File No. 33-79170, 811-8524
Filed under Rule 497(e)
Equitable Life Insurance Company of Iowa
Prospectus Supplement
July 9, 1997
to the
PrimElite Variable Annuity Prospectus
Dated May 1, 1997 as Supplemented May 28, 1997
__________
On July 7, 1997, Equitable of Iowa Companies ("Equitable of
Iowa") and ING Groep, N.V. ("ING") entered into a definitive
merger agreement providing for Equitable of Iowa to become a
wholly owned subsidiary of ING in a transaction expected to occur
in the fourth quarter of this year. Equitable of Iowa is the
corporate parent of Equitable Life Insurance Company of Iowa, the
issuer of the PrimElite Deferred Variable Annuity, Equitable of
Iowa Securities Network, Inc., the distributor of the PrimElite
Deferred Variable Annuity and the Equi-Select Series Trust (the
"ESS Trust"), Equitable Investment Services, Inc. ("EISI"), the
adviser of the ESS Trust. ING, headquartered in the Netherlands,
is a global financial services holding company with over $275
billion in assets and another $50 billion in third-party assets
under management. Although it is anticipated the Equitable of
Iowa's operations will be merged with the North American life
insurance operations of ING, and consummation of the acquisition,
which is subject to a number of conditions including customary
regulatory approvals, will likely result in the termination of
the investment advisory agreement between EISI and the ESS Trust
and the sub-advisory agreement among EISI, the ESS Trust and
the sub-adviser for the Portfolios of the ESS Trust. It is
expected that the ESS Trust's Board of Trustees will consider
before that time new agreements with EISI and the ESS Trust's
sub-adviser in respect of the ESS Trust. Any such agreements,
which will likely be substantially identical to the current
agreements, would be subject to approval by shareholders of the
ESS Trust.
This supplement should be retained with your PrimElite Prospectus.
PE-1 7/9/97
/TEXT>
