Brookfield agrees to acquire American Equity Investment Life in $4.3 billion deal

Investing.com -- Brookfield announced Wednesday that it reached a definitive agreement to acquire US-based American Equity Investment Life (NYSE:AEL) in a $4.3 billion deal, as the private capital manager looks to expand its insurance unit.

The $55 per share cash and stock transaction will see Brookfield's listed insurance affiliate, Brookfield Reinsurance (NYSE:BNRE), snap up all of the outstanding stake in AEL that it does not already own. The amount represents a 35% premium to AEL's undisturbed closing share price on June 23.

“This [...] represents an important step in the continued growth of our insurance business, further diversifying, and scaling, our insurance capabilities," said Brookfield Reinsurance chief executive officer Sachin Shah in a statement.

Last week, a regulatory filing showed that the AEL board granted Brookfield permission to build on its current 20% stake.

Iowa-based AEL, which oversees more than $70B in assets, was seen as one of the last remaining large independent writers of fixed index annuities following a string of dealmaking. AEL previously rebuffed offers from Elliott Management-backed life insurer Prosperity Life as well as a joint bid from Apollo's Athene division and MassMutual.