Capital Southwest Announces Sale of Investment in Deepwater Corrosion Services

DALLAS, Dec. 19, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Capital Southwest Corporation (“Capital Southwest”; Nasdaq: CSWC), an internally managed business development company focused on providing flexible financing solutions to support the acquisition and growth of middle market businesses, today announced that it closed the sale of its investment in Deepwater Corrosion Services, Inc. (“Deepwater” or “the Company”) in conjunction with sale of the Company to Acteon Group Limited (“Acteon”) on December 7, 2018.   Capital Southwest originally provided $8.0 million of growth capital to Deepwater in the form of preferred stock in April 2013.  The sale transaction resulted in net proceeds to Capital Southwest of $9.8 million, in line with the most recent quarterly valuation.

“The management team and employees did a superb job maintaining excellent customer service through the downturn in the energy industry in general and the offshore market in particular.  We believe Acteon will be an outstanding partner as the Company continues to provide critical cathodic protection and corrosion engineering services to its global energy customers,” said Bill Ashbaugh, Managing Director of Capital Southwest. 

Jim Britton, Deepwater’s Chief Executive Officer, commented, “I am very appreciative of the guidance and support provided by Capital Southwest during the 5 years that they were with us.  They provided invaluable relationships that we leveraged to help us negotiate a difficult time in the energy industry.”

Deepwater, headquartered in Houston, TX, is a full-service offshore corrosion control company, providing the energy industry with expertise in cathodic protection and corrosion engineering.

About Capital Southwest

Capital Southwest Corporation (Nasdaq: CSWC) is a Dallas, Texas-based, internally managed business development company, with approximately $308 million in net assets as of September 30, 2018. Capital Southwest is a middle market lending firm focused on supporting the acquisition and growth of middle market businesses with $5 to $25 million investments across the capital structure, including first lien, unitranche, second lien, subordinated debt and non-control equity co-investments. As a public company with a permanent capital base, Capital Southwest has the flexibility to be creative in its financing solutions and to invest to support the growth of its portfolio companies over long periods of time.

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release contains historical information and forward-looking statements within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 with respect to future dividends, market conditions, and the business and investments of Capital Southwest. Forward-looking statements are statements that are not historical statements and can often be identified by words such as “will,” “believe,” “expect” and similar expressions and variations or negatives of these words. These statements are based on management’s current expectations, assumptions and beliefs. They are not guarantees of future results and are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. These risks include risks related to changes in the markets in which Capital Southwest invests, changes in the financial and lending markets, regulatory changes, tax treatment and general economic and business conditions.

Readers should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements and are encouraged to review Capital Southwest’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended March 31, 2018 and subsequent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission for a more complete discussion of the risks and other factors that could affect any forward-looking statements. Except as required by the federal securities laws, Capital Southwest does not undertake any obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, changing circumstances or any other reason after the date of this press release.

Investor Relations Contact:
Michael S. Sarner, Chief Financial Officer
214-884-3829