The co-founder of mega-buyout firm Apollo Management resigned yesterday to open his own investment shop amid a booming market for private equity and hedge funds.
Michael Gross, who helped create Apollo with billionaire investment banker Leon Black in 1990, has run the firm’s publicly-traded debt investment vehicle, Apollo Investment Corp., for the last three years, in addition to working for the private equity firm.
“I found myself in the untenable position of being the CEO of a public company and wanting to go out and have a dialogue about starting a new venture,” Gross said. “You just can’t do that.”
Gross said he hasn’t solidified plans for his new firm yet, but it will probably combine several investment strategies such as private equity and distressed debt.
“With all the activity out there in the alternative asset space and the convergence of private equity and hedge funds, it’s a perfect time to go off and look for something to do on my own,” he said.