Allied Capital Invests $15 Million in Norwesco, Inc.

    Business Editors

    WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 5, 2005--Allied Capital Corporation (NYSE:ALD) announced that it provided $15 million in subordinated debt to finance the recapitalization of Norwesco, Inc. by Norwest Equity Partners, Brockway Moran & Partners, Inc., and management on December 29, 2004. Norwesco designs, manufactures, and markets a broad assortment of polyethylene tanks primarily to the agricultural and septic tank markets.
    "Norwesco enjoys a long record of successful operations that dates back to its founding as Northwest Plastics, Inc. in 1939," said Robert Monk, Principal of Allied Capital. "Norwesco has good margins, low capital expenditures, and recession resistant products, and is a solid addition to Allied Capital's private finance portfolio."

    About Allied Capital

    Allied Capital Corporation, a leading business development company with total assets of more than $3 billion, has paid regular, quarterly cash dividends to shareholders since 1963. Since its IPO in 1960, the Company has been providing long-term debt and equity financing primarily to private, middle market companies. Allied Capital's business is to generate solid total returns from a diversified private equity and commercial real estate portfolio that invests in the American entrepreneurial economy. In serving its 138,000 shareholders, Allied Capital helps build American companies and support American jobs. The Company's private finance portfolio includes investments in over 100 companies with aggregate revenues of in excess of $11 billion, supporting more than 100,000 jobs.
    Headquartered in Washington, DC, Allied Capital offers shareholders the opportunity to participate in the private equity industry through an investment in the Company's New York Stock Exchange-listed stock, which is traded under the symbol ALD. For more information, please visit www.alliedcapital.com, call Allied Capital investor relations toll-free at (888) 818-5298, or e-mail us at ir@alliedcapital.com. For all media inquiries, please call (202) 331-1112.

    About Norwesco, Inc.

    Headquartered in St. Bonifacius, MN, Norwesco, Inc. is the largest manufacturer of polyethylene tanks and the fifth largest plastic rotational molder in North America. Norwesco's polyethylene storage tanks are used in industrial and agricultural industries to store and/or spray fertilizer solutions, pesticides, agricultural chemicals, water, liquid feed, and plant food. The company also sells a line of valves, couplers, and adaptors for use with its tanks. For more information, please visit www.norwesco.com.

    About Norwest Equity Partners

    Norwest Equity Partners traces its history back to 1961 when it was founded in Minneapolis, MN as Norwest Growth Fund, Inc. Over the last 40 years, Norwest Equity Partners has established itself as one of the premier private equity investment firms in the United States. Norwest Equity Partners' current group of partners has managed over $3.0 billion in capital and commitments through a series of eight investment funds. For more information, please visit www.nep.com.

    About Brockway Moran & Partners, Inc.

    Brockway Moran & Partners, Inc. is a private equity firm located in Boca Raton, FL, that invests in middle market companies valued up to $250 million. The firm seeks to create long-term capital appreciation by acquiring growing companies in partnership with management and working with them to build value through both internal growth strategies and complementary acquisitions. Brockway Moran & Partners has more than $600 million in assets under management. For more information, please visit www.brockwaymoran.com.

    Forward-Looking Statements

    The information contained in this press release contains 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 and conditions to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements, and some of these factors are enumerated in Allied Capital's periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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CONTACT: Allied Capital, Washington, DC Dale Lynch, 202-973-6344

KEYWORD: MINNESOTA FLORIDA DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA INDUSTRY KEYWORD: BANKING MANUFACTURING SOURCE: Allied Capital Corporation

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