Athene poised to acquire UK-based Foundation Home Loans

Athene Holding, the provider of retirement savings solutions, is poised to acquire Foundation Home Loans (FHL), a specialist UK mortgage lender.

Athene has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire FHL from funds managed by affiliates of Fortress Investment Group, subject to the satisfaction of customary conditions, including consent by the Financial Conduct Authority.

The investment in FHL will be managed by the team at Apollo Global Management, Athene's strategic asset management partner. Apollo and Athene expect that FHL will continue to be a leader in originating high-quality residential mortgage loans, providing Athene with attractive investment opportunities in high-quality yield assets.

As of June 2021, FHL had a £3 billion portfolio of specialist buy-to-let and owner-occupied mortgages on its balance sheet.

Jim Belardi, chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of Athene, said: "This transaction continues our longstanding strategy of working with Apollo to identify and invest in attractive businesses which add direct origination asset sourcing capabilities to our alpha-generating investment portfolio. We believe our investment will help FHL achieve its full potential, while being a complementary addition to our expanding asset sourcing capabilities."

Hans Geberbauer, CEO of FHL, said: "We are delighted to partner with Athene and Apollo for the next phase of growth in the UK specialist lending market. Their expertise and funding capacity will greatly enhance our position in the market."

Christopher Hojlo, partner at Apollo, said: "We expect that FHL will contribute high-quality assets to Athene's residential mortgage portfolio of loans and structured securities, which  exceeded $13 billion of net invested assets as of March 31, 2021 and exhibits a strong yield profile that is indicative of the alpha generation the asset class can offer."