Athene Holding Ltd., the parent company of annuity and insurance company Athene USA in West Des Moines, announced it has closed on its previously announced strategic transaction with Apollo Global Management Inc. Through the transaction, Apollo has purchased a 17% incremental stake in Athene at a premium, giving it ownership of approximately 34% of the retirement services company. Athene had total assets of $146.9 billion as of Dec. 31, 2019. With the transaction, “we are reinforcing the durability of our relationship, and enhancing the strong alignment between the two companies,” said Leon Black, chairman and CEO of Apollo. “In addition, as a result of Athene’s new ownership stake in Apollo, which represents its single largest investment, Athene now has a direct economic interest in Apollo’s financial success for the first time.” Apollo, a global asset manager, had $331 billion in assets under management at year-end 2019.