Athene, the retirement services provider and subsidiary of Apollo Global Management, has announced plans to enter a block reinsurance transaction with Sony Life Insurance, a Japanese insurer.
The arrangement will see Athene reinsure an in-force block of US dollar-denominated whole life insurance policies from Sony Life. As part of the transaction, Athene will enter into an agreement with Swiss Re to retrocede all mortality risk associated with the block.
“Japanese insurers are increasingly turning to more tailored solutions and flexible capital to enhance their financial strength and advance policyholders’ goals,” said Katie Daly (pictured above, left), executive vice president and global head of M&A, reinsurance, and pensions at Athene.
Daly also noted that Athene’s retirement and capital expertise positions the company to address needs unique to the Japanese market. Yasuo Kashiwagi (pictured above, right), head of Japan at Apollo, commented that Apollo and Athene’s presence in Japan reflects the company’s model to bring in capital supporting Japanese policyholders.
“The combination of balance sheet strength and world-class asset management capabilities fits well with deeper shifts underway in Japan and enables us to provide safe yield solutions to Japanese retirees and savers in an aligned way,” Kashiwagi said.
This transaction marks Athene’s eighth reinsurance deal across seven cedents and its second block reinsurance transaction with a Japanese insurer since entering the market five years ago. The total transaction volume of Athene’s reinsurance transactions with Japanese cedants now stands at approximately $19 billion.
In the first quarter of 2025, Athene reported record inflows totaling $26 billion in gross new business, with an additional $10 billion in organic inflows recorded in April. As of March 31, the company held $31 billion in regulatory capital and $8.2 billion in deployable capital, with net invested assets reaching $262 billion.
Athene completed its redomiciling from Bermuda to Delaware in 2024, following its 2022 acquisition by Apollo.
In August, Athene also highlighted in an investor filing that it holds 12% of assets in related party investments, a figure lower than several rival private equity-backed insurers. The disclosure came amid increased regulatory scrutiny of such investments and ongoing industry debate about risk and transparency.
What are your thoughts on this story? Please feel free to share your comments below.
