Document
As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on February 9, 2018
Registration No. 333-222096
UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM N-2
REGISTRATION STATEMENT
☐ Registration Statement under the Securities Act of 1933
☒ Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1
☐ Post-Effective Amendment No.
TCG BDC, INC.
(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)
520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, NY 10022
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)
(212) 813-4900
(Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code)
Michael A. Hart
TCG BDC, Inc.
520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor
New York, New York 10022
(Name and Address of Agent for Service)
Copies of information to:
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Monica J. Shilling, Esq. Proskauer Rose LLP 2049 Century Park East, 32nd Floor Los Angeles, CA 90067 Telephone: (310) 557-2900 Facsimile: (310) 557-2193 | William G. Farrar, Esq. Sullivan & Cromwell LLP 125 Broad Street New York, New York 10004 (212) 558-4000 (212) 558-3588 |
Approximate date of proposed public offering: From time to time after the effective date of this Registration Statement.
If any securities being registered on this form will be offered on a delayed or continuous basis in reliance on Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered in connection with dividend or interest reinvestment plans, check the following box: ☒
It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box):
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☐ | when declared effective pursuant to section 8(c) |
CALCULATION OF REGISTRATION FEE UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933
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Title of Securities Being Registered | Amount Being Registered | Proposed Maximum Offering Price Per Unit | Proposed Maximum Aggregate Offering Price | Amount of Registration Fee |
Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share(2)(3) | | | | |
Preferred Stock, $0.01 par value per share(2)(3) | | | | |
Subscription Rights(2) | | | | |
Warrants(4) | | | | |
Debt Securities(3)(5) | | | | |
Units(6) | | | | |
Total | | | $500,000,000(1)(7) | $62,250(10) |
Common Stock, $0.01 par value per share (8) | 5,500,000 | $17.135(9) | $94,242,500(9) | $11,733.19(10) |
Total | | | | $73,983.19(10) |
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(1) | Estimated pursuant to Rule 457(o) solely for the purpose of determining the registration fee. The proposed maximum offering price per security will be determined from time to time, by the Registrant in connection with the sale by the Registrant of the securities registered under this registration statement. |
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(2) | Subject to Note 7 below, there is being registered hereunder an indeterminate number of shares of common stock or preferred stock, or subscription rights to purchase shares of common stock as may be sold, from time to time separately or as units in combination with other securities registered hereunder. |
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(3) | Includes such indeterminate number of shares of common stock, preferred stock or debt securities as may, from time to time, be issued upon conversion or exchange of other securities registered hereunder, to the extent any such securities are, by their terms, convertible or exchangeable for common stock. |
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(4) | Subject to Note 7 below, there is being registered hereunder an indeterminate number of warrants as may be sold, from time to time separately or as units in combination with other securities registered hereunder, representing rights to purchase common stock, preferred stock or debt securities. |
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(5) | Subject to Note 7 below, there is being registered hereunder an indeterminate principal amount of debt securities as may be sold, from time to time separately or as units in combination with other securities registered hereunder. If any debt securities are issued at an original issue discount, then the offering price shall be in such greater principal amount as shall result in an aggregate price to investors not to exceed $500,000,000. |
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(6) | Subject to Note 7 below, there is being registered hereunder an indeterminate number of units. Each unit may consist of a combination of any one or more of the securities being registered hereunder and may also include securities issued by third parties, including the U.S. Treasury. |
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(7) | In no event will the aggregate offering price of all securities issued from time to time pursuant to this registration statement by the Registrant exceed $500,000,000. |
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(8) | These shares are being registered on behalf of selling stockholders. |
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(9) | Estimated solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee. Pursuant to Rule 457(c) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the proposed maximum aggregate offering amount and the amount of the registration fee have been determined on the basis of the high and low market prices of the Registrant’s common stock reported on The NASDAQ Global Select Market on December 14, 2017. |
The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until the Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.
The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer and sale is not permitted.
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PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS | SUBJECT TO COMPLETION DATED , 2017 |
$500,000,000
TCG BDC, INC.
Common Stock
Preferred Stock
Debt Securities
Subscription Rights
Warrants
Units
5,500,000 Shares of Common Stock by Selling Stockholders
We are an externally managed specialty finance company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. As of December 31, 2017, we ceased to be an “emerging growth company” under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2002, as amended. Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. We seek to achieve this investment objective by investing primarily in first lien senior secured loans and second lien senior secured loans.
As of September 30, 2017, our investment portfolio consisted of 108 investments in 92 portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $1,964.1 million.
We are managed by Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C., an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. provides the administrative services necessary for us to operate. Both Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C. and Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. are wholly owned subsidiaries of Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C., a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group L.P. The Carlyle Group L.P. is a global alternative asset manager with approximately $174 billion of assets under management as of September 30, 2017.
We may offer, from time to time, in one or more offerings or series, up to $500,000,000 of our common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, subscription rights to purchase shares of our common stock, warrants representing rights to purchase shares of our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities, or units comprised of any combination of the foregoing, which we refer to, collectively, as the “securities.” The preferred stock, debt securities, subscription rights and warrants (including as part of a unit) offered hereby may be convertible or exchangeable into shares of our common stock. The securities may be offered at prices and on terms to be described in one or more supplements to this prospectus.
The securities may be offered directly to one or more purchasers, or through agents designated from time to time by us, or to or through underwriters or dealers. Each prospectus supplement relating to an offering will identify any agents or underwriters involved in the sale of the securities, and will disclose any applicable purchase price, fee, discount or commissions arrangement between us and our agents or underwriters or among our underwriters or the basis upon which such amount may be calculated. See “Plan of Distribution.” We may not sell any of the securities pursuant to this registration statement through agents, underwriters or dealers without delivery of this prospectus and a prospectus supplement describing the method and terms of the offering of such securities.
In addition, this prospectus relates to 5,500,000 shares of our common stock that may be sold by the selling stockholders identified under “Selling Stockholders.” Sales of our common stock by the selling stockholders, which may occur at prices below the then current net asset value (“NAV”) per share of our common stock, may adversely affect the market price of our common stock and may make it more difficult for us to raise capital.
The selling stockholders identified under “Selling Stockholders” acquired their respective shares of our common stock (i) through subscription agreements prior to our initial public offering, (ii) through our dividend reinvestment plan, (iii) in the merger of NF Investment Corp. (“NFIC”) with and into us on June 9, 2017, with us as the surviving entity, pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated May 3, 2017 or (iv) in the open market. Each sale by the selling stockholders of their shares of our common stock pursuant to this registration statement through agents, underwriters or dealers will be accompanied by a prospectus supplement that will identify the selling stockholders that are participating in such offering. We will not receive any proceeds from the sale of shares of our common stock by any of the selling stockholders.
Our common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CGBD.” On February 8, 2018 the last reported sales price of our common stock on The NASDAQ Global Select Market was $17.51 per share. The NAV per share of our common stock at September 30, 2017 (the last date prior to the date of this prospectus on which we determined NAV per share) was $18.18. Based on this last reported sales price of our common stock, the aggregate market value of all of the shares of our common stock registered pursuant to this registration statement held by the selling stockholders identified under “Selling Stockholders” is approximately $96,305,000.
Shares of closed-end investment companies, including BDCs, that are listed on an exchange frequently trade at a discount to their NAV per share. If our shares trade at a discount to our NAV per share, it may increase the risk of loss for purchasers in any offerings pursuant to this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplements.
This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplements contain important information you should know before investing in our securities. Please read this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplements before you invest and keep each for future reference. Information required to be included
in a Statement of Additional Information may be found in this prospectus and an accompanying prospectus supplement, as applicable. We also file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information about us with the SEC. You may obtain this information or make stockholder inquiries by written or oral request and free of charge by contacting us by mail at our principal executive offices located at 520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor, New York, NY 10022, on our website at www.tcgbdc.com, or by calling us at (212) 813-4900. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and you should not consider that information to be a part of this prospectus. The SEC also maintains a website at http://www.sec.gov that contains this information.
Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk, including credit risk and the risk of the use of leverage, and is highly speculative. Before buying any securities, you should read the discussion of the material risks of investing in our securities that are described in the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page 19 of this prospectus.
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
This prospectus may not be used to consummate sales of securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.
The date of this prospectus is , 2017.
TCG BDC, INC.
INDEX
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplements. We have not authorized any other person to provide you with different information or to make any representations not contained in this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplements. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume the information contained in this prospectus is accurate after the date on the front cover of this prospectus. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.
TRADEMARKS
This prospectus contains trademarks and service marks owned by Carlyle (as defined below). This prospectus may also contain trademarks and service marks owned by third parties.
ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS
This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, using the “shelf” registration process. Under the shelf registration process, which includes a delayed offering in reliance on Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), we may offer, from time to time, in one or more offerings or series, up to $500,000,000 of our common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, subscription rights to purchase shares of our common stock, warrants representing rights to purchase shares of our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities, or units comprised of any combination of the foregoing, on terms to be determined at the time of the offering.
In addition, this prospectus relates to 5,500,000 shares of our common stock that may be sold by the selling stockholders identified under “Selling Stockholders.”
The securities may be offered at prices and on terms described in one or more supplements to this prospectus. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities that we may offer. Each time we use this prospectus to offer securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. Please carefully read this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplements together with any exhibits and the additional information described under the headings “Additional Information” and “Risk Factors” before you make an investment decision.
SUMMARY
This summary highlights some of the information contained elsewhere in this prospectus. This summary is not complete and may not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in the securities offered by this prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement. You should review the more detailed information contained in this prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement, especially the information set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement.
Unless indicated otherwise in this prospectus or the context suggests otherwise:
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• | the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “TCG BDC” and “Company” refer to TCG BDC, Inc., a Maryland corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries; |
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• | the term “SPV” refers to TCG BDC SPV LLC, our wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary; |
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• | the term “2015-1 Issuer” refers to Carlyle GMS Finance MM CLO 2015-1 LLC, our wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary; |
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• | the term “Carlyle” refers to The Carlyle Group L.P. (NASDAQ: CG) and its affiliates and consolidated subsidiaries (other than portfolio companies of its affiliated funds); |
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• | the term “CDL” refers to the Carlyle Direct Lending platform, which is Carlyle’s direct lending business unit that operates within the broader Carlyle Global Credit (“CGC”) segment; |
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• | the terms “CGCA” and “Administrator” refer to Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C., our administrator, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of Carlyle; |
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• | the terms “CGCIM” and “Investment Adviser” refer to Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C., our investment adviser, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of Carlyle; and |
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• | the term “Credit Fund” refers to Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, an unconsolidated limited liability company, in which we own a 50% economic interest and co-manage with Credit Partners USA LLC, and its wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary. |
We have elected to be regulated as a business development company, or a “BDC,” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Investment Company Act”). In addition, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we have elected to be treated as a regulated investment company, or RIC, under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (together, with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Code”).
TCG BDC, Inc.
We are an externally managed specialty finance company focused on lending to middle market companies. We are managed by our Investment Adviser, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carlyle. Since we commenced investment operations in May 2013 through September 30, 2017, we have invested approximately $3.4 billion in aggregate principal amount of debt and equity investments prior to any subsequent exits or repayments. Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), which we believe is a useful proxy for cash flow. We seek to achieve our investment objective primarily through direct originations of secured debt, including first lien senior secured loans (which may include stand-alone first lien loans, first lien/last out loans and “unitranche” loans) and second lien senior secured loans (collectively, “Middle Market Senior Loans”), with the balance of our assets invested in higher yielding investments (which may include unsecured debt, mezzanine debt and investments in equities).
We generate revenues primarily in the form of interest income from the investments we hold. In addition, we generate income from dividends on direct equity investments, capital gains on the sales of loans and debt and equity securities and various loan origination and other fees.
In conducting our investment activities, we believe that we benefit from the significant scale and resources of Carlyle, including our Investment Adviser and its affiliates. We have operated our business as a BDC since we began our investment activities in May 2013.
Investment Strategy
Our Investment Adviser is served by an origination, capital markets, underwriting and portfolio management team comprised of experienced investment professionals in the CDL platform, which is Carlyle’s direct lending business unit that operates within the broader CGC segment. Our investment approach is focused on long-term credit performance and principal preservation. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team utilizes a rigorous, systematic, and consistent investment process, refined over Carlyle’s 30-year history investing in private markets across multiple cycles, designed to achieve enhanced risk-adjusted returns.
Origination Strategy
Our Investment Adviser has built a strong direct origination platform with coverage of over 200 private equity firms and over 150 lending institutions. Our Investment Adviser’s origination team sources approximately 800 opportunities per year for us with an ultimate investment rate by us of less than 10% annually. The scale of our Investment Adviser’s origination platform allows us to maximize access to investment opportunities and enhance overall investment selectivity. We further seek to reduce risk by partnering with experienced sponsors with strong track records. We believe lending to companies owned by leading private equity firms (versus non-sponsored companies) has several important and potentially defensive characteristics. Sponsor involvement provides for:
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• | maximization of investment opportunities as approximately 70% of middle market loan volume is sponsor backed as of September 30, 2017, according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Middle Market Fact Sheet; |
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• | validation of enterprise value; |
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• | support, as needed, in strategy, operations and governance of portfolio companies; and |
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• | the potential for additional capital commitment by sponsor if company requires financial support. |
Investment Approach and Risk Monitoring of Investments
Our Investment Adviser utilizes a rigorous, systematic and consistent due diligence underwriting process to evaluate all investment opportunities. Our Investment Adviser’s investment teams primarily consist of origination professionals, research analysts and underwriters. An investment team works on a particular transaction from initial screening through closing, and the same team continues to monitor the credit for the life cycle of the investment.
During the investment process, the investment team works closely with the private equity sponsor in all aspects of due diligence, including onsite meetings, due diligence calls, and review of third party diligence reports. Our Investment Adviser also conducts an independent evaluation of the business, utilizing both internal and external sources. A key differentiator is our Investment Adviser’s integrated credit platform and collaborative efforts that leverage Carlyle’s broader resources, which include access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge.
Diversification of our portfolio is a key tenet of our risk management strategy, including diversification by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. Additionally, we view proactive portfolio monitoring as a vital part of the investment
process. Our Investment Adviser utilizes a proprietary credit surveillance report and software system, an objective rules-based Internal Risk Rating system and proprietary valuation model to assess risk in the portfolio. In addition to monthly portfolio reviews, our Investment Adviser compiles a quarterly risk report that examines, among other metrics, migration in portfolio and loan level investment mix, industry diversification, Internal Risk Ratings, revenue, EBITDA, and leverage. Our Investment Adviser supplements these policies with additional analyses and projections, including stress scenarios, to assess the potential exposure of our portfolio to variable macroeconomic factors and market conditions.
Strategic Relationships
We have established two highly differentiated strategic relationships that expand our product offering and increase our scale, enhancing our investment opportunities and optimizing selectivity rates, as we determine which credits provide the best risk adjusted returns for our stockholders. In early 2015, our Investment Adviser developed a key strategic relationship with Madison Capital Funding LLC (“Madison Capital”), a prominent non-bank finance company that is a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company, which has allowed us to offer various lending solutions to potential borrowers and has increased our coverage of U.S. middle market private equity firms. Additionally, in early 2016, we agreed to co-invest with Credit Partners USA LLC (“Credit Partners”), a wholly owned subsidiary of a large Canadian pension fund, to form Credit Fund, a joint venture primarily focused on investing in first lien loans to middle market companies. We and Credit Partners each have 50% economic ownership of Credit Fund and have commitments to fund, from time to time, capital of up to $400 million each. See “—Competitive Strengths—Strategic Relationships.”
Investment Portfolio
As of September 30, 2017, we had 108 investments in 92 portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $1,964.1 million. During the nine months ended September 30, 2017, we invested approximately $1.1 billion in new investments. During the same period, we had approximately $521.4 million in exits and repayments resulting in net portfolio increase of approximately $541.2 million.
As of September 30, 2017, our portfolio was invested across 29 industries. As of September 30, 2017, no single portfolio company (excluding Credit Fund) represented more than 3% of our investments at fair value and no single industry represented more than 11% of our investments at fair value. Based on fair value as of September 30, 2017, approximately 99.2% of our investments were in U.S. domestic companies. As of such date, the weighted average remaining term of our debt investments was approximately 4.5 years. Based on fair value as of September 30, 2017, our portfolio consisted of approximately 89.6% in secured debt (75.9% in first lien debt (including 11.7% in first lien/last out loans) and 13.7% in second lien debt), 9.6% in Credit Fund, 0.1% in structured finance obligations and 0.7% in equity investments. Based on fair value as of September 30, 2017, approximately 1.2% of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a fixed interest rate and approximately 98.8% of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate, which primarily are subject to interest rate floors.
As of September 30, 2017, the weighted average yield of our first lien debt (including first lien/last out loans) was 8.30% and 8.36% based on the amortized cost and fair value, respectively. During that same period, the weighted average yield on our second lien debt was 10.37% and 10.29% based on the amortized cost and fair value, respectively.
We invest primarily in loans to middle market companies whose debt, if rated, is rated below investment grade, and, if not rated, would likely be rated below investment grade if it were rated (that is, below BBB- or Baa3, which is often referred to as “junk”). Exposure to below investment grade instruments involves certain risks, including speculation with respect to the borrower’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal.
As of September 30, 2017, we and Credit Partners had each contributed $74.5 million and $35.0 million, respectively, to Credit Fund. As of September 30, 2017, Credit Fund’s portfolio was invested in companies across 20 industries. As of September 30, 2017, Credit Fund had investments in 47 portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $823 million. Based on fair value as of September 30, 2017, approximately 95.7% of Credit Fund’s investments were in U.S. domestic companies, and 100% was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate with an interest rate floor.
Competitive Strengths
Market Leading Direct Origination Platform. We have access to CDL’s strong direct origination platform, with coverage of over 200 private equity firms and over 150 lending institutions. We take a regional approach to client coverage with offices in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The origination team is highly experienced, and maintains deep relationships with a broad network of financial sponsors, commercial and investment banks, and finance companies, which are expected to continue to generate a significant amount of investment opportunities.
Scaled Investment Platform and Capabilities. CDL is an established, scaled investment platform with the ability to invest across the entire capital structure. CDL’s broad capabilities and ability to offer a full financing solution give us access to a wide funnel of opportunities, allow us to select high quality credits, construct the optimal financing package as it relates to price and terms, assert greater control over documentation, and generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders. We believe CDL’s hold sizes are among the largest in the middle market, which we believe results in the ability to generate premium economics, as sponsors are willing to pay higher spreads for financing certainty. CDL’s large hold sizes and strategic relationships enable us to provide certainty with regards to spreads, fees, structure and covenants. Furthermore, the breadth of CDL’s debt offerings also allows us to deploy capital at a measured pace across credit cycles and construct a portfolio that will perform in a broad range of economic conditions.
One Carlyle Capabilities Leading to Superior Credit Performance. We benefit from our Investment Adviser’s utilization of the broader resources of Carlyle, which includes access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge from almost three decades of private market investing. Our underwriting process leverages Carlyle’s 635 investment professionals across multiple alternative investment asset classes, 41 operating executives, information obtained through direct ownership of over 270 companies and lending relationships with over 700 companies, 13 credit industry research analysts, and in-house government affairs and economic research teams. Our systematic and consistent approach is augmented by industry expertise and tenured underwriting professionals who both lead our Investment Adviser’s investment team and serve on our Investment Adviser’s investment committee. Strong credit underwriting has been a key component of our investing process, where our Investment Adviser seeks to select borrowers whose businesses are expected to generate substantial cash flows, to have leading management teams, stable operating histories, high barriers to entry and meaningful equity value, and to retain significant value.
Experienced Investment Team. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team comprises investment professionals in CDL who have extensive middle market lending experience. The investment team consists of 29 dedicated investment professionals. The seven members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee have an average of 22 years of industry experience. We believe the breadth and depth of the investment team in sourcing, structuring, executing, and monitoring a broad range of private investments provides us with a significant competitive advantage in building a high quality portfolio of investments.
Carefully Constructed Portfolio of Diversified Senior Secured, Floating Rate Loans. Our portfolio has been defensively constructed, exhibits strong credit quality, generates stable risk-adjusted returns and allows us to generate meaningful investment income, and consequently dividend income, for our stockholders. We have invested approximately $3.4 billion since our inception in directly originated middle market loans. Our portfolio is highly diversified by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. As of September 30, 2017, we had a portfolio of 108 investments in 92 portfolio companies across 29 industries and 59 unique sponsors. As of September 30, 2017, approximately 98.8% of our debt investments bore interest at floating rates, subject to interest rate floors, and 75.9% of our portfolio was invested in first lien debt investments (including 11.7% first lien/last out loans).
Strategic Relationships. Our strategic relationships enhance our ability to provide full financing solutions to our borrowers, which results in our being able to generate optimal economics, significant access to diligence and control over documentation terms. Additionally, these relationships further strengthen our origination platform and ability to develop creative financing solutions to invest through the capital structure based on where we believe the best risk-adjusted return opportunities reside. Our Investment Adviser’s strategic relationship with Madison Capital, a leading middle market senior lender with approximately $8.4 billion of assets under management (“AUM”) as of September 30, 2017, allows us to offer a full unitranche financing solution. This product provides middle market companies with certainty for financing without syndication risk and generates attractive risk-adjusted returns on these investments for our stockholders. Madison Capital provides the first lien/first out portion of the unitranche loan, which allows us to provide the first lien/last out portion. Collectively, we and Madison Capital have provided over $1.145 billion (before any repayments or exits) of unitranche loans to middle market companies. The relationship has been extremely successful, and we frequently invest alongside Madison Capital on a variety of investment opportunities (in addition to unitranche loans).
Separately, Credit Fund, our strategic joint venture with a large Canadian pension fund, primarily invests in first lien loans of middle market companies. Since its inception and through September 30, 2017, Credit Fund has provided $986.5 million (before any repayments or exits) of senior secured loans. This joint venture provides us with an enhanced first lien loan product for certain transactions, thus further increasing our deal flow, and results in an increased number of borrowers in our portfolio, which provides strategic benefits as we build incumbent positions for future growth and investment opportunity.
Market Opportunity
We believe the middle market lending environment provides attractive investment opportunities as a result of a combination of the following factors:
Favorable Market Environment. We believe the middle market remains one of the most attractive investment areas due to its large size, superior value relative to the broadly syndicated loan market, and supply-demand imbalance that continues to favor non-
bank lenders. We believe market yields remain attractive and leverage levels at middle market companies are stable, creating a favorable investment environment.
Large and Growing U.S. Middle Market. The U.S. middle market is the largest market by many measures, which is expected to enable us to invest selectively as approximately 70% of middle market loan volume is sponsor-backed. According to S&P Capital IQ, as of September 30, 2017, there are over 70,000 U.S. middle market companies generating between $20 million and $1 billion in annual revenue, compared with approximately 3,500 companies with revenue greater than $1 billion. We believe these middle market companies, both sponsored and non-sponsored, represent a significant growth segment of the U.S. economy and often require substantial capital investments to grow.
Leverage, Pricing and Risk. According to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Quarterly Leveraged Lending Review (Q3 2017), middle market companies are less levered, have larger equity contributions, experience lower rates of default, and achieve higher recoveries versus large cap broadly syndicated loans. Middle market loans also tend to achieve more attractive pricing and structures, including documentation, covenants and information/governance, than broadly syndicated loans. Over the 3 year period from 2015 to 2017, middle market loans have exhibited an approximate 200 basis points spread premium over broadly syndicated loans according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Leveraged Loan Index.
Market Environment Favors Non-Traditional Lenders. Traditional middle market lenders, such as commercial and regional banks and commercial finance companies, have contracted their origination and lending activities and are focusing on more liquid asset classes or have exited the business. At the same time, institutional investors have sought to invest in larger, more liquid offerings, limiting the ability of middle market companies to raise debt capital through public capital markets. This has resulted in other capital providers, such as specialty finance companies, structured-credit vehicles such as collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), BDCs, and private investment funds, actively investing in the middle market. We believe the aforementioned changes and restrictions have created a large and growing market opportunity for alternative lenders such as us.
Favorable Capital Markets Trends. Current and future demand for middle market financings, driven by private equity investment and upcoming maturities are expected to provide us with ample deal flow. Current data from the Thompson Reuters LPC Middle Market Weekly Report (October 6, 2017) suggests that approximately $606 billion of upcoming loan maturities for middle market companies are due between 2017 and 2022, and the PitchBook PE & VE Fundraising and Capital Overhang Report (1H 2017) suggests that there is over $739 billion of uninvested capital in 2010–YTD Q3 2017 vintage private equity funds. We believe these refinancings and uninvested capital will provide a steady flow of attractive opportunities for well-positioned lenders with deep and longstanding sponsor and market relationships, particularly for providers of full capital structure financing solutions.
Benefits of Traditional Middle Market Focus. We believe there are significant advantages in our focus on the traditional middle market, a market we categorize to include borrowers with EBITDA in the range of approximately $10 million to $100 million. Traditional middle market companies are generally less levered than companies with EBITDA in excess of $100 million and loans to those borrowers offer more attractive economics in the form of upfront fees, spreads, and prepayment penalties. Senior secured middle market loans typically have strong defensive characteristics: these loans have priority in payment among a portfolio company’s security holders and they carry the least risk among investments in the capital structure; these investments, which are secured by the portfolio company’s assets, typically contain carefully structured covenant packages which allow lenders to take early action in situations where obligors underperform; and these characteristics can provide protection against credit deterioration. Middle market lenders like us are often able to complete more thorough due diligence investigations prior to investment than lenders in the broadly syndicated space.
Carlyle and Our Investment Adviser
Our investment activities are managed by our Investment Adviser. Our Investment Adviser is responsible for sourcing potential investments, conducting research and due diligence on prospective investments and equity sponsors, analyzing investment opportunities, structuring our investments and monitoring our investments on an ongoing basis.
Our Investment Adviser is an affiliate of Carlyle. Carlyle is one of the world’s largest and most diversified multi-product global alternative asset management firms. Carlyle and its affiliates advise an array of specialized investment funds and other investment vehicles that invest across a range of industries, geographies, asset classes and investment strategies. Since its founding in Washington, D.C. in 1987, Carlyle has grown to become a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $174 billion in AUM across 306 investment vehicles as of September 30, 2017.
Carlyle Global Credit is one of the largest integrated credit platforms in the industry with approximately $32 billion in AUM and 128 employees with multiple offices, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, as of September 30, 2017. Carlyle Global Credit’s investment strategies include loans and structured credit, distressed credit, direct lending and energy credit. CDL advises four funds, including us, totaling, in the aggregate, approximately $2 billion in AUM as of September 30, 2017.
Our Investment Adviser’s seven-person investment committee is responsible for reviewing and approving our investment opportunities. The members of the investment committee have experience investing through different credit cycles. The investment committee is led by Michael A. Hart, Managing Director of Carlyle, Head of CDL, Chairman of our Board of Directors (“Board”) and our Chief Executive Officer and also includes Jeffrey S. Levin, Managing Director of Carlyle and our President. See “Management—Portfolio Management” for biographical information of members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee.
Our Investment Adviser also serves, and may serve in the future, as investment adviser to other existing and future affiliated BDCs that have investment objectives similar to our investment objectives.
Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest
Our Investment Adviser’s investment team forms the exclusive Carlyle platform for U.S. middle market debt investments. The SEC has granted us exemptive relief that permits us and certain of our affiliates to co-invest in suitable negotiated investments (the “Exemptive Relief”). If Carlyle is presented with investment opportunities that generally fall within our investment objective and other board-established criteria and those of other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements (including other existing and future affiliated BDCs) whether focused on a debt strategy or otherwise, Carlyle allocates such opportunities among us and such other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements in a manner consistent with the Exemptive Relief, our Investment Adviser’s allocation policies and procedures and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures, where applicable, as discussed below. More specifically, investment opportunities in suitable negotiated investments for investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements managed by our Investment Adviser, and other funds, accounts or similar arrangements managed by affiliated investment advisers that seek to co-invest with us or other Carlyle BDCs, are allocated in accordance with the Exemptive Relief. Investment opportunities for all other investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements not managed by our Investment Adviser are allocated in accordance with their respective investment advisers’ and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures. Such policies and procedures may result in certain investment opportunities that are attractive to us being allocated to other funds that are not managed by our Investment Adviser. Carlyle’s, including our Investment Adviser’s, allocation policies and procedures are designed to allocate investment opportunities fairly and equitably among its clients over time, taking into account a variety of factors which may include the sourcing of the transaction, the nature of the investment focus of each such other Carlyle fund, accounts or other similar arrangements, each fund’s, account’s or similar arrangement’s desired level of investment, the relative amounts of capital available for investment, the nature and extent of involvement in the transaction on the part of the respective teams of investment professionals, any requirements contained in the governing agreements of the Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements and other considerations deemed relevant by Carlyle in good faith, including suitability considerations and reputational matters. The application of these considerations may cause differences in the performance of different Carlyle funds, accounts and similar arrangements that have similar strategies. For a further explanation of the allocation of opportunities and other related conflicts and risks, please see “Business—Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest.”
Because we are a BDC, we are not generally permitted to make loans to companies controlled by Carlyle or other funds managed by Carlyle.
We are also not permitted to make any co-investments with clients of our Investment Adviser or its affiliates (including any fund managed by Carlyle) without complying with our Exemptive Relief, subject to certain exceptions, including with respect to our downstream affiliates. Co-investments made under the Exemptive Relief are subject to compliance with the conditions and other requirements contained in the Exemptive Relief, which could limit our ability to participate in a co-investment transaction. We may also co-invest with funds managed by Carlyle or any of its downstream affiliates, subject to compliance with applicable law and regulations, existing regulatory guidance, and our Investment Adviser’s and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures.
Operating and Regulatory Structure
We have elected to be treated as a BDC under the Investment Company Act. As a BDC, we are required to comply with certain regulatory requirements and are generally prohibited from acquiring assets other than qualifying assets, unless, after giving effect to any acquisition, at least 70% of our total assets are qualifying assets. Qualifying assets generally include securities of eligible portfolio companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and high quality debt instruments maturing in one year or less from the time of investment. Under the rules of the Investment Company Act, “eligible portfolio companies” include (i) private U.S. operating companies, (ii) public U.S. operating companies whose securities are not listed on a national securities exchange (e.g., the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex Equities and The NASDAQ Global Market) or registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and (iii) public U.S. operating companies having a market capitalization of less than $250 million.
Also, while we may borrow funds to make investments, our ability to use debt is limited in certain significant aspects. In particular, as a BDC, we must have at least 200% asset coverage calculated pursuant to the Investment Company Act in order to incur debt or issue preferred stock (which we refer to collectively as “senior securities”). In effect, we are permitted to borrow one dollar for every dollar we have in assets less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities issued by us, which requires us
to finance our investments with at least as much equity as senior securities in the aggregate. Certain of our credit facilities also require that we maintain asset coverage of at least 200%. See “—Use of Leverage” and “Regulation.”
In addition, as a consequence of our election to be treated as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes, our asset growth is dependent on our ability to raise equity capital through the issuance of common stock. RICs generally must distribute substantially all of their investment company taxable income (as defined under the Code) to stockholders as dividends in order to preserve their status as a RIC and not be subject to additional U.S. federal corporate-level taxes. This requirement, in turn, generally prevents us from using our earnings to support our operations, including making new investments. See “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations.”
Use of Leverage
Leverage increases the potential for gain and loss on amounts invested and, as a result, increases the risks associated with investing in our securities. The costs associated with our borrowings, including any increase in the fees payable to our Investment Adviser, are borne by our stockholders. Any decision on our part to use borrowings depends upon our assessment of the attractiveness of available investment opportunities in relation to the costs and perceived risks of such leverage. Through the SPV, our wholly owned subsidiary, we have a $400 million senior secured revolving credit facility with various lenders (as amended, the “SPV Credit Facility”). In addition, we have a $383 million senior secured revolving credit facility with various lenders (as amended, the “Credit Facility” and, together with the SPV Credit Facility, the “Facilities”).
On June 26, 2015, through our wholly owned subsidiary, the 2015-1 Issuer, we completed a $400 million term debt securitization (the “2015-1 Debt Securitization”), of which we retained 100% of the preferred interests (the “Preferred Interests”), or approximately $126 million at closing. For more information on our debt, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources.”
Corporate Structure
We were formed in February 2012 as a Maryland corporation structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment company. On May 2, 2013, we elected to be regulated as a BDC and commenced substantial investment operations upon the completion of our initial closing of equity capital commitments. Effective on March 15, 2017, we changed our name from “Carlyle GMS Finance, Inc.” to “TCG BDC, Inc.”
Summary Risk Factors
Investing in us involves a high degree of risk. The following is a summary of the principal risks that you should carefully consider before investing in our securities. In addition, see “Risk Factors” beginning on page 19 for a more detailed discussion of the principal risks as well as certain other risks you should carefully consider before deciding to invest in our securities.
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• | Our operation as a BDC imposes numerous constraints on us and significantly reduces our operating flexibility. Any failure on our part to maintain our status as a BDC would reduce our operating flexibility, may hinder our achievement of our investment objective, may limit our investment choices and may subject us to greater regulation. |
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• | Capital markets may experience periods of disruption and instability. These market conditions may materially and adversely affect debt and equity capital markets in the United States and abroad, which may in the future have a negative impact on our business and operations. |
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• | Our financial condition, results of operations and ability to achieve our investment objective depend on our ability to source and compete for investments, access financing and manage future growth effectively. |
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• | We will be subject to corporate-level income tax if we are unable to maintain our qualification as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Subchapter M of the Code, which would have a material adverse effect on our financial performance. |
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• | We are dependent upon our Investment Adviser for our future success. |
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• | We may need to raise additional capital to grow because we must distribute most of our income. |
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• | We borrow money, which magnifies the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested and may increase the risk of investing in us. |
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• | There are significant potential conflicts of interest, including the management of other investment funds and accounts by our Investment Adviser, which could impact our investment returns. |
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• | Our Board may change our investment objective, operating policies and strategies without prior notice and without stockholder approval. |
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• | Our Investment Adviser, Administrator and sub-administrators can resign upon 60 days’ notice, and we may not be able to find a suitable replacement within that time, resulting in a disruption in our operations that could adversely affect our financial condition, business and results of operations. |
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• | Our ability to enter into transactions with Carlyle and our affiliates is restricted. |
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• | Changes in interest rates may increase our cost of capital, reduce the ability of our portfolio companies to service their debt obligations and decrease our net investment income. |
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• | Our investments are risky and speculative and include primarily loans to middle market companies whose debt, if rated, is below investment grade, and, if not rated, would likely be rated below investment grade if it were rated (that is, below BBB- or Baa3, which is often referred to as “junk”). |
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• | Our portfolio securities typically do not have a readily available market price and, in such a case, we will value these securities at fair value as determined in good faith under procedures adopted by our Board, which valuation is inherently subjective and may not reflect what we may actually realize for the sale of the investment. |
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• | Declines in the prices of corporate debt securities and illiquidity in the corporate debt markets may adversely affect the fair value of our portfolio investments, reducing our NAV through increased net unrealized depreciation. |
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• | Investing in our common stock involves an above average degree of risk. |
Corporate Information
Our principal executive offices are located at 520 Madison Ave., 40th Floor, New York, New York 10022 and our telephone number is (212) 813-4900. We maintain a website located at www.tcgbdc.com. Information on our website is not incorporated into or a part of this prospectus.
OFFERINGS
We may offer, from time to time, in one or more offerings or series, of our common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, subscription rights to purchase shares of our common stock, warrants representing rights to purchase shares of our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities, or units comprised of any combination of the foregoing, on terms to be determined at the time of the offering. We will offer our securities at prices and on terms to be set forth in one or more supplements to this prospectus. The offering price per share of our common stock, less any underwriting commissions or discounts, generally will not be less than the NAV per share of our common stock at the time of an offering. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Offerings Pursuant to this Prospectus.”
In addition, this prospectus relates to 5,500,000 shares of our common stock that may be sold by the selling stockholders identified under “Selling Stockholders.” Sales of our common stock by the selling stockholders, which may occur at prices below the NAV per share of our common stock, may adversely affect the market price of our common stock and may make it more difficult for us to raise capital. In connection with such offerings, we will be liable for and pay only those expenses customarily incurred by a company conducting a registered primary offering of its securities, including our legal and accounting fees. We will not be liable for, and the selling stockholders will pay or bear, their portion of all underwriting discounts, selling commissions and transfer taxes, if any, relating to any common stock sold by them. The selling stockholders will also pay their own legal expenses, if any.
We or the selling stockholders may offer our securities directly to one or more purchasers, including existing stockholders in a rights offering, through agents that we or the selling stockholders, as applicable, designate from time to time or to or through underwriters or dealers. The prospectus supplement relating to each offering will identify any agents or underwriters involved in the sale of our securities, and will set forth any applicable purchase price, fee, commission or discount arrangement between us or the selling stockholders, as applicable, and our agents or underwriters or among our underwriters or the basis upon which such amount may be calculated. See “Plan of Distribution.” We may not sell any of our securities through agents, underwriters or dealers without delivery of a prospectus supplement describing the method and terms of the offering of our securities.
Set forth below is additional information regarding offerings of our securities:
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Use of proceeds | Unless otherwise specified in a prospectus supplement, we intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of our securities for general corporate purposes, which include, among other things, (a) investing in portfolio companies in accordance with our investment objective and (b) repaying indebtedness. Each supplement to this prospectus relating to an offering will more fully identify the use of the proceeds from such offering. See “Use of Proceeds.”
