Oaktree Capital Management is preparing to acquire control of a US life insurer as part of a restructuring linked to the collapse of Miami-based investment firm 777 Partners, according to a report by the Financial Times.
The report cites unnamed people familiar with the mater as revealing that funds managed by Oaktree plan to take a controlling stake in Atlantic Coast Life Insurance Company from Advantage Capital Holdings. The move follows scrutiny of Advantage Capital’s financial ties to 777 Partners, which unravelled last year.
The deal would see Advantage Capital relinquish control of Atlantic Coast Life while retaining ownership of Utah-based insurer Sentinel Security Life Insurance Company. Oaktree also intends to invest in Sentinel as part of the restructuring.
777 Partners had attracted attention for deploying capital into a range of high-risk assets, including football clubs. The firm’s co-founder Josh Wander pursued a failed takeover of Everton FC after earlier investments in teams such as Genoa CFC and CR Vasco da Gama.
Federal prosecutors in New York charged Wander in October with allegedly defrauding lenders and investors of about $500m.
Atlantic Coast Life held roughly 6,000 active life insurance policies as of 2024 and, together with its annuity business, carries more than $1.5bn in liabilities, according to regulatory filings.
Oaktree said the transaction reflects its strategy of investing in companies during periods of financial disruption. Patrick George, Oaktree’s senior vice-president in global opportunities, said the firm is increasingly pursuing insurance opportunities created by market dislocations.
The move forms part of a broader push by alternative asset managers into insurance. Oaktree, which is majority-owned by Brookfield Corporation, recently backed the launch of life insurer Avocet Partners and also agreed to create a vehicle to reinsure commercial policies written by Allianz.
Advantage Capital’s links to 777 Partners have drawn scrutiny from US insurance regulators. Credit rating agency AM Best last month cut the ratings of insurers connected to the group by three notches, moving them from “good” to “fair”.
