AXA SA
Company History
AXA History: Founding, Growth & Key Milestones
Founded 1817 in Rouen, France
When was AXA founded?
AXA was founded in 1817 in Rouen, France by Jacques-Théodore le Carpentier and Claude Bébéar, making it 209 years old.
- Founded
- 1817
- Founding place
- Rouen, France
- Founders
- Jacques-Théodore le Carpentier and Claude Bébéar
- Headquarters today
- Paris, France
- Milestones documented
- 15 (1817–2025)
- Current CEO
- Thomas Buberl
- Acquisitions
- 6
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1817 | Founding of the Compagnie d'Assurances Mutuelles contre l'Incendie |
| 1975 | Claude Bébéar becomes chief executive |
| 1982 | Takeover of the Drouot Group |
| 1985 | Creation of the AXA name |
| 1986 | Acquisition of the Présence Group |
| 1988 | Merger with Compagnie du Midi |
| 1991 | Control of The Equitable in the United States |
| 1996 | Acquisition of UAP |
| 1999 | Guardian Royal Exchange and Nippon Dantai |
| 2006 | Acquisition of Winterthur |
| 2011 | Sale of AXA Canada |
| 2018 | Acquisition of XL Group |
| 2024 | Launch of the Unlock the Future plan |
| 2025 | Sale of AXA Investment Managers to BNP Paribas |
| 2025 | Death of founder Claude Bébéar |
- Where was AXA founded?
- AXA was founded in Rouen, France in 1817. en.wikipedia.org
- Who founded AXA?
- AXA was founded by Jacques-Théodore le Carpentier and Claude Bébéar.
- When did AXA start?
- AXA was founded in 1817.
- How old is AXA?
- AXA is 209 years old as of 2026.
Founding Story
The company that became AXA was a mutual fire insurer founded in Rouen in 1817 by Jacques-Théodore le Carpentier and 17 other property owners, and it stayed a provincial mutual, known for most of that time as Ancienne Mutuelle, into the 1970s. Claude Bébéar, recruited in 1958 by the group's manager André Sahut d'Izarn as a future successor, became chief executive in 1975 after Sahut d'Izarn's death and the settlement of a strike that had paralysed the company in April 1974. He then bought larger rivals, starting with the Drouot Group in 1982. In 1985 the group needed one name that worked in every language, and chose AXA: a short, invented word with no meaning that placed the company near the top of alphabetical listings.
Founders
Jacques-Théodore le Carpentier
Little is recorded about le Carpentier beyond the founding act itself. In 1817 he and 17 other property owners in Rouen created the Compagnie d'Assurances Mutuelles contre l'Incendie for the departments of the Seine and the Eure, covering their own buildings against fire; insured properties carried a plaque with the letters P.A.C.L. The first claim, in 1819, came to FFr7.5, and because that sum could not be divided among 1,264 shareholders the company invented a reserve fund, the mechanism that let it survive the fire at Rouen Cathedral in 1822. Competition from La Providence in 1838 and La Paternelle in 1843, and the shift of risk from farm buildings to factories and machinery, pushed the mutual to split into property and movables companies under Adolphe Lanne, manager from 1832; the two merged again in 1881 under the name Ancienne Mutuelle, which it kept until the 1970s. That provincial mutual, and its legal form, are what Claude Bébéar inherited in 1975. (Exact birth year remains publicly undisclosed).
Claude Bébéar
Claude Bébéar built modern AXA. After joining in 1958 he spent 17 years inside the business, including 1964 to 1966 in Canada creating the life insurance arm of the group subsidiary Provinces Unies, before becoming chief executive in 1975 following Sahut d'Izarn's death and the settlement of a strike that had paralysed the company in April 1974. The same year he created the reinsurer AMré, later AXA RE. In 1978 the Anciennes Mutuelles became Mutuelles Unies. He took control of the Drouot Group in 1982, bought Présence in April 1986, merged with Compagnie du Midi in 1988 to become France's second-largest insurer, and was elected Manager of the Year that year. In July 1991 AXA took control of The Equitable in the United States, in 1995 of National Mutual in Australia, and in 1996 of UAP, a company twice its size. Guardian Royal Exchange and Nippon Dantai followed in 1999. He chose the name AXA in 1985 and launched AXA Hearts in Action in 1990 to pool the group's philanthropy. When he handed the group to Henri de Castries in May 2000 AXA had 140,000 employees, 50 million customers and revenues of ~$90.4 billion (EUR 80 billion). He founded the Institut Montaigne and chaired it until 2015, and remained Honorary Chairman of AXA until his death. Claude Bébéar was born in 1935.