We will not receive any proceeds from any sale of common stock by the selling stockholders identified under “Selling Stockholders.” |
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The NASDAQ Global Select Market symbol | “CGBD” |
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Distributions | To the extent we have taxable income, we intend to continue to pay quarterly distributions to our stockholders out of assets legally available for distribution. Future quarterly distributions, if any, will be determined by our Board. All future distributions will be subject to lawfully available funds therefor, and no assurance can be given that we will be able to declare such distributions in future periods. The distributions we pay to our stockholders in a year may exceed our taxable income for that year and, accordingly, a portion of such distributions may constitute a return of capital for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A return of capital is a return to our stockholders of a portion of their original investment in the Company and would reduce a stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares of our common stock and correspondingly increase such stockholder’s gain, or reduce such stockholder’s loss, on disposition of such shares. Distributions in excess of a stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares of our common stock will constitute capital gains to such stockholder. The specific tax characteristics of our distributions will be reported to stockholders after the end of the calendar year. For more information, see “Price Range of Common Stock and Distributions.” |
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Tax status | We are a BDC under the Investment Company Act. We have elected to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2013, and intend to continue to elect to be so treated annually. As a RIC, we generally will not pay corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes on any net ordinary income or capital gains that we timely distribute to our stockholders as dividends. To maintain our RIC status, we must meet specified source-of-income and asset diversification requirements and timely distribute to our stockholders at least 90% of our “investment company taxable income” as defined by the Code, which generally includes net ordinary income and net short-term capital gains in excess of net long-term capital losses, for each taxable year. See “Price Range of Common Stock and Distributions” and “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations.” We intend to timely distribute to our stockholders substantially all of our annual taxable income for each year, except that we may retain certain net capital gains for reinvestment and, depending upon the level of taxable income earned in a year, we may choose to carry forward taxable income for distribution in the following year and pay any applicable U.S. federal excise tax. See “Price Range of Common Stock and Distributions.” |
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Dividend Reinvestment Plan | We have an “opt out” dividend reinvestment plan that provides for reinvestment of our dividends and other distributions on behalf of our stockholders, other than those stockholders who have “opted out” of the plan. As a result of adopting the plan, if our Board authorizes, and we declare, a cash dividend or distribution, our stockholders who have not elected to “opt out” of our dividend reinvestment plan will have their cash dividends or distributions automatically reinvested in additional shares of our common stock, rather than receiving cash. Each registered stockholder may elect to have such stockholder’s dividends and distributions distributed in cash rather than participate in the plan. For any registered stockholder that does not so elect, distributions on such stockholder’s shares will be reinvested by State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”), our plan administrator, in additional shares. The number of shares to be issued to the stockholder will be determined based on the total dollar amount of the cash distribution payable, net of applicable withholding taxes. We intend to use primarily newly issued shares to implement the plan so long as the market value per share is equal to or greater than the NAV per share on the relevant valuation date. If the market value per share is less than the NAV per share on the relevant valuation date, the plan administrator would implement the plan through the purchase of common stock on behalf of participants in the open market, unless we instruct the plan administrator otherwise.
Stockholders who receive dividends and distributions in the form of stock are generally subject to the same U.S. federal, state and local tax consequences as are stockholders who receive their dividends and distributions in cash. However, since their cash dividends and distributions will be reinvested in our common stock, such stockholder will not receive cash with which to pay applicable taxes on reinvested dividends and distributions. See “Dividend Reinvestment Plan.”
If a stockholder elects to “opt out” of our dividend reinvestment plan, that stockholder will receive cash distributions. |
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Investment Advisory Fees | We pay our Investment Adviser a fee for its services under an investment advisory agreement (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”) consisting of two components—a base management fee and an incentive fee.
The base management fee is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears at an annual rate of 1.50% of our average gross assets, including assets acquired through the incurrence of debt, excluding cash and cash-equivalents and adjusted for share issuances or repurchases. Cash and cash-equivalents include any temporary investments in cash-equivalents, U.S. government securities and other high quality investment grade debt investments that mature in 12 months or less from the date of investment. Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, the base management fee is calculated based on the average value of our gross assets at the end of the two most recently completed fiscal quarters, except for the first quarter following our initial public offering, in which case the base management fee was calculated based on our gross assets as of the end of such fiscal quarter. The base management fee is appropriately adjusted for any share issuances or repurchases during such fiscal quarter and the base management fees for any partial month or quarter will be pro-rated. |
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| The incentive fee has two parts. The first part is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears based on our pre-incentive fee net investment income for the immediately preceding calendar quarter. The second part is determined and payable in arrears as of the end of each calendar year (or upon termination of the Investment Advisory Agreement, as of the termination date) based on capital gains. |
| Incentive Fee on Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income We pay our Investment Adviser an incentive fee quarterly in arrears with respect to our pre-incentive fee net investment income in each calendar quarter as follows (for purposes of comparing our pre-incentive fee net investment income to a “hurdle rate” of 1.50% or a “catch-up rate” of 1.82%, as applicable, our pre-incentive fee net investment income is expressed as a rate of return on the value of our net assets at the end of the immediately preceding calendar quarter): • no incentive fee based on pre-incentive fee net investment income in any calendar quarter in which our pre-incentive fee net investment income does not exceed the hurdle rate of 1.50%;
• 100% of our pre-incentive fee net investment income with respect to that portion of such pre-incentive fee net investment income, if any, that exceeds the hurdle rate but is less than 1.82% in any calendar quarter (7.28% annualized). We refer to this portion of our pre-incentive fee net investment income (which exceeds the hurdle rate but is less than 1.82%) as the “catch-up.” The “catch-up” is meant to provide our Investment Adviser with approximately 17.5% of our pre-incentive fee net investment income as if a hurdle rate did not apply if this net investment income exceeds 1.82% in any calendar quarter; and • 17.5% of the amount of our pre-incentive fee net investment income, if any, that exceeds 1.82% in any calendar quarter (7.28% annualized) is payable to our Investment Adviser. This reflects that once the hurdle rate is reached and the catch-up is achieved, 17.5% of all pre-incentive fee investment income thereafter is allocated to our Investment Adviser. |
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| Incentive Fee on Capital Gains The second part of the incentive fee is determined and payable in arrears as of the end of each calendar year (or upon termination of the Investment Advisory Agreement, as of the termination date), and equals 17.5% of our realized capital gains, if any, on a cumulative basis from inception through the date of determination, computed net of all realized capital losses on a cumulative basis and unrealized capital depreciation, less the aggregate amount of any previously paid capital gain incentive fees.
See “Fees and Expenses” and “Management—Investment Management Agreement.” |
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Administration Agreement | We reimburse our Administrator for its costs and expenses and our allocable portion of overhead incurred by our Administrator in performing its obligations under an administration agreement (the “Administration Agreement”). In addition, our Administrator has entered into sub-administration agreements with certain affiliates (the “Carlyle Sub-Administration Agreements”) to have access to personnel. Our Administrator has also entered into a sub-administration agreement with State Street (the “State Street Sub-Administration Agreement” and, together with the Carlyle Sub-Administration Agreements, the “Sub-Administration Agreements”) for certain administrative and professional services. |
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See “Fees and Expenses,” “Management—Administration Agreement” and “—Sub-Administration Agreements.” |
Leverage | From time to time, we may borrow funds to make additional investments. This is known as “leverage” and could increase or decrease returns to our stockholders. The use of leverage involves significant risks. As a BDC, with certain limited exceptions, we are only allowed to borrow amounts such that our asset coverage ratio, as defined in the Investment Company Act, equals at least 200% immediately after each time we incur indebtedness. The amount of leverage that we employ will depend on our Investment Adviser’s and our Board’s assessment of market conditions and other factors at the time of any proposed borrowing. The costs associated with our borrowings, including any increase in the fees payable to our Investment Adviser, are borne by our stockholders. |
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Trading at a discount | Shares of closed-end investment companies that are listed on an exchange, including BDCs, frequently trade at a discount to their NAV per share. We are not generally able to issue and sell our common stock at a price below our NAV per share unless, among other things, the requisite stockholders approve such a sale. The risk that our shares may trade at a discount to our NAV per share is separate and distinct from the risk that our NAV per share may decline. We cannot predict whether our shares will trade above, at or below NAV per share. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Offerings Pursuant to this Prospectus—Our shares of common stock have traded at a discount to NAV and may do so again, which could limit our ability to raise additional equity capital.” |
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Investment Adviser | We are externally managed by our Investment Adviser, CGCIM, an investment adviser that is registered with the SEC under the Advisers Act. CGCIM is a wholly owned subsidiary of Carlyle, a global alternative asset manager with approximately $174 billion of AUM as of September 30, 2017. See “Management—Our Investment Adviser.” |
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Administrator | CGCA, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carlyle, serves as our administrator. See “Management—Our Administrator.” |
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Custodian, transfer agent and dividend disbursing agent | State Street serves as our custodian. State Street also serves as our transfer and distribution payment agent and registrar. See “Custodian, Transfer and Dividend Paying Agent and Registrar.” |
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Risk factors | See “Risk Factors” and the other information in this prospectus for a discussion of factors you should carefully consider before deciding to invest in our securities. |
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Available information | We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form N-2, of which this prospectus is a part, under the Securities Act. The registration statement contains additional information about us and the securities being offered by this prospectus. We are also required to file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the SEC. This information is available at the SEC’s public reference room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549 and on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov. Information on the operation of the SEC’s public reference room may be obtained by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090 or (800) SEC-0330. |
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| We maintain a website (www.tcgbdc.com) and make all of our periodic and current reports, proxy statements and other information available, free of charge, on or through our website. The information on our website is not incorporated by reference in this prospectus. You may also obtain such information by contacting us in writing at: 520 Madison Ave., 40th Floor, New York, New York 10022, or by telephone (collect) at (212) 813-4900. |
FEES AND EXPENSES
The following table is intended to assist you in understanding the costs and expenses that an investor in our common stock will bear, directly or indirectly, based on the assumptions set forth below. We caution you that some of the percentages indicated in the table below are estimates and may vary. The following table should not be considered a representation of our future expenses. Actual expenses may be greater or less than shown. The expenses shown in the table under “estimated annual expenses” are based on estimated amounts for our current fiscal year. Except where the context suggests otherwise, whenever this prospectus contains a reference to fees or expenses paid by “us,” the “Company” or says that “we” will pay fees or expenses, stockholders will indirectly bear these fees or expenses as our investors.
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Stockholder transaction expenses (as a percentage of offering price): | |
Sales load | —(1) |
Offering expenses | —(2) |
Dividend reinvestment plan expenses | None(3) |
Total stockholder transaction expenses | —(4) |
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Estimated annual expenses (as a percentage of net assets attributable to common stock): (5) | |
Base management fee payable under the Investment Advisory Agreement | 2.11%(6) |
Incentive fee payable under the Investment Advisory Agreement (17.5% of pre-incentive fee net investment income and capital gains) | 1.71%(7) |
Interest payments on borrowed funds | 1.99%(8) |
Other expenses | 0.70%(9)(11) |
Acquired fund fees and expenses | 1.32%(10) |
Total annual expenses | 7.83%(11) |
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(1) | In the event that the securities to which this prospectus relates are sold to or through underwriters, a corresponding prospectus supplement will disclose the applicable sales load (underwriting discount or commission). Purchases of shares of our common stock on the secondary market are not subject to sales charges but may be subject to brokerage commissions or other charges. The table does not include any sales load that stockholders may have paid in connection with their purchase of shares of our common stock. |
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(2) | The related prospectus supplement, including each underwritten offering by any of the selling stockholders identified under “Selling Stockholders,” will disclose the estimated amount of offering expenses, the offering price and the offering expenses borne by us as a percentage of the offering price. |
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(3) | The expenses of the dividend reinvestment plan are included in “Other expenses” in the table above. For additional information, see “Dividend Reinvestment Plan.” |
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(4) | The related prospectus supplement will disclose the offering price and the total stockholder transaction expenses as a percentage of the offering price. |
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(5) | The net assets attributable to common stock used to calculate the percentages in this table reflect our net assets of $1,124.4 million as of September 30, 2017. |
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(6) | The base management fee under the Investment Advisory Agreement is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears at an annual rate of 1.50% of our average gross assets, including assets acquired through the incurrence of debt, excluding cash and cash equivalents and adjusted for share issuances or repurchases. For purposes of the table above, the percentage reflected is calculated based on our average net assets (rather than our average gross assets) for the same period. The base management fee is payable quarterly in arrears. See “Management—Investment Advisory Agreement.” |
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(7) | We may have capital gains and net investment income that could result in the payment of an incentive fee to the Investment Adviser in the twelve months after the date of this prospectus. The incentive fee payable in the example below is estimated based on annualizing our actual results for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 as if they had occurred following our initial public offering, and assumes that the incentive fee is 17.5% for all relevant periods. However, the incentive fee payable to the Investment Adviser is based on our performance and will not be paid unless we achieve certain goals. |
The incentive fee has two parts. The first part is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears based on our pre-incentive fee net investment income for the immediately preceding calendar quarter. The second part is determined and payable in arrears as of the end of each calendar year (or upon termination of the Investment Advisory Agreement, as of the termination date) in an amount equal to 17.5% of our realized capital gains, if any, on a cumulative basis from inception through the end of each calendar year, computed net of all realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation on a cumulative basis, less the
aggregate amount of any previously paid capital gain incentive fees. See “Management—Investment Advisory Agreement.” The incentive fee does not give effect to the Proposed Amendment. See “Management—Investment Advisory Agreement—Incentive Fee.”
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(8) | Interest payments on borrowed funds is estimated based on annualizing our interest expense for the nine month period ended September 30, 2017 under our secured borrowings and the notes offered in the Debt Securitization (the “2015-1 Notes”) excluding fees (such as fees on undrawn amounts and amortization of upfront fees). This estimated item is based on the assumption that our borrowings and interest costs after an offering will remain similar to those prior to such offering. We may borrow additional funds from time to time to make investments to the extent we determine that the economic situation is conducive to doing so. Our stockholders indirectly bear the costs of borrowings under any debt instruments we may enter into. |
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(9) | Includes our estimated overhead expenses, such as payments under the Administration Agreement for certain expenses incurred by the Investment Adviser. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Administration Agreement” and “—Sub-Administration Agreements.” The expenses in this table are based on our actual other expenses for the nine month period ended September 30, 2017. |
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(10) | Our stockholders indirectly bear the expenses of underlying funds or other investment vehicles in which we invest that (1) are investment companies or (2) would be investment companies under Section 3(a) of the Investment Company Act but for the exceptions to that definition provided for in Sections 3(c)(1) and 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act. This amount includes the estimated annual fees and expenses of Credit Fund, which was our only acquired fund as of September 30, 2017. |
Example
The following example demonstrates the projected dollar amount of total cumulative expenses over various periods with respect to a hypothetical investment in our common stock. In calculating the following expense amounts, we have assumed we would have no additional leverage and that our annual operating expenses would remain at the levels set forth in the table above. The incentive fee payable in the example below assumes that the incentive fee is 17.5% for all relevant periods. Transaction expenses are included in the following example.
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| | | | |
| 1 year | 3 years | 5 years | 10 years |
You would pay the following expenses on a $1,000 common stock investment, assuming a 5% annual return (none of which is subject to the incentive fee based on capital gains) (1) | $102 | $224 | $347 | $653 |
You would pay the following expenses on a $1,000 common stock investment, assuming a 5% annual return resulting entirely from net realized capital gains (all of which is subject to the incentive fee based on capital gains) (2) | $112 | $254 | $397 | $753 |
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(1) | Assumes that we will not realize any capital gains computed net of all realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation. |
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(2) | Assumes no unrealized capital depreciation and a 5% annual return resulting entirely from net realized capital gains and not otherwise deferrable under the terms of the Investment Advisory Agreement and therefore subject to the incentive fee based on capital gains. Because our investment strategy involves investments that generate primarily current income, we believe that a 5% annual return resulting entirely from net realized capital gains is unlikely. |
The foregoing table is to assist you in understanding the various costs and expenses that an investor in our common stock will bear directly or indirectly. While the example assumes, as required by the SEC, a 5% annual return, our performance will vary and may result in a return greater or less than 5%. Because the income portion of the incentive fee under the Investment Advisory Agreement is unlikely to be significant assuming a 5% annual return, the second example assumes that the 5% annual return will be generated entirely through net realized capital gains and, as a result, will trigger the payment of the capital gains portion of the incentive fee under the Investment Advisory Agreement. The income portion of the incentive fee under the Investment Advisory Agreement, which, assuming a 5% annual return, would either not be payable or have an immaterial impact on the expense amounts shown above, is not included in the example. If we achieve sufficient returns on our investments, including through net realized capital gains, to trigger an incentive fee of a material amount, our expenses, and returns to our investors, would be higher. In addition, while the example assumes reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at NAV, under certain circumstances, reinvestment of dividends and other distributions under our dividend reinvestment plan may occur at a price per share that differs from NAV. See “Dividend Reinvestment Plan” for additional information regarding our dividend reinvestment plan.
This example above should not be considered a representation of our future expenses, and actual expenses (including the cost of debt, if any, and other expenses) may be greater or less than those shown.
SELECTED FINANCIAL AND OTHER INFORMATION
The tables below set forth our selected consolidated historical financial data for the periods indicated. The selected consolidated historical financial data as of and for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included in “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this prospectus. Interim financial information for the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 has been derived from our unaudited interim financial statements, which are included in “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of this prospectus. Our unaudited interim financial statements were prepared on a basis consistent with our audited financial statements and, in our opinion, include all adjustments necessary for the fair statement of the results for the periods represented. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of future results. The selected financial data in this section is not intended to replace the financial statements and is qualified in its entirety by the financial statements and related notes included in this prospectus.
The selected consolidated financial information and other data presented below should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our financial statements and the related notes thereto.
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| For the nine month periods ended September 30, | For the years ended |
| December 31, |
| 2017 | 2016 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
(dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data) | | | | | | |
Consolidated Statements of Operations Data | | | | | | |
Income | | | | | | |
Total investment income | $ | 115,491 |
| $ | 77,815 |
| $ | 110,971 |
| $ | 69,190 |
| $ | 32,984 |
| $ | 4,969 |
|
Expenses | | | | | | |
Net expenses | 49,856 |
| 36,543 |
| 51,350 |
| 33,666 |
| 18,724 |
| 6,638 |
|
Net investment income (loss) | 65,635 |
| 41,272 |
| 59,621 |
| 35,524 |
| 14,260 |
| (1,669 | ) |
Net realized gain (loss) on investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated | (7,724 | ) | (9,055 | ) | (9,644 | ) | 1,164 |
| 72 |
| 63 |
|
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated | 808 |
| 18,239 |
| 17,560 |
| (18,015 | ) | (8,718 | ) | (321 | ) |
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments—non-controlled/affiliated | (976 | ) | — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
|
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments—controlled/affiliated | (526 | ) | 1,957 |
| 2,272 |
| — |
| — |
| — |
|
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | 57,217 |
| 52,413 |
| 69,809 |
| 18,673 |
| 5,614 |
| (1,927 | ) |
Per Share Data | | | | | | |
Basic and diluted net investment income | $ | 1.31 |
| $ | 1.19 |
| $ | 1.65 |
| $ | 1.43 |
| $ | 1.09 |
| $ | (0.55 | ) |
Basic and diluted earnings | $ | 1.15 |
| $ | 1.51 |
| $ | 1.93 |
| $ | 0.75 |
| $ | 0.43 |
| $ | (0.64 | ) |
Dividends declared (1) | $ | 1.15 |
| $ | 1.20 |
| $ | 1.68 |
| $ | 1.74 |
| $ | 1.25 |
| $ | 0.00 |
|
| |
(1) | Cumulative per share dividends declared by our Board for the nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, and years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014. Cumulative per share dividends declared by our Board for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015 included a special dividend of $0.07 and $0.18 per share, respectively. |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| As of and for the nine month period ended | As of and for the years ended |
| September 30, | December 31, |
| 2017 | 2016 | 2015 | 2014 | 2013 |
(dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data) | | | | | |
Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities Data | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated, at fair value | $ | 1,760,611 |
| $ | 1,323,102 |
| $ | 1,052,666 |
| $ | 698,662 |
| $ | 212,807 |
|
Investments—non-controlled/affiliated, at fair value | 14,959 |
| — |
| — |
| — |
| — |
|
Investments—controlled/affiliated, at fair value | 188,547 |
| 99,657 |
| — |
| — |
| — |
|
Cash and cash equivalents | 35,149 |
| 38,489 |
| 41,837 |
| 8,754 |
| 42,010 |
|
Total assets | 2,013,475 |
| 1,490,155 |
| 1,104,032 |
| 716,720 |
| 260,967 |
|
Secured borrowings | 578,769 |
| 421,885 |
| 234,313 |
| 308,441 |
| 66,822 |
|
2015-1 Notes payable | 271,001 |
| 270,849 |
| 270,644 |
| — |
| — |
|
Total liabilities | 889,122 |
| 726,018 |
| 532,306 |
| 378,463 |
| 74,965 |
|
Total net assets | 1,124,353 |
| 764,137 |
| 571,726 |
| 338,257 |
| 186,002 |
|
Net assets per share | $ | 18.18 |
| $ | 18.32 |
| $ | 18.14 |
| $ | 18.86 |
| $ | 19.42 |
|
| | | | | |
Other Data: | | | | | |
Number of portfolio companies/structured finance obligations/investment funds at period/year end | 92 |
| 86 |
| 85 |
| 72 |
| 27 |
|
Average funded investments in new portfolio companies/structured finance obligations (1) | 8,496 |
| 12,188 |
| 12,996 |
| 10,597 |
| 6,751 |
|
Total return based on NAV (2)(3) | 5.51 | % | 10.25 | % | 5.41 | % | 3.55 | % | -2.90 | % |
| |
(1) | Average is calculated per portfolio company based on the total amount funded during the period divided by the number of portfolio companies invested/structured finance obligations made during the period. |
| |
(2) | Total return is based on the change in NAV per share during the period/year plus the declared dividends, assuming reinvestment of dividends in accordance with the dividend reinvestment plan, divided by the beginning NAV for the year. For the nine months ended September 30, 2017, the total return based on NAV equaled the change in NAV per share during the period plus the declared and payable dividends of $1.15 per share for the nine months ended September 30, 2017, divided by the beginning NAV for the period. Total return for the nine month period ended September 30, 2017 and for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013 was inclusive of $(0.10), $0.01, $0.11, $0.09 and $0.32, respectively, per share increase (decrease) in NAV related to the offering price of subscriptions and the offering price of common stock in the IPO, net of underwriting and offering costs during the period. Excluding the effects of these common stock issuances, total return would have been 6.06%, 10.20%, 4.83%, 3.09% and (4.05%), for the nine month period ended September 30, 2017 and the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013, respectively. |
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(3) | Percentages do not reflect the expiration of the fee waiver that occurred after the completion of our initial public offering. Prior to our initial public offering, our Investment Adviser waived its right to receive one-third (0.50%) of the 1.50% base management fee. The fee waiver was scheduled to terminate upon consummation of our initial public offering. However, in connection with our initial public offering, our Investment Adviser agreed to continue the fee waiver until completion of the quarter ended September 30, 2017, at which time the fee waiver terminated. As a result, beginning October 1, 2017, the base management fee returned to an annual rate of 1.50% of our gross assets, and was effectively higher than the base management fee prior to October 1, 2017. |
SELECTED QUARTERLY FINANCIAL DATA
(Unaudited)
(Dollar amounts are in thousands, except per share data, unless otherwise indicated)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | 2017 |
| | Q3 | Q2 | Q1 |
Total investment income | | $ | 42,648 |
| $ | 38,744 |
| $ | 34,099 |
|
Net expenses | | 17,568 |
| 17,296 |
| 14,992 |
|
Net investment income (loss) | | 25,080 |
| 21,448 |
| 19,107 |
|
Net realized gain (loss) and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | | 463 |
| (5,947) |
| (2,934) |
|
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | | 25,543 |
| 15,501 |
| 16,173 |
|
Net asset value per share | | 18.18 |
| 18.14 |
| 18.30 |
|
Basic and diluted earnings per common share | | $ | 0.41 |
| $ | 0.34 |
| $ | 0.39 |
|
| | | | |
| 2016 |
| Q4 | Q3 | Q2 | Q1 |
Total investment income | $ | 33,156 |
| $ | 28,957 |
| $ | 25,748 |
| $ | 23,110 |
|
Net expenses | 14,807 |
| 13,111 |
| 12,282 |
| 11,150 |
|
Net investment income (loss) | 18,349 |
| 15,846 |
| 13,466 |
| 11,960 |
|
Net realized gain (loss) and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | (953) |
| 13,324 |
| 12,485 |
| (14,668) |
|
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | 17,396 |
| 29,170 |
| 25,951 |
| (2,708) |
|
Net asset value per share | 18.32 |
| 18.38 |
| 18.02 |
| 17.66 |
|
Basic and diluted earnings per common share | $ | 0.48 |
| $ | 0.78 |
| $ | 0.75 |
| $ | (0.08 | ) |
| | | | |
| 2015 |
| Q4 | Q3 | Q2 | Q1 |
Total investment income | $ | 20,685 |
| $ | 19,601 |
| $ | 15,925 |
|
| $12,979 |
|
Net expenses | 9,920 |
| 9,267 |
| 7,980 |
| 6,499 |
|
Net investment income (loss) | 10,765 |
| 10,334 |
| 7,945 |
| 6,480 |
|
Net realized gain (loss) and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | (20,748) |
| (681) |
| 1,270 |
| 3,308 |
|
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | (9,983) |
| 9,653 |
| 9,215 |
| 9,788 |
|
Net asset value per share | 18.14 |
| 19.02 |
| 19.09 |
| 19.05 |
|
Basic and diluted earnings per common share | $ | (0.34 | ) | $ | 0.35 |
| $ | 0.40 |
| $ | 0.50 |
|
RISK FACTORS
Potential investors should be aware that an investment in the Company involves a high degree of risk. There can be no assurance that the Company’s investment objective will be achieved or that an investor will receive a return of its capital. In addition, there will be occasions when the Investment Adviser and its affiliates may encounter potential conflicts of interest in connection with the Company. The risks set out below are not the only risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and/or operating results. The following considerations, together with all of the other information included in this prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto, should be carefully evaluated before making an investment in the Company. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating result could be materially and adversely affected. In such case, our NAV and the trading price of our securities could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.
Risks Related to Our Business and Structure
Capital markets may experience periods of disruption and instability. These market conditions may materially and adversely affect debt and equity capital markets in the United States and abroad, which may in the future have a negative impact on our business and operations.
From time to time, capital markets may experience periods of disruption and instability. During such periods of market disruption and instability, we and other companies in the financial services sector may have limited access, if available, to alternative markets for debt and equity capital. Equity capital may be difficult to raise because, subject to some limited exceptions which will apply to us as a BDC, we will generally not be able to issue additional shares of our common stock at a price less than NAV without first obtaining approval for such issuance from our stockholders and our Independent Directors (as defined below). In addition, our ability to incur indebtedness (including by issuing preferred stock) is limited by applicable regulations such that our asset coverage, as defined in the Investment Company Act, must equal at least 200% immediately after each time we incur indebtedness. The debt capital that will be available, if at all, may be at a higher cost and on less favorable terms and conditions in the future. Any inability to raise capital could have a negative effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Given the extreme volatility and dislocation in the capital markets over the past several years, many BDCs have faced, and may in the future face, a challenging environment in which to raise or access capital. In addition, significant changes in the capital markets, including the extreme volatility and disruption over the past several years, has had, and may in the future have, a negative effect on the valuations of our investments and on the potential for liquidity events involving these investments. While most of our investments are not publicly traded, applicable accounting standards require us to assume as part of our valuation process that our investments are sold in a principal market to market participants (even if we plan on holding an investment through its maturity). As a result, volatility in the capital markets can adversely affect our investment valuations. Further, the illiquidity of our investments may make it difficult for us to sell such investments if required and to value such investments. As a result, we may realize significantly less than the value at which we will have recorded our investments. An inability to raise capital, and any required sale of our investments for liquidity purposes, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Economic recessions or downturns could impair our portfolio companies and harm our operating results.
Many of the portfolio companies in which we make investments may be susceptible to economic slowdowns or recessions and may be unable to repay the loans we made to them during these periods. Therefore, our non-performing assets may increase and the value of our portfolio may decrease during these periods as we are required to record our investments at their current fair value. Adverse economic conditions also may decrease the value of collateral securing some of our loans and the value of our equity investments. Economic slowdowns or recessions could lead to financial losses in our portfolio and a decrease in revenues, net income and assets. Unfavorable economic conditions also could increase our and our portfolio companies’ funding costs, limit our and our portfolio companies’ access to the capital markets or result in a decision by lenders not to extend credit to us or our portfolio companies. These events could prevent us from increasing investments and harm our operating results.
A portfolio company’s failure to satisfy financial or operating covenants imposed by us or other lenders could lead to defaults and, potentially, acceleration of the time when the loans are due and foreclosure on its secured assets, which could trigger cross-defaults under other agreements and jeopardize the portfolio company’s ability to meet its obligations under the debt that we hold. We may incur additional expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery upon default or to negotiate new terms with a defaulting portfolio company. In addition, if one of our portfolio companies were to go bankrupt, depending on the facts and circumstances, including the extent to which we will actually provide significant managerial assistance to that portfolio company, a bankruptcy court might subordinate all or a portion of our claim to that of other creditors.
We are dependent upon our Investment Adviser for our future success.
We do not have any employees. We depend on the diligence, skill and network of business contacts of our Investment Adviser’s investment professionals and CDL to source appropriate investments for us. We depend on members of our Investment Adviser’s investment team to appropriately analyze our investments and our Investment Adviser’s investment committee to approve and monitor our middle market portfolio investments. Our Investment Adviser’s investment committee, together with the other members of its investment team, evaluate, negotiate, structure, close and monitor our investments. Our future success will depend on the continued availability of the members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee and the other investment professionals available to our Investment Adviser. Neither we nor our Investment Adviser has employment agreements with these individuals or other key personnel, and we cannot provide any assurance that unforeseen business, medical, personal or other circumstances would not lead any such individual to terminate his or her relationship with us. The loss of Mr. Hart, or any of the other senior investment professionals to which our Investment Adviser has access, could have a material adverse effect on our ability to achieve our investment objective as well as on our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we cannot assure you that CGCIM will remain our investment adviser or that we will continue to have access to Carlyle’s investment professionals or its information and deal flow. Further, the can be no assurance that CGCIM will replicate its own or Carlyle’s historical success, and we caution you that our investment returns could be substantially lower than the returns achieved by other Carlyle-managed funds.
Our financial condition, results of operations and ability to achieve our investment objective depend on our ability to source investments, access financing and manage future growth effectively.
Our ability to achieve our investment objective and to grow depends on our ability to acquire suitable investments and monitor and administer those investments, which depends, in turn, on our Investment Adviser’s ability to identify, invest in and monitor companies that meet our investment criteria.
Accomplishing this result on a cost-effective basis is largely a function of our Investment Adviser’s structuring of the investment process, its ability to provide competent, attentive and efficient services to us and its ability to access financing for us on acceptable terms. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team has substantial responsibilities under the Investment Advisory Agreement, has substantial responsibilities in connection with managing us and certain other investment funds and accounts advised by our Investment Adviser, and may also be called upon to provide managerial assistance to our portfolio companies. These demands on their time, which will increase as the number of investments grow, may distract them or slow the rate of investment. In order for us to grow, Carlyle will need to hire, train, supervise, manage and retain new employees. However, we can offer no assurance that any such investment professionals will contribute effectively to the work of our Investment Adviser. Any failure to manage our future growth effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
We may need to raise additional capital to grow because we must distribute most of our income.
We may need additional capital to fund growth in our investments, and a reduction in the availability of new capital could limit our ability to grow. We have elected to be treated, and intend to qualify annually, as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Subchapter M of the Code. To maintain our status as a RIC, among other requirements, we must distribute on a timely basis at least 90% of our investment company taxable income to our stockholders to maintain our RIC status. As a result, any such cash earnings may not be available to fund investment originations or repay maturing debt. We have borrowed under the Facilities and through the issuance of the 2015-1 Notes and in the future may borrow under additional debt facilities from financial institutions. We must continue to issue additional debt and equity securities to fund our growth. 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 may have an adverse effect on the value of our securities. We may pursue growth through acquisitions or strategic investments in new businesses. Completion and timing of any such acquisitions or strategic investments may be subject to a number of contingencies and risks. There can be no assurance that the integration of an acquired business will be successful or that an acquired business will prove to be profitable or sustainable.
In addition, as a BDC, our ability to borrow or issue preferred stock may be restricted if our total assets are less than 200% of our total borrowings and preferred stock. Furthermore, equity capital may be difficult to raise because, subject to some limited exceptions, as a BDC, we are generally not able to issue additional shares of our common stock at a price per share less than NAV without first obtaining approval for such issuance from our stockholders and our Independent Directors (as defined below).
Any failure on our part to maintain our status as a BDC or RIC would reduce our operating flexibility, may hinder our achievement of our investment objective, may limit our investment choices and may subject us to greater regulation.
The Investment Company Act imposes numerous constraints on the operations of BDCs and RICs that do not apply to other types of investment vehicles. For example, under the Investment Company Act, we are required as a BDC to invest at least 70% of our total assets in specified types of “qualifying assets,” primarily in private U.S. companies or thinly-traded U.S. public companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and other high quality debt investments that mature in one year or less. In addition, in order to continue to qualify as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we are required to satisfy certain source-of-income,
diversification and distribution requirements. These constraints, among others, may hinder our ability to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities and to achieve our investment objective. See “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations.”
Furthermore, any failure to comply with the requirements imposed on us as a BDC by the Investment Company Act could cause the SEC to bring an enforcement action against us and/or expose us to claims of private litigants. In addition, upon approval of a majority of our outstanding voting securities as required by the Investment Company Act, we may elect to withdraw our status as a BDC. If we decide to withdraw our election, or if we otherwise fail to qualify, or maintain our qualification, as a BDC, we might be regulated as a closed-end investment company that is required to register under the Investment Company Act, which would subject us to additional regulatory restrictions, significantly decrease our operating flexibility and could significantly increase our cost of doing business. In addition, any such failure could cause an event of default under our outstanding indebtedness, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Regulations governing our operation as a BDC affect our ability to, and the way in which we will, raise additional capital. As a BDC, the necessity of raising additional capital may expose us to risks, including the typical risks associated with leverage.
We may issue debt securities or preferred stock and/or borrow money from banks or other financial institutions, which we refer to collectively as “senior securities,” up to the maximum amount permitted by the Investment Company Act. In addition, we may seek to securitize certain of our loans. Under the provisions of the Investment Company Act, we are permitted, as a BDC, to issue senior securities only in amounts such that our asset coverage ratio, as defined in the Investment Company Act, equals at least 200% of total assets less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities, after each issuance of senior securities. If the value of our assets declines, we may be unable to satisfy this test, which may prohibit us from paying dividends and could prevent us from maintaining our status as a RIC or may prohibit us from repurchasing shares of our common stock. If that happens, we may be required to sell a portion of our investments and, depending on the nature of our leverage, repay a portion of our indebtedness at a time when such sales may be disadvantageous. Accordingly, any failure to satisfy this test could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations. As of September 30, 2017, our asset coverage calculated in accordance with the Investment Company Act was 232%. Also, any amounts that we use to service our indebtedness would not be available for distributions to our common stockholders. Furthermore, as a result of issuing senior securities, our common stockholders would also be exposed to typical risks associated with increased leverage, including an increased risk of loss resulting from increased indebtedness.
If we issue preferred stock, the preferred stock would rank “senior” to common stock in our capital structure, preferred stockholders would have separate voting rights on certain matters and might have other rights, preferences, or privileges more favorable than those of our common stockholders, and the issuance of preferred stock could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a transaction or a change of control that might involve a premium price for holders of our common stock or otherwise be in their best interest.
We are not generally able to issue and sell our common stock at a price below NAV per share. We may, however, sell our common stock, or warrants, options or rights to acquire our common stock, at a price below the then-current NAV per share of our common stock if our Board determines that such sale is in the best interests of us and our stockholders and our stockholders approve such sale. In any such case, the price at which our securities are to be issued and sold may not be less than a price that, in the determination of our Board, closely approximates the market value of such securities (less any distributing commission or discount). If we raise additional funds by issuing more common stock, including in connection with offerings pursuant to this prospectus, or senior securities convertible into, or exchangeable for, our common stock, then the percentage ownership of our stockholders at that time will decrease, and holders of our common stock might experience dilution.
We borrow money, which magnifies the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested and may increase the risk of investing in us.
As part of our business strategy, we, including through our wholly owned subsidiaries, borrow from and may in the future issue additional senior debt securities to banks, insurance companies and other lenders. Holders of these loans or senior securities would have fixed-dollar claims on our assets that are superior to the claims of our stockholders. If the value of our assets decreases, leverage will cause our NAV to decline more sharply than it otherwise would have without leverage. Similarly, any decrease in our income would cause our net income to decline more sharply than it would have if we had not borrowed. This decline could negatively affect our ability to make dividend payments on our common stock.
Our ability to service our borrowings depends largely on our financial performance and is subject to prevailing economic conditions and competitive pressures. In addition, our management fees are payable based on our gross assets, including assets acquired through the use of leverage (but excluding cash and any temporary investments in cash-equivalents), which may give our Investment Adviser an incentive to use leverage to make additional investments. See “—We may be obligated to pay our Investment Adviser incentive compensation even if we incur a loss.” The amount of leverage that we employ will depend on our Investment
Adviser’s and our Board’s assessment of market and other factors at the time of any proposed borrowing. We cannot assure you that we will be able to obtain credit at all or on terms acceptable to us.
