U.S. private capital giant Apollo to supply £4.5 billion loan to UK nuclear project

U.S. asset management giant Apollo is set to provide a £4.5 billion ($6 billion) loan to plug a shortfall facing U.K. nuclear project Hinkley Point.

The deal was first reported by the Financial Times on Friday and supported by two sources speaking to CNBC on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Construction of the Hinkley Point C plant, the first nuclear power station to be built in Britain in decades, has been delayed multiple times and swelled in budget.

Apollo will provide an investment-grade, unsecured debt financing package for the project at an interest rate below 7%, a source said.

Apollo and Hinkley Point majority owner EDF declined to comment.

The deal would be among the biggest private capital investments in a project of U.K. national interest.

One source told CNBC that Apollo has been “circling” a deal opportunity for several weeks and have been “deep in talks with EDF.”

This is a breaking news story and will be updated shortly.

— CNBC’s Lily Meckel contributed reporting.