The current IPO market has opened up a window of opportunity--through which Apollo Global Management has just jumped. It has priced its long-awaited IPO, and Mr. Market has rewarded it with a warm reception.

The offering has basically been on hold since April 2008, when the financial crisis made such a deal impossible. Investor demand was stronger than expected, allowing it to be priced at $19 apiece late Tuesday; that was at the high side of the expected range.

The deal, which raised $565 million, was lead managed by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. The deal also provides a terrific windfall for Leon Black, the former Drexel Burnham Lambert banker, who stands to make nearly $1.8 billion.

Bragging rights were also at stake. Apollo now trades alongside the likes of the Blackstone Group, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts (and Fortress Investment Group) on the Big Board.

Attention now turns to other alternative investment companies, with many assuming that the Carlyle Group will be next in line, to be followed by Oaktree Capital Management.  

For more:
- here's a Dow Jones article

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