NEW ORLEANS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Leading venture capital and small business finance firm Advantage Capital Partners has been awarded a $60 million allocation in the highly competitive federal New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program. This latest allocation brings the firm’s total awards since the program began in 2002 to $659 million, and maintains the investment firm’s leadership role as a top program participant nationwide.
Through prior state and federal New Markets program allocations, Advantage Capital has invested more than $1 billion in private capital into 212 businesses, which, in the aggregate, employ 13,200 people and have attracted $1.45 billion in follow-on capital to support their growth.
The NMTC program is administered by the U.S. Department of Treasury. It is designed to stimulate economic growth and job creation in low-income communities by providing much-needed investment capital, financial counseling and other services. Awardees are selected after a highly competitive and rigorous government review process. Advantage Capital was one of 87 organizations selected out of a total of 310 that submitted applications for the eleventh round of allocations in September 2013.
“For more than twenty years, our firm has focused on fostering promising entrepreneurs and creating a significant positive impact in the communities where we invest. Throughout our ten year history with the New Markets program, we have pioneered innovative ways to raise and deploy private capital into small businesses in underserved communities, where we strive to create jobs and drive economic growth,” said Steven T. Stull, president of Advantage Capital Partners. “We are honored to have once again been selected as an NMTC allocatee in further recognition of our vision for focusing on operating companies in low income communities, where these jobs are so critical.”
The Advantage Capital Community Development Fund will use its NMTC allocation to make investments in operating businesses in low income communities, both urban and rural, with a particular focus on states underserved by the federal program to date.
About Advantage Capital Partners
Advantage Capital Partners is a leading venture capital and small business finance firm focused on providing growth capital and other investments supporting state and local economic development efforts. The firm’s typical forms of investment include venture, expansion equity, mezzanine financing, senior and subordinated loans and government-guaranteed lending. With offices and partners in New Orleans, St. Louis, Chicago and other U.S. cities, Advantage Capital has invested more than $1.8 billion since 1992. The firm invests in small businesses located in geographic areas underserved by traditional capital and in companies in a wide range of industries.
About the federal New Markets Tax Credit program
The federal New Markets Tax Credit program, administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, encourages private-sector investment in economically distressed communities through tax incentives. In a highly competitive allocation process, the Treasury Department awards the tax credits based on applications submitted each round. Applications are evaluated based on the submitting organization’s experience investing capital; experience in and strategy for raising capital; strength and depth of management team; and expected community impact of the business plan. Since the program’s inception, the Treasury Department has awarded more than $39 billion in allocations. The program is currently awaiting reauthorization by Congress.