Apollo Sees IPO Pricing at $17-$19 a Share

Private equity firm Apollo Global Management LLC lowered expectations for the price of its initial public offering, filing detailed terms with U.S. regulators almost a week later than originally expected.

Apollo plans to sell 26.3 million shares for $17 to $19 each, according to the filing on Monday. Sources previously had told Reuters that the company planned to sell the stock at $18 to $20.

Pricing of the IPO is expected to take place after the market closes on March 29 or 30, according to a market source who requested anonymity because the information is not public.

The offering has been in the works since 2008.

Apollo is getting ready to join Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co and Blackstone Group LP as one of the few publicly traded private equity firms.

The IPO will also clear the way for other alternative asset managers such as Carlyle Group, TPG Capital and Oaktree Capital Management to eventually go public.

Last week, Apollo delayed its $500 million IPO in the wake of the crisis in Japan that rattled U.S. stock markets and raised concerns that volatility could also hurt demand for new issues.

In recent days, the Standard & Poor's 500 and Dow Jones industrial average stock indexes suffered losses that briefly erased their 2011 gains. But they ended last week with a two-day rally and have climbed more than 1 percent so far on Monday.

At the midpoint of the proposed price range, the IPO would give Apollo a market value of $2.1 billion, based on the number of outstanding Class A shares.

Apollo's $67.6 billion in assets under management include investments in companies such as casino operator Caesars Entertainment and real estate company Realogy.

The company was founded in 1990 by former Drexel Burnham Lambert banker Leon Black. He and his partners will retain control of 80.7 percent of the voting power.

Apollo will sell 18.0 million of the 26.3 million shares in the IPO. It said it would use proceeds from the offering for general corporate purposes and to fund growth efforts.Existing stockholders will sell the remaining 8.3 million shares.

Goldman Sachs, which is selling 2.7 million of its 4.7 million Class A shares, is also leading the underwriters alongside JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.Apollo plans to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "APO"APO.

They currently trade on Goldman's private stock exchange, GSTrUE.