American Capital Strategies Ltd.

2 Bethesda Metro Center

Year founded: 1986

Industry: Financial services

Post 200 Category: Top 125 Companies

Revenue: $336.08 Million

Net Income/Loss: $281.45 Million

Earnings per share: $3.63

Dividend: $2.91

Stockholder equity: $1.87 Billion

Auditor: Ernst & Young LLP

Stock: ACAS

Assets: $3.49 Billion

Market capitalization: $2.86 Billion

52-week high: 35.7 2/17/2005

52-week low: 24.7 5/17/2004

Chairman and CEO: Malon Wilkus

COO: Ira Wagner

Employees: 191

Local employees: 120

Description: American Capital Strategies is in a dividend-paying class of publicly traded firm known as a business development company. It raises money from stock sales and borrowings that it uses to make loans to and invest in private companies.

Developments: The company has grown significantly since its 1997 initial stock offering, branching out from its original specialty in financing buyouts of employee stock ownership plans to providing the money for a variety of corporate buyouts and recapitalizations. It specializes in "middle market" deals, loosely defined as companies with $15 million to $250 million of annual revenue. In 2004, American Capital made more than $2 billion in new debt and equity investments and grew its portfolio to 117 companies. While most of its business — 43 percent of all investments in 2004 — is in lending to finance buyouts of private companies by other private equity firms, its second-largest and faster-growing line of business is making its own controlled buyouts. In 2004, 34 percent of its investments, or $689 million, were in its own buyouts. About 8 percent of its investments were in common stock of its portfolio companies, up from 2 percent in 1999. For example, American Capital paid $108 million in March to take a majority interest in FutureLogic, a California maker of thermal printers used at gasoline pumps.

Executive Compensation
Chairman, President and CEO: Malon Wilkus
Total Cash: $2,238,720.00
Total Compensation: $6,575,253.00

COO: Ira J. Wagner
Total Cash: $1,353,600.00
Total Compensation: $4,814,198.00

CFO: John R. Erickson
Total Cash: $1,353,600.00
Total Compensation: $4,814,198.00