APOLLO COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE FINANCE, INC. ISSUES LETTER TO STOCKHOLDERS

NEW YORK, March 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Apollo Commercial Real Estate Finance, Inc. (the “Company”) (NYSE:ARI) today issued an open letter to stockholders.  The text follows:

March 25, 2020

Dear Stockholder,

As we navigate the unprecedented environment amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to a health crisis and significant disruption to the capital markets, we wanted to provide an update on ARI.  Our priority continues to be the health and well-being of all our stockholders and the employees of ARI’s external manager, ACREFI Management, LLC, an indirect subsidiary of Apollo Global Management, Inc. (together with its affiliates, “Apollo”).  As an organization, Apollo is well-prepared to function remotely and those most responsible for ARI are fully focused on the tasks at hand and communicate regularly.  We continue to engage in an ongoing active dialogue with our borrowers to understand in real time what is taking place at the commercial real estate collateralizing ARI’s investments.

We also continue to engage in an ongoing active dialogue with our lenders in order to make sure we maintain liquidity for ARI given the current uncertainty in the capital markets.  As a reminder, ARI has secured borrowing facilities with six counterparties with remaining terms ranging from six months to over three years, assuming the exercise of our extension options.  These facilities are collateralized by commercial mortgage loans in the Company’s portfolio and are not collateralized by commercial real estate securities.  As of today, ARI holds only two positions in commercial real estate securities totaling $68 million, neither of which are financed. 

One important fact we would like to reiterate is that, as previously announced on February 13, 2020, the Board of Directors declared a first quarter dividend of $0.40 per share of common stock, which is payable in cash on April 15, 2020 to stockholders of record on March 31, 2020. 

We appreciate your ongoing support and are steadfast in our commitment to our stockholders to be stewards of your capital.  We will remain in contact with you for updates on our business through our regulatory filings, earnings and other press releases and quarterly conference calls.   Over nearly 30 years in business, Apollo has navigated many market cycles, disruptions and bouts of volatility, and we believe Apollo’s deep experience will help us make prudent decisions for our people, our assets and our stockholders.  We wish you all good health and safety.