In addition to having fixed-dollar claims on our assets that are superior to the claims of our common stockholders, obligations to lenders may be secured by a first priority security interest in our portfolio of investments and cash. In the case of a liquidation event, those lenders would receive proceeds to the extent of their security interest before any distributions are made to our stockholders. In addition, as the holder of the Preferred Interests of the 2015-1 Issuer (i.e., the subordinated class of the 2015-1 Securitization), we may be required to absorb losses with respect to the 2015-1 Debt Securitization.
Our Facilities and the 2015-1 Notes impose financial and operating covenants that restrict our business activities, remedies on default and similar matters. As of September 30, 2017, we were in material compliance with the operating and financial covenants of our Facilities and the 2015-1 Notes. However, our continued compliance with these covenants depends on many factors, some of which are beyond our control. Accordingly, although we believe we will continue to be in compliance, we cannot assure you that we will continue to comply with the covenants in our Facilities and the 2015-1 Notes. Failure to comply with these covenants could result in a default. If we were unable to obtain a waiver of a default from the lenders or holders of that indebtedness, as applicable, those lenders or holders could accelerate repayment under that indebtedness, which may result in cross-acceleration of other indebtedness. An acceleration could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Lastly, we may be unable to obtain additional leverage, which would, in turn, affect our return on capital.
As of September 30, 2017, we had a combined $851.8 million of outstanding consolidated indebtedness under our Facilities and 2015-1 Notes. Our annualized interest cost as of September 30, 2017, was 3.37%, excluding fees (such as fees on undrawn amounts and amortization of upfront fees). Since we generally pay interest at a floating rate on our Facilities and 2015-1 Notes, an increase in interest rates will generally increase our borrowing costs.
The following table illustrates the effect of leverage on returns from an investment in our common stock assuming various annual returns on our portfolio, net of expenses. The calculations in the table below are hypothetical, and actual returns may be higher or lower than those appearing in the table below.
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
| Assumed Return on Our Portfolio (Net of Expenses) |
| (10 | )% | (5 | )% | 0 | % | 5 | % | 10 | % |
Corresponding return to common stockholder (1) | (20.46)% |
| (11.51)% |
| (2.55)% |
| 6.40% |
| 15.35% |
|
| |
(1) | Assumes, as of September 30, 2017, (i) $2,013.5 million in total assets, (ii) $851.8 million in outstanding indebtedness, (iii) $1,124.4 million in net assets and (iv) weighted average interest rate, excluding fees (such as fees on undrawn amounts and amortization of financing costs), of 3.37%. |
Based on an outstanding indebtedness of $851.8 million as of September 30, 2017, and the weighted average effective annual interest rate, excluding fees (such as fees on undrawn amounts and amortization of financing costs), of 3.37% as of that date, our investment portfolio at fair value would have had to produce an annual return of approximately 1.43% to cover annual interest payments on the outstanding debt. For more information on our indebtedness, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources.”
Our indebtedness could adversely affect our business, financial conditions or results of operations.
We cannot assure you that our business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be available to us under our credit facilities or otherwise in an amount sufficient to enable us to repay our indebtedness or to fund our other liquidity needs. We may need to refinance all or a portion of our indebtedness on or before it matures. We cannot assure you that we will be able to refinance any of our indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms or at all. If we cannot service our indebtedness, we may have to take actions such as selling assets or seeking additional equity. We cannot assure you that any such actions, if necessary, could be effected on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or on terms that would not be disadvantageous to our stockholders or on terms that would not require us to breach the terms and conditions of our existing or future debt agreements.
Changes in interest rates may increase our cost of capital, reduce the ability of our portfolio companies to service their debt obligations and decrease our net investment income.
General interest rate fluctuations and changes in credit spreads on floating rate loans may have a substantial negative impact on our investments and investment opportunities and, accordingly, may have a material adverse effect on our rate of return on invested capital, our net investment income and our NAV. Substantially all of our debt investments have variable interest rates that reset periodically based on benchmarks such as the London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR” or “L”) and the U.S. Prime Rate (“Prime
Rate” or “P”), so an increase in interest rates from their historically low present levels may make it more difficult for our portfolio companies to service their obligations under the debt investments that we will hold. Rising interest rates could also cause portfolio companies to shift cash from other productive uses to the payment of interest, which may have a material adverse effect on their business and operations and could, over time, lead to increased defaults. In addition, to the extent we borrow money to make investments, our net investment income depends, in part, upon the difference between the rate at which we borrow funds and the rate at which we invest those funds. As a result, we can offer no assurance that a significant change in market interest rates will not have a material adverse effect on our net investment income to the extent we use debt to finance our investments. In periods of rising interest rates, our cost of funds would increase, which could reduce our net investment income.
In addition, a rise in the general level of interest rates can be expected to lead to higher interest rates applicable to our debt investments. Accordingly, an increase in interest rates would make it easier for us to meet or exceed the incentive fee hurdle rate and may result in a substantial increase of the amount of incentive fees payable to our Investment Adviser with respect to our pre-incentive fee net investment income.
We may experience fluctuations in our quarterly results.
We could experience fluctuations in our quarterly operating results due to a number of factors, including, the pace at which investments are made, the interest rate payable on the debt securities we acquire, the default rate on such securities, rates of repayment, the level of our expenses, variations in and the timing of the recognition of realized and unrealized gains or losses and changes in unrealized appreciation or depreciation, the degree to which we encounter competition in our markets and general economic conditions. As a result of these factors, results for any period should not be relied upon as being indicative of performance in future periods.
There are significant potential conflicts of interest, including the management of other investment funds and accounts by our Investment Adviser, which could impact our investment returns.
Our executive officers and directors, other current and future principals of our Investment Adviser and certain members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee may serve as officers, directors or principals of other entities and affiliates of our Investment Adviser and funds managed by our affiliates that operate in the same or a related line of business as we do. Currently, our executive officers, as well as the other principals of our Investment Adviser manage other funds affiliated with Carlyle, including other existing and future affiliated BDCs, including TCG BDC II, Inc. (“BDC II”). In addition, our Investment Adviser’s investment team has responsibilities for managing U.S. middle market debt investments for certain other investment funds and accounts. Accordingly, they have obligations to investors in those entities, the fulfillment of which may not be in the best interests of, or may be adverse to the interests of, us or our stockholders. Although the professional staff of our Investment Adviser will devote as much time to our management as appropriate to enable our Investment Adviser to perform its duties in accordance with the Investment Advisory Agreement, the investment professionals of our Investment Adviser may have conflicts in allocating their time and services among us, on the one hand, and investment vehicles managed by Carlyle or one or more of its affiliates on the other hand.
Our Investment Adviser may face conflicts in allocating investment opportunities between us and affiliated investment vehicles that have overlapping objectives with ours. Although our Investment Adviser will endeavor to allocate investment opportunities in a fair and equitable manner in accordance with its allocation policies and procedures, it is possible that, in the future, we may not be given the opportunity to participate in investments made by investment funds managed by our Investment Adviser or an investment manager affiliated with our Investment Adviser, including Carlyle.
We and our affiliates may own investments at different levels of a portfolio company’s capital structure or otherwise own different classes of a portfolio company’s securities, which may give rise to conflicts of interest or perceived conflicts of interest. Conflicts may also arise because portfolio decisions regarding our portfolio may benefit our affiliates. Our affiliates may pursue or enforce rights with respect to one of our portfolio companies, and those activities may have an adverse effect on us.
As a result of the expansion of Carlyle’s platform into various lines of business in the alternative asset management industry, Carlyle is subject to a number of actual and potential conflicts of interest and subject to greater regulatory oversight than that to which it would otherwise be subject if it had just one line of business. In addition, as Carlyle expands its platform, the allocation of investment opportunities among its investment funds, including us, is expected to become more complex. In addressing these conflicts and regulatory requirements across Carlyle’s various businesses, Carlyle has and may continue to implement certain policies and procedures (for example, information barriers). In addition, we may come into possession of material non-public information with respect to issuers in which we may be considering making an investment. As a consequence, we may be precluded from providing such information or other ideas to other funds affiliated with Carlyle that benefit from such information or we may be precluded from otherwise consummating a contemplated investment. To the extent we or any other funds affiliated with Carlyle fail to appropriately deal with any such conflicts, it could negatively impact our reputation or Carlyle’s reputation and our ability to raise additional funds and the willingness of counterparties to do business with us or result in potential litigation against us.
In the ordinary course of business, we may enter into transactions with affiliates and portfolio companies that may be considered related party transactions. We have implemented certain policies and procedures whereby certain of our executive officers screen each of our transactions for any possible affiliations between the proposed portfolio investment, us and other affiliated persons, including our Investment Adviser, stockholders that own more than 5% of us, employees, officers and directors of us and our Investment Adviser and certain persons directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with the foregoing persons. We will not enter into any agreements unless and until we are satisfied that doing so will not raise concerns under the Investment Company Act or, if such concerns exist, we have taken appropriate actions to seek Board review and approval or SEC exemptive relief for such transaction.
In the course of our investing activities, we pay management and incentive fees to our Investment Adviser and reimburse our Investment Adviser for certain expenses it incurs in accordance with our Investment Advisory Agreement. As a result, investors in our common stock invest on a “gross” basis and receive distributions on a “net” basis after expenses, resulting in a lower rate of return than an investor might achieve through direct investments. Accordingly, there may be times when the senior management team of our Investment Adviser has interests that differ from those of our stockholders, giving rise to a conflict.
In addition, we pay our Administrator, an affiliate of our Investment Adviser, its costs and expenses and our allocable portion of overhead incurred by it in performing its obligations under the Administration Agreement, including, compensation paid to or compensatory distributions received by our officers (including our Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Financial Officer) and their respective staff who provide services to us, operations staff who provide services to us, and internal audit staff in their role of performing our Sarbanes-Oxley Act internal control assessment. These arrangements create conflicts of interest that our Board monitors.
We may be obligated to pay our Investment Adviser incentive compensation even if we incur a loss.
Our Investment Adviser is entitled to incentive compensation for each calendar quarter in an amount equal to a percentage of the excess of our pre-incentive fee net investment income for that quarter (before deducting incentive compensation) above a performance threshold for that quarter. In calculating our performance threshold, we use net assets which results in a lower hurdle rate than if we used gross assets like we do for determining our base management fee. Our pre-incentive fee net investment income for incentive compensation purposes excludes realized and unrealized capital losses and depreciation that we may incur in the calendar quarter, even if such capital losses or depreciation result in a net loss on our statement of operations for that quarter. Thus, we may be required to pay our Investment Adviser incentive compensation for a calendar quarter even if there is a decline in the value of our portfolio or we incur a net loss for that quarter.
Our fee structure may induce our Investment Adviser to pursue speculative investments and incur leverage, and investors may bear the cost of multiple levels of fees and expenses.
The incentive fees payable by us to our Investment Adviser may create an incentive for our Investment Adviser to pursue investments on our behalf that are riskier or more speculative than would be the case in the absence of such compensation arrangement. The incentive fees payable to our Investment Adviser are calculated based on a percentage of our return on invested capital. This may encourage our Investment Adviser to use leverage to increase the return on our investments. Under certain circumstances, the use of leverage may increase the likelihood of default, which would impair the value of our securities. In addition, our Investment Adviser receives the incentive fees based, in part, upon net capital gains realized on our investments. Unlike that portion of the incentive fees based on income, there is no hurdle rate applicable to the portion of the incentive fees based on net capital gains. As a result, our Investment Adviser may have a tendency to invest more capital in investments that are likely to result in capital gains as compared to income producing securities. Such a practice could result in our investing in more speculative securities than would otherwise be the case, which could result in higher investment losses, particularly during economic downturns.
The “catch-up” portion of the incentive fees may encourage our Investment Adviser to accelerate or defer interest payable by portfolio companies from one calendar quarter to another, potentially resulting in fluctuations in timing and dividend amounts.
Moreover, because the base management fees payable to our Investment Adviser are payable based on our gross assets, including those assets acquired through the use of leverage, our Investment Adviser has a financial incentive to incur leverage which may not be consistent with our stockholders’ interests.
We may invest, to the extent permitted by law, in the securities and instruments of other investment companies, including private funds, and, to the extent we so invest, bear our ratable share of any such investment company’s expenses, including management and performance fees. We also remain obligated to pay management and incentive fees to our Investment Adviser with respect to the assets invested in the securities and instruments of other investment companies. With respect to each of these investments, each of our stockholders bears his or her share of the management and incentive fees of our Investment Adviser as well as indirectly bearing the management and performance fees and other expenses of any investment companies in which we invest.
We will be subject to corporate-level income tax if we are unable to maintain our qualification as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Subchapter M of the Code.
Although we have elected to be treated, and intend to qualify annually, as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Subchapter M of the Code, we cannot assure you that we will be able to maintain RIC status. To maintain RIC status and be relieved of U.S. federal income taxes on income and gains distributed to our stockholders, we must, among other things, continue to qualify and have in effect an election to be treated as a BDC under the Investment Company Act at all times during each taxable year and meet the Annual Distribution Requirement, the 90% Gross Income Test and the Diversification Tests (each defined term, defined and more fully explained below in “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Taxation as a Regulation Investment Company”).
If we fail to maintain our RIC status for any reason, and we do not qualify for certain relief provisions under the Code, we would be subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax (and any applicable U.S. state and local taxes) regardless of whether we make any distributions to our stockholders. In this event, the resulting taxes and any resulting penalties could substantially reduce our net assets, the amount of our income available for distribution and the amount of our distributions to our stockholders, which would have a material adverse effect on our financial performance. For additional discussion regarding the tax implications of a RIC, see “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations.”
We may have difficulty satisfying the Annual Distribution Requirement in order to maintain our RIC status if we recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income.
We may make investments that produce income that is not matched by a corresponding cash receipt by us, such as original issue discount (“OID”), which may arise, for example, if we receive warrants in connection with the making of a loan, or payment-in-kind (“PIK”) interest representing contractual interest added to the loan principal balance and due at the end of the loan term. Any such income would be treated as income earned by us and therefore would be subject to the Annual Distribution Requirement, as defined below in “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company.” Such investments may require us to borrow money or dispose of other securities in order to comply with those requirements. However, under the Investment Company Act, we are not permitted to make distributions to our stockholders while our debt obligations and other senior securities are outstanding unless an “asset coverage” test is met.
If we are prohibited from making distributions or are unable to raise additional debt or equity capital or sell assets to make distributions, we may not be able to make sufficient distributions to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, and therefore would not be able to maintain our qualification as a RIC. Additionally, we may make investments that result in the recognition of ordinary income rather than capital gain, or that prevent us from accruing a long-term holding period. These investments may prevent us from making capital gain distributions. See “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations.”
A portion of our income and fees may not be qualifying income for purposes of the income source requirement.
Some of the income and fees that we may recognize will not satisfy the income source requirement applicable to RICs. In order to ensure that such income and fees do not disqualify us as a RIC for a failure to satisfy such requirement, we may be required to recognize such income and fees indirectly through one or more entities treated as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Such corporations will be required to pay U.S. corporate income tax on their earnings, which ultimately will reduce the amount of income available for distribution.
If we are not treated as a “publicly offered regulated investment company,” as defined in the Code, certain U.S. stockholders will be treated as having received a dividend from us in the amount of such U.S. stockholders’ allocable share of the management and incentive fees paid to our Investment Adviser and certain of our other expenses, and these fees and expenses will be treated as miscellaneous itemized deductions of such U.S. stockholders.
We expect to be treated as a “publicly offered regulated investment company” as a result of shares of our common stock being treated as regularly traded on an established securities market. However, we cannot assure you that we will be treated as a publicly offered regulated investment company for all years. If we are not treated as a publicly offered regulated investment company for any calendar year, each U.S. stockholder that is an individual, trust or estate will be treated as having received a dividend from us in the amount of such U.S. stockholder’s allocable share of the management and incentive fees paid to our Investment Adviser and certain of our other expenses for the calendar year, and these fees and expenses will be treated as miscellaneous itemized deductions of such U.S. stockholder. Miscellaneous itemized deductions generally are deductible by a U.S. stockholder that is an individual, trust or estate only to the extent that the aggregate of such U.S. stockholder’s miscellaneous itemized deductions exceeds 2% of such U.S. stockholder’s adjusted gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, are not deductible for purposes of the alternative minimum tax and are subject to the overall limitation on itemized deductions under the Code. See “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations.”
After we ceased to be an emerging growth company on December 31, 2017, we became obligated to maintain proper and effective internal control over financial reporting. We may not complete our analysis of our internal control over financial reporting in a timely manner, or our internal controls may not be determined to be effective, which may adversely affect investor confidence in our company and, as a result, the value of our securities.
After we ceased to be an emerging growth company on December 31, 2017, we became required to comply with the independent auditor attestation requirements of Section 404. Complying with Section 404 requires a rigorous compliance program as well as adequate time and resources. We may not be able to complete our internal control evaluation, testing and any required remediation in a timely fashion. If we are not able to implement the applicable requirements of Section 404 in a timely manner or with adequate compliance, our operations, financial reporting or financial results could be adversely affected. Matters impacting our internal controls may cause us to be unable to report our financial information on a timely basis and thereby subject us to adverse regulatory consequences, including sanctions by the SEC or violations of applicable stock exchange listing rules, and result in a breach of the covenants under the agreements governing any of our financing arrangements. There could also be a negative reaction in the financial markets due to a loss of investor confidence in us and the reliability of our financial statements. Confidence in the reliability of our financial statements could also suffer if we or our independent registered public accounting firm were to report a material weakness in our internal controls over financial reporting. This could materially adversely affect us and lead to a decline in the price of our securities.
Our internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements because of its inherent limitations. Even effective internal controls can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements. If we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, including any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or if we experience difficulties in their implementation, our business and operating results could be harmed and we could fail to meet our financial reporting obligations.
Certain investors are limited in their ability to make significant investments in us.
Private funds that are excluded from the definition of “investment company” either pursuant to Section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act are restricted from acquiring directly or through a controlled entity more than 3% of our total outstanding voting stock (measured at the time of the acquisition). Investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act and BDCs are also subject to this restriction as well as other limitations under the Investment Company Act that would restrict the amount that they are able to invest in our securities. As a result, certain investors will be limited in their ability to make significant investments in us at a time that they might desire to do so.
Our Board is authorized to reclassify any unissued shares of common stock into one or more classes of preferred stock, which could convey special rights and privileges to its owners.
Under the Maryland General Corporation Law (“MGCL”) and our charter (our “Charter”), our Board is authorized to classify and reclassify any authorized but unissued shares of stock into one or more classes of stock, including preferred stock. Prior to the issuance of shares of each class or series, the Board is required by Maryland law and our Charter to set the terms, preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends or other distributions, qualifications and terms or conditions of redemption for each class or series. Thus, the Board could authorize the issuance of shares of preferred stock with terms and conditions which could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for holders of our common stock or otherwise be in their best interest. The cost of any such reclassification would be borne by our existing common stockholders. Certain matters under the Investment Company Act require the separate vote of the holders of any issued and outstanding preferred stock. For example, holders of preferred stock would vote separately from the holders of common stock on a proposal to cease operations as a BDC. In addition, the Investment Company Act provides that holders of preferred stock are entitled to vote separately from holders of common stock to elect two preferred stock directors. We currently have no plans to issue preferred stock, but may determine to do so in the future. The issuance of preferred stock convertible into shares of common stock might also reduce the net income per share and NAV per share of our common stock upon conversion, provided, that we will only be permitted to issue such convertible preferred stock to the extent we comply with the requirements of Section 61 of the Investment Company Act, including obtaining common stockholder approval. In addition, under the Investment Company Act, participating preferred stock and preferred stock constitutes a “senior security” for purposes of the 200% asset coverage test. These effects, among others, could have an adverse effect on an investment in our common stock.
Provisions of the MGCL and of our Charter and bylaws could deter takeover attempts and have an adverse impact on the price of our common stock.
The MGCL and our Charter and bylaws contain provisions that may discourage, delay or make more difficult a change in control of us or the removal of our directors. We are subject to the Maryland Business Combination Act (“MBCA”), subject to any applicable requirements of the Investment Company Act. Our Board has adopted a resolution exempting from the MBCA any business
combination between us and any other person, subject to prior approval of such business combination by our Board, including approval by a majority of our Independent Directors (as defined below). If the resolution exempting business combinations is repealed or our Board does not approve a business combination, the MBCA may discourage third parties from trying to acquire control of us and increase the difficulty of consummating such an offer. Our bylaws exempt from the Maryland Control Share Acquisition Act (“Control Share Act”) acquisitions of our stock by any person. If we amend our bylaws to repeal the exemption from the Control Share Act, the Control Share Act also may make it more difficult for a third party to obtain control of us and increase the difficulty of consummating such a transaction. However, we will amend our bylaws to be subject to the Control Share Act only if our Board determines that it would be in our best interests and if the SEC staff does not object to our determination that our being subject to the Control Share Act does not conflict with the Investment Company Act.
We have also adopted measures that may make it difficult for a third party to obtain control of us, including provisions of our Charter classifying our Board in three classes serving staggered three-year terms, and authorizing our Board to classify or reclassify shares of our stock in one or more classes or series, to cause the issuance of additional shares of our stock, to amend our Charter without stockholder approval and to increase or decrease the number of shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we have authority to issue. These provisions, as well as other provisions of our Charter and bylaws, may delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders.
Our Board may change our investment objective, operating policies and strategies without prior notice and without stockholder approval.
Our Board has the authority to modify or, if applicable, waive our investment objectives, operating policies and strategies without prior notice (except as required by the Investment Company Act) and without stockholder approval. In addition, none of our investment policies is fundamental and any of them may be changed without stockholder approval. However, absent stockholder approval, we may not change the nature of our business so as to cease to be, or withdraw our election as, a BDC. We cannot predict the effect any changes to our current investment objectives, operating policies or strategies would have on our business, operating results and value of our stock. Nevertheless, the effects may adversely affect our business and impact our ability to make distributions.
A failure in our operational systems or infrastructure, or those of third parties, as well as cyber-attacks could significantly disrupt our business or negatively affect our liquidity, financial condition or results of operations.
We rely heavily on our and third parties’ financial, accounting, information and other data processing systems. Any failure or interruption of those systems, including as a result of the termination of an agreement with any third-party service providers, could cause delays or other problems in our activities. We face various security threats on a regular basis, including ongoing cyber-security threats to and attacks on our information technology infrastructure that are intended to gain access to our proprietary information, destroy data or disable, degrade or sabotage our systems. The result of these incidents may include disrupted operations, misstated or unreliable financial data, liability for stolen assets or information, increased cybersecurity protection and insurance costs, litigation and damage to our business relationships.
We operate in a business that is highly dependent on information systems and technology. Carlyle has implemented processes, procedures and internal controls to help mitigate cybersecurity risks and cyber intrusions, but these measures, as well as our increased awareness of the nature and extent of a risk of a cyber-incident, do not guarantee that a cyber-incident will not occur and/or that our financial results, operations or confidential information will not be negatively impacted by such an incident. The information systems and technology that we rely on may not continue to be able to accommodate our growth, and the cost of maintaining such systems may increase from its current level. Such a failure to accommodate growth, or an increase in costs related to such information systems, could have a material adverse effect on us.
Changes in laws or regulations governing our business or the businesses of our portfolio companies, changes in the interpretation thereof or newly enacted laws or regulations, and any failure by us or our portfolio companies to comply with these laws or regulations may adversely affect our business and the businesses of our portfolio companies.
We and our portfolio companies are subject to laws and regulations at the U.S. federal, state and local levels and, in some cases, foreign levels. These laws and regulations, as well as their interpretation, may change from time to time, and new laws, regulations and interpretations may also come into effect. Any such new or changed laws or regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business or the business of our portfolio companies. The legal, tax and regulatory environment for BDCs, investment advisers and the instruments that they utilize (including derivative instruments) is continuously evolving. In addition, there is significant uncertainty regarding recently enacted legislation (including the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) and the regulations that have recently been adopted and future regulations that may or may not be adopted pursuant to such legislation) and, consequently, the full impact that such legislation will ultimately have on us and the markets in which we trade and invest is not fully known. Such uncertainty and any resulting confusion may itself be detrimental to the efficient functioning of the markets and the success of certain investment strategies.
In addition, as private equity firms become more influential participants in the U.S. and global financial markets and economy generally, there recently has been pressure for greater governmental scrutiny and/or regulation of the private equity industry. It is uncertain as to what form and in what jurisdictions such enhanced scrutiny and/or regulation, if any, on the private equity industry may ultimately take. Therefore, there can be no assurance as to whether any such scrutiny or initiatives will have an adverse impact on the private equity industry, including our ability to effect operating improvements or restructurings of our portfolio companies or otherwise achieve our objectives.
Over the last several years, there also has been an increase in regulatory attention to the extension of credit outside of the traditional banking sector, raising the possibility that some portion of the non-bank financial sector will be subject to new regulation. While it cannot be known at this time whether any regulation will be implemented or what form it will take, increased regulation of non-bank credit extension could negatively impact our operating results or financial condition, impose additional costs on us, intensify the regulatory supervision of us or otherwise adversely affect our business.
On February 3, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13772 (the “Executive Order”) announcing the new Administration’s policy to regulate the U.S. financial system in a manner consistent with certain “Core Principles,” including regulation that is efficient, effective and appropriately tailored. The Executive Order directed the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the heads of the member agencies of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, to report to the President on the extent to which existing laws, regulations and other government policies promote the Core Principles and to identify any laws, regulations or other government policies that inhibit federal regulation of the U.S. financial system.
On June 12, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“Treasury”) published the first of several reports in response to the Executive Order on the depository system covering banks and other savings institutions. On October 6, 2017, the Treasury released a second report outlining ways to streamline and reform the U.S. regulatory system for capital markets, followed by a third report, on October 26, 2017, examining the current regulatory framework for the asset management and insurance industries. Subsequent reports are expected to address: retail and institutional investment products and vehicles, as well as non‑bank financial institutions, financial technology and financial innovation.
On June 8, 2017, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Financial Choice Act, which includes legislation intended to repeal or replace substantial portions of the Dodd‑Frank Act. Among other things, the proposed law would repeal the Volcker Rule limiting certain proprietary investment and trading activities by banks, eliminate the authority of regulators to designate asset managers and other large non‑bank institutions as “systemically important financial institutions” or “SIFIs,” and repeal the Department of Labor (“DOL”) “fiduciary rule” governing standards for dealing with retirement plans until the SEC issues standards for similar dealings by broker‑dealers and limiting the substance of any subsequent DOL rule to the SEC standards. The bill has been referred to the Senate, where it is unlikely to pass in its current form. On November 16, 2017, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators, led by Senate Banking Committee Chairman, introduced the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (the “Senate Regulatory Relief Bill”). The Senate Regulatory Relief Bill would revise various post-crisis regulatory requirements and provide targeted regulatory relief to certain financial institutions. Among the most significant of its proposed amendments to the Dodd-Frank Act are a substantial increase in the $50 billion asset threshold for automatic regulation of bank holding companies as SIFIs, an exemption from the Volcker Rule for insured depository institutions with less than $10 billion in consolidated assets and lower levels of trading assets and liabilities, as well as amendments to the liquidity leverage ratio and supplementary leverage ratio requirements. On December 5, 2017, the Senate Banking Committee approved the Senate Regulatory Relief Bill. If the legislation is adopted in the Senate, it remains unclear whether and how it would be reconciled with its House-passed counterpart, the Financial Choice Act, which is substantially different in scope and substance, and ultimately approved by both chambers of Congress.
At this time it is unclear what impact the Administration’s policies in response to the Executive Order, the Financial Choice Act, the Senate Regulatory Relief Bill or other pending legislation and developments will have on regulations that affect our, our competitors’ and our portfolio companies’ businesses.
Pending legislation may allow us to incur additional leverage.
As a BDC, under the Investment Company Act we generally are not permitted to incur borrowings, issue debt securities or issue preferred stock unless immediately after the borrowing or issuance the ratio of total assets (less total liabilities other than indebtedness) to total indebtedness plus preferred stock, is at least 200%. Recent legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, if passed, would modify this section of the Investment Company Act and increase the amount of debt that BDCs may incur by modifying the asset coverage percentage from 200% to 150%. As a result, we may be able to incur additional indebtedness in the future and you may face increased investment risk. In addition, since our base management fee is calculated as a percentage of the value of our gross assets, including assets acquired through the incurrence of debt but excluding cash and cash equivalents, our base management fee expenses will increase if we incur additional indebtedness.
Recently passed tax reform, Public Law No. 115-97 (the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”), and other changes in laws or regulations related to U.S. federal income taxation could adversely affect us and our investors.
On December 22, 2017, the President signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which significantly revised the Internal Revenue Code, including, a reduction in the corporate income tax rate, a new limitation on the deductibility of interest expense, and significant changes to the taxation of income earned from foreign sources and foreign subsidiaries. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act also authorizes the IRS to issue regulations with respect to the new provisions. While we do not anticipate any immediate material impact on our calculation of NAV, we cannot predict how the changes in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or regulations or other guidance issued under it, might affect us or our business in the long-term. The impact of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act on our business in the long-term may differ, possibly materially, due to, among other things, changes in interpretations and assumptions that management has made, guidance that may be issued and actions that management may take as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. The impact of this legislation on holders of our securities is uncertain and could be adverse. We urge the purchasers of our securities in any offering made pursuant to this prospectus and an accompanying prospectus supplement to consult with their tax advisors with respect to such legislation and the potential tax consequences of investing in our securities.
Our Investment Adviser, Administrator and sub-administrators are able to resign upon 60 days’ notice, and we may not be able to find a suitable replacement within that time, resulting in a disruption in our operations that could adversely affect our financial condition, business and results of operations.
Our Investment Adviser, our Administrator and our sub-administrators have the right to resign under the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Administration Agreement and the Sub-Administration Agreements, respectively, upon 60 days’ written notice, whether a replacement has been found or not. If any of them resigns, it may be difficult to find a replacement with similar expertise and ability to provide the same or equivalent services on acceptable terms within 60 days, or at all. If a replacement is not found quickly, our business, results of operation and financial condition as well as our ability to pay distributions are likely to be adversely affected and the value of our shares may decline. In addition, the coordination of our internal management and investment activities is likely to suffer if we are unable to identify and reach an agreement with a single institution or group of executives having the expertise possessed by our Investment Adviser, our Administrator and their affiliates, including certain of our sub-administrators. Even if a comparable service provider or individuals performing such services are retained, whether internal or external, their integration into our business and lack of familiarity with our investment objective may result in additional costs and time delays that may materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition. Moreover, the termination by our Investment Adviser of our Investment Advisory Agreement for any reason will be an event of default under the SPV Credit Facility, which could result in the immediate acceleration of the amounts due under the SPV Credit Facility. Similarly, it will be an event of default under the Credit Facility if our Investment Adviser or an affiliate of our Investment Adviser ceases to manage us, which could result in the immediate acceleration of the amounts due under the Credit Facility.
Our Investment Adviser’s liability is limited under the Investment Advisory Agreement, and we are required to indemnify our Investment Adviser against certain liabilities, which may lead our Investment Adviser to act in a riskier manner on our behalf than it would when acting for its own account.
Our Investment Adviser has not assumed any responsibility to us other than to render the services described in the Investment Advisory Agreement, and it will not be responsible for any action of our Board in declining to follow our Investment Adviser’s advice or recommendations. Pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement, our Investment Adviser and its members and their respective officers, managers, partners, agents, employees, controlling persons and members and any other person or entities affiliated with it will not be liable to us for their acts under the Investment Advisory Agreement, absent willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard in the performance of their duties. We have agreed to indemnify, defend and protect our Investment Adviser and its members and their respective officers, managers, partners, agents, employees, controlling persons and members and any other person or entities affiliated with it with respect to all damages, liabilities, costs and expenses arising out of or otherwise based upon the performance of any of our Investment Adviser’s duties or obligations under the Investment Advisory Agreement or otherwise as an Investment Adviser for us, and not arising out of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard in the performance of their duties under the Investment Advisory and Agreement. These protections may lead our Investment Adviser to act in a riskier manner when acting on our behalf than it would when acting for its own account. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Structure—Our fee structure may induce our Investment Adviser to pursue speculative investments and incur leverage, and investors may bear the cost of multiple levels of fees and expenses.”
We are subject to certain risks as a result of our direct interest in the Preferred Interests of the 2015-1 Issuer.
Because each of the SPV and the 2015-1 Issuer is disregarded as an entity separate from its owner for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the sale or contribution by the SPV to us and the sale or contribution by us to the 2015-1 Issuer as part of the 2015-1 Debt Securitization did not constitute a taxable event for U.S. federal income tax purposes. If the U.S. Internal Revenue Service were to take a contrary position, there could be a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations or cash flows.
The Preferred Interests in the 2015-1 Issuer are subordinated obligations of the 2015-1 Issuer.
The 2015-1 Issuer is the residual claimant on funds, if any, remaining after holders of all classes of the 2015-1 Notes have been paid in full on each payment date or upon maturity of the 2015-1 Notes under the 2015-1 Debt Securitization documents. The Preferred Interests in the 2015-1 Issuer represent all of the equity interest in the 2015-1 Issuer and, as the holder of the Preferred Interests, we may receive distributions, if any, only to the extent that the 2015-1 Issuer makes distributions out of funds remaining after holders of all classes of the 2015-1 Notes have been paid in full on each payment date any amounts due and owing on such payment date or upon maturity of the 2015-1 Notes. There is no guarantee that we will receive any distributions as the holders of the Preferred Interests.
The interests of holders of the 2015-1 Notes issued by the 2015-1 Issuer may not be aligned with our interests.
The 2015-1 Notes are the debt obligations ranking senior in right of payment to our interests. As such, there are circumstances in which the interests of holders of the 2015-1 Notes may not be aligned with our interests. For example, under the terms of the 2015-1 Issuer, holders of the 2015-1 Notes have the right to receive payments of principal and interest prior to distribution to our interests.
For as long as the 2015-1 Notes remain outstanding, holders of the 2015-1 Notes have the right to act, in certain circumstances, with respect to the portfolio loans in ways that may benefit their interests but not the interests of holders of the Preferred Interests of the 2015-1 Issuer, including by exercising remedies under the 2015-1 Indenture (as defined below).
If an event of default has occurred and acceleration occurs in accordance with the terms of the 2015-1 Indenture, the 2015-1 Notes then outstanding will be paid in full before any further payment or distribution to the Preferred Interests. In addition, if an event of default occurs, holders of a majority of the 2015-1 Notes then outstanding will be entitled to determine the remedies to be exercised under the 2015-1 Indenture, subject to the terms of the 2015-1 Indenture. For example, upon the occurrence of an event of default with respect to the notes issued by the 2015-1 Issuer, the trustee or holders of a majority of the 2015-1 Notes then outstanding may declare the principal, together with any accrued interest, of all the 2015-1 Notes to be immediately due and payable. This would have the effect of accelerating the principal on such notes, triggering a repayment obligation on the part of the 2015-1 Issuer. If at such time the portfolio loans of the 2015-1 Issuer were not performing well, the 2015-1 Issuer may not have sufficient proceeds available to enable the trustee under the 2015-1 Indenture to pay a distribution to holders of the Preferred Interests of the 2015-1 Issuer.
Remedies pursued by the holders of the 2015-1 Notes could be adverse to the interests of the holders of the Preferred Interests, and the holders of the 2015-1 Notes have no obligation to consider any possible adverse effect on such other interests. Thus, any remedies pursued by the holders of the 2015-1 Notes may not be in our best interests and we may not receive payments or distributions upon an acceleration of the 2015-1 Notes. Any failure of the 2015-1 Issuer to make distributions on Preferred Interests we hold, directly or indirectly, whether as a result of an event of default or otherwise, could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows and may result in an inability of us to make distributions sufficient to allow for us to qualify as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
The 2015-1 Issuer may fail to meet certain asset coverage tests.
Under the documents governing the 2015-1 Debt Securitization, there are two coverage tests applicable to the 2015-1 Notes.
The first such test compares the amount of interest received on the portfolio loans held by the 2015-1 Issuer to the amount of interest payable in respect of the 2015-1 Notes. To meet this first test, interest received on the portfolio loans must equal at least 120% of the interest payable in respect of the 2015-1 Notes issued by the 2015-1 Issuer.
The second such test compares the adjusted collateral principal amount of the portfolio loans of the 2015-1 Debt Securitization to the aggregate outstanding principal amount of the 2015-1 Notes. To meet this second test at any time, the adjusted collateral principal amount of the portfolio loans must equal at least 140% of the outstanding principal amount of the 2015-1 Notes.
If any coverage test with respect to the 2015-1 Notes is not met, proceeds from the portfolio of loans that otherwise would have been distributed to the holders of the Preferred Interests of 2015-1 Issuer will instead be used to redeem first the 2015-1 Notes, to the extent necessary to satisfy the applicable asset coverage tests on a pro forma basis after giving effect to all payments made in respect of the 2015-1 Notes, which we refer to as a mandatory redemption, or to obtain the necessary ratings confirmation. There is no guarantee that the 2015-1 Notes will meet either of these coverage tests, and thus, we may not receive distributions as the holders of the Preferred Interests.
We may not receive cash from the 2015-1 Issuer.
We receive cash from the 2015-1 Issuer only to the extent of payments on the distributions, if any, with respect to the Preferred Interests of the 2015-1 Issuer as permitted under the 2015-1 Debt Securitization. The 2015-1 Issuer may only make payments on Preferred Interests to the extent permitted by the payment priority provisions of the indenture governing the 2015-1 Notes (the “2015-1 Indenture”), as applicable, which generally provide, distribution to Preferred Interests holder may not be made on any payment date unless all amounts owing under the 2015-1 Notes are paid in full. There is no guarantee that we will receive any distributions as the holders of the Preferred Interests.
