Patriot Capital Funding, Inc. (NasdaqGS: PCAP), a specialty finance company providing flexible financing solutions to small- to mid-sized companies primarily in transactions initiated by private equity sponsors, today announced that on September 2, 2008, it received proceeds of $12.9 million in conjunction with the full repayment of its senior secured loan and subordinated debt investment in a leading provider of clinical research services. Additionally, Patriot Capital Funding received $1.0 million in conjunction with the sale of its equity co-investment, which was made alongside the private equity sponsor in the transaction, Celerity Partners. Patriot Capital Funding earned an internal rate of return of approximately 16.8% on its entire debt investment and in excess of 130% on its equity investment, not including contingent future payments that may also be earned on the investment.
"Celerity made the right choice to partner with Patriot Capital Funding. They provided one-stop financing and had a flexible approach that helped facilitate a successful transaction for us," said Allen Chi, a Partner at Celerity. "This was a very successful transaction for us and we look forward to continuing our relationship with Celerity through other investment opportunities," said Richard Buckanavage, President and CEO of Patriot Capital Funding. "Through the exit of this investment, we are beginning to establish a solid track record of investing equity capital in addition to our well established record of investing debt capital," concluded Mr. Buckanavage.
