Ex-Apollo exec Ralf Ackermann joins Searchlight

A former Apollo Global Management executive, Ralf Ackermann, has joined Searchlight Capital Partners, according to people with knowledge of the move.

Ackermann started at Searchlight at the beginning of the year. He is a partner based in London, the people said.

He is now the seventh in the partnership group at Searchlight. The firm is led by three founders: Oliver Haarmann, Erol Uzumeri and Eric Zinterhofer. The other partners are François Dekker, Andrew Frey, Darren Glatt, Tom Hendrick, Albert Shin and Eric Sondag.

Ackermann worked at Apollo for more than a decade and left last year. He was responsible for illiquid opportunistic credit in Europe, according to an archived version of his biography. He was previously a member of the bank loan distressed investing group at Goldman Sachs in London, the biography said.

At Apollo, James Kim and Phil Cuff jointly oversee opportunistic credit in Europe. Rob Ruberton is the global head of opportunistic credit.

Searchlight is investing from its second fund, which closed on more than $1.9 billion in 2015. The firm is in market with its debut non-control fund targeting $750 million, Buyouts has reported.

Searchlight Opportunities Fund raised at least $325 million as of December 2016, according to a Form D filing. Last year the firm hired Shin as a partner to work on the Opportunities fund. Shin joined from SVPGlobal along with Hendrick, who joined the firm in 2015.

Searchlight, formed in 2010, already has an Apollo pedigree. One of the founding partners, Zinterhofer, was formerly co-head of media and telecom at Apollo. Haarmann formerly worked at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts while Uzumeri formerly led private equity at Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.

Action Item: Check out Searchlight’s Form ADV here: http://bit.ly/2oZLvOX

Skyscrapers in London’s financial district. Photo courtesy of mbbirdy/E+/Getty Images