PARIS, Sept. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The subscription prices
for AXA's 2007 employee share offering (Shareplan 2007) have been
determined by the Management Board on September 17, 2007. The
subscription prices are based on a reference price of euro 29.03,
which is equal to the arithmetical average of the 20 opening stock
price quotes for the AXA shares on Eurolist by Euronext Paris S.A.
over a period of 20 consecutive trading days from August 20, 2007
to September 14, 2007 inclusive (the "Reference Price"). Under the
classic plan, for all countries, the subscription price is equal to
80% of the Reference Price (or its value in local currency), i.e
euro 23.23 Under the leveraged plan, for all countries (except
Germany), the subscription price is equal to 85.75% of the
Reference Price (or its value in local currency), i.e euro 24.89
For Germany, under the leveraged plan, the subscription price is
equal to 100% of the Reference Price, i.e euro 29.03 The following
information mainly summarises the information contained in the
press release relating to the Shareplan 2007 dated August 20, 2007.
ISSUER AXA, Footsie sectorial classification: Economic Group : 80
Financials Sector : 83 Insurance Sub-sector : 839 Other/ Insurance
OBJECTIVE Every year, the AXA Group offers to its employees, in and
outside France, the opportunity to subscribe to shares issued by
way of a capital increase reserved for employees. In doing so, the
AXA Group hopes to strengthen its relationship with its employees
by closely associating them with the future development and results
of the Group. The 2007 offering, called "Shareplan 2007," will take
place in 36 countries and will involve more than 100,000 employees
who will, in most countries, be offered the opportunity to
participate in both a classic share offering and a leveraged share
offering. SHARES TO BE ISSUED -- Date of the shareholders'
resolution authorizing the capital increase: General Shareholders'
Meeting of May 14, 2007. -- Dates of the Management Board's
decisions: May 28, 2007 (principle of the offering) and September
17, 2007 (fixing of the Reference Price and of the dates of the
subscription period). -- Type of share, maximum number: Pursuant to
(i) resolution 23 of the General Shareholders' Meeting of May 14,
2007 and to (ii) the decisions of the Management Board of May 28,
2007, the offering will consist of the following: -- An issue,
without preferential subscription rights for existing shareholders,
of new shares offered at a subscription price equal to: -- under
the classic share offering, for all countries: 80% of the Reference
Price (or its value in local currency), -- under the leveraged
offering plan, for all countries (except Germany): 85.75% of the
Reference Price (or its value in local currency) and for Germany,
100% of the Reference Price. -- The maximum number of new shares,
that may be issued in connection with the offering is 65,502,183
shares corresponding to a capital increase of a nominal amount of
approximately Euro 150 million. -- The new shares will carry full
rights as from January 1, 2007. SUBSCRIPTION CONDITIONS --
Beneficiaries of the offering: Unless local law requires otherwise,
the individuals eligible for the offering are: -- Employees who, at
the beginning of the subscription period, have an employment
contract with one or more eligible AXA entities and have been
employed for at least 3 months on a continuous or on a
discontinuous basis over the period from January 1, 2006 to the
first day of the subscription period, in accordance with Article L.
444-4 of the French Labour Code, -- Ex-employees of eligible AXA
entities who are retired or have taken early retirement provided
that such persons have not asked to have their investment in any
Group Employee Stock Purchase Plan (Plan d'Epargne d'Entreprise de
Groupe or P.E.E.G.) or in any International Employee Stock Purchase
Plan (Plan International d'Actionnariat de Groupe or P.I.A.G.),
held in registered accounts or via one or several funds, liquidated
at the beginning of the subscription period. The companies eligible
for the offering are those that have enrolled in the P.E.E.G. or in
the P.I.A.G. including the amendments thereto. -- Existence or not
of preferential subscription rights for existing shareholders: The
issue will be without preferential subscription rights for existing
shareholders. -- Terms of subscription: -- For the classic plan
(other than in Italy, South Korea, Spain and the United States),
the new shares will be subscribed through funds (FCPE) of which the
employees will receive units. The employees will have direct voting
rights at AXA's general shareholders'meetings, except for the
Japanese employees who, for tax reasons, will continue to vote
indirectly through the supervisory board of their FCPE. In Italy,
South Korea, Spain and the United States, the shares will be
subscribed to directly by employees and will be held in registered
accounts. They will have direct voting rights. -- For the leveraged
plan other than in the United States, the new shares will be
subscribed through FCPEs of which the employees will receive units.
The employees will have direct voting rights at AXA's general
shareholders' meetings, except for Japanese employees who, for tax
reasons, will continue to vote indirectly through the supervisory
board of their FCPE. In the United States, the shares will be
subscribed to directly by employees and will be held in registered
accounts. They will have direct voting rights. -- Investment limit:
In accordance with Article L. 443-2 of the French Labour Code,
aggregate voluntary contributions by each eligible employee may not
exceed one-fourth of that eligible employee's annual gross
compensation or pension benefits, as the case may be (such
investment limits may be lower pursuant to local laws). With
respect to the leveraged offer, this limit takes into account the
complementary contribution of the bank. -- Minimum holding period
of shares: Eligible employees will be obliged to hold their shares
or fund units for a period of approximately 5 years, except in the
case of a specified early exit event, i.e. until April 2, 2012 in
France, until November 29, 2012 in Belgium, and until July 2, 2012
for the rest of the world. TERMS OF EXERCISE OF EQUITY-LINKED
INSTRUMENTS Exercise rights and the exercise price in respect of
the leveraged offering in Germany: -- The subscription price of
each share with warrant will be the Reference Price. Each share
will be entitled to 0.8296 warrant and each whole warrant will be
exercisable into one additional ordinary share at the Reference
Price. -- The maturity date of the warrants will be on July 2,
2012, except in the case of an early exit event. TIMETABLE FOR THE
OFFERING -- Fixing period to determine the Reference Price: from
August 20, 2007 (inclusive) to September 14, 2007 (inclusive).
Hedging transactions relating to the leveraged offering have been
carried out by a financial institution during this period, and may
continue to be implemented until the end of Shareplan 2007. -- The
Management Board has confirmed on September 17, 2007 the dates of
the subscription period: from September 24, 2007 (inclusive) to
October 9, 2007 (inclusive) for all the countries (excluding
Belgium) and from September 24, 2007 (inclusive) to October 23,
2007 (inclusive) for Belgium. -- Date of capital increase: Expected
about November 28, 2007. LISTING Listing of the new shares on
Eurolist by Euronext Paris S.A. (Euroclear France Code: 12062) and
on the New York Stock Exchange in the form of American Depositary
Shares (ADS), each ADS representing one ordinary AXA share, will be
requested as soon as possible after the capital increase expected
on November 28, 2007 and will be completed at the latest by
December 31, 2007 on the same line as the existing shares. OTHER
INFORMATION The regulations and information notices of the funds
through which the employees may participate in the offering have
received the approval of the AMF (Autorite des Marches Financiers)
on July 3, 2007 and July 13, 2007. The offering will take place in
France and outside France, including in the United States where the
offering has been registered with the Securities and Exchange
Commission ("SEC") on a Form S-8 on August 9, 2007, # 333-145265.
AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION DOCUMENTS All information documents
concerning Shareplan 2007, including this press release, are
available at the request of the beneficiaries to AXA - 25, Avenue
Matignon - 75008 Paris, France. They are also available on AXA
intranet web sites and on AXA Epargne Entreprise web site
http://www.capeasi.com/. This press release contains the
information required by articles 212-4-5) and 212-5-6) of the AMF
General Rules. CONTACT FOR EMPLOYEES For questions relating to the
present share offering, please contact your Human Resources
Department. This press release is also available on the AXA's Group
web site: http://www.axa.com/ About AXA AXA Group is a worldwide
leader in Financial Protection. AXA's operations are diverse
geographically, with major operations in Europe, North America and
the Asia/Pacific area. IFRS revenues amounted to Euro 79 billion in
FY06 (Euro 51 billion at 1H07) and IFRS adjusted earnings amounted
to Euro 5,140 million in FY06 (Euro 3,424 million at 1H07). The AXA
ordinary share is listed and trades under the symbol AXA on the
Paris Stock Exchange. The AXA American Depository Share is also
listed on the NYSE under the ticker symbol AXA. WARNING AXA shares
are listed on the Paris Stock Exchange and the NYSE as ADS form.
The offering was registered with the SEC on a Form S-8 on August 9,
2007, # 333-145265. This press release is not an offer to sell or
the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of
securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or
sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under
the securities laws of such jurisdiction. In particular, this press
release will not constitute an offer in the following countries:
Argentina, Australia, Canada, India, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New
Zealand, Philippines, Portugal, Singapore, Saudi Arabia,
Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey and the United States, where
Shareplan 2007 may be subject to certain restrictions, including
the prior approval of the relevant authorities. Certain statements
contained herein are forward-looking statements including, but not
limited to, statements that are predications of or indicate future
events, trends, plans or objectives. Undue reliance should not be
placed on such statements because, by their nature, they are
subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Please refer
to AXA's Annual Report on Form 20-F and AXA's Document de Reference
for the year ended December 31, 2006, for a description of certain
important factors, risks and uncertainties that may affect AXA's
business. In particular, please refer to the section " Special Note
Regarding Forward-Looking Statements" in AXA's Annual Report on
Form 20-F. AXA undertakes no obligation to publicly update or
revise any of these forward-looking statements, whether to reflect
new information, future events or circumstances or otherwise.
DATASOURCE: AXA Group CONTACT: AXA Investor Relations: Etienne
Bouas-Laurent, +33.1.40.75.46.85, Paul Antoine Cristofari,
+33.1.40.75.73.60, Emmanuel Touzeau, +33.1.40.75.49.05, Kevin
Molloy, +1.212.314.2893; AXA Media Relations: Christophe Dufraux,
+33.1.40.75.46.74, Clara Rodrigo, +33.1.40.75.47.22, Armelle
Vercken, +33.1.40.75.46.42, Laurent Secheret, +33.1.40.75.48.17 Web
site: http://www.axa-equitable.com/
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