Small Business Investment Companies

What is an SBIC firm?
Small Business Investment Companies contribute equity and/or debt investment capital to small businesses. SBICs may be viewed as small, regionally-focused private equity firms that typically focus on much smaller transactions compared to more traditional private equity firms.

How many SBIC firms are in the database?
We currently track 417 SBIC firms. Collectively, these firms provide over 2,100 unique businesses with investment capital annually.

What is the purpose of the SBIC program?
SBICs operate under the Investment Division of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) with the intent to stimulate the flow of private equity capital and long-term loans to small businesses.

How do SBICs work?
SBICs may receive up to 300% additional leverage on their private capital from SBA-guaranteed debentures. To obtain this leverage, SBICs issue debentures or participating securities, which are guaranteed by the SBA. Separate pools of either SBA-guaranteed debentures or participating securities are formed and sold to investors through securities offerings. SBIC fund managers must qualify for an SBIC license to participate in the SBIC program and are subject to an annual regulatory audit.

In what companies may SBICs invest?
Only companies defined as “small” are eligible for SBIC financing. The SBIC Program defines "small” as a net worth less than $18.0 million and an average after tax net income for the prior two years less than $6.0 million. Further, SBICs are prohibited from investing in project finance such as real estate and motion pictures.

What is typically the purpose of SBICs capital?
Over 90% of SBIC financing typically goes to operating capital (~50%) and acquisition capital (~40%). Other uses of investment capital include plant modernization, refinancings, new building construction, purchase of new equipment and machinery, land acquisition, marketing activities and research and development.

Do SBICs typically contribute equity or debt?
Approximately half of all SBIC financings are straight equity, about 25% are straight debt and the remaining 25% are a debt-with-equity structure.


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Sell, settle, sell

Clear Channel Communications’ Privatization Deal Is Near Collapse
The $19 billion privatization of Clear Channel Communications Inc. was near collapse as the private equity firms behind the deal and the banks financing it failed to resolve their differences over the terms of the credit agreement, people familiar with the matter said. The mood around the deal has darkened in recent days as the talks between the private equity firms –Thomas H. Lee and Bain Capital Partners LLC –and the banks became mired in the details of the credit agreement, the people said. The banks that agreed to finance the deal include Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, RBS and Wachovia.
At issue are the details of the financing arrangements, the so-called credit agreement. Though banks in deals such as this agree to finance the transaction when it is first announced, the final terms that govern their obligations are usually not worked out until shortly before the deal closes.
“The sponsors do not want to do this deal,” said one person involved, referring to the private equity
Hollinger Inc. to pay $21 mil. to settle fraud charges: SEC
(Reuters) — Hollinger Inc. will pay $21.3 million to settle charges it engaged in a fraudulent scheme to divert money from the Sun-Times Media Group, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Tuesday. The SEC said Hollinger Inc. and former executives, including Conrad Black, diverted about $85 million from Hollinger International, now known as Sun-Times, to Hollinger Inc. and corporate insiders through purported “non-competition” payments.
Hollinger Inc, the controlling shareholder in Sun-Times, settled without admitting or denying the charges, the SEC said.
Fitch To Tribune: Sell, Zell, Sell
CHICAGO Tribune Co. Chairman Sam Zell’s new senior management team and cost-cutting measures are unlikely to outrace deteriorating revenue, making the sale of assets like the Chicago Cubs –and perhaps The Los Angeles Times and Newsday -­all the more critical, Fitch Ratings Service said in a report issued Tuesday.
Fitch kept its Issuer Default Rating (IDR) unchanged in junk territory at “B-,” and kept its “Negative Outlook.”
“Fitch notes that EBITDA (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization) deterioration combined with limited debt repayment has exhausted much of the room within the rating,” wrote analysts Mike Simonton and Jamie Rizzo.
The report follows Tribune’s release of weak first-quarter results. Publishing revenue fell 7%, and operating cashflow plummeted 30%, Fitch noted.
Tribune (NYSE: TRB) “management has taken steps that Fitch believes may bode well for the longer term health of the company by bringing in new leadership, communicating directly with the staff and experimenting with new revenue streams,” the analysts wrote. “Cost cuts announced and implemented in the first quarter should help somewhat, but Fitch notes that more action may be necessary to offset the rapid erosion of circulation and advertiser dollars.”
Tribune took on $8.2 billion in debt to swing the going-private deal engineered by Chicago real estate mogul Zell and completed in December.

Private equity boom was nothing more than a clumsy trick

So now we know. The boom in private equity, which was promoted as the superior business model, based on patient capital, superior management and an alignment of interests, was nothing more than a trick of financial engineering – and a clumsy one at that. The magic of leverage works both ways, as we are discovering.

Henry Kravis of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts is asking his investors to be patient after a bout of negative returns and writedowns, echoing the cries of Alan Bond and other entrepreneurs of earlier credit cycles. Hamilton James, Blackstone’s president, said at the Super Returns private equity conference on February 26: “We’re a proxy for the credit markets.” David Rubenstein, co-founder of Carlyle Group, recently asked whether “modest return” was a more apt name for private equity. He thinks it’s funny. It’s not.

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