Hercules Capital Receives SBA “Green Light” Letter to Submit Its Fourth SBIC License Application
November 09 2023 - 3:10PM
Business Wire
Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE: HTGC) (“Hercules” or the
“Company”), the largest and leading specialty financing provider to
innovative venture, growth and established stage companies backed
by some of the leading and top-tier venture capital and select
private equity firms, today announced that the U.S. Small Business
Administration (“SBA”) has issued a “green light” letter inviting
Hercules to submit an application to obtain a license to form and
operate a fourth Small Business Investment Company (“SBIC”)
subsidiary, following the Company’s recent presentation to the SBA
committee.
“Our long-standing partnership with the SBIC program remains an
important and strategic component to maintaining a highly liquid
and diversified balance sheet and it provides us with further
flexibility to be able to continue to support small and
growth-oriented businesses,” said Scott Bluestein, chief executive
officer and chief investment officer of Hercules Capital. “We are
extremely pleased to receive the ‘green light’ letter from the SBA.
A fourth SBIC license would enable us to continue to fund the needs
of many innovative technology and life sciences companies seeking
growth capital while helping to maintain our overall blended cost
of capital by accessing favorable long-term financing.”
Upon approval, Hercules would obtain a fourth SBIC license held
by subsidiaries of the Company and continue to access additional
growth capital of $175.0 million of long-term debentures, bringing
Hercules’ combined borrowing capacity through the SBIC program to a
total of $350.0 million of capital. However, receipt of a green
light letter from the SBA does not assure an applicant that the SBA
will ultimately issue an SBIC license, and Hercules has received no
assurance or indication from the SBA that it will ultimately
receive an SBIC license, or of the timeframe in which it would
receive a license, should one ultimately be granted.
The SBA program has played an important role within Hercules’
funding strategy since receiving its first SBIC license in
September 2006. Hercules received exemptive relief from the
Securities and Exchange Commission that allows Hercules to exclude
SBIC leverage from applicable asset coverage limits.
About Hercules Capital, Inc.
Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE: HTGC) is the leading and largest
specialty finance company focused on providing senior secured
venture growth loans to high-growth, innovative venture
capital-backed companies in a broad variety of technology, life
sciences and sustainable and renewable technology industries. Since
inception (December 2003), Hercules has committed more than $18
billion to over 640 companies and is the lender of choice for
entrepreneurs and venture capital firms seeking growth capital
financing. Companies interested in learning more about financing
opportunities should contact info@htgc.com, or call
650.289.3060.
Hercules, through its wholly owned subsidiary business, Hercules
Adviser LLC (“Hercules Adviser”), also maintains an asset
management business through which it manages investments for
external parties (“Adviser Funds”). Hercules Adviser is registered
as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of
1940.
Hercules’ common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange
(NYSE) under the ticker symbol “HTGC.” In addition, Hercules has
one retail bond issuance of 6.25% Notes due 2033 (NYSE: HCXY).
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain “forward-looking statements”
within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act
of 1995. We may use words such as “anticipates,” “believes,”
“expects,” “intends,” “will,” “should,” “may” and similar
expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking
statements are not guarantees of future performance and should not
be relied upon in making any investment decision. Such statements
are based on currently available operating, financial and
competitive information and are subject to various risks and
uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially
from our historical experience and our present expectations. While
we cannot identify all such risks and uncertainties, we urge you to
read the risks discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and
other materials that we publicly file with the Securities and
Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements made in this
press release are made only as of the date hereof. Hercules assumes
no obligation to update any such statements in the future.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20231109130696/en/
Michael Hara Investor Relations and Corporate Communications
Hercules Capital, Inc. 650-433-5578 mhara@htgc.com
Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2024 to May 2024
Hercules Capital (NYSE:HTGC)
Historical Stock Chart
From May 2023 to May 2024