West coast manager raises $180.5 million for credit vehicle

Los Angeles-based credit manager Ares Management has raised $180.5 million of new capital for its closed-end vehicle Ares Capital. The company says it will use the proceeds of the secondary offering mainly to pay down its revolving loan, but it says some of the capital could also be put towards its $310 million pipeline of loans. The entity has been progressively reducing its leverage recently, with debt falling from 83% of equity at the start of 2009 to a leverage ratio of 55% at the end of the third quarter. Business development companies such as Ares Capital are limited to leverage of one times their equity.