Brookfield Reinsurance to buy life insurance company AEL for $4.3bn

• Each AEL shareholder will $55 per share
• The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2024
• Brookfield Reinsurance is a holding company that owns and operates a growing global insurance and reinsurance platform

Brookfield Reinsurance, an affiliate of Brookfield Asset Management, has agreed to acquire West Des Moines, Iowa-based life insurance business American Equity Investment Life Holding Company (AEL).

The purchase price is about $4.3 billion, with each AEL shareholder receiving $55 per share. The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2024.

Upon the closing of the deal, AEL shares will be delisted from the New York Stock Exchange.

On the deal, Sachin Shah, CEO of Brookfield Reinsurance, said in a statement, “This transaction represents an important step in the continued growth of our insurance business, further diversifying, and scaling, our insurance capabilities, and is a direct result of the partnership we have developed with AEL since our initial investment in 2020. With this transaction we have now deployed or committed over $10 billion of capital since our inception, bringing our total insurance assets to over $100 billion, and we remain on track with our growth targets for the business.”

Based in Toronto, Brookfield Reinsurance is a publicly traded holding company that owns and operates a growing global insurance and reinsurance platform.

Barclays is serving as lead financial advisor to Brookfield Reinsurance, with BMO Capital Markets also acting as an advisor on this transaction. Cravath, Swaine & Moore is serving as legal advisor to Brookfield Reinsurance and Debevoise & Plimpton is serving as Brookfield Reinsurance’s insurance counsel.

Ardea Partners and J.P. Morgan are serving as financial advisors and Sullivan & Cromwell is acting as legal advisor to AEL on this transaction.