In addition, if the 2015-1 Issuer does not meet the asset coverage tests or the interest coverage test set forth in the documents governing the 2015-1 Debt Securitization, cash would be diverted to first pay the 2015-1 Notes in amounts sufficient to cause such tests to be satisfied. Even if we do not receive cash directly from the 2015-1 Issuer, such amount will still be treated as income subject to our requirement to distribute 90% of our net investment income to our shareholders. Therefore, in the event that we fail to receive cash directly from the 2015-1 Issuer, we could be unable to make such distributions in amounts sufficient to maintain our status as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or at all.
We may be required to assume liabilities of the 2015-1 Issuer and are indirectly liable for certain representations and warranties in connection with the 2015-1 Debt Securitization.
As part of the 2015-1 Debt Securitization, we entered into a contribution agreement under which we are required to repurchase any loan (or participation interest therein) which was sold to the 2015-1 Issuer in breach of any representation or warranty made by us with respect to such loan on the date such loan was sold. To the extent we fail to satisfy any such repurchase obligation, the trustee of the 2015-1 Debt Securitization may, on behalf of the 2015-1 Issuer, bring an action against us to enforce these repurchase obligations.
The structure of the 2015-1 Debt Securitization is intended to prevent, in the event of our bankruptcy, the consolidation of the 2015-1 Issuer with our operations. If the true sale of the assets in the 2015-1 Debt Securitization were not respected in the event of our insolvency, a trustee or debtor-in-possession might reclaim the assets of the 2015-1 Issuer for our estate. However, in doing so, we would become directly liable for all of the indebtedness then outstanding under the 2015-1 Debt Securitization, which would equal the full amount of debt of the 2015-1 Issuer reflected on our consolidated balance sheet.
In addition, in connection with 2015-1 Debt Securitization, the Company has made customary representations, warranties and covenants to the 2015-1 Issuer. We remain liable for any breach of such representations for the life of the 2015-1 Debt Securitization.
Risks Related to Our Investments
Our portfolio companies may prepay loans, which may have the effect of reducing our investment income if the returned capital cannot be invested in transactions with equal or greater yields.
Loans are generally prepayable at any time, most of them at no premium to par. We are generally unable to predict the rate and frequency of such repayments. Whether a loan is prepaid will depend both on the continued positive performance of the portfolio company and the existence of favorable financing market conditions that allow such portfolio company the ability to replace existing financing with less expensive capital. In periods of rising interest rates, the risk of prepayment of floating rate loans may increase if other financing sources are available. As market conditions change frequently, we will often be unable to predict when, and if, this may be possible for each of our portfolio companies. In the case of some of these loans, having the loan called early may have the effect of reducing our actual investment income below our expected investment income if the capital returned cannot be invested in transactions with equal or greater yields.
The financial projections of our portfolio companies could prove inaccurate.
We generally evaluate the capital structure of portfolio companies on the basis of financial projections prepared by the management of such portfolio companies. These projected operating results are normally based primarily on judgments of the management of the portfolio companies. In all cases, projections are only estimates of future results that are based upon assumptions made at the time that the projections are developed. General economic conditions, which are not predictable with accuracy, along with other factors may cause actual performance to fall short of the financial projections that were used to establish a given portfolio company’s capital structure. Because of the leverage that is typically employed by our portfolio companies, this could cause a substantial decrease in the value of our investment in the portfolio company. The inaccuracy of financial projections could thus cause our performance to fall short of our expectations.
Our portfolio securities typically do not have a readily available market price and, in such a case, we will value these securities at fair value as determined in good faith under procedures adopted by our Board, which valuation is inherently subjective and may not reflect what we may actually realize from the sale of the investment.
Substantially all of our portfolio investments are in the form of debt investments that are not publicly traded and are less liquid than publicly traded securities. The fair value of these securities is not readily determinable, and the due diligence process that our Investment Adviser undertakes in connection with our investments may not reveal all the facts that may be relevant in connection with such investment. We value these investments on at least a quarterly basis in accordance with our valuation policy, which is at all times consistent with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“US GAAP”). Our Board utilizes the services of a third-party valuation firm to aid it in determining the fair value of these investments as well as the recommendations of our Investment Adviser’s investment professionals, which are based upon the most recent portfolio company financial statements available and projected financial results of each portfolio company. The Board discusses valuations and determines the fair value in good faith based on the input of our Investment Adviser and the third-party valuation firm. The participation of our Investment Adviser in our valuation process, and the indirect pecuniary interest in our Investment Adviser by the Interested Directors (as defined below) on our Board, could result in a conflict of interest, since the management fee is based on our gross assets and also because our Investment Adviser is receiving performance-based incentive fees.
The factors that are considered in the fair value pricing of our investments include the nature and realizable value of any collateral, the portfolio company’s ability to make payments and its earnings, the markets in which the portfolio company does business, comparisons to publicly traded companies, discounted cash flow, relevant credit market indices, and other relevant factors. When an external event such as a purchase transaction, public offering or subsequent equity sale occurs, we consider the pricing indicated by the external event to corroborate our valuation. Because such valuations, and particularly valuations of private investments and private companies, are inherently uncertain, may fluctuate over short periods of time and may be based on estimates, our determinations of fair value may differ materially from the values that would have been used if a ready market for these securities existed. Also, since these valuations are, to a large extent, based on estimates, comparisons and qualitative evaluations of private information, it could make it more difficult for investors to value accurately our investments and could lead to undervaluation or overvaluation of our securities. In addition, the valuation of these types of securities may result in substantial write-downs and earnings volatility. If our Investment Adviser is unable to uncover all material information about these companies, we may not make a fully informed investment decision, and we may lose money on our investments. Also, privately held companies frequently have less diverse product lines and smaller market presence than larger competitors.
Decreases in the market values or fair values of our investments are recorded as unrealized depreciation. The effect of all of these factors on our portfolio can reduce our NAV by increasing net unrealized depreciation in our portfolio. Depending on market conditions, we could incur substantial realized losses and may suffer unrealized losses, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Our NAV as of a particular date may be materially greater than or less than the value that would be realized if our assets were to be liquidated as of such date. For example, if we were required to sell a certain asset or all or a substantial portion of its assets on a particular date, the actual price that we would realize upon the disposition of such asset or assets could be materially less than the value of such asset or assets as reflected in our NAV. Volatile market conditions could also cause reduced liquidity in the market for certain assets, which could result in liquidation values that are materially less than the values of such assets as reflected in our NAV.
Our investments are risky and speculative.
We invest primarily in loans to middle market companies whose debt, if rated, is rated below investment grade and, if not rated, would likely be rated below investment grade if it were rated. Investments rated below investment grade are generally considered higher risk than investment grade instruments. Bonds that are rated below investment grade are sometimes referred to as “high yield bonds” or “junk bonds.” Exposure to below investment grade instruments involves certain risks, including speculation with respect to the borrower’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal. In our first lien senior secured loans, the fact that a loan is secured does not guarantee that we will receive principal and interest payments according to the loan’s terms, or at all, or that we will be able to collect on the loan should we be forced to enforce our remedies. To the extent we hold second lien senior secured loans and junior debt investments, holders of first lien loans may be repaid before us in the event of a bankruptcy or other insolvency proceeding. This may result in an above average amount of risk and loss of principal. Unitranche loans generally allow the borrower to make a large lump sum payment of principal at the end of the loan term, and there is a heightened risk of loss if the borrower is unable to pay the lump sum or refinance the amount owed at maturity. When we invest in loans, we may acquire equity securities as well. However, we may not be able to realize gains from our equity interests, and any gains that we do realize on the disposition of any equity interests may not be sufficient to offset any other losses we experience.
In addition, investing in middle market companies involves a number of significant risks, including:
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• | these companies may have limited financial resources and may be unable to meet their obligations under their debt securities that we hold, which may be accompanied by a deterioration in the value of any collateral and a reduction in the likelihood of us realizing on any guarantees or security we may have obtained in connection with our investment; |
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• | they typically have shorter operating histories, narrower product lines and smaller market shares than larger businesses, which tend to render them more vulnerable to competitors’ actions and market conditions, as well as general economic downturns; |
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• | they are more likely to depend on the management talents and efforts of a small group of persons; therefore, the death, disability, resignation or termination of one or more of these persons could have a material adverse impact on a portfolio company and, in turn, on us; |
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• | there is generally little public information about these companies. These companies and their financial information are usually not subject to the Exchange Act and other regulations that govern public companies, and we may be unable to uncover all material information about these companies, which may prevent us from making a fully informed investment decision and cause us to lose money on our investments; |
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• | they generally have less predictable operating results, may from time to time be parties to litigation, may be engaged in rapidly changing businesses with products subject to a substantial risk of obsolescence, and may require substantial additional capital to support their operations, finance expansion or maintain their competitive position. In addition, our executive officers, directors and our Investment Adviser may, in the ordinary course of business, be named as defendants in litigation arising from our investments in the portfolio companies; |
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• | changes in laws and regulations, as well as their interpretations, may adversely affect their business, financial structure or prospects; and |
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• | they may have difficulty accessing the capital markets to meet future capital needs, which may limit their ability to grow or to repay their outstanding indebtedness upon maturity. |
We operate in a highly competitive market for investment opportunities, and compete with investment vehicles sponsored or advised by our affiliates.
A number of entities compete with us to make the types of investments that we target in middle market companies. We compete with other BDCs, public and private funds, commercial and investment banks, commercial finance companies, and, to the extent they provide an alternative form of financing, private equity funds, some of which may be affiliates of us. Many of our competitors are substantially larger and have considerably greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do. Furthermore, many of our competitors are not subject to the regulatory restrictions that the Investment Company Act and the Code impose on us. The competitive pressures we face may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Also, as a result of this competition, we may not be able to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities from time to time, and we can offer no assurance that we will be able to identify and make investments that are consistent with our investment objective.
We do not seek to compete primarily based on the interest rates we offer, and we believe that some of our competitors may make loans with interest rates that are comparable to or lower than the rates we offer. We may lose investment opportunities if we do not match our competitors’ pricing, terms and structure. However, if we match our competitors’ pricing, terms and structure, we may experience decreased net interest income and increased risk of credit loss.
We may not replicate our historical performance or the historical success of Carlyle.
We cannot provide any assurance that we will replicate our own historical performance, the historical success of Carlyle or the historical performance of other companies that our Investment Adviser and our investment team advised in the past. Accordingly, our investment returns could be substantially lower than the returns achieved by the Company in the past, other Carlyle-managed funds or by other clients of our Investment Adviser. We can offer no assurance that our Investment Adviser will be able to continue to implement our investment objective with the same degree of success as it has had in the past.
Our ability to enter into transactions with Carlyle and our other affiliates is restricted.
As a BDC, we are required to comply with certain regulatory requirements. We and any company controlled by us, on the one hand, and our upstream affiliates, or our Investment Adviser and its affiliates, on the other hand, are prohibited under the Investment Company Act from knowingly participating in certain transactions without the prior approval of our Independent Directors (as defined below) and, in some cases, the SEC. Any person that owns, directly or indirectly, 5% or more of our outstanding voting securities is our upstream affiliate for purposes of the Investment Company Act, and we or a company controlled by us are generally prohibited from buying or selling any security (other than our securities) from or to such affiliate, absent the prior approval of our Independent
Directors (as defined below) and so long as such person does not own more than 25% of our outstanding voting securities or otherwise control us. We or a company controlled by us are prohibited from buying or selling any security from or to our Investment Adviser or its affiliates, or any person who owns more than 25% of our voting securities or is otherwise deemed to control, be controlled by, or be under common control with, us, with such persons, absent the prior approval of the SEC.
The Investment Company Act also prohibits certain “joint” transactions with our upstream affiliates, or our Investment Adviser or its affiliates, which could include investments in the same portfolio company (whether at the same or different times), without prior approval of our Independent Directors (as defined below) and, in some cases, the SEC (other than in certain limited situations pursuant to current regulatory guidance as described below). The analysis of whether a particular transaction constitutes a joint transaction requires a review of the relevant facts and circumstances then existing. The SEC has granted us Exemptive Relief that permits us and certain present and future funds advised by our Investment Adviser and certain other present and future investment advisers controlling, controlled by or under common control with our Investment Adviser to co-invest in suitable negotiated investments. Co-investments made under the Exemptive Relief are subject to compliance with the conditions and other requirements contained in the Exemptive Relief, which could limit our ability to participate in a co-investment transaction. In addition to co-investing pursuant to our Exemptive Relief, we may also co-invest with funds managed by Carlyle or any of its downstream affiliates, subject to compliance with applicable law and regulations, existing regulatory guidance, our Investment Adviser’s allocation procedures and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures, where applicable. For example, we may invest alongside such investors consistent with guidance promulgated by the SEC staff permitting us and an affiliated person to purchase interests in a single class of privately placed securities so long as certain conditions are met, including that we negotiate no term other than price. We may, in certain cases, also make investments in securities owned by affiliates that we acquire from non-affiliates. In such circumstances, our ability to participate in any restructuring of such investment or other transaction involving the issuer of such investment may be limited, and as a result, we may realize a loss on such investments that might have been prevented or reduced had we not been restricted in participating in such restructuring or other transaction.
To the extent we make investments in restructurings and reorganizations they may be subject to greater regulatory and legal risks than other traditional direct investments in portfolio companies.
We may make investments in restructurings that involve, or otherwise invest in the debt securities of, companies that are experiencing or are expected to experience severe financial difficulties. These severe financial difficulties may never be overcome and may cause such companies to become subject to bankruptcy proceedings. As such, these investments could subject us to certain additional potential liabilities that may exceed the value of our original investment therein. The level of analytical sophistication, both financial and legal, necessary for successful financing to companies experiencing significant business and financial difficulties is unusually high.
Our ability to extend financial commitments may be limited.
The SEC has proposed a new Rule 18f-4 under the Investment Company Act that, if enacted in the form proposed, could adversely impact the way we and other BDCs do business. In addition to imposing restrictions on the use of derivatives, the rule would generally limit our financial commitments to portfolio companies, together with our exposure to other transactions involving senior securities entered into by us other than in reliance of the rule, to not more than 150 percent of our NAV. We cannot assure you when or if the proposed rule will be adopted by the SEC, and if adopted, whether the final rule will constrain our ability to extend financial commitments.
Our portfolio may be concentrated in a limited number of portfolio companies and industries, which will subject us to a risk of significant loss if any of these companies defaults on its obligations under any of its debt instruments or if there is a downturn in a particular industry.
We are classified as a non-diversified investment company within the meaning of the Investment Company Act, which means that we are not limited by the Investment Company Act with respect to the proportion of our assets that we may invest in securities of a single issuer, excluding limitations on investments in other investment companies. Although we do not intend to focus our investments in any specific industries, our portfolio may be concentrated in a limited number of portfolio companies and industries. Beyond the asset diversification requirements associated with our qualification as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code and under the Facilities and 2015-1 Notes, we do not have fixed guidelines for diversification, and while we do not target any specific industries, our investments may be concentrated in relatively few industries. As a result, the aggregate returns we will realize may be significantly adversely affected if a small number of investments perform poorly or if we need to write down the value of one or more investments. Additionally, a downturn in any particular industry in which we are invested could also significantly impact our aggregate returns.
Our portfolio companies may be highly leveraged.
Some of our portfolio companies may be highly leveraged, which may have adverse consequences to these companies and to us as an investor. These companies may be subject to restrictive financial and operating covenants and the leverage may impair these companies’ ability to finance their future operations and capital needs. As a result, these companies’ flexibility to respond to changing business and economic conditions and to take advantage of business opportunities may be limited. Further, a leveraged company’s income and net assets will tend to increase or decrease at a greater rate than if borrowed money were not used. Leveraged companies may enter into bankruptcy proceedings at higher rates than companies that are not leveraged.
Our failure to make follow-on investments in our portfolio companies could impair the value of our investments.
Following an initial investment in a portfolio company, we may make additional investments in that portfolio company as “follow-on” investments to:
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• | increase or maintain in whole or in part our equity ownership percentage; |
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• | exercise warrants, options or convertible securities that were acquired in the original or subsequent financing; or |
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• | attempt to preserve or enhance the value of our investment. |
We may elect not to make follow-on investments, may be constrained in our ability to employ available funds, or otherwise may lack sufficient funds to make those investments. We have the discretion to make any follow-on investments, subject to the availability of capital resources. However, doing so could be placing even more capital at risk in existing portfolio companies.
The failure to make follow-on investments may, in some circumstances, jeopardize the continued viability of a portfolio company and our initial investment, or may result in a missed opportunity for us to increase our participation in a successful investment. Even if we have sufficient capital to make a desired follow-on investment, we may elect not to make a follow-on investment because we may not want to increase our concentration of risk, because we prefer other opportunities or because we are inhibited by compliance with BDC requirements or the desire to maintain our tax status.
Declines in the prices of corporate debt securities and illiquidity in the corporate debt markets may adversely affect the fair value of our portfolio investments, reducing our NAV through increased net unrealized depreciation.
As a BDC, we are required to account for our investments at market value or, if no market value is ascertainable, at fair value as determined in good faith by or under the direction of our Board. Decreases in the market values or fair values of our investments are recorded as unrealized depreciation. Depending on market conditions, we may face similar losses, which could reduce our NAV and have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
Because we generally do not hold controlling equity interests in our portfolio companies, we may not be in a position to exercise control over our portfolio companies or to prevent decisions by management of our portfolio companies that could decrease the value of our investments.
Although we may do so in the future, currently we do not intend to hold controlling equity positions in our portfolio companies. Accordingly, we may not be able to control decisions relating to a minority equity investment, including decisions relating to the management and operation of the portfolio company and the timing and nature of any exit. As a result, we are subject to the risk that a portfolio company may make business decisions with which we disagree, and that the management and/or stockholders of a portfolio company may take risks or otherwise act in ways that are adverse to our interests. Due to the lack of liquidity of the investments that we typically hold in our portfolio companies, we may not be able to dispose of our investments in the event we disagree with the actions of a portfolio company and may therefore suffer a decrease in the value of our investments. If any of the foregoing were to occur, our financial condition, results of operations and cash flow could suffer as a result.
Our portfolio companies may incur debt that ranks equally with, or senior to, some of our investments in such companies.
To the extent we invest in second lien, mezzanine or other instruments, our portfolio companies typically may be permitted to incur other debt that ranks equally with, or senior to, such debt instruments. By their terms, such debt instruments may provide that the holders are entitled to receive payment of interest or principal on or before the dates on which we will be entitled to receive payments in respect of the debt securities in which we invest. Also, in the event of insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of a portfolio company, holders of debt instruments ranking senior to our investment in that portfolio company would typically be entitled to receive payment in full before we receive any distribution in respect of our investment. In such cases, after repaying such senior creditors, such portfolio company may not have sufficient remaining assets to use for repaying its obligation to us. In the case of debt ranking equally with debt securities in which we invest, we would have to share on an equal basis any
distributions with other creditors holding such debt in the event of an insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of the relevant portfolio company.
The rights we may have with respect to the collateral securing the debt investments we make in our portfolio companies with senior debt outstanding may also be limited pursuant to the terms of one or more intercreditor agreements that we enter into with the holders of senior debt. Under such an intercreditor agreement, at any time that obligations that have the benefit of the first priority liens are outstanding, any of the following actions that may be taken in respect of the collateral will be at the direction of the holders of the obligations secured by the first priority liens: the ability to cause the commencement of enforcement proceedings against the collateral; the ability to control the conduct of such proceedings; the approval of amendments to collateral documents; releases of liens on the collateral; and waivers of past defaults under collateral documents. We may not have the ability to control or direct such actions, even if our rights are adversely affected.
We may also make unsecured loans to portfolio companies. Liens on such portfolio companies’ collateral, if any, will secure the portfolio company’s obligations under its outstanding secured debt and may secure certain future debt that is permitted to be incurred by the portfolio company under its secured loan agreements. The holders of obligations secured by such liens will generally control the liquidation of, and be entitled to receive proceeds from, any realization of such collateral to repay their obligations in full before us. In addition, the value of such collateral in the event of liquidation will depend on market and economic conditions, the availability of buyers and other factors. There can be no assurance that the proceeds, if any, from sales of such collateral would be sufficient to satisfy our unsecured loan obligations after payment in full of all secured loan obligations. If such proceeds were not sufficient to repay the outstanding secured loan obligations, then our unsecured claims would rank equally with the unpaid portion of such secured creditors’ claims against the portfolio company’s remaining assets, if any.
We may expose ourselves to risks if we engage in hedging transactions.
If we engage in hedging transactions, we may expose ourselves to risks associated with such transactions. We may utilize instruments such as forward contracts, credit default swaps, currency options and interest rate swaps, caps, collars and floors to seek to hedge against fluctuations in the relative values of our portfolio positions from changes in currency exchange rates, credit risk premiums, and market interest rates. Hedging against a decline in the values of our portfolio positions does not eliminate the possibility of fluctuations in the values of such positions or prevent losses if the values of such positions decline. However, such hedging can establish other positions designed to gain from those same developments, thereby offsetting the decline in the value of such portfolio positions. Such hedging transactions may also limit the opportunity for gain if the values of the underlying portfolio positions should increase. It may not be possible to hedge against an exchange rate or interest rate fluctuation at an acceptable price that is generally anticipated. The success of any hedging transactions we may enter into will depend on our ability to correctly predict movements in currencies and interest rates. Therefore, while we may enter into such transactions to seek to reduce currency exchange rate and interest rate risks, unanticipated changes in currency exchange rates or interest rates may result in poorer overall investment performance than if we had not engaged in any such hedging transactions. In addition, the degree of correlation between price movements of the instruments used in a hedging strategy and price movements in the portfolio positions being hedged may vary. Moreover, for a variety of reasons, we may not seek to establish a perfect correlation between such hedging instruments and the portfolio holdings being hedged. Any such imperfect correlation may prevent us from achieving the effect of the intended hedge and expose us to risk of loss. In addition, it may not be possible to hedge fully or perfectly against currency fluctuations affecting the value of securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies because the value of those securities is likely to fluctuate as a result of factors not related to currency fluctuations. Income derived from hedging transactions is generally not eligible to be distributed to non-U.S. stockholders free from U.S. withholding tax. We may determine not to hedge against particular risks, including if we determine that available hedging transactions are not available at an appropriate price.
There are certain risks associated with holding debt obligations that have original issue discount or payment-in-kind interest.
OID may arise if we hold securities issued at a discount or in certain other circumstances. OID and PIK create the risk that incentive fees will be paid to the Investment Adviser based on non-cash accruals that ultimately may not be realized, while the Investment Adviser will be under no obligation to reimburse us for these fees.
The higher interest rates of OID instruments reflect the payment deferral and increased credit risk associated with these instruments, and OID instruments generally represent a significantly higher credit risk than coupon loans. Even if the accounting conditions for income accrual are met, the borrower could still default when our actual collection is supposed to occur at the maturity of the obligation.
OID instruments may have unreliable valuations because their continuing accruals require continuing judgments about the collectability of the deferred payments and the value of any associated collateral. OID income may also create uncertainty about the source of our cash dividends.
For accounting purposes, any cash dividends to stockholders representing OID income are not treated as coming from paid-in capital, even if the cash to pay them comes from the proceeds of issuances of our common stock. As a result, despite the fact that a dividend representing OID income could be paid out of amounts invested by our stockholders, the Investment Company Act does not require that stockholders be given notice of this fact by reporting it as a return of capital.
PIK interest has the effect of generating investment income at a compounding rate, thereby further increasing the incentive fees payable to the Investment Adviser. Similarly, all things being equal, the deferral associated with PIK interest also increases the loan-to-value ratio at a compounding rate.
Risks Related to Offerings Pursuant to this Prospectus
Investing in our securities may involve a high degree of risk.
The investments we make in accordance with our investment objective may result in a higher amount of risk than alternative investment options and volatility or loss of principal. Our investments in portfolio companies may be highly speculative and aggressive, and therefore an investment in our securities may not be suitable for someone with lower risk tolerance.
We will have broad discretion over the use of proceeds of any offering made pursuant to this prospectus, to the extent it is successful.
We will have significant flexibility in applying the proceeds of any offering made pursuant to this prospectus. For example, we may pay operating expenses from net proceeds, which could limit our ability to achieve our investment objective.
The market price of our securities may fluctuate significantly.
The market price and liquidity of the market for our securities may be significantly affected by numerous factors, some of which are beyond our control and may not be directly related to our operating performance. These factors include:
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• | significant volatility in the market price and trading volume of securities of BDCs or other companies in our sector, which are not necessarily related to the operating performance of these companies; |
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• | price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time; |
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• | the inclusion or exclusion of our securities from certain indices; |
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• | changes in regulatory policies or tax guidelines, particularly with respect to RICs or BDCs; |
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• | any loss of RIC or BDC status; |
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• | changes in earnings or perceived changes or variations in operating results; |
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• | changes or perceived changes in the value of our portfolio of investments; |
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• | changes in accounting guidelines governing valuation of our investments; |
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• | any shortfall in revenue or net income or any increase in losses from levels expected by investors or securities analysts; |
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• | the inability of our Investment Adviser to employ additional experienced investment professionals or the departure of any of our Investment Adviser’s key personnel; |
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• | short-selling pressure with respect to shares of our common stock or BDCs generally; |
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• | future sales of our securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for our common stock or the conversion of such securities; |
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• | uncertainty surrounding the strength of the U.S. economic recovery and the policies of the new presidential administration; |
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• | concerns regarding European sovereign debt; |
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• | fluctuations in base interest rates, such as LIBOR, EURIBOR, the Federal Funds Rate or the Prime Rate; |
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• | operating performance of companies comparable to us; |
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• | general economic trends and other external factors; and |
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• | loss of a major funding source. |
In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company. If our stock price fluctuates significantly, we may be the target of securities litigation in the future. Securities litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources from our business.
Our shares of common stock have traded at a discount from NAV and may do so again, which could limit our ability to raise additional equity capital.
We cannot assure you that a trading market for our common stock can be sustained. In addition, we cannot predict the prices at which our common stock will trade. Shares of closed-end investment companies, including BDCs, frequently trade at a discount from NAV and our common stock may also be discounted in the market. This characteristic of closed-end investment companies is separate and distinct from the risk that our NAV per share may decline. We cannot predict whether our common stock will trade at, above or below NAV. The risk of loss associated with this characteristic of closed-end management investment companies may be greater for investors expecting to sell shares of common stock purchased in the offering soon after the offering. Recently, the stocks of BDCs as an industry, including from time to time shares of our common stock, have traded below NAV and during much of 2009 traded at near historic lows as a result of concerns over liquidity, leverage restrictions and distribution requirements. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business and Structure—Capital markets may experience periods of disruption and instability. These market conditions may materially and adversely affect debt and equity capital markets in the United States and abroad, which may in the future have a negative impact on our business and operations.”
In addition, when our common stock is trading below its NAV, we will generally not be able to sell additional shares of our common stock to the public at its market price without, among other things, first obtaining the requisite approval of our stockholders. However, certain of our stockholders who received shares of our common stock prior to our initial public offering (our “pre-IPO investors”) may obligate us to initiate certain registered underwritten secondary offerings on behalf of such pre-IPO investors, and it is possible that shares will be sold in such offerings at prices below NAV. We believe any such sales will be perceived negatively by the market and could negatively impact future trading prices for our common stock. See “Shares Eligible For Future Sale” for additional information regarding sales of shares by our pre-IPO investors and potential secondary public offerings.
We may in the future determine to issue preferred stock, which could adversely affect the market value of our common stock.
The issuance of shares of preferred stock with dividend or conversion rights, liquidation preferences or other economic terms favorable to the holders of preferred stock could adversely affect the market price for our common stock by making an investment in the common stock less attractive. In addition, the dividends on any preferred stock we issue must be cumulative. Payment of dividends and repayment of the liquidation preference of preferred stock must take preference over any dividends or other payments to our common stockholders, and holders of preferred stock are not subject to any of our expenses or losses and are not entitled to participate in any income or appreciation in excess of their stated preference (other than convertible preferred stock that converts into common stock). In addition, under the Investment Company Act, preferred stock constitutes a “senior security” for purposes of the 200% asset coverage test.
Your interest in us may be diluted if you do not fully exercise your subscription rights in any rights offering. In addition, if the subscription price is less than our NAV per share, then you will experience an immediate dilution of the aggregate NAV of your shares.
In the event we issue subscription rights, stockholders who do not fully exercise their subscription rights should expect that they will, at the completion of a rights offering pursuant to this prospectus and a prospectus supplement, own a smaller proportional interest in us than would otherwise be the case if they fully exercised their rights. We cannot state precisely the amount of any such dilution in share ownership because we do not know at this time what proportion of the shares will be purchased as a result of such rights offering.
In addition, if the subscription price is less than the NAV per share of our common stock, then our stockholders would experience an immediate dilution of the aggregate NAV of their shares as a result of the offering. The amount of any decrease in NAV is not predictable because it is not known at this time what the subscription price and NAV per share will be on the expiration date of a rights offering or what proportion of the shares will be purchased as a result of such rights offering. Such dilution could be substantial.
Purchases of our common stock under the 10b5-1 Plan may result in the price of our common stock being higher than the price that otherwise might exist in the open market.
Certain individuals affiliated with Carlyle have adopted a 10b5-1 plan (the “10b5-1 Plan”) in accordance with Rules 10b5-1 and 10b-18 under the Exchange Act, under which the participants will buy up to $15 million in the aggregate of our common stock in the
open market during the period beginning July 17, 2017 and ending on the earlier of the date on which the capital committed to the 10b5-1 Plan has been exhausted or June 19, 2018, subject to certain conditions. The 10b5-1 Plan requires the plan administrator to purchase shares of common stock when the market price per share is below the Company’s most recently reported NAV per share (including any updates, corrections or adjustments publicly announced by the Company to any previously announced NAV per share). Whether purchases will be made pursuant to the 10b5-1 Plan and how much will be purchased at any time is uncertain, dependent on prevailing market prices and trading volumes, all of which we cannot predict. These activities may have the effect of maintaining the market price of our common stock or retarding a decline in the market price of the common stock, and, as a result, the price of our common stock may be higher than the price that otherwise might exist in the open market.
Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.
As of September 30, 2017, we had 61,859,848 shares of common stock outstanding. Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock, or the availability of such shares for sale, could adversely affect the prevailing market prices for our common stock. If this occurs and continues, it could impair our ability to raise additional capital through the sale of equity securities should we desire to do so.
Our stockholders will experience dilution in their ownership percentage if they opt out of our dividend reinvestment plan.
Our dividend reinvestment plan is an “opt out” dividend reinvestment plan, pursuant to which all dividends declared in cash payable to stockholders that do not elect to receive their distributions in cash are automatically reinvested in shares of our common stock, rather than receiving cash. As a result, our stockholders that “opt out” of our dividend reinvestment plan may experience dilution in their ownership percentage of our common stock over time. See “Price Range of Common Stock and Distributions” and “Dividend Reinvestment Plan” for a description of our dividend policy and obligations.
There is a risk that our stockholders may not receive distributions or that our distributions may not grow over time and a portion of our distributions to you may be a return of capital for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
We intend to make distributions on a quarterly basis to our stockholders out of assets legally available for distribution. We cannot assure you that we will achieve investment results that will allow us to make a specified level of cash distributions or year-to-year increases in cash distributions. If we declare a dividend and if enough stockholders opt to receive cash distributions rather than participate in our dividend reinvestment plan, we may be forced to sell some of our investments in order to make cash dividend payments. In addition, due to the asset coverage test applicable to us as a BDC, we may be limited in our ability to make distributions. The Facilities may also limit our ability to declare dividends if we default under certain provisions. Further, if we invest a greater amount of assets in equity securities that do not pay current dividends, it could reduce the amount available for distribution. See “Price Range of Common Stock and Distributions.” The above referenced restrictions on distributions may also inhibit our ability to make required interest payments to holders of our debt, which may cause a default under the terms of our debt agreements. Such a default could materially increase our cost of raising capital, as well as cause us to incur penalties under the terms of our debt agreements.
The distributions we pay to our stockholders in a year may exceed our taxable income for that year and, accordingly, a portion of such distributions may constitute a return of capital for U.S. federal income tax purposes that would reduce a stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares of our common stock or preferred stock and correspondingly increase such stockholder’s gain, or reduce such stockholder’s loss, on disposition of such shares. Distributions in excess of a stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares of our common stock or preferred stock will constitute capital gains to such stockholder.
Our stockholders may receive shares of our common stock as dividends, which could result in adverse tax consequences to them.
In order to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement (as defined below in “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company.”) applicable to RICs, we will have the ability to declare a large portion of a dividend in shares of our common stock instead of in cash. As long as a portion of such dividend is paid in cash and certain requirements are met, the entire distribution generally will be treated as a dividend for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, a stockholder generally would be taxed on 100% of the fair market value of the dividend on the date the dividend is received by the stockholder in the same manner as a cash dividend, even though most of the dividend was paid in shares of our common stock. If a U.S. stockholder sells the common stock that it receives as a dividend in order to pay this tax, the sales proceeds may be less than the amount included in income with respect to the dividend, depending on the trading price (if any) of our common stock at the time of the sale. Furthermore, with respect to non-U.S. stockholders, we may be required to withhold U.S. tax with respect to such dividends, including in respect of all or a portion of such dividend that is payable in common stock. In addition, if a significant number of our stockholders were to determine to sell shares of our common stock in order to pay taxes owed on dividends, it may put downward pressure on the trading price (if any) of our common stock. It is unclear whether and to what extent we will be able to pay taxable dividends of the type described in this paragraph.
We may have difficulty paying our required distributions if we recognize taxable income before or without receiving cash representing such income.
For U.S. federal income tax purposes, we will include in our taxable income certain amounts that we have not yet received in cash, such as OID or accruals on a contingent payment debt instrument, which may occur if we receive warrants in connection with the origination of a loan or possibly in other circumstances or contracted PIK interest, which generally represents contractual interest added to the loan balance and due at the end of the loan term. Such OID and PIK interest will be included in our taxable income before we receive any corresponding cash payments. We also may be required to include in our taxable income certain other amounts that we will not receive in cash. The credit risk associated with the collectability of deferred payments may be increased as and when a portfolio company increases the amount of interest on which it is deferring cash payment through deferred interest features. Our investments with a deferred interest feature may represent a higher credit risk than loans for which interest must be paid in full in cash on a regular basis. For example, even if the accounting conditions for income accrual are met, the borrower could still default when our actual collection is scheduled to occur upon maturity of the obligation.
Because in certain cases we may recognize taxable income before or without receiving cash representing such income, we may have difficulty making distributions to our stockholders that will be sufficient to enable us to meet the Annual Distribution Requirement (as defined below in “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company”) necessary for us to maintain our status as a RIC. Accordingly, we may need to sell some of our assets at times and/or at prices that we would not consider advantageous, we may need to raise additional equity or debt capital, or we may need to forego new investment opportunities or otherwise take actions that are disadvantageous to our business (or be unable to take actions that are advantageous to our business) to enable us to make distributions to our stockholders that will be sufficient to enable us to meet the Annual Distribution Requirement. If we are unable to obtain cash from other sources to meet the Annual Distribution Requirement, we may fail to qualify for the U.S. federal income tax benefits allowable to RICs and, thus, become subject to a corporate-level U.S. federal income tax (and any applicable U.S. state and local taxes). Alternatively, we may, with the consent of all our shareholders, designate an amount as a consent dividend (i.e., a deemed dividend). In that case, although we would not distribute any actual cash to our shareholders, the consent dividend would be treated like an actual dividend under the Code for all U.S. federal income tax purposes. This would allow us to deduct the amount of the consent dividend and our shareholders would be required to include that amount in income as if it were actually distributed. For additional discussion regarding the tax implications of a RIC, see “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations.”
Non-U.S. stockholders may be subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax on dividends we pay.
Distributions of our “investment company taxable income” to a non-U.S. stockholder that are not effectively connected with the non-U.S. stockholder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States may be subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax at a 30% rate (or lower rate provided by an applicable income tax treaty) to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and profits. Certain properly designated dividends are generally exempt from withholding of U.S. federal income tax, including certain dividends that are paid in respect of our (i) “qualified net interest income” (generally, our U.S.-source interest income, other than certain contingent interest and interest from obligations of a corporation or partnership in which we or the non-U.S. stockholder are at least a 10% shareholder, reduced by expenses that are allocable to such income) or (ii) “qualified short-term capital gains” (generally, the excess of our net short-term capital gain over our long-term capital loss for such taxable year), and certain other requirements were satisfied. No assurance can be given as to whether any of our distributions will be eligible for this exemption from withholding of U.S. federal income tax or, if eligible, will be designated as such by us. See “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Taxation of Non-U.S. stockholders.”
The trading market or market value of any publicly issued debt securities may fluctuate.
Any publicly issued debt securities that we may issue may or may not have an established trading market. We cannot assure you that a trading market for any publicly issued debt securities will ever develop or be maintained if developed. In addition to our creditworthiness, many factors may materially adversely affect the trading market for, and market value of, any publicly issued debt securities. These factors include, but are not limited to, the following:
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• | the time remaining to the maturity of such debt securities; |
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• | the outstanding principal amount of debt securities with terms identical to such debt securities; |
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• | the ratings assigned by national statistical ratings agencies; |
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• | the general economic environment; |
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• | the supply of such debt securities trading in the secondary market, if any; |
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• | the redemption or repayment features, if any, of such debt securities; |
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• | the level, direction and volatility of market interest rates generally; and |
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• | market rates of interest higher or lower than rates borne by such debt securities. |
In addition, there may be a limited number of buyers if and when a decision is made to sell your debt securities. This too may materially adversely affect the market value of such debt securities or the trading market for the debt securities.
Terms relating to redemption may materially adversely affect your return on any debt securities that we may issue.
