The New York City-based global alternative asset manager Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO) announced it will acquire Salt Lake City-based Bridge Investment Group Holdings Inc. (NYSE: BRDG) in an all-stock transaction with an equity value of approximately $1.5 billion.
Founded in 2009, Bridge is an alternative investment manager with approximately $50 billion of assets under management. Its primary focus includes the residential and industrial real estate sectors, along with property management, leasing and construction operations.
According to a statement from the companies, “Bridge will provide Apollo with immediate scale to its real estate equity platform and enhance Apollo’s origination capabilities in both real estate equity and credit, which is expected to benefit Apollo’s growing suite of hybrid and real estate product offerings.”
Upon the closing of the transaction, Bridge will operate as a standalone platform within Apollo’s asset management business, retaining its existing brand, management team and dedicated capital formation team. Bridge Executive Chairman Bob Morse will become an Apollo partner and lead Apollo’s real estate equity franchise.
“We are proud to be joining Apollo and its industry-leading team, who share our commitment to performance and excellence,” said Morse. “This transaction will allow the Bridge and Apollo teams to grow on the strong foundation that Bridge has built since 2009 as we work to pursue meaningful value and impact for our investors and communities. With Apollo’s global integrated platform, resources, innovation and established expertise, we are confident that Bridge will be positioned for the next phase of growth amid growing demand across the alternative investments space.”
Apollo Partner and Co-Head of Equity David Sambur added that Bridge’s business “will complement and further augment our existing real estate capabilities, and we believe we can help scale Bridge’s products by leveraging the breadth of our integrated platform. We look forward to working with Bob and the talented Bridge team as we seek to achieve the strategic objectives we laid out at our recent Investor Day.”
