Selena Lee and Kane Wu
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Apollo Global Management (NYSE:) plans to expand in Japan and add staff to its Asia business, its regional top executive said, as global investment firms pump more resources into the region to benefit from a surge in deals and assets .
The New York-based asset manager plans to add about 10 people in Japan to speed up its expansion in the country, Matthew Michelinie, Apollo’s Singapore-based partner and head of Asia-Pacific, told Reuters.
“If I look at the regional executives we need to hire over the next year or two, most of the ones we’re looking for will be in Japan,” said Michelinie, one of the architects of Apollo’s plan to increase Asia’s contribution. into its global business three years ago.
Its Tokyo office currently has 20 to 25 employees, including 10 investment specialists, and the firm could increase that number to 30 in the next two years, he said.
Japan will be Apollo’s fastest-growing office in Asia over the next two years, with the structure spanning private equity, institutional sales, wealth and lending, Michelinie said, adding that capital allocation to the country is also likely to increase.
Competitors including Warburg Pincus and Carlyle are also expanding their operations in Japan by hiring new employees.
Japan’s expansion has coincided with a surge in deals over the past two years, making the country a rare bright spot amid a slowdown in mergers and acquisitions, helped by a push for better corporate governance and a weaker yen making assets cheaper.
Japan was the largest private equity market in Asia-Pacific in 2023, accounting for 30% of total deal value, up from 5-10% in the past, data from consultancy Bain & Co shows.
DOUBLE STAFF WEALTH
Meanwhile, the wealth management business, launched two years ago and generating more than $5 billion in assets in the Asia-Pacific region, will be one of the engines of Apollo’s regional growth, where the company plans to double its headcount over the next two years.
Michelinie said the firm would begin hiring high-net-worth employees in South Korea and Australia in 2025, adding to teams in Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan, without specifying staffing targets.
In December, Apollo poached Diane Poon from KKR to lead its wealth team in Singapore.
Apollo is among a handful of private equity firms approached by Japan’s Seven & i Holdings to take part in a potential buyout of the retailer, which was reported in November and would be the world’s largest management buyout.
The firm declined to comment on whether it was involved in the deal with Seven & i.
Globally, the Nasdaq-listed private equity and corporate lending firm plans to more than double its size over the next five years.
Founded in 1990, Apollo is an asset manager with $733 billion in assets under management as of the end of the third quarter last year. It also provides investment and asset management services to retirees.