Apollo Global Management Inc. is reportedly among investors showing interest in taking a stake in Credit Suisse Group AG’s new investment bank unit, as the lender continues to seek investors to help fund its spin-out, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Talks with Apollo are continuing and could still fall apart, the paper reported, without giving further details. Bloomberg reported last month that Credit Suisse was gaging interest from multiple private equity firms to take stakes or fund specific businesses such as leveraged finance.
Credit Suisse is undertaking a sweeping overhaul of its business following years of scandals and management missteps. The new strategy includes a plan to spin off its capital markets, advisory and leveraged finance businesses into a boutique entity under the Credit Suisse First Boston branding, while integrating its remaining trading businesses more closely with wealth management. It is also working on an agreement to buy Michael Klein’s advisory boutique as part of its to carve out plan.
The Zurich-based bank has already received a commitment for a $500 million injection into the business from a “highly respected investor”, Credit Suisse CEO Ulrich Koerner said when announcing the new strategy. He didn’t identify the investor.
In November, Apollo agreed to buy Credit Suisse’s securitized products group, which provides loans to finance growth, acquisitions, working capital and other efforts.
