UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

For the Fiscal Year Ended December 31, 2005

OR

Commission File No. 0-22832

ALLIED CAPITAL CORPORATION

(Exact Name of Registrant as specified in its Charter)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code: (202) 331-1112

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act:

NONE

      Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. YES o  NO x

      Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act. YES o  NO x

      Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.
YES x  NO o

      Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  x

      Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer or a non-accelerated filer. See definition of “accelerated filer and large accelerated filer” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (check one)
Large accelerated filer x  Accelerated filer o  Non-accelerated filer o

      Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act). YES o  NO x

      The aggregate market value of the registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 30, 2005, was approximately $3.6 billion based upon the last sale price for the registrant’s common stock on that date. As of March 9, 2006, there were 139,825,334 shares of the registrant’s common stock outstanding.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

      Portions of the registrant’s definitive Proxy Statement for the Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be held on May 16, 2006, are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Report.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PART I

Item 1.     Business.

General

      We are a business development company, or BDC, and we are in the private equity business. Specifically, we provide long-term debt and equity capital to primarily private middle market companies in a variety of industries. We believe the private equity capital markets are important to the growth of small and middle market companies because such companies often have difficulty accessing the public debt and equity capital markets. We believe that we are well positioned to be a source of capital for such companies. We provide our investors the opportunity to participate in the U.S. private equity industry through an investment in our publicly traded stock.

      We have participated in the private equity business since we were founded in 1958. Since then, we have invested more than $9 billion in thousands of companies nationwide. We primarily invest in the American entrepreneurial economy, helping to build middle market businesses and support American jobs. We generally invest in established companies with adequate cash flow for debt service. We are not venture capitalists, and we generally do not provide seed, or early stage, capital. At December 31, 2005, our private finance portfolio included investments in over 100 companies that generate aggregate annual revenues of over $10 billion and employ more than 85,000 people.

      Our investment objective is to achieve current income and capital gains. In order to achieve this objective, we invest in companies in a variety of industries.

Private Equity Investing

      As a private equity investor, we spend significant time and effort identifying, structuring, performing due diligence, monitoring, developing, valuing, and ultimately exiting our investments. We generally target companies in less cyclical industries with, among other things, high returns on invested capital, management teams with meaningful equity ownership, well-constructed balance sheets, and the ability to generate free cash flow. Each investment is subject to an extensive due diligence process. It is not uncommon for a single investment to take from two months to a full year to complete, depending on the complexity of the transaction.

      Our investment activity is primarily focused on making long-term investments in the debt and equity of primarily private middle market companies. We have chosen these investments because they can be structured to provide recurring cash flow to us as the investor. In addition to earning interest income, we may earn income from management, consulting, diligence, structuring or other fees. We may also enhance our total return with capital gains realized from equity features, such as nominal cost warrants, or by investing in equity instruments. For the years 1998 through 2005, we have realized $575.1 million in

cumulative net realized gains from our investment portfolio. Net realized gains for this period as a percentage of total assets are shown in the chart below.

      Our investments in the debt and equity of primarily private middle market companies are generally long-term in nature and are privately negotiated, and no readily available market exists for them. This makes our investments highly illiquid and, as a result, we cannot readily trade them. When we make an investment, we enter into a long-term arrangement where our ultimate exit from that investment may be three to ten years in the future.

      We believe illiquid investments generally provide better investment returns on average over time than do more liquid investments, such as public equities and public debt instruments, because of the increased liquidity risk in holding such investments. Investors in illiquid investments cannot manage risk through investment trading techniques. In order to manage our risk, we focus on careful investment selection, thorough due diligence, portfolio monitoring and portfolio diversification. Our investment management processes have been designed to incorporate these disciplines. We are led by an experienced management team with our senior officers possessing, on average, 20 years of experience in the private equity industry.

      We believe our business model is well suited for long-term illiquid investing. Our balance sheet is capitalized with significant equity capital and we use only a modest level of debt capital, which allows us the ability to be patient and to manage through difficult market conditions with less risk of liquidity issues. Under the Investment Company Act of 1940, we are restricted to a debt to equity ratio of approximately one-to-one. Thus, our capital structure, which includes a modest level of long-term leverage, is well suited for long-term illiquid investments.

      In general, we compete for investments with a large number of private equity funds and mezzanine funds, other business development companies, hedge funds, investment banks, other equity and non-equity based investment funds, and other sources of financing, including specialty finance companies and traditional financial services companies such as commercial banks. However, we primarily compete with other providers of long-term debt and equity capital to middle market companies, including private equity funds and other business development companies.

      Private Finance Portfolio. Our private finance portfolio is primarily composed of debt and equity securities. We generally invest in private companies though, from time to time, we may invest in companies that are public but lack access to additional public capital. These investments are also generally illiquid.

      Our capital is generally used to fund:

      When assessing a prospective private finance investment, we generally look for companies in less cyclical industries in the middle market (i.e., generally $50 million to $500 million in revenues) with certain target characteristics, which may or may not be present in the companies in which we invest. Our target investments generally are in companies with the following characteristics:

      We generally target investments in the following industries as they tend to be less cyclical, cash flow intensive and generate a high return on invested capital:

      We intend to take a balanced approach to private equity investing that emphasizes a complementary mix of debt investments and buyout investments. The combination of these two types of investments provides current interest and related portfolio income and the potential for future capital gains. It is our preference to structure our investments with a focus on current recurring interest and other income, which may include management, consulting or other fees. We generally target debt investments of $10 million to $50 million and buyout investments of up to $250 million of invested capital.

      Debt investments may include senior loans, unitranche debt (a single debt investment that is a blend of senior and subordinated debt), or subordinated debt (with or without equity features). The junior debt that we invest in that is lower in repayment priority than senior debt is also known as subordinated or mezzanine debt. We may make equity investments for a minority equity stake in portfolio companies in conjunction with our debt investments. We generally target a minimum weighted average portfolio yield of 10% on the debt component of our private finance portfolio. The weighted average yield on our private finance loans and debt securities was 13.0% at December 31, 2005.

      Senior loans generally carry a floating rate of interest, usually set as a spread over LIBOR, and generally require payments of both principal and interest throughout the life of the loan. Interest is generally paid to us monthly or quarterly. Senior loans generally have maturities of three to five years. Unitranche debt and subordinated debt generally carry a fixed rate of interest generally with maturities of five to ten years and generally have interest-only payments in the early years and payments of both principal and interest in the later years, although maturities and principal amortization schedules may vary. Interest is generally paid to us quarterly. At December 31, 2005, 87% of our private finance loans and debt securities carried a fixed rate of interest and 13% carried a floating rate of interest.

      Through our wholly owned subsidiary, AC Finance LLC, (AC Finance) we may underwrite senior loans related to our portfolio investments or for other companies that are not in our portfolio. When AC Finance underwrites senior loans, we may earn a fee for such loan underwriting activities. Senior loans originated and underwritten by AC Finance may or may not be funded by us at closing. When these

senior loans are closed, we may fund all or a portion of the underwritten commitment pending sale of the loan to other investors, which may include loan sales to Callidus Capital Corporation (Callidus) or funds managed by Callidus, a portfolio company controlled by us. After completion of the sale process, we may or may not retain a position in these senior loans. We may also invest in the bonds or preferred shares/income notes of collateralized loan obligations (CLOs) or collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), where the underlying collateral pool consists of senior loans. Certain of the CLOs and CDOs in which we invest may be managed by Callidus Capital Management, a subsidiary of Callidus.

      In a buyout transaction, we generally invest in senior debt, subordinated debt and equity (preferred and/or voting or non-voting common) where our equity ownership represents a significant portion of the equity, but may or may not represent a controlling interest. If we invest in non-voting equity in a buyout investment, we generally have an option to acquire a controlling stake in the voting securities of the portfolio company at fair market value. We generally structure our buyout investments such that we seek to earn a blended current return on our total capital invested of approximately 10% through a combination of interest income on our senior loans and subordinated debt, dividends on our preferred and common equity, and management, consulting, or transaction services fees to compensate us for the managerial assistance that we may provide to the portfolio company. We believe that the transaction fees charged for the services we provide to portfolio companies are generally comparable with transaction fees charged by others in the private equity industry for performing similar services. As a result of our significant equity investment in a buyout investment there is potential to realize larger capital gains through buyout investing as compared to debt or mezzanine investing.

      The structure of each debt and equity security is specifically negotiated to enable us to protect our investment, with a focus on preservation of capital, and maximize our returns. We include many terms governing interest rate, repayment terms, prepayment penalties, financial covenants, operating covenants, ownership parameters, dilution parameters, liquidation preferences, voting rights, and put or call rights. Our senior loans and unintranche debt are generally secured, however in a liquidation scenario, the collateral may not be sufficient to support our outstanding investment. Our junior or mezzanine loans are generally unsecured. Our investments may be subject to certain restrictions on resale and generally have no established trading market.

      At December 31, 2005, 60.2% of the private finance portfolio at value consisted of loans and debt securities and 39.8% consisted of equity securities (equity securities included 26.4% in investment cost basis and 13.4% in net unrealized appreciation). At December 31, 2005, 54.2% of the private finance investments at value were in companies more than 25% owned, 4.6% were in companies 5% to 25% owned, and 41.2% were in companies less than 5% owned.

      Our ten largest investments at value at December 31, 2005, were as follows:

     We monitor the portfolio to maintain diversity within the industries in which we invest. Our portfolio is not concentrated and we currently do not have a policy with respect to “concentrating” (i.e., investing 25% or more of our total assets) in any particular industry. We may or may not concentrate in any industry or group of industries in the future. The industry composition of the private finance portfolio at value at December 31, 2005 and 2004, was as follows:

     Commercial Real Estate Finance Portfolio. Since 1998, our commercial real estate investments have generally been in the non-investment grade tranches of commercial mortgage-backed securities, also known as CMBS, and in the bonds and preferred shares of collateralized debt obligations, also known as CDOs. On May 3, 2005, we completed the sale of our portfolio of CMBS and CDO investments to affiliates of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (the Caisse). See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” After the completion of this sale, our commercial real estate finance portfolio consists of commercial mortgage loans, real estate owned and equity interests, which totaled $127.1 million at value on December 31, 2005.

