Apollo’s Bankrupt Lighting Firm Paid $525 Million in Dividends
- Buyout firm got large early payouts from Lumileds loan deals
- Boom in dividend-linked leveraged loans has now fizzled out
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Apollo Global Management Inc. is set to lose control of the former Philips lighting business it acquired in 2017. But in the easy money years leading up to Lumileds Holding BV’s bankruptcy filing this week, the buyout firm reaped a more than $500 million dividend bounty.
The debt-laden lighting company gave out about $525 million in dividend payments to Apollo in 2017 and 2018, according to a person with knowledge of the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing private transactions.