NRI Management in Richmond and Apollo Global Management join forces

NRI Management Group LLC in Richmond and affiliates of New York-based Apollo Global Management LLC announced Monday they have formed a partnership to invest in mining properties throughout the world, with a primary focus on coal. The partnership is backed by an equity commitment of $300 million from funds affiliated with Apollo.

Gary Rogliano, CEO of NRI, said in an interview with Virginia Business that the two companies have been working together looking at opportunities for the past two years. “Now we have formalized our relationship,” he said.

While coal is under fire in the U. S. due to stricter federal emission standards, Rogliano said there are still investment opportunities here, particularly in the export markets serving international seaborne trade as well as opportunities in developing countries abroad. “Once you get outside of this country, coal is not bashed as it is here,” he said. “It’s becoming a major component of global power … In countries like India, they’re still building power plants to reach people that don’t even have power.”

NRI, headquartered in Richmond, has a mining operations team led by Rogliano, who has more than 20 years of experience in the global mining industry. He was the CEO of INR Energy, which was sold to Cliff’s Natural Resources in July of 2010 for $757 million. He’s also the former chief financial officer of Pittston Coal.

NRI will focus primarily on coal mining and related assets, as the demand for metallurgical coal continues to increase throughout the world.  According to the company, demand for thermal coal also is expanding as the worldwide need for electricity, particularly in developing economies, is expected to increase by 70% by 2035 according to the International Energy Agency.

“We are pleased to have Apollo as our private equity partner,” Rogliano said. “We believe the combination of NRI’s experienced management team and Apollo’s
natural resources capabilities and global investment platform create an attractive partnership that is well-positioned for long-term success.”

Jordan Zaken, a senior partner at Apollo said in a statement, “We believe the long-term prospects for the global coal industry are highly compelling …”

Apollo Global Management is an alternative investment manager with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Houston, London, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Singapore, Mumbai and Hong Kong. As of Sept. 30, 2012, it had assets under management of about $110 billion in private equity, credit and real estate funds invested across a core group of nine industries.