American Capital, Ltd. (Nasdaq:ACAS) is a publicly traded private equity firm and global asset manager.
American Capital, both directly and through its global asset management business, originates, underwrites and manages investments in middle market private equity, leveraged finance, real estate and structured products. American Capital manages $21.2 billion of assets, including assets on its balance sheet and fee earning assets under management by affiliated managers, with $117 billion of total assets under management (including levered assets). American Capital and its affiliates invest from $10 million to $750 million per company in North America and €10 million to €400 million per company in Europe.
As a publicly traded company, American Capital offers shareholders an opportunity to invest in privately held middle market companies through ownership of its stock. Since its August 1997 IPO, American Capital and the funds it manages have invested approximately $31 billion in over 550 portfolio companies. Our diverse portfolio is invested in virtually every industry sector. We have approximately 90 investment professionals in 8 offices in the United States and Europe.
American Capital, through an asset management portfolio company, manages two public companies American Capital Agency Corp. (NASDAQ: AGNC), with a market capitalization of approximately a $13 billion, and American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp. (NASDAQ: MTGE), with a market capitalization of approximately a $1.5 billion. In 2012, AGNC declared $5.00 of dividends per common share and MTGE declared $3.60 of dividends per common share.