American Equity Investment Life Holding Co. announced Tuesday it has commenced an underwritten public offering of 8.6 million shares of common stock, half of which will be subject to a forward sale agreement. In conjunction with the offering, the underwriters will be granted a 30-day option to purchase up to 1.29 million additional shares of common stock. Under the forward sale agreement, an affiliate of RBC Capital Markets LLC will borrow from third parties and sell to the underwriters 4.3 million shares of the company’s common stock. American Equity intends to use the net proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes, including contributions to the capital and surplus of its life insurance subsidiaries.