The Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, ADNOC revealed on Tuesday that it has entered into a long-term strategic investment with accounts and entities owned and/or advised by Apollo Global Management Inc. and its subsidiaries (collectively "Apollo"), one of the world’s largest alternative investment managers, and a group of institutional investors, for an underlying real estate portfolio valued at US$5.5 billion. The strategic investment will leverage the rental income streams from select ADNOC real estate assets under a 24-year master lease agreement. The investment will unlock new pools of global institutional long-term capital for ADNOC, while supporting investment in its core business and strategic growth projects, WAM reported. In one of the region’s largest real estate transactions, Apollo led a consortium of institutional investors in the acquisition of a 49 percent stake in Abu Dhabi Property Leasing Holding Company RSC Limited (ADPLHC), a wholly owned affiliate of ADNOC. ADNOC will retain a 51 percent majority stake, maintaining full ownership and control over the select real estate and social infrastructure assets and responsibility for all operations and maintenance. ADPLHC holds the long-term leasehold interests underpinned by the sizable, diversified portfolio of assets located across the Emirate of Abu Dhabi. The transaction will result in upfront proceeds of $2.7 billion to ADNOC and is expected to close before year-end, subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approvals. Commenting on the transaction, Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and ADNOC Group CEO, said, "We are pleased to partner with Apollo and leverage their world-class real estate asset management expertise to achieve international best practice standards in managing and driving cost efficiencies across our real estate portfolio. This strategic partnership allows ADNOC to unlock and monetize significant value from its non-oil and gas strategic infrastructure assets and reinvest into our core business to deliver further growth and realize greater returns." Today’s milestone agreement is a continuation of ADNOC’s highly successful and attractive infrastructure and real estate investment program and the ongoing delivery of its value creation strategy. For his part, Leon Black, Apollo Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and Founder commented, "We are pleased to invest in ADNOC’s real estate portfolio, simultaneously supporting achievement of their strategic plans while presenting our investors with a highly attractive risk-reward opportunity." "Sourcing and structuring a long-term institutional investment of this nature is demonstrative of Apollo’s unique ability to embrace complexity and tailor investments to a company’s specific objectives. In a market where high-quality, long-dated yield is scarce, this transaction allows our institutional and insurance clients, including Athene, to participate in a proprietary investment alongside a world-class company like ADNOC." HSBC acted as financial advisor to ADNOC while Moelis & Company acted as an independent financial advisor to ADNOC.