NEWS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:Contact AMERICAN CAPITAL EXPANDS INTO ASIA WITH HONG KONG OFFICEBethesda, MD – September 23, 2008 – American Capital Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS), the only private equity fund and the largest alternative asset management company in the S&P 500, announced today the opening of its Hong Kong office, the Company's first office in Asia. The initial focus of the expansion will be to identify and support opportunities throughout Asia for its existing portfolio companies in the United States and Europe and to build relationships with local institutional investors. American Capital and affiliates have more than 200 investment professionals operating out of eight offices in the United States and four in Europe. With $20 billion in capital resources currently under management1, American Capital has invested approximately $23 billion in over 400 middle-market portfolio companies over the past decade. In addition, American Capital affiliates manage two public funds, European Capital Limited (LSE: ECAS), a private equity and mezzanine investment company with approximately $4 billion of capital resources1, and American Capital Agency Corp. (Nasdaq: AGNC), a real estate investment trust with approximately $2.4 billion1 of investments in securities backed by Ginnie Mae, Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. The Hong Kong office will be led by David Steinglass, a senior investment professional who joined American Capital in 1997. Mr. Steinglass will be responsible for working closely with the Company's 61 investment teams worldwide and for capital-raising activities in Asia. "We are excited to continue building our global middle-market platform and to expand on our successful entry into Europe. David is the ideal person to lead this effort—both because of his long and successful track record at American Capital as an equity investor and because of his role in our capital raising activities," said Malon Wilkus, Chairman and CEO. American Capital's decision to expand has been encouraged by Asia's natural cross-border supply chain benefits and M&A opportunities as well as attractive investment opportunities. Asia has experienced a strong GDP for the last decade with an increasing middle class and is projected to account for over 50% of the world's GDP growth by 2050. "This is an important step in improving and expanding our relationships with existing American Capital investors in Asia," noted Mr. Steinglass. "It also expands our ongoing effort to assist our portfolio companies, most of which are small and medium-sized enterprises. We believe the deepening of our relationships in Asia will also help our portfolio companies. By building a presence in the region, we hope to serve as a catalyst for those companies to open new markets, source lower-cost inputs, undertake greenfield development or acquisitions, and potentially, grow through partnerships and mergers with companies based in Asian countries." "David has been instrumental in structuring and raising two of our funds, American Capital Equity I and II, and will be a great resource for our current and future investors based in Asia," added Tom McHale, Senior Vice President, Finance. "In recent years we have been developing relationships with investors in Asia and David will be responsible for continuing to develop those relationships." ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITALAmerican Capital, with $20 billion in capital resources under management1, is the only private equity fund and the largest alternative asset management company in the S&P 500. American Capital, both directly and through its global asset management business, originates, underwrites and manages investments in private equity, leveraged finance, real estate and structured products. American Capital and its affiliates invest from $5 million to $800 million per company in North America and €5 million to €500 million per company in Europe. American Capital was founded in 1986 and currently has 13 offices in the U.S., Europe and Asia. As of August 31, 2008, American Capital shareholders have enjoyed a total return of 292% since the Company's IPO—an annualized return of 13%, assuming reinvestment of dividends. American Capital has paid a total of $2.5 billion in dividends and paid or declared $29.25 dividends per share since going public in August 1997 at $15 per share. Companies interested in learning more about American Capital's flexible financing should contact Mark Opel, Senior Vice President, Business Development, at (800) 248-9340, or visit www.AmericanCapital.com or www.EuropeanCapital.com. Performance data quoted above represents past performance of American Capital. Past performance does not guarantee future results and the investment return and principal value of an investment in American Capital will likely fluctuate. Consequently, an investor's shares, when sold, may be worth more or less than their original cost. Additionally, American Capital's current performance may be lower or higher than the performance data quoted above. This press release contains forward-looking statements. The statements regarding expected results of American Capital 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. 1As of June 30, 2008.
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