American Capital, Ltd. is a publicly traded private equity firm and global asset manager. American Capital, both directly and through its asset management business, originates, underwrites and manages investments in middle market private equity, leveraged finance, real estate and structured products. American Capital manages $17 billion of assets, including assets on its balance sheet and fee earning assets under management by affiliated managers, with $100 billion of total assets under management (including levered assets). Founded in 1986 and publicly traded since 1997, American Capital has seven offices in the U.S. and Europe.
Through its private equity and leveraged finance business, American Capital participates in management and employee buyouts either by providing mezzanine and senior debt financing for buyouts led by private equity firms or by providing capital directly to companies through a One Stop Buyout® in which it funds senior debt, mezzanine and equity and is the controlling shareholder. American Capital and its affiliates invest from $10 million to $500 million per company in North America and €5 million to €100 million per company in Europe.
American Capital owns and manages European Capital, Ltd., a fund with €1.2 billion of assets. European Capital invests in management and employee buyouts either by providing mezzanine and senior debt financing for buyouts led by private equity firms or by providing capital directly to companies through a One Stop Buyout® in which it funds senior debt, mezzanine and equity and is the controlling shareholder.
Since its 1997 IPO through 2011, American Capital has invested $31 billion in over 525 companies, including well-known companies such as AAMCO, Bumble Bee Seafoods, Bushnell Outdoor Products, Evenflo Company, Piper Aircraft, Riddell, Gibson Guitars, Camelbak, Euro-Pro and Rug Doctor. The company has over 200 portfolio companies with aggregate revenue of over $47 billion as of December 2011.
Through its asset management business, American Capital manages four private funds and two public funds that invests in buyouts, real estate and other leveraged finance products. Its two publicly traded funds include American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ: AGNC) and American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: MTGE).
American Capital has seven offices in New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, London and Paris, with its home office in Bethesda, MD.
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