If such debt securities are redeemable at our option, we may choose to redeem such debt securities at times when prevailing interest rates are lower than the interest rate paid on the debt securities. In addition, if such debt securities are subject to mandatory redemption, we may be required to redeem the debt securities also at times when prevailing interest rates are lower than the interest rate paid on your debt securities. In this circumstance, an investor may not be able to reinvest the redemption proceeds in a comparable security at an effective interest rate as high as your debt securities being redeemed.
Our credit ratings may not reflect all risks of an investment in our debt securities.
Our credit ratings are an assessment by third parties of our ability to pay our obligations. Consequently, real or anticipated changes in our credit ratings will generally affect the market value of our debt securities. Our credit ratings, however, may not reflect the potential impact of risks related to market conditions generally or other factors discussed above on the market value of or trading market for any publicly issued debt securities.
Holders of any preferred stock we might issue would have the right to elect members of the board of directors and class voting rights on certain matters.
Holders of any preferred stock we might issue, voting separately as a single class, would have the right to elect two members of the board of directors at all times and in the event dividends become two full years in arrears would have the right to elect a majority of the directors until such arrearage is completely eliminated. In addition, preferred stockholders have class voting rights on certain matters, including changes in fundamental investment restrictions and conversion to open-end status, and accordingly can veto any such changes. Restrictions imposed on the declarations and payment of dividends or other distributions to the holders of our common stock and preferred stock, both by the Investment Company Act and by requirements imposed by rating agencies or the terms of our credit facilities, might impair our ability to maintain our qualification as a RIC for federal income tax purposes. While we would intend to redeem our preferred stock to the extent necessary to enable us to distribute our income as required to maintain our qualification as a RIC, there can be no assurance that such actions could be effected in time to meet the tax requirements.
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,” “should,” “may,” “plans,” “continue,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “would,” “could,” “targets,” “projects,” “outlook,” “potential,” “predicts” and variations of these words and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements include these words. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss our plans, strategies, prospects and expectations concerning our business, operating results, financial condition and other similar matters. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. Our forward-looking statements include information in this prospectus regarding general domestic and global economic conditions, our future financing plans, our ability to operate as a BDC and the expected performance of, and the yield on, our portfolio companies. In particular, there are forward-looking statements under “Summary—TCG BDC, Inc.,” “Business” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” There may be events in the future, however, that we are not able to predict accurately or control. The factors listed under “Risk Factors,” as well as any cautionary language in this prospectus, provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. Before you invest in our securities, you should be aware that the occurrence of the events described in these risk factors and elsewhere in this prospectus could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial position. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which we make it. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Under Sections 27A(b)(2) of the Securities Act and Section 21E(b)(2) of the Exchange Act, the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 do not apply to statements made in connection with any offering of securities pursuant to this prospectus or in a beneficial ownership report we file under the Exchange Act.
The following factors are among those that may cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements:
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• | our, or our portfolio companies’, future business, operations, operating results or prospects; |
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• | the return or impact of current and future investments; |
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• | the impact of any protracted decline in the liquidity of credit markets on our business; |
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• | the impact of fluctuations in interest rates on our business; |
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• | currency fluctuations could adversely affect the results of our investments in foreign companies, particularly to the extent that we receive payments denominated in foreign currency rather than U.S. dollars; |
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• | our future operating results; |
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• | the impact of changes in laws, policies or regulations (including the interpretation thereof) affecting our operations or the operations of our portfolio companies; |
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• | the valuation of our investments in portfolio companies, particularly those having no liquid trading market; |
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• | our ability to recover unrealized losses; |
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• | market conditions and our ability to access alternative debt markets and additional debt and equity capital; |
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• | our contractual arrangements and relationships with third parties; |
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• | the general economy and its impact on the industries in which we invest; |
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• | the financial condition of and ability of our current and prospective portfolio companies to achieve their objectives; |
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• | competition with other entities and our affiliates for investment opportunities; |
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• | the speculative and illiquid nature of our investments; |
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• | the use of borrowed money to finance a portion of our investments; |
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• | our expected financings and investments; |
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• | the adequacy of our cash resources and working capital; |
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• | the loss of key personnel; |
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• | the costs associated with being a publicly traded company; |
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• | the timing, form and amount of any dividend distributions; |
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• | the timing of cash flows, if any, from the operations of our portfolio companies; |
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• | the ability to consummate acquisitions; |
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• | the ability of our Investment Adviser to locate suitable investments for us and to monitor and administer our investments; |
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• | the ability of The Carlyle Group Employee Co., L.L.C. and CELF Advisors LLP to attract and retain highly talented professionals that can provide services to our Investment Adviser and Administrator; |
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• | our ability to maintain our status as a BDC; and |
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• | our intent to satisfy the requirements of a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Code. |
Our actual results and condition could differ materially from those implied or expressed in the forward-looking statements for any reason, including the factors set forth in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus.
USE OF PROCEEDS
Unless otherwise specified in a prospectus supplement, we intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of our securities pursuant to this prospectus for general corporate purposes, which include investing in portfolio companies in accordance with our investment objective. We also expect to use a portion of the net proceeds of any sale of our securities to repay or repurchase outstanding indebtedness, which may include indebtedness under (a) the SPV Credit Facility and (b) the Credit Facility
The supplement to this prospectus relating to an offering may more fully identify the use of the proceeds from such offering.
We anticipate that substantially all of the net proceeds of an offering of securities pursuant to this prospectus and its related prospectus supplement will be used for the above purposes within three months of any such offering, depending on the availability of appropriate investment opportunities consistent with our investment objective. We cannot assure you that we will achieve our targeted investment pace.
Proceeds not immediately used for new investments or the temporary repayment of debt will be invested primarily in cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and other high quality short-term investments. These securities may earn lower yields than the types of investments we would typically make in accordance with our investment objective and, accordingly, may result in lower dividends, if any, during such period.
We will not receive any proceeds from any sale of common stock by the selling stockholders identified under “Selling Stockholders.”
PRICE RANGE OF COMMON STOCK AND DISTRIBUTIONS
Our common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CGBD.” Our common stock has historically traded at prices both above and below our NAV per share. It is not possible to predict whether our common stock will trade at, above or below NAV. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Offerings Pursuant to this Prospectus—Our shares of common stock have traded at a discount from NAV and may do so again, which could limit our ability to raise additional equity capital.”
The following table sets forth, for each fiscal quarter since our initial public offering, the NAV per share of our common stock, the range of high and low closing sales prices of our common stock, the closing sales price as a premium (discount) to NAV and the dividends or distributions declared by us. On December 14, 2017, the last reported closing sales price of our common stock on The NASDAQ Global Select Market was $17.04 per share, which represented a discount of approximately 6.27% to the NAV per share reported by us as of September 30, 2017.
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| | Price Range | | | |
| NAV(1) | High | Low | High Sales Price Premium (Discount) to NAV(2) | Low Sales Price Premium (Discount) to NAV(2) | Cash Dividend Per Share(3) |
Year ending December 31, 2017 | | | | | | |
Second Quarter (beginning June 14, 2017) |
| $18.14 |
|
| $18.49 |
|
| $18.01 |
| 1.93 | % | (0.72 | )% |
| $0.37 |
|
Third Quarter |
| $18.18 |
|
| $18.89 |
|
| $18.00 |
| 3.91 | % | (0.99 | )% |
| $0.37 |
|
Fourth Quarter (through December 14, 2017) | * |
|
| $18.88 |
|
| $17.04 |
| * |
| * |
| $0.49 |
|
| |
(1) | NAV per share is determined as of the last day in the relevant quarter and therefore may not reflect the NAV per share on the date of the high and low closing sales prices. The NAVs shown are based on outstanding shares at the end of the relevant quarter. |
| |
(2) | Calculated as the respective high or low closing sales price less NAV, divided by NAV (in each case, as of the applicable quarter). |
| |
(3) | Represents the dividend or distribution declared in the relevant quarter. |
| |
* | NAV has not yet been calculated for this period |
To the extent that we have taxable income available, we intend to distribute quarterly dividends to our stockholders. The amount of our dividends, if any, will be determined by our Board. Any dividends to our stockholders will be declared out of assets legally available for distribution. We anticipate that our distributions will generally be paid from taxable earnings, including interest and capital gains generated by our investment portfolio, and any other income, including any other fees (other than fees for providing managerial assistance), such as commitment, origination, structuring, diligence and consulting fees or other fees, that we receive from portfolio companies. However, if we do not generate sufficient taxable earnings during a year, all or part of a distribution may constitute a return of capital. The specific tax characteristics of our dividends and other distributions will be reported to stockholders after the end of each calendar year. See “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” for further information regarding the tax treatment of our distributions and the tax consequences of our retention of net capital gains.
The following table summarizes our dividends or distributions declared and payable for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2015, 2016 and 2017:
|
| | | | | | |
Date Declared | Record Date | Payment Date | Per Share Amount | |
March 11, 2015 | March 13, 2015 | April 17, 2015 | $ | 0.37 |
| |
June 24, 2015 | June 30, 2015 | July 22, 2015 | $ | 0.37 |
| |
September 24, 2015 | September 24, 2015 | October 22, 2015 | $ | 0.42 |
| |
December 29, 2015 | December 29, 2015 | January 22, 2016 | $ | 0.40 |
| |
December 29, 2015 | December 29, 2015 | January 22, 2016 | $ | 0.18 |
| (1) |
Total Dividend for 2015 | | | $ | 1.74 |
| |
| | | | |
March 10, 2016 | March 14, 2016 | April 22, 2016 | $ | 0.40 |
| |
June 8, 2016 | June 8, 2016 | July 22, 2016 | $ | 0.40 |
| |
September 28, 2016 | September 28, 2016 | October 24, 2016 | $ | 0.40 |
| |
December 29, 2016 | December 29, 2016 | January 24, 2017 | $ | 0.41 |
| |
December 29, 2016 | December 29, 2016 | January 24, 2017 | $ | 0.07 |
| (1) |
Total Dividend for 2016 | | | $ | 1.68 |
| |
| | | | |
March 20, 2017 | March 20, 2017 | April 24, 2017 | $ | 0.41 |
| |
June 20, 2017 | June 30, 2017 | July 18, 2017 | $ | 0.37 |
| |
August 7, 2017 | September 29, 2017 | October 18, 2017 | $ | 0.37 |
| |
November 7, 2017 | December 29, 2017 | January 17, 2018 | $ | 0.37 |
| |
December 13, 2017 | December 29, 2017 | January 17, 2018 | $ | 0.12 |
| (1) |
Total Dividend for 2017 | | | $ | 1.64 |
| |
| |
(1) | Represents a special dividend. |
We have elected to be treated, and intend to continue to qualify annually, as a RIC. To maintain our qualification as a RIC, we must, among other things, fulfill the Annual Distribution Requirement, the 90% Gross Income Test and the Diversification Tests (each defined term, defined and more fully explained below in “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company”). In order to avoid certain excise taxes imposed on RICs, we intend to distribute during each calendar year an amount in accordance with the Excise Tax Distribution Requirements, as defined and discussed further below in “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations – Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company.”
In addition, although we currently intend to distribute realized net capital gains (i.e., net long term capital gains in excess of short term capital losses), if any, at least annually, we may in the future decide to retain such capital gains for investment, pay U.S. federal income tax on such amounts at regular corporate tax rates, and elect to treat such gains as deemed distributions to stockholders. As a BDC, we must have at least 200% asset coverage calculated pursuant to the Investment Company Act immediately after each time we issue senior securities. Certain of our credit facilities also require that we maintain asset coverage of at least 200%. As of September 30, 2017, our asset coverage calculated in accordance with the Investment Company Act was 232%. We can offer no assurance that we will achieve results that will permit the payment of any cash distributions and, to the extent that we issue senior securities, we will be prohibited from making distributions if doing so causes us to fail to maintain the asset coverage ratios stipulated by the Investment Company Act or if distributions are limited by the terms of any of our borrowings. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Offerings Pursuant to this Prospectus—There is a risk that our stockholders may not receive distributions or that our distributions may not grow over time and a portion of our distributions to you may be a return of capital for U.S. federal income tax purposes.”
Unless you elect to receive your distributions in cash, we intend to make distributions in additional shares of our common stock under our dividend reinvestment plan. Stockholders who “opt out” of our dividend reinvestment plan receive cash distributions. See “Dividend Reinvestment Plan.” We can offer no assurance that we will achieve results that will permit the payment of any cash distributions and, if we issue senior securities, we will be prohibited from making distributions if doing so causes us to fail to maintain the asset coverage ratios stipulated by the Investment Company Act or if distributions are limited by the terms of any of our borrowings.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF
FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
(Dollar amounts are in thousands, except per share data, unless otherwise indicated)
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with “Selected Financial Data and Other Information” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus or the accompanying prospectus supplement. The information in this section contains forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties. Please see “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with this discussion and analysis. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated by such forward-looking information due to factors discussed under “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” appearing elsewhere in this prospectus.
OVERVIEW
We are a Maryland corporation formed on February 8, 2012, and structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment company. We have elected to be regulated as a BDC under the Investment Company Act. We have elected to be treated, and intend to continue to comply with the requirements to qualify annually, as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code.
Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of EBITDA. We seek to achieve our investment objective primarily through direct originations of Middle Market Senior Loans, with the balance of our assets invested in higher yielding investments (which may include unsecured debt, mezzanine debt and investments in equities). We generally make Middle Market Senior Loans to private U.S. middle market companies that are, in many cases, controlled by private equity firms. Depending on market conditions, we expect that between 70% and 80% of the value of our assets will be invested in Middle Market Senior Loans. We expect that the composition of our portfolio will change over time given our Investment Adviser’s view on, among other things, the economic and credit environment (including with respect to interest rates) in which we are operating.
On June 19, 2017, we closed our initial public offering, issuing 9,454,200 shares of our common stock (including shares issued pursuant to the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option on July 5, 2017) at a public offering price of $18.50 per share. Net of underwriting costs, we received cash proceeds of $169,488. Shares of common stock of TCG BDC began trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CGBD” on June 14, 2017.
On June 9, 2017, we acquired NF Investment Corp. (“NFIC”), a BDC managed by our Investment Advisor (the “NFIC Acquisition”). As a result, we issued 434,233 shares of common stock to the NFIC stockholders and approximately $145,602 in cash, and acquired approximately $153,648 in net assets.
We are externally managed by our Investment Adviser, an investment adviser registered under the Advisers Act. Our Administrator provides the administrative services necessary for us to operate. Both our Investment Adviser and our Administrator are wholly owned subsidiaries of Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C., a subsidiary of Carlyle.
In conducting our investment activities, we believe that we benefit from the significant scale and resources of Carlyle, including our Investment Adviser and its affiliates. We have operated our business as a BDC since we began our investment activities in May 2013.
Investments
Our level of investment activity can and does vary substantially from period to period depending on many factors, including the amount of debt available to middle market companies, the general economic environment and the competitive environment for the type of investments we make.
Revenue
We generate revenue primarily in the form of interest income on debt investments we hold. In addition, we generate income from dividends on direct equity investments, capital gains on the sales of loans and debt and equity securities and various loan origination and other fees. Our debt investments generally have a stated term of five to eight years and generally bear interest at a floating rate usually determined on the basis of a benchmark such as LIBOR. Interest on these debt
investments is generally paid quarterly. In some instances, we receive payments on our debt investments based on scheduled amortization of the outstanding balances. In addition, we receive repayments of some of our debt investments prior to their scheduled maturity date. The frequency or volume of these repayments fluctuates significantly from period to period. Our portfolio activity also reflects the proceeds of sales of securities. We may also generate revenue in the form of commitment, origination, amendment, structuring or due diligence fees, fees for providing managerial assistance and consulting fees.
Expenses
Our primary operating expenses include the payment of: (i) investment advisory fees, including base management fees and incentive fees, to our Investment Adviser pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement between us and our Investment Adviser; (ii) costs and other expenses and our allocable portion of overhead incurred by our Administrator in performing its administrative obligations under the Administration Agreement between us and our Administrator; and (iii) other operating expenses as detailed below:
| |
• | the costs associated with the private offering of our common stock prior to our initial public offering; |
| |
• | the costs of any other offerings of our common stock and other securities, if any; |
| |
• | calculating individual asset values and our NAV (including the cost and expenses of any independent valuation firms); |
| |
• | expenses, including travel expenses, incurred by our Investment Adviser, or members of our Investment Adviser team managing our investments, or payable to third parties, performing due diligence on prospective portfolio companies and, if necessary, expenses of enforcing our rights; |
| |
• | the base management fee and any incentive fee payable under our Investment Advisory Agreement; |
| |
• | certain costs and expenses relating to distributions paid on our shares; |
| |
• | administration fees payable under our Administration Agreement and Sub-Administration Agreements, including related expenses; |
| |
• | debt service and other costs of borrowings or other financing arrangements; |
| |
• | the allocated costs incurred by our Investment Adviser in providing managerial assistance to those portfolio companies that request it; |
| |
• | amounts payable to third parties relating to, or associated with, making or holding investments; |
| |
• | the costs associated with subscriptions to data service, research-related subscriptions and expenses and quotation equipment and services used in making or holding investments; |
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• | transfer agent and custodial fees; |
| |
• | commissions and other compensation payable to brokers or dealers; |
| |
• | federal and state registration fees; |
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• | any U.S. federal, state and local taxes, including any excise taxes; |
| |
• | independent director fees and expenses; |
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• | costs of preparing financial statements and maintaining books and records, costs of preparing tax returns, costs of Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance and attestation and costs of filing reports or other documents with the SEC (or other regulatory bodies), and other reporting and compliance costs, including registration and listing fees, and the compensation of professionals responsible for the preparation or review of the foregoing; |
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• | the costs of any reports, proxy statements or other notices to our stockholders (including printing and mailing costs), the costs of any stockholders’ meetings and the compensation of investor relations personnel responsible for the preparation of the foregoing and related matters; |
| |
• | the costs of specialty and custom software for monitoring risk, compliance and overall portfolio, including any development costs incurred prior to the filing of our election to be regulated as a BDC; |
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• | directors and officers/errors and omissions liability insurance, and any other insurance premiums; |
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• | indemnification payments; |
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• | direct fees and expenses associated with independent audits, agency, consulting and legal costs; and |
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• | all other expenses incurred by us or our Administrator in connection with administering our business, including our allocable share of certain officers and their staff compensation. |
We expect our general and administrative expenses to be relatively stable or to decline as a percentage of total assets during periods of asset growth and to increase during periods of asset declines.
PORTFOLIO AND INVESTMENT ACTIVITY
As of September 30, 2017, the fair value of our investments was approximately $1,964,117, comprised of 108 investments in 92 portfolio companies/structured finance obligations/investment fund across 29 industries with 59 sponsors. As of December 31, 2016, the fair value of our investments was approximately $1,422,759, comprised of 98 investments in 86 portfolio companies/structured finance obligations/investment fund across 29 industries with 57 sponsors. As of December 31, 2015, the fair value of our investments was approximately $1,052,666, comprised of 85 portfolio companies/structured finance obligations. The fair value of our investments was approximately $698,662, comprised of 72 portfolio companies/structured finance obligations as of December 31, 2014.
Based on fair value as of September 30, 2017, our portfolio consisted of approximately 89.6% in secured debt (75.9% in first lien debt (including 11.7% in first lien/last out loans) and 13.7% in second lien debt), 9.6% in Credit Fund, 0.1% in structured finance obligations and 0.7% in equity investments. Based on fair value as of September 30, 2017, approximately 1.2% of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a fixed interest rate and approximately 98.8% of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate, which primarily are subject to interest rate floors.
Based on fair value as of December 31, 2016, our portfolio consisted of approximately 92.2% in secured debt (80.1% in first lien debt (including 12.9% in first lien/last out loans) and 12.1% in second lien debt), 7.0% in Credit Fund, 0.4% in structured finance obligations and 0.5% in equity investments. Based on fair value as of December 31, 2016, approximately 0.8% of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a fixed interest rate and approximately 99.2% of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate with an interest rate floor.
Based on fair value as of December 31, 2015, our portfolio consisted of approximately 95.5% in secured debt (75.5% in first lien debt (including 11.7% in first lien/last out loans) and 20.0% in second lien debt), 4.3% in structured finance obligations and 0.2% in equity investments. Based on fair value as of December 31, 2015, approximately 3% of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a fixed interest rate and approximately 97% of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate with an interest rate floor.
Our investment activity for the three month periods ended March 31, 2017 and 2016 and the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 is presented below (information presented herein is at amortized cost unless otherwise indicated):
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| For the three month periods ended | For the years ended December 31, |
| September 30, 2017 | September 30, 2016 | December 31, 2016 | December 31, 2015 | December 31, 2014 |
Investments: | | | | | |
Total investments, beginning of period | $ | 1,727,680 |
| $ | 1,220,872 |
| $ | 1,079,720 |
| $ | 707,701 |
| $ | 213,128 |
|
New investments purchased | 310,633 |
| 308,572 |
| 755,654 |
| 597,811 |
| 614,622 |
|
Net accretion of discount on investments | 1,832 |
| 1,881 |
| 5,605 |
| 3,035 |
| 1,108 |
|
Net realized gain (loss) on investments | 172 |
| 544 |
| (9,644 | ) | 1,164 |
| 72 |
|
Investments sold or repaid | (68,284 | ) | (142,397 | ) | (401,354 | ) | (229,991 | ) | (121,229 | ) |
Total Investments, end of period | $ | 1,972,033 |
| $ | 1,389,472 |
| $ | 1,429,981 |
| $ | 1,079,720 |
| $ | 707,701 |
|
| | | | | |
Principal amount of investments funded: | | | | | |
First Lien Debt | $ | 273,245 |
| $ | 249,318 |
| $ | 604,514 |
| $ | 481,510 |
| $ | 457,212 |
|
Second Lien Debt | 29,250 |
| — |
| 38,950 |
| 115,250 |
| 80,790 |
|
Structured Finance Obligations | — |
| — |
| — |
| 15,760 |
| 115,638 |
|
Equity Investments | 1,500 |
| 856 |
| 2,856 |
| 1,507 |
| — |
|
Investment Fund | 12,600 |
| 63,200 |
| 119,785 |
| — |
| — |
|
Total | $ | 316,595 |
| $ | 313,374 |
| $ | 766,105 |
| $ | 614,027 |
| $ | 653,640 |
|
| | | | | |
Principal amount of investments sold or repaid: | | | | |
First Lien Debt | $ | (47,470 | ) | $ | (89,469 | ) | $ | (254,921 | ) | $ | (191,718 | ) | $ | (77,040 | ) |
Second Lien Debt | (12,500 | ) | (29,121 | ) | (83,279 | ) | (8,000 | ) | (9,500 | ) |
Structured Finance Obligations | — |
| — |
| (81,442 | ) | (39,475 | ) | (31,363 | ) |
Investment Fund | (8,400 | ) | (22,400 | ) | (22,400 | ) | — |
| — |
|
Total | $ | (68,370 | ) | $ | (140,990 | ) | $ | (442,042 | ) | $ | (239,193 | ) | $ | (117,903 | ) |
| | | | | |
Number of new funded investments | 28 |
| 19 |
| 62 |
| 46 |
| 58 |
|
Average new funded investment amount | $ | 11,094 |
| $ | 16,241 |
| $ | 12,188 |
| $ | 12,996 |
| $ | 10,597 |
|
Percentage of new funded debt investments at floating interest rates | 100 | % | 100 | % | 100 | % | 98 | % | 98 | % |
Percentage of new funded debt investments at fixed interest rates | 0 | % | 0 | % | 0 | % | 2 | % | 2 | % |
As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, investments consisted of the following:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| September 30, 2017 | | December 31, 2016 |
| Amortized Cost | | Fair Value | | Amortized Cost | | Fair Value |
First Lien Debt (excluding First Lien/Last Out) | $ | 1,264,114 | | $ | 1,259,983 | | $ | 964,398 | | $ | 955,478 |
First Lien/Last Out Unitranche | 237,751 | | 230,667 | | 180,928 | | 184,070 |
Second Lien Debt | 266,604 | | 268,783 | | 172,960 | | 171,864 |
Structured Finance Obligations | 6,436 | | 2,585 | | 9,239 | | 5,216 |
Equity Investments | 10,327 | | 13,552 | | 5,071 | | 6,474 |
Investment Fund | 186,801 | | 188,547 | | 97,385 | | 99,657 |
Total | $ | 1,972,033 | | $ | 1,964,117 | | $ | 1,429,981 | | $ | 1,422,759 |
The weighted average yields (1) for our first and second lien debt, based on the amortized cost and fair value as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, were as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| September 30, 2017 | | December 31, 2016 |
| Amortized Cost | | Fair Value | | Amortized Cost | | Fair Value |
First Lien Debt (excluding First Lien/Last Out) | 8.02 | % | | 8.05 | % | | 7.09 | % | | 7.15 | % |
First Lien/Last Out Unitranche | 9.77 | % | | 10.07 | % | | 12.33 | % | | 12.12 | % |
First Lien Debt Total | 8.30 | % | | 8.36 | % | | 7.92 | % | | 7.96 | % |
Second Lien Debt | 10.37 | % | | 10.29 | % | | 9.97 | % | | 10.04 | % |
First and Second Lien Debt Total | 8.61 | % | | 8.66 | % | | 8.19 | % | | 8.23 | % |
| |
(1) | Weighted average yields include the effect of accretion of discounts and amortization of premiums and are based on interest rates as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016. Weighted average yield on debt and income producing securities at fair value is computed as (a) the annual stated interest rate or yield earned plus the net annual amortization of OID and market discount earned on accruing debt included in such securities, divided by (b) total first lien and second lien debt at fair value included in such securities. Weighted average yield on debt and income producing securities at amortized cost is computed as (a) the annual stated interest rate or yield earned plus the net annual amortization of OID and market discount earned on accruing debt included in such securities, divided by (b) total first lien and second lien debt at amortized cost included in such securities. Actual yields earned over the life of each investment could differ materially from the yields presented above. |
Total weighted average yields (which includes the effect of accretion of discount and amortization of premiums) of our first and second lien debt investments as measured on an amortized cost basis increased from 8.19% to 8.61% from December 31, 2016 to September 30, 2017. The increase in weighted average yields was primarily due to the increase in 90-day LIBOR from 1.00% to 1.33% and from originations of new investments with higher weighted average yields of 8.96% and sales/repayments of existing investments with lower weighted average yields of 8.60%.
The following table summarizes the fair value of our performing and non-performing investments as of
September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| September 30, 2017 | | December 31, 2016 |
| Fair Value | | Percentage | | Fair Value | | Percentage |
Performing | $ | 1,941,309 | | 98.84 | % | | $ | 1,415,131 | | 99.46 | % |
Non-accrual (1) | 22,808 | | 1.16 |
| | 7,628 | | 0.54 |
|
Total | $ | 1,964,117 | | 100.00 | % | | $ | 1,422,759 | | 100.00 | % |
| |
(1) | Loans are generally placed on non-accrual status when principal or interest payments are past due 30 days or more or when there is reasonable doubt that principal or interest will be collected in full. Accrued and unpaid interest is generally reversed when a loan is placed on non-accrual status. Interest payments received on non-accrual loans may be recognized as income or applied to principal depending upon management’s judgment regarding collectability. Non-accrual loans are restored to accrual status when past due principal and interest has been paid current and, in management’s judgment, likely to remain current. Management may not place a loan on non-accrual status if the loan has sufficient collateral value and is in the process of collection. See Note 2 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus. |
See the Consolidated Schedules of Investments as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 in our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus for more information on these investments, including a list of companies and type and amount of investments.
As part of the monitoring process, our Investment Adviser has developed risk policies pursuant to which it regularly assesses the risk profile of each of our debt investments and rates each of them based on the following categories, which we refer to as “Internal Risk Ratings”:
Internal Risk Ratings Definitions
|
| | |
Rating | | Definition |
1 | | Performing—Low Risk: Borrower is operating more than 10% ahead of the base case. |
| |
2 | | Performing—Stable Risk: Borrower is operating within 10% of the base case (above or below). This is the initial rating assigned to all new borrowers. |
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3 | | Performing—Management Notice: Borrower is operating more than 10% below the base case. A financial covenant default may have occurred, but there is a low risk of payment default. |
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4 | | Watch List: Borrower is operating more than 20% below the base case and there is a high risk of covenant default, or it may have already occurred. Payments are current although subject to greater uncertainty, and there is moderate to high risk of payment default. |
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5 | | Watch List—Possible Loss: Borrower is operating more than 30% below the base case. At the current level of operations and financial condition, the borrower does not have the ability to service and ultimately repay or refinance all outstanding debt on current terms. Payment default is very likely or may have occurred. Loss of principal is possible. |
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6 | | Watch List—Probable Loss: Borrower is operating more than 40% below the base case, and at the current level of operations and financial condition, the borrower does not have the ability to service and ultimately repay or refinance all outstanding debt on current terms. Payment default is very likely or may have already occurred. Additionally, the prospects for improvement in the borrower’s situation are sufficiently negative that impairment of some or all principal is probable. |
Our Investment Adviser’s risk rating model is based on evaluating portfolio company performance in comparison to the base case when considering certain credit metrics including, but not limited to, adjusted EBITDA and net senior leverage as well as specific events including, but not limited to, default and impairment.
Our Investment Adviser monitors and, when appropriate, changes the investment ratings assigned to each debt investment in our portfolio. In connection with our quarterly valuation process, our Investment Adviser reviews our investment ratings on a regular basis. The following table summarizes the Internal Risk Ratings as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| September 30, 2017 | | December 31, 2016 |
| Fair Value | | % of Fair Value | | Fair Value | | % of Fair Value |
(dollar amounts in millions) | | | | | | | |
Internal Risk Rating 1 | $ | 75.1 |
| | | 4.27 | % | | $ | 59.3 | | | 4.52 | % |
Internal Risk Rating 2 | 1,376.0 | | | | 78.20 |
| | 1,055.7 | | | 80.50 |
|
Internal Risk Rating 3 | 187.7 | | | | 10.67 |
| | 100.9 | | | 7.70 |
|
Internal Risk Rating 4 | 84.1 | | | | 4.78 |
| | 75.7 | | | 5.77 |
|
Internal Risk Rating 5 | 36.6 | | | | 2.08 |
| | 12.2 | | | 0.93 |
|
Internal Risk Rating 6 | — | | | | — |
| | 7.6 | | | 0.58 |
|
Total | $ | 1,759.5 |
| | | 100.00 | % | | $ | 1,311.4 | | | 100.00 | % |
As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the weighted average Internal Risk Ratings of our debt investment portfolio were 2.2 and 2.2, respectively. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, 10 and 8 of our debt investments, with an aggregate fair value of $120.7 million and $95.5 million, respectively, were assigned an Internal Risk Rating of 4-6. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, one first lien debt investment in the portfolio with a fair value of $22.8 million and $7.6 million, respectively, was on non-accrual status, which represented approximately 1.30% and 0.58%, respectively, of total first and second lien investments at fair value. The remaining first and second lien debt investments were performing and current on their interest payments as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016.
During the nine month period ended September 30, 2017, 2 investments with fair value of $21.1 million were downgraded to an Internal Risk Rating of 4 due to changes in financial condition and performance of the respective portfolio companies, one of which with fair value of $13.8 million was subsequently upgraded to an Internal Risk Rating of 2 due to a pending repayment in full. The remainder of the net increase in the aggregate fair value of debt investments assigned an Internal Risk Rating of 4-6 was primarily a result of the NFIC Acquisition and the transfer of 9 overlapping debt investments with fair value of approximately $28.4 million into our debt investment portfolio from NFIC, one new investment with fair
value of approximately $3.9 million acquired from NFIC, and, to a lesser extent, general market movements, as well as the restructuring of TwentyEighty, Inc. which occurred in the first quarter of 2017 and resulted in the upgrades of the new Term Loan A to an Internal Risk Rating of 2 and new Term Loan B to an Internal Risk Rating of 3.
CONSOLIDATED RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016
The net increase or decrease in net assets from operations may vary substantially from period to period as a result of various factors, including the recognition of realized gains and losses and net change in unrealized appreciation and depreciation. As a result, quarterly comparisons may not be meaningful.
Investment Income
Investment income for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 was as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| For the three month periods ended | | For the nine month periods ended |
| September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 | | September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 |
First Lien Debt | $ | 29,336 |
| | $ | 22,703 |
| | $ | 84,922 |
| | $ | 59,374 |
Second Lien Debt | 7,461 | | | 5,462 | | | 17,255 | | | 16,865 |
Structured Finance Obligations | — | | | 98 | | | — | | | 859 |
Equity Investments | — | | | — | | | 2 | | | 13 |
Investment Fund | 5,812 | | | 686 | | | 13,193 | | | 686 |
Cash | 39 | | | 8 | | | 119 | | | 18 |
Total investment income | $ | 42,648 |
| | $ | 28,957 |
| | $ | 115,491 |
| | $ | 77,815 |
The increase in investment income for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 from the comparable periods in 2016 was primarily driven by our increasing invested balance, increased fees and other income from syndications and prepayments, and increased interest and dividend income from Credit Fund. As of September 30, 2017, the size of our portfolio increased to $1,972,033 from $1,389,472 as of September 30, 2016, at amortized cost, and total principal amount of investments outstanding increased to $2,008,693 from $1,437,034 as of September 30, 2016. As of September 30, 2017, the weighted average yield of our first and second lien debt increased to 8.61% from 8.30% as of September 30, 2016 on amortized cost, primarily due to the increase in 90-day LIBOR and from net originations with higher weighted average yields.
Interest income on our first and second lien debt investments is dependent on the composition and credit quality of the portfolio. Generally, we expect the portfolio to generate predictable quarterly interest income based on the terms stated in each loan’s credit agreement. As of September 30, 2017, one first lien debt investment in the portfolio was non-performing. The fair value of the loan in the portfolio on non-accrual status was $22,808, which represents approximately 1.30% of total first and second lien investments at fair value. The remaining first and second lien debt investments were performing and current on their interest payments as of September 30, 2017. All first and second lien debt investments were performing and current on their interest payments as of September 30, 2016.
The increase in other income for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 from the comparable periods in 2016 was primarily driven by higher syndication fees and prepayment fees resulting from full paydowns on select investments. For the three month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, the Company earned $1,318 and $1,909, respectively, in other income. For the nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, the Company earned $7,900 and $4,578, respectively, in other income.
Our total dividend and interest income from investments in Credit Fund totaled $5,812 and $13,193 for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017, respectively. Our total dividend and interest income from investments in Credit Fund totaled $686 for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2016. The increase was primarily driven by increased invested balance of Credit Fund since the commencement of operations at Credit Fund. We made our first investment in Credit Fund in February 2016.
Net investment income for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 was as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| For the three month periods ended | | For the nine month periods ended |
| September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 | | September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 |
Total investment income | $ | 42,648 | | $ | 28,957 | | $ | 115,491 | | $ | 77,815 |
Net expenses | 17,568 | | 13,111 | | 49,856 | | 36,543 |
Net investment income (loss) | $ | 25,080 | | $ | 15,846 | | $ | 65,635 | | $ | 41,272 |
Expenses
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| For the three month periods ended | | For the nine month periods ended |
| September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 | | September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 |
Base management fees | $ | 6,999 | | $ | 4,699 | | $ | 17,781 | | $ | 13,184 |
Incentive fees | 5,321 | | 3,962 | | 15,459 | | 10,318 |
Professional fees | 361 | | 568 | | 1,957 | | 1,574 |
Administrative service fees | 184 | | 180 | | 522 | | 526 |
Interest expense | 5,922 | | 4,051 | | 16,694 | | 11,475 |
Credit facility fees | 521 | | 682 | | 1,553 | | 2,139 |
Directors’ fees and expenses | 121 | | 146 | | 355 | | 410 |
Other general and administrative | 472 | | 390 | | 1,462 | | 1,312 |
Total expenses | 19,901 | | 14,678 | | 55,783 | | 40,938 |
Waiver of base management fees | 2,333 | | 1,567 | | 5,927 | | 4,395 |
Net expenses | $ | 17,568 | | $ | 13,111 | | $ | 49,856 | | $ | 36,543 |
Interest expense and credit facility fees for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 were comprised of the following:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| For the three month periods ended | | For the nine month periods ended |
| September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 | | September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 |
Interest expense | $ | 5,922 | | $ | 4,051 | | $ | 16,694 | | $ | 11,475 |
Facility unused commitment fee | 309 | | 351 | | 925 | | 1,034 |
Amortization of deferred financing costs | 183 | | 305 | | 541 | | 1,027 |
Other fees | 29 | | 26 | | 87 | | 78 |
Total interest expense and credit facility fees | $ | 6,443 | | $ | 4,733 | | $ | 18,247 | | $ | 13,614 |
Cash paid for interest expense | $ | 4,910 | | $ | 3,906 | | $ | 15,422 | | $ | 10,700 |
The increase in interest expense for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 compared to the comparable periods in 2016 was driven by increased drawings under the Facilities related to increased deployment of capital for investments. For the three month period ended September 30, 2017, the average interest rate increased to 3.40% from 2.75% for the comparable period in 2016, and average principal debt outstanding increased to $406,498 from $292,084 for the comparable period in 2016. For the nine month period ended September 30, 2017, the average interest rate increased to 3.24% from 2.67% for the comparable period in 2016, and average principal debt outstanding increased to $402,787 from $277,575 for the comparable period in 2016.
The increase in base management fees (and related waiver of base management fees) and incentive fees related to pre-incentive fee net investment income for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 from the comparable period in 2016 were driven by our deployment of capital and increasing invested balance. For the three month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, base management fees were $4,666 and $3,132, respectively, (net the waiver of $2,333 and $1,567, respectively), incentive fees related to pre-incentive fee net investment income were $5,321 and $3,962, respectively, and there were no incentive fees related to realized capital gains. For the nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, base management fees were $11,854 and $8,789, respectively, (net the waiver of $5,927 and $4,395, respectively), incentive fees related to pre-incentive fee net investment income were $15,459 and $10,318, respectively, and there were no incentive fees related to realized capital gains. The accrual for any capital gains incentive fee under US GAAP in
a given period may result in an additional expense if such cumulative amount is greater than in the prior period or a reduction of previously recorded expense if such cumulative amount is less than in the prior period. If such cumulative amount is negative, then there is no accrual. See Note 4 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for more information on the incentive and base management fees. For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, there were no accrued capital gains incentive fees based upon the cumulative net realized and unrealized appreciation (depreciation) as of September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively.
