type public traded as nyse apo industry asset management founded 1990 founder leon black john hannan josh harris marc rowan craig cogut arthur bilger antony ressler headquarters solow building new york city usa key people leon black marc rowan josh harris marc spilker products private equity funds credit funds real estate funds alternative investment leveraged buyouts growth capital venture capital aum 186.3 billion 2016 1 total assets 22.9 billion 2014 2 website www.agm.com apollo global management llc is an american private equity firm founded in 1990 by former drexel burnham lambert banker leon black . 3 the firm specializes in leveraged buyout transactions and purchases of distressed securities involving corporate restructuring special situations and industry consolidations . apollo is headquartered in new york city and also has offices in purchase new york los angeles houston london frankfurt luxembourg singapore hong kong and mumbai . as of august 2016 apollo managed over us 186.3 billion of investor commitments across its private equity credit and real estate funds and other investment vehicles making it one of the largest alternative investment management firms globally . 4 among the most notable companies currently owned by apollo are claire s caesars entertainment corporation norwegian cruise line novitex enterprise solutions and core media group american idol . 5 contents 1 history 1.1 1990s 1.2 2000 2005 1.3 2005 2010 1.4 2010 2016 2 operations 3 investment vehicles 3.1 private equity funds 3.2 apollo investment corporation 3.3 ap alternative assets 4 portfolio investments 5 affiliated businesses 5.1 lion advisors 5.2 ares management 6 references 7 external links history edit history of private equity and venture capital early history origins of modern private equity the 1980s leveraged buyout boom the 1990s leveraged buyout and the venture capital bubble the 2000s dot com bubble to the credit crunch v t e apollo originally referred to as apollo advisors was founded in 1990 on the heels of the collapse of drexel burnham lambert in february 1990 . it was founded by leon black the former head of drexel s mergers and acquisitions department along with other drexel alumni . 6 among the most notable founders are john hannan drexel s former co director of international finance ; craig cogut a lawyer who worked with drexel s high yield division in los angeles ; and arthur bilger the former head of the corporate finance department . other founding partners included marc rowan josh harris and michael gross who both worked under black in the mergers and acquisitions department and antony ressler who worked as a senior vice president in drexel s high yield department with responsibility for the new issue syndicate desk . 7 8 9 less than six months after the collapse of drexel the founders of apollo had already begun a series of ventures . apollo investment fund l.p. the first of their private equity investment funds was formed to make investments in distressed companies . apollo s first fund raised approximately 400 million of investor commitments on the strength of black s reputation as a prominent lieutenant of michael milken and key player in the buyout boom of the 1980s . 7 lion advisors was set up to provide investment services to credit lyonnais which was seeking to profit from depressed prices in the high yield market . 10 1990s edit at the time of apollo s founding financing for new leveraged buyouts was minimal and apollo turned instead to a strategy of distressed to control takeovers . 11 12 apollo would purchase distressed securities which could be converted into a controlling interest in the equity of the company through a bankruptcy reorganization or other restructuring . apollo used distressed debt as an entry point enabling the firm to invest in such firms as vail resorts 13 walter industries 14 15 culligan and samsonite . 16 early on apollo made a name for itself by acquiring interests in companies that drexel had helped finance by purchasing high yield bonds from failed savings and loans and insurance companies . apollo acquired several large portfolios of assets from the u.s. government s resolution trust corporation . 17 one of apollo s earliest and most successful deals involved the acquisition of executive life insurance company s bond portfolio . using this vehicle apollo would purchase the executive life portfolio generating tremendous profits when the value of high yield bonds recovered but also resulting in a variety of state regulatory issues for apollo and credit lyonnais over the purchase . 18 more than a decade after the purchase in 2002 california attorney general bill lockyer accused apollo leon black and an investor group led by french bank credit lyonnais of illegally acquiring the assets and bond portfolio of executive life insurance co. in 1991 . according to the state of california lion allegedly violated a california law that prohibited foreign government owned banks from owning california insurance companies . 19 area property partners logo in 1993 apollo real estate advisers was founded in collaboration with william mack to seek opportunities in the u.s. property markets . 20 apollo real estate investment fund l.p. the first in a family of real estate opportunity funds was closed in april 1993 with 500 million of investor commitments . in 2000 apollo exited the partnership which continued to operate as apollo real estate advisers until changing its name to area property partners effective january 15 2009 . that firm is owned and controlled by its remaining principals who include william mack lee neibart william benjamin john jacobsson stuart koenig and richard mack . 21 apollo real estate investment fund l.p. the first in a family of real estate opportunity funds was closed in april 1993 with 500 million of investor commitments . as of 2008 the firm was investing out of three funds apollo real estate investment fund v apollo european real estate fund ii and apollo value enhancement fund vii . in 2004 apollo real estate acquired the value enhancement funds family of investment vehicles to broaden its offerings in the value added segment of the real estate investment spectrum . apollo also operates a real estate mezzanine lending program and real estate securities hedge fund called claros real estate securities fund l.p. 22 in 1995 apollo raised its third private equity fund apollo investment fund iii with 1.5 billion of investor commitments from investors that included calpers and the general motors pension fund . 