I’m sure this news will cause a little something to die inside my pal the Equity Private, but I’m supposed to go on CNBC’s Power Lunch this afternoon at 1:40 or so to share my bounteous expertise on the subject of Apollo Management’s possible IPO. The Sorkinator actually says Apollo isn’t thinking of going public at the moment, and he would know. But whatever: It’s an opportunity to pontificate build the brand that is the Curious Capitalist.
Also, I have talked to Apollo boss Leon Black before, for a story I did on Henry Silverman in 1997. Said Black (among many other things):
Henry was with Blackstone, he was a consultant to Apollo for a while. He’s surpassed all of us. I am in awe of what he’s accomplished.
How times change. Silverman cobbled together hotel franchiser HFS under Blackstone’s wing, took it public, and built it into a real estate and travel giant Cendant. He was one of the kings of the stock market decade. Now Silverman has split the company into four, along the way selling big chunks to Apollo. And while he’s still CEO of Cendant spinoff Realogy and has tons and tons of money, he’s not nearly as rich as Black or Blackstone’s Steven Schwarzman. Because this is the private equity decade.
Update: Oh, and Realogy’s stockholders approved a takeover by Apollo last week. As of April 10 or so, Henry works for Leon.
Update 2: Mrs. Curious Capitalist and Curious Capitalist Jr. watched my brief CNBC hit from my office, where they were sheltering from the rain before heading down to Times Square to watch Meet the Robinsons. When I got back, I found this note on my chair:
Hi Daddy! I saw you on TV. I liked it, but it didn’t make one speck of sense to me.
Update 3: Here is the video (no, CNBC isn’t Web 2.0ey enough to allow me to embed it on my blog). My verdict: I look like a schlumpf. I guess I should keep a couple of ties in the office for last-minute TV gigs.
