File No. 33-79170, 811-8524
Filed under Rule 497(e)
Equitable Life Insurance Company of Iowa
Prospectus Supplement
July 9, 1997
to the
Equi-Select Variable Annuity Prospectus
Dated May 1, 1997 as Supplemented May 28, 1997 and June 26, 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 Equi-Select Variable Annuity, Equitable of Iowa
Securities Network, Inc., the distributor of the Equi-Select
Variable Annuity and the Equi-Select Series Trust (the "ESS
Trust"), Equitable Investment Services, Inc. ("EISI"), the
manager of the ESS Trust, and Directed Services, Inc. ("DSI"),
the manager of The GCG Trust (together with the ESS Trust, the
"Trusts"). 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. It is anticipated that 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, the
sub-advisory agreements among the ESS Trust and each of the ESS
Trust's sub-advisers, the management agreement between DSI and
The GCG Trust, and the portfolio management agreements among DSI,
The GCG Trust, and each of The GCG Trust's portfolio managers.
It is expected that the respective Boards of Trustees of the
Trusts will consider before that time new agreements with EISI,
the ESS Trust's sub-advisers, DSI, and The GCG Trust's portfolio
managers in respect of the Trusts. Any such agreements, which
will likely be substantially identical to the current agreements,
would be subject to approval by shareholders of the respective
Trusts.
This supplement should be retained with your Equi-Select Prospectus.
5344 - 3 7/9/97
