Realty Income and Apollo to Establish Strategic Partnership

Rhea-AI Summary

Realty Income (NYSE: O) and Apollo (NYSE: APO) announced a strategic partnership on March 19, 2026, under which Apollo-managed funds will invest $1.0 billion to acquire a 49% interest in a joint venture holding ~500 single-tenant U.S. retail properties. The portfolio shows $140 million cash annualized base rent and a 9.1-year weighted average remaining lease term as of Dec 31, 2025.

Realty Income will manage the assets, retain a call option (years 7–15) with a capped IRR of 6.875% for Apollo, and says rating agencies treated the investment as 100% permanent equity.

Positive

• $1.0B upfront equity from Apollo
• 49% JV stake finances ~500 retail assets
• $140M cash annualized base rent
• Permanent equity treatment by Moody's and S&P

Negative

• Capped Apollo IRR at 6.875% via future call pricing
• Only 28% of portfolio base rent is investment grade
• Low contractual growth: 1.0% CAGR

Key Figures

Initial Apollo investment: $1.0 billion Equity interest: 49% Cash annualized base rent: $140 million +5 more

8 metrics

Initial Apollo investment $1.0 billion 49% equity interest in Realty Income JV portfolio

Equity interest 49% Stake in joint venture owning U.S. retail assets

Cash annualized base rent $140 million JV portfolio as of Dec 31, 2025

Number of properties ~500 Single-tenant U.S. retail properties in JV portfolio

Weighted avg lease term 9.1 years Remaining lease term for JV portfolio

Investment grade exposure 28% Share of portfolio base rent from investment grade tenants

Contractual growth rate 1.0% Compound annual contractual rent growth in JV portfolio

Apollo AUM $938 billion Assets under management as of Dec 31, 2025

Market Reality Check

Price: $111.56 Vol: Volume 7,081,013 is sligh...

normal vol

$111.56 Last Close

Volume Volume 7,081,013 is slightly below the 20-day average of 7,322,017, suggesting no unusual trading activity ahead of this partnership news. normal

Technical Shares at $111.24 are trading below the 200-day MA of $134.15, despite today’s positive 2.12% move.

Peers on Argus

APO gained 2.12% while key peers showed mixed moves: KKR up 2.93%, ARES up 1.05%...

1 Up

APO gained 2.12% while key peers showed mixed moves: KKR up 2.93%, ARES up 1.05%, but BAM, BN, and AMP were modestly negative. Momentum scans flagged CG up about 2.02%, with no broad, same-direction move across multiple peers.

Previous Partnership Reports

5 past events · Latest: Feb 09 (Positive)

Same Type Pattern 5 events

Date	Event	Sentiment	Move	Catalyst
Feb 09	Strategic partnership	Positive	+0.7%	Multi-channel partnership with Schroders for hybrid public-private wealth solutions.
Nov 24	Real estate partnership	Positive	+0.1%	Collaboration with Bridge Investment Group via Axxes retail alternative platform.
Nov 19	Energy partnership	Positive	+2.3%	Strategic partnership to finance battery storage and generation projects.
Sep 08	Infrastructure JV	Positive	+2.2%	€3.2B JV with RWE backing Amprion grid expansion and dividend stream.
Jun 05	Renewables partnership	Positive	-0.0%	Smart Solar partnership targeting 10M acres for renewable projects by 2050.

Pattern Detected

Partnership announcements for APO have generally produced modest positive moves, with most prior deals followed by small gains and only one slight negative reaction.

Recent Company History

Over the past year, Apollo has repeatedly used partnerships to expand platforms and distribution. Deals with Schroders on Feb 9, 2026, Axxes Capital on Nov 24, 2025, and energy and infrastructure JVs in Nov 2025 and Sep 2025 all carried strategic, long-term themes and saw mostly small positive price reactions. Today’s Realty Income partnership fits this pattern of scaled, income-oriented collaborations.

