Athene, Apollo Global Management's retirement services subsidiary, has priced a $12 billion pension risk transfer transaction with a Fortune 100 industrial company, the largest single PRT deal recorded so far this year.
The transaction moves the plan sponsor's frozen defined-benefit obligations, covering roughly 85,000 retirees and deferred participants, fully off its balance sheet in exchange for a group annuity contract.
Market backdrop
US pension risk transfer volume is running at an annualised pace of approximately $58 billion, driven by well-funded plans locking in favourable annuity pricing while long-duration yields remain elevated relative to the post-2020 period.
Athene, MetLife, and Prudential Financial together wrote more than 60% of PRT volume in the first half of the year.