Athene to Buy Stake in Home Improvement Lender from Blackstone

Athene Holding Ltd., the insurer, has agreed to acquire a controlling stake in consumer lender Aqua Finance, its latest in a series of deals meant to help it find more unusual kinds of debt to invest in.

The purchase values Aqua, which essentially lends to consumers that are financing home improvement projects, at around $1 billion. Athene is purchasing from Blackstone, which will maintain a minority stake.

Apollo Global Management Inc. is in the process of buying the portion of Athene that it doesn’t already own. The asset management firm and Athene have been boosting the loans they make ...