AXA SA, SUN LIFE

AXA SA is in early talks to buy the remaining 43.7 percent of Sun Life & Provincial Holdings PLC that it does not already own in a deal that could be worth $3.17 billion. Sun Life’s stock price has plunged recently, falling from a 52-week high of more than $10 per share to just over $4 last month. The Wall Street Journal reports the shares have suffered from investor disfavor with European insurance stocks. Sun Life & Provincial shares soared 39 percent on news of the possible purchase.