Brighthouse Financial has agreed to be acquired for $4.1 billion to a private equity firm following months of speculation.
The deal with Aquarian Holdings to acquire the Charlotte-based insurance company, one of the largest U.S. specialty insurers, is expected to close next year following regulatory approvals, Brighthouse said in a news release Thursday.
Brighthouse Financial’s headquarters will remain in Charlotte and Eric Steigerwalt will continue as president and CEO. Brighthouse also canceled its third-quarter investors conference call that was set for Friday.
New York City-based Aquarian Holdings is an eight-year-old investment firm. Aquarian has grown to $25.6 billion in assets with several acquisitions to 35 investment professionals, multiple funds, and insurance and reinsurance companies, according to the company’s website.
Other insurance holdings include Hudson Life, Investors Heritage, Somerset Reinsurance and Neptune Reinsurance.
Rumors of a potential sale began in January. Apollo Global Management Inc., Sixth Street, Carlyle Group Inc. and TPG Inc. were reported to have been bidders for Brighthouse by multiple national news outlets.
The sale comes six months after another Charlotte-based fintech company, AvidXchange payment software automation company, was sold for $2.2 billion to two out-of-state companies. TPG, a San Francisco-based global asset management firm will have a majority of stake in AvidXchange, while Atlanta-based Corpay, a corporate payments company, will have minority interest. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year.
About Brighthouse Financial
Brighthouse was formed as a publicly traded company in 2017 as a spinoff from New York-based insurer MetLife.
For the first quarter this year, the company reported adjusted earnings of $235 million. Brighthouse ended last year with liquid assets of $1.1 billion, according to the company’s 2024 report.
Brighthouse had about 1,400 employees as of Dec. 31.
The corporate office is at 11225 North Community House Road in south Charlotte, with offices following hybrid work models in New York, N.Y., or Morristown, N.J.
This is a developing story
Catherine Muccigrosso
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