Nov. 3, 2009 (PR Newswire) --

BETHESDA, Md., Nov. 3 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- American Capital Ltd. (Nasdaq: ACAS) announced today that it has reached an agreement in principle with a steering committee of lenders to restructure its revolving line of credit facility. The Company will be presenting the terms of the proposed restructuring to all of the lenders in its revolving line of credit facility and to the holders of its privately placed term notes and publicly issued bonds for approval. The terms of the agreement in principle are nonbinding and subject to further negotiations, various conditions and final agreements. The Company hopes to complete the restructuring by year end.

"We are pleased to reach this step and believe that the terms provide a basis for a complete restructuring of our $2.4 billion of unsecured debt," said Malon Wilkus, American Capital Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Representatives of the holders of the privately placed term notes and publicly issued bonds participated with the bank steering committee and its advisors in certain negotiations with respect to the material terms of the agreement in principle. While the process is not yet complete, we are optimistic that it will soon conclude favorably and we can turn our focus to rebuilding shareholder value."

In addition to the revolving line of credit facility, American Capital's principal unsecured credit facilities include $550 million of publicly issued bonds and $390 million in original principal amount of privately placed term notes. Earlier this year, American Capital breached certain financial covenants under each of the facilities, causing events of default.