Historical Comparison

+1.1% avg move · Partnership headlines for APO have averaged a modest 1.05% move, suggesting strategic deals typicall...

partnership

+1.1%

Average Historical Move partnership

Partnership headlines for APO have averaged a modest 1.05% move, suggesting strategic deals typically generate incremental, not outsized, stock reactions.

Apollo’s partnership history spans wealth products, real estate, energy storage, and transmission JVs, showing a consistent strategy of using large, long-duration alliances to scale capital deployment.

Market Pulse Summary

This announcement adds another sizeable partnership to Apollo’s strategy, featuring a $1.0 billion i...

Analysis

This announcement adds another sizeable partnership to Apollo’s strategy, featuring a $1.0 billion investment for a 49% stake in a Realty Income joint venture holding ~500 single-tenant net lease properties with $140 million in base rent and a 9.1-year lease term. It fits a pattern of long-duration, income-oriented alliances. Investors may watch future tranches, JV performance, and how this complements Apollo’s $938 billion AUM platform.

Key Terms

joint venture, net leases, call option, irr, +1 more

5 terms

joint venture financial

"a 49% interest in a new joint venture entity that is expected to own"

A joint venture is when two or more companies team up to work on a specific project or business idea, sharing both the risks and the rewards. It’s like friends starting a lemonade stand together—each contributes resources and they split the profits, making it easier to succeed than going alone.

net leases financial

"single-tenant retail properties subject to long-term net leases."

Net leases are rental agreements where the tenant not only pays rent but also covers some or all property expenses such as taxes, insurance and maintenance, shifting ongoing costs away from the landlord. For investors, net leases are important because they typically produce steadier, more predictable income with lower landlord responsibilities—like collecting rent from a tenant who also pays the bills—but they can concentrate risk if the tenant vacates or defaults.

call option financial

"retain the right to exercise a call option to redeem Apollo's equity interest"

A call option is a contract that gives its buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy a specific number of shares at a predetermined price within a set time period. Think of it as a refundable reservation to buy an item later at today’s price: you pay a fee up front and can profit if the stock rises, while your downside is limited to that fee; investors use calls to gain leverage, speculate on upside, or hedge positions without owning the shares.

irr financial

"call price calculated to ensure a capped IRR of 6.875% to Apollo"

IRR (Internal Rate of Return) is the annualized percentage return an investment is expected to produce based on its projected series of cash outflows and inflows; mathematically, it’s the rate that makes the present value of those cash flows balance to zero. Investors use IRR to compare and rank projects or investments—similar to comparing the interest rates on savings accounts—to judge which offers the best return for the time and risk involved.

investment grade financial

"Investment grade exposure (as percentage of total portfolio base rent): 28%"

A credit rating label assigned to bonds or borrowers that signals relatively low risk of default; think of it as a strong health check for a company's or government's ability to repay debt. It matters to investors because investment-grade status typically means lower interest costs for the borrower, greater eligibility for conservative funds and pension portfolios, and generally more stable returns compared with higher-risk, non-investment-grade debt.

AI-generated analysis. Not financial advice.

- Funding Arrangement Will Advance Realty Income's Private Capital Initiative with Leading Asset Manager

- Initial Apollo Investment of $1.0 Billion for 49% Equity Interest in Portfolio of Existing U.S. Realty Income Retail Assets

- Cost-Efficient Long-Term Equity with 100% Permanent Equity Treatment by Rating Agencies

SAN DIEGO and NEW YORK, March 19, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Realty Income Corporation (Realty Income, NYSE: O), The Monthly Dividend Company^®, and Apollo (NYSE: APO) today announced that Apollo-managed funds and affiliates intend to provide a $1.0 billion investment to Realty Income to acquire a 49% interest in a new joint venture entity that is expected to own a diversified portfolio of single-tenant retail properties subject to long-term net leases. Realty Income will continue to manage the portfolio, which includes approximately 500 retail assets that benefit from stable, contractual cash flows and are supported by Realty Income's operating platform and long-standing asset management expertise.

