American Capital, Ltd. announced that it has invested $11.7 million, $20 million together with its affiliates, in the debt and equity of portfolio company Halt Medical, Inc., a medical device company focused on women’s health.

“American Capital is pleased to be supporting our portfolio company Halt Medical as it continues to grow its medical device business focused on treating uterine fibroids,” said Gordon O’Brien, American Capital President, Specialty Finance and Operations. “Our additional investment will support the company as it moves forward with obtaining FDA approval for the surgical use of its products and the commercialization of its products for use in major global markets.”

Founded in 2005, Halt Medical is a medical device company focused on women’s health. The company has developed a procedure and related equipment for treating uterine fibroids that is less expensive, more effective and less invasive than other alternatives – the Halt Global Fibroid Ablation (GFA) System. In June 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cleared the Halt 2000GI(TM) Electrosurgical System for soft tissue ablation using radiofrequency energy. The results of Halt’s international studies have led to recent approvals for treating uterine fibroids in Canada and the European Union. The Halt System may be used for general surgical use in the U.S. The company recently completed a 137 patient IDE clinical trial at 11 sites in three countries to demonstrate clinical safety and efficacy in the treatment of symptomatic uterine fibroids. FDA clearance is expected this year. The Company is located in Livermore, CA.

“We are delighted that our long term investment partner American Capital is continuing to support Halt Medical through additional financing. Their financial resources will enable us to build out the commercial side of our business and expand our products’ market presence in the U.S. and internationally as well as obtain FDA clearance for the treatment of uterine fibroids,” said Jeff Cohen, Halt Medical CEO.

American Capital and an affiliate first invested in Halt Medical in May 2007.

American Capital is a private equity firm and global asset manager.