Stellus Capital Management Provides Overview of 2021 Investment Initiatives

Active Year Sees Notable Growth in Capital Deployed, Platform and Follow-on Investments

HOUSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Stellus Capital Management, LLC (“Stellus”) today provided an overview of the firm’s investment activity in 2021. Highlights include significant year-over-year increases in capital deployed and capital committed, as well as a considerable increase in the firm’s total number of investments.

In 2021, Stellus:

• Deployed $761 million of new capital, a year-over-year increase of 122%
• Committed $870 million of new capital, a 155% year-over-year increase
• Increased its number of new portfolio investments 39% year-over-year
• Reached $2.4 billion in assets under management, as of February 1, 2022

Stellus was founded in 2012 when it spun out of the Direct Capital Unit of the D. E. Shaw group. Stellus’ senior team, which helped create the Direct Capital Unit in 2004, has been investing together in the middle market for 18 years. Stellus focuses on a range of industries, including Business Services, Consumer & Retail, Healthcare, Industrials, and Media & Technology.

“With over $8 billion of principal investing experience and what we consider one of the longest tenured lower middle market investment teams in the marketplace, 2021 was an opportunity to showcase our collective strengths and build for the future,” said Robert T. Ladd, Managing Partner, Stellus Capital Management. “We’re excited to build upon our successes in 2022, continuing to focus on delivering returns for investors and offering flexible financing for the lower middle market companies with which we partner.”

A further breakdown of investment activity illustrating the firm’s success in 2021, includes:

• 24 platform investments (year over year increase of 167%)
  • $603 million in capital deployed
• 19 follow-on investments
  • $158 million in capital deployed
• 11 new sponsor relationships
• 50 total sponsor relationships (current portfolio)

About Stellus Capital Management

Stellus was founded in 2012 and formed in conjunction with the spin-out of the Direct Capital Unit of the D. E. Shaw group. Stellus’ senior team helped create the Direct Capital Unit in 2004 and has been investing together in the middle market for 18 years. Since 2004, the Stellus team has deployed over $8 billion into more than 350 middle market companies, developing a broad and deep expertise in this segment of the private investing market. Stellus currently has approximately $2.4 billion in assets under management, with offices in Houston, TX, the Washington, D.C. area, and Charlotte, NC. Learn more at https://www.stelluscapital.com.