Citi, Apollo Partner for $25B Private Credit, Direct Lending Program 

Citigroup Inc. and Apollo announced an agreement for a Citi subsidiary and certain Apollo affiliates to develop a “landmark” $25 billion private credit, direct lending program initially in North America.   

The program will include participation from Abu Dhabi sovereign wealth fund Mubadala Investment Company as Apollo’s strategic partner as well as Apollo’s annuity and retirement services unit, Athene. 

The program is intended to simplify the process of arranging debt financing for corporate and sponsor clients over the next several years. It is anticipated that the venture’s size will “significantly expand” beyond the initial $25 billion due to the anticipated high demand from clients. The firms also have the option to broaden the program’s scope to encompass additional regions. 

“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,” said Viswas Raghavan, head of banking and executive vice chair at Citi. 

In January, Citi launched another private lending vehicle in partnership with alternative investment manager LuminArx Capital. 

Apollo is one of the largest private capital providers, with almost $700 billion in assets under management at the end of the second quarter. More than $500 billion is tied to its credit companies. 

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is serving as legal counsel and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. is acting as advisor to Citi; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is serving as legal counsel and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is serving as regulatory counsel to Apollo.