Panda Power Funds affiliate Panda Sherman Power has successfully completed the financing on its planned 758-megawatt natural gas-fueled, combined-cycle power plant in Sherman, Texas. The company will immediately start construction on the 204-acre site and expects commercial operations to begin by the end of 2014. Goldman Sachs and Credit Suisse arranged the senior debt financing for the plant. Ares Capital was the documentation agent.

Ares Capital has offered $1.55 billion for 99 Cents Only Stores, topping a $1.41 billion offer reportedly made by Leonard Green & Partners, Reuters reported, citing the New York Post. Ares reportedly offered $22 a share for the company. Shares of 99 Cents closed at $20.05 Thursday.

Ares Capital said Monday that it committed $59 million in a $110 million second lien term loan that supports the refinancing of La Paloma Generating Co. Kern County, Calif.-based La Paloma is a four-unit, 1,022 MW natural gas-fired power facility owned by EIG Global Energy Partners and Rockland Capital.

Ares Capital Corp. and Veronis Suhler Stevenson have closed on a deal providing $86.5 million in debt financing to an undisclosed provider of educational resources and services in the medical space. Ares Capital and VSS have a collaboration agreement focused on bringing flexible senior debt financing to middle market companies in the information, education, media and marketing services industries.

After acquiring the recycling technology assets of FCR Inc., five private equity firms have partnered to launch Re Community Holdings LP, a platform focused on recycling communities. Pegasus Capital, Intersection, MissionPoint Capital Partners, HarbourVest Partners LLC, and Ares Capital Corporation have partnered on the effort, which is designed to enable community partners to generate additional revenue, recover community owned resources, create new jobs, fund budget shortfalls, and reduce their carbon footprint, the firms said in a release.

Publicly traded Casella Waste Systems has agreed to sell certain recycling assets to a new company formed by buyout shops Pegasus Capital Advisors and Intersection LLC in a deal worth $130.4 million. The acquisition is financed by Pegasus Capital Advisors, MissionPoint Capital Partners, HarbourVest Partners, and Ares Capital Corporation. Craig Cogut, founder and managing partner of Pegasus Capital, will serve as chairman of the new company.

Ares Capital Corp.’s indirect subsidiary, Ares Capital CP Funding LLC, extended its $400 million revolving funding facility to Jan. 18, 2016, from Jan. 22, 2013. Wells Fargo Bank NA provided the facilty, which contains a three-year reinvestment period until Jan. 18, 2014 followed by a two year amortization period. The reinvestment period and final maturity may be extended two times for one year periods if mutually agreed upon by the parties. Pricing on the facility remains unchanged and the currently effective LIBOR spread under is 2.75 percent.

Senior Secured Loan Program, which is managed by Ares Capital and an affiliate of GE Capital, increased the total available capital in the program to $5.1 billion from $3.6 billion. The amount of capital GE Capital and its affiliate will make available rose to $4.125 billion from $3.075 billion. The funds Ares Capital will make available rose to $975 million from $525 million. In addition, the program will now be allowed to hold loans in a principal amount up to $300 million.

Taking advantage of a strengthening stock market and a lending market where many borrowers struggle to find financing, several business development companies (BDCs) are taking steps to fortify their financial positions.

BDCs are closed-end investment funds that are publicly traded on stock exchanges. Designed to provide capital to privately owned businesses, they can provide both equity and debt financing.

Healthier BDCs, led by Ares Capital Corp., are issuing stock and reducing their debt, while other such lenders, including American Capital Ltd., are taking other steps to shore up their capital positions.

Ares Capital and Veronis Suhler Stevenson announced a partnership “to source and provide flexible senior debt financing to companies in select industries with $5 million to $35 million of EBITDA.” Those industries are: Information, education, media and marketing services.