Allied Capital and GE Commercial Finance Launch $3.6 Billion Unitranche Fund LLC

Allied Capital (NYSE:ALD) and GE Commercial Finance announced today that they have partnered to form a $3.6 billion senior secured unitranche loan fund. A unitranche loan blends senior and junior debt pricing and terms into a single first lien debt facility. Unitranche Fund LLC is designed to deliver a reliable loan product to borrowers with greater speed, simplicity and certainty of execution. Financing commitments up to $500 million in size will be available for borrowers across a wide range of industry sectors, including healthcare, media, energy, aerospace, business services and transportation. The Fund will retain all or a majority of each credit facility. Borrowers will benefit from simplified documentation through a single credit agreement, greater certainty of execution, and reduced decision-making complexity throughout the life of the loan. "This new fund will deliver value for our friends in the private equity community,” said Stuart Aronson, President of GE Global Sponsor Finance. "We are pleased to partner with Allied Capital, an experienced investor with an outstanding track record of providing unitranche financing, second lien loans, and subordinated debt, to build a strong unitranche fund.” "This partnership between Allied Capital and GE Commercial Finance, a leading senior debt provider in our market, brings together the unique expertise and financing capabilities of both firms to meet the increasingly challenging financing needs of companies and sponsors with greater certainty of execution,” said Bill Walton, Chairman and CEO of Allied Capital. About Allied Capital Allied Capital is a leading business development company (BDC) in the U.S. that invests private debt and equity capital in middle market businesses nationwide. Founded in 1958 and operating as a public company since 1960, Allied Capital has paid consistent or increasing regular, quarterly cash dividends annually to shareholders since 1963. Allied Capital provides long-term debt and equity capital for management and sponsor-led buyouts, and for recapitalizations, acquisitions and growth of middle market companies. Allied Capital’s one-stop financing capabilities include first and second lien senior loans, unitranche debt, junior or subordinated debt and equity. Allied Capital seeks to invest in stable, less cyclical companies that produce significant free cash flow and high returns on invested capital. At September 30, 2007, the Company’s private finance portfolio included investments in 110 companies that currently generate aggregate revenues of over $13 billion and employ more than 90,000 people. Headquartered in Washington, DC, Allied Capital offers shareholders the opportunity to participate in the private equity industry through an investment in its New York Stock Exchange-listed stock. Allied Capital invests in the American entrepreneurial economy by providing long-term capital and access to managerial resources often unavailable to middle market companies. For more information, please visit www.alliedcapital.com, call Allied Capital investor relations toll-free at (888) 818-5298, or e-mail us at ir@alliedcapital.com. About GE Commercial Finance, Global Sponsor Finance With over $8 billion in assets, and offices in Boston, Chicago, Dallas, London, Los Angeles, New York, and San Francisco, GE Commercial Finance, Global Sponsor Finance represents a "one-stop” source for the comprehensive range of GE’s lending and other structured financial services offered to the private equity sponsor market. For more information, please visit www.gegsf.com. About GE Commercial Finance GE Commercial Finance, which offers businesses around the globe an array of financial products and services, has assets of approximately $300 billion and is headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut. GE (NYSE:GE) is Imagination at Work – a diversified technology, media and financial services company focused on solving some of the world’s toughest problems. With products and services ranging from aircraft engines, power generation, water processing and security technology to medical imaging, business and consumer financing, media content and advanced materials, GE serves customers in more than 100 countries and employs more than 300,000 people worldwide. For more information, visit the company’s website at www.ge.com. Forward-Looking Statements The information contained in this press release contains forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. Certain factors could cause actual results and conditions to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements, and some of these factors are enumerated in Allied Capital’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.