Equitable Moves Another Step Away From AXA

The company formerly known as AXA Equitable cut "AXA" out of its name in January.

In December, AXA sold 3 million shares of Equitable stock, and that rediced AXA's ownership interest in Equitable below 10%, according to a notice Equitable filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

"As a result of AXA ceasing to beneficially own more than 10% of the company's outstanding common stock, the number of directors that AXA may designate to the Company's board of directors decreased from two to zero," Equitable says in the notice.

George Stansfield, AXA's deputy chief executive officer, is another AXA executive who has been serving on the Equitable board.

A shareholder agreement with AXA gives Equitable the right to remove Stansfield from its board.

Equitable is waiving the requirement that Stansfield resign from the Equitable board, Equitable says.

"Accordingly, Mr. Stansfield will continue to serve as a director for the remainder of his term but will no longer be an 'AXA director' as defined in the shareholder agreement," Equitable says.

— Read AXA Equitable Shares Debut on New York Stock Exchange, on ThinkAdvisor.

— Connect with ThinkAdvisor Life/Health on LinkedIn and Twitter.