BNP Paribas and private equity giant Apollo agree $5bn investment

Apollo, the warehouse finance and securitised products business majority owned by Apollo funds, and BNP Paribas has forged a strategic financing and capital markets collaboration between Apollo, ATLAS and BNP Paribas.

In a statement on 20 September, BNP Paribas said it would make a significant day-1 financing commitment of $5bn which is expected to increase over time. The commitment supports investment-grade, asset-backed credit originated by Apollo and ATLAS, alongside a capital markets collaboration to support securitizations sourced by Apollo and ATLAS issuer clients.

Apollo co-president Jim Zelter said: “We believe this strategic collaboration, which includes one of the largest-ever bilateral financings for directly-originated credit assets, is a testament to the strength of ATLAS’ unique origination capabilities and differentiated model. Working hand-in-hand with BNP Paribas, this transaction shows how Apollo and ATLAS continue to expand relationships with leading global financial institutions and builds on Apollo’s existing collaboration with BNP Paribas to provide inventory finance solutions through the Eliant platform.”

Olivier Osty, BNP Paribas head of corporate & institutional banking global markets, said: “BNP Paribas is an international banking organization offering exemplary client service as well as cutting-edge financing, hedging and investment solutions in the Americas and worldwide. We are pleased to deepen our collaboration with Apollo and ATLAS through this strategic transaction and look forward to further building our business with them both.”

Carey Lathrop, interim CEO of ATLAS SP, added: “As a fully-integrated and scaled origination platform, ATLAS is ideally positioned as an institutional borrower’s partner of choice for warehousing and other investment grade asset-backed solutions. This exciting collaboration with BNP Paribas builds on our strong existing relationships with other financial institutions and should serve to accelerate the growth of ATLAS and its full suite of client capabilities.”

John Gallo, head of global markets Americas & global head of institutional client group at BNP Paribas, said: “Our Global Markets business is continually evolving to serve our clients, and today’s news is a testament to this strategy. This collaboration leverages our leading securitization structuring and distribution capabilities to support ATLAS in financing the real economy, while also being complementary to the client franchise and growth objectives of both firms.”

In 2022, Apollo, alongside its subsidiary Athene, and BNP Paribas announced a strategic relationship with the launch of Eliant Inventory Solutions LP, a platform providing flexible financing solutions for working capital and supply chain needs.

Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP served as legal counsel, and Redding Ridge Asset Management acted as structuring agent to Apollo and affiliated entities on the transaction. Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP served as legal counsel to BNP Paribas.

Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager and  As of June 30, 2024, it had approximately $696bn of assets under management.

ATLAS SP is a global investment firm providing stable capital, financing, advisory and institutional products to market participants seeking innovative and bespoke structured credit and asset backed solutions.

BNP Paribas, a key player in international banking, operates in 63 countries and has nearly 183,000 employees, including more than 145,000 in Europe.