Apollo Leaning Toward Austin as City for Second US Headquarters

Apollo Global Management Inc. is leaning toward Austin as the site of its second US headquarters, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The firm has been debating placing the new office in either South Florida or Texas, the company said in March , and Austin has since become the top contender, said the people, who asked not to be identified discussing confidential information. No decision has been finalized and the choice could change, the people said.

Apollo has been searching for a site for months and said it has been driven by the desire to find talent outside of New York. The firm’s headquarters is in a skyscraper at 9 West 57th St. overlooking Manhattan’s Central Park.

A representative For Apollo declined to comment. The Financial Times reported earlier Friday that Apollo has chosen Austin.

Apollo follows other financial companies in looking outside New York and to the Lone Star State. Low taxes and a friendly regulatory environment have lured firms including Vanguard Group Inc. and Fidelity Investments.

Austin emerged from the pandemic as a hub for major technology companies, and has seen expansions by Meta Platforms Inc., Alphabet Inc. and Oracle Corp. Dallas has more aggressively courted financial firms, with Goldman Sachs Group Inc. building a $500 million office in the city and Wells Fargo & Co. recently opening an 850,000-square-foot (79,000-square-meter) campus in the suburbs.

Still, Austin, the state capital, is home to some large allocators of funds, including the University of Texas/Texas A&M Investment Management Co. and the Teacher Retirement System of Texas.

The Texas Stock Exchange, which plans to begin trading later this summer, was created in response to the movement of financial institutions to the state. The two major US exchanges have set up venues in Texas too, trying to draw on state pride and its growing capital.

The state has also passed laws encouraging firms to reincorporate in Texas and opened dedicated business courts for corporate disputes. Elon Musk, whose business empire is based in Texas, has publicly advocated for firms to set up shop in the state.

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Apollo, meanwhile, has increased its presence globally in recent years, and has made Europe and the Asia-Pacific regions key planks of its expansion.

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