NEW YORK & NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
The Senior Secured Loan Program (SSLP), jointly managed by an affiliate
of Ares Capital Corporation and an affiliate of GE Capital, announced
today that its total available capital has increased from $7.7 billion
to $9.0 billion. In connection with this expansion, GE Capital and an
affiliate agreed to make available to the SSLP up to approximately $7.25
billion and Ares Capital agreed to make available to the SSLP up to
approximately $1.75 billion.
“We are excited about this new expansion of the SSLP which reflects the
wide acceptance of our product and its significant advantages in today’s
competitive marketplace,” commented Kipp deVeer, a Senior Partner of the
Ares Management LLC Private Debt Group.
“The SSLP continues to expand, allowing us to provide a compelling
financing solution for private equity firms and management teams,” said
Timothy Lyne, Senior Managing Director of GE Antares Capital. “We look
forward to using this additional capital to help our customers acquire
and grow their businesses in 2013 and beyond.”
During the fourth quarter of 2012, SSLP closed eight financing
commitments totaling approximately $1.3 billion, including four
refinancing transactions of existing portfolio companies. In 2012,
SSLP’s commitments totaled approximately $3.2 billion, including loans
to 10 new portfolio companies and 13 existing portfolio companies. Since
January 1, 2010, the SSLP has committed approximately $9.1 billion to
middle-market borrowers.
Below is a brief description of three of the fourth quarter SSLP
transactions.
Intermedix Corporation / Thomas H. Lee Partners
GE Capital Markets and Ares Capital served as joint lead arrangers and
joint bookrunners in a $330 million senior secured term loan provided by
SSLP to support the refinancing of Intermedix Corporation by Thomas H.
Lee Partners. In addition, Ares Capital served as administrative agent
in a $112 million second lien term loan and GE Capital, through its GE
Antares Capital subsidiary, served as administrative agent for a $50
million senior secured revolving credit facility in connection with the
transaction. Intermedix is a leading provider of technology-enabled
solutions for the US healthcare and emergency response industries.
Power Holdings, LLC / Kelso & Company
GE Capital Markets and Ares Capital served as joint lead arrangers and
joint bookrunners in a $208 million senior secured term loan provided by
SSLP to support the acquisition of Power Holdings, LLC by Kelso & Co.
Power Holdings is a leading super-regional provider of outsourced
critical, scheduled and emergency maintenance services for power
transmission, distribution and substation infrastructure to
municipalities.
BECO Holding Company, Inc. / Freeman Spogli & Co.
GE Capital Markets and Ares Capital served as joint lead arrangers and
joint bookrunners in a $176 million senior secured credit facility
provided by SSLP to support the refinancing of BECO Holding Company,
Inc., doing business as Brooks Equipment Company, a portfolio company of
Freeman Spogli & Co. In addition, GE Capital, through its GE Antares
Capital subsidiary, provided a $15 million senior secured revolving
credit facility in support of the transaction. BECO Holding Company is
the nation’s leading business-to-business wholesale distributor of first
response fire protection equipment and related parts.
About Senior Secured Loan Program
The Senior Secured Loan Program was formed in December 2007 to invest in
the senior secured debt of middle-market companies. Its members are
comprised of Ares Capital Corporation and GE Global Sponsor Finance LLC.
The program is co-managed by GE Commercial Finance Investment Advisory
Services LLC and Ares Capital Management LLC and transactions require
approval by the individuals appointed by the members of the SSLP. The
SSLP has $9 billion of available capital and can hold up to $300 million
in a single transaction for borrowers across a wide range of industry
sectors. The SSLP benefits borrowers by virtue of greater speed,
simplicity and certainty, with proven partners.
About Ares Capital Corporation
Ares Capital is a leading specialty finance company that provides
one-stop financing solutions to U.S. middle market companies and private
equity sponsors. Ares Capital originates and invests in senior secured
loans, mezzanine debt and, to a lesser extent, equity investments
through its national direct origination platform. Ares Capital’s
investment objective is to generate both current income and capital
appreciation through debt and equity investments primarily in private
companies. Ares Capital has elected to be regulated as a business
development company, and is externally managed by a wholly owned
subsidiary of Ares Management LLC, a global alternative asset manager
and a SEC-registered investment adviser with approximately $59 billion
of committed capital under management as of December 31, 2012. For more
information, visit www.arescapitalcorp.com.
