Apollo Global Management Inc. agreed to take a stake in financial-technology investor Motive Partners, a move aimed at beefing up the private-equity giant’s own technology.
Apollo is to buy up to 24.9% of Motive, the firms announced Thursday, confirming an earlier report by The Wall Street Journal. The deal values the smaller private-equity firm at around $1 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.
Apollo also plans to become an investor in Motive’s funds. In exchange, a unit of Motive that employs technologists and engineers to evaluate investments would work on improving Apollo’s own technology.
The idea is to help Apollo broaden its distribution, in part so the firm can reach more individual investors as well as improve its deal-origination capabilities and develop new product offerings in asset management and fixed annuities.
With offices in New York and London, Motive buys financial companies with the goal of improving their productivity through technology. It also makes minority investments in fast-growing companies in the software and information-services sectors. Its focus areas include banking and payments, capital markets, data and analytics, investment management and insurance.