      Simultaneous with the sale of our CMBS and CDO portfolio, we entered into a platform assets purchase agreement with CWCapital Investments LLC, an affiliate of the Caisse (CWCapital), pursuant to which we sold certain commercial real estate related assets, including servicer advances, intellectual property, software and other platform assets, subject to certain adjustments. Under this agreement, we have agreed not to invest in CMBS and real estate related CDOs and refrain from certain other real estate related investing or servicing activities for a period of three years, subject to certain limitations and excluding our existing portfolio and related activities.

Business Processes

      Business Development and New Deal Origination. Over the years, we believe we have developed and maintained a strong industry reputation and an extensive network of relationships with numerous private equity investors, investment banks, business brokers, merger and acquisition advisors, financial services companies, banks, law firms and accountants through whom we source investment opportunities. Through these relationships, we believe we have been able to strengthen our position as a private equity investor. We are well known in the private equity industry, and we believe that our experience and reputation provide a competitive advantage in originating new investments.

      From time to time, we may receive referrals for new prospective investments from our portfolio companies as well as other participants in the capital markets. We generally pay referral fees to those who refer transactions to us that we consummate.

      New Deal Underwriting and Investment Execution. In a typical transaction, we review, analyze, and substantiate through due diligence, the business plan and operations of the potential portfolio company.

We perform financial due diligence, perform operational due diligence, study the industry and competitive landscape, and conduct reference checks with company management or other employees, customers, suppliers, and competitors, as necessary. We may work with external consultants, including accounting firms and industry or operational consultants, in performing due diligence and in monitoring our portfolio investments.

      Once we have determined that a prospective portfolio company is suitable for investment, we work with the management and the other capital providers, including senior, junior, and equity capital providers, to structure a “deal.” We negotiate among these parties to agree on the rights and terms of our investment relative to the other capital in the portfolio company’s capital structure. The typical debt transaction requires approximately two to six months of diligence and structuring before funding occurs. The typical buyout transaction may take up to one year to complete because the due diligence and structuring process is significantly longer when investing in a substantial equity stake in the company.

      Our investments are tailored to the facts and circumstances of each deal. The specific structure is designed to protect our rights and manage our risk in the transaction. We generally structure the debt instrument to require restrictive affirmative and negative covenants, default penalties, lien protection, or other protective provisions. In addition, each debt investment is individually priced to achieve a return that reflects our rights and priorities in the portfolio company’s capital structure, the structure of the debt instrument, and our perceived risk of the investment. Our loans and debt securities have an annual stated interest rate; however, that interest rate is only one factor in pricing the investment. The annual stated interest rate may include some component of contractual payment-in-kind interest, which represents contractual interest accrued and added to the loan balance that generally becomes due at maturity or upon prepayment. In addition to the interest earned on loans and debt securities, our debt investments may include equity features, such as warrants or options to buy a minority interest in the portfolio company. The warrants we receive with our debt securities generally require only a nominal cost to exercise, and thus, if the portfolio company appreciates in value, we achieve additional investment return from this equity interest. We may structure the warrants to provide minority rights provisions and event-driven puts. In many cases, we will also obtain registration rights in connection with these equity interests, which may include demand and “piggyback” registration rights.

      We have a centralized, credit-based approval process. The key steps in our investment process are:

      The investment process benefits from the significant professional experience of the members of our investment committee, which is chaired by our Chief Executive Officer and includes our Chief Operating Officer, our Chief Financial Officer, and certain of our Managing Directors.

      Portfolio Monitoring and Development. Middle market companies often lack the management expertise and experience found in larger companies. As a BDC, we are required by the 1940 Act to make available significant managerial assistance to our portfolio companies. Our senior level professionals work with portfolio company management teams to assist them in building their businesses. Managerial assistance includes, but is not limited to, management and consulting services related to corporate finance, marketing, human resources, personnel and board member recruiting, business operations, corporate

governance, risk management and other general business matters. Our corporate finance assistance includes supporting our portfolio companies’ efforts to structure and attract additional capital. We believe our extensive network of industry relationships and our internal resources help make us a collaborative partner in the development of our portfolio companies.

      Our team of investment professionals regularly monitors the status and performance of each investment. This portfolio company monitoring process generally includes review of the portfolio company’s financial performance against its business plan, review of current financial statements and compliance with financial covenants, evaluation of significant current developments and assessment of future exit strategies. For debt investments we may have board observation rights that allow us to attend portfolio company board meetings. For buyout investments, we generally hold a majority of the seats on the board of directors where we own a controlling interest in the portfolio company and we have board observation rights where we do not own a controlling interest in the portfolio company.

      Our portfolio management committee oversees the overall performance of the portfolio, including reviewing the performance of selected portfolio companies, overseeing portfolio companies in workout status, reviewing and approving certain amendments or modifications to existing investments, reviewing and approving certain portfolio exits, and reviewing and approving certain actions by portfolio companies whose voting securities are more than 50% owned by us. Our portfolio management committee is chaired by our Chief Executive Officer and includes our Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Valuation Officer (non-voting member), and three Managing Directors. From time to time we will identify investments that require closer monitoring or become workout assets. We develop a workout strategy for workout assets and the portfolio management committee gauges our progress against the strategy.

      We seek to price our investments to provide an investment return considering the fact that certain investments in the portfolio may underperform or result in loss of investment return or investment principal. As a private equity investor, we will incur losses from our investing activities, however we have a history of working with troubled portfolio companies in order to recover as much of our investments as is practicable.

Portfolio Grading

      We employ a grading system to monitor the quality of our portfolio. Grade 1 is for those investments from which a capital gain is expected. Grade 2 is for investments performing in accordance with plan. Grade 3 is for investments that require closer monitoring; however, no loss of investment return or principal is expected. Grade 4 is for investments that are in workout and for which some loss of current investment return is expected, but no loss of principal is expected. Grade 5 is for investments that are in workout and for which some loss of principal is expected.

Portfolio Valuation

      We determine the value of each investment in our portfolio on a quarterly basis, and changes in value result in unrealized appreciation or depreciation being recognized in our statement of operations. Value, as defined in Section 2(a)(41) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, is (i) the market price for those securities for which a market quotation is readily available and (ii) for all other securities and assets, fair value is as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors. Since there is typically no readily available market value for the investments in our portfolio, we value substantially all of our portfolio investments at fair value as determined in good faith by the Board of Directors pursuant to a valuation policy and a consistently applied valuation process. Because of the inherent uncertainty of determining the fair value of investments that do not have a readily available market value, the fair value of our investments determined in good faith by the Board of Directors may differ significantly from the values that would have been used had a ready market existed for the investments, and the differences could be material.

      There is no single standard for determining fair value in good faith. As a result, determining fair value requires that judgment be applied to the specific facts and circumstances of each portfolio investment while employing a consistently applied valuation process for the types of investments we make. Unlike

banks, we are not permitted to provide a general reserve for anticipated loan losses. Instead, we are required to specifically value each individual investment on a quarterly basis. We will record unrealized depreciation on investments when we believe that an investment has become impaired, including where collection of a loan or realization of an equity security is doubtful, or when the enterprise value of the portfolio company does not currently support the cost of our debt or equity investment. Enterprise value means the entire value of the company to a potential buyer, including the sum of the values of debt and equity securities used to capitalize the enterprise at a point in time. We will record unrealized appreciation if we believe that the underlying portfolio company has appreciated in value and/or our equity security has appreciated in value. Changes in fair value are recorded in the statement of operations as net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation.

      As a business development company, we invest in illiquid securities including debt and equity securities of companies. The structure of each debt and equity security is specifically negotiated to enable us to protect our investment and maximize our returns. We include many terms governing interest rate, repayment terms, prepayment penalties, financial covenants, operating covenants, ownership parameters, dilution parameters, liquidation preferences, voting rights, and put or call rights. Our investments may be subject to certain restrictions on resale and generally have no established trading market. Because of the type of investments that we make and the nature of our business, our valuation process requires an analysis of various factors. Our fair value methodology includes the examination of, among other things, the underlying investment performance, financial condition, and market changing events that impact valuation.

      Valuation Methodology. Our process for determining the fair value of a private finance investment begins with determining the enterprise value of the portfolio company. The fair value of our investment is based on the enterprise value at which the portfolio company could be sold in an orderly disposition over a reasonable period of time between willing parties other than in a forced or liquidation sale. The liquidity event whereby we exit a private finance investment is generally the sale, the recapitalization or, in some cases, the initial public offering of the portfolio company.

      There is no one methodology to determine enterprise value and, in fact, for any one portfolio company, enterprise value is best expressed as a range of fair values, from which we derive a single estimate of enterprise value. To determine the enterprise value of a portfolio company, we analyze its historical and projected financial results. We generally require portfolio companies to provide annual audited and quarterly unaudited financial statements, as well as annual projections for the upcoming fiscal year. Typically in the private equity business, companies are bought and sold based on multiples of EBITDA, cash flow, net income, revenues or, in limited instances, book value. The private equity industry uses financial measures such as EBITDA or EBITDAM (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization and, in some instances, Management fees) in order to assess a portfolio company’s financial performance and to value a portfolio company. EBITDA and EBITDAM are not intended to represent cash flow from operations as defined by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and such information should not be considered as an alternative to net income, cash flow from operations, or any other measure of performance prescribed by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. When using EBITDA to determine enterprise value, we may adjust EBITDA for non-recurring items. Such adjustments are intended to normalize EBITDA to reflect the portfolio company’s earnings power. Adjustments to EBITDA may include compensation to previous owners, acquisition, recapitalization, or restructuring related items or one-time non-recurring income or expense items.