"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 joint venture represents a cornerstone component of Realty Income's private capital initiative, which is designed to diversify the Company's sources of capital and complement its access to the public equity markets. Realty Income expects the long-term partnership with Apollo to provide a scalable source of equity to support investment activity in long-duration, stabilized assets, while maintaining balance sheet strength and financial flexibility.

Realty Income CFO Jonathan Pong said, "This structured equity funding arrangement with Apollo is expected to unlock a source of meaningful savings relative to our long-term cost of public equity capital. Further, the cost of future tranches of this capital is expected to flex commensurate with long-term interest rates and will be priced independent of public markets, supporting a more stable source of equity. We are pleased that this structure has received permanent equity treatment by both Moody's and S&P."

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."

Since 2020, Apollo has originated over $100 billion of bespoke capital solutions for leading companies such as Intel, Keurig Dr Pepper, Air France-KLM, BP, Sony, AB InBev, Vonovia and more.

The transaction is expected to close on March 31, 2026, subject to finalization and execution of the documentation, and customary closing conditions.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC acted as exclusive structuring agent and financial advisor to Realty Income, and Wells Fargo Securities served as financial advisor to Apollo.

Transaction Highlights

Under the terms of the transaction, Realty Income is expected to receive $1.0 billion of gross proceeds in exchange for Apollo's acquisition of a 49% interest in a joint venture that indirectly owns a diversified net lease portfolio comprised entirely of single-tenant retail properties. Realty Income will manage the properties under a long-term management agreement.

Realty Income will retain the right to exercise a call option to redeem Apollo's equity interest after year 7 and through year 15 of the joint venture, with the future call price calculated to ensure a capped IRR of 6.875% to Apollo during its ownership period.

Key portfolio metrics of the anticipated portfolio, as of December 31, 2025, are as follows:

Number of U.S. retail properties: ~500

Cash annualized base rent: $140 million

Weighted average remaining lease term: 9.1 years

Investment grade exposure (as percentage of total portfolio base rent): 28%

Compound annual contractual growth rate: 1.0%

Top five industries: Dollar Stores (9.9%), Quick Service Restaurants (8.3%), Drug Stores (7.9%), Grocery (7.7%), Health & Fitness (7.5%)

Portfolio metrics are subject to finalization and may change based on the final composition of the portfolio.

Realty Income has published an investor presentation providing additional information on this transaction, which can be found at www.realtyincome.com/investors/investor-presentation.

About Realty Income

Realty Income (NYSE: O), an S&P 500 company, is real estate partner to the world's leading companies^®. Founded in 1969, we serve our clients as a full-service real estate capital provider. As of December 31, 2025, we have a portfolio of over 15,500 properties in all 50 U.S. states, the U.K., and eight other countries in Europe. We are known as "The Monthly Dividend Company^®" and have a mission to invest in people and places to deliver dependable monthly dividends that increase over time. Since our founding, we have declared 669 consecutive monthly dividends and are a member of the S&P 500 Dividend Aristocrats^® index for having increased our dividend for over 31 consecutive years. Additional information about the company can be found at www.realtyincome.com.

