NGP Capital Resources Company announced that its Board of Directors has unanimously approved the expansion of the company’s investment strategy to include providing capital to companies in the broader, middle-market segment. The company will continue to pursue energy and natural resources investments while implementing this expansion into diversified industries in the middle market, with the goal of accelerating and improving the overall growth and earnings performance of NGPC’s entire portfolio of targeted investments.

As part of its commitment to this expanded strategy, the company announced that it has hired Michael D. Brown, managing director, head of Middle-Market Investments, to lead the company’s activities in identifying, sourcing and funding attractive middle-market investments within diversified industry sectors, including manufacturing, value-added distribution, business services, healthcare products and services, consumer services and select other sectors.

Brown has over 27 years of experience providing junior debt capital and senior equity to middle-market companies within a variety of institutional structures, including business development companies, private investment funds, Small Business Investment Companies (SBIC) and commercial banks. Brown was a co-founder and managing partner of two private limited partnership funds, Stratford Capital Partners and Stratford Equity Partners, which were successfully licensed and managed as SBIC funds. Most recently he was a managing director of Private Finance for The Gladstone Companies.

Steve Gardner, president and CEO, stated, “We have spent a great deal of time and effort over the last year evaluating strategies to accelerate the growth and diversification of our portfolio and are pleased that our Board has unanimously approved this important step forward for our company. We are excited to have Michael join our investment team as we broaden our investment focus. It is rare to have the opportunity to team with a professional with Michael’s depth and breadth of experience in sourcing and managing investments in the middle market sector, and we look forward to successfully executing our expanded strategy for our stockholders.”

Brown said, “I believe the curtailment of bank lending activity following the financial crisis has created unprecedented opportunities for new sources and creative structures of capital to the middle market segment. I am pleased to be able to pursue this opportunity with such outstanding organizations as NGPC and its affiliate, NGP Energy Capital Management. The ability to leverage their existing relationships and excellent reputation was a critical factor in my decision to join NGPC to lead this expansion and I look forward to working with the entire NGPC team in this endeavor.”

NGP Capital Resources Company is a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company that invests primarily in senior secured and mezzanine loans according to its business plan and in some instances receive equity interests in portfolio companies in connection with such investments.