Athene Holding Ltd., the parent company of West Des Moines-based Athene USA, has signed an agreement with Apollo Global Management aimed at reinforcing the existing alignment of interests between the two companies. The transaction includes a share exchange between Apollo and Athene and a purchase by Apollo of Athene shares that will nearly double Apollo’s ownership stake in Athene to 35%. It also eliminates Athene’s current multi-class share structure, which the companies expect will significantly improve Athene’s index inclusion eligibility and expand Athene’s investor base. “This transaction will remove a material impediment to additional index inclusion and strengthen our corporate governance profile by aligning voting rights with the economic interests of all shareholders,” Athene Chairman and CEO Jim Belardi said in release. “We believe the combination of these factors will greatly enhance Athene’s appeal to a much broader group of active and passive investors.”