PHILADELPHIA, May 12, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Franklin Square Capital Partners (Franklin Square), a leading alternative investment manager, announced that its business development company
(BDC) direct lending platform committed over $370 million to private deals in the
first quarter of 2016, marking the 14th consecutive quarter the platform has provided more than $250
million in direct commitments. New directly originated deals during the quarter were made in support of eight existing
portfolio companies headquartered in five different U.S. states.
"Despite credit market volatility this quarter, the flexibility of our funds' structure allowed us to seek out the best
risk-adjusted returns for our shareholders by investing where we saw the most compelling opportunities," said Michael C. Forman, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Franklin Square.
"It was an ideal environment for us to support the growth of our existing portfolio companies and selectively add several
attractively priced traded credits."
Newly committed capital was provided by four BDCs managed by affiliates of Franklin Square
and sub-advised by GSO Capital Partners LP (GSO) or its affiliate: FS Investment Corporation (NYSE: FSIC), FS Investment
Corporation II (FSIC II),
FS Investment Corporation III (FSIC III) and FS Energy and Power Fund (FSEP). Franklin Square is the largest manager of BDCs.
Franklin Square's directly originated deals, which are unique to its BDCs and not typically
accessible elsewhere, included investments in the following companies in the first quarter:
Swift Worldwide Resources
FSIC II, FSIC III and FSEP provided a new senior secured term loan to Swift Worldwide Resources, a Houston, TX-headquartered leading provider of contract personnel resources to the energy sector. The new
loan refinances Franklin Square's prior senior secured investment in the company and supports
the merger of Swift with Air Energi Group, another leading provider of contract personnel resources to the energy, process and
infrastructure industries. Following the merger, the new entity is financially backed by Wellspring Capital Management LLC, a
New York, NY-headquartered private equity investment firm, and by LGV Capital Limited, a
London, UK-headquartered private equity investment firm.
Industry City TI Lessor, L.P. (dba: the Brooklyn Nets)
FSIC and FSIC II upsized their commitment to the Brooklyn Nets, the Brooklyn, NY-based
National Basketball Association franchise. The upsized commitment supports the team's construction of a 70,000 square foot
state-of-the-art practice facility in the Industry City section of Brooklyn, NY.
FSIC and FSIC II Successfully Exit Cosentry
In addition to new commitments made during the first quarter, FSIC and FSIC II realized their collective senior secured
debt and preferred equity investments in Cosentry, a leading provider of data center services across the Midwest United States.
FSIC and FSIC II's collective investments were paid off as a result of TierPoint Capital's acquisition of the company. In
connection with the early repayment, FSIC and FSIC II earned a prepayment fee in addition to the return of their principal.
About Franklin Square
Franklin Square is a leading manager of alternative investment funds designed to
enhance investors' portfolios by providing access to asset classes, strategies and asset managers that typically have been
available to only the largest institutional investors. The firm's funds offer "endowment-style" investment strategies that help
construct diversified portfolios and manage risk. Franklin Square strives not only to maximize
investment returns but also to set the industry standard for best practices by focusing on transparency, investor protection and
education for investment professionals and their clients.
Founded in Philadelphia in 2007, Franklin Square quickly
established itself as a leader in the world of alternative investments by introducing innovative credit-based income funds,
including the industry's first non-traded BDC. As of December 31, 2015, the firm managed
approximately $16.8 billion in total assets, including $15.5 billion
in BDC assets, making it the largest manager of BDCs. For more information, please visit www.franklinsquare.com.
For information about Franklin Square's funds, visit www.franklinsquare.com.
Contact Information:
Franklin Square Media Team
media@franklinsquare.com
215-495-1174
Jim Ballan
Senior Vice President,
Investor Relations & Capital Markets
james.ballan@franklinsquare.com
267-439-4375
About Blackstone and GSO
Blackstone is one of the world's leading investment firms. We seek to create positive economic impact and long-term
value for our investors, the companies we invest in, and the communities in which we work. We do this by using extraordinary
people and flexible capital to help companies solve problems. Our asset management businesses, with approximately $344 billion in assets under management, includes investment vehicles focused on private equity, real estate,
public debt and equity, non-investment grade credit, real assets and secondary funds, all on a global basis. Further information
is available at www.blackstone.com. Follow Blackstone on
Twitter @Blackstone.
GSO is the global credit investment platform of Blackstone. With approximately $79 billion of
assets under management, GSO is one of the largest alternative managers in the world focused on the leveraged-finance, or
non-investment grade related, marketplace. GSO seeks to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns in its business by investing in
a broad array of strategies including mezzanine debt, distressed investing, leveraged loans and other special-situation
strategies. Its funds are major providers of credit for small and middle-market companies and they also advance rescue financing
to help distressed companies.
Forward-Looking Statements and Important Disclosures
This press release may contain certain forward-looking statements, including statements with regard to the future
performance or operations of FSIC, FSIC II, FSIC III or FSEP. Words such as "believes," "expects," "projects" and "future" or
similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to the
inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. Certain factors could cause actual results to differ
materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements, and some of these factors are enumerated in the filings
FSIC, FSIC II, FSIC III and FSEP make with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. FSIC, FSIC II, FSIC III and FSEP
undertake no obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events
or otherwise.
Individual investors and endowments may have different investment horizons, liquidity needs and risk tolerances. In addition,
fees that may be incurred by an investor in a fund sponsored by Franklin Square may be different
than fees incurred by an endowment investing in similar assets as those in which the funds invest.
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SOURCE Franklin Square Capital Partners