Apollo Global raises $107m for CMBS fund

Apollo Global Real Estate is raising a CMBS fund to target securitised debt opportunities, and has raised $107 million of commitments to date.

Filing documents with the US Securities and Exchange Commission this week for an initial public offering of up to $50 million on the New York Stock Exchange, Apollo said its real estate arm – led by Joseph Azrack – currently had $495 million in assets under management, including $107 million in equity for Apollo Global Real Estate CMBS Fund.

The fund was launched in December last year, and is focused primarily on CMBS loans which could be used as collateral to secure financing under the US government’s Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF) programme.

The firm added it had raised a total of $317 million from its recent IPO of the mortgage REIT Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, which initially raised $208 million last September. The REIT targets commercial mortgage loans, CMBS and other real estate-related assets, and last February revealed it had deployed $127.8 million of equity originating first mortgages, mezzanine loans and buying CMBS securities.

In the SEC filing, Apollo revealed it had $34 billion of assets under management in its private equity group, including $13 billion of uncalled commitments. Since inception, it has invested $30.7 billion in private equity deals and achieved a net internal rate of return of 26 percent.

Apollo set up its real estate arm in 2008, hiring former Citi Property Investors’ president and co-founder Joseph Azrack. Apollo was recently named the preferred bidder to take over the CPI platform, after parent bank Citigroup put the management of the private equity real estate group up for sale. The real estate group has also appointed Holdfast Capital founder Grant Kelley to lead its Asia effort, and is reportedly in the process of raising a $1 billion fund.

The SEC filing revealed the two of the largest investors in Apollo’s funds include the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, having “invest[ed] approximately $7.6 billion of capital in us and our funds”. CalPERS and ADIA invested $1.2 billion in the management entity of Apollo Global in 2007.

Compensation information for Apollo’s executive management was also revealed. Leon Black, chairman and chief executive officer, was paid a base salary of $100,000 in 2009, plus $687,391 in other compensation. Other compensation includes about $512,539 in carried interest Black earned from some Apollo funds, and also $140,202 in costs for cars and drivers for Black’s business and personal use, the filing said. Also included in Black’s compensation is $26,400 for “tickets to sporting events” for Black’s personal use, the filing said.