Apollo sells Yellow term loan to Citadel

Apollo Global Management has sold the term loan it held for Yellow Corp. and has withdrawn its proposal for bankruptcy financing, according to Financial Times.

Miami-based hedge fund Citadel has acquired Yellow’s $485 million debt from Apollo and other lenders. A Tuesday Delaware bankruptcy court filing showed counsel representing Citadel Credit Master Fund would depose representatives from Yellow on Wednesday regarding post-petition financing.

Apollo’s (NYSE: APO) debtor-in-possession (DIP) financing package was touted in bankruptcy filings as the only viable offer made to the less-than-truckload carrier in the days leading up to its Chapter 11 petition. The $142.5 million deal was expected to provide the company with the funds necessary to market and sell off its terminals and equipment.

The deal would have also provided the private equity firm with an improved lien position among secured creditors. It held first-lien position on the term loan as well as a better lien position than the U.S. Treasury, which is due $737 million from a 2020 COVID relief loan to the carrier.

However, representation for Yellow said last week that better offers came forward following the bankruptcy petition and that Apollo’s terms were too onerous. That deal carried a 17% interest rate, a $32 million closing fee and a 90-day window to liquidate the assets.

The frontrunners at the time included LTL carrier Estes Express Lines and Boston hedge fund MFN Partners, which acquired a 40% stake in Yellow’s stock in July. However, Yellow attorney Pat Nash said at a Friday hearing there had been “a number of inbounds from other parties” willing to provide new money in a junior position to existing creditors.

A Tuesday hearing, which could have potentially revealed the new DIP lender, was pushed backed to Thursday.

In recent days, company insiders have been selling restricted and other shares of Yellow ahead of the stock’s delisting on Wednesday.

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