Kroll Bond Rating Agency Assigns BBB+ Ratings to Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc.
Kroll Bond Rating Agency Assigns BBB+ Ratings to Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc.
NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA) has assigned an issuer rating of BBB+ with a stable outlook to Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc. ("Hercules" or "the company"), a business development company (BDC) based in Palo Alto, California with additional offices across the United States.
Hercules was founded in December 2003 and had its Initial Public Offering (IPO) in June 2005. The company's stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol "HTGC." The BBB+ rating of Hercules reflects the senior secured position of their underlying investments, asset quality performance to date, and strong leverage metrics comfortably within BDC mandated regulatory limits. The ratings are also supported by the company's proven access to capital markets and their expertise in investing in venture-backed companies with strong growth potential as well as the quality of their credit risk management and monitoring. In addition, Hercules has very low non-accruals to date, strong cash and liquidity position, good coverage of dividends from NII, a strong track record in both debt and equity issuance and acceptable asset encumbrance.
Kroll's stable outlook of Hercules is supported by the company's leverage metrics which have a comfortable cushion below regulatory maximums and should provide good coverage in case of higher net realized losses in a forward economic stress scenario.
The ratings were assigned using KBRA's Finance Company Rating Methodology, published April 1, 2013.
About Kroll Bond Rating Agency
KBRA was established in 2010 by Jules Kroll to restore trust in credit ratings by creating new standards for assessing risk and by offering accurate, clear and transparent ratings. KBRA is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as a Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO). In addition, KBRA is recognized by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC) as a Credit Rating Provider (CRP).
Kroll Bond Rating Agency
Marjan Riggi, 646-731-2354
Senior Director
mriggi@krollbondratings.com
or
Gregory Root, 646-731-2381
Managing Director
groot@krollbondratings.com
or
Isabelle Nana, 240-394-4153
Senior Financial Analyst
inana@krollbondratings.com
KEYWORDS: United States North America New York
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:
The article Kroll Bond Rating Agency Assigns BBB+ Ratings to Hercules Technology Growth Capital, Inc. originally appeared on Fool.com.
Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Copyright © 1995 - 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
