AXA announces Shareplan 2024, giving employees the opportunity to become shareholders

AXA has announced the launch of its annual employee share plan, “Shareplan 2024”, as part of an increase in employee benefits.

The offer will be available to more than 110,000 employees in 40 countries, including those inside and outside France.

Under Shareplan 2024, employees in most countries will have the option to participate in two plans: “Classic Offer” and “Extra Guarantee Offer”.

AXA's CEO, Thomas Buberl (pictured above), highlighted the role of employee participation in the company's development, noting that Shareplan allows employees to become shareholders under favorable conditions.

“In 2023, more than 23,000 employees participated in the share plan, demonstrating the continued success of Shareplan, which has become a major annual event in our group's culture,” said Buberl.

The offer was approved by the AXA shareholders' meeting, which took place on April 23, 2024, where the board of directors approved the terms of the offer and set the reservation period on June 19, 2024.

The CEO's decision, which will set the reference price, subscription prices, and withdrawal/subscription dates, is expected on 31 October 2024.

According to the board's decision, employees who subscribed under the regular offer will be able to buy shares at 80% of the reference price, while those who chose the Guarantee Plus offer will be given shares at 93.60% of the reference price.

The reference price will be calculated based on the average volume prices of AXA shares over 20 consecutive trading days prior to the subscription period.

For employees who choose the Guarantee Plus offer, their initial investment will be guaranteed by AXA's partner bank, Natixis, and a return of 5% per annum on their investment or four times the protected average increase in AXA's share price, whichever is higher.

The maximum number of new shares that can be issued under the offering is 58,951,965, which is estimated to raise approximately €135 million. These new shares will be eligible for dividends declared for periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024.

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