Key Milestones
Founding of the Compagnie d'Assurances Mutuelles contre l'Incendie
Jacques-Théodore le Carpentier and 17 other property owners in Rouen set up a mutual fire insurance company, the earliest predecessor of AXA. It stayed a Normandy mutual, later called Ancienne Mutuelle, for more than a century.
Source: referenceforbusiness.comClaude Bébéar becomes chief executive
Bébéar, recruited in 1958 by André Sahut d'Izarn, took over the Anciennes Mutuelles group in 1975 after Sahut d'Izarn's death and the settlement of a strike that had paralysed the company in April 1974. The same year he created the reinsurer AMré, later AXA RE.
Source: axa.comTakeover of the Drouot Group
Bébéar took control of the Drouot Group, then the leading private French insurance group, and became its chairman alongside his role at Mutuelles Unies.
Source: axa.comCreation of the AXA name
The group adopted the invented name AXA, short and pronounceable in any language, and Bébéar moved from running the insurance companies to chairing the group.
Source: axa.comAcquisition of the Présence Group
AXA bought the Présence Group in April 1986, continuing the consolidation of French insurers.
Source: axa.comMerger with Compagnie du Midi
The merger with Compagnie du Midi made AXA the second-largest French insurance group behind UAP and brought Equity and Law, then the sixth-largest life insurer in the United Kingdom. Bébéar was elected Manager of the Year the same year.
Source: axa.comControl of The Equitable in the United States
After a failed attempt to buy Farmers, AXA agreed in July 1991 to demutualise and take control of The Equitable, then the fifth-largest life insurer in the United States, which also brought Alliance Capital Management.
Source: axa.comAcquisition of UAP
AXA bought UAP, a French insurer twice its size, doubling its French business and reaching critical mass in the United Kingdom, Belgium and Germany. The merger took effect in 1997.
Source: axa.comGuardian Royal Exchange and Nippon Dantai
Guardian Royal Exchange joined AXA in early 1999, adding scale in United Kingdom property, casualty and health insurance, and AXA took control of Nippon Dantai, then the thirteenth-largest life insurer in Japan.
Source: axa.comAcquisition of Winterthur
AXA agreed to buy Winterthur from Credit Suisse for ~$14.8 billion (CHF 12.3 billion), about $8.93 billion (EUR 7.9 billion) in cash, strengthening its position in Switzerland, Germany and central and eastern Europe.
Source: axa.comSale of AXA Canada
AXA sold its Canadian operations to Intact Financial Corp. for ~$1.87 billion (C$2.6 billion) as part of a portfolio review.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgAcquisition of XL Group
AXA bought XL Group for $15.3 billion in cash, shifting the group toward commercial property and casualty lines and creating the AXA XL platform.
Source: en.wikipedia.orgLaunch of the Unlock the Future plan
With its 2023 results in February 2024 AXA presented a 2024 to 2026 plan targeting underlying earnings per share growth of 6% to 8% a year, an underlying return on equity of 14% to 16% and a new capital management policy.
Source: axa.comSale of AXA Investment Managers to BNP Paribas
AXA completed the sale of AXA Investment Managers to BNP Paribas Cardif on July 1, 2025 for ~$5.76 billion (EUR 5.1 billion) in cash, a total transaction value of ~$6.1 billion (EUR 5.4 billion), and signed a long-term agreement for BNP Paribas to manage a large part of its assets.
