Tony Ribaudo

TONY RIBAUDO is a co-leader of the firm’s global Insurance practice. He is a market leader in building insurance and financial services companies, while managing the poignant economic and legal concerns of their management and owners. Tony has led important and significant industry initiatives, involving a wide and complex array of mergers and acquisitions, private equity sponsorships and investments, joint venture arrangements, and reinsurance transactions.

Tony has built companies from the ground up, and also launched and grown major, strategic divisions. Known as a destination for these skills and his leadership, he formed Sidley’s Life & Annuity practice, a brand with global reach. As shown from the selection of accomplishments below, Tony regularly represents market leaders in the U.S. and other international locations with intense insurance activity, such as the UK and Bermuda.

Tony founded the Sidley Global Insurance Review and has served as editor of the publication since 2013. Tony has also been recognized in Chambers USA by clients and peers for Illinois Insurance: Transactional & Regulatory (2010–2019, 2025).

• Sale for up to US$1 billion of Kuvare Asset Management to Blue Owl Capital (including potential earnout), and US$250 million preferred equity investment by Blue Owl in Kuvare Holdings.
• Acquisition by Fleming Insurance Holdings, a portfolio company of private equity sponsor Altamont Capital Partners (with more than US$4 billion of AUM), of JRG Re from James River for US$277 million.
• Acquisition by RGA of a US$4.1 billion block of long-term care and structured settlement business from John Hancock.
• Launch by Altamont Capital Partners of Hadron, a groundbreaking hybrid insurer focused on managing general underwriters backed by over US$250 million from Altamont and other institutional investors.
• Launch by Kuvare Holdings of the US$400 million Kindley Re life and annuity reinsurance sidecar, formed in partnership with Davidson Kempner Capital Management, and Kuvare and its affiliates.
• Acquisition by Altamont Capital Partners and US$150 million commitment to Fleming Holdings, a P&C insurance legacy, finality, and capital solutions provider.
• Represented RGA in the offering by its subsidiary Chesterfield Re of US$500 million in surplus notes.
• Acquisition by Kuvare Holdings of a block of in-force annuities issued by a large, highly rated, multinational carrier from its Hong Kong platform, and two forward-flow reinsurance arrangements, each with a separate highly rated Japanese life insurer.
• Private placement by Accelerant, a portfolio company of Altamont Capital Partners, of preferred stock in excess of US$190 million to multiple unrelated third-party institutional investors, including Eldridge Industries.
• Launch of Accelerant’s US$175 million sidecar investment vehicle, Flywheel Re, providing exposure to low-volatility commercial risk in the SME market.
• Acquisition by Kuvare Holdings subsidiary Guaranty Income Life Insurance Company of Lincoln Benefit Life Company, making Kuvare an insurance conglomerate with assets exceeding US$13 billion.
• Acquisition by Heritage Life Insurance Company of U.S. Financial Life Insurance Company and MONY Life Insurance Company of the Americas from AXA.
• Acquisition by RGA of a US$2.9 billion block of U.S. fixed and variable annuities from Horace Mann Life Insurance Company.
• Acquisition by Heritage Life Insurance Company of Puritan Life Insurance Company.
• Acquisition by Altamont Capital Partners of Topa Insurance Group, a specialty P&C insurance carrier and producer.
• Acquisition by Heritage Life Insurance Company of Professional Life & Casualty Company.
• Launch by Altamont Capital Partners of Accelerant, a vertically integrated insurance company focused on UK and EU SMEs, and the establishment of Accelerant’s bolt-on buy-out platform.
• Acquisition by RGA of a US$3 billion block of individual payout annuities (including New York business) from John Hancock.
• Launch of Langhorne Holdings, a Bermuda-based global acquisition platform targeting life and annuity business, sponsored by RGA and RenaissanceRe, including Langhorne’s initial equity raise in excess of US$780 million. Langhorne was named “Launch of the Year” at the 2018 Reactions North America Awards.
• Purchase by Langhorne Holdings of Zale Life Insurance Company.
• Acquisition by RGA of a US$2.3 billion block of fixed and variable annuities from Farmers New World Life (a subsidiary of Zurich Insurance Group).
• Acquisition by Kuvare Holdings of a US$600 million portfolio of fixed annuities from a highly rated insurer.
• Purchase by PartnerRe of Aurigen Capital, a Bermuda life reinsurer, for CAD$375 million.
• Launch of Kuvare Life Re, a Bermuda-based life and annuity reinsurer.
• Acquisition by RGA of a US$5 billion block of fixed annuities from John Hancock.
• Acquisition by Ameritas Life Insurance of two in-force life insurance blocks with a face amount of US$2.1 billion.
• Acquisition by Kuvare Holdings of Guaranty Income Life Insurance Company.
• Acquisition by Guggenheim of EquiTrust for US$440 million (regulatory matters).
• Sale by CUNA Mutual of its Australian operations to QBE (regulatory matters).
• Purchase by GSO Capital Partners (the credit division of the Blackstone Group) of US$200 million of subordinated notes and warrants of NewStar Financial.
• Offering by Chesterfield Financial Holdings, an indirect subsidiary of RGA, of US$300 million in embedded value linked notes.
• Offering by MassMutual of US$500 million in surplus notes.
• Offering by Aurigen Re of more than CAD$300 million in embedded value linked notes.
• Represented RGA in connection with the first-ever term life PBR reserve financing solution completed for a leading life insurer.
• Over US$10 billion of reserve financing transactions for global insurers, including MetLife, Prudential, Aviva, SunLife, Lincoln, Genworth, Protective, PacLife, Old Mutual, Voya, and Swiss Re.
• Issuance by MetLife of US$2.5 billion embedded value linked notes.
• US$8 billion proposed restructuring by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York of AIG’s debt to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (announced but subsequently terminated).
• Establishment of funding agreement-backed note programs by AIG, Principal Financial Group, New York Life, MassMutual, Voya, Allstate, and Protective.
• Issuance by National Life of Vermont of US$200 million in surplus notes.

• American Bar Association