      In determining a multiple to use for valuation purposes, we generally look to private merger and acquisition statistics, discounted public trading multiples or industry practices. In estimating a reasonable multiple, we consider not only the fact that our portfolio company may be a private company relative to a peer group of public comparables, but we also consider the size and scope of our portfolio company and its specific strengths and weaknesses. In some cases, the best valuation methodology may be a discounted cash flow analysis based on future projections. If a portfolio company is distressed, a liquidation analysis may provide the best indication of enterprise value.

      If there is adequate enterprise value to support the repayment of our debt, the fair value of our loan or debt security normally corresponds to cost unless the borrower’s condition or other factors lead to a determination of fair value at a different amount. The fair value of equity interests in portfolio companies is determined based on various factors, including the enterprise value remaining for equity holders after the repayment of the portfolio company’s debt and other preference capital, and other pertinent factors such as recent offers to purchase a portfolio company, recent transactions involving the purchase or sale of the portfolio company’s equity securities, liquidation events, or other events. The determined equity values are generally discounted when we have a minority position, restrictions on resale, specific concerns about the receptivity of the capital markets to a specific company at a certain time, or other factors.

      As a participant in the private equity business, we invest primarily in private middle market companies for which there is generally no publicly available information. Because of the private nature of these businesses, there is a need to maintain the confidentiality of the financial and other information that we have for the private companies in our portfolio. We believe that maintaining this confidence is important, as disclosure of such information could disadvantage our portfolio companies and could put us at a disadvantage in attracting new investments. Therefore, we do not intend to disclose financial or other information about our portfolio companies, unless required, because we believe doing so may put them at an economic or competitive disadvantage, regardless of our level of ownership or control. To balance the lack of publicly available information about our private portfolio companies, we will continue to work with third-party consultants to obtain assistance in determining fair value for a portion of the private finance portfolio each quarter as discussed below.

      Valuation Process. The portfolio valuation process is managed by our Chief Valuation Officer (“CVO”). The CVO works with the investment professionals responsible for each investment. The following is a description of the steps we take each quarter to determine the value of our portfolio.

      In connection with our valuation process to determine the fair value of a private finance investment, we work with third-party consultants to obtain assistance and advice as additional support in the preparation of our internal valuation analysis for a portion of the portfolio each quarter. In addition, we may receive other third-party assessments of a particular private finance portfolio company’s value in the ordinary course of business, most often in the context of a prospective sale transaction or in the context of a bankruptcy process. The valuation analysis prepared by management using these third-party valuation resources, when applicable, is submitted to our Board of Directors for its determination of fair value of the portfolio in good faith.

      During 2005, we received third-party valuation assistance from Duff & Phelps, LLC (Duff & Phelps) and Houlihan Lokey Howard and Zukin (Houlihan Lokey). We currently intend to continue to obtain valuation assistance from third parties. We currently anticipate that we will generally obtain valuation assistance for all companies in the portfolio where we own more than 50% of the outstanding voting equity securities on a quarterly basis and that we will generally obtain assistance for companies where we own equal to or less than 50% of the outstanding voting equity securities at least once during the course of the calendar year. Valuation assistance may or may not be obtained for new companies that enter the portfolio after June 30 of any calendar year during that year or for investments with a cost and value less than $250,000. For the quarter ended December 31, 2005, Duff & Phelps and Houlihan Lokey assisted us by reviewing our valuation of 80 portfolio companies, which represented 92.4% of the private finance portfolio at value. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” below.

Disposition of Investments

      We manage our portfolio of investments in an effort to maximize our expected returns. Our portfolio is large and we frequently are repaid by our borrowers and exit our debt and equity investments as portfolio companies are sold, recapitalized or complete an initial public offering. In our debt investments where we have equity features, we frequently are in a minority ownership position in a portfolio company, and as a result, generally exit the investment when the majority equity stakeholder decides to sell or recapitalize the company. Where we have a control position in an investment, as we may have in buyout investments, we have more flexibility and can determine whether or not we should exit our investment. Our most common exit strategy for a buyout investment is the sale of a portfolio company to a strategic or financial buyer. If an investment has appreciated in value, we may realize a gain when we exit the investment. If an investment has depreciated in value, we may realize a loss when we exit the investment.

      We are in the investment business, which includes acquiring and exiting investments. It is our policy not to comment on potential transactions in the portfolio prior to reaching a definitive agreement or, in many cases, prior to consummating a transaction. To the extent we enter into any material transactions, we would provide disclosure as required.

Dividends

      We have elected to be taxed as a regulated investment company under subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code. As such, we are not subject to corporate level income taxation on income we timely distribute to our stockholders as dividends. We pay regular quarterly dividends based upon an estimate of annual taxable income, which includes our taxable interest, dividend, and fee income, as well as taxable net capital gains. Taxable income generally differs from net income for financial reporting purposes due to temporary and permanent differences in the recognition of income and expenses and generally excludes net unrealized appreciation or depreciation, as gains or losses are not included in taxable income until they are realized. Taxable income includes non-cash income, such as changes in accrued and reinvested interest and dividends, which includes contractual payment-in-kind interest, and the amortization of discounts and fees. Cash collections of income resulting from contractual payment-in-kind interest or the amortization of discounts and fees generally occur upon the repayment of the loans or debt securities that include such items. Non-cash taxable income is reduced by non-cash expenses, such as realized losses and depreciation and amortization expense.

      As a regulated investment company, we distribute substantially all of our annual taxable income to shareholders through the payment of cash dividends. Our Board of Directors reviews the dividend rate quarterly, and may adjust the quarterly dividend throughout the year. Dividends are declared considering our estimate of annual taxable income available for distribution to shareholders. Our goal is to declare what we believe to be sustainable increases in our regular quarterly dividends. To the extent that we earn annual taxable income in excess of dividends paid for the year, we may carry over the excess taxable income into the next year and such excess income will be available for distribution in the next year as permitted under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the Code). The amount of excess taxable income

that may be carried over for distribution in the next year under the Code is approximately three quarters of dividend payments. Excess taxable income carried over and paid out in the next year may be subject to a 4% excise tax (see “Other Matters — Regulated Investment Company Status”). We believe that carrying over excess taxable income into future periods may provide increased visibility with respect to taxable earnings available to pay the regular quarterly dividend.

      We began paying quarterly dividends in 1963, and our portfolio has provided sufficient ordinary taxable income and realized net capital gains to sustain or grow our dividends over time. Since inception, our average annual total return to shareholders (assuming all dividends were reinvested) was 18.0%. Over the past one, three, five and ten years, our total return to shareholders (assuming all dividends were reinvested) has been 23.5%, 20.6%, 17.1% and 19.8%, respectively, with the dividend providing a meaningful portion of this return.

      The percentage of our dividend generated by ordinary taxable income versus capital gain income will vary from year to year. The percentage of ordinary taxable income versus net capital gain income supporting the dividend since 1986 is shown below.

Corporate Structure and Offices

      We are a Maryland corporation and a closed-end, non-diversified management investment company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company under the 1940 Act. We have a wholly owned subsidiary, Allied Investments L.P. (Allied Investments), that is licensed under the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 as a Small Business Investment Company. We own all of the partnership interests in Allied Investments. The assets held by Allied Investments represented 2.6% of our total assets at December 31, 2005. See “Certain Government Regulations” below for further information about small business investment company regulation.

      In addition, we have a real estate investment trust subsidiary, Allied Capital REIT, Inc., and several subsidiaries that are single-member limited liability companies established for specific purposes, including holding real estate property. We also have a subsidiary, A.C. Corporation, that generally provides diligence and structuring services on our transactions, as well as structuring, transaction, management, and other services to Allied Capital and our portfolio companies. A.C. Corporation has a wholly owned subsidiary, AC Finance LLC, that generally underwrites and arranges senior loans for our portfolio companies and other third parties.

      Our executive offices are located at 1919 Pennsylvania Avenue, 3rd Floor, NW, Washington, DC 20006-3434 and our telephone number is (202) 331-1112. In addition, we have regional offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York.

Available Information

      Our Internet address is www.alliedcapital.com. We make available free of charge on our website our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this annual report on Form 10-K and you should not consider information contained on our website to be part of this annual report on Form 10-K.

Employees

      At December 31, 2005, we employed 131 individuals including investment and portfolio management professionals, operations professionals and administrative staff. The majority of our employees are located in our Washington, DC office. We believe that our relations with our employees are excellent.

Certain Government Regulations

      We operate in a highly regulated environment. The following discussion generally summarizes certain government regulations.

      Business Development Company. A business development company is defined and regulated by the 1940 Act. A business development company must be organized in the United States for the purpose of investing in or lending to primarily private companies and making managerial assistance available to them. A business development company may use capital provided by public shareholders and from other sources to invest in long-term, private investments in businesses. A business development company provides shareholders the ability to retain the liquidity of a publicly traded stock, while sharing in the possible benefits, if any, of investing in primarily privately owned companies.

      As a business development company, we may not acquire any asset other than “qualifying assets” unless, at the time we make the acquisition, the value of our qualifying assets represent at least 70% of the value of our total assets. The principal categories of qualifying assets relevant to our business are:

      An eligible portfolio company is generally a domestic company that is not an investment company (other than a small business investment company wholly owned by a business development company) and that:

      Control, as defined by the 1940 Act, is presumed to exist where a business development company beneficially owns more than 25% of the outstanding voting securities of the portfolio company.

      To include certain securities described above as qualifying assets for the purpose of the 70% test, a business development company must make available to the issuer of those securities significant managerial assistance such as providing significant guidance and counsel concerning the management, operations, or business objectives and policies of a portfolio company. We offer to provide significant managerial assistance to our portfolio companies. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors” — “Our ability to invest in private companies may be limited in certain circumstances.”