Source: axa.comDeath of founder Claude Bébéar
AXA announced on November 4, 2025 that Claude Bébéar, its founder and Honorary Chairman, had died at the age of 90. He ran the group from 1975 to 2000 and created the AXA name in 1985.
Source: axa.comMajor Acquisitions
The Equitable (US)
1991AXA invested about $1.0 billion to demutualise and take control of The Equitable, then the fifth-largest life insurer in the United States, after its attempt to buy Farmers failed in 1990.
UAP (Union des Assurances de Paris)
1996AXA agreed in November 1996 to buy UAP, France's largest insurer and a company twice its size, in a deal Fortune reported at about $7.8 billion, to become the number one insurer in France.
Winterthur
2006AXA bought the Winterthur insurance business from Credit Suisse for ~$14.8 billion (CHF 12.3 billion) in cash, about $8.93 billion (EUR 7.9 billion), to build scale in Switzerland, Germany, Spain and central and eastern Europe.
XL Group
2018AXA bought the Bermuda-based commercial lines insurer and reinsurer XL Group for $15.3 billion in cash to shift its earnings mix from life and savings toward commercial property and casualty insurance.
Laya Healthcare
2023AXA agreed in August 2023 to buy Laya Healthcare, the second-largest health insurer in Ireland, from Corebridge Financial for a total consideration of ~$734 million (EUR 650 million) in cash, and completed the deal in October 2023.
Prima Assicurazioni (51% stake)
2025AXA announced in 2025 the acquisition of a 51% stake in Prima, an Italian direct insurance provider, for ~$565 million (EUR 500 million), to expand direct distribution in Italian retail motor and household lines.
Keep researching AXA
AXA Company History FAQ
What were the major eras in AXA's history from 1817 to 1985?
Founded in Rouen in 1817 as a mutual fire insurer, the company grew through mergers of French regional mutuals, became Mutuelles Unies in 1978, and took the name AXA in 1985 after Claude Bébéar became chief executive in 1975 and bought the Drouot Group in 1982.
How did the 1991 acquisition of The Equitable transform AXA?
In July 1991 AXA agreed to demutualise and take control of The Equitable, then the fifth-largest life insurer in the United States, investing about $1.0 billion. The deal gave AXA a United States platform and its first third-party asset manager, Alliance Capital Management.
What happened in the 1996 merger between AXA and UAP?
In November 1996 AXA agreed to buy UAP, France's largest insurer and a company twice its size, in a deal Fortune reported at about $7.8 billion. AXA doubled its French business and reached critical mass in the United Kingdom, Belgium and Germany; the merger took effect in 1997.
How did AXA perform during the 2008 global financial crisis?
Under then chief executive Henri de Castries, AXA absorbed market write-downs without French state support and kept its solvency position, while beginning to reduce the capital-heavy guaranteed savings business that had driven the losses.
What did Thomas Buberl change in 2018?
In 2018 AXA bought XL Group for $15.3 billion and listed its United States life business, later sold down as Equitable Holdings, shifting the group from interest-rate sensitive savings toward commercial property and casualty and health cover.
What are AXA's climate and ESG commitments?
AXA was the first large insurer to begin divesting from coal in 2015, was a founding member of the Net-Zero Insurance Alliance in 2021, and has committed billions of euros to green investments under its climate transition plans.
What was the effect of selling AXA Investment Managers?
BNP Paribas Cardif completed the purchase of AXA Investment Managers on July 1, 2025 for ~$5.76 billion (EUR 5.1 billion) in cash, a total transaction value of ~$6.1 billion (EUR 5.4 billion). AXA offset the earnings dilution with a ~$4.29 billion (EUR 3.8 billion) buyback and now has BNP Paribas manage a large part of its assets.
What are AXA's priorities under the Unlock the Future plan?
AXA targets underlying earnings per share growth of 6% to 8% a year and an underlying return on equity of 14% to 16% for 2024 to 2026, through property and casualty margins, commercial cover for small and medium businesses, health growth, and dividends plus buybacks.
When was AXA founded?
AXA traces its earliest roots back to a small French mutual insurance company founded in 1817, though the modern corporate entity named AXA was formally established in 1985.
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