In 1990, former banker of Drexel Burnham Lambert, Leon Black, founded the private equity investment company Apollo Management. The firm focuses on leveraged buyout deals as well as acquisitions of distressed securities including business consolidations and corporate reform. Apollo’s main office is in New York City and has branches in Los Angeles and London.

Apollo Management is associated with businesses Ares Management, Lion Advisors and AREA (Apollo Real Estate Advisors) Property Partners.

Lion Advisors, established at the same year as Apollo, offers consultancy services and investment administration to foreign accounts, aiming for investments in private and public high-yield debt securities in the United States. It engaged into agreement to administer $3 billion high-yield portfolio intended for Credit Lyonnais. Ares Management would eventually succeed the Lions venture.

Ares was built in 1997 to administer a market value collateralized debt obligation vehicle that amounted to $1.2 billion. It manages a family of collateralized loan obligation vehicles investing in capital market guarantees like mezzanine debt and senior bank credits.

AREA Property Partners, formerly known as Apollo Real Estate, had been formed to benefit from opportunities in buying distressed lands since a lot of real estate markets experienced a meltdown in the early 90s.