Equitable and Corebridge are in advanced talks to merge in an all-stock deal creating a $22 billion retirement and wealth management giant. The combination would unite Equitable's $11 billion life insurance business with Corebridge, the $12 billion insurer spun out of AIG in 2022. The merged entity would operate under the Equitable name.

This deal represents a strategic response to private capital groups' growing dominance in the annuity market. Apollo's Athene has led retail annuity sales for three years, prompting traditional insurers to scale up. The combined company would control $1.5 trillion in assets and serve over 12 million customers, with Corebridge CEO Marc Costantini leading as CEO.

Corebridge would maintain its $90 billion asset management relationship with Blackstone while gaining access to AllianceBernstein's services through Equitable's majority stake. Unlike rivals Apollo and KKR, Blackstone has opted to manage assets for insurers rather than own them outright. The merger signals traditional insurers' determination to compete with private capital's aggressive expansion into retirement products and wealth management services.