AXA’s origins date back to Ancienne Mutuelle, which was one of the few insurers that remained after the creation of the French security system. With the threat of nationalization, a merger took place between three insurance groups The Drouot Group, AXA (still known as Mutuelles Unies in 1982), and Presence Group. Ten years later AXA acquired North American life insurer Equitable Holdings. This was a time of expansion as AXA also bought UAP, a large French insurer. Yet, as markets crashed at the turn of the millennium, AXA decided to refocus its business and exited its stake in U.S. investment