Western Asset Middle Market Income Fund Inc. Raises $327 Million for its Initial Public Offering

NEW YORK, Aug. 27, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --  Western Asset Middle Market Income Fund Inc. (NASDAQ: XWMFX or the "Fund") announced today that pricing has been completed for its initial public offering.  The Fund raised gross proceeds of approximately $327 million in its common stock offering.

The Fund is a newly organized non-diversified, non-traded limited term closed-end investment management company and is advised by Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC and subadvised by Western Asset Management Company ("Western Asset"), both of which are wholly owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason, Inc. ("Legg Mason").  BofA Merrill Lynch ("Merrill Lynch") and Morgan Stanley & Co. LLC ("Morgan Stanley") acted as dealers in connection with the Fund's initial public offering.

"We believe middle market debt packaged in this structure presents a timely and potentially compelling income opportunity for investors.  We greatly appreciate the partnership with both Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley and look forward to utilizing the breadth and depth of our credit resources to manage the Fund," concluded Mike Buchanan, Head of Global Credit at Western Asset.

The Fund's primary investment objective is to provide high income. As a secondary investment objective, the Fund will seek capital appreciation. There can be no assurance the Fund will achieve its investment objectives.

Western Asset will employ an opportunistic strategy that invests in fixed income securities issued by middle market companies. Under normal market conditions, at least 80% of the Fund's managed assets will consist of securities, including loans, issued by middle market companies.  For investment purposes, "middle market" refers to companies with annual revenues of between $100 million and $1 billion at the time of investment by the Fund.

The Fund will not be publicly traded but, beginning in 2016, intends, but is not obligated, to conduct quarterly tender offers for up to 2.5% of its common stock then outstanding in the sole discretion of its board of directors. The Fund does not expect to make a tender offer for its common stock during its first 18 months of operations.  It is anticipated that the Fund will terminate on December 30, 2022.

"Western Asset is committed to bringing innovative investment strategies to the market that provide compelling opportunities to our clients. The Fund enables investors to participate in a long-term, high-yielding investment that was previously unavailable. We will continue to work with our partners to identify new investment solutions and make them available to our clients," stated Jim Hirschmann, Chief Executive Officer of Western Asset.

"The development and launch of the Fund has been a true collaborative effort between our largest fixed income affiliate and our longstanding partnerships with Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley. Our previous success with Western Asset on the Western Asset Middle Market Debt Fund Inc. and continued interest in higher yielding securities led to the development of this innovative structure which clearly resonated with our clients," said Fran Cashman, Co-Head of Sales for Legg Mason.

Contact the Fund at 1-888-777-0102 for additional information, or consult the Fund's web site at www.lmcef.com.  Data and commentary provided in this press release are for informational purposes only. 

This press release may contain statements regarding plans and expectations for the future that constitute forward-looking statements within the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking and can be identified by the use of words such as "may," "will," "expect," "anticipate," "estimate," "believe," "continue" or other similar words. Such forward-looking statements are based on the Fund's current plans and expectations, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. Additional information concerning such risks and uncertainties are contained in the Fund's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.  All investments involve risk, including loss of principal.  Gross proceeds include sales loads.

Investors should consider the investment objective, risks, charges and expenses of the Fund carefully before investing. This press release and the prospectus, which contains this and other information about the Fund, should be read carefully before investing. A copy of the final prospectus relating to these securities may be obtained by contacting your financial advisor. Data and commentary provided in this press release are for informational purposes only.

About Legg Mason

Legg Mason is a global asset management firm with approximately $693 billion in assets under management as of July 31, 2014. The company provides active asset management in many major investment centers throughout the world. Legg Mason is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, and its common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: LM).

About Western Asset

Western Asset, a unit of Legg Mason, is one of the world's premier fixed-income managers. With offices in Pasadena, New York, London, Tokyo, Singapore, Hong Kong, Melbourne and Sao Paulo, Western Asset offers institutional and retail clients a full range of fixed-income products. By devoting all of its resources to fixed-income, Western Asset is able to provide a full commitment to its clients in every area of the firm. Western Asset's long performance track record and global presence has them positioned to continue their commitment to excellence in fixed-income investment management and client service. As of June 30, 2014, Western Asset had $455 billion in assets under management.

SOURCE Legg Mason, Inc.