Athene Holdings Ltd. has moved ahead with efforts to build an annuity supplier by completing previously announced plans to buy Investors Insurance Corp. from SCOR S.E.
Athene, Hamilton, Bermuda, announced in February that it would be paying $55 million to acquire the company from SCOR S.E., Paris.
Investors Insurance, Jacksonville, Fla., was founded in 1956 and focuses on selling fixed annuities.
James Belardi, chairman of the Athene holding company, was president of AIG SunAmerica, a unit of American International Group Inc., New York (NYSE:AIG), from 1998 to 1999, then executive vice president of the AIG Retirement Services unit from 1999 to 2006. He left AIG to start Athene in 2006.
Athene acquired Investors Insurance "to execute its plan to build a market-leading retirement services company through a combination of organic growth, reinsurance and strategic acquisitions," Belardi says in a statement about the deal with SCOR. "Strong consumer demand for annuity solutions has created significant opportunities for us in the retail space."