, Corebridge has $120 billion in assets under management and administration in its individual annuity business, along with $112 billion in assets under management and administration at 403(b) plans and 457 plans — the kinds of defined contribution retirement plans sponsored by public employers and nonprofit organizations.
Corebridge generates about $300 million in first-year premiums per year from the sale of new life insurance policies.
The company reported $3 billion in adjusted pre-tax operating income for 2025 on $20.5 billion in revenue.
The Corebridge wealth management business has 300 advisors and $18 billion in assets.
Equitable: Equitable has $130 billion in assets under management and administration in its individual annuity business and $45 billion in assets under management and administration at its defined contribution retirement plan business.
It generates about $400 million in first-year premiums per year from new life insurance sales.
Equitable's Bernstein Private Wealth Management business has 200 advisors with $156 billion in assets, and the Equitable Advisors arm has 5,000 advisors with $140 billion in assets. The combined company expects to move more than $100 billion of Corebridge's general and separate account assets to AllianceBernstein over time.
The deal: The deal agreement posted by Corebridge and Equitable states that the companies would get equal representation on the 14-member board of the new Equitable.
Both companies would also get equal representation on the board of AllianceBernstein.
All preferred stock issued by either company would become preferred stock from the new, combined Equitable.
The companies plan to have shareholders vote on the deal this summer. They hope to get the approvals they need to complete the deal by Dec. 31.
If the deal falls through, one party might have to pay the other a $475 million termination fee.
A glass case in Equitable's offices featuring a life insurance policy Equitable Life sold to Thomas Edison. Credit Allison Bell/Touchpoint Markets
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