Apollo Investment Corporation Announces Leadership Transition; John Hannan Elected Chief Executive Officer and Art Penn Elected to President; Michael Gross to Assume Non-Executive Chairman Role

The Board of Directors of Apollo Investment Corporation(NASDAQ: AINV), announced today that Michael S. Gross, the Company'sChairman and Chief Executive Officer, resigned as Chief ExecutiveOfficer in order to pursue other opportunities in the alternativeasset arena. Mr. Gross, 44, will continue to serve as non-executiveChairman of the Company and as chairman of the investment committee.Mr. Gross, who has served in his present capacity since the Company'sfounding in February 2004, will be succeeded as Chief ExecutiveOfficer by John Hannan, who is currently, and will remain, a directorand is a co-founder of Apollo Management, L.P. Art Penn has beenelected President and will remain the Company's Chief OperatingOfficer, a position he has held with the Company since its inception.

"As a director of our Company since its inception, John Hannan hasintimate knowledge of our business," said Mr. Gross. "In addition, asa fellow founding partner of Apollo Management L.P. and a partner ofmine for 18 years, John Hannan brings solid relationships and a wealthof experience and sound judgment to the position. Art Penn has beenintegral to the Company's past success, and his promotion to Presidentwill ensure leadership continuity going forward," said Mr. Gross."Over the last two years, supported by our highly talented team ofinvestment professionals and the entire Apollo organization, we havebuilt an exceptionally strong foundation for Apollo InvestmentCorporation. Our business plan has been validated by our record ofgenerating consistently strong returns for our shareholders."

In the first 21 months since Apollo Investment Corp.'s initialpublic offering in April 2004, the Company has invested over $1.7billion across 57 portfolio companies. The Company has achieved aninternal rate of return on its debt investments of greater than 15%.When its private equity investments are included, the IRR on investedcapital exceeds 20%. Since the IPO and through February 23, 2006, thecumulative total return, including reinvested dividends, toshareholders has been 42.4%. Apollo Investment Corp.'s quarterlyshareholder dividend has risen every quarter since September 30, 2004,the Company's second full quarter as a public company, with the mostrecent quarterly dividend being 44 cents per share.

"In the spring of 2004, we set out to create a new company thatwould bring Apollo's extensive private equity investing experience tobear on an underserved market -- growing, middle-market companies inneed of capital," said Mr. Gross. "We built an environment andcorporate structure that would allow us to put capital to workprudently and share returns with our shareholders. We have beengratified by the results thus far, and with the relationships we havebuilt with all our stakeholders: clients, private equity sponsors, andour shareholders."

"As Apollo Investment Corporation approaches the secondanniversary of its IPO, the investment portfolio is performing well,the outlook for deploying capital is quite favorable and we have aproven investment team firmly established," said Mr. Gross. "I believeit is a good time for a seamless leadership transition that permits meto remain involved with the Company but also enables me to pursueother opportunities in the alternative asset arena in a new capacity."

"As I embark on a new phase of my professional life, it also makessense for me to disengage from my responsibilities as a foundingpartner of Apollo Management, L.P.," Mr. Gross added. "Over the pastsixteen years, I had the opportunity to help build the firm with agroup of very talented partners and colleagues. I wish them continuedsuccess."

"Since we founded Apollo Management in 1990, Michael Gross hasbeen an integral partner of the firm," said Leon Black, foundingpartner of Apollo Management, L.P. "Having worked with Michael forclose to two decades, I'm confident he will continue to find success.We wish him well in his future endeavors."

About Apollo Investment Corporation

Apollo Investment Corporation is a closed-end investment companythat has elected to be treated as a business development company underthe Investment Company Act of 1940. The Company's investment portfoliois principally in middle-market private companies. From time to time,the Company may also invest in public companies. The Company primarilyinvests in senior secured loans and mezzanine loans and equity infurtherance of its business plan. Apollo Investment Corporation ismanaged by Apollo Investment Management, L.P., an affiliate of ApolloManagement, L.P., a leading private equity investor.

This press release contains forward-looking statements within themeaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.Forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties, including,but not limited to, statements as to our future operating results; ourbusiness prospects and the prospects of our portfolio companies; theimpact of investments that we expect to make; the dependence of ourfuture success on the general economy and its impact on the industriesin which we invest; the ability of our portfolio companies to achievetheir objectives; our expected financings and investments; theadequacy of our cash resources and working capital; and the timing ofcash flows, if any, from the operations of our portfolio companies.

We may use words such as "anticipates", "believes", "expects","intends", "will", "should", "may" and similar expressions to identifyforward-looking statements. Such statements are based on currentlyavailable operating, financial and competitive information and aresubject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actualresults to differ materially from our historical experience and ourpresent expectations. Undue reliance should not be placed on suchforward-looking statements as such statements speak only as of thedate on which they are made. We do not undertake to update ourforward-looking statements unless required by law.