      As a business development company, we are entitled to issue senior securities in the form of stock or senior securities representing indebtedness, including debt securities and preferred stock, as long as each class of senior security has an asset coverage of at least 200% immediately after each such issuance. In addition, while any senior securities remain outstanding, we must make provisions to prohibit any distribution to our shareholders unless we meet the applicable asset coverage ratio at the time of the distribution. This limitation is not applicable to borrowings by our small business investment company subsidiary, and therefore any borrowings by this subsidiary are not included in this asset coverage test pursuant to exemptive relief. See “— Small Business Administration Regulations.”

      We may also be prohibited under the 1940 Act from knowingly participating in certain transactions with our affiliates without the prior approval of the members of our Board of Directors who are not interested persons and, in some cases, prior approval by the SEC. We have been granted an exemptive order by the SEC permitting us to engage in certain transactions that would be permitted if we and our subsidiaries were one company and permitting certain transactions among our subsidiaries, subject to certain conditions and limitations.

      We have designated a chief compliance officer and established a compliance program pursuant to the requirements of the 1940 Act. We are periodically examined by the SEC for compliance with the 1940 Act.

      As with other companies regulated by the 1940 Act, a business development company must adhere to certain substantive regulatory requirements. A majority of our directors must be persons who are not interested persons, as that term is defined in the 1940 Act. Additionally, we are required to provide and maintain a bond issued by a reputable fidelity insurance company to protect us against larceny and embezzlement. Furthermore, as a business development company, we are prohibited from protecting any director or officer against any liability to us or our shareholders arising from willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of such person’s office.

      We maintain a code of ethics that establishes procedures for personal investment and restricts certain transactions by our personnel. Our code of ethics generally does not permit investment by our employees in securities that have been or are contemplated to be purchased or held by us. Our code of ethics is also posted on our website at www.alliedcapital.com. The code of ethics is also filed as an exhibit to our registration statement which is on file with the SEC. You may read and copy the code of ethics at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. You may obtain information on operations of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. In addition, the code of ethics is available on the EDGAR database on the SEC Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. You may obtain copies of the code of ethics, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following email address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing to the SEC’s Public Reference Section, 100 F Street, NE, Washington, D.C. 20549.

      As a business development company under the 1940 Act, we are entitled to provide and have provided loans to our officers in connection with the exercise of options. However, as a result of provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, we have been prohibited from making new loans to our executive officers since July 2002.

      We may not change the nature of our business so as to cease to be, or withdraw our election as, a business development company unless authorized by vote of a “majority of the outstanding voting securities,” as defined in the 1940 Act. A majority of the outstanding voting securities of a company is defined under the 1940 Act as the lesser of: (i) 67% or more of such company’s shares present at a

meeting if more than 50% of the outstanding shares of such company are present and represented by proxy or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of such company.

      Small Business Administration Regulations. Allied Investments, a wholly owned subsidiary of Allied Capital, is licensed by the Small Business Administration (SBA) as a small business investment company under Section 301(c) of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958.

      Small business investment companies are designed to stimulate the flow of private equity capital to eligible small businesses. Under present SBA regulations, eligible small businesses include businesses that have a tangible net worth not exceeding $18 million and have average annual net income after federal income taxes not exceeding $6 million for the two most recent fiscal years. In addition, a small business investment company must devote 20% of its investment activity to “smaller” concerns as defined by the SBA. A smaller concern is one that has a tangible net worth not exceeding $6 million and has average annual net income after federal income taxes not exceeding $2 million for the two most recent fiscal years. SBA regulations also provide alternative size standard criteria to determine eligibility, which depend on the industry in which the business is engaged and are based on such factors as the number of employees and gross sales. According to SBA regulations, small business investment companies may make loans to small businesses, invest in the equity securities of such businesses, and provide them with consulting and advisory services. Allied Investments provides long-term loans to qualifying small businesses; equity investments and consulting and other services are typically provided only in connection with such loans.

      Allied Investments is periodically examined and audited by the SBA’s staff to determine its compliance with small business investment company regulations.

      We, through Allied Investments, have debentures payable to the SBA with contractual maturities of ten years. The notes require payment of interest only semi-annually, and all principal is due upon maturity. Under the small business investment company program, we may borrow up to $124.4 million from the Small Business Administration. At December 31, 2005, we had $28.5 million outstanding.

      Regulated Investment Company Status. We have elected to be taxed as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, otherwise referred to as the Code. As long as we qualify as a regulated investment company, we are not taxed on our investment company taxable income or realized net capital gains, to the extent that such taxable income or gains are distributed, or deemed to be distributed, to shareholders on a timely basis.

      Taxable income generally differs from net income for financial reporting purposes due to temporary and permanent differences in the recognition of income and expenses, and generally excludes net unrealized appreciation or depreciation, as gains or losses are not included in taxable income until they are realized. In addition, gains realized for financial reporting purposes may differ from gains included in taxable income as a result of our election to recognize gains using installment sale treatment, which results in the deferment of gains for tax purposes until notes received as consideration from the sale of investments are collected in cash.

      Dividends declared and paid by the Company in a year generally differ from taxable income for that year as such dividends may include the distribution of current year taxable income, the distribution of prior year taxable income carried over into and distributed in the current year, or returns of capital. We are generally required to distribute 98% of our taxable income during the year the income is earned (and 100% of any previously undistributed and untaxed income) to avoid paying an excise tax. If this requirement is not met, the Code imposes a nondeductible excise tax equal to 4% of the amount by which 98% of the current year’s taxable income (and 100% of any previously undistributed and untaxed income) exceeds the distribution for the year. The taxable income on which an excise tax is paid is generally carried over and distributed to shareholders in the next year. Depending on the level of taxable income earned in a tax year, we may choose to carry over taxable income in excess of current year distributions into the next tax year and pay a 4% excise tax, as required.

      In order to maintain our status as a regulated investment company, we must, in general, (1) continue to qualify as a business development company; (2) derive at least 90% of our gross income from dividends,

interest, gains from the sale of securities and other specified types of income; (3) meet asset diversification requirements as defined in the Code; and (4) timely distribute to shareholders at least 90% of our annual investment company taxable income as defined in the Code. We intend to take all steps necessary to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company. However, there can be no assurance that we will continue to qualify for such treatment in future years.

      Compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”) imposes a wide variety of regulatory requirements on publicly held companies and their insiders. Many of these requirements apply to us, including:

      We have adopted procedures to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder. We will continue to monitor our compliance with all future regulations that are adopted under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and will take actions necessary to ensure that we are in compliance therewith.

      In addition, the New York Stock Exchange adopted corporate governance changes to its listing standards. We have adopted certain policies and procedures to comply with the New York Stock Exchange’s corporate governance rules, and in 2004 and 2005 we submitted the required CEO certification to the New York Stock Exchange pursuant to Section 303A.12(a) of the listed company standards.

Item 1A. Risk Factors.

      Investing in Allied Capital involves a number of significant risks relating to our business and investment objective. As a result, there can be no assurance that we will achieve our investment objective.

      Our portfolio of investments is illiquid. We generally acquire our investments directly from the issuer in privately negotiated transactions. The majority of the investments in our portfolio are subject to certain restrictions on resale or otherwise have no established trading market. We typically exit our investments when the portfolio company has a liquidity event such as a sale, recapitalization, or initial public offering of the company. The illiquidity of our investments may adversely affect our ability to dispose of debt and equity securities at times when we may need to or when it may be otherwise advantageous for us to liquidate such investments. In addition, if we were forced to immediately liquidate some or all of the investments in the portfolio, the proceeds of such liquidation could be significantly less than the current value of such investments.

      Investing in private companies involves a high degree of risk. Our portfolio primarily consists of long-term loans to and investments in middle market private companies. Investments in private businesses involve a high degree of business and financial risk, which can result in substantial losses for us in those investments and accordingly should be considered speculative. There is generally no publicly available

information about the companies in which we invest, and we rely significantly on the diligence of our employees and agents to obtain information in connection with our investment decisions. If we are unable to identify all material information about these companies, among other factors, we may fail to receive the expected return on our investment or lose some or all of the money invested in these companies. In addition, these businesses may have shorter operating histories, narrower product lines, smaller market shares and less experienced management than their competition and may be more vulnerable to customer preferences, market conditions, loss of key personnel, or economic downturns, which may adversely affect the return on, or the recovery of, our investment in such businesses. As an investor, we are subject to the risk that a portfolio company may make a business decision that does not serve our interest, which could decrease the value of our investment. Deterioration in a portfolio company’s financial condition and prospects may be accompanied by deterioration in any collateral for the loan.

      Substantially all of our portfolio investments are recorded at fair value as determined in good faith by our Board of Directors and, as a result, there is uncertainty regarding the value of our portfolio investments. At December 31, 2005, portfolio investments recorded at fair value were approximately 90% of our total assets. Pursuant to the requirements of the 1940 Act, we value substantially all of our investments at fair value as determined in good faith by our Board of Directors on a quarterly basis. Since there is typically no readily available market value for the investments in our portfolio, our Board of Directors determines in good faith the fair value of these investments pursuant to a valuation policy and a consistently applied valuation process.