About Apollo

Apollo is a high-growth, global alternative asset manager. In our asset management business, we seek to provide our clients excess return at every point along the risk-reward spectrum from investment grade credit to private equity. For more than three decades, our investing expertise across our fully integrated platform has served the financial return needs of our clients and provided businesses with innovative capital solutions for growth. Through Athene, our retirement services business, we specialize in helping clients achieve financial security by providing a suite of retirement savings products and acting as a solutions provider to institutions. Our patient, creative, and knowledgeable approach to investing aligns our clients, businesses we invest in, our employees, and the communities we impact, to expand opportunity and achieve positive outcomes. As of December 31, 2025, Apollo had approximately $938 billion of assets under management. To learn more, please visit www.apollo.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. When used in this press release, the words "estimate," "anticipate," "expect," "believe," "intend," "continue," "should," "may," "likely," "plans," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements include discussions of the joint venture with Apollo, including the execution and completion thereof, our ability to exercise the call right to redeem Apollo's equity interest in the joint venture and the call price payable therefor, entry into subsequent joint ventures on a programmatic basis, our business and portfolio including management thereof, and the intentions of management and dividends, including the amount, timing and payment of dividends related thereto. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks, uncertainties, and assumptions about us, which may cause our actual future results to differ materially from expected results. Some of the factors that could cause actual results to differ materially are, among others, our ability to execute and close the joint venture on the anticipated terms, or at all, our and the joint venture's financial performance; our continued qualification as a real estate investment trust; general domestic and foreign business, economic, or financial conditions; competition; fluctuating interest and currency rates; inflation and its impact on our clients and us; access to debt and equity capital markets and other sources of funding (including the terms and partners of such funding); volatility and uncertainty in the credit and financial markets; other risks inherent in the real estate business including our clients' solvency, client defaults under leases, increased client bankruptcies, potential liability relating to environmental matters, illiquidity of real estate investments (including rights of first refusal or rights of first offer), and potential damages from natural disasters; impairments in the value of our real estate assets; volatility and changes in domestic and foreign laws and the application, enforcement or interpretation thereof (including with respect to tax laws and rates); property ownership through co-investment ventures, funds, joint ventures, partnerships and other arrangements which, among other things, may transfer or limit our control of the underlying investments; epidemics or pandemics; the loss of key personnel; the outcome of any legal proceedings to which we are a party or which may occur in the future; acts of terrorism and war; the anticipated benefits from mergers, acquisitions, co-investment ventures, funds, joint ventures, partnerships, and other arrangements; and those additional risks and factors discussed in our reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future plans and performance and speak only as of the date of this press release. Past operating results and performance are provided for informational purposes and are not a guarantee of future results. There can be no assurance that historical trends will continue. Actual plans and operating results may differ materially from what is expressed or forecasted in this press release and forecasts made in the forward-looking statements discussed in this press release may not materialize. We do not undertake any obligation to update forward-looking statements or publicly release the results of any forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date these statements were made.

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SOURCE Realty Income Corporation

FAQ

What did Realty Income (O) announce on March 19, 2026 with Apollo (APO)?

They announced a joint venture where Apollo will invest $1.0 billion for a 49% interest in a retail property portfolio. According to the company, the JV will own ~500 single-tenant U.S. retail assets with Realty Income managing the portfolio.

How much rental income does the Realty Income–Apollo JV portfolio generate for O?

The anticipated portfolio produces $140 million of cash annualized base rent as of Dec 31, 2025. According to the company, this reflects contractual cash flows from long-term net leases across ~500 properties.

What is the lease duration profile of the JV portfolio for Realty Income (O)?

The portfolio has a weighted average remaining lease term of 9.1 years. According to the company, leases are long-duration net leases providing stable contractual cash flows for investors.

What are the investor protections and exit mechanics for Apollo in the O–APO JV?

Realty Income retains a call option exercisable after year 7 through year 15, with a call price capping Apollo's IRR at 6.875%. According to the company, this sets a defined exit framework and return cap for Apollo.

How did rating agencies treat the Apollo equity investment in Realty Income (O)?

Both Moody's and S&P provided 100% permanent equity treatment for the structure. According to the company, this classification supports Realty Income's balance sheet strength and financial flexibility.

What portfolio credit quality and growth metrics were disclosed for the JV with Apollo for O?

Investment grade exposure represented 28% of portfolio base rent and contractual growth was 1.0% CAGR as of Dec 31, 2025. According to the company, metrics are subject to finalization based on final portfolio composition.