ACAS American Capital, Ltd.

American Capital Invests $20 Million in Leading Manufacturer of Plastic Nursery Containers BETHESDA, Md., June 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Capital Strategies Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACAS) announced today it has invested $20 million in Nursery Supplies Inc., ("NSI") the leading North American manufacturer of a broad range of plastic containers for nurseries and distributors of nursery supplies. American Capital's investment takes the form of senior and junior subordinated debt and supports Lincolnshire Management Inc.'s recapitalization of NSI. GE Capital Corporation, a unit of General Electric Corporation, is providing a revolving credit facility and senior term loans. NSI management is also investing alongside Lincolnshire. NSI founders are rolling over a portion of their equity. "American Capital has worked with Lincolnshire in several investments over the last few years and we're pleased to work with them again by supporting their recapitalization of Nursery Supplies, a market leader with a national presence," said American Capital COO Ira Wagner. "This investment highlights American Capital's established relationships with strong financial partners such as Lincolnshire." American Capital has invested $2.5 billion in the last twelve months, $1.2 billion year to date and $800 million quarter to date. For more information about American Capital's portfolio, go to http://www.acas.com/our_portfolio/our_portfolio.cfm. "NSI's leading market share in the nursery container market results from its diverse, longstanding customer base, product breadth, geographic and product diversity and proprietary manufacturing capabilities that no other competitor can match. We were particularly attracted to NSI because unlike many of its competitors, the Company has the ability to mold plastic containers using multiple processing techniques, allowing for a substantially greater product depth," said American Capital Managing Director Frank Do. "In addition to its market leadership, NSI benefits from the growing popularity of gardening for leisure purposes, a strong retail market, new housing starts and increasing home ownership, which are all driving the demand for enhancing home landscaping." "With multiple manufacturing and distribution facilities located strategically throughout the U.S., NSI is uniquely positioned to service regional and national customers, respond quickly to customer needs and leverage its production facilities to support regional peak season demand. In addition, NSI's new state-of-the-art Kissimmee, Florida plant will enable the Company to better serve the fast growing Southeastern market," said American Capital Vice President Bill Bujake. "Furthermore, NSI's nationwide geographic diversification mitigates its risk to regional demand fluctuations caused by weather and other market conditions, thereby contributing to greater demand stability and a reliable revenue base." Founded in 1957, Chambersburg, PA-headquartered, NSI manufactures a broad range of nursery containers in a variety of models and styles comprising several hundred SKUs. The Company manufactures containers using multiple processing techniques consisting of blow molding, injection molding, high- speed pressure forming and vacuum forming. NSI has trademarked and patented many of its innovations, including its Grip-Lip(TM) and Econo-Lip(TM) lines of blow molded containers. In addition to nursery containers, NSI sells related products including plant trays and plant pouches. NSI has over 450 full-time employees in its four operating facilities located in Pennsylvania, California, Oregon and Florida. NSI's customers range from small, independent nurseries and growers, to large regional and national wholesale nursery supplies distributors, to which NSI is almost always the exclusive supplier. Customers include national distributors such as Agro Distribution, Griffin Greenhouse & Nursery Supplies, Plant Products Ltd., B F G Supply Co., McConkey Company, and most of the largest growers in the U.S., including Monrovia Nursery and Zelenka Nursery. "We've worked with American Capital in previous investments and know that they are a flexible and reliable source of capital. As before, American Capital was ready and willing to provide the necessary financing to close our deal," said Lincolnshire Managing Director Allan Weinstein. "With the support of our investment partners, NSI is even better positioned to proceed with its growth plans, specifically through innovative in-house product development. We are confident in the experienced management team, which remains devoted to the Company's regional focus and attention to the customer." For more information about NSI's extensive line of nursery containers, go to http://www.acas.com/news/press_releases/pr/pr.cfm?p_pr=pr20050621a.html. ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITAL American Capital is a publicly traded buyout and mezzanine fund with capital resources of approximately $5.4 billion. American Capital invests in and sponsors 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. As of May 31, 2005, American Capital shareholders have enjoyed a total return of 364% since the Company's IPO -- an annualized return of 22%, assuming reinvestment of dividends. American Capital outperformed 86%, 78%, 93% and 98% of all public companies in the 1-year, 3-years, 5-years and the approximately 7-1/2 years since our IPO, in each case ending May 31, 2005. American Capital has paid a total of $717 million in dividends and paid or declared $17.51 dividends per share since its August 1997 IPO 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 our website at http://www.americancapital.com/. ABOUT LINCOLNSHIRE MANAGEMENT Lincolnshire Management Inc., founded in 1986, is headquartered in New York and has regional offices in Chicago, Washington, Boston and Los Angeles. Lincolnshire, a leading middle market private equity investment firm, manages several equity funds, including the Lincolnshire Equity Fund, Lincolnshire Equity Fund II and Lincolnshire Equity Fund III, which in aggregate represent equity totaling approximately $900 million. Lincolnshire has completed approximately 50 investments in middle market companies located across the United States. Its current portfolio investments include such well-known companies as Prince Sports, a leading global sports brand noted for its product innovation, Strategic Materials/NexCycle, the largest plastic and glass re-cycling business in North America, and American Coach Lines, an operator of charter coaches and other bus services in nine cities in the southeastern United States. Realized portfolio investments include Riddell Sports, the leading manufacturer of branded, protective athletic gear, most notably the official helmet of the NFL, and 3SI Security Systems, the market leader for dyepacks and other bank security products used by the world's largest depositary institutions. In 2003, American Capital supported Lincolnshire's acquisition of Bankruptcy Management Solutions (BMS), the leading provider of case management software, financial and other services to Chapter 7 bankruptcy trustees, Chapter 11 bankruptcy trustees and other fiduciaries, and then supported its recapitalization in 2004. For more information about BMS go to http://www.acas.com/our_portfolio/companies/company.cfm?p_comp=119 . In addition, in July 2002, American Capital supported Lincolnshire's acquisition of 3SI Security Systems. In 2003, American Capital purchased 3SI from Lincolnshire. For more information about 3SI, go to http://www.acas.com/our_portfolio/companies/company.cfm?p_comp=66 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 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. DATASOURCE: American Capital Strategies Ltd. CONTACT: Frank Do, Managing Director, +1-310-806-6280, Bill Bujake, Vice President, +1-310-806-6280, or Brian Maney, Director, Corporate Communications, +1-301-951-6122, all of American Capital Strategies Ltd. Web site: http://www.americancapital.com/

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