About GE Capital
GE Capital offers consumers and businesses around the globe an array of
financial products and services. For more information, visit www.gecapital.com
or follow company news via Twitter (@GECapital). GE (NYSE: GE) works on
things that matter. The best people and the best technologies taking on
the toughest challenges. Finding solutions in energy, health and home,
transportation and finance. For more information, visit ge.com
About GE Antares Capital
GE Antares Capital is a unit of GE Capital, Sponsor Finance. With
offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco, GE
Antares is a leading lender to middle market private equity sponsors. GE
Capital Markets has ranked #1 in the U.S. Sponsored Middle Market
Bookrunner League Tables for three of the past four years. For more
information, visit www.geantares.com.
About Intermedix Corporation
Intermedix focuses on the highly fragmented US healthcare and emergency
response systems by delivering information technology and business
services to manage the revenue cycle, promote preparedness and
interoperability, and support incident response management,
documentation, and reporting. Intermedix provides practice management
and revenue cycle management services for emergency physicians and
hospital emergency departments, emergency medical services (ambulance)
agencies, anesthesiologists, primary care physicians, urgent care
centers, and fire departments throughout the US. The company also
provides technology solutions for federal, state and local government
agencies, healthcare providers, and corporations using the brand names
WebEOC®, EMResource™, EMTrack™, CORES, TripTix®, and Fleeteyes™. For
more information, visit www.intermedix.com.
About Thomas H. Lee Partners
Thomas H. Lee Partners, L.P. (“THL”) is one of the world’s oldest and
most experienced private equity firms. The firm invests in
growth-oriented global businesses, headquartered principally in North
America, across three broad sectors: Consumer & Healthcare, Media &
Information Services and Business & Financial Services. THL’s team of
investment and operating professionals partner with portfolio company
management teams to identify and implement business process improvements
that accelerate sustainable revenue and profit growth. Since its
founding in 1974, THL has raised approximately $20 billion of equity
capital and invested in more than 100 businesses with an aggregate
purchase price of more than $150 billion. THL strives to build great
companies of lasting value and generate superior investment returns. For
more information, visit www.thl.com.
About Power Holdings, LLC
Power Holdings, LLC is comprised of two sister companies: T&D Solutions,
LLC (“T&D”), based in Alexandria, Louisiana, and Associated Diversified
Services, Inc. (“Diversified”), based in Hartselle, Alabama. These
companies offer a full range of outsourced maintenance and construction
services to the electric utility industry, including transmission,
substation, overhead and underground distribution, and storm recovery,
among others. T&D and Diversified are the safety and productivity
leaders in their respective markets and, together, maintain
relationships with the largest public and private utility companies
across the Southeastern United States. For more information, visit www.tdsolutions.com
and www.wearediversified.com.
About Kelso & Company
Kelso & Company is one of the oldest and most established firms
specializing in private equity investing. Since 1980, Kelso has made
investments in over 115 companies in a broad range of industry sectors.
Kelso is currently investing its eighth investment partnership, Kelso
Investment Associates VIII, L.P., with $5.1 billion of committed
capital. For more information, visit www.kelso.com.
About BECO Holding Company
Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina and founded in 1941, BECO is
the nation’s leading business-to-business wholesale distributor of first
response fire protection equipment and related parts. With 18 warehouse
locations across the U.S., BECO’s customers have access to an inventory
of over 17,000 fire equipment and MRO products from over 400
industry-leading manufacturers. The company is well-regarded for its
commitment to customer service and quality products. It has grown both
by expanding its offerings and providing technical and educational
support to customers. BECO approaches the market via its Brooks, Heiser
and Logistics brands. For more information, visit www.brooksequipment.com.
About Freeman Spogli & Co.
Freeman Spogli & Co. is a private equity firm dedicated exclusively to
investing in and partnering with management in consumer-related and
distribution companies in the United States. Since its founding in 1983,
Freeman Spogli has invested $3.1 billion in 48 portfolio companies with
aggregate transaction value of over $18 billion, and is currently
investing out of its sixth fund. Freeman Spogli has offices in Los
Angeles and New York. For more information, visit www.freemanspogli.com.
Ares Capital Corporation
Carl Drake, 404-814-5204
[email protected].
or
GE
Antares Capital
Jennifer Sampson, 312-441-7055
[email protected]
or
GE
Capital, Americas
Ned Reynolds, 203-229-5717
[email protected]
Source: Ares Capital Corporation