Apollo takes minority stake in Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Capital

Apollo has agreed to buy a minority stake in Mubadala Capital, the alternative asset management arm of Abu Dhabi’s Mubadala Investment Company. The US firm will also commit capital across Mubadala Capital’s investment strategies. The deal was announced on 26 October 2026 and is expected to close in the fourth quarter, subject to regulatory and legal approvals. Mubadala Capital said additional strategic investors will join as minority shareholders. Together with Apollo they are expected to commit an aggregate $5 billion to the firm’s strategies at initial close. Mubadala Investment Company remains the majority shareholder. Apollo joins the founders of Silver Rock Financial as an equity holder. Mubadala Capital will continue to operate independently, with its existing management team retaining authority over investment decisions and operations. Neither company disclosed the size of Apollo’s stake or the price paid. A person familiar with the matter said the holding would be nearly 10%. Apollo declined to comment on the size. John Zito, co-president of Apollo Asset Management, said the investment builds on an existing partnership and reflects conviction in the platform Mubadala Capital has built. Mubadala Capital said the investment will help broaden its investor base and expand its strategies. The companies have previously worked together on strategies, including private credit. Last year Mubadala Capital entered a $1 billion strategic partnership with Fortress for private credit. The company has not published the valuation implied by the stake or the portion of the $5 billion that will come from Apollo versus the other minority investors. Those details would show the scale of Apollo’s capital commitment relative to its equity holding. Mubadala Capital has previously said it manages, advises and administers more than $755 billion, while its wholly owned core alternatives businesses manage and invest more than $60 billion. The announcement does not state whether these figures will change as a result of the transaction. Mubadala Investment Company itself reported assets under management of $385 billion at the end of last year. For limited partners the practical change is the addition of Apollo and other strategic investors as equity holders in the manager. The value depends on whether the new capital is deployed into existing or new strategies and whether the independence of the management team is maintained in practice. The companies have not published the strategies that will receive the $5 billion or the expected timeline for deployment. They have also not disclosed the governance rights attached to the minority stakes or any board representation Apollo will receive. Other global asset managers have also taken stakes in or formed partnerships with Gulf alternative asset platforms. Apollo’s transaction pairs an equity holding with a capital commitment to the strategies. The company has not published how the arrangement differs from its earlier partnerships with Mubadala. Goldman Sachs and Jefferies advised Mubadala Capital. Morgan Stanley advised Apollo. Skadden Arps acted as legal counsel to Mubadala Capital. Paul Weiss advised Apollo. The announcement does not list the identities of the other strategic investors or the governance rights attached to Apollo’s stake. Those details would show the distribution of ownership beyond the majority held by Mubadala Investment Company. Without them the transaction remains a description of a minority equity holding plus a capital commitment. Abu Dhabi wealth funds together manage an estimated $1.8 trillion, and Mubadala has been increasing exposure to alternative investments. Apollo has maintained a presence in the emirate for years and has an existing multi-billion-dollar relationship with Mubadala Investment Company that was first established in 2022 and later extended. If the companies publish the size of Apollo’s stake, the split of the $5 billion commitment and the strategies that will receive the capital, the deal has a measurable follow-through. If the next update is only a confirmation of closing, the change for the platform remains the addition of new minority shareholders. The figures missing are the stake size and the allocation of the capital commitment.