Professional fees include legal, rating agencies, audit, tax, valuation, technology and other professional fees incurred related to the management of the Company. Administrative service fees represent fees paid to the Administrator for our allocable portion of overhead and other expenses incurred by the Administrator in performing its obligations under the Administration Agreement, including our allocable portion of the cost of certain of our executive officers and their respective staff. Other general and administrative expenses include insurance, filing, research, subscriptions and other costs. The increase in professional fees for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 compared to the comparable periods in 2016 was driven by an increase in non-recurring professional fees related to the NFIC Acquisition.
Net Realized Gain (Loss) and Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on Investments
During the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017, we had realized gains on 4 and 13 investments, respectively, totaling approximately $181 and $593, respectively, which were offset by realized losses on 1 and 8 investments, respectively, totaling approximately $9 and $8,317, respectively. During the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2016, we had realized gains on 3 and 8 investments, respectively, totaling approximately $632 and $811, respectively, which were offset by realized losses on 2 and 12 investments, respectively, totaling approximately $88 and $9,866, respectively. During the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017, we had a change in unrealized appreciation on 59 and 60 investments, respectively, totaling approximately $13,191 and $29,089, respectively, which was offset by a change in unrealized depreciation on 44 and 70 investments, respectively, totaling approximately $12,900 and $29,783, respectively. During the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2016, we had a change in unrealized appreciation on 69 and 86 investments, respectively, totaling approximately $19,587 and $34,680, respectively, which was offset by a change in unrealized depreciation on 32 and 25 investments, respectively, totaling approximately $6,807 and $14,484, respectively. In particular, effective January 31, 2017, TwentyEighty, Inc. (fka Miller Heiman, Inc.) completed a restructuring whereby the first lien debt held by us was converted into new term loans and equity. As a result, $10,943 of unrealized depreciation was reversed and we realized a loss of $7,738 on the investment during the nine month period ended September 30, 2017.
Net realized gain (loss) and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) by the type of investments for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 were as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
| For the three month periods ended | | For the nine month periods ended |
| September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 | | September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 |
Net realized gain (loss) on investments | $ | 172 | | $ | 544 | | $ | (7,724) | | $ | (9,055) |
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | 291 | | 12,780 | | (694) | | 20,196 |
Net realized gain (loss) and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | $ | 463 | | $ | 13,324 | | $ | (8,418) | | $ | 11,141 |
Net realized gain (loss) and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) by the type of investments for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 were as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| For the three month periods ended |
| September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 |
Type | Net realized gain (loss) | | Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) | | Net realized gain (loss) | | Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) |
First Lien Debt | $ | 141 |
| | $ | (1,434) |
| | $ | 324 |
| | $ | 3,082 |
Second Lien Debt | — | | | 1,359 | | | 221 | | | 5,648 |
Structured Finance Obligations | 31 | | | — | | | (1) | | | 1,145 |
Equity Investments | — | | | 1,330 | | | — | | | 661 |
Investment Fund | — | | | (964) | | | — | | | 2,244 |
Total | $ | 172 |
| | $ | 291 |
| | $ | 544 |
| | $ | 12,780 |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| For the nine month periods ended |
| September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 |
Type | Net realized gain (loss) | | Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) | | Net realized gain (loss) | | Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) |
First Lien Debt | $ | (7,710) |
| | $ | (5,437) | | $ | 495 |
| | $ | 3,223 |
Second Lien Debt | (3) | | | 3,275 | | 221 | | | 4,189 |
Structured Finance Obligations | (11) | | | 172 | | (9,771) | | | 9,888 |
Equity Investments | — | | | 1,822 | | — | | | 939 |
Investment Fund | — | | | (526) | | — | | | 1,957 |
Total | $ | (7,724) |
| | $ | (694 | | $ | (9,055) |
| | $ | 20,196 |
Net change in unrealized depreciation in our investments for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 compared to the comparable period in 2016 was primarily due to changes in various inputs utilized under our valuation methodology, including, but not limited to, market spreads, leverage multiples and borrower ratings, and the impact of exits.
For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014
The net increase or decrease in net assets from operations may vary substantially from period to period as a result of various factors, including the recognition of realized gains and losses and net change in unrealized appreciation and depreciation. As a result, quarterly comparisons may not be meaningful.
Investment Income
Investment income for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, was as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | |
| For the years ended December 31, |
| 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
Investment income: | | | |
First Lien Debt | $ | 83,713 |
| $ | 45,654 |
| $ | 18,028 |
|
Second Lien Debt | 23,190 |
| 15,357 |
| 5,716 |
|
Structured Finance Obligations | 887 |
| 8,160 |
| 9,233 |
|
Equity Investments | 13 |
| 12 |
| — |
|
Investment Fund | 3,140 |
| — |
| — |
|
Cash | 28 |
| 7 |
| 7 |
|
Total investment income | $ | 110,971 |
| $ | 69,190 |
| $ | 32,984 |
|
The increase in investment income for the year ended December 31, 2016 from the comparable period in 2015 was primarily driven by our deployment of capital, increasing invested balance, increased fees and other income from syndications, amendments and prepayments, and dividends declared by Credit Fund. The size of our portfolio increased to $1,429,981 as of December 31, 2016 from $1,079,720 as of December 31, 2015, at amortized cost, and total principal amount of investments outstanding increased to $1,467,133 as of December 31, 2016 from $1,142,364 as of December 31, 2015. The increase in interest income was also due to the increase in the weighted average yield. As of December 31, 2016, the weighted average yield of our first and second lien debt increased to 8.19% from 7.93% as of December 31, 2015, on amortized cost.
The increase in investment income for the year ended December 31, 2015 from the comparable period in 2014 was primarily driven by our deployment of capital and increasing invested balance. The size of our portfolio increased to $1,079,720 as of December 31, 2015 from $707,701 as of December 31, 2014, at amortized cost, and total principal amount of investments outstanding increased to $1,142,364 as of December 31, 2015 from $767,530 as of December 31, 2014. The increase in interest income was also due to the increase in the weighted average yield. As of December 31, 2015, the weighted average yield of our first and second lien debt increased to 7.93% from 6.70% as of December 31, 2014, on amortized cost.
Interest income on our first and second lien debt investments is dependent on the composition and credit quality of the portfolio. Generally, we expect the portfolio to generate predictable quarterly interest income based on the terms stated in each loan’s credit agreement. As of December 31, 2016, one first lien debt investment in the portfolio was non-performing. The fair value of the loan in the portfolio on non-accrual status was $7,628, which represents approximately 0.5% of total investments at fair value. The remaining first and second lien debt investments were performing and current on their interest payments as of December 31, 2016 and for the year then ended. As of December 31, 2015 and 2014 and for the years then ended, all of our first and second lien debt investments were performing and current on their interest payments. Interest income from structured finance obligations is recorded based upon an estimation of an effective yield to expected maturity utilizing assumed cash flows. The effective yield is updated periodically based on payments received and expected future payments. In estimating these cash flows, there are a number of assumptions that are subject to uncertainties, including the amount and timing of principal payments which are impacted by prepayments, repurchases, defaults, delinquencies and liquidations of or within the CLO funds. These uncertainties are difficult to predict and are subject to future events that could have impacted our estimates if the information was known at the time. As a result, actual results may differ significantly from these estimates.
For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, we earned $6,635, $834 and $244, respectively, in other income. The increase in other income for the year ended December 31, 2016 from December 31, 2015 was primarily due to higher syndication and prepayment fees resulting from partial and/or full paydowns on select investments.
Our total dividend and interest income from investments in Credit Fund totaled $3,140 for the year ended December 31, 2016. We made our first investment in Credit Fund in February 2016.
Net investment income (loss) for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 was as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | |
| For the years ended December 31, |
| 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
Total investment income | $ | 110,971 |
| $ | 69,190 |
| $ | 32,984 |
|
Net expenses | (51,350) |
| (33,666) |
| (18,724) |
|
Net investment income (loss) | $ | 59,621 |
| $ | 35,524 |
| $ | 14,260 |
|
Expenses
|
| | | | | | | | | |
| For the years ended December 31, |
| 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
Base management fees | $ | 18,539 |
| $ | 13,361 |
| $ | 6,559 |
|
Incentive fees | 14,905 |
| 8,881 |
| 3,578 |
|
Professional fees | 2,103 |
| 1,845 |
| 2,169 |
|
Administrative service fees | 703 |
| 595 |
| 626 |
|
Interest expense | 16,462 |
| 9,582 |
| 3,648 |
|
Credit facility fees | 2,573 |
| 1,898 |
| 3,052 |
|
Directors’ fees and expenses | 553 |
| 419 |
| 395 |
|
Other general and administrative | 1,692 |
| 1,539 |
| 883 |
|
Waiver of base management fees | (6,180) |
| (4,454) |
| (2,186) |
|
Net expenses | $ | 51,350 |
| $ | 33,666 |
| $ | 18,724 |
|
Interest expense and credit facility fees for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 were comprised of the following:
|
| | | | | | | | | |
| For the years ended December 31, |
| 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
Interest expense | $ | 16,462 |
| $ | 9,582 |
| $ | 3,648 |
|
Facility unused commitment fee | 1,253 |
| 847 |
| 1,129 |
|
Amortization of deferred financing costs | 1,213 |
| 945 |
| 1,820 |
|
Other fees | 107 |
| 106 |
| 103 |
|
Total interest expense and credit facility fees | $ | 19,035 |
| $ | 11,480 |
| $ | 6,700 |
|
| | | |
Cash paid for interest expense | $ | 15,267 |
| $ | 8,083 |
| $ | 2,882 |
|
The increase in interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to the comparable period in 2015 was driven by increased drawings under the Facilities related to increased deployment of capital for investments, and additional debt issued through the securitization in the form of the 2015-1 Notes. For the year ended December 31, 2016, the average interest rate increased to 2.81% from 2.31% for the comparable period in 2015, and average principal debt outstanding increased to $580,734 from $406,638 for the comparable period in 2015.
The increase in interest expense for the year ended December 31, 2015 compared to the comparable period in 2014 was driven by increased drawings under the Facilities related to increased deployment of capital for investments. For the year ended December 31, 2015, the average interest rate increased to 2.31% from 2.18% for the comparable period in 2014, and average principal debt outstanding increased to $406,638 from $164,980 for the comparable period in 2014.
The increase in base management fees (and related waiver of base management fees) and incentive fees related to pre-incentive fee net investment income for the year ended December 31, 2016 from the comparable period in 2015 and for the year ended December 31, 2015 from the comparable period in 2014 was driven by our deployment of capital and our increasing invested balance. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, base management fees were $12,359, $8,907 and $4,373, respectively (net of waiver of $6,180, $4,454 and $2,186, respectively); incentive fees related to pre-incentive fee net investment income were $14,905, $8,881 and $3,578, respectively, and there were no incentive fees related to realized capital gains. For the year ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 we recorded no accrued capital gains incentive fees based upon our cumulative net realized and unrealized appreciation (depreciation) as of December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.
The accrual for any capital gains incentive fee under US GAAP in a given period may result in an additional expense if such cumulative amount is greater than in the prior period or a reduction of previously recorded expense if such cumulative amount is less than in the prior period. If such cumulative amount is negative, then there is no accrual.
Professional fees include legal, rating agencies, audit, tax, valuation, technology and other professional fees incurred related to the management of us. Administrative service fees represent fees paid to the Administrator for our allocable portion of overhead and other expenses incurred by the Administrator in performing its obligations under the Administration Agreement, including our allocable portion of the cost of certain of our executive officers and their respective staff. Other general and administrative expenses include insurance, filing, research, subscriptions and other costs. The increase in other general and administrative expenses for the year ended December 31, 2016 from the comparable period in 2015 and for the year ended in December 31, 2015 from the comparable period in 2014 was primarily driven by the increased deployment of capital.
Net Realized Gain (Loss) and Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on Investments
During the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, we had realized gains on 10, 8, and 4 investments, respectively, totaling approximately $864, $1,622, and $391, respectively, which was offset by realized losses on 14, 6, and 3 investments, respectively, totaling approximately $10,508, $458, and $319, respectively. During the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, we had a change in unrealized appreciation on 104, 48, and 25 investments, respectively, totaling approximately $41,130, $8,597, and $2,931, respectively, which was offset by a change in unrealized depreciation on 24, 71, and 65 investments, respectively, totaling approximately $21,298, $26,612, and $11,649, respectively.
Net realized gain (loss) and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, were as follows:
|
| | | | | | |
| For the years ended December 31, |
| | 2016 | | 2015 | | 2014 |
Net realized gain (loss) on investments | $ | (9,644) | $ | 1,164 | $ | 72 |
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | | 19,832 | | (18,015) | | (8,718) |
Net realized gain (loss) and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | $ | 10,188 | $ | (16,851) | $ | (8,646) |
Net realized gain (loss) and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) by the type of investments for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 were as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | For the years ended December 31, |
| 2016 | 2015 | 2014 |
Type | Net realized gain (loss) | Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) | Net realized gain (loss) | Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) | Net realized gain (loss) | Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) |
First Lien Debt | $ | 383 |
| $ | $ | 46 |
| $ | 208 |
| $ | (3,160) |
| $ | — |
| $ | (2,829) |
|
Second Lien Debt | | 275 |
| | 5,216 |
| | — |
| | (2,925) |
| | 120 |
| | (2,518) |
|
Structured Finance Obligations | | (10,302) |
| | 11,105 |
| | 956 |
| | (12,139) |
| | (48) |
| | (3,371) |
|
Equity Investments | | — |
| | 1,193 |
| | — |
| | 209 |
| | — |
| | — |
|
Investment Fund | | — |
| | 2,272 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
|
Total | $ | (9,644) |
| $ | 19,832 |
| $ | 1,164 |
| $ | (18,015) |
| $ | 72 |
| $ | (8,718) |
|
Net change in unrealized appreciation in our investments for the year ended December 31, 2016 compared to the comparable period in 2015 was primarily due to a tightening spread environment during the year. Net change in unrealized depreciation in our investments for the year ended December 31, 2015 compared to the comparable period in 2014 was primarily due to a widening spread environment during the last six months of the year.
MIDDLE MARKET CREDIT FUND, LLC
Overview
On February 29, 2016, we and Credit Partners entered into an amended and restated limited liability company agreement, which was subsequently amended on June 24, 2016 to co-manage Credit Fund, an unconsolidated Delaware limited liability company. Credit Fund primarily invests in first lien loans of middle market companies. Credit Fund is managed by a six-member board of managers, on which we and Credit Partners each have equal representation. Establishing a quorum for Credit Fund’s board of managers requires at least four members to be present at a meeting, including at least two of our representatives and two of Credit Partners’ representatives. We and Credit Partners each have 50% economic ownership of Credit Fund and have commitments to fund, from time to time, capital of up to $400,000 each. Funding of such commitments generally requires the approval of the board of Credit Fund, including the board members appointed by us. By virtue of its membership interest, the Company and Credit Partners each indirectly bear an allocable share of all expenses and other obligations of Credit Fund.
Together with Credit Partners, we co-invest through Credit Fund. Investment opportunities for Credit Fund are sourced primarily by us and our affiliates. Portfolio and investment decisions with respect to Credit Fund must be unanimously approved by a quorum of Credit Fund’s investment committee consisting of an equal number of representatives of us and Credit Partners. Therefore, although we own more than 25% of the voting securities of Credit Fund, we do not believe that we have control over Credit Fund (other than for purposes of the Investment Company Act). Middle Market Credit Fund SPV, LLC (the “Credit Fund Sub”), a Delaware limited liability company, was formed on April 5, 2016. Credit Fund Sub primarily invests in first lien loans of middle market companies. Credit Fund Sub is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Credit Fund and is consolidated in Credit Fund’s consolidated financial statements commencing from the date of its formation. Credit Fund follows the same Internal Risk Rating system as us.
Credit Fund, we and Credit Partners entered into an administration agreement with Carlyle GMS Finance Administration L.L.C., the administrative agent of Credit Fund (in such capacity, the “Administrative Agent”), pursuant to which the Administrative Agent is delegated certain administrative and non-discretionary functions, is authorized to enter into sub-administration agreements at our expense with the approval of the board of managers of Credit Fund, and is reimbursed by Credit Fund for its costs and expenses and Credit Fund’s allocable portion of overhead incurred by the Administrative Agent in performing its obligations thereunder.
Selected Financial Data
Since inception of Credit Fund and through September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company and Credit Partners each made capital contributions of $1 in members’ equity and $74,500 and $35,000, respectively, in subordinated loans to Credit Fund. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, Credit Fund had net borrowings of $112,300 and $62,384, respectively, in mezzanine loans under a revolving credit facility with the Company (the “Credit Fund Facility”). As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, Credit Fund had subordinated loans and members’ capital of $152,495 and $74,547, respectively. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company’s ownership interest in such subordinated loans and members’ capital was $76,247 and $37,273, respectively, and in such mezzanine loans was $112,300 and $62,384, respectively.
As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, Credit Fund held cash and cash equivalents totaling $14,767 and $6,103, respectively.
As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, Credit Fund had total investments at fair value of $823,129 and $437,829, respectively, which was comprised of first lien senior secured loans and second lien senior secured loans to 47 and 28 portfolio companies, respectively. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, no loans in Credit Fund’s portfolio were on non-accrual status or contained PIK provisions. All investments in the portfolio were floating rate debt investments with an interest rate floor. The portfolio companies in Credit Fund are U.S. middle market companies in industries similar to those in which the Company may invest directly. Additionally, as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, Credit Fund had commitments to fund various undrawn revolvers and delayed draw investments to its portfolio companies totaling $65,341 and $30,361, respectively.
Below is a summary of Credit Fund’s portfolio, followed by a listing of the loans in Credit Fund’s portfolio as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016:
|
| | | | | | | |
| As of September 30, 2017 | | As of December 31, 2016 |
Senior secured loans (1) | $ | 827,857 | | | $ | 439,086 | |
Weighted average yields of senior secured loans based on amortized cost (2) | 6.63 | % | | 6.47 | % |
Weighted average yields of senior secured loans based on fair value (2) | 6.60 | % | | 6.41 | % |
Number of portfolio companies in Credit Fund | 47 | | | 28 | |
Average amount per portfolio company (1) | $ | 17,614 | | | $ | 15,682 | |
| |
(1) | At par/principal amount. |
| |
(2) | Weighted average yields include the effect of accretion of discounts and amortization of premiums and are based on interest rates as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016. Weighted average yield on debt and income producing securities at fair value is computed as (a) the annual stated interest rate or yield earned plus the net annual amortization of OID and market discount earned on accruing debt included in such securities, divided by (b) total first lien and second lien debt at fair value included in such securities. Weighted average yield on debt and income producing securities at amortized cost is computed as (a) the annual stated interest rate or yield earned plus the net annual amortization of OID and market discount earned on accruing debt included in such securities, divided by (b) total first lien and second lien debt at amortized cost included in such securities. Actual yields earned over the life of each investment could differ materially from the yields presented above. |
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Consolidated Schedule of Investments as of September 30, 2017 (unaudited) |
Investments (1) | Industry | | Interest Rate | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (5) | | Fair Value (6) |
First Lien Debt (99.60% of fair value) | | | | | | | | | | | |
Acrisure, LLC (2) (3) (4) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/22/2023 | | | $ | 19,900 |
| | | | $ | 19,855 |
| | | | $ | 20,099 |
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Advanced Instruments, LLC (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) (11) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/31/2022 | | 11,940 | | | | 11,818 | | | | 11,904 | | |
Alpha Packaging Holdings, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/12/2020 | | 15,288 | | | | 15,236 | | | | 15,289 | | |
AM Conservation Holding Corporation (2) (3) (4) | Energy: Electricity | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/31/2022 | | 29,775 | | | | 29,530 | | | | 29,647 | | |
AMS Finco, S.A.R.L. (Alexander Mann Solutions) (United Kingdom) (2) (3) (4) (11) | Business Services | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/26/2024 | | 24,938 | | | | 24,700 | | | | 25,012 | | |
Anaren, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Telecommunications | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/18/2021 | | 10,065 | | | | 10,040 | | | | 10,065 | | |
AQA Acquisition Holding, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | High Tech Industries | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/24/2023 | | 27,472 | | | | 27,346 | | | | 27,469 | | |
Borchers, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/13/2024 | | 8,024 | | | | 7,982 | | | | 8,024 | | |
Brooks Equipment Company, LLC (2) (3) (4) | Construction & Building | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/29/2020 | | 7,196 | | | | 7,180 | | | | 7,195 | | |
Datapipe, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Telecommunications | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 3/15/2019 | | 9,675 | | | | 9,618 | | | | 9,675 | | |
DBI Holding LLC (2) (3) (4) (11) | Transportation: Cargo | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/1/2021 | | 19,850 | | | | 19,697 | | | | 19,832 | | |
DecoPac, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Non-durable Consumer Goods | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/29/2024 | | 13,286 | | | | 13,136 | | | | 13,218 | | |
Dent Wizard International Corporation (2) (3) (4) (11) | Automotive | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/7/2020 | | 24,564 | | | | 24,431 | | | | 24,530 | | |
DTI Holdco, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/30/2023 | | 19,800 | | | | 19,619 | | | | 19,008 | | |
EAG, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (11) | Business Services | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/28/2018 | | 8,231 | | | | 8,252 | | | | 8,231 | | |
EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (2) (3) (4) (8) (11) | Telecommunications | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/7/2021 | | 22,740 | | | | 22,178 | | | | 22,374 | | |
EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (2) (3) (4) (9) (11) | Telecommunications | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/7/2021 | | 1,500 | | | | 1,461 | | | | 1,480 | | |
Empower Payments Acquisitions, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/30/2023 | | 17,369 | | | | 17,050 | | | | 17,369 | | |
FCX Holdings Corp. (2) (3) (4) (11) | Capital Equipment | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/4/2020 | | 9,620 | | | | 9,578 | | | | 9,620 | | |
Golden West Packaging Group LLC (2) (3) (4) (11) | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/20/2023 | | 20,948 | | | | 20,754 | | | | 20,839 | | |
J.S. Held LLC (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/27/2023 | | 18,249 | | | | 18,057 | | | | 18,121 | | |
Jensen Hughes, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) (12) | Utilities: Electric | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/4/2021 | | 20,682 | | | | 20,491 | | | | 20,682 | | |
Kestra Financial, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/24/2022 | | 19,750 | | | | 19,514 | | | | 19,630 | | |
MSHC, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Construction & Building | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/31/2023 | | 10,000 | | | | 9,956 | | | | 9,990 | | |
North American Dental Management, LLC (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/7/2023 | | 16,869 | | | | 16,299 | | | | 16,574 | | |
PAI Holdco, Inc. (Parts Authority) (2) (3) (4) | Automotive | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/30/2022 | | 9,875 | | | | 9,817 | | | | 9,875 | | |
Paradigm Acquisition Corp. (2) (3) (4) | Business Services | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/2/2022 | | 11,909 | | | | 11,820 | | | | 11,909 | | |
Pasternack Enterprises, Inc. (Infinite RF) (2) (3) (4) (11) | Capital Equipment | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/27/2022 | | 20,280 | | | | 20,181 | | | | 20,278 | | |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Consolidated Schedule of Investments as of September 30, 2017 (unaudited) |
Investments (1) | Industry | | Interest Rate | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (5) | | Fair Value (6) |
Premier Senior Marketing, LLC (2) (3) (4) (11) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/1/2022 | | $ | 8,722 | | | | $ | 8,680 | | | | $ | 8,665 | | |
PSI Services LLC (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) (11) | Business Services | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/19/2023 | | 30,828 | | | | 30,278 | | | | 30,238 | | |
Q Holding Company (2) (3) (4) | Automotive | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/18/2021 | | 17,322 | | | | 17,233 | | | | 17,322 | | |
QW Holding Corporation (Quala) (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Environmental Industries | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/31/2022 | | 10,400 | | | | 9,777 | | | | 9,994 | | |
Restaurant Technologies, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Retail | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/23/2022 | | 17,412 | | | | 17,275 | | | | 17,226 | | |
Sovos Brands Intermediate, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Beverage, Food & Tobacco | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/18/2024 | | 21,622 | | | | 21,513 | | | | 21,619 | | |
Superion, LLC (fka Ramundsen Public Sector, LLC) (2) (3) (4) | Sovereign & Public Finance | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/1/2024 | | 3,980 | | | | 3,964 | | | | 3,980 | | |
Surgical Information Systems, LLC (2) (3) (4) (9) (11) | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/24/2023 | | 30,000 | | | | 29,718 | | | | 29,991 | | |
Systems Maintenance Services Holding, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (11) | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/30/2023 | | 24,316 | | | | 24,155 | | | | 24,076 | | |
T2 Systems Canada, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Transportation: Consumer | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/28/2022 | | 2,680 | | | | 2,621 | | | | 2,656 | | |
T2 Systems, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Transportation: Consumer | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/28/2022 | | 15,967 | | | | 15,600 | | | | 15,818 | | |
Teaching Strategies, LLC (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) (11) | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/27/2023 | | 18,009 | | | | 17,840 | | | | 17,936 | | |
The Original Cakerie, Ltd. (Canada) (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Beverage, Food & Tobacco | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/20/2021 | | 6,957 | | | | 6,892 | | | | 6,957 | | |
The Original Cakerie, Co. (Canada) (2) (3) (4) | Beverage, Food & Tobacco | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/20/2021 | | 3,594 | | | | 3,580 | | | | 3,594 | | |
U.S. Acute Care Solutions, LLC (2) (3) (4) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/15/2021 | | 32,111 | | | | 31,874 | | | | 31,723 | | |
U.S. TelePacific Holdings Corp. (2) (3) (4) (11) | Telecommunications | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/2/2023 | | 29,925 | | | | 29,632 | | | | 29,177 | | |
Valicor Environmental Services, LLC (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) (11) | Environmental Industries | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/1/2023 | | 19,977 | | | | 19,492 | | | | 19,692 | | |
Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc. (2) (4) (11) | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | P + 3.50% | | 2/5/2021 | | 22,218 | | | | 22,142 | | | | 22,218 | | |
WIRB - Copernicus Group, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/12/2022 | | 14,875 | | | | 14,806 | | | | 14,875 | | |
WRE Holding Corp. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Environmental Industries | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/3/2023 | | 5,028 | | | | 4,936 | | | | 4,976 | | |
Zest Holdings, LLC (2) (3) (4) (11) | Durable Consumer Goods | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/16/2023 | | 21,500 | | | | 21,448 | | | | 21,657 | | |
Zywave, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/17/2022 | | 17,369 | | | | 17,207 | | | | 17,529 | | |
First Lien Debt Total | | | | | | | | | 816,259 | | | | 819,858 | | |
Second Lien Debt (0.40% of fair value) | | | | | | | | | | | |
Superion, LLC (fka Ramundsen Public Sector, LLC) (2) (3) (7) | Sovereign & Public Finance | | L + 8.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/31/2025 | | | $ | 200 |
| | | | $ | 198 |
| | | | $ | 203 |
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Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc. (2) (4) (11) | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | P + 7.75% | | 2/5/2022 | | 2,000 | | | | 1,968 | | | | 2,000 | | |
Zywave, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | High Tech Industries | | L + 9.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/17/2023 | | 1,050 | | | | 1,036 | | | | 1,068 | | |
Second Lien Debt Total | | | | | | | | | | $ | 3,202 |
| | | | $ | 3,271 |
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Total Investments | | | | | | | | | | $ | 819,461 |
| | | | $ | 823,129 |
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(1) | Unless otherwise indicated, issuers of investments held by Credit Fund are domiciled in the United States. As of September 30, 2017, the geographical composition of investments as a percentage of fair value was 1.28% in Canada, 3.04% in the United Kingdom, and 95.68% in the United States. |
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(2) | Variable rate loans to the portfolio companies bear interest at a rate that may be determined by reference to either LIBOR or an alternate base rate (commonly based on the Federal Funds Rate or P), which generally resets quarterly. For each such loan, Credit Fund has provided the interest rate in effect as of September 30, 2017. As of September 30, 2017, all of Credit Fund’s LIBOR loans |
were indexed to the 90-day LIBOR rate at 1.34%, except for those loans as indicated in Note 11 below, and the Prime Rate loan was indexed at 4.25%.
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(3) | Loan includes interest rate floor feature. |
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(4) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by Credit Fund Sub. Credit Fund Sub has entered into a revolving credit facility (the “Credit Fund Sub Facility”). The lenders of the Credit Fund Sub Facility have a first lien security interest in substantially all of the assets of Credit Fund Sub. Accordingly, such assets are not available to creditors of Credit Fund. |
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(5) | Amortized cost represents original cost, including origination fees and upfront fees received that are deemed to be an adjustment to yield, adjusted for the accretion/amortization of discounts/premiums, as applicable, on debt investments using the effective interest method. |
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(6) | Fair value is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the board of managers of Credit Fund, pursuant to Credit Fund’s valuation policy, with the fair value of all investments determined using significant unobservable inputs, which is substantially similar to the valuation policy of the Company provided in “—Critical Accounting Policies—Fair Value Measurements.” |
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(7) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by Credit Fund. Credit Fund has entered into the Credit Fund Facility. The lenders of the Credit Fund Facility have a first lien security interest in substantially all of the assets of Credit Fund. Accordingly, such assets are not available to creditors of Credit Fund Sub. |
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(8) | Credit Fund receives less than the stated interest rate of this loan as a result of an agreement among lenders. The interest rate reduction is 1.25% on EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP). Pursuant to the agreement among lenders in respect of this loan, this investment represents a first lien/first out loan, which has first priority ahead of the first lien/last out loan with respect to principal, interest and other payments. |
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(9) | In addition to the interest earned based on the stated interest rate of this loan, which is the amount reflected in this schedule, Credit Fund is entitled to receive additional interest as a result of an agreement among lenders as follows: EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (3.98%) and Surgical Information Systems, LLC (1.01%). Pursuant to the agreement among lenders in respect of these loans, these investments represent a first lien/last out loan, which has a secondary priority behind the first lien/first out loan with respect to principal, interest and other payments. |
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(10) | As of September 30, 2017, Credit Fund had the following unfunded commitments to fund delayed draw and revolving senior secured loans: |
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First Lien Debt—unfunded delayed draw and revolving term loans commitments | | Type | | Unused Fee | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Fair Value |
Advanced Instruments, LLC | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | $ | 1,333 | | $ | (4) |
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Alpha Packaging Holdings, Inc. | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 1,780 | | — | |
AQA Acquisition Holding, Inc. | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 2,459 | | — | |
Borchers, Inc. | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,935 | | — | |
DecoPac, Inc. | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,714 | | (8) | |
Jensen Hughes, Inc. | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 1,461 | | — | |
Jensen Hughes, Inc. | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 2,000 | | — | |
J.S. Held LLC | | Delayed Draw | | 0.50 | % | | 2,253 | | (14) | |
North American Dental Management, LLC | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 10,101 | | (99) | |
North American Dental Management, LLC | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 3,030 | | (30) | |
PSI Services LLC | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 226 | | (4) | |
QW Holding Corporation (Quala) | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 7,515 | | (134) | |
QW Holding Corporation (Quala) | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 4,948 | | (88) | |
Sovos Brands Intermediate, Inc. | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 3,378 | | — | |
T2 Systems, Inc. | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,173 | | (10) | |
Teaching Strategies, LLC | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,900 | | (7) | |
The Original Cakerie, Ltd. (Canada) | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,665 | | — | |
Valicor Environmental Services, LLC | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 5,825 | | (55) | |
Valicor Environmental Services, LLC | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 4,197 | | (40) | |
WRE Holding Corp. | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 4,125 | | (21) | |
WRE Holding Corp. | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 823 | | (4) | |
Zywave, Inc. | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,500 | | 13 | |
Total unfunded commitments | | | | | | $ | 65,341 | | $ | (505) |
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(11) | As of September 30, 2017, this LIBOR loan was indexed to the 30-day LIBOR rate at 1.23%. |
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(12) | As of September 30, 2017, this LIBOR loan was indexed to the 180-day LIBOR rate at 1.51%. |
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Consolidated Schedule of Investments as of December 31, 2016 |
Investments (1) | | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (5) | | Fair Value (6) |
First Lien Debt (99.31% of fair value) | | | | | | | | | | | | |
AM Conservation Holding Corporation (2) (3) (4) | | Energy: Electricity | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/31/2022 | | | $ | 30,000 |
| | | | $ | 29,721 |
| | | | $ | 29,925 |
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Datapipe, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (11) | | Telecommunications | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 3/15/2019 | | 9,750 | | | | 9,654 | | | | 9,764 | | |
Dimora Brands, Inc. (fka TK USA Enterprises, Inc.) (2) (3) (4) (11) | | Construction & Building | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/4/2023 | | 19,850 | | | | 19,580 | | | | 19,723 | | |
Diversitech Corporation (2) (4) (10) (11) | | Capital Equipment | | P + 3.50% | | 11/19/2021 | | 14,803 | | | | 14,617 | | | | 14,803 | | |
DTI Holdco, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) | | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/30/2023 | | 19,950 | | | | 19,751 | | | | 19,651 | | |
DYK Prime Acquisition LLC (2) (3) (4) | | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/1/2022 | | 5,775 | | | | 5,735 | | | | 5,775 | | |
EAG, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (11) | | Business Services | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/28/2018 | | 8,713 | | | | 8,686 | | | | 8,720 | | |
EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (2) (3) (4) (8) | | Telecommunications | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/7/2021 | | 22,971 | | | | 22,323 | | | | 22,509 | | |
EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (2) (3) (4) (9) | | Telecommunications | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/7/2021 | | 1,500 | | | | 1,455 | | | | 1,468 | | |
Empower Payments Acquisitions, Inc. (2) (3) (7) | | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/30/2023 | | 17,500 | | | | 17,154 | | | | 17,279 | | |
Generation Brands Holdings, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | | Durable Consumer Goods | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/10/2022 | | 19,900 | | | | 19,712 | | | | 20,099 | | |
Jensen Hughes, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (10) | | Utilities: Electric | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/4/2021 | | 20,409 | | | | 20,188 | | | | 20,327 | | |
Kestra Financial, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/24/2022 | | 19,900 | | | | 19,632 | | | | 19,814 | | |
MSHC, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (10) | | Construction & Building | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/19/2021 | | 13,177 | | | | 13,062 | | | | 13,003 | | |
PAI Holdco, Inc. (Parts Authority) (2) (3) (4) | | Automotive | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/30/2022 | | 9,950 | | | | 9,886 | | | | 9,950 | | |
Pasternack Enterprises, Inc. (Infinite RF) (2) (3) (4) | | Capital Equipment | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/27/2022 | | 11,941 | | | | 11,844 | | | | 11,941 | | |
Q Holding Company (2) (3) (4) | | Automotive | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/18/2021 | | 13,964 | | | | 13,828 | | | | 13,941 | | |
QW Holding Corporation (Quala) (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | | Environmental Industries | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/31/2022 | | 8,975 | | | | 8,413 | | | | 9,030 | | |
RelaDyne Inc. (2) (3) (4) (10) | | Wholesale | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/22/2022 | | 23,514 | | | | 23,117 | | | | 23,443 | | |
Restaurant Technologies, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | | Retail | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/23/2022 | | 14,000 | | | | 13,871 | | | | 13,969 | | |
Systems Maintenance Services Holding, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/30/2023 | | 12,000 | | | | 11,885 | | | | 12,001 | | |
T2 Systems Canada, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (11) | | Transportation: Consumer | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/28/2022 | | 2,700 | | | | 2,635 | | | | 2,727 | | |
T2 Systems, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (10) (11) | | Transportation: Consumer | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/28/2022 | | 15,300 | | | | 14,888 | | | | 15,473 | | |
The Original Cakerie, Ltd. (Canada) (2) (3) (4) (10) | | Beverage, Food & Tobacco | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/20/2021 | | 7,009 | | | | 6,946 | | | | 7,009 | | |
The Original Cakerie, Co. (Canada) (2) (3) (4) | | Beverage, Food & Tobacco | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/20/2021 | | 3,621 | | | | 3,591 | | | | 3,621 | | |
U.S. Acute Care Solutions, LLC (2) (3) (4) | | Health & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/15/2021 | | 26,400 | | | | 26,154 | | | | 26,336 | | |
U.S. Anesthesia Partners, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | | Health & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/31/2019 | | 10,374 | | | | 10,275 | | | | 10,362 | | |
Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (11) | | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/5/2021 | | 17,910 | | | | 17,786 | | | | 17,903 | | |
WIRB—Copernicus Group, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | | Health & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/12/2022 | | 7,980 | | | | 7,916 | | | | 8,050 | | |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Consolidated Schedule of Investments as of December 31, 2016 |
Investments (1) | | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (5) | | Fair Value (6) |
Zest Holdings, LLC (2) (3) (4) | | Durable Consumer Goods | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/16/2020 | | $ | 8,700 | | | | $ | 8,658 | | | | $ | 8,749 | | |
Zywave, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/17/2022 | | | 17,500 |
| | | | 17,315 |
| | | | 17,434 |
| |
First Lien Debt Total | | | | | | | | | | $ | 430,278 |
| | | $ | 434,799 |
| |
Second Lien Debt (0.69% of fair value) | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (11) | | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 8.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/5/2022 | | | $ | 2,000 |
| | | $ | 1,960 |
| | | $ | 1,987 |
| |
Zywave, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | | High Tech Industries | | L + 9.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/17/2023 | | 1,050 | | | | 1,034 | | | | 1,043 | | |
Second Lien Debt Total | | | | | | | | | | $ | 2,994 |
| | | $ | 3,030 |
| |
Total Investments | | | | | | | | | | $ | 433,272 |
| | | $ | 437,829 |
| |
| |
(1) | Unless otherwise indicated, issuers of investments held by Credit Fund are domiciled in the United States. As of December 31, 2016, the geographical composition of investments as a percentage of fair value was 2.43% in Canada and 97.57% in the United States. |
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(2) | Variable rate loans to the portfolio companies bear interest at a rate that may be determined by reference to either L or an alternate base rate (commonly based on the Federal Funds Rate or P), which generally resets quarterly. For each such loan, Credit Fund has provided the interest rate in effect as of December 31, 2016. As of December 31, 2016, all of Credit Fund’s LIBOR loans were indexed to the 90-day LIBOR rate at 1.00%, except for those loans as indicated in Note 11 below, and the Prime Rate loan was indexed at 3.75%. |
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(3) | Loan includes interest rate floor feature. |
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(4) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by Credit Fund Sub. Credit Fund Sub has entered into the Credit Fund Sub Facility. The lenders of the Credit Fund Sub Facility have a first lien security interest in substantially all of the assets of Credit Fund Sub. Accordingly, such assets are not available to creditors of Credit Fund. |
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(5) | Amortized cost represents original cost, including origination fees and upfront fees received that are deemed to be an adjustment to yield, adjusted for the accretion/amortization of discounts/premiums, as applicable, on debt investments using the effective interest method. |
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(6) | Fair value is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the board of managers of Credit Fund, pursuant to Credit Fund’s valuation policy, which is substantially similar to the valuation policy of the Company provided in “—Critical Accounting Policies—Fair Value Measurements.” |
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(7) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by Credit Fund. Credit Fund has entered into the Credit Fund Facility. The lenders of the Credit Fund Facility have a first lien security interest in substantially all of the assets of Credit Fund. Accordingly, such assets are not available to creditors of Credit Fund Sub. |
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(8) | Credit Fund receives less than the stated interest rate of this loan as a result of an agreement among lenders. The interest rate reduction is 1.25% on EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP). Pursuant to the agreement among lenders in respect of this loan, this investment represents a first lien/first out loan, which has first priority ahead of the first lien/last out loan with respect to principal, interest and other payments. |
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(9) | In addition to the interest earned based on the stated interest rate of this loan, which is the amount reflected in this schedule, Credit Fund is entitled to receive additional interest as a result of an agreement among lenders as follows: EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (3.84%). Pursuant to the agreement among lenders in respect of this loan, this investment represents a first lien/last out loan, which has a secondary priority behind the first lien/first out loan with respect to principal, interest and other payments. |
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(10) | As of December 31, 2016, Credit Fund had the following unfunded commitments to fund delayed draw and revolving senior secured loans: |
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
First Lien Debt—unfunded delayed draw and revolving term loans commitments | | Type | | Unused Fee | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Fair Value |
Diversitech Corporation | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | $ | 5,000 | | | $ | — |
|
Jensen Hughes, Inc. | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 2,000 | | | (7) | |
Jensen Hughes, Inc. | | Delayed Draw | | 0.50 | % | | 1,461 | | | (5) | |
MSHC, Inc. | | Delayed Draw | | 1.50 | % | | 1,790 | | | (21) | |
QW Holding Corporation (Quala) | | Revolver | | 1.00 | % | | 5,086 | | | 14 | |
QW Holding Corporation (Quala) | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 5,918 | | | 17 | |
RelaDyne Inc. | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 2,162 | | | (6) | |
RelaDyne Inc. | | Delayed Draw | | 0.50 | % | | 1,824 | | | (5) | |
T2 Systems, Inc. | | Revolver | | 1.00 | % | | 1,955 | | | 20 | |
The Original Cakerie, Ltd. (Canada) | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,665 | | | — | |
Zywave, Inc. | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,500 | | | (5) | |
Total unfunded commitments | | | | | | $ | 30,361 | | | $ | 2 |
|
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(11) | As of December 31, 2016, this LIBOR loan was indexed to the 30-day LIBOR rate at 0.77%. |
Below is certain summarized consolidated financial information for Credit Fund as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively. Credit Fund commenced operations in May 2016.
