...NEW YORK (S&P Global Ratings) March 5, 2019--S&P Global Ratings today assigned its '###-' rating on Ares Capital Corp.'s (ARCC) senior unsecured convertible notes due 2024. We expect the issuance to be between $350 million and $400 million. ARCC intends to use the proceeds to pay down existing debt. Therefore, we expect the transaction to be leverage neutral. As of Dec. 31, 2018, ARCC's debt to adjusted total equity (ATE) was about 0.8x. The stable outlook reflects our view that ARCC will gradually increase its leverage over the next 12-24 months to 1.0x-1.3x on a debt-to-ATE basis. ARCC's current leverage is below historical levels, but the company received board approval to increase its leverage beyond 1.0x debt to equity, on a statutory basis, beginning in June 2019. We could lower the ratings if the company increases leverage, as measured by debt to ATE, above 1.5x. We could also downgrade the company if it increases its leverage above 1.0x and if we believe that the company would maintain...