      There is no single standard for determining fair value in good faith. As a result, determining fair value requires that judgment be applied to the specific facts and circumstances of each portfolio investment while employing a consistently applied valuation process for the types of investments we make. Unlike banks, we are not permitted to provide a general reserve for anticipated loan losses; we are instead required by the 1940 Act to specifically value each individual investment on a quarterly basis and record unrealized depreciation for an investment that we believe has become impaired, including where collection of a loan or realization of an equity security is doubtful, or when the enterprise value of the portfolio company does not currently support the cost of our debt or equity investment. Enterprise value means the entire value of the company to a potential buyer, including the sum of the values of debt and equity securities used to capitalize the enterprise at a point in time. We will record unrealized appreciation if we believe that the underlying portfolio company has appreciated in value and/or our equity security has appreciated in value. Without a readily available market value and because of the inherent uncertainty of valuation, the fair value of our investments determined in good faith by the Board of Directors may differ significantly from the values that would have been used had a ready market existed for the investments, and the differences could be material. Our net asset value could be affected if our determination of the fair value of our investments is materially different than the value that we ultimately realize.

      We adjust quarterly the valuation of our portfolio to reflect the Board of Directors’ determination of the fair value of each investment in our portfolio. Any changes in fair value are recorded in our statement of operations as net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation.

      Economic recessions or downturns could impair our portfolio companies and harm our operating results. Many of the companies in which we have made or will make investments may be susceptible to economic slowdowns or recessions. An economic slowdown may affect the ability of a company to repay our loans or engage in a liquidity event such as a sale, recapitalization, or initial public offering. Our nonperforming assets are likely to increase and the value of our portfolio is likely to decrease during these periods. Adverse economic conditions also may decrease the value of collateral securing some of our loans. These conditions could lead to financial losses in our portfolio and a decrease in our revenues, net income, and assets.

      Our business of making private equity investments and positioning them for liquidity events also may be affected by current and future market conditions. The absence of an active senior lending environment or a slowdown in middle market merger and acquisition activity may slow the amount of private equity investment activity generally. As a result, the pace of our investment activity may slow. In addition,

significant changes in the capital markets could have an effect on the valuations of private companies and on the potential for liquidity events involving such companies. This could affect the timing of exit events in our portfolio and could negatively affect the amount of gains or losses upon exit.

      Our borrowers may default on their payments, which may have a negative effect on our financial performance. We primarily make long-term unsecured, subordinated loans and invest in equity securities, which may involve a higher degree of repayment risk. We primarily invest in companies that may have limited financial resources, may be highly leveraged and may be unable to obtain financing from traditional sources. Numerous factors may affect a borrower’s ability to repay its loan, including the failure to meet its business plan, a downturn in its industry, or negative economic conditions. A portfolio company’s failure to satisfy financial or operating covenants imposed by us or other lenders could lead to defaults and, potentially, termination of its loans or foreclosure on its secured assets, which could trigger cross defaults under other agreements and jeopardize our portfolio company’s ability to meet its obligations under the loans or debt securities that we hold. In addition, our portfolio companies may have, or may be permitted to incur, other debt that ranks senior to or equally with our securities. This means that payments on such senior-ranking securities may have to be made before we receive any payments on our loans or debt securities. Deterioration in a borrower’s financial condition and prospects may be accompanied by deterioration in any related collateral and may have a negative effect on our financial results.

      Our private finance investments may not produce current returns or capital gains. Our private finance investments are typically structured as unsecured debt securities with a relatively high fixed rate of interest and with equity features such as conversion rights, warrants, or options, or as buyouts of companies where we invest in debt and equity securities. As a result, our private finance investments are generally structured to generate interest income from the time they are made and may also produce a realized gain from an accompanying equity feature. We cannot be sure that our portfolio will generate a current return or capital gains.

      Our financial results could be negatively affected if a significant portfolio investment fails to perform as expected. Our total investment in companies may be significant individually or in the aggregate. As a result, if a significant investment in one or more companies fails to perform as expected, our financial results could be more negatively affected and the magnitude of the loss could be more significant than if we had made smaller investments in more companies. At December 31, 2005, our largest investments at value were in Advantage Sales & Marketing, Inc. and Business Loan Express, LLC (BLX) and represented 16.4% and 8.9% of our total assets, respectively, and each individually represented 10.0% of our total interest and related portfolio income for the year ended December 31, 2005. BLX is a lender under the Small Business Administration 7(a) Guaranteed Loan Program. Our financial results could be negatively affected if government funding for, or regulations related to, this program change.

      We borrow money, which magnifies the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested and may increase the risk of investing in us. Borrowings, also known as leverage, magnify the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested and, therefore, increase the risks associated with investing in our securities. We borrow from and issue senior debt securities to banks, insurance companies, and other lenders. Lenders of these senior securities have fixed dollar claims on our consolidated assets that are superior to the claims of our common shareholders. If the value of our consolidated assets increases, then leveraging would cause the net asset value attributable to our common stock to increase more sharply than it would have had we not leveraged. Conversely, if the value of our consolidated assets decreases, leveraging would cause net asset value to decline more sharply than it otherwise would have had we not leveraged. Similarly, any increase in our consolidated income in excess of consolidated interest payable on the borrowed funds would cause our net income to increase more than it would without the leverage, while any decrease in our consolidated income would cause net income to decline more sharply than it would have had we not borrowed. Such a decline could negatively affect our ability to make common stock dividend payments. Leverage is generally considered a speculative investment technique. Our revolving line of credit, notes payable and debentures contain financial and operating covenants that could restrict our business activities, including our ability to declare dividends if we default under certain provisions.

      At December 31, 2005, we had $1.3 billion of outstanding indebtedness bearing a weighted average annual interest cost of 6.5%. In order for us to cover these annual interest payments on indebtedness, we must achieve annual returns on our assets of at least 2.1%.

      We may not borrow money unless we maintain asset coverage for indebtedness of at least 200%, which may affect returns to shareholders. We must maintain asset coverage for total borrowings of at least 200%. Our ability to achieve our investment objective may depend in part on our continued ability to maintain a leveraged capital structure by borrowing from banks, insurance companies or other lenders on favorable terms. There can be no assurance that we will be able to maintain such leverage. If asset coverage declines to less than 200%, we may be required to sell a portion of our investments when it is disadvantageous to do so. As of December 31, 2005, our asset coverage for senior indebtedness was 309%.

      Changes in interest rates may affect our cost of capital and net investment income. Because we borrow money to make investments, our net investment income is dependent upon the difference between the rate at which we borrow funds and the rate at which we invest these funds. As a result, there can be no assurance that a significant change in market interest rates will not have a material adverse effect on our net investment income. In periods of rising interest rates, our cost of funds would increase, which would reduce our net investment income. We use a combination of long-term and short-term borrowings and equity capital to finance our investing activities. We utilize our revolving line of credit as a means to bridge to long-term financing. Our long-term fixed-rate investments are financed primarily with long-term fixed-rate debt and equity. We may use interest rate risk management techniques in an effort to limit our exposure to interest rate fluctuations. Such techniques may include various interest rate hedging activities to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. We have analyzed the potential impact of changes in interest rates on interest income net of interest expense.

      Assuming that the balance sheet as of December 31, 2005, were to remain constant and no actions were taken to alter the existing interest rate sensitivity, a hypothetical immediate 1% change in interest rates would have affected net income by less than 1% over a one year horizon. Although management believes that this measure is indicative of our sensitivity to interest rate changes, it does not adjust for potential changes in credit quality, size and composition of the assets on the balance sheet and other business developments that could affect net increase in net assets resulting from operations, or net income. Accordingly, no assurances can be given that actual results would not differ materially from the potential outcome simulated by this estimate.

      We will continue to need additional capital to grow because we must distribute our income. We will continue to need capital to fund growth in our investments. Historically, we have borrowed from financial institutions and have issued equity securities to grow our portfolio. A reduction in the availability of new debt or equity capital could limit our ability to grow. We must distribute at least 90% of our taxable ordinary income, which excludes realized net long-term capital gains, to our shareholders to maintain our regulated investment company status. As a result, such earnings will not be available to fund investment originations. In addition, as a business development company, we are generally required to maintain a ratio of at least 200% of total assets to total borrowings, which may restrict our ability to borrow in certain circumstances. We expect to continue to borrow from financial institutions and issue additional debt and equity securities. If we fail to obtain funds from such sources or from other sources to fund our investments, it could limit our ability to grow, which could have a material adverse effect on the value of our common stock.

      Loss of regulated investment company tax treatment would substantially reduce net assets and income available for dividends. We have operated so as to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Code. If we meet source of income, asset diversification, and distribution requirements, we will not be subject to corporate level income taxation on income we timely distribute to our stockholders as dividends. We would cease to qualify for such tax treatment if we were unable to comply with these requirements. In addition, we may have difficulty meeting the requirement to make distributions to our shareholders because in certain cases we may recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income. If we fail to qualify as a regulated investment company, we will

have to pay corporate-level taxes on all of our income whether or not we distribute it, which would substantially reduce the amount of income available for distribution to our stockholders. Even if we qualify as a regulated investment company, we generally will be subject to a corporate-level income tax on the income we do not distribute. If we do not distribute at least 98% of our annual taxable income in the year earned, we generally will be required to pay an excise tax on amounts carried over and distributed to shareholders in the next year equal to 4% of the amount by which 98% of our annual taxable income exceeds the distributions for the current year.

      There is a risk that you may not receive dividends or distributions. We intend to make distributions on a quarterly basis to our stockholders. We may not be able to achieve operating results that will allow us to make distributions at a specific level or to increase the amount of these distributions from time to time. In addition, due to the asset coverage test applicable to us as a business development company, we may be limited in our ability to make distributions. Also, our credit facilities limit our ability to declare dividends if we default under certain provisions. If we do not distribute a certain percentage of our income annually, we will suffer adverse tax consequences, including possible loss of our status as a regulated investment company. In addition, in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and tax regulations, we include in income certain amounts that we have not yet received in cash, such as contractual payment-in-kind interest, which represents contractual interest added to the loan balance that becomes due at the end of the loan term, or the accrual of original issue discount. The increases in loan balances as a result of contractual payment-in-kind arrangements are included in income in advance of receiving cash payment and are separately included in the change in accrued or reinvested interest and dividends in our consolidated statement of cash flows. Since we may recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income, we may have difficulty meeting the requirement to distribute at least 90% of our investment company taxable income to maintain our status as a regulated investment company.

