American Capital Receives $138 Million from Sale of Unwired Holdings and Generates a 16% Annual Return on its Investment Over 9 Years

BETHESDA, Md., Oct. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- American Capital, Ltd. ACAS ("American Capital") announced today that its portfolio company Unwired Holdings, Inc., parent to Unwired Technology LLC (collectively "Unwired" or the "Company"), was sold to Delphi Automotive PLC DLPH, a global supplier of technologies for the automotive and commercial vehicle markets.  American Capital and its affiliated fund received $176 million in debt and equity proceeds and realized a gain of $70 million from the transaction ($36 million net realized gain inception to date), subject to post-closing adjustments.  Of the total proceeds, American Capital received $138 million in debt and equity proceeds, realizing a gain of $53 million from the transaction ($21 million net realized gain inception to date), subject to post-closing adjustments.  American Capital's compounded annual rate of return earned on its debt and equity securities over the life of its investment was 16%, including interest, dividends, realized gains and fees.  American Capital received 2.4 times its equity investment and realized a compounded annual rate of return of 17% over the life of its equity investment, including dividends, realized gains and fees. 

"We are extremely pleased with the impressive results of our investment in Unwired," said Craig Moore, Managing Director, Operations Team.  "This investment is an outstanding example of American Capital's One Stop Buyout® strategy and patient, long-term commitment to value creation at our portfolio companies."   

Unwired is a designer and supplier of high-speed USB connectivity modules and wireless headphone systems for the global automotive industry.  Headquartered in Auburn Hills, MI, Unwired also operates through other offices in Woodbury, New York and Hong Kong, China.  The Company's media module products are used to provide intelligent power and data connectivity for portable media and smartphone devices when interfacing with today's advanced vehicle infotainment systems.  Founded in 1997, the Company also pioneered the first wireless headphones for in-vehicle applications introducing numerous design and performance improvements, including its patented and award-winning WhiteFire® multichannel digital wireless reception system.

Joseph Damato, Chief Executive Officer of Unwired, stated, "For nine years, American Capital supported Unwired, devoted significant financial and human capital resources to the Company, and provided strategic guidance to support our growth initiatives.  We are excited to move forward with the next stage of growth in partnership with Delphi.  By leveraging Unwired's and Delphi's common commitment to innovation, engineering and product development, we will continue to provide the market with the highest quality rear seat entertainment and media connectivity products."

American Capital invested $56 million in the One Stop Buyout® of Unwired in May 2005.  American Capital's investment took the form of a revolving credit facility, a senior term loan, subordinated debt and equity.  For more information on American Capital's investment, click here: http://www.americancapital.com/our-portfolio/unwired-technology-llc.

Since American Capital's 1997 IPO through the second quarter of 2014, it has earned a 10% compounded annual return, including interest, dividends, fees and net gains, on over 380 realizations of senior debt, subordinated debt, equity and structured products investments, totaling $20 billion of committed capital.  American Capital earned a 23% compounded annual return on the exit of its equity investments, including dividends, fees and net gains.  For a chart showing a partial listing of American Capital's exited portfolio companies, please go to http://www.americancapital.com/our-portfolio/exited-companies.

ABOUT AMERICAN CAPITAL
American Capital, Ltd. ACAS is a publicly traded private equity firm and global asset manager.  American Capital, both directly and through its asset management business, originates, underwrites and manages investments in middle market private equity, leveraged finance, real estate, energy & infrastructure and structured products.  American Capital manages $19 billion of assets, including assets on its balance sheet and fee earning assets under management by affiliated managers, with $83 billion of total assets under management (including levered assets).  Through an affiliate, American Capital manages publicly traded American Capital Agency Corp. AGNC, American Capital Mortgage Investment Corp. MTGE and American Capital Senior Floating, Ltd. ACSF with approximately $11 billion of total net book value.   From its eight offices in the U.S. and Europe, American Capital and its affiliate, European Capital, will consider investment opportunities from $10 million to $750 million.  For further information, please refer to www.americancapital.com.

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.

Contact: (301) 951-6122
Craig Moore, Managing Director, Operations Team
Anuj Khanna, Principal, Special Situations Group

SOURCE American Capital, Ltd.