23 24 unlike its first two funds and later funds fund iii would ultimately prove only an average performer for private equity funds of its vintage . among the investments made in fund iii invested through 1998 were alliance imaging allied waste industries breuners home furnishings levitz furniture 25 communications corporation of america 26 dominick s ralphs acquired apollo s food 4 less 27 move.com nrt incorporated 28 pillowtex corporation 29 telemundo 30 and wmc mortgage corporation . 31 apollo invested in amc in 2001 and would buy out the company in 2004 also in 1995 apollo founding partner craig cogut left the firm to found a smaller competitor pegasus capital advisors . since inception pegasus has raised 1.8 billion in four private equity funds focused on investments in middle market companies in financial distress . in 1997 apollo co founder tony ressler founded ares management as the successor to its lion advisors business which would manage collateralized debt obligation vehicles . 32 in 1998 apollo raised its fourth private equity fund apollo investment fund iv with 3.6 billion of investor commitments . 23 among the investments made in fund iv invested through 2001 were allied waste industries 33 amc entertainment 34 berlitz international 35 clark retail enterprises 36 corporate express buhrmann encompass services corporation national financial partners pacer international 37 rent a center resolution performance products resolution specialty materials sirius satellite radio skyterra communications united rentals and wyndham worldwide . 38 2000 2005 edit apollo s headquarters in the solow building at 9 west 57th street in new york city formerly occupied by tyco apollo deployed its fourth fund during the booming markets of the late 1990s only to experience difficulties with the collapse of the internet bubble and the onset of the recession . amid the turmoil of collapsing markets apollo was able to raise its fifth private equity fund in 2001 apollo investment fund v with 3.7 billion of investor commitments roughly the same amount raised as for its previous fund . 23 among the investments made in fund v invested through 2006 were affinion group amc entertainment berry plastics cablecom compass minerals general nutrition centers gnc goodman global hexion specialty chemicals borden intelsat linens n things metals usa nalco investment holdings sourcecorp spectrasite communications and unity media . meanwhile ares continued to grow through the late 1990s and profited significantly from investments made after the collapse of the high yield market in 2000 and 2001 . although technically the founders of ares had completed a spin out with the formation of the firm in 1997 they had maintained a close relationship with apollo over its first five years and operated as the west coast affiliate of apollo . by 2002 when ares raised its first corporate opportunities fund the firm announced that it was more formally separating itself from its former parent company . 39 the timing of this separation also coincided with apollo s legal difficulties with the state of california over its purchase of executive life insurance company in 1991 . following the spin off of ares in 2002 apollo developed two new affiliates to continue its investment activities in the capital markets . the first of these new affiliates founded in 2003 was apollo distressed investment fund dif management a credit opportunity investment vehicle . 40 the following year in april 2004 apollo raised 930 million through an initial public offering ipo for a listed business development company apollo investment corporation nasdaq ainv . apollo investment corporation was formed to invest primarily in middle market companies in the form of mezzanine debt and senior secured loans as well as by making certain direct equity investments in companies . the company also invests in the securities of public companies . 41 42 2005 2010 edit caesars palace acquired as part of apollo s lbo of harrah s entertainment the 2005 2007 period marked a boom period in private equity with new largest buyout records set and surpassed several times in an 18 month window from the beginning of 2006 through the middle of 2007 . 43 apollo was among the most active investors in leveraged buyout transactions during this period . although apollo was involved in a number of notable and large buyouts the firm largely avoided the very largest transactions of this period . among apollo s most notable investments during this period included harrah s entertainment a leading us gaming and casino company ; norwegian cruise line the cruise line operator ; claire s stores the retailer of costume jewelry ; and realogy the real estate franchisor that owns coldwell banker century 21 and sotheby s international realty . 44 in august 2006 apollo launched a 2 billion publicly traded private equity vehicle in europe ap alternative assets enxtam aaa . 42 the ipo of this new vehicle followed in the footsteps of kohlberg kravis roberts which raised 5 billion for its kkr private equity investors vehicle in may 2006 . 45 apollo initially attempted to raise 2.5 billion for the public vehicle but fell short when it offered the shares in june raising only 1.5 billion . apollo raised an additional 500 million via private placements in the weeks following that sale . 46 as the private equity industry expanded through 2006 and 2007 several of the largest private equity firms most notably the blackstone group and kohlberg kravis roberts announced plans to realize value from their firms through the sale of shares in the public equity markets . apollo management chose a slightly different path by completing a private placement