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| | | | | | | |
| | September 30, 2017 | | December 31, 2016 |
| | (unaudited) | | |
Selected Consolidated Balance Sheet Information | | | | |
ASSETS | | | | |
Investments, at fair value (amortized cost of $819,461 and $433,272, respectively) | | $ | 823,129 | | | $ | 437,829 |
Cash and other assets | | 21,868 | | | 11,326 |
Total assets | | $ | 844,997 | | | $ | 449,155 |
LIABILITIES AND MEMBERS’ EQUITY | | | | |
Secured borrowings | | $ | 566,061 | | | $ | 248,540 |
Mezzanine loans | | 112,300 | | | 62,384 |
Other liabilities | | 14,141 | | | 63,684 |
Subordinated loans and members’ equity | | 152,495 | | | 74,547 |
Liabilities and members’ equity | | $ | 844,997 | | | $ | 449,155 |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | For the three month periods ended | | For the nine month periods ended |
| | September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 | | September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 |
| | (unaudited) | | (unaudited) | | (unaudited) | | (unaudited) |
Selected Consolidated Statement of Operations Information: | | | | | | | | |
Total investment income | | $ | 14,914 |
| | $ | 3,642 | | $ | 33,802 |
| | $ | 3,658 |
Expenses | | | | | | | | |
Interest and credit facility expenses | | 8,809 | | | 1,798 | | 21,204 | | | 1,836 |
Other expenses | | 356 | | | 496 | | 1,041 | | | 883 |
Total expenses | | 9,165 | | | 2,294 | | 22,245 | | | 2,719 |
Net investment income (loss) | | 5,749 | | | 1,348 | | 11,557 | | | 939 |
Net realized gain (loss) on investments | | — | | | 41 | | — | | | 41 |
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | | (2,076) | | | 3,798 | | (889) | | | 3,634 |
Net increase (decrease) resulting from operations | | $ | 3,673 |
| | $ | 5,187 | | $ | 10,668 |
| | $ | 4,614 |
Debt
Credit Fund Facility
On June 24, 2016, Credit Fund entered into the Credit Fund Facility with us pursuant to which Credit Fund may from time to time request mezzanine loans from us, which was subsequently amended on June 5, 2017. The maximum principal amount of the Credit Fund Facility is $125,000. The maturity date of the Credit Fund Facility is June 24, 2018. Amounts borrowed under the Credit Fund Facility bear interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 9.00%.
During the three month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, there were mezzanine loan borrowings of $7,600 and $53,200, respectively, and repayments of $8,400 and $22,400, respectively, under the Credit Fund Facility. During the nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, there were mezzanine loan borrowings of $91,760 and $54,200, respectively, and repayments of $41,844 and $22,400, respectively, under the Credit Fund Facility. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, there were $112,300 and $62,384 in mezzanine loans outstanding, respectively.
Credit Fund Sub Facility
On June 24, 2016, Credit Fund Sub closed on the Credit Fund Sub Facility with lenders, which was subsequently amended on May 31, 2017. The Credit Fund Sub Facility provides for secured borrowings during the applicable revolving period up to an amount equal to $640,000. The facility is secured by a first lien security interest in substantially all of the portfolio investments held by Credit Fund Sub. The maturity date of the Credit Fund Sub Facility is May 22, 2023. Amounts borrowed under the Credit Fund Sub Facility bear interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 2.50%.
During the three month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, there were secured borrowings of $59,900 and $187,225, respectively, and repayments of $39,784 and $0, respectively, under the Credit Fund Sub Facility. During the nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, there were secured borrowings of $357,305 and $206,075, respectively,
and repayments of $39,784 and $0, respectively, under the Credit Fund Sub Facility. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, there was $566,061 and $248,540 in secured borrowings outstanding, respectively.
FINANCIAL CONDITION, LIQUIDITY AND CAPITAL RESOURCES
We generate cash from the net proceeds of offerings of our common stock and through cash flows from operations, including investment sales and repayments as well as income earned on investments and cash equivalents. We may also fund a portion of our investments through borrowings under the Facilities, as well as through securitization of a portion of our existing investments.
The SPV closed on May 24, 2013 on the SPV Credit Facility, which was subsequently amended on June 30, 2014, June 19, 2015, June 9, 2016 and May 26, 2017. The SPV Credit Facility provides for secured borrowings during the applicable revolving period up to an amount equal to the lesser of $400,000 (the borrowing base as calculated pursuant to the terms of the SPV Credit Facility) and the amount of net cash proceeds and unpledged capital commitments the Company has received, with an accordion feature that can, subject to certain conditions, increase the aggregate maximum credit commitment up to an amount not to exceed $750,000, subject to restrictions imposed on borrowings under the Investment Company Act and certain restrictions and conditions set forth in the SPV Credit Facility, including adequate collateral to support such borrowings. The SPV Credit Facility imposes financial and operating covenants on us and the SPV that restrict our and its business activities. Continued compliance with these covenants will depend on many factors, some of which are beyond our control.
We closed on March 21, 2014 on the Credit Facility, which was subsequently amended on January 8, 2015, May 25, 2016 and March 22, 2017. The maximum principal amount of the Credit Facility is $383,000, subject to availability under the Credit Facility, which is based on certain advance rates multiplied by the value of the Company’s portfolio investments (subject to certain concentration limitations) net of certain other indebtedness that the Company may incur in accordance with the terms of the Credit Facility. Proceeds of the Credit Facility may be used for general corporate purposes, including the funding of portfolio investments. Maximum capacity under the Credit Facility may be increased, subject to certain conditions, to $550,000 through the exercise by the Company of an uncommitted accordion feature through which existing and new lenders may, at their option, agree to provide additional financing. The Credit Facility includes a $20,000 limit for swingline loans and a $5,000 limit for letters of credit. Subject to certain exceptions, the Credit Facility is secured by a first lien security interest in substantially all of the portfolio investments held by the Company. The Credit Facility includes customary covenants, including certain financial covenants related to asset coverage, shareholders’ equity and liquidity, certain limitations on the incurrence of additional indebtedness and liens, and other maintenance covenants, as well as usual and customary events of default for senior secured revolving credit facilities of this nature.
As of September 30, 2017, we were in material compliance with the financial and reporting covenants of our Facilities and 2015-1 Notes. Although we believe that we and the SPV will remain in compliance, there are no assurances that we or the SPV will continue to comply with the covenants in the Credit Facility and SPV Credit Facility, as applicable. Failure to comply with these covenants could result in a default under the Credit Facility and/or the SPV Credit Facility that, if we or the SPV were unable to obtain a waiver from the applicable lenders, could result in the immediate acceleration of the amounts due under the Credit Facility and/or the SPV Credit Facility, and thereby have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
For more information on the SPV Credit Facility and the Credit Facility, see Note 6 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.
The primary use of existing funds and any funds raised in the future is expected to be for investments in portfolio companies, repayment of indebtedness, cash distributions to our stockholders and for other general corporate purposes.
On June 26, 2015, we completed the 2015-1 Debt Securitization. 2015-1 Notes were issued by the 2015-1 Issuer, a wholly-owned and consolidated subsidiary of us, and are secured by a diversified portfolio of the 2015-1 Issuer consisting primarily of first and second lien senior secured loans. The 2015-1 Debt Securitization was executed through a private placement of the 2015-1 Notes, consisting of $160,000 of Aaa/AAA Class A-1A Notes, which bear interest at the three-month LIBOR plus 1.85%; $40,000 of Aaa/AAA Class A-1B Notes, which bear interest at the three-month LIBOR plus 1.75% for the first 24 months and the three-month LIBOR plus 2.05% thereafter; $27,000 of Aaa/AAA Class A-1C Notes, which bear interest at 3.75%; and $46,000 of Aa2 Class A-2 Notes which bear interest at the three-month LIBOR plus 2.70%. The 2015-1 Notes were issued at par and are scheduled to mature on July 15, 2027. We received 100% of the Preferred Interests issued by the 2015-1 Issuer on the closing date of the 2015-1 Debt Securitization in exchange for our contribution to the Issuer of the initial closing date loan portfolio. The Preferred Interests do not bear interest and had a nominal value of $125,900 at closing. In connection with the contribution, we have made customary representations, warranties and covenants to the 2015-1 Issuer. The
Class A-1A, Class A-1B and Class A-1C and Class A-2 Notes are included in our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus. The Preferred Interests were eliminated in consolidation. For more information on the 2015-1 Notes, see Note 7 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus.
As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company had $35,149 and $38,489, respectively, in cash and cash equivalents. The Facilities consisted of the following as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016:
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| | | | | | | | | | | |
| September 30, 2017 |
| Total Facility | | Borrowings Outstanding | | Unused Portion (1) | | Amount Available (2) |
SPV Credit Facility | $ | 400,000 | | $ | 329,769 | | $ | 70,231 | | $ | 2,664 |
Credit Facility | 383,000 | | 249,000 | | 134,000 | | 134,000 |
Total | $ | 783,000 | | $ | 578,769 | | $ | 204,231 | | $ | 136,664 |
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| | | | | | | | | | | |
| December 31, 2016 |
| Total Facility | | Borrowings Outstanding | | Unused Portion (1) | | Amount Available (2) |
SPV Credit Facility | $ | 400,000 | | $ | 252,885 | | $ | 147,115 | | $ | 5,988 |
Credit Facility | 220,000 | | 169,000 | | 51,000 | | 51,000 |
Total | $ | 620,000 | | $ | 421,885 | | $ | 198,115 | | $ | 56,988 |
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(1) | The unused portion is the amount upon which commitment fees are based. |
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(2) | Available for borrowing based on the computation of collateral to support the borrowings and subject to compliance with applicable covenants and financial ratios. |
The following were the carrying values (before debt issuance costs) and fair values of the Company’s 2015-1 Notes as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016:
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| | | | | | | | | | | |
| September 30, 2017 | | December 31, 2016 |
| Carrying Value | | Fair Value | | Carrying Value | | Fair Value |
Aaa/AAA Class A-1A Notes | $ | 160,000 | | $ | 160,030 | | $ | 160,000 | | $ | 160,072 |
Aaa/AAA Class A-1B Notes | 40,000 | | 40,009 | | 40,000 | | 39,960 |
Aaa/AAA Class A-1C Notes | 27,000 | | 27,009 | | 27,000 | | 26,951 |
Aa2 Class A-2 Notes | 46,000 | | 46,008 | | 46,000 | | 45,784 |
Total | $ | 273,000 | | $ | 273,056 | | $ | 273,000 | | $ | 272,767 |
As of September 30, 2017, we had a combined $851,769 of outstanding consolidated indebtedness under our Facilities and 2015-1 Notes. Our annualized interest cost as of September 30, 2017, was 3.37%, excluding fees (such as fees on undrawn amounts and amortization of upfront fees).
Equity Activity
On June 9, 2017, in connection with the NFIC Acquisition, the Company issued 434,233 shares of common stock valued at approximately $8,046. See Note 13 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for additional information regarding the NFIC Acquisition.
On June 19, 2017, we closed our initial public offering, issuing 9,454,200 shares of our common stock (including shares issued pursuant to the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option on July 5, 2017) at a public offering price of $18.50 per share. Net of underwriting costs, we received cash proceeds of $169,488. Shares of common stock of TCG BDC began trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CGBD” on June 14, 2017. Upon the completion of our initial public offering, uncalled capital commitments payable to the Company by the Company’s pre-initial public offering investors were automatically reduced to zero.
Shares issued as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 were 61,859,848 and 41,702,318, respectively.
The following table summarizes activity in the number of shares of our common stock outstanding during the nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016:
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| | | | | |
| For the nine month periods ended |
| September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 |
Shares outstanding, beginning of period | 41,702,318 | | | 31,524,083 | |
Common stock issued | 20,146,560 | | | 8,256,770 | |
Reinvestment of dividends | 10,970 | | | 10,629 | |
Shares outstanding, end of period | 61,859,848 | | | 39,791,482 | |
Contractual Obligations
A summary of our significant contractual payment obligations was as follows as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016:
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | SPV Credit Facility and Credit Facility | | 2015-1 Notes |
Payment Due by Period | | September 30, 2017 | | December 31, 2016 | | September 30, 2017 | | December 31, 2016 |
Less than 1 Year | | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
|
1-3 Years | | — | | | — | | | — | | | — | |
3-5 Years | | 578,769 | | | 421,885 | | | — | | | — | |
More than 5 Years | | — | | | — | | | 273,000 | | | 273,000 | |
Total | | $ | 578,769 |
| | $ | 421,885 |
| | $ | 273,000 |
| | $ | 273,000 |
|
As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, $329,769 and $252,885, respectively, of secured borrowings were outstanding under the SPV Credit Facility, $249,000 and $169,000, respectively, were outstanding under the Credit Facility and $273,000 of 2015-1 Notes were outstanding. For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017, we incurred $5,922 and $16,694, respectively, of interest expense and $309 and $925, respectively, of unused commitment fees. For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2016, we incurred $4,051 and $11,475, respectively, of interest expense and $351 and $1,034, respectively, of unused commitment fees.
OFF BALANCE SHEET ARRANGEMENTS
In the ordinary course of our business, we enter into contracts or agreements that contain indemnifications or warranties. Future events could occur which may give rise to liabilities arising from these provisions against us. We believe that the likelihood of such an event is remote; however, the maximum potential exposure is unknown. No accrual has been made in these consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 included elsewhere in this prospectus for any such exposure.
We have in the past and may in the future become obligated to fund commitments such as revolving credit facilities, bridge financing commitments, or delayed draw commitments.
We had the following unfunded commitments to fund delayed draw and revolving senior secured loans as of the indicated dates:
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| | | | | |
| Principal Amount as of |
| September 30, 2017 | | December 31, 2016 |
Unfunded delayed draw commitments | $ | 94,140 | | $ | 35,704 |
Unfunded revolving term loan commitments | 37,683 | | 24,063 |
Total unfunded commitments | $ | 131,823 | | $ | 59,767 |
Pursuant to an undertaking by us in connection with the 2015-1 Debt Securitization, we agreed to hold on an ongoing basis Preferred Interests with an aggregate dollar purchase price at least equal to 5% of the aggregate outstanding amount of all collateral obligations by the 2015-1 Issuer for so long as any securities of the 2015-1 Issuer remains outstanding. As of September 30, 2017, we were in compliance with this undertaking.
DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS TO COMMON STOCKHOLDERS
We have an “opt out” dividend reinvestment plan that provides for reinvestment of our dividends and other distributions on behalf of our stockholders, other than those stockholders who have “opted out” of the plan. As a result of adopting the plan, if our Board authorizes, and we declare, a cash dividend or distribution, our stockholders who have not elected to “opt out” of our dividend reinvestment plan will have their cash dividends or distributions automatically reinvested in additional shares of our common stock, rather than receiving cash. Each registered stockholder may elect to have such stockholder’s dividends and distributions distributed in cash rather than participate in the plan. For any registered stockholder that does not so elect, distributions on such stockholder’s shares will be reinvested by State Street, our plan administrator, in additional shares. The number of shares to be issued to the stockholder will be determined based on the total dollar amount of the cash distribution payable, net of applicable withholding taxes. We intend to use primarily newly issued shares to implement the plan so long as the market value per share is equal to or greater than the NAV per share on the relevant valuation date. If the market value per share is less than the NAV per share on the relevant valuation date, the plan administrator would implement the plan through the purchase of common stock on behalf of participants in the open market, unless we instruct the plan administrator otherwise.
The following table summarizes our dividends declared and payable since inception through September 30, 2017:
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Date Declared | | Record Date | | Payment Date | | Per Share Amount | | Total Amount | | Annualized Dividend Yield (1) |
March 13, 2014 | | March 31, 2014 | | April 14, 2014 | | $ | 0.19 | | | $ | 2,449 | | | 4.76 | % |
June 26, 2014 | | June 30, 2014 | | July 14, 2014 | | $ | 0.27 | | | $ | 3,481 | | | 5.52 | % |
September 12, 2014 | | September 18, 2014 | | October 9, 2014 | | $ | 0.44 | | | $ | 5,956 | | | 9.23 | % |
December 19, 2014 | | December 29, 2014 | | January 26, 2015 | | $ | 0.35 | | | $ | 6,276 | | | 8.17 | % |
March 11, 2015 | | March 13, 2015 | | April 17, 2015 | | $ | 0.37 | | | $ | 7,833 | | | 8.58 | % |
June 24, 2015 | | June 30, 2015 | | July 22, 2015 | | $ | 0.37 | | | $ | 9,902 | | | 9.03 | % |
September 24, 2015 | | September 24, 2015 | | October 22, 2015 | | $ | 0.42 | | | $ | 11,670 | | | 8.91 | % |
December 29, 2015 | | December 29, 2015 | | January 22, 2016 | | $ | 0.40 | | | $ | 12,610 | | | 8.97 | % |
December 29, 2015 | | December 29, 2015 | | January 22, 2016 | | $ | 0.18 | | (2) | $ | 5,674 | | | 4.03 | % |
March 10, 2016 | | March 14, 2016 | | April 22, 2016 | | $ | 0.40 | | | $ | 13,337 | | | 9.26 | % |
June 8, 2016 | | June 8, 2016 | | July 22, 2016 | | $ | 0.40 | | | $ | 13,943 | | | 9.23 | % |
September 28, 2016 | | September 28, 2016 | | October 24, 2016 | | $ | 0.40 | | | $ | 15,917 | | | 9.37 | % |
December 29, 2016 | | December 29, 2016 | | January 24, 2017 | | $ | 0.41 | | | $ | 17,098 | | | 9.09 | % |
December 29, 2016 | | December 29, 2016 | | January 24, 2017 | | $ | 0.07 | | (2) | $ | 2,919 | | | 1.55 | % |
March 20, 2017 | | March 20, 2017 | | April 24, 2017 | | $ | 0.41 | | | $ | 17,100 | | | 9.07 | % |
June 20, 2017 | | June 30, 2017 | | July 18, 2017 | | $ | 0.37 | | | $ | 22,720 | | | 8.22 | % |
August 7, 2017 | | September 29, 2017 | | October 18, 2017 | | $ | 0.37 | | | $ | 22,888 | | | 7.86 | % |
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(1) | For dividends declared prior to our initial public offering, annualized dividend yield is calculated by dividing the declared dividend by the weighted average of the NAV at the beginning of the quarter and the capital called during the quarter and annualizing over 4 quarterly periods. For dividends declared after our initial public offering closed on June 19, 2017, annualized dividend yield is calculated by dividing the declared dividend by the closing market price for the quarter and annualizing over 4 quarterly periods. |
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(2) | Represents a special dividend. |
CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements requires us to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues, and expenses. Changes in the economic environment, financial markets, and any other parameters used in determining such estimates could cause actual results to differ. Our critical accounting policies, including those relating to the valuation of our investment portfolio, are described below. The critical accounting policies should be read in connection with our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus.
Fair Value Measurements
The Company applies fair value accounting in accordance with the terms of Financial Accounting Standards Board ASC Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement (“ASC 820”). ASC 820 defines fair value as the amount that would be exchanged to sell an asset or transfer a liability in an orderly transfer between market participants at the measurement date. The Company values securities/instruments traded in active markets on the measurement date by multiplying the closing price of such traded securities/instruments by the quantity of shares or amount of the instrument held. The Company may also obtain quotes with respect to certain of its investments, such as its securities/instruments traded in active markets and its liquid securities/instruments that are not traded in active markets, from pricing services, brokers, or counterparties (i.e., “consensus pricing”). When doing so, the Company determines whether the quote obtained is sufficient according to US GAAP to determine the fair value of the security. The Company may use the quote obtained or alternative pricing sources may be utilized including valuation techniques typically utilized for illiquid securities/instruments.
Securities/instruments that are illiquid or for which the pricing source does not provide a valuation or methodology or provides a valuation or methodology that, in the judgment of the Investment Adviser or the Board, does not represent fair value shall each be valued as of the measurement date using all techniques appropriate under the circumstances and for which sufficient data is available. These valuation techniques may vary by investment and include comparable public market valuations, comparable precedent transaction valuations and/or discounted cash flow analyses. The process generally used to determine the applicable value is as follows: (i) the value of each portfolio company or investment is initially reviewed by the investment professionals responsible for such portfolio company or investment and, for non-traded investments, a standardized template designed to approximate fair market value based on observable market inputs, updated credit statistics and unobservable inputs is used to determine a preliminary value, which is also reviewed alongside consensus pricing, where available; (ii) preliminary valuation conclusions are documented and reviewed by a valuation committee comprised of members of senior management; (iii) the Board engages a third-party valuation firm to provide positive assurance on portions of the Middle Market Senior Loans and equity investments portfolio each quarter (such that each non-traded investment other than Credit Fund is reviewed by a third-party valuation firm at least once on a rolling twelve month basis) including a review of management’s preliminary valuation and conclusion on fair value; (iv) the Audit Committee of the Board (the “Audit Committee”) reviews the assessments of the Investment Adviser and the third-party valuation firm and provides the Board with any recommendations with respect to changes to the fair value of each investment in the portfolio; and (v) the Board discusses the valuation recommendations of the Audit Committee and determines the fair value of each investment in the portfolio in good faith based on the input of the Investment Adviser and, where applicable, the third-party valuation firm.
All factors that might materially impact the value of an investment are considered, including, but not limited to the assessment of the following factors, as relevant:
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• | the nature and realizable value of any collateral; |
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• | call features, put features and other relevant terms of debt; |
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• | the portfolio company’s leverage and ability to make payments; |
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• | the portfolio company’s public or private credit rating; |
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• | the portfolio company’s actual and expected earnings and discounted cash flow; |
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• | prevailing interest rates and spreads for similar securities and expected volatility in future interest rates; |
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• | the markets in which the portfolio company does business and recent economic and/or market events; and |
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• | comparisons to comparable transactions and publicly traded securities. |
Investment performance data utilized are the most recently available financial statements and compliance certificate received from the portfolio companies as of the measurement date which in many cases may reflect a lag in information.
Due to the inherent uncertainty of determining the fair value of investments that do not have a readily available market value, the fair value of the Company’s investments may fluctuate from period to period. Because of the inherent uncertainty of valuation, these estimated values may differ significantly from the values that would have been reported had a ready market for the investments existed, and it is reasonably possible that the difference could be material.
In addition, changes in the market environment and other events that may occur over the life of the investments may cause the realized gains or losses on investments to be different from the net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation currently reflected in our consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016.
US GAAP establishes a hierarchical disclosure framework which ranks the level of observability of market price inputs used in measuring investments at fair value. The observability of inputs is impacted by a number of factors, including the type of investment and the characteristics specific to the investment and state of the marketplace, including the existence and transparency of transactions between market participants. Investments with readily available quoted prices or for which fair value can be measured from quoted prices in active markets generally have a higher degree of market price observability and a lesser degree of judgment applied in determining fair value.
Investments measured and reported at fair value are classified and disclosed based on the observability of inputs used in determination of fair values, as follows:
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• | Level 1—inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted prices available in active markets for identical investments as of the reporting date. The types of financial instruments included in Level 1 generally include unrestricted securities, including equities and derivatives, listed in active markets. The Company does not adjust the quoted price for these investments, even in situations where the Company holds a large position and a sale could reasonably impact the quoted price. |
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• | Level 2—inputs to the valuation methodology are either directly or indirectly observable as of the reporting date and are those other than quoted prices in active markets. The type of financial instruments in this category generally includes less liquid and restricted securities listed in active markets, securities traded in other than active markets, government and agency securities, and certain over-the-counter derivatives where the fair value is based on observable inputs. |
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• | Level 3—inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable and significant to overall fair value measurement. The inputs into the determination of fair value require significant management judgment or estimation. Financial instruments that are included in this category generally include investments in privately-held entities, CLOs, and certain over-the-counter derivatives where the fair value is based on unobservable inputs. |
In certain cases, the inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, an investment’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the overall fair value measurement. The Investment Adviser’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, and considers factors specific to the investment.
Transfers between levels, if any, are recognized at the beginning of the quarter in which the transfers occur.
The Company generally uses the following framework when determining the fair value of investments that are categorized as Level 3:
Investments in debt securities are initially evaluated to determine whether the enterprise value of the portfolio company is greater than the applicable debt. The enterprise value of the portfolio company is estimated using a market approach and an income approach. The market approach utilizes market value (EBITDA) multiples of publicly traded comparable companies and available precedent sales transactions of comparable companies. The Company carefully considers numerous factors when selecting the appropriate companies whose multiples are used to value its portfolio companies. These factors include, but are not limited to, the type of organization, similarity to the business being valued, relevant risk factors, as well as size, profitability and growth expectations. The income approach typically uses a discounted cash flow analysis of the portfolio company.
Investments in debt securities that do not have sufficient coverage through the enterprise value analysis are valued based on an expected probability of default and discount recovery analysis.
Investments in debt securities with sufficient coverage through the enterprise value analysis are generally valued using a discounted cash flow analysis of the underlying security. Projected cash flows in the discounted cash flow typically represent the relevant security’s contractual interest, fees and principal payments plus the assumption of full principal recovery at the security’s expected maturity date. The discount rate to be used is determined using an average of two market-based methodologies. Investments in debt securities may also be valued using consensus pricing.
Investments in structured finance obligations are generally valued using a discounted cash flow and/or consensus pricing.
Investments in equities are generally valued using a market approach and/or an income approach. The market approach utilizes EBITDA multiples of publicly traded comparable companies and available precedent sales transactions of comparable companies. The income approach typically uses a discounted cash flow analysis of the portfolio company.
Investments in Credit Fund’s subordinated loan and member’s interest are valued using the NAV of the Company’s ownership interest in the funds and investments in Credit Fund’s mezzanine loans are valued using discounted cash flow analysis with expected repayment rate of principal and interest.
The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the Company’s investments in first and second lien debt securities are discount rates, indicative quotes and comparable EBITDA multiples. Significant increases in discount rates would result in a significantly lower fair value measurement. Significant decreases in indicative quotes or comparable EBITDA multiples in isolation may result in a significantly lower fair value measurement.
The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the Company’s investments in structured finance obligations are discount rates, default rates, prepayment rates, recovery rates and indicative quotes. Significant increases in discount rates, default rates or prepayment rates in isolation would result in a significantly lower fair value measurement, while a significant increase in recovery rates in isolation would result in a significantly higher fair value. Significant decreases in indicative quotes in isolation may result in a significantly lower fair value measurement.
The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the Company’s investments in equities are discount rates and comparable EBITDA multiples. Significant increases in discount rates would result in a significantly lower fair value measurement. Significant decreases in comparable EBITDA multiples would result in a significantly lower fair value measurement.
The carrying values of the secured borrowings and 2015-1 Notes approximate their respective fair values and are categorized as Level 3 within the hierarchy. Secured borrowings are valued generally using discounted cash flow analysis. The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the Company’s secured borrowings are discount rates. Significant increases in discount rates would result in a significantly lower fair value measurement. The fair value determination of the Company’s 2015-1 Notes was based on the market quotation(s) received from broker/dealer(s). These fair value measurements were based on significant inputs not observable and thus represent Level 3 measurements as defined in the accounting guidance for fair value measurement.
The carrying value of other financial assets and liabilities approximates their fair value based on the short term nature of these items.
See Note 3 to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this prospectus for further information on fair value measurements.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus in conformity with US GAAP requires management to make assumptions and estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Management’s estimates are based on historical experiences and other factors, including expectations of future events that management believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. It also requires management to exercise judgment in the process of applying the Company’s accounting policies. Assumptions and estimates regarding the valuation of investments and their resulting impact on base management and incentive fees involve a higher degree of judgment and complexity and these assumptions and estimates may be significant to our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus. Actual results could differ from these estimates and such differences could be material.
Investments
Investment transactions are recorded on the trade date. Realized gains or losses are measured by the difference between the net proceeds from the repayment or sale and the amortized cost basis of the investment using the specific identification method without regard to unrealized appreciation or depreciation previously recognized, and includes investments charged off during the period, net of recoveries. Net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation on investments as presented in the Consolidated Statements of Operations in our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus reflects the net change in the fair value of investments, including the reversal of previously recorded unrealized appreciation or depreciation when gains or losses are realized.
Revenue Recognition
Interest from Investments and Realized Gain/Loss on Investments
Interest income is recorded on an accrual basis and includes the accretion of discounts and amortization of premiums. Discounts from and premiums to par value on debt investments purchased are accreted/amortized into interest income over the life of the respective security using the effective interest method. The amortized cost of debt investments represents the original cost, including origination fees and upfront fees received that are deemed to be an adjustment to yield, adjusted for the accretion of discounts and amortization of premiums, if any. At time of exit, the realized gain or loss on an investment is the difference between the amortized cost at time of exit and the cash received at exit using the specific identification method.
The Company may have loans in its portfolio that contain PIK provisions. PIK represents interest that is accrued and recorded as interest income at the contractual rates, increases the loan principal on the respective capitalization dates, and is generally due at maturity. Such income is included in interest income in the Consolidated Statements of Operations included elsewhere in this prospectus.
Interest income from investments in the “equity” class of CLO funds, which we refer to as “structured finance obligations”, is recorded based upon an estimation of an effective yield to expected maturity utilizing assumed cash flows in accordance with ASC 325-40, Beneficial Interests in Securitized Financials Assets. We monitor the expected cash inflows from our CLO equity investments, including the expected residual payments and the effective yield is determined and updated at least quarterly. In estimating these cash flows, there are a number of assumptions that are subject to uncertainties, including the amount and timing of principal payments which are impacted by prepayments, repurchases, defaults, delinquencies and liquidations of or within the CLO funds. These uncertainties are difficult to predict and are subject to future events that could have impacted the Company’s estimates if the information was known at the time. As a result, actual results may differ significantly from these estimates.
Dividend Income
Dividend income from Credit Fund is recorded on the record date for Credit Fund to the extent that such amounts are payable by Credit Fund and are expected to be collected.
Other Income
Other income may include income such as consent, waiver, amendment, syndication and prepayment fees associated with the Company’s investment activities as well as any fees for managerial assistance services rendered by the Company to the portfolio companies. Such fees are recognized as income when earned or the services are rendered. The Company may receive fees for guaranteeing the outstanding debt of a portfolio company. Such fees are amortized into other income over the life of the guarantee. The unamortized amount, if any, is included in other assets in the Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities included elsewhere in this prospectus.
Non-Accrual Income
Loans are generally placed on non-accrual status when principal or interest payments are past due 30 days or more or when there is reasonable doubt that principal or interest will be collected in full. Accrued and unpaid interest is generally reversed when a loan is placed on non-accrual status. Interest payments received on non-accrual loans may be recognized as income or applied to principal depending upon management’s judgment regarding collectability. Non-accrual loans are restored to accrual status when past due principal and interest are paid current and, in management’s judgment, are likely to remain current. Management may not place a loan on non-accrual status if the loan has sufficient collateral value and is in the process of collection.
Income Taxes
For federal income tax purposes, the Company has elected to be treated as a RIC under the Code, and intends to make the required distributions to its stockholders as specified therein. In order to qualify as a RIC, the Company must meet certain minimum distribution, source-of-income and asset diversification requirements. If such requirements are met, then the Company is generally required to pay income taxes only on the portion of its taxable income and gains it does not distribute.
The minimum distribution requirements applicable to RICs require the Company to distribute to its stockholders at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (“ICTI”), as defined by the Code, each year. Depending on the level of ICTI earned in a tax year, the Company may choose to carry forward ICTI in excess of current year distributions into the next tax year. Any such carryover ICTI must be distributed before the end of that next tax year through a dividend declared prior to filing the final tax return related to the year which generated such ICTI.
In addition, based on the excise distribution requirements, the Company is subject to a 4% nondeductible federal excise tax on undistributed income unless the Company distributes in a timely manner an amount at least equal to the sum of (1) 98% of its ordinary income for each calendar year, (2) 98.2% of capital gain net income (both long-term and short-term) for the one-year period ending October 31 in that calendar year and (3) any income realized, but not distributed, in the preceding year. For this purpose, however, any ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by the Company that is subject to corporate income tax is considered to have been distributed. The Company intends to make sufficient distributions each taxable year to satisfy the excise distribution requirements.
The Company evaluates tax positions taken or expected to be taken in the course of preparing its consolidated financial statements to determine whether the tax positions are “more-likely than not” to be sustained by the applicable tax authority. All penalties and interest associated with income taxes, if any, are included in income tax expense.
The SPVs and the 2015-1 Issuer are disregarded entities for tax purposes and are consolidated with the tax return of the Company.
Dividends and Distributions to Common Stockholders
To the extent that the Company has taxable income available, the Company intends to make quarterly distributions to its common stockholders. Dividends and distributions to common stockholders are recorded on the record date. The amount to be distributed is determined by the Board each quarter and is generally based upon the taxable earnings estimated by management and available cash. Net realized capital gains, if any, are generally distributed at least annually, although the Company may decide to retain such capital gains for investment.
Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures About Market Risk
We are subject to financial market risks, including changes in the valuations of our investment portfolio and interest rates.
Valuation Risk
Our investments may not have a readily available market price, and we value these investments at fair value as determined in good faith by our Board in accordance with our valuation policy. 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. Due to 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 may fluctuate from period to period. Because of the inherent uncertainty of valuation, these estimated values may differ significantly from the values that would have been used had a ready market for the investments existed, and it is possible that the difference could be material.
Interest Rate Risk
As of September 30, 2017, on a fair value basis, approximately 1% of our debt investments bear interest at a fixed rate and approximately 99% of our debt investments bear interest at a floating rate, which primarily are subject to interest rate floors. Interest rates on the investments held within our portfolio of investments are typically based on floating LIBOR, with many of these investments also having a LIBOR floor. Additionally, our Facilities are also subject to floating interest rates and are currently paid based on floating LIBOR rates.
