Ares Capital Corporation Highlights Second Quarter 2015 Financing Commitments

Over $820 Million in New Commitments Closed

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Ares Capital Corporation (“Ares Capital” – NASDAQ:ARCC) is providing additional details on its financing commitments closed during the second quarter of 2015. Financing commitments made by Ares Capital in the second quarter totaled over $820 million.

“We continued to experience competitive advantages from our size and scale in the second quarter in a year when middle market loans have been light, making almost 60% of our investment commitments to existing portfolio companies,” said Kipp deVeer, Chief Executive Officer of Ares Capital. “We continue to focus on senior secured investments with 65% of our new commitments in first or second lien senior secured loans.”

Below is a description of nine transactions that closed during the second quarter.

Implus Footcare, LLC / Berkshire Partners
Ares Capital served as administrative agent, lead arranger and bookrunner for a $394.0 million senior secured credit facility to support the acquisition of Implus Footcare, LLC by Berkshire Partners. Headquartered in North Carolina, Implus has evolved to become an innovative provider of footwear, outdoor and fitness accessories to its retail partners. Implus’ family of brands includes Sof Sole, Yaktrax, apara, Airplus, Sneaker Balls, Sof Comfort, Balega, Little Hotties, Perfect, TriggerPoint and ICETrekkers. From insoles, socks and shoe care to seasonal accessories and fitness solutions, Implus proudly distributes its brands to thousands of retail locations across the United States and worldwide.

EN Engineering / General Atlantic
Ares Capital served as administrative agent, joint lead bookrunner and joint lead arranger for a $210.0 million senior secured credit facility to support the acquisition of EN Engineering by General Atlantic. EN Engineering provides comprehensive and dependable engineering, consulting and automation services to pipeline companies, utilities and industrial customers.

LSQ Funding Group / Lovell Minnick Partners
Ares Capital served as purchaser agent for a $40.0 million subordinated credit facility to support the acquisition of LSQ Funding Group by Lovell Minnick Partners. Ares Capital also made an equity co-investment in connection with the transaction. Founded in 1996, LSQ provides specialized accounts receivable financing to growing companies throughout the U.S., offering competitive rates, customized financing arrangements, and personalized service to help them improve profitability and financial security. The company’s proprietary accounts receivable technology enables accounts receivable financing at all levels, ranging from multi-million-dollar corporations to small businesses.

Dwyer Group / The Riverside Company
Ares Capital served as agent for a $31.5 million incremental senior subordinated loan to support the acquisition of Service Brands International and Grounds Guys Canada by Dwyer Group, an existing Riverside portfolio company. Ares Capital also made an equity co-investment in connection with the transaction. Headquartered in Waco, Texas, Dwyer Group, Inc. is a holding company of 11 franchise businesses, each selling and supporting a different franchise under the following service marks: Aire Serv®, Glass Doctor®, The Grounds Guys®, Five Star Painting®, Molly Maid®, Mr. Appliance®, Mr. Electric®, Mr. Handyman®, Mr. Rooter® (Drain Doctor® in the UK and Portugal), ProTect Painters®, and Rainbow International®. Collectively, these independent franchise concepts offer customers world-wide a broad base of residential and commercial services. In addition, Dwyer Group® operates glass shops in New England under the Portland Glass® brand name.

Rx30 / GTCR LLC
Ares Capital served as administrative agent, joint lead arranger and joint bookrunner for a senior secured second lien term loan to support the acquisition of Transaction Data Systems, Inc., doing business as Rx30, by GTCR LLC. Rx30 is a total Pharmacy Management Software application that acts as the hub for all pharmacy management activities, including prescription dispensing, fully automated refills and reminders, workflow management, adherence management, document management, smart phone/web refills, e-prescribing, POS, outbound customer communication, IVR integration, business reporting, label printing and a myriad of value added processes and interfaces that assist in streamlining pharmacy management activities and driving profit.

Shock Doctor / Bregal Partners
Ares Capital served as joint lead arranger and sole bookrunner for a first lien senior secured credit facility and served as administrative agent, sole lead arranger and sole bookrunner for a second lien credit facility to support the merger of Shock Doctor Inc. and McDavid Inc. Shock Doctor is an existing Bregal Partners portfolio company. Ares Capital also made an equity co-investment in connection with the transaction. Shock Doctor is the global leader in mouthguards, along with core protective equipment and apparel, performance sports therapy, sports insoles and performance compression and recovery -- designed to protect and enhance the performance of athletes across a wide range of sports. McDavid manufactures, designs and markets sports medicine, sports protection and performance apparel for active people and athletes.

WorldStrides / The Carlyle Group
Ares Capital served as the administrative agent, lead arranger and bookrunner for a senior secured credit facility to support the refinancing of WorldStrides, an existing Carlyle Group portfolio company. WorldStrides is the leading provider of supplemental education through student travel programs to more than 80 countries, serving over 5,000 schools and 300,000 students annually. Since its inception, the Company has provided educational trips and accredited content to over four million students.

Interactions LLC / SoftBank Capital, North Hill Ventures, Sigma Partners and Cross Atlantic Capital Partners
Ares Capital served as administrative agent for a $25.0 million secured term loan to support a refinancing and provide growth capital for Interactions LLC. Interactions helps companies transform the way they communicate with their customers. Its patented Adaptive-Understanding^TM technology provides the foundation for the company's automated customer care solutions and is enabling the next generation of interactive devices and services that deliver unprecedented understanding and engage customers in productive, natural conversations.

Brandtone / Verlinvest, Unilever Ventures and Syngenta Ventures
Ares Capital served as the agent for a $13.6 million senior secured term loan to provide growth capital to Brandtone. Headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, Brandtone is a micro-multinational company that delivers mobile marketing campaigns for global brands in the developing and emerging markets.

About Ares Capital Corporation
Ares Capital is a leading specialty finance company that provides one-stop debt and equity financing solutions to U.S. middle market companies, venture capital backed businesses and power generation projects. 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 subsidiary of Ares Management, L.P. (“Ares Management”) (NYSE:ARES). Ares Management is a publicly traded, leading global alternative asset manager. For more information about Ares Capital Corporation, visit www.arescapitalcorp.com. However, the contents of such website are not and should not be deemed to be incorporated by reference herein.