Apollo and Blackstone Are Stealing Wall Street Loan Business (1)

On the surface it was a classic leveraged takeover -- $1.8 billion of debt to fund the acquisition of Gannett Co. And just like hundreds before it, front and center was Apollo Global Management. Except this time, the private equity giant wasn’t the borrower. It was the lender.

The deal is part of a major shift occurring in global finance. Direct lenders, including more and more hedge funds and buyout firms, are preparing to dish out billions of dollars at a time to lure borrowers away from the $1.2 trillion leveraged loan market.

It’s the latest push by ...