Hercules Capital Closes Institutional Notes Offering of $300.0 Million 5.350% Unsecured Notes due 2029

Key Terms

unsecured notes financial

Unsecured notes are loans a company issues to investors that are backed only by the issuer’s promise to pay, not by specific assets like buildings or equipment. Like an IOU without collateral, they usually pay interest but rank below secured creditors if the company fails, so they carry higher risk and often offer higher yields; investors watch them for credit strength, interest payments and recovery prospects in a default.

underwritten public offering financial

An underwritten public offering is when a company sells new shares of its stock to the public with the help of a financial firm, called an underwriter. The underwriter agrees to buy all the shares upfront, reducing the company's risk, and then sells them to investors. This process helps companies raise money quickly and confidently from a wide range of buyers.

make whole premium financial

A make whole premium is a one-time payment an issuer must give bondholders when it repays a bond before its scheduled maturity to compensate for lost future interest; think of it as paying the remaining expected interest in today’s dollars so investors are ‘made whole.’ For investors, it matters because it protects expected returns on callable or early-redeemable debt and affects the effective yield and price sensitivity of those bonds.

prospectus supplement regulatory

A prospectus supplement is an additional document provided alongside a company's main offering details, offering updated or extra information about a specific financial product being sold. It helps investors understand the latest terms, risks, and details of the investment, similar to how an update or revision clarifies or expands on original instructions, ensuring they have current and complete information before making a decision.

Notes due 2029 Initially Assigned Ratings of Baa2 by Moody’s Investors Service and a BBB- by Fitch Ratings, Inc.

SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE: HTGC) (“Hercules” or the “Company”), today announced that it has closed an underwritten public offering of $300.0 million in aggregate principal amount of 5.350% notes due February 2029 (the “Notes”).

The Notes are unsecured and bear interest at a rate of 5.350% per year, payable semiannually, will mature on February 10, 2029 and may be redeemed in whole or in part at any time or from time to time at the Company’s option at par, plus a “make whole” premium, if applicable.

The Company expects to use the net proceeds from this offering (i) to fund investments in accordance with its investment objectives, (ii) to repay outstanding secured indebtedness under its existing financing arrangements, and (iii) for other general corporate purposes.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. and MUFG Securities Americas Inc. acted as joint book-running managers of this offering. Citizens JMP Securities, LLC, DZ Financial Markets LLC, RBC Capital Markets, LLC, Synovus Securities, Inc. and Zions Direct, Inc. acted as co-managers.

This offering was made solely by means of a prospectus supplement and an accompanying prospectus. Copies of the prospectus supplement may be obtained from Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC, Prospectus Department, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282, or email: Prospectus-ny@ny.email.gs.com, or telephone: 1-866-471-2526, or SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc., 277 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10172, Attention: Debt Capital Markets – Transaction Management, or email: prospectus@smbcnikko-si.com, or telephone: 1-212-224-5135.

About Hercules Capital, Inc.

Hercules Capital, Inc. (NYSE: HTGC) is the leading and largest specialty finance company focused on providing senior secured venture growth loans to high-growth, innovative venture capital-backed companies in a broad variety of technology and life sciences industries. Since inception (December 2003), Hercules has committed more than $25 billion to over 700 companies and is the lender of choice for entrepreneurs and venture capital firms seeking growth capital financing. Companies interested in learning more about financing opportunities should contact info@htgc.com, or call (650) 289-3060.

Hercules, through its wholly owned subsidiary business, Hercules Adviser LLC (the “Adviser Subsidiary”), also maintains an asset management business through which it manages investments for external parties (“Adviser Funds”). The Adviser Subsidiary is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

Hercules’ common stock trades on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the ticker symbol “HTGC.” In addition, Hercules has one retail bond issuance of 6.25% Notes due 2033 (NYSE: HCXY).

Forward-Looking Statements

This press release may contain “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We may use words such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,” “should,” “may” and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and should not be relied upon in making any investment decision. Such statements are based on currently available operating, financial and competitive information and are subject to various risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from our historical experience and our present expectations. While we cannot identify all such risks and uncertainties, we urge you to read the risks discussed in our Annual Report on Form 10-K and other materials that we publicly file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements made in this press release are made only as of the date hereof. Hercules assumes no obligation to update any such statements in the future.

View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260210873959/en/

Michael Hara

Investor Relations and Corporate Communications

Hercules Capital, Inc.

(650) 433-5578

mhara@htgc.com

Source: Hercules Capital, Inc.