– Funding Arrangement Will Advance Realty Income’s Private Capital Initiative with Leading Asset Manager
– Initial Apollo Investment of $1.0 Billion for 49% Equity Interest in Portfolio of Existing U.S. Realty Income Retail Assets
– Cost-Efficient Long-Term Equity with 100% Permanent Equity Treatment by Rating Agencies
Realty Income Corporation (Realty Income, NYSE: O), The Monthly Dividend Company®, and Apollo (NYSE: APO) today announced that Apollo-managed funds and affiliates intend to provide a $1.0 billion investment to Realty Income to acquire a 49% interest in a new joint venture entity that is expected to own a diversified portfolio of single-tenant retail properties subject to long-term net leases. Realty Income will continue to manage the portfolio, which includes approximately 500 retail assets that benefit from stable, contractual cash flows and are supported by Realty Income’s operating platform and long-standing asset management expertise.
“We are pleased to announce Apollo’s targeted equity investment in a highly diversified, income-producing portfolio. As real estate partner to the world’s leading companies®, we expect this partnership will serve as a template for a multi-billion-dollar, programmatic co-investing relationship in the U.S. Our size, scale, and longstanding commitment to providing dependable monthly dividends to investors make this a natural fit with Apollo’s insurance capital. Realty Income has demonstrated the ability to attract scaled commitments from partners looking to invest in our operating platform, and this new joint venture will further expand our access to efficient sources of private funding from one of the world’s leading financial institutions,” said Sumit Roy, Realty Income’s President and Chief Executive Officer.
Apollo Partner Jamshid Ehsani said, “This transaction represents a landmark deal in the public REIT space. We believe the combination of Apollo’s long-term capital with Realty Income’s large, growing and diversified portfolio of high-quality net lease assets creates a highly complementary partnership. This partnership with Realty Income represents a programmatic framework for long-term alignment and repeatable capital deployment over time.”
The joint venture represents a cornerstone component of Realty Income’s private capital initiative, which is designed to diversify the Company’s sources of capital and complement its access to the public equity markets. Realty Income expects the long-term partnership with Apollo to provide a scalable source of equity to support investment activity in long-duration, stabilized assets, while maintaining balance sheet strength and financial flexibility.
Realty Income CFO Jonathan Pong said, “This structured equity funding arrangement with Apollo is expected to unlock a source of meaningful savings relative to our long-term cost of public equity capital. Further, the cost of future tranches of this capital is expected to flex commensurate with long-term interest rates and will be priced independent of public markets, supporting a more stable source of equity. We are pleased that this structure has received permanent equity treatment by both Moody’s and S&P.”
Apollo Partner Joseph Jackson commented, “Realty Income is a leading global net lease real estate player with a long track record of disciplined growth and portfolio performance. Apollo’s intention to make a substantial upfront and anticipated follow-on investments into Realty Income’s high-quality assets demonstrates our ability to deliver differentiated capital solutions tailored to our partner’s objectives.”
Since 2020, Apollo has originated over $100 billion of bespoke capital solutions for leading companies such as Intel, Keurig Dr Pepper, Air France-KLM, BP, Sony, AB InBev, Vonovia and more.
The transaction is expected to close on March 31, 2026, subject to finalization and execution of the documentation, and customary closing conditions.
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as exclusive structuring agent and financial advisor to Realty Income, and Wells Fargo Securities served as financial advisor to Apollo.
Transaction Highlights
Under the terms of the transaction, Realty Income is expected to receive $1.0 billion of gross proceeds in exchange for Apollo’s acquisition of a 49% interest in a joint venture that indirectly owns a diversified net lease portfolio comprised entirely of single-tenant retail properties. Realty Income will manage the properties under a long-term management agreement.
Realty Income will retain the right to exercise a call option to redeem Apollo’s equity interest after year 7 and through year 15 of the joint venture, with the future call price calculated to ensure a capped IRR of 6.875% to Apollo during its ownership period.
Key portfolio metrics of the anticipated portfolio, as of December 31, 2025, are as follows:
Number of U.S. retail properties: ~500
Cash annualized base rent: $140 million
Weighted average remaining lease term: 9.1 years
Investment grade exposure (as percentage of total portfolio base rent): 28%
Compound annual contractual growth rate: 1.0%
Top five industries: Dollar Stores (9.9%), Quick Service Restaurants (8.3%), Drug Stores (7.9%), Grocery (7.7%), Health & Fitness (7.5%)
Portfolio metrics are subject to finalization and may change based on the final composition of the portfolio.