      We operate in a competitive market for investment opportunities. We compete for investments with a large number of private equity funds and mezzanine funds, other business development companies, investment banks, other equity and non-equity based investment funds, and other sources of financing, including specialty finance companies and traditional financial services companies such as commercial banks. Some of our competitors may have greater resources than we do. Increased competition would make it more difficult for us to purchase or originate investments at attractive prices. As a result of this competition, sometimes we may be precluded from making otherwise attractive investments.

      Our business depends on our key personnel. We depend on the continued services of our executive officers and other key management personnel. If we were to lose any of these officers or other management personnel, such a loss could result in inefficiencies in our operations and lost business opportunities, which could have a negative effect on our business.

      Changes in the law or regulations that govern us could have a material impact on us or our operations. We are regulated by the SEC and the Small Business Administration. In addition, changes in the laws or regulations that govern business development companies, regulated investment companies, real estate investment trusts, and small business investment companies may significantly affect our business. Any change in the law or regulations that govern our business could have a material impact on us or our operations. Laws and regulations may be changed from time to time, and the interpretations of the relevant laws and regulations also are subject to change, which may have a material effect on our operations.

      Our ability to invest in private companies may be limited in certain circumstances. If we are to maintain our status as a business development company, we must not acquire any assets other than “qualifying assets” unless, at the time of and after giving effect to such acquisition, at least 70% of our total assets are qualifying assets. If we acquire debt or equity securities from an issuer that has outstanding marginable securities at the time we make an investment, these acquired assets cannot be treated as qualifying assets. This result is dictated by the definition of “eligible portfolio company” under the 1940 Act, which in part looks to whether a company has outstanding marginable securities.

      Amendments promulgated in 1998 by the Federal Reserve expanded the definition of a marginable security under the Federal Reserve’s margin rules to include any non-equity security. Thus, any debt securities issued by any entity are marginable securities under the Federal Reserve’s current margin rules. As a result, the staff of the SEC has raised the question as to whether a private company that has outstanding debt securities would qualify as an “eligible portfolio company” under the 1940 Act.

      Until the question raised by the staff of the SEC pertaining to the Federal Reserve’s 1998 change to its margin rules has been addressed by legislative, administrative or judicial action, we intend to treat as qualifying assets only those debt and equity securities that are issued by a private company that has no marginable securities outstanding at the time we purchase such securities or those that otherwise qualify as an “eligible portfolio company” under the 1940 Act.

      In November 2004, the SEC issued proposed rules to correct the unintended consequence of the Federal Reserve’s 1998 margin rule amendments of apparently limiting the investment opportunities of business development companies. In general, the SEC’s proposed rules would define an eligible portfolio company as any company that does not have securities listed on a national securities exchange or association. We currently do not believe that these proposed rules will have a material adverse effect on our operations.

      Results may fluctuate and may not be indicative of future performance. Our operating results may fluctuate and, therefore, you should not rely on current or historical period results to be indicative of our performance in future reporting periods. Factors that could cause operating results to fluctuate include, but are not limited to, variations in the investment origination volume and fee income earned, variation in timing of prepayments, variations in and the timing of the recognition of net realized gains or losses and changes in unrealized appreciation or depreciation, the level of our expenses, the degree to which we encounter competition in our markets, and general economic conditions.

      Our common stock price may be volatile. The trading price of our common stock may fluctuate substantially. The price of the common stock may be higher or lower than the price you pay for your shares, depending on many factors, some of which are beyond our control and may not be directly related to our operating performance. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

      Not applicable.

Item 2. Properties.

      Our principal offices are located at 1919 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., 3rd Floor, Washington, DC 20006-3434. Our lease for approximately 59,000 square feet of office space at that location expires in December 2010. The office is equipped with an integrated network of computers for word processing, financial analysis, accounting and loan servicing. We believe our office space is suitable for our needs for the foreseeable future. We also maintain offices in Chicago, Los Angeles and New York.

      On June 23, 2004, we were notified by the SEC that they are conducting an informal investigation of us. On December 22, 2004, we received letters from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia requesting the preservation and production of information regarding us and Business Loan Express, LLC in connection with a criminal investigation. Based on the information available to us at this time, the inquiries appear to primarily pertain to matters related to portfolio valuation and our portfolio company, Business Loan Express, LLC. To date, we have produced materials in response to requests from both the SEC and the U.S. Attorney’s office, and certain current and former employees have provided testimony and have been interviewed by the staff of the SEC and the U.S. Attorney’s Office. We are voluntarily cooperating with these investigations.

      On May 28, 2004, Ferolie Corporation, a food broker with business and contractual relationships with an entity that is now affiliated with one of our portfolio companies, Advantage Sales & Marketing Inc., filed suit against us, Advantage Sales & Marketing and the affiliated entity in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia alleging that, among other things, we and Advantage Sales & Marketing had tortiously interfered with Ferolie’s contract with the affiliated entity by causing the affiliated entity (i) to breach its obligations to Ferolie regarding Ferolie’s participation in a reorganization transaction involving the affiliated entity and (ii) to induce clients of Ferolie to transfer their business to the affiliated entity. Ferolie sought actual and punitive damages against us and Advantage Sales & Marketing and declaratory and injunctive relief. On July 15, 2004, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the lawsuit for lack of jurisdiction. On August 18, 2004, Ferolie filed a “Petition to Compel Arbitration” in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois naming us, Advantage Sales & Marketing and the affiliated entity as respondents. Ferolie attached to its petition an “Amended Demand for Arbitration and Statement of Claims” that asserts essentially the same claims as were asserted in the lawsuit that was dismissed by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. On October 29, 2004, the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois dismissed Ferolie’s petition after finding that Ferolie had failed to adequately allege the existence of subject matter jurisdiction.

      On November 4, 2004, Ferolie refiled its ‘Petition to Compel Arbitration” in the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois. The allegations and relief requested in this proceeding were identical to the assertions made by Ferolie in the two previously dismissed proceedings. On February 15, 2005, the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois entered an order denying Ferolie’s motion for an order compelling us to arbitrate the claims asserted by Ferolie against us. In the same order, the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois granted Ferolie’s motion to compel arbitration of the claims asserted against Advantage Sales & Marketing and the affiliated entity. The arbitration is proceeding. We are not a party to the arbitration.

      In addition to the above matters, we are party to certain lawsuits in the normal course of business.

      While the outcome of these legal proceedings and other matters cannot at this time be predicted with certainty, we do not expect that the outcome of these matters will have a material effect upon our financial condition or results of operations.

Item 4. Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders.

      No matters were submitted to a vote of stockholders during the fourth quarter of 2005.

PART II

Item 5. Market For Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.

      Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the trading symbol ALD. There are approximately 4,900 shareholders of record and approximately 166,000 beneficial shareholders of the Company. The quarterly stock prices quoted below represent interdealer quotations and do not include markups, markdowns, or commissions and may not necessarily represent actual transactions.

Quarterly Stock Prices for 2005 and 2004

      We began paying quarterly dividends in 1963, and our portfolio has provided sufficient ordinary taxable income and realized net capital gains to sustain or grow our dividends over time. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Other Matters” and Note 10, “Dividends and Distributions and Excise Taxes” from our Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8.

Dividend Declarations

      The following table summarizes our dividends declared during 2005 and 2004:

Sales of Unregistered Securities

      During 2005, we issued 330,629 shares of common stock pursuant to a dividend reinvestment plan. This plan is not registered and relies on an exemption from registration under the Securities Act of 1933. See Note 6, “Shareholders’ Equity” of our Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included in Item 8.

Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

      The following table provides information for the quarter ended December 31, 2005, regarding shares of our common stock that were purchased under The 2005 Allied Capital Corporation Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan I (2005 DCP I) and The 2005 Allied Capital Corporation Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation Plan II (2005 DCP II), which are administered by third-party trustees. The administrator of the 2005 DCP I and 2005 DCP II is the Compensation Committee of our Board of Directors.

Equity Compensation Plan Information

      The following table sets forth information as of December 31, 2005, with respect to compensation plans under which the Company’s equity securities are authorized for issuance:

Item 6. Selected Financial Data.

SELECTED CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

      You should read the condensed consolidated financial information below with the Consolidated Financial Statements and Notes thereto included herein. Financial information at and for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004, 2003, and 2002, has been derived from our financial statements that were audited by KPMG LLP. Financial information at and for the year ended December 31, 2001, has been derived from our financial statements that were audited by Arthur Andersen LLP. For important information about Arthur Andersen LLP, see the section entitled “Notice Regarding Arthur Andersen LLP.” See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” below for more information.

Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.

      The information contained in this section should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and the Notes thereto. In addition, this annual report on Form 10-K contains certain forward-looking statements. These statements include the plans and objectives of management for future operations and financial objectives and can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “intend,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” or “continue” or the negative thereof or other variations thereon or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are subject to the inherent uncertainties in predicting future results and conditions. Certain factors that could cause actual results and conditions to differ materially from those projected in these forward-looking statements are set forth in “Risk Factors” above. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include:

      Financial or other information presented for private finance portfolio companies has been obtained from the portfolio companies, and this financial information presented may represent unaudited, projected or pro forma financial information, and therefore may not be indicative of actual results. In addition, the private equity industry uses financial measures such as EBITDA or EBITDAM (Earnings Before Interest, Taxes, Depreciation, Amortization and, in some instances, Management fees) in order to assess a portfolio company’s financial performance and to value a portfolio company. EBITDA and EBITDAM are not intended to represent cash flow from operations as defined by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and such information should not be considered as an alternative to net income, cash flow from operations or any other measure of performance prescribed by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.

