Apollo’s Athene Buys Clean Energy Loan Firm Petros Pace Backed by Ex-Yankee A-Rod

By Bloomberg
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Date Published: January 4, 2022

(Bloomberg) —

Apollo Global Management’s Athene Holding Ltd. has agreed to buy Petros Pace Finance LLC, a firm that originates commercial property loans, which caught the attention and backing of former Major League Baseball star Alex Rodriguez in 2018.

Details of the transaction weren’t disclosed. Management will stay on and retain a minority equity stake in the business, according to a statement provided to Bloomberg News.

Founded in 2013 by Mansoor Ghori and Jim Stanislaus, Petros Pace provides capital support for commercial property assessed clean energy, better known as C-PACE. The tool is an initiative derived under the U.S. government’s efforts to improve buildings with more energy-efficient features. It allows borrowers to repay loans over time with voluntary tax assessments, and also transfers repayment obligations to subsequent property owners in the event of a sale.

Rodriguez, the former New York Yankees player turned financier, and his investment firm A-Rod Corp. led a $10 million equity investment in Petros Pace in 2018, according to a statement at the time.

Petros Pace has originated more than $700 million in long-term, fixed-rate financing since 2016, the company said. In June, the firm closed the largest transaction of its kind on record — $89 million — and the first in New York City.

To date, this type of energy financing is active in 27 states and the District of Columbia.

The deal with Apollo is “a significant advantage as we further expand into major metropolitan areas like New York City, Chicago and New Jersey,” Ghori and Stanislaus said in the statement.

Athene, the insurance and retirement savings company backed by private equity giant and alternative asset manager Apollo, expects Petros Pace’s growth to accelerate given the expanding market for its financing and regulatory climate mandates.

Petros Pace “is highly complementary to our portfolio of diversified origination platforms and positioned for significant growth as more property owners seek financing for clean energy projects,” said Jim Zelter, co-president at Apollo.

The deal is expected to close in the first quarter of 2022.

Apollo agreed to acquire Athene in March in an all-stock deal valued at $11 billion, according to a statement at the time. That transaction is expected to close in January.

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