Leon Black’s Apollo Global sued over alleged CEVA fraud

A new lawsuit has been filed against Apollo Global Management, the private equity company which owns CEVA. The suit alleges that Apollo conspired to take some $20m from executives at the company who had been encouraged to buy shares, which were then rendered valueless after Apollo arranged a debt-for-equity swap. The lawsuit alleges that a Morgan Stanley valuation of CEVA indicated the 3PL could be worth $3.75bn – enough to pay off its debt obligations and give value to equity holders. Apollo is said to instead have arranged the debt-for-equity swap without the consent of shareholders. Two directors, Gareth Turner and Mark Beith, have been named in the suit, which is the latest of several attempts to reclaim the money. Some employees took out loans or remortgaged their houses to buy the equity stakes. Apollo, which manages assets worth $192bn, made more than $1bn in pretax income last year. The New York Post has the latest.