Targeting US middle-market companies, Ares Capital invests in senior debt loans (secured loans that receive repayment priority over other types of debt) and mezzanine debt; it also makes equity investments. The firm, which typically invests between $20 and $200 million per transaction, manages a portfolio of more than 90 companies representing the health care, education, food service, beverage, financial services industries, among others. Founded in 2004, Ares Capital is externally managed by Ares Capital Management, a subsidiary of Ares Management LLC. It acquired Allied Capital in 2010, making it one of the largest business development companies in the US, with some $13 billion of capital under management.