ACAS American Capital, Ltd.

BETHESDA, Md., May 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Capital Strategies Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACAS), the only private equity fund and alternative asset manager in the S&P 500, announced today that it has opened a second office in the Boston area to expand its Sponsor Finance Group's investment activities. Leading the Sponsor Finance Group in Boston is Tim Robinson, Principal. Joining Mr. Robinson in Boston are David Morris as Vice President and Dan Hodges as Associate. "We believe that there are great opportunities for American Capital to expand our support of private equity firms in the current investment environment. The opening of the Boston office is part of the American Capital Sponsor Finance Group's initiative to expand our coverage of the best private equity firms in the world," said Malon Wilkus, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President of American Capital. "Furthermore, we are making modest adjustments to our operations in response to changing investment environments where there are exceptional investment opportunities in both the U.S. and Europe in every one of our business lines. Overall, we are pleased with how the year is shaping up. In the first quarter of 2008, American Capital and its managed funds invested over $1.2 billion, compared to $1.5 billion invested in the first quarter of 2007, and over the last year our employees produced approximately $1 million per employee in annual dividends." "The opening of the Boston office is part of a reorganization of our Eastern Region Sponsor Finance business, which includes expanding the Sponsor Finance Group in our New York office and the closing of our Philadelphia office," said Ira Wagner, American Capital Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer. "Similarly, we are reorganizing our Western Region Sponsor Finance business by consolidating our San Francisco office into our Los Angeles and Palo Alto offices. As a result of the office closures and other selective adjustments, we are eliminating about 80 positions, which is far fewer than the number of positions we added in 2007. We will now have over 240 investment professionals and approximately 600 total employees." "The Sponsor Finance Group's expansion into the Boston area builds upon American Capital's leading position in providing the widest and most flexible range of financing to private equity sponsors," said Brian Graff, Regional Managing Director of the Eastern Region. "Tim and the Boston team have the experience and capabilities to do a great job in representing our organization with the many private equity firms based in the Boston area and expand on the more than 140 private equity firms who have already partnered with American Capital." "We are delighted to have Tim and the Boston team with us at American Capital and anticipate that they will make a significant contribution to the Company," said Adam Spence, Managing Director, Sponsor Finance. "With American Capital's large institutional capabilities, the Sponsor Finance Group can respond throughout the country with fast and attractive financing solutions ranging from $5 million to $800 million for middle market companies and the addition of a Boston office further expands our reach and abilities." "With American Capital's ability to provide private equity sponsors with one stop financing by funding senior debt, subordinated debt and equity co- investments, as well as our low cost of capital, efficient in house due diligence and the experience of our professionals, the Sponsor Finance Group is in a strong position to deliver results to the private equity community," said Mr. Robinson. "I look forward to working closely with my new colleagues throughout the entire organization to identify new investment opportunities, build new relationships with private equity sponsors and strengthen existing relationships." Mr. Robinson joins American Capital from BancBoston Capital where he was a Managing Director. While at BancBoston Capital, Mr. Robinson was responsible for originating, managing and divesting a diverse portfolio of private equity investments. Mr. Robinson received a B.A. in American Studies from Trinity College. Mr. Morris joins American Capital from Citizens Capital Inc., where he was a Managing Director responsible for originating and managing mezzanine and equity investments. Before Citizens Capital, he was a strategy consultant for Mainspring Communications and also worked for BankBoston. Mr. Morris earned a B.S. in Marketing from Babson College and an M.B.A. from the F.W. Olin Graduate School of Business at Babson College. Mr. Hodges joins American Capital from Wachovia Securities, where he was an analyst in the Leveraged Finance Group. While at Wachovia, he focused on debt financings for companies in the healthcare, consumer, media and telecommunications sectors. Mr. Hodges received a B.A. in Economics from Duke University. The Sponsor Finance Group works in partnership with private equity sponsors to provide one stop financing solutions, including senior debt and unirate loans, stand alone second lien and subordinated debt investments and equity co-investments to support private equity-backed buyouts, recapitalizations, add-on acquisitions and growth initiatives. The group also provides financing directly to middle-market public and private companies. The Sponsor Finance Group has made more than 140 debt and minority equity investments worth approximately $7 billion and has worked with over 140 private equity sponsors in the United States and Europe. With over 240 investment professionals located in 8 offices in the United States and 4 offices in Europe, we are able to fund $5 million to $800 million in US dollars, Canadian dollars, Euros and Sterling. For more information about the Sponsor Finance Group, please visit http://www.acas.com/our_business/sponsor_finance/sponsor_finance.html ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITAL With $19 billion in capital resources under management, American Capital is the only private equity fund and alternative asset management company in the S&P 500. American Capital, both directly and through its global asset management business, is an investor in management and employee buyouts, private equity buyouts, and early stage and mature private and public companies. American Capital provides senior debt, mezzanine debt and equity to fund growth, acquisitions, recapitalizations and securitizations. American Capital and its affiliates invest from $5 million to $800 million per company in North America and euro 5 million to euro 500 million per company in Europe. As of March 31, 2008, American Capital shareholders have enjoyed a total return of 490% since the Company's IPO -- an annualized return of 18%, assuming reinvestment of dividends. American Capital has paid a total of $2.3 billion in dividends and paid or declared $28.20 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 http://www.americancapital.com/ or http://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. DATASOURCE: American Capital Strategies Ltd. CONTACT: Brian Maney, Director, Corporate Communications of American Capital Strategies Ltd., +1-301-951-6122 Web site: http://www.americancapital.com/

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