Apollo nears $1bn for European debt fund

Buyout and distressed debt investor Apollo Global Management has raised almost $980 million for the Apollo European Principal Finance Fund (EPF), according to a recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
 
The fund, which is targeting $2 billion, invests in European non-performing loans and as of 30 June this year had made ten investments in non-performing loan portfolios throughout Europe.
 
Apollo Alternative Assets (AAA), Apollo’s Euronext-listed affiliate, has committed $315 million to the fund, a figure which could rise to $420 million depending on the amount of third party capital the fund attracts. According to AAA’s report as of June 2009, the value of EPF had depreciated by around 4 percent since it began investing.
 
Limited partners to commit to the fund include California Public Employees Retirement System, San Francisco Employees’ Retirement System and Teachers’ Retirement System of Louisiana.
 
Ranked by PEI Media as the fifth largest private equity firm in the world having raised more than $35 billion in capital over the last five years, Apollo has been pursuing credit-focused investment strategies since 1990. Its funds include Apollo Strategic Value Fund, Apollo Investment Europe, Apollo Asia Opportunity Fund, and Apollo European Principal Finance Fund.