ST. LOUIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Advantage Capital, a leading small business finance firm, announced today that it has been awarded an $80 million allocation in the highly competitive federal New Markets Tax Credit program. The company received the seventh-highest award out of the 120 organizations nationwide receiving allocations. A total of 120 organizations were selected from a pool of 238 applicants to receive a total of $7 billion in tax credit allocation authority under the 2015-2016 round of the program.
As a winner in 11 of 13 allocation rounds, this announcement brings Advantage Capital’s total awards to $739 million since the program began in 2001. Since 1992, Advantage Capital has invested more than $2 billion in over 660 businesses spanning a diverse array of industry sectors. The company’s investments have helped to facilitate the flow of billions of dollars of investment capital into underserved communities.
“Advantage Capital has long been a significant participant in the award-winning federal New Markets program, and we’re honored to have been selected again to be part of this important program,” said Steven Stull, president of Advantage Capital. “We have built an almost twenty-five-year track record of public-private partnerships, focusing on fostering entrepreneurs and creating a significant positive impact in the communities where we invest.”
Announcing the New Markets Tax Credit (NMTC) program allocation awards at a ceremony in Washington, D.C., Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said, “By attracting private business and development to distressed communities, this tax credit spurs economic growth, creates jobs and brings new services and opportunities where they are most needed.” Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund Director Annie Donovan said, “For the past 15 years, we have seen how the New Markets Tax Credit improves the quality of life and economic prospects for low-income Americans. The historic $7 billion in tax credits awarded through the 2015-2016 round will support community projects and businesses nationwide.”
Community Development Entities (CDEs) must apply annually to the CDFI Fund to compete for New Markets Tax Credit program allocation authority. The Advantage Capital Community Development Fund will focus its newly awarded New Markets allocation in geographic areas in which the firm has previously invested, including both urban and rural communities, and will also consider opportunities to serve distressed communities in additional markets.
About Advantage Capital
Since 1992, Advantage Capital, a leading small business finance firm with offices in New Orleans, St. Louis, New York and Hanover, N.H., among other cities, has invested more than $2 billion in over 660 companies, spanning a diverse array of industry sectors and covering the entire risk spectrum. To promote growth, help create jobs and strengthen communities, Advantage Capital makes investments through public-private partnerships that strive to stimulate the flow of private capital in the form of long-term investments into underserved communities nationwide, including federal and state New Markets Tax Credit programs, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Business Investment Program and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit programs, among others. Advantage Capital is one of the top allocatees under the federal NMTC program, having been allocated $739 million in 11 of 13 highly competitive allocation rounds. In 2014, Advantage Capital Agribusiness Partners was licensed as a Rural Business Investment Company, raising a $154.5-million fund exclusively focused on the food and agribusiness sector, the largest fund raised to date under the RBIC program.
About the New Markets Tax Credit Program
The federal New Markets Tax Credit program, administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, helps economically distressed communities attract private investment capital. This federal tax credit helps to offset the perceived or real risk of investing in distressed and low-income communities. The Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFI) Fund allocates tax credit authority to Community Development Entities (CDEs) through a competitive application process. CDEs are financial intermediaries through which investment capital flows from an investor to a qualified business located in a low-income community. CDEs use their authority to offer tax credits to investors in exchange for equity in the CDE. With these capital investments, CDEs can make loans and investments to businesses operating in distressed areas that have better rates and terms and more flexible features than the market. In the 13 rounds to date, the CDFI Fund has made 1,032 allocation awards totaling $50.5 billion in tax credit authority. The recent award announcement -- $7 billion in New Markets Tax Credit awards -- is the largest single round in the history of the program.
Advantage Capital is an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The information in this release is not intended to be an advertisement concerning investment advisory services or an offer to buy or sell securities of any type. Only accredited investors within the meaning of Regulation D under the Securities Act of 1933 (Reg. D) will be permitted to review offering materials or subscribe for interests in private funds referenced in documents prepared by Advantage Capital. In order to qualify as accredited investors, individuals and institutions must provide certain information and satisfy the criteria of Rule 506(c) under Reg. D. Advantage Capital has not admitted any new investors to Advantage Capital Agribusiness Partners since the fund closed in 2014 and has no intent to open the fund to new investors during the life of the fund. Advantage Capital is an equal opportunity provider.