Breakthrough in the Financial Industry: Citi and Apollo Launch Exclusive Credit Program

Citigroup and Apollo have announced an exclusive collaboration to launch a groundbreaking private credit and direct lending program worth $25 billion. The initiative will initially start in North America but holds the potential for global expansion. The extensive program aims to significantly enhance corporate and sponsor clients' access to private financing and provide a reliable funding source for strategic transactions. By combining Citi's comprehensive banking client reach and capital markets expertise with Apollo's substantial capital base, approximately $25 billion in debt opportunities are expected to be financed in the coming years. The involvement of Mubadala Investment Company as a strategic partner and Apollo's subsidiary Athene, which have the option to participate according to their mandates, underscores the ambitious goals of this collaboration. Citi and Apollo are optimistic that customer demand will be strong, and they maintain the flexibility to significantly expand the program volume beyond the initial $25 billion. Viswas Raghavan, Head of Banking and Executive Vice Chair at Citi, emphasized: "This exciting project brings Citi together with Apollo and other top-tier partners to offer our clients a broad range of innovative private financing solutions. The combination of Citi's banking and capital markets franchise with Apollo's deep capital resources will provide our clients with multiple options to meet their evolving financing needs and achieve their strategic goals." Jim Zelter, Co-President of Apollo, added: "We are pleased to form a unique, scaled direct lending program with Citi, an outstanding banking partner and leading player in the capital markets and advisory space. Our collaboration enables Citi to expand its client offerings and provide more private solutions, while Apollo has the opportunity to increase origination volume and benefit from Citi's extensive client relationships. In an ever-evolving financial market, we jointly believe that this is a win-win agreement that leverages our respective strengths and assets to better serve our clients and other stakeholders in a reliable, scalable, and capital-efficient manner.