NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) July 31, 2007--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services today assigned its 'BBB' long-term counterparty credit rating to Ares Capital Corp. (Ares Capital, NASDAQ: ARCC). The outlook is stable. "The rating is based on the firm's consistent financial performance coupled with strong capital levels and asset liquidity that is strong relative to other Business Development companies (BDCs)," said Standard&Poor's credit analyst Jeffrey Zaun. "These positive factors are partly offset by Ares Capital's exposure to volatile investment markets, its short track record, and the high credit risk of its investment portfolio. Scant equity ownership by executives as well as external management of the firm's portfolio are constraining rating factors." With $1.5 billion in assets at March