OVERVIEW

      As a business development company, we are in the private equity business. Specifically, we provide long-term debt and equity investment capital to companies in a variety of industries. Our lending and investment activity has generally been focused on private finance and commercial real estate finance, which included primarily the investment in non-investment grade commercial mortgage-backed securities, which we refer to as CMBS, and collateralized debt obligation bonds and preferred shares, which we refer to as CDOs.

      On May 3, 2005, we completed the sale of our portfolio of CMBS and real estate related CDO investments. Upon the completion of this transaction, our lending and investment activity has been focused primarily on private finance investments. Our private finance activity principally involves providing financing to middle market U.S. companies through privately negotiated long-term debt and equity investment capital. Our financing is generally used to fund growth, acquisitions, buyouts, recapitalizations, note purchases, bridge financings, and other types of financings. We generally invest in private companies though, from time to time, we may invest in companies that are public but lack access to additional public capital. Our investment objective is to achieve current income and capital gains.

      Our portfolio composition at December 31, 2005, 2004, and 2003, was as follows:

      Our earnings depend primarily on the level of interest and dividend income, fee and other income, and net realized and unrealized gains or losses on our investment portfolio after deducting interest expense

on borrowed capital, operating expenses and income taxes, including excise tax. Interest income results from the stated interest rate earned on a loan or debt security and the amortization of loan origination fees and discounts. The level of interest income is directly related to the balance of the interest-bearing investment portfolio outstanding during the year multiplied by the weighted average yield. Our ability to generate interest income is dependent on economic, regulatory, and competitive factors that influence new investment activity, interest rates on the types of loans we make, the level of repayments in the portfolio, the amount of loans and debt securities for which interest is not accruing and our ability to secure debt and equity capital for our investment activities.

      Because we are a regulated investment company for tax purposes, we intend to distribute substantially all of our annual taxable income as dividends to our shareholders. See “Other Matters” below.

PORTFOLIO AND INVESTMENT ACTIVITY

      The total portfolio at value, investment activity, and the yield on interest-bearing investments at and for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004, and 2003, were as follows:

Private Finance

      The private finance portfolio at value, investment activity, and the yield on loans and debt securities at and for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004, and 2003, were as follows:

     Our investment activity is focused on making long-term investments in the debt and equity of primarily private middle market companies. Debt investments may include senior loans, unitranche debt (a single debt investment that is a blend of senior and subordinated debt), or subordinated debt (with or without equity features). The junior debt that we invest in that is lower in repayment priority than senior debt is also known as mezzanine debt. Equity investments may include a minority equity stake in connection with a debt investment or a substantial equity stake in connection with a buyout transaction. In a buyout transaction, we generally invest in senior and/or subordinated debt and equity (preferred and/or voting or non-voting common) where our equity ownership represents a significant portion of the equity, but may or may not represent a controlling interest. In addition, we may fund most or all of the debt and equity capital upon the closing of certain buyout transactions, which may include investments in lower-yielding senior debt. Subsequent to the closing, the portfolio company may refinance all or a portion of the lower-yielding senior debt, which would reduce our investment. Repayments include repayments of senior debt funded by us that was subsequently refinanced or repaid by the portfolio companies.

      We intend to take a balanced approach to private equity investing that emphasizes a complementary mix of debt investments and buyout investments. The combination of these two types of investments provides current interest and related portfolio income and the potential for future capital gains. Recently, we have seen junior debt financing opportunities in the market that we believe are unattractive from a risk/return perspective. We believe many of these transactions employ too much leverage and are priced too low relative to the risks inherent in junior debt instruments. To address the currently active merger and acquisition market for private companies, our strategy is to focus on buyout and recapitalization transactions where we can manage risk through the structure and terms of our debt and equity investments and where we can potentially realize more attractive total returns from both current interest and fee income and future capital gains. We are also focusing our debt investing on smaller middle market companies where we can provide both senior and subordinated debt or unitranche debt, where our current yield may be lower than traditional subordinated debt. We believe that providing both senior and subordinated debt or unitranche debt provides greater protection in the capital structures of our portfolio companies.

      Investments Funded. Investments funded and the weighted average yield on investments funded for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004, and 2003, consisted of the following:

     In January and February 2006, we funded private finance investments totaling $525.4 million.

      We generally fund new investments using cash. In addition, we may acquire securities in exchange for our common equity. Also, we may acquire new securities through the reinvestment of previously accrued interest and dividends in debt or equity securities, or the current reinvestment of interest and dividend income through the receipt of a debt or equity security (payment-in-kind income). From time to time we may opt to reinvest accrued interest receivable in a new debt or equity security in lieu of receiving such interest in cash.

      The level of investment activity for investments funded and principal repayments for private finance investments can vary substantially from period to period depending on the number and size of investments that we make or that we exit and many other factors, including the amount of debt and equity capital available to middle market companies, the level of merger and acquisition activity for such companies, the general economic environment, and the competitive environment for the types of investments we make. We believe that merger and acquisition activity in the middle market was strong in 2004 and continued into 2005, which has resulted in an increase in private finance investment opportunities, as well as increased repayments. We currently have an active pipeline of new investments under consideration. We believe that merger and acquisition activity for middle market companies will continue to be strong into 2006.

      Portfolio Yield. The yield on the private finance loans and debt securities was 13.0% at December 31, 2005, as compared to 13.9% and 15.0% at December 31, 2004 and 2003, respectively. The weighted average yield on the private finance loans and debt securities may fluctuate from year to year depending on the yield on new loans and debt securities funded, the yield on loans and debt securities repaid, the amount of loans and debt securities for which interest is not accruing and the amount of lower-yielding senior or unitranche debt in the portfolio at the end of the year. The yield on the private finance

portfolio has declined partly due to our strategy to pursue more buyout and recapitalization transactions, which may include investing in senior debt, as well as pursue unitranche investments.

      Outstanding Investment Commitments. At December 31, 2005, we had outstanding private finance investment commitments totaling $221.6 million, including the following:

      In addition to these outstanding investment commitments at December 31, 2005, we may be required to fund additional amounts under earn-out arrangements primarily related to buyout transactions in the future if those companies meet agreed-upon performance targets. We also had commitments to private finance portfolio companies in the form of standby letters of credit and guarantees totaling $178.6 million. See “Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

      Our largest investments at value at December 31, 2005, were in Advantage Sales & Marketing, Inc. and Business Loan Express, LLC (BLX). See “Results of Operations” for a discussion of the net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation related to these investments.

      Advantage Sales & Marketing, Inc.     At December 31, 2005, our investment in Advantage Sales & Marketing, Inc. (Advantage) totaled $257.7 million at cost and $660.4 million at value, or 16.4% of our total assets, which included unrealized appreciation of $402.7 million. We completed the purchase of a majority ownership in Advantage in June 2004.

      Total interest and related portfolio income earned from our investment in Advantage for the years ended December 31, 2005 and 2004, was as follows:

      Interest income from Advantage for the year ended December 31, 2004, included interest income of $2.2 million which was paid in kind. The interest paid in kind was paid to us through the issuance of additional debt in 2004, which was subsequently paid in cash in 2005.

      Net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation included a net increase in unrealized appreciation on our investment in Advantage of $378.4 million and $24.3 million for the years ended December 31, 2005 and 2004, respectively.

      Advantage is a sales and marketing agency providing outsourced sales, merchandising, and marketing services to the consumer packaged goods industry. Advantage has offices across the United States and is headquartered in Irvine, CA.

      In March 2006, we announced that a definitive agreement had been signed to sell a majority equity interest in Advantage. We will retain an equity investment valued at $15 million as a minority shareholder. Based on the definitive agreement, Advantage will sell for an enterprise value of approximately $1.05 billion, subject to pre-and post-closing adjustments. In connection with the transaction, we will be repaid our $184 million in subordinated debt currently outstanding. We also expect to realize a gain on our equity being sold of approximately $415 million, subject to pre- and post-closing adjustments. As consideration for the common stock we are selling in the transaction, we expect to receive a $180 million subordinated note, with the balance of the consideration to be paid in cash. Approximately $35 million of our proceeds will be subject to certain holdback provisions. In addition, there is potential for us to receive additional consideration through an earn-out payment that would be based on Advantage’s 2006 audited results. Our estimated realized gain of approximately $415 million excludes any earn-out amounts. The sale transaction is expected to close by March 31, 2006, subject to certain closing conditions.

      Business Loan Express, LLC.     At December 31, 2005, our investment in BLX totaled $299.4 million at cost and $357.1 million at value, or 8.9% of our total assets, which includes unrealized appreciation of $57.7 million. We acquired BLX in 2000.

      Total interest and related portfolio income earned from the Company’s investment in BLX for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004, and 2003, was as follows:

      Interest and dividend income from BLX for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004, and 2003, included interest and dividend income of $8.9 million, $25.4 million, and $17.5 million, respectively, which was paid in kind. The interest and dividends paid in kind were paid to us through the issuance of additional debt or equity interests. Accrued interest and dividends receivable at December 31, 2005, included accrued interest and fees due from BLX totaling $5.7 million, of which $5.5 million was paid in cash in the first quarter of 2006.

      Net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation included a net increase in unrealized appreciation on our investment in BLX of $2.9 million for the year ended December 31, 2005, a net decrease in unrealized appreciation of $32.3 million for the year ended December 31, 2004, and a net increase in unrealized appreciation of $51.7 million for the year ended December 31, 2003.

      BLX is a national, non-bank lender that participates in the SBA’s 7(a) Guaranteed Loan Program and is licensed by the SBA as a Small Business Lending Company (SBLC). BLX is a nationwide preferred lender, as designated by the SBA, and originates, sells, and services small business loans. In addition, BLX originates conventional small business loans and small investment real estate loans. BLX has offices across the United States and is headquartered in New York, New York. Changes in the laws or regulations that govern SBLCs or the SBA 7(a) Guaranteed Loan Program or changes in government funding for this program could have a material adverse impact on BLX and, as a result, could negatively affect our financial results.

