Apollo Increases SoftBank Loan To $5.4 Billion: Report

According to a Bloomberg report, Apollo Global Management is lifting the size of the so-called net-asset value loan to SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 by $900 million.

Apollo Global Management is reportedly increasing the net-asset value loan it made to SoftBank Group to $5.4 billion, a new record for a booming type of debt that’s becoming a must-have for private capital funds and their backers.

According to a Bloomberg report on Thursday, the asset manager is lifting the size of the so-called net-asset value loan to SoftBank’s Vision Fund 2 by $900 million.

Retail sentiment on Apollo Global improved to ‘extremely bullish’ from the ‘bullish’ territory a day ago, with chatter at ‘high’ levels, according to data from Stocktwits.

The loan represents a low-teens percentage of the value of the portfolio backing it, which includes more than 150 assets, the Bloomberg report added.

It stated that Apollo first wrote the loan in late 2021 but refinanced it earlier this year. The report also noted that the Vision Fund 2 deal proceeds would go to its investors too, which in this case means SoftBank’s billionaire boss Masayoshi Son and SoftBank itself.

Vision Fund 2 is a venture-capital vehicle with stakes in dozens of tech startups, including at least $2.2 billion in artificial-intelligence company OpenAI, the report added.

Apollo’s rapid expansion in net-asset value lending is driven in large part by its need to deploy the piles of cash generated by its insurance company, Athene, Bloomberg noted.

On Wednesday, Apollo Global reportedly agreed to acquire a majority stake in data center builder Stream Data Centers. Media reports noted that the deal will allow funds managed by the alternative asset management company to potentially invest money in digital infrastructure.

Shares of Apollo Global were down 4.3% during midday trading and have lost over 15% of their value year-to-date.

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