Apollo’s Bet to Take on Banks Hit Snags Before Atlas CEO’s Exit
- Atlas lending unit struggled to generate business after deal
- Unit’s CEO, Jay Kim, abruptly left the firm in August
Photographer: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg
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The deal had all the hallmarks of Wall Street’s inevitable power shift: Apollo Global Management Inc., king of the rising non-bank lenders, seizing on weakness at Credit Suisse Group AG to snatch up one of the Swiss firm’s most lucrative businesses.
But Atlas SP Partners — the structured finance business that’s key to Apollo Chief Executive Officer Marc Rowan’s plan to become a lending machine — has struggled under its new owner since last year’s acquisition, according to interviews with almost a dozen people with knowledge of the unit. Cultures have clashed, business has slowed and a raft of senior departures culminated in the abrupt exit of Atlas SP’s longtime head, Jay Kim, in August.