Apollo-Backed Athene Could Raise $1 Billion for Shareholders in IPO

Athene Holding Ltd. submitted an amended filing for its coming initial public offering that could value the fixed-annuities provider at about $8 billion.

The firm, backed by a private-equity group Apollo Global Management LLC, said the company itself wouldn't receive any proceeds from the public sale of stock. Instead, the insurer's IPO stands to benefit selling shareholders, including Apollo and its executives, according to the filing.

The company set an estimated range of $38 to $42 a share for the offering of nearly 23.8 million class A shares, plus roughly 3.6 million shares in a so-called overallotment clause that gives underwriters the option to buy into the company at the IPO price. At the high-end of the range, the selling shareholders stand to raise as much as $1.15 billion in the IPO and the company would be valued at about $8 billion.

Athene's stock is slated to trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "ATH."

Apollo has for years indicated IPO plans for Athene, whose growth has been a boon to the New York asset manager. The details outlined in a securities filing Monday set the stage for Athene to debut in public markets at the end of a tepid year for U.S.-listed IPOs.

Stocks of insurance firms Athene competes with, such as Ameriprise Financial Inc., have rallied following Donald Trump's unexpected victory over Hillary Clinton earlier this month. Investors are betting that rising interest rates could benefit insurers, and that Mr. Trump could roll back regulations on the industry.

Bermuda-based Athene has become a dominant player in fixed annuities—savings contracts that promise to pay buyers a set amount of interest each year—providing them to hundreds of thousands of retirees and other consumers.

Write to Joshua Jamerson at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 28, 2016 08:55 ET (13:55 GMT)

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