Sara N. Africano

SARA AFRICANO focuses her practice on helping clients in the insurance industry navigate complex insurance and financial regulatory issues, and achieve their strategic goals.

She represents insurance companies and financial services institutions on insurance regulatory and corporate matters in connection with a variety of transactions, including M&A, corporate reorganization, joint venture, reinsurance, structured finance, and insurance holding company transactions. She also represents investors and other financial institutions, such as private equity funds, banks, mortgage lenders, benefit administrators, and professional employer organizations, with respect to insurance company relationships and transactions.

Selected examples of Sara’s experience include representation of:

• Dearborn Group, a national provider of ancillary benefits and subsidiary of Health Care Service Corporation, in the sale of Dearborn’s group life and disability business to Symetra Life Insurance Company (pending).
• New Enterprise Associates (NEA) on insurance regulatory matters in the take-private acquisition by an NEA affiliate of NeueHealth at an enterprise value of approximately US$1.3 billion (pending).
• Sentry Insurance on insurance regulatory matters in the acquisition of non-standard auto insurer The General® from American Family Insurance for a total transaction value of US$1.7 billion.
• LWCC on insurance regulatory matters in its acquisition of Prescient National.
• Nassau Financial Group, a Golden Gate Capital portfolio company, on insurance regulatory matters in the acquisition of Delaware Life Insurance Company of New York.
• SBL Holdings on insurance regulatory matters in its offering of US$650 million of senior notes.
• Thrivent on insurance regulatory matters in its inaugural US$400 million collateralized fund obligation offering.
• Athene Holding on insurance regulatory matters in its merger with Apollo Global Management, in an all-stock transaction creating a pro forma US$29 billion market cap company (with Athene valued at approximately US$11 billion).
• Venerable on insurance regulatory matters in its acquisition of Corporate Solutions Life Re from Equitable Holdings, and the reinsurance of approximately US$26 billion of reserves from Equitable Financial Life Insurance Company.
• Apollo Global Management on insurance regulatory matters in its US$2.6 billion acquisition of publicly traded Aspen Insurance Holdings.
• Apollo Global Management and Athene Holding on insurance regulatory matters in the acquisition from Voya Financial of Voya Insurance and Annuity Company, including Voya’s closed block variable annuity business, for approximately US$500 million, and Athene’s agreement to reinsure US$19 billion of Voya’s fixed and fixed indexed annuity liabilities.
• Cigna Corporation on insurance regulatory matters with respect to its terminated acquisition by Anthem, Inc., a transaction valued at US$54.2 billion.