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Bethesda, MD - December 15, 2004 - American Capital Strategies Ltd. (Nasdaq:ACAS)announced today that participation in its Dividend Reinvestment Program (DRIP) has increased significantly since the Company began offering a 5% discount on shares purchased through the DRIP. Shareholders who are not now enrolled in the DRIP but enroll in advance of the record date for American Capital's forthcoming extra dividend and in conformity with Nominee or Equiserve rules may also benefit from the 5% discount. Further information on how to enroll in the DRIP program appears below.
As of December 8, 2004, approximately 6.2 million shares out of approximately 85.6 million American Capital shares outstanding were participating in the DRIP, totaling 7% of shares outstanding. At July 1, 2004, there were approximately 0.5 million shares participating. In August 2004, American Capital announced that it had amended the DRIP in order to provide a 5% discount on shares purchased through the reinvestment of dividends, effective for dividends paid starting in December 2004, subject to the terms of the DRIP.
"American Capital has seen DRIP participation increase by more than twelve times since our August announcement of the 5% discount on shares purchased through the reinvestment of dividends. The program is an outstanding success," said Chairman, President and CEO Malon Wilkus. "We established the 5% DRIP discount program in order to thank our loyal shareholders for their support. Our dividend is the most important piece of information about American Capital, and the dividend reinvestment program allows our shareholders to conveniently accumulate additional shares in the company at a 5% discount to the market price. Unfortunately, not all brokerage firms will participate in the program, although our investor relations department is working on getting more firms to sign up for the program. We also want to take this opportunity to thank the brokers who have made the 5% discount available to our shareholders and their customers. A list of participating brokerage firms is available below and on our website, www.AmericanCapital.com."
Stockholders interested in the dividend reinvestment plan should review a DRIP prospectus, which is available from American Capital or accessible on the American Capital website.
TO ENROLL IN THE DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT PLAN
If your shares are held for your account by a broker, bank, or other designated candidate:
If your shares are held for your account by a broker, bank, or other designated candidate (usually called a "Nominee") and you would like to participate in the DRIP, you should contact your broker, bank, or other designated candidate to enroll on your behalf.
Participating brokers include:
Ameritrade, Inc.
A.G. Edwards & Sons, Inc.
Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc.
Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC
Legg Mason Wood Walker, Inc.
Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.
Morgan Keegan & Co., Inc.
Morgan Stanley
Raymond James Financial, Inc.
RBC Dain Rauscher Inc.
Smith Barney
UBS Financial Services Inc.
Please note that some Nominees do not allow account holders to participate in DRIPs or they provide for separate DRIPs, which they administer. American Capital shares held by these Nominees will generally not be able to participate in the American Capital DRIP and will generally not benefit from the 5% discount. If your shares are held by such a Nominee and you are interested in participating in the American Capital DRIP, you may need to have your shares reissued in certificate form or transferred to a Nominee that permits participation in the American Capital DRIP.
If you hold your shares in certificate form and are on record with American Capital's transfer agent, EquiServe:
If you hold your shares in certificate form and are on record with American Capital's transfer agent, Equiserve, you must obtain an Authorization Form from EquiServe, complete it and return it to them. To obtain an Authorization Form, write or call: EquiServe Trust Company, N.A., c/o EquiServe, P.O. Box 43010, Providence, RI 02940-3010, (800) 733-5001.
If you are unsure as to whether you hold your shares of American Capital through a broker, bank, or other designated candidate or in certificate form:
If you are unsure as to whether you hold your American Capital shares through a broker, bank, or other designated candidate (again, usually called a "Nominee") or in certificate form, here are two ways to tell the difference:
- If you receive your dividend in the form of a check mailed directly to you from EquiServe, you are a record holder and may complete an authorization form in order to enroll in the DRIP.
- If your dividends are directly deposited into an account with your broker bank, or other designated candidate, you must contact them to enroll in the DRIP.
Further Information on American Capital
As of November 30, 2004, American Capital shareholders have enjoyed a total return of 299% since the Company's IPO - an annualized return of 21%, assuming reinvestment of dividends. American Capital has paid a total of $583 million in dividends and paid or declared $15.97 dividends per share since its August 1997 IPO at $15 per share.
American Capital is a publicly traded buyout and mezzanine fund with capital resources of more than $4.8 billion. American Capital is an investor in and sponsor of management and employee buyouts, invests in private equity buyouts, and provides capital directly to private and small public companies. American Capital provides senior debt, mezzanine debt and equity to fund growth, acquisitions and recapitalizations.
Companies interested in learning more about American Capital's flexible financing should contact Mark Opel, Principal and Senior Vice President, Business Development, at (800) 248-9340, or visit our website.
This press release contains forward-looking statements. The statements regarding expected results of American Capital Strategies are subject to various factors and uncertainties, including the uncertainties associated with the timing of transaction closings, changes in interest rates, availability of transactions, changes in regional, national or international economic conditions, or changes in the conditions of the industries in which American Capital has made investments.
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