MCLEAN, Va., Jan. 13, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Gladstone Capital
Corporation (NASDAQ: GLAD) ("Gladstone Capital") announced today
that on December 27, 2013, it
invested $5.6 million in a
combination of debt and equity to purchase Meridian Rack &
Pinion, Inc. ("Meridian"), doing
business as Buy Auto Parts. Gladstone Capital, together with
Digital Fuel Capital, a private equity firm focused on e-commerce
and digital marketing, and Meridian's existing management team provided
the capital in support of the acquisition of the business.
Jean-Pierre Gilbertz, the founder of
Meridian, also continues to hold a
sizeable stake in the company. One of Gladstone Capital's
affiliated companies, Gladstone Investment Corporation (NASDAQ:
GAIN), also participated as a co-investor by providing $13.0 million of debt and equity financing on the
same terms as Gladstone Capital.
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Founded in 1989 and based in San
Diego, CA, Meridian is a
provider of aftermarket and OEM replacement automotive parts, which
it sells through both wholesale channels and online at
www.BuyAutoParts.com. Meridian distributes a targeted set of product
lines, which include replacement turbochargers, air conditioning
parts, steering racks, and suspension components.
"We believe that the www.BuyAutoParts.com model of product
category depth, in-stock inventory and expert live sales support is
the winning formula for the on-line auto parts channel, which has
significant opportunity for further penetration in the auto parts
industry," said Carson Biederman,
President of Digital Fuel Capital. "We look forward to
supporting Meridian's expansion
into other product categories and geographies through both organic
growth and acquisitions."
"Gladstone is excited to
partner with Digital Fuel and the talented management team at
Meridian. We look forward to
continued growth and expansion, building on the success the
management team has achieved over the past few years," said
Kyle Largent, Managing Director of
Gladstone Investment and Gladstone Capital.
Gladstone Capital Corporation is a publicly traded business
development company that invests in debt and equity securities,
consisting primarily of senior terms loans, second term lien loans,
and senior subordinated terms loans in small and medium sized
businesses in the United States in
connection. Gladstone Capital has paid 123 consecutive
monthly cash distributions on its common stock. Before the
Company started paying monthly distributions, the Company paid
eight consecutive quarterly cash distributions on its common
stock. Additional information on this transaction can be
found at www.gladstonecompanies.com.
For Investor Relations inquiries related to any of the monthly
dividend paying Gladstone funds,
please visit www.gladstone.com.
Forward-looking Statements:
The statements in this press release regarding the
longer-term prospects of Meridian
and its management team, and the ability of Meridian to grow and expand are
"forward-looking statements." These forward-looking statements
inherently involve certain risks and uncertainties in predicting
future results and conditions. Although these statements are based
on Gladstone Capital's current plans that are believed to be
reasonable as of the date of this press release, a number of
factors could cause actual results and conditions to differ
materially from these forward-looking statements, including those
factors described from time to time in Gladstone Capital's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Gladstone Capital undertakes no obligation to publicly
release the result of any revisions to these
forward looking statements that may be made to
reflect any future events or otherwise, except as
required by law.
SOURCE Gladstone Capital Corporation