Realty Income Corporation and Apollo have reached an agreement to form a major strategic partnership. The deal involves Apollo-managed funds and affiliates providing a $1.0 billion investment to acquire a 49 per cent equity interest in a new joint venture. This entity will own a diversified collection of single-tenant retail properties in the US. These assets are currently held by Realty Income and are subject to long-term net leases.

The portfolio consists of roughly 500 retail assets. Realty Income is set to maintain management of these properties, using its existing operating platform and asset management expertise. This move is a central part of Realty Income’s private capital initiative, which aims to diversify its funding sources beyond public equity markets. Rating agencies Moody’s and S&P have granted the structure 100 per cent permanent equity treatment.

“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 partnership is expected to provide a scalable source of equity to support long-duration, stabilized assets. Realty Income CFO Jonathan Pong noted that the arrangement should unlock savings compared to the long-term cost of public equity capital. He also stated that future capital tranches will be priced independently of public markets.

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.”

The transaction is expected to close on March 31, 2026. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as the exclusive structuring agent and financial advisor for Realty Income, while Wells Fargo Securities advised Apollo.