Axa Financial takes stake in Cooper Tire, Goodrich

11/14/2000

WASHINGTON - Axa Financial, Inc., the U.S. unit of French insurance firm Axa SA , has bought stakes in Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. in Findlay and in BFGoodrich Co., filings by Axa with the Securities and Exchange Commission showed yesterday.

Axa bought a 12.3 per cent stake, or 8,920,135 common shares, in Cooper Tire, which makes tires and other automotive products, one filing shows. Cooper Tire said last month that sales in its tire group rose in the third quarter by 14 per cent to $482 million due to increased demand for tires for sports utility vehicles after Firestone's recall of 6.5 million tires.

Axa took a 14.4 per cent stake in the Charlotte, N.C.-based BFGoodrich, which makes aircraft parts, specialty chemicals and engineered industrial products, according to a separate SEC filing.