Ares Management Corporation Highlights Fourth Quarter and Full Year U.S. Direct Lending Commitments

Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES) is providing additional details on certain new financing commitments made by funds managed by its Credit Group across its U.S. direct lending strategies. During the fourth quarter, the Credit Group closed approximately $5.6 billion in commitments across 63 transactions, bringing the full year total to approximately $15.0 billion in commitments across 216 transactions, of which 92% were in senior secured loans. During 2018, the Credit Group partnered on transactions with more than 100 sponsors.

Below is a description of 12 transactions that funds managed by the Ares Credit Group (collectively “Ares”) closed during the fourth quarter.

Center for Autism and Related Disorders / The Blackstone Group

Ares served as administrative agent, collateral agent, joint lead arranger, and joint bookrunner for a senior secured credit facility to support Blackstone’s growth plans for the company. The Center for Autism and Related Disorders provides a comprehensive suite of autism treatment services focused on applied behavioral analysis (ABA) therapy in the clinic, home, and school settings.

Centric Brands / Tengram Capital Partners

Ares served as administrative agent, joint lead arranger, and joint bookrunner for a senior secured credit facility to support an acquisition and execute on the sponsor’s business plan. Centric Brands, f/k/a Differential Brands Group, is a leading designer, marketer, and distributor of apparel, accessories, and related lifestyle products of widely recognized consumer brands.

Hearthside Food Solutions / Charlesbank

Ares served as the joint lead arranger, collateral agent, and administrative agent for a senior secured, second lien term loan to support a strategic acquisition by Hearthside. Hearthside Food Solutions is a leading bakery, nutrition bar, snack, and customized packaging solutions provider.

IMIA / J.F. Lehman & Company

Ares served as the administrative agent, sole lead arranger and bookrunner for a senior secured credit facility to support J.F. Lehman & Company’s acquisition of International Marine & Industrial Applicators, LLC and Craft Technical Solutions, LLC (collectively, “IMIA”). IMIA provides critical vessel preservation services to the U.S. Navy and commercial maintenance, repair, and overhaul and new construction markets.

Information Resources / Vestar Capital Partners

Ares served as the joint lead arranger and joint bookrunner for a senior secured second lien term loan to support Vestar’s acquisition of Information Resources Inc. Information Resources Inc. is a leading market research company which provides consumer, shopper, and retail market intelligence and analysis to the consumer-packaged goods industry globally.

MacLean-Fogg Company

Ares served as the administrative agent, sole lead arranger, and sole bookrunner for a senior secured credit facility to support a refinancing of a portion of MacLean-Fogg Company’s existing capital structure. The company is a global manufacturer and supplier for the automotive and power utility marketplaces worldwide.

Pathway Vet Alliance / Morgan Stanley Investment Management

Ares served as the administrative agent, sole lead arranger, and bookrunner for a senior secured credit facility to support the refinancing of Pathway Vet Alliance’s existing capital structure to provide additional capital to continue its acquisition strategy. Pathway is one of the largest owner operators of freestanding veterinary hospitals in the U.S.

Plaskolite / Pritzker Private Capital

Ares served as the second lien administrative agent, collateral agent, joint lead arranger, and joint bookrunner for a second lien term loan to support the acquisition of Plaskolite by Pritzker Private Capital. Plaskolite is a large manufacturer of specialized acrylic and polycarbonate sheet.

Pritchard Industries / A&M Capital Partners

Ares served as the administrative agent, lead arranger, and sole bookrunner to provide financing to A&M Capital Partners to support the acquisition of Pritchard Industries, Inc. and its affiliates (“Pritchard Industries”). Pritchard Industries is a leading provider of facilities services, delivering a wide-range of janitorial and specialty services to commercial office buildings, education and government facilities, sports/entertainment venues, medical complexes and industrial facilities.

Professional Datasolutions / Genstar Capital and TA Associates

Ares served as the first lien joint lead arranger and joint bookrunner and second lien administrative agent, lead arranger, and bookrunner for a senior secured financing facility to support a recapitalization given Professional Datasolutions’ (“PDI”) successful execution of its accretive acquisition strategy. PDI is a dominant market provider of software and related services for multi-unit convenience store retailers, wholesale petroleum marketers, and fuel carriers and haulers.

SecurAmerica

Ares served as the administrative agent, collateral agent, lead arranger, and sole bookrunner for a senior secured credit facility to support the acquisition of a majority interest in Delta Global Services (DGS) by SecurAmerica and provide follow-on capital for additional growth opportunities across the company’s service lines. DGS is a leading aviation services provider offering aviation and security-related services to Delta and other airlines in more than 170 airport locations in the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Guam and the Bahamas. SecurAmerica is a leading provider of outsourced commercial and government security services in the U.S. The company also provides janitorial, maintenance and landscaping services to retail centers and commercial clients, along with various outsourced aviation services to airlines and airports.

Team Technologies / Clearlake Capital Group

Ares served as the administrative agent, collateral agent, sole lead arranger, and sole bookrunner for a first lien term loan to support Clearlake’s acquisition of Team Technologies. Team is a specialized, engineering-oriented contract manufacturing organization primarily focused on manufacturing consumable products in the dental, medical, cosmetic, and industrial end-markets, with particular competency in bristling technology and molded applicators.

About Ares Management Corporation

Ares Management Corporation is a publicly traded, leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $130.7 billion of assets under management as of December 31, 2018 and 18 offices in the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia. Since its inception in 1997, Ares has adhered to a disciplined investment philosophy that focuses on delivering strong risk-adjusted investment returns throughout market cycles. Ares believes each of its three distinct but complementary investment groups in Credit, Private Equity and Real Estate is a market leader based on assets under management and investment performance. Ares was built upon the fundamental principle that each group benefits from being part of the greater whole. For more information, visit www.aresmgmt.com.

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