HedgeCo.Net — Apollo on Monday launched European Credit Company, a platform dedicated to European performing credit, including corporate and asset-backed lending, with more than €10 billion of lending capacity at launch.
ECC is backed by long-term capital led by Apollo funds and affiliates, alongside the Abu Dhabi Investment Council, Athora, Norinchukin Bank, Standard Chartered and Aranda Principal Strategies. Giacomo Petrobelli is chief executive and Christian Meissner is chairman. The company has a presence in Frankfurt, Jersey, London, Luxembourg City and Milan, with plans to add markets in the coming quarters.
The platform will finance both large and mid-market borrowers, working with companies, sponsors and real asset owners, including infrastructure and real estate. Apollo said ECC will source assets through proprietary origination, strategic partnerships with European financial institutions, and access to Apollo’s broader European credit platform.
Apollo framed the launch around financing demand tied to what it calls the global industrial renaissance. President Jim Zelter pointed to energy transition and transmission, defense, and digital and traditional infrastructure as areas where needs are “acutely felt in Europe.”
For allocators, the structure is notable: a permanently capitalized, regionally focused balance sheet with sovereign, insurance and bank capital alongside the sponsor, rather than another closed-end drawdown fund. It also underlines how bank partnerships are becoming a core sourcing channel as private lenders compete for European corporate and asset-backed deals.