      As a limited liability company, BLX’s taxable income flows through directly to its members. BLX’s annual taxable income generally differs from its book income for the fiscal year due to temporary and permanent differences in the recognition of income and expenses. We hold all of BLX’s Class A and Class B interests, and 94.9% of the Class C interests. BLX’s taxable income is first allocated to the Class A interests to the extent that dividends are paid in cash or in kind on such interests, with the remainder being allocated to the Class B and C interests. BLX declares dividends on its Class B interests based on an estimate of its annual taxable income allocable to such interests.

      We have a commitment to BLX of $30.0 million in the form of a subordinated revolving credit facility to provide working capital to the company that matures on April 30, 2006. There was $10.0 million outstanding under this facility at December 31, 2005.

      At December 31, 2005, BLX had a three-year $275.0 million revolving credit facility provided by third party lenders that matures in January 2007. The facility provides for a sub-facility for the issuance of letters of credit for up to a total of $50.0 million. As the controlling equity owner in BLX, we have provided an unconditional guaranty to the revolving credit facility lenders in an amount equal to 50% of the total obligations (consisting of principal, letters of credit issued under the facility, accrued interest, and other fees) of BLX under the revolving credit facility. At December 31, 2005, the principal amount outstanding on the revolving credit facility was $228.2 million and letters of credit issued under the facility were $41.7 million. The total obligation guaranteed by us at December 31, 2005, was $135.4 million. This guaranty can be called by the lenders only in the event of a default by BLX. BLX was in compliance with the terms of the revolving credit facility at December 31, 2005. At December 31, 2005, we had also provided four standby letters of credit totaling $34.1 million in connection with four term securitization transactions completed by BLX.

      The Hillman Companies, Inc. On March 31, 2004, we sold our control investment in The Hillman Companies, Inc. (Hillman) for a total transaction value of $510 million, including the repayment of outstanding debt and adding the value of Hillman’s outstanding trust preferred shares. We were repaid our existing $44.6 million in outstanding debt. Total consideration to us from this sale, including the repayment of debt, was $245.6 million, which included net cash proceeds of $198.1 million and the receipt of a new subordinated debt instrument of $47.5 million. During the second quarter of 2004, we sold a $5.0 million participation in our subordinated debt in Hillman to a third party, which reduced our investment, and no gain or loss resulted from the transaction. For the year ended December 31, 2004, we realized a gain of $150.3 million on the transaction.

Commercial Real Estate Finance

      The commercial real estate finance portfolio at value, investment activity, and the yield on interest-bearing investments at and for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004, and 2003, were as follows:

     Our commercial real estate investments funded for the years ended December 31, 2005, 2004, and 2003, were as follows:

     At December 31, 2005, we had outstanding funding commitments related to commercial mortgage loans and equity interests of $81.2 million, including $59.7 million to Timarron Capital, Inc., and commitments in the form of standby letters of credit and guarantees related to equity interests of $7.1 million. In January 2006, certain assets of Timarron Capital, Inc. were sold and this outstanding commitment was canceled.

      Sale of CMBS Bonds and Collateralized Debt Obligation Bonds and Preferred Shares.     On May 3, 2005, we completed the sale of our portfolio of commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) and real estate related collateralized debt obligation (CDO) bonds and preferred shares to affiliates of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (the Caisse) for cash proceeds of $976.0 million and a net realized gain of $227.7 million, after transaction and other costs of $7.8 million. Transaction costs included investment banking fees, legal and other professional fees, and other transaction costs. The CMBS and CDO assets sold had a cost basis at closing of $739.8 million, including accrued interest of $21.7 million. Upon the closing of the sale, we settled all the hedge positions relating to these assets, which resulted in a net realized loss of $0.7 million, which has been included in the net realized gain on the sale.

      For tax purposes, we estimate that the net gain from the sale of the CMBS and CDO portfolio will be approximately $244 million, after transaction and other costs of $7.8 million. The difference between the net gain for book and tax purposes results from temporary differences in the recognition of income and expenses related to these assets.

      Simultaneous with the sale of our CMBS and CDO portfolio, we entered into a platform assets purchase agreement with CWCapital Investments LLC, an affiliate of the Caisse (CWCapital), pursuant to which we agreed to sell certain commercial real estate related assets, including servicer advances, intellectual property, software and other platform assets, subject to certain adjustments. This transaction was completed on July 13, 2005, and we received total cash proceeds of approximately $5.3 million. No gain or loss resulted from the transaction. Under this agreement, we have agreed not to invest in CMBS and real estate-related CDOs and refrain from certain other real estate-related investing or servicing activities for a period of three years, subject to certain limitations and excluding our existing portfolio and related activities.

      The real estate securities purchase agreement, under which we sold the CMBS and CDO portfolio, and the platform asset purchase agreement contain customary representations and warranties, and require us to indemnify the affiliates of the Caisse that are parties to the agreements for certain liabilities arising under the agreements, subject to certain limitations and conditions.

      We also entered into a transition services agreement with CWCapital pursuant to which we provided certain transition services to CWCapital for a limited transition period to facilitate the transfer of various servicing and other rights related to the CMBS and CDO portfolio. During the transition period, we agreed, among other things, to continue to act as servicer or special servicer with respect to the CMBS and CDO portfolio. Services provided under the transition services agreement, except for certain information technology services, were completed on July 13, 2005. For the year ended December 31, 2005, we received a total of $1.4 million under the transition services agreement as reimbursement for employee and administrative expenses. These amounts reduced our employee expenses by $1.1 million and administrative expenses by $0.3 million.

Hedging Activities

      We have invested in commercial mortgage loans and CMBS and CDO bonds, which were purchased at prices that were based in part on comparable Treasury rates. We have entered into transactions with one or more financial institutions to hedge against movement in Treasury rates on certain of the commercial mortgage loans and CMBS and CDO bonds. These transactions, referred to as short sales, involve receiving the proceeds from the short sales of borrowed Treasury securities, with the obligation to replenish the borrowed Treasury securities at a later date based on the then current market price, whatever that price may be. Risks in these contracts arise from movements in the value of the borrowed Treasury securities due to changes in interest rates and from the possible inability of counterparties to meet the

terms of their contracts. If the value of the borrowed Treasury securities increases, we will incur losses on these transactions. These losses are limited to the increase in value of the borrowed Treasury securities; conversely, the value of the hedged commercial real estate assets would likely increase. If the value of the borrowed Treasury securities decreases, we will incur gains on these transactions which are limited to the decline in value of the borrowed Treasury securities; conversely, the value of the hedged commercial real estate assets would likely decrease. We do not anticipate nonperformance by any counterparty in connection with these transactions.

      The total obligations to replenish borrowed Treasury securities, including accrued interest payable on the obligations, were $17.7 million and $38.2 million at December 31, 2005 and 2004, respectively. The net proceeds related to the sales of the borrowed Treasury securities plus or minus the additional cash collateral provided or received under the terms of the transactions were $17.7 million and $38.2 million at December 31, 2005 and 2004, respectively. The hedge at December 31, 2005, related to commercial mortgage loans and the hedge at December 31, 2004, related primarily to CMBS and CDO bonds. The amount of the hedge will vary from period to period depending upon the amount of commercial real estate assets that we own and have hedged as of the balance sheet date.

Accrued Interest and Dividends Receivable

      Accrued interest and dividends receivable as of December 31, 2005 and 2004, was as follows:

      Total accrued interest and dividends receivable declined from December 31, 2004, to December 31, 2005, primarily as a result of the sale of our portfolio of CMBS and CDO assets on May 3, 2005. See “Commercial Real Estate Finance” above.

Portfolio Asset Quality

      Portfolio by Grade. We employ a grading system for our entire portfolio. Grade 1 is used for those investments from which a capital gain is expected. Grade 2 is used for investments performing in accordance with plan. Grade 3 is used for investments that require closer monitoring; however, no loss of investment return or principal is expected. Grade 4 is used for investments that are in workout and for which some loss of current investment return is expected, but no loss of principal is expected. Grade 5 is used for investments that are in workout and for which some loss of principal is expected.

      At December 31, 2005 and 2004, our portfolio was graded as follows:

     Grade 1 portfolio assets increased from $952.5 million at December 31, 2004, to $1.6 billion at December 31, 2005, primarily as a result of the appreciation in value of our investment in Advantage Sales

& Marketing, Inc. (Advantage) as well as certain other companies. Advantage had a value of $660.4 million, including $402.7 million of unrealized appreciation, at December 31, 2005, as compared to a value of $283.0 million, including $24.3 million of unrealized appreciation, at December 31, 2004. See further discussion of the valuation of Advantage below. In March 2006, we announced that we had signed a definitive agreement to sell a majority interest in Advantage. See “— Portfolio and Investment Activity” above for further discussion.

      Total Grade 3, 4 and 5 portfolio assets were $232.6 million and $210.4 million, respectively, or were 6.4% and 7.0%, respectively, of the total portfolio at value at December 31, 2005 and 2004.

      Grade 4 and 5 assets include loans, debt securities, and equity securities. We expect that a number of portfolio companies will be in the Grades 4 or 5 categories from time to time. Part of the private equity business is working with troubled portfolio companies to improve their businesses and protect our investment. The number of portfolio companies and related investment amount included in Grade 4 and 5 may fluctuate from period to period. We continue to follow our historical practice of working with such companies in order to recover the maximum amount of our investment.

      Loans and Debt Securities on Non-Accrual Status. At December 31, 2005 and 2004, loans and debt securities at value not accruing interest for the total investment portfolio were as follows:

     Loans and Debt Securities Over 90 Days Delinquent. Loans and debt securities greater than 90 days delinquent at value at December 31, 2005 and 2004, were as follows: