Corebridge and Equitable strike all-stock merger deal valuing combined firm at $22B

[Merger and Acquisitions concept with bank bills and calculator.]

Corebridge Financial (CRBG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CRBG]) and Equitable Holdings (EQH [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EQH]) Thursday announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to combine in an all-stock merger, valuing the combined company at approximately $22 billion.

On a pro-forma basis, the company will have diversified sources of income, with a balanced mix between fees, spreads, and underwriting margin. The combined company is expected to deliver more than $5 billion of operating earnings and generate over $4 billion of cash, increasing financial flexibility to invest in strategic growth initiatives while also returning capital to shareholders.

The combined company will have $1.5 trillion in assets under management and administration across individual retirement, group retirement, asset management, wealth management, life insurance, and institutional markets. Corebridge shares were little changed in premarket trading, while Equitable rose 1.7% to $38.85.

The transaction [https://seekingalpha.com/pr/20451989-corebridge-financial-and-equitable-holdings-announce-transformational-merger]is expected to be immediately accretive to the combined company’s earnings per share and cash generation, increasing to over 10% by the end of 2028. Earnings per share are expected to be resilient across market cycles, driven by a more balanced mix of spread, fee, and underwriting margin income, Corebridge Financial (CRBG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CRBG]) and Equitable Holdings (EQH [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/EQH]) said.

The combined company expects to see an adjusted return on equity of more than 15% by the end of 2027.

“The proposed merger is strategically compelling and has the potential to create a more competitive and resilient platform for the long-term benefit of the combined companies’ shareholders. Nippon’s three representatives serving on the Corebridge board of directors voted in favor of the transaction. Nippon expects to continue as a long-term strategic investor,” Satoshi Asahi, president of Nippon Life Insurance said.

Additionally, the combined company will benefit from Equitable’s strategic partnership with its majority-owned subsidiary, AllianceBernstein, an active manager with distribution in 21 countries. Over time, the combined company expects to shift over $100 billion of Corebridge’s (CRBG [https://seekingalpha.com/symbol/CRBG]) general and separate account assets to AllianceBernstein, further enhancing its scale and competitive positioning.

MORE ON COREBRIDGE FINANCIAL, EQUITABLE HOLDINGS

* Equitable: Private Credit Fears Are Overdone [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4874834-equitable-private-credit-fears-are-overdone]
* Corebridge: Aggressive Buybacks Set To Continue [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4868522-corebridge-aggressive-buybacks-set-to-continue]
* Corebridge Financial, Inc. (CRBG) Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript [https://seekingalpha.com/article/4868193-corebridge-financial-inc-crbg-q4-2025-earnings-call-transcript]
* Corebridge and Equitable strike all-stock merger deal valuing combined firm at $22B [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4569035-corebridge-and-equitable-strike-all-stock-merger-deal-valuing-combined-firm-at-22b]
* Equitable and Corebridge in talks on all-stock merger to form $22B wealth and retirement giant: report [https://seekingalpha.com/news/4569012-equitable-and-corebridge-in-talks-on-all-stock-merger-to-form-22b-wealth-and-retirement-giant-report]