Citigroup Inc. and Apollo today announced that they have entered into an exclusive agreement for a subsidiary of Citi and certain affiliates of Apollo to form a landmark $25 billion private credit, direct lending program initially in North America, with the potential to expand to additional geographies. The program will include participation from Mubadala Investment Company as Apollo’s strategic partner as well as Apollo’s subsidiary, Athene, both of which will have the opportunity to join commitments appropriate for their respective mandates.

The strategic program is designed to significantly enhance access for corporate and sponsor clients to the private lending capital pool, at a scale and size which can provide funding certainty in strategic transactions. The program will join Citi’s expansive banking client reach, origination and capital markets expertise with Apollo’s scaled, extensive capital base. The firms anticipate the program will finance approximately $25 billion of debt opportunities over the next several years, encompassing both corporate and financial sponsor transactions. Citi and Apollo expect strong client demand and maintain the flexibility to significantly expand the size of the program beyond the initial $25 billion.

“This exciting project brings Citi together with Apollo and other best-in-class partners to offer a full suite of innovative, private financing solutions to our clients,” said Viswas Raghavan, Head of Banking and Executive Vice Chair at Citi. “Combining the strength of Citi’s Banking and Capital Markets franchise with Apollo’s deep capital resources will provide clients with a range of options to meet their evolving financing needs and achieve their strategic goals.”

Apollo Co-President Jim Zelter said, “We are pleased to form a first-of-its-kind, scaled direct lending program with Citi, a preeminent banking partner and leader in capital markets and advisory. Our collaboration will allow Citi to enhance its client offerings and bring more private solutions to bear, while enabling Apollo to increase origination flow and tap into Citi’s extensive client relationships. As financial markets continue to evolve, together we believe this is a win-win arrangement that uses our respective strengths and assets to better serve our clients and other stakeholders in a reliable, scalable and capital efficient manner.”

Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP is serving as legal counsel and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. is acting as advisor to Citi; Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP is serving as legal counsel and Sullivan & Cromwell LLP is serving as regulatory counsel to Apollo.