AM Best Assigns Credit Ratings to Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance Affiliates 1A and 1B

Business Wire

OLDWICK, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- AM Best has assigned a Financial Strength Rating (FSR) of A (Excellent) and Long-Term Issuer Credit Ratings (Long-Term ICR) of “a” to Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance Affiliate 1A Ltd. and its subsidiary, Athene Co-Invest Reinsurance Affiliate 1B Ltd., together referred to as ACRA. ACRA is a newly added member of the Athene Group and are indirect subsidiaries of Athene Holding Ltd. (NYSE:ATH) (Athene), the publicly traded ultimate parent. All companies are domiciled in Bermuda. The outlook assigned to the FSR is stable, while the outlook assigned to the Long-Term ICRs is positive.

The ratings reflect ACRA’s balance sheet strength, which AM Best categorizes as very strong, as well as its strong operating performance, neutral business profile and appropriate enterprise risk management. The ratings of the Athene Group are being extended to ACRA due to its strategic role in the group’s business strategy, and the explicit financial support provided by its affiliates and investors. ACRA will operate like a sidecar for Athene, providing access to on-demand third-party equity capital to support new business growth. The ability to access external funding through external capital commitments provides Athene increased flexibility in executing new business transactions but also is expected to be accretive to consolidated earnings through management fees earned, as opposed to the interest expense of utilizing debt financing.

The outlooks of Athene’s Long-Term ICR of “bbb”, its existing Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings and the Long-Term ICRs “a” of its operating insurance subsidiaries were revised to positive from stable on May 15, 2019, and remain unchanged.

This press release relates to Credit Ratings that have been published on AM Best’s website. For all rating information relating to the release and pertinent disclosures, including details of the office responsible for issuing each of the individual ratings referenced in this release, please see AM Best’s Recent Rating Activity web page. For additional information regarding the use and limitations of Credit Rating opinions, please view Understanding Best’s Credit Ratings. For information on the proper media use of Best’s Credit Ratings and AM Best press releases, please view Guide for Media - Proper Use of Best’s Credit Ratings and AM Best Rating Action Press Releases.

AM Best is a global credit rating agency and information provider with an exclusive focus on the insurance industry. Visit www.ambest.com for more information.