Citigroup and Apollo announced that they have entered into an exclusive agreement to form a landmark $25 billion private credit / direct lending program initially in North America, with the potential to expand to additional geographies. This program will include participation from Mubadala Investment Company, Apollo’s strategic partner, and Apollo’s subsidiary, Athene, who will have the opportunity to join commitments appropriate for their respective mandates.
This strategic program was designed to significantly enhance access for corporate and sponsor clients to the private lending capital pool, at a scale and size which can provide funding certainty in strategic transactions. And the program will join Citi’s expansive banking client reach, origination, and capital markets expertise with Apollo’s scaled, extensive capital base.
These firms anticipate the program will finance approximately $25 billion of debt opportunities over the next several years, encompassing both corporate and financial sponsor transactions. And Citi and Apollo expect strong client demand and maintain the flexibility to significantly expand the size of the program beyond the initial $25 billion.
Cravath, Swaine & Moore serves as legal counsel and Citigroup Global Markets is acting as advisor to Citi; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison serves as legal counsel and Sullivan & Cromwell serves as regulatory counsel to Apollo.
KEY QUOTES:
“This exciting project brings Citi together with Apollo and other best-in-class partners to offer a full suite of innovative, private financing solutions to our clients. Combining the strength of Citi’s Banking and Capital Markets franchise with Apollo’s deep capital resources will provide clients with a range of options to meet their evolving financing needs and achieve their strategic goals.”
- Viswas Raghavan, Head of Banking and Executive Vice Chair at Citi
“We are pleased to form a first-of-its-kind, scaled direct lending program with Citi, a preeminent banking partner and leader in capital markets and advisory. Our collaboration will allow Citi to enhance its client offerings and bring more private solutions to bear, while enabling Apollo to increase origination flow and tap into Citi’s extensive client relationships. As financial markets continue to evolve, together we believe this is a win-win arrangement that uses our respective strengths and assets to better serve our clients and other stakeholders in a reliable, scalable and capital efficient manner.”
- Apollo Co-President Jim Zelter
