Gillian Tan, Columnist

Apollo Has a Blueprint for Liftoff

Shrewd private equity investments and moves to diversify into recurring fee-based businesses have helped its valuation power ahead of rivals.

February 1, 2018 at 7:35 PM UTC

By Gillian Tan

Gillian Tan is a senior reporter covering finance and alternative asset classes including real estate, infrastructure, private equity, private credit, venture capital and sports business. She previously wrote an opinion column for Bloomberg and was a reporter at the Wall Street Journal. She is a qualified chartered accountant.

1517514436_GettyImages-109079581 — Photographer: STF/AFP/Getty Images

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Apollo Global Management LLC's penchant for contrarian private equity deals has earned it bragging rights.

The firm delivered fourth-quarter earnings on Thursday that crushed analysts' expectations, thanks in part to a 9.1 percent lift in the valuation of its private equity holdings. For context, this figure tops a 6.8 percent climb in the value of comparable holdings at rival Blackstone Group LP as well as a 6.6 percent increase in the S&P 500 Index, assuming the reinvestment of dividends. As for the full year? Apollo's private equity holdings managed to gain 28.9 percent, outpacing the S&P 500's 21.8 percent rally and the Blackstone private equity unit's 17.6 percent.