Athene Holding Ltd. has been awarded the North America IPO of the Year award by Thomson Reuters International Financing Review.

"I am pleased that Athene has been recognized with one of the most prestigious awards in the global capital markets," Athene Holding CEO Jim Belardi said in a press release. "Despite what was one of the slowest IPO markets since 2009, we were confident that investors would recognize that Athene is a disciplined, opportunistic and growth-oriented retirement services company that combines unique capabilities on both sides of the balance sheet."

Athene's selection was in part due to the eight-day IPO roadshow that gave the company the chance to upsize and see a 10.1 percent opening day gain.

Companies that nominated Athene for the award were Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and Wells Fargo.