M&A

17 November, 2009

Apollo Management plans NYSE listing - FT

NEW YORK, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Apollo Management [APOLO.UL], a private equity firm headed by former Drexel Burnham Lambert executive Leon Black, is planning to list on the New York Stock Exchange, the Financial Times reported on Tuesday.

Citing "people familiar with the matter," the newspaper said Apollo, which has $38.3 billion in assets under management, would be the second buy-out firm to list in New York, after Blackstone (BX.N).

Since its public offer in 2007, Blackstone shares have lost about half their value, giving it a market value of about $17 billion, the report noted.

Apollo could file its registration statement as early as this week with the NYSE, which must approve the listing, the sources told the Financial Times.

Apollo will list shares that now trade on platforms run by banks, including GSTrUE, which was set up by Goldman Sachs in 2007 for institutional investors. On GSTrUE, Apollo is valued at about $1.55 billion, but that valuation may have been depressed by the trading platform's lack of liquidity, the report said.

The FT said Apollo's listing is aimed at taking advantage of the rally in financial markets. Black has been positioning his firm by buying bonds and loans at deep discounts during the financial crisis.

Apollo declined to comment to the FT and was not immediately available to comment to Reuters. (Reporting by Steve James; Editing by Christian Wiessner)

Source: http://www.reuters.com