Ancient Financial Acquires F&G Life Re to Launch Reinsurance Platform
Ancient Financial, a newly established reinsurance platform backed by a prominent New York hedge fund professional, has finalized its inaugural acquisition by agreeing to purchase F&G Life Re Ltd. from F&G Annuities & Life. The Bermuda-based entity will be rebranded as Ancient Re when the transaction is completed on March 1, 2026. As part of the deal, F&G will initiate a forward-flow reinsurance agreement with Ancient Re, covering multi-year guaranteed annuity new business. This acquisition is intended to lay the groundwork for Ancient Financial's reinsurance and asset management operations.
F&G disclosed in its fourth-quarter 2025 earnings that it anticipates generating approximately $300 million in net proceeds from the transaction. The company has successfully reclaimed about $900 million, representing one-third of F&G Life Re's statutory liabilities, while transferring approximately $600 million to an external reinsurer. At the transaction closing, the remaining in-force block, valued at approximately $1.9 billion in assets under management, will be transferred to Ancient Re.
F&G, with the majority owned by Fidelity National Financial, reported a record-high assets under management of $73 billion at the end of 2025, marking a 12% increase. F&G Life Re had transitioned into a runoff block. This deal occurs during a surge in the U.S. annuity market, with LIMRA data indicating sales reached $434.1 billion in 2024, representing a 13% increase and marking a third consecutive record high.
Market Position and Competitors
Ancient Financial is entering a well-capitalized market, as Conning has identified more than 24 liability origination platforms established since 2014. Significant competitors in Bermuda include Apollo's Athene, KKR's Global Atlantic, and Prismic Life, a venture between Prudential Financial and Warburg Pincus, which successfully closed a $1.3 billion capital raise in late 2025. According to AM Best, insurers owned by private equity now account for nearly 10% of the industry's admitted assets.
With approximately $1.9 billion in assets under management, Ancient Financial's scale is modest compared to Athene's $192 billion in Bermuda reinsurance operations as of 2024. The firm operates independently, not under the management of any existing insurer or asset manager, and is financed through equity commitments from Ancient Management LP, founded by Alexander Klabin in 2020, along with family offices and institutional investors.
Alexander Klabin, serving as chairman of Ancient Financial, co-founded the hedge fund Senator Investment Group. Ancient Re's CEO, Erich Schram, was a founding partner of Blackstone Insurance Solutions and served as the Chief Investment Officer at Guggenheim Life and Annuity. Blackstone will continue asset management for F&G Life Re's existing book, while Ancient Re will manage assets under the new flow treaty. "This acquisition serves as the cornerstone of our platform," stated Schram, while Chris Blunt described it as an opportunity to "monetize an operation no longer needed to support our reinsurance strategy."