Ex-Blackstone Rainmaker Taps Apollo Model in Asset Manager Deal

Chinh Chu, a longtime dealmaker at Blackstone Inc., struck a deal to create an insurance and asset management firm to capture opportunities in a new model made popular by Apollo Global Management Inc.

Chu’s firm CC Capital agreed to invest $250 million in Westaim Corp., a publicly-traded company based in Canada, according to people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified because the information is private. The deal will combine Arena Investors, a credit investing unit that manages about $3.5 billion, and a new business named Ceres Life Insurance Co. that focuses on fixed-index annuities under the Westaim holding company.