Interest rate sensitivity refers to the change in earnings that may result from changes in the level of interest rates. There can be no assurance that a significant change in market interest rates will not have a material adverse effect on our income in the future.
The following table estimates the potential changes in net cash flow generated from interest income, should interest rates increase or decrease by 100, 200 or 300 basis points. Interest income is calculated as revenue from interest generated from our settled portfolio of debt investments held as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, excluding structured finance obligations and Credit Fund. These hypothetical calculations are based on a model of the settled debt investments in our portfolio, excluding structured finance obligations and Credit Fund, held as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, and are only adjusted for assumed changes in the underlying base interest rates and the impact of that change on interest income. Interest expense is calculated based on outstanding secured borrowings and 2015-1 Notes as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 and based on the terms of our Facilities and 2015-1 Notes. Interest expense on our Facilities and 2015-1 Notes is calculated using the interest rate as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, adjusted for the
hypothetical changes in rates, as shown below. We intend to continue to finance a portion of our investments with borrowings and the interest rates paid on our borrowings may impact significantly our net interest income.
We regularly measure exposure to interest rate risk. We assess interest rate risk and manage interest rate exposure on an ongoing basis by comparing our interest rate sensitive assets to our interest rate sensitive liabilities. Based on that review, we determine whether or not any hedging transactions are necessary to mitigate exposure to changes in interest rates.
Based on our Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the following table shows the annual impact on net investment income of base rate changes in interest rates for our settled debt investments (considering interest rate floors for variable rate instruments), excluding structured finance obligations and Credit Fund, and outstanding secured borrowings and 2015-1 Notes assuming no changes in our investment and borrowing structure:
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| As of September 30, 2017 | | As of December 31, 2016 |
Basis Point Change | Interest Income | | Interest Expense | | Net Investment Income | | Interest Income | | Interest Expense | | Net Investment Income |
Up 300 basis points | $ | 52,304 | | | $ | (24,803) | | | $ | 27,501 | | | $ | 40,324 | | | $ | (20,037) | | | $ | 20,287 | |
Up 200 basis points | $ | 34,869 | | | $ | (16,535) | | | $ | 18,334 | | | $ | 26,848 | | | $ | (13,358) | | | $ | 13,490 | |
Up 100 basis points | $ | 17,435 | | | $ | (8,268) | | | $ | 9,167 | | | $ | 13,372 | | | $ | (6,679) | | | $ | 6,693 | |
Down 100 basis points | $ | (5,280) | | | $ | 8,268 | | | $ | 2,988 | | | $ | (132) | | | $ | 6,282 | | | $ | 6,150 | |
Down 200 basis points | $ | (5,986) | | | $ | 10,554 | | | $ | 4,568 | | | $ | (132) | | | $ | 6,282 | | | $ | 6,150 | |
Down 300 basis points | $ | (6,308) | | | $ | 10,554 | | | $ | 4,246 | | | $ | (132) | | | $ | 6,282 | | | $ | 6,150 | |
SENIOR SECURITIES
Information about our senior securities is shown in the following table as of the end of the nine months ended September 30, 2017 and each fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013. The report of our independent registered public accounting firm, Ernst & Young LLP, on the senior securities table as of December 31, 2016 is attached as an exhibit to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part.
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Class and Year/Period | Total Amount Outstanding Exclusive of Treasury Securities(1) ($ in millions) | Asset Coverage Per Unit(2) | Involuntary Liquidating Preference Per Unit(3) | Average Market Value Per Unit(4) |
Facilities and 2015-1 Notes | | | | |
September 30, 2017 (unaudited) | $ | 851.8 |
| $ | 2,320 |
| — |
| N/A |
December 31, 2016 | $ | 694.9 |
| $ | 2,100 |
| — |
| N/A |
December 31, 2015 | $ | 507.3 |
| $ | 2,127 |
| — |
| N/A |
December 31, 2014 | $ | 308.4 |
| $ | 2,097 |
| — |
| N/A |
December 31, 2013 | $ | 66.8 |
| $ | 3,784 |
| — |
| N/A |
| | | | |
Revolving Credit Facility | | | | |
September 30, 2017 (unaudited) | $ | 329.8 |
| $ | 898 |
| — |
| N/A |
December 31, 2016 | $ | 252.9 |
| $ | 764 |
| — |
| N/A |
December 31, 2015 | $ | 170.3 |
| $ | 714 |
| — |
| N/A |
December 31, 2014 | $ | 246.4 |
| $ | 1,675 |
| — |
| N/A |
December 31, 2013 | $ | 66.8 |
| $ | 3,784 |
| — |
| N/A |
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Facility | | | | |
September 30, 2017 (unaudited) | $ | 249.0 |
| $ | 678 |
| — |
| N/A |
December 31, 2016 | $ | 169.0 |
| $ | 511 |
| — |
| N/A |
December 31, 2015 | $ | 64.0 |
| $ | 268 |
| — |
| N/A |
December 31, 2014 | $ | 62.0 |
| $ | 422 |
| — |
| N/A |
December 31, 2013 | — |
| — |
| — |
| N/A |
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2015-1 Notes | | | | |
September 30, 2017 (unaudited) | $ | 273.0 |
| $ | 744 |
| — |
| N/A |
December 31, 2016 | $ | 273.0 |
| $ | 825 |
| — |
| N/A |
December 31, 2015 | $ | 273.0 |
| $ | 1,145 |
| — |
| N/A |
December 31, 2014 | — |
| — |
| — |
| N/A |
December 31, 2013 | — |
| — |
| — |
| N/A |
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(1) | Total amount of each class of senior securities outstanding at the end of the period presented. |
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(2) | As a BDC, we must have at least 200% asset coverage calculated pursuant to the Investment Company Act immediately after each time we issue senior securities. Asset coverage per unit is the ratio of the carrying value of our total assets, less all liabilities excluding indebtedness represented by senior securities in this table, to the aggregate amount of senior securities representing indebtedness. Asset coverage per unit is expressed in terms of dollar amounts per $1,000 of indebtedness and is calculated on a consolidated basis. |
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(3) | The amount to which such class of senior security would be entitled upon our involuntary liquidation in preference to any security junior to it. The “—” in this column indicates information that the SEC expressly does not require to be disclosed for certain types of senior securities. |
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(4) | Not applicable because the senior securities are not registered for public trading. |
BUSINESS
TCG BDC, Inc.
We are an externally managed specialty finance company focused on lending to middle market companies. We are managed by our Investment Adviser, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carlyle. Since we commenced investment operations in May 2013 through September 30, 2017, we have invested approximately $3.4 billion in aggregate principal amount of debt and equity investments prior to any subsequent exits or repayments. Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of EBITDA, which we believe is a useful proxy for cash flow. We seek to achieve our investment objective primarily through direct originations of secured debt, including Middle Market Senior Loans, with the balance of our assets invested in higher yielding investments (which may include unsecured debt, mezzanine debt and investments in equities).
We generate revenues primarily in the form of interest income from the investments we hold. In addition, we generate income from dividends on direct equity investments, capital gains on the sales of loans and debt and equity securities and various loan origination and other fees.
We invest primarily in loans to middle market companies whose debt, if rated, is rated below investment grade, and, if not rated, would likely be rated below investment grade if it were rated (that is, below BBB- or Baa3, which is often referred to as “junk”). Exposure to below investment grade instruments involves certain risks, including speculation with respect to the borrower’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal.
In conducting our investment activities, we believe that we benefit from the significant scale and resources of Carlyle, including our Investment Adviser and its affiliates. We have operated our business as a BDC since we began our investment activities in May 2013.
Corporate Structure
We were formed in February 2012 as a Maryland corporation structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment company. On May 2, 2013, we elected to be regulated as a BDC and commenced substantial investment operations upon the completion of our initial closing of equity capital commitments. Effective on March 15, 2017, we changed our name from “Carlyle GMS Finance, Inc.” to “TCG BDC, Inc.”
Our Investment Adviser
Our investment activities are managed by our Investment Adviser. The principal executive offices of our Investment Adviser are located at 520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor, New York, NY 10022, with additional offices in Chicago and Los Angeles. Our Investment Adviser is responsible for sourcing potential investments, conducting research and due diligence on prospective investments and equity sponsors, analyzing investment opportunities, structuring our investments and monitoring our investments on an ongoing basis.
Our Investment Adviser is served by an origination, capital markets, underwriting and portfolio management team comprised of experienced investment professionals in the CDL platform, which is Carlyle’s direct lending business unit that operates within the broader CGC segment. Our investment approach is focused on long-term credit performance and principal preservation. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team utilizes a rigorous, systematic, and consistent investment process, refined over Carlyle’s 30-year history investing in private markets across multiple cycles, designed to achieve enhanced risk-adjusted returns.
Our Investment Adviser’s seven-person investment committee is responsible for reviewing and approving our investment opportunities. The members of the investment committee have experience investing through different credit cycles. The investment committee is led by Michael A. Hart, Managing Director of Carlyle, Head of CDL, Chairman of our Board and our Chief Executive Officer and also includes Jeffrey S. Levin, Managing Director of Carlyle and our President. See “Management—Portfolio Management” for biographical information of members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee.
Our Investment Adviser also serves, and may serve in the future, as investment adviser to other existing and future affiliated BDCs that have investment objectives similar to our investment objectives.
Pursuant to a personnel agreement between our Investment Adviser and Carlyle Employee Co., an affiliate of our Investment Adviser, Carlyle Employee Co. provides our Investment Adviser with access to investment professionals that comprise our Investment Adviser’s investment team. As of September 30, 2017, our Investment Adviser’s investment team includes a team of 29 dedicated investment professionals. The seven members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee have an average of 22 years of industry experience. In addition, our Investment Adviser and its investment team are supported by a team of finance, operations and
administrative professionals currently employed by Carlyle Employee Co. and CELF, both wholly owned subsidiaries of Carlyle. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions.”
Our Investment Adviser, its investment professionals, our executive officers and directors, and other current and future principals of our Investment Adviser serve or may serve as investment advisers, officers, directors or principals of entities or investment funds that operate in the same or a related line of business as we do and/or investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements advised by Carlyle. An affiliated investment fund, account or other similar arrangement currently formed or formed in the future and managed by our Investment Adviser or its affiliates may have overlapping investment objectives and strategies with our own and, accordingly, may invest in asset classes similar to those targeted by us. As a result, our Investment Adviser and/or its affiliates may face conflicts of interest arising out of the investment advisory activities of our Investment Adviser and other operations of Carlyle. See “—Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest” and “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Structure—There are significant potential conflicts of interest, including the management of other investment funds and accounts by our Investment Adviser, which could impact our investment returns.”
Carlyle
Our Investment Adviser is an affiliate of Carlyle. Carlyle is one of the world’s largest and most diversified multi-product global alternative asset management firms. Carlyle and its affiliates advise an array of specialized investment funds and other investment vehicles that invest across a range of industries, geographies, asset classes and investment strategies. Since its founding in Washington, D.C. in 1987, Carlyle has grown to become a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $174 billion in AUM across 306 investment vehicles as of September 30, 2017.
Carlyle Global Credit is one of the largest integrated credit platforms in the industry with approximately $32 billion in AUM and 128 employees with multiple offices, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, as of September 30, 2017. Carlyle Global Credit’s investment strategies include loans and structured credit, distressed credit, direct lending and energy credit. CDL advises our funds, including us, totaling, in the aggregate, approximately $2 billion in AUM as of September 30, 2017.
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• | Primary areas of focus for Carlyle’s Global Credit teams include: |
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• | Loans and Structured Credit. The structured credit funds invest primarily in performing senior secured bank loans through structured vehicles and other investment vehicles. As of September 30, 2017, Carlyle’s loan and structured credit team advised 44 structured credit funds and two carry funds in the United States, Europe, and Asia totaling, in the aggregate, approximately $20.7 billion in AUM. |
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• | Distressed Credit. The distressed credit funds generally invest in liquid and illiquid securities and obligations, including secured debt, senior and subordinated unsecured debt, convertible debt obligations, preferred stock and public and private equity of financially distressed companies in defensive and asset-rich industries. In certain investments, these funds may seek to restructure pre-reorganization debt claims into controlling positions in the equity of reorganized companies. As of September 30, 2017, Carlyle’s distressed credit team advised three funds totaling, in the aggregate, approximately $3.6 billion in AUM. |
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• | Direct Lending. Carlyle’s direct lending business includes Carlyle’s BDCs, which invest primarily in middle market first lien loans (which include unitranche, “first out” and “last out” loans) and second lien loans of middle market companies, typically defined as companies with annual EBITDA ranging from $10 million to $100 million that lack access to the broadly syndicated loan and bond markets. As of September 30, 2017, Carlyle’s direct lending investment team advised four funds consisting of two BDCs (including us), a CLO and one corporate mezzanine fund that is past its investment period, totaling, in the aggregate, approximately $2.2 billion in AUM. |
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• | Energy Credit. Carlyle’s energy credit team invests primarily in privately negotiated mezzanine debt investments in North American energy and power projects and companies. As of September 30, 2017, Carlyle’s energy credit team advised two funds with approximately $4.6 billion in AUM. |
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• | Opportunistic Credit. Carlyle’s opportunistic credit business invests primarily in opportunistic credit investments as a result of market dislocation or special situations and private credit solutions for corporate borrowers and sponsors. As of September 30, 2017, Carlyle’s opportunistic credit investment team advised one fund with approximately $0.8 billion in AUM. |
Strategic Relationships
We have established two highly differentiated strategic relationships that expand our product offering and increase our scale, enhancing our investment opportunities and optimizing selectivity rates, as we determine which credits provide the best risk adjusted returns for our stockholders. In early 2015, our Investment Adviser developed a key strategic relationship with Madison Capital, a prominent non-bank finance company that is a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company, which has allowed us to offer various
lending solutions to potential borrowers and has increased our coverage of U.S. middle market private equity firms. Additionally, in early 2016, we agreed to co-invest with Credit Partners, a wholly owned subsidiary of a large Canadian pension fund, to form Credit Fund, a joint venture primarily focused on investing in first lien loans to middle market companies. We and Credit Partners each have 50% economic ownership of Credit Fund and have commitments to fund, from time to time, capital of up to $400 million each. See “—Competitive Strengths—Strategic Relationships.”
About Our Administrator
CGCA, a Delaware limited liability company, serves as our Administrator. Pursuant to the Administration Agreement, our Administrator provides services to us and we reimburse our Administrator for its costs and expenses and our allocable portion of overhead incurred by our Administrator in performing its obligations under the Administration Agreement, including our allocable portion of the compensation of certain of our officers and staff. In addition, our Administrator has entered into the Carlyle Sub-Administration Agreements, which provide our Administrator with access to personnel. Our Administrator has also entered into the State Street Sub-Administration Agreement, pursuant to which State Street provides for certain administrative and professional services. State Street also serves as our custodian.
Competitive Strengths
Market Leading Direct Origination Platform. We have access to CDL’s strong direct origination platform, with coverage of over 200 private equity firms and over 150 lending institutions. We take a regional approach to client coverage with offices in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The origination team is highly experienced, and maintains deep relationships with a broad network of financial sponsors, commercial and investment banks, and finance companies, which are expected to continue to generate a significant amount of investment opportunities.
Scaled Investment Platform and Capabilities. CDL is an established, scaled investment platform with the ability to invest across the entire capital structure. CDL’s broad capabilities and ability to offer a full financing solution give us access to a wide funnel of opportunities, allow us to select high quality credits, construct the optimal financing package as it relates to price and terms, assert greater control over documentation, and generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders. We believe CDL’s hold sizes are among the largest in the middle market, which we believe results in the ability to generate premium economics, as sponsors are willing to pay higher spreads for financing certainty. CDL’s large hold sizes and strategic relationships enable us to provide certainty with regards to spreads, fees, structure and covenants. Furthermore, the breadth of CDL’s debt offerings also allows us to deploy capital at a measured pace across credit cycles and construct a portfolio that will perform in a broad range of economic conditions.
One Carlyle Capabilities Leading to Superior Credit Performance. We benefit from our Investment Adviser’s utilization of the broader resources of Carlyle, which includes access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge from almost three decades of private market investing. Our underwriting process leverages Carlyle’s 635 investment professionals across multiple alternative investment asset classes, 41 operating executives, information obtained through direct ownership of over 270 companies and lending relationships with over 700 companies, 13 credit industry research analysts, and in-house government affairs and economic research teams. Our systematic and consistent approach is augmented by industry expertise and tenured underwriting professionals who both lead our Investment Adviser’s investment team and serve on our Investment Adviser’s investment committee. Strong credit underwriting has been a key component of our investing process, where our Investment Adviser seeks to select borrowers whose businesses are expected to generate substantial cash flows, to have leading management teams, stable operating histories, high barriers to entry and meaningful equity value, and to retain significant value.
Experienced Investment Team. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team comprises investment professionals in CDL who have extensive middle market lending experience. The investment team consists of 29 dedicated investment professionals. The seven members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee have an average of 22 years of industry experience. We believe the breadth and depth of the investment team in sourcing, structuring, executing, and monitoring a broad range of private investments provides us with a significant competitive advantage in building a high quality portfolio of investments.
Carefully Constructed Portfolio of Diversified Senior Secured, Floating Rate Loans. Our portfolio has been defensively constructed, exhibits strong credit quality, generates stable risk-adjusted returns and allows us to generate meaningful investment income, and consequently dividend income, for our stockholders. We have invested approximately $3.4 billion since our inception in directly originated middle market loans. Our portfolio is highly diversified by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. As of September 30, 2017, we had a portfolio of 108 investments in 92 portfolio companies across 29 industries and 59 unique sponsors. As of September 30, 2017, approximately 98.8% of our debt investments bore interest at floating rates, subject to interest rate floors, and 75.9% of our portfolio was invested in first lien debt investments (including 11.7% first lien/last out loans).
Strategic Relationships. Our strategic relationships enhance our ability to provide full financing solutions to our borrowers, which results in our being able to generate optimal economics, significant access to diligence and control over documentation terms.
Additionally, these relationships further strengthen our origination platform and ability to develop creative financing solutions to invest through the capital structure based on where we believe the best risk-adjusted return opportunities reside. Our Investment Adviser’s strategic relationship with Madison Capital, a leading middle market senior lender with approximately $8.4 billion of AUM as of September 30, 2017, allows us to offer a full unitranche financing solution. This product provides middle market companies with certainty for financing without syndication risk and generates attractive risk-adjusted returns on these investments for our stockholders. Madison Capital provides the first lien/first out portion of the unitranche loan, which allows us to provide the first lien/last out portion. Collectively, we and Madison Capital have provided over $1.145 billion (before any repayments or exits) of unitranche loans to middle market companies. The relationship has been extremely successful, and we frequently invest alongside Madison Capital on a variety of investment opportunities (in addition to unitranche loans).
Separately, Credit Fund, our strategic joint venture with a large Canadian pension fund, primarily invests in first lien loans of middle market companies. Since its inception and through September 30, 2017, Credit Fund has provided $986.5 million (before any repayments or exits) of senior secured loans. This joint venture provides us with an enhanced first lien loan product for certain transactions, thus further increasing our deal flow, and results in an increased number of borrowers in our portfolio, which provides strategic benefits as we build incumbent positions for future growth and investment opportunity.
The following highlights illustrate our accomplishments since the commencement of our operations:
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• | Investments—Inclusive of the use of leverage and recycled proceeds from sales and paydowns, we have deployed $2.4 billion in 138 funded first lien debt investments, $398.1 million in 37 funded second lien debt investments, $126.6 million in 27 structured finance obligations, $10.3 million in 11 equity investments and $251.0 million in one investment fund through September 30, 2017. |
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• | Credit Facilities and the 2015-1 Notes—On May 24, 2013, our wholly owned subsidiary, the SPV, entered into the SPV Credit Facility, with a maximum principal amount of $400 million. In addition, on March 21, 2014, we entered into the Credit Facility, with a maximum principal amount of $283 million. Further, on June 26, 2015, we completed the 2015-1 Debt Securitization. The 2015-1 Notes were issued by the 2015-1 Issuer, our wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary. |
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• | Credit Platform Enhancements—Our Investment Adviser’s investment team has continued to expand and enhance all facets of the credit platform supporting us. Additional senior origination professionals were added during 2016 which meaningfully expanded the direct sourcing capabilities, bringing the total number of senior origination professionals to seven as of September 30, 2017. The scale of the direct origination platform allows us to maximize the investment opportunity set and increase overall investment selectivity. Direct origination has several important benefits including optimizing transaction economics, improving the strength of the loan documentation, and providing greater access to due diligence materials. Additional senior resources were added to the capital markets group, further enhancing investment sourcing and syndication capabilities with other lenders, including banks, finance companies, credit funds, and other BDCs. Additional professionals were added to the underwriting and portfolio management team to support the overall increase in investment activity and portfolio growth. This team works closely with the origination and capital markets professionals, as well as the CDL industry research analysts in executing all facets of transaction due diligence and portfolio management. Further enhancements and additions will be made as appropriate to ensure that our Investment Adviser’s investment team continues to have best in class execution across each segment of the business. |
Market Opportunity
We believe the middle market lending environment provides attractive investment opportunities as a result of a combination of the following factors:
Favorable Market Environment. We believe the middle market remains one of the most attractive investment areas due to its large size, superior value relative to the broadly syndicated loan market, and supply-demand imbalance that continues to favor non-bank lenders. We believe market yields remain attractive and leverage levels at middle market companies are stable, creating a favorable investment environment.
Large and Growing U.S. Middle Market. The U.S. middle market is the largest market by many measures, which is expected to enable us to invest selectively as approximately 70% of middle market loan volume is sponsor-backed. According to S&P Capital IQ, as of September 30, 2017, there are over 70,000 U.S. middle market companies generating between $20 million and $1 billion in annual revenue, compared with approximately 3,500 companies with revenue greater than $1 billion. We believe these middle market companies, both sponsored and non-sponsored, represent a significant growth segment of the U.S. economy and often require substantial capital investments to grow.
Leverage, Pricing and Risk. According to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Quarterly Leveraged Lending Review (Q3 2017), middle market companies are less levered, have larger equity contributions, experience lower rates of default, and achieve higher recoveries versus large cap broadly syndicated loans. Middle market loans also tend to achieve more attractive pricing and
structures, including documentation, covenants and information/governance, than broadly syndicated loans. Over the 3 year period from 2015 to 2017, middle market loans have exhibited an approximate 200 basis points spread premium over broadly syndicated loans according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Leveraged Loan Index.
Market Environment Favors Non-Traditional Lenders. Traditional middle market lenders, such as commercial and regional banks and commercial finance companies, have contracted their origination and lending activities and are focusing on more liquid asset classes or have exited the business. At the same time, institutional investors have sought to invest in larger, more liquid offerings, limiting the ability of middle market companies to raise debt capital through public capital markets. This has resulted in other capital providers, such as specialty finance companies, structured-credit vehicles such as CLOs, BDCs, and private investment funds, actively investing in the middle market. We believe the aforementioned changes and restrictions have created a large and growing market opportunity for alternative lenders such as us.
Favorable Capital Markets Trends. Current and future demand for middle market financings, driven by private equity investment and upcoming maturities are expected to provide us with ample deal flow. Current data from the Thompson Reuters LPC Middle Market Weekly Report October 6, 2017) suggests that approximately $606 billion of upcoming loan maturities for middle market companies are due between 2017 and 2022, and the PitchBook PE & VE Fundraising and Capital Overhang Report (1H 2017) suggests that there is over $739 billion of uninvested capital in 2010–YTD Q3 2017 vintage private equity funds. We believe these refinancings and uninvested capital will provide a steady flow of attractive opportunities for well-positioned lenders with deep and longstanding sponsor and market relationships, particularly for providers of full capital structure financing solutions.
Benefits of Traditional Middle Market Focus. We believe there are significant advantages in our focus on the traditional middle market, a market we categorize to include borrowers with EBITDA in the range of approximately $10 million to $100 million. Traditional middle market companies are generally less levered than companies with EBITDA in excess of $100 million and loans to those borrowers offer more attractive economics in the form of upfront fees, spreads, and prepayment penalties. Senior secured middle market loans typically have strong defensive characteristics: these loans have priority in payment among a portfolio company’s security holders and they carry the least risk among investments in the capital structure; these investments, which are secured by the portfolio company’s assets, typically contain carefully structured covenant packages which allow lenders to take early action in situations where obligors underperform; and these characteristics can provide protection against credit deterioration. Middle market lenders like us are often able to complete more thorough due diligence investigations prior to investment than lenders in the broadly syndicated space.
Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest
An affiliated investment fund, account or other similar arrangement currently formed or formed in the future and managed by our Investment Adviser or its affiliates may have overlapping investment objectives and strategies with our own and, accordingly, may invest in asset classes similar to those targeted by us. This creates potential conflicts in allocating investment opportunities among the Company and such other investment funds, accounts and similar arrangements, particularly in circumstances where the availability or liquidity of such investment opportunities is limited or where co-investments by the Company and other funds, accounts or arrangements are not permitted under applicable law, as discussed below.
For example, Carlyle sponsors several investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements, including, without limitation, structured credit funds as well as future closed-end registered investment companies, BDCs, carry funds, managed accounts and structured credit funds. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team forms the exclusive Carlyle platform for U.S. middle market debt investments. The SEC has granted us Exemptive Relief that permits us and certain of our affiliates to co-invest in suitable negotiated investments. If Carlyle is presented with investment opportunities that generally fall within our investment objective and other board-established criteria and those of other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements (including other existing and future affiliated BDCs) whether focused on a debt strategy or otherwise, Carlyle allocates such opportunities among us and such other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements in a manner consistent with the Exemptive Relief, our Investment Adviser’s allocation policies and procedures and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures, where applicable, as discussed below. More specifically, investment opportunities in suitable negotiated investments for investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements managed by our Investment Adviser, and other funds, accounts or similar arrangements managed by affiliated investment advisers that seek to co-invest with us or other Carlyle BDCs, are allocated in accordance with the Exemptive Relief. Investment opportunities for all other investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements not managed by our Investment Adviser are allocated in accordance with their respective investment advisers’ and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures. Such policies and procedures may result in certain investment opportunities that are attractive to us being allocated to other funds that are not managed by our Investment Adviser. Carlyle’s, including our Investment Adviser’s, allocation policies and procedures are designed to allocate investment opportunities fairly and equitably among its clients over time, taking into account a variety of factors which may include the sourcing of the transaction, the nature of the investment focus of each such other Carlyle fund, accounts or other similar arrangements, each fund’s, account’s or similar arrangement’s desired level of investment, the relative amounts of capital available for investment, the nature and extent of involvement in the transaction on the part of the respective teams of investment professionals, any
requirements contained in the governing agreements of the Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements and other considerations deemed relevant by Carlyle in good faith, including suitability considerations and reputational matters. The application of these considerations may cause differences in the performance of different Carlyle funds, accounts and similar arrangements that have similar strategies.
Because we are a BDC, we are not generally permitted to make loans to companies controlled by Carlyle or other funds managed by Carlyle.
We are also not permitted to make any co-investments with clients of our Investment Adviser or its affiliates (including any fund managed by Carlyle) without complying with our Exemptive Relief, subject to certain exceptions, including with respect to our downstream affiliates. Co-investments made under the Exemptive Relief are subject to compliance with the conditions and other requirements contained in the Exemptive Relief, which could limit our ability to participate in a co-investment transaction. We may also co-invest with funds managed by Carlyle or any of its downstream affiliates, subject to compliance with applicable law and regulations, existing regulatory guidance, and our Investment Adviser’s and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures.
While Carlyle and our Investment Adviser seek to implement their respective allocation processes in a fair and equitable manner under the particular circumstances, there can be no assurance that it will result in equivalent allocation of or participation in investment opportunities or equivalent performance of investments allocated to us as compared to the other entities. In some cases, due to information barriers that are in place, we and other Carlyle investment funds, accounts or other similar arrangements may compete with each other for specific investment opportunities without being aware that they are competing with each other. Carlyle has a conflict system in place above these information barriers to identify potential conflicts early in the process and determine if an allocation decision needs to be made. If the conflicts system detects a potential conflict, the legal and compliance departments of Carlyle assess investment opportunities to determine whether a particular investment opportunity is required to be allocated to a particular investment fund, account or other similar arrangement (including us) or is prohibited from being allocated to a particular investment fund, account or similar arrangement. Subject to a determination by the legal and compliance departments (if applicable), portfolio management teams are then charged with ensuring that investment opportunities are allocated to the appropriate investment fund, account or similar arrangement. In addition, in some cases Carlyle and our Investment Adviser may make investment recommendations to investment funds, accounts and similar arrangements where the investment funds, accounts and similar arrangements make the investment independently of Carlyle and our Investment Adviser. As a result, there are circumstances where investments appropriate for us are instead allocated, in whole or in part, to such other investment funds, accounts or other similar arrangements irrespective of our Investment Adviser’s and Carlyle’s other policies and procedures regarding allocation of investments. Where Carlyle otherwise has discretion to allocate investment opportunities among various funds, accounts and other similar arrangements, it should be noted that Carlyle may determine to allocate such investment opportunities away from us.
During periods of unusual market conditions, our Investment Adviser may deviate from its normal trade allocation practices. For example, this may occur with respect to the management of unlevered and/or long-only investment funds, accounts or similar arrangements that are typically managed on a side-by-side basis with levered and/or long-short investment funds, accounts or similar arrangements.
Investment Strategy
We target U.S. middle market companies, generally controlled by private equity investment firms that require capital for growth, acquisitions, recapitalizations, refinancings and leveraged buyouts. We may also make opportunistic loans to independently owned and publicly held middle market companies. We seek to partner with strong management teams executing long-term growth strategies. Target businesses typically exhibit some or all of the following characteristics:
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• | EBITDA of $10—$100 million; |
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• | Minimum of 35% original sponsor cash equity; |
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• | Sustainable leading positions in their respective markets; |
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• | Scalable revenues and operating cash flow; |
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• | Experienced management teams with successful track records; |
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• | Stable, predictable cash flows with low technology and market risks; |
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• | Diversified product offering and customer base; |
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• | Low capital expenditures requirements; |
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• | A North American base of operations; |
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• | Strong customer relationships; |
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• | Products, services or distribution channels having distinctive competitive advantages; and |
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• | Defensible niche strategy or other barriers to entry. |
While we believe that the criteria listed above are important in identifying and investing in prospective portfolio companies, not all of these criteria will be necessarily met by each prospective portfolio company. In addition, we may change our investment objective and/or investment criteria over time without notice to or consent from our investors.
Investment Approach and Risk Monitoring of Investments
Our Investment Adviser utilizes a rigorous, systematic and consistent due diligence underwriting process to evaluate all investment opportunities. Our Investment Adviser’s investment teams primarily consist of origination professionals, research analysts and underwriters. An investment team works on a particular transaction from initial screening through closing, and the same team continues to monitor the credit for the life cycle of the investment.
We view our investment process as consisting of the phases described below:
Origination. Our Investment Adviser has built a strong direct origination platform with coverage of over 200 private equity firms and over 150 lending institutions. Our Investment Adviser’s origination team sources approximately 800 opportunities per year for us with an ultimate investment rate by us of less than 10% annually. The scale of our Investment Adviser’s origination platform allows us to maximize access to investment opportunities and enhance overall investment selectivity. We further seek to reduce risk by partnering with experienced sponsors with strong track records. We believe lending to companies owned by leading private equity firms (versus non-sponsored companies) has several important and potentially defensive characteristics. Sponsor involvement provides for:
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• | maximization of investment opportunities as approximately 70% of middle market loan volume is sponsor backed as of September 30, 2017, according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Middle Market Fact Sheet; |
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• | validation of enterprise value; |
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• | support, as needed, in strategy, operations and governance of portfolio companies; and |
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• | the potential for additional capital commitment by sponsor if company requires financial support. |
The origination team supplements these relationships through personal visits and marketing campaigns focused on maximizing investment deal flow. It is their responsibility to identify specific opportunities, refine opportunities through candid exploration of the underlying facts and circumstances and to apply creative and flexible solutions to solve clients’ financing needs. The origination personnel are located in New York, Chicago and Los Angeles. Each originator maintains long-standing relationships with potential sources of deal flow and is responsible for covering a specified target market. We believe those originators’ strength and breadth of relationships across a wide range of markets generate numerous financing opportunities, which should enable our Investment Adviser to be highly selective in recommending investments.
Transaction Screening. After the senior originator has completed an initial screen, the investment team will prepare and present a consistent screening template that includes business description, proposed transaction financing structures, preliminary financial analysis, initial assessment of investment merits and key risks and market/industry considerations to a subset of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee. During this early stage, the investment team also assesses initial adherence with environmental, social, and governance policies. Based on feedback from the committee, the deal team will prepare and disseminate an outcome email that documents the takeaways from the meeting, including preferred financing structure as well as terms, key diligence items, and next steps.
Underwriting. The next step is full credit analysis and in-depth due diligence. During the investment process, the investment team works closely with the private equity sponsor in all aspects of due diligence, including onsite meetings, due diligence calls, and review of third party diligence reports. Our Investment Adviser also conducts an independent evaluation of the business, utilizing both internal and external sources. A key differentiator is our Investment Adviser’s integrated credit platform and collaborative efforts that leverage Carlyle’s broader resources, which include access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge. This includes speaking to the private equity investment professionals (in accordance with information barrier restrictions), Carlyle operating executives, Carlyle’s Chief Economist & Director of Research, Carlyle’s Government Affairs professionals, and any executive within Carlyle’s private equity portfolio. In addition, we utilize multiple third party expert networks to supplement its work to gain further insight into company and industry factors from various thought leaders across the company’s markets. From the multiple diligence sources noted above, the deal team will prepare a highly detailed approval memo that includes, but is not limited to, the following:
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• | Overview of the opportunity and investment team recommendation |
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• | Structure, terms and pricing of the proposed facilities |
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• | Sponsor background, history |
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• | Detailed analysis of historical financial statements, including analysis of EBITDA adjustments, where appropriate |
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• | Projections, including management/sponsor case and base case, with assumptions clearly described, including revenue and EBITDA bridge, where appropriate |
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• | Fixed/variable cost analysis |
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• | Business/product description |
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• | Industry trends and analysis |
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• | Legal, environmental, regulatory issues (if applicable) |
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• | Capital markets/syndication strategy (if applicable) |
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• | Items as to which approval is conditional and which require further due diligence and/or subsequent resolution |
Monitoring. Diversification of our portfolio is a key tenet of our risk management strategy, including diversification by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. Additionally, we view proactive portfolio monitoring as a vital part of the investment process. Our Investment Adviser utilizes a proprietary credit surveillance report and software system, an objective rules-based Internal Risk Rating system and proprietary valuation model to assess risk in the portfolio. In addition to monthly portfolio reviews, our Investment Adviser compiles a quarterly risk report that examines, among other metrics, migration in portfolio and loan level investment mix, industry diversification, Internal Risk Ratings, revenue, EBITDA, and leverage. Our Investment Adviser supplements these policies with additional analyses and projections, including stress scenarios, to assess the potential exposure of our portfolio to variable macroeconomic factors and market conditions.
Portfolio Composition
As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the fair value of our investments was approximately $1,964.1 million and $1,422.8 million, respectively, in 92 and 86 portfolio companies/structured finance obligations/investment fund, respectively. The type, geography and industry composition of our non-controlled/non-affiliated investments as a percentage of fair value as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 was each as follows:
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Type—% of Fair Value | As of September 30, 2017 | As of December 31, 2016 |
First Lien Debt (excluding First Lien/Last Out) | 64.15 | % | 67.15 | % |
First Lien/Last Out Unitranche | 11.74 |
| 12.94 | |
Second Lien Debt | 13.69 |
| 12.08 | |
Structured Finance Obligations | 0.13 |
| 0.37 | |
Equity Investments | 0.69 |
| 0.46 | |
Investment Fund | 9.60 |
| 7.00 | |
Total | 100.00 | % | 100.00 | % |
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Type—% of Fair Value of First and Second Lien Debt | As of September 30, 2017 | As of December 31, 2016 |
Floating Rate | 98.80 | % | 99.25 | % |
Fixed Rate | 1.20 |
| 0.75 | |
Total | 100.00 | % | 100.00 | % |
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Geography—% of Fair Value | As of September 30, 2017 | As of December 31, 2016 |
Cayman Islands | 0.13 | % | 0.37 | % |
United Kingdom | 0.68 |
| 1.47 | |
United States | 99.19 |
| 98.16 | |
Total | 100.00 | % | 100.00 | % |
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Industry—% of Fair Value | As of September 30, 2017 | As of December 31, 2016 | As of September 30, 2017 |
Aerospace & Defense | 3.55 | | 4.31 | % |
Automotive | 1.06 | | 2.70 |
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Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | 10.89 | | 10.59 |
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Beverage, Food & Tobacco | 2.51 | | 1.08 |
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Business Services | 8.21 | | 9.97 |
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Capital Equipment | 1.83 | | 2.62 |
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Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | 1.70 | | 1.39 |
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Construction & Building | 1.25 | | 1.67 |
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Consumer Services | 5.36 | | 5.62 |
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Containers, Packaging & Glass | 1.91 | | 3.35 |
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Durable Consumer Goods | 3.00 | | 1.40 |
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Energy: Electricity | 2.12 | | 2.59 |
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Energy: Oil & Gas | 0.68 | | 0.77 |
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Environmental Industries | 2.74 | | 2.90 |
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Forest Products & Paper | 2.66 | | 1.68 |
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Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | 10.92 | | 11.36 |
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High Tech Industries | 7.64 | | 3.26 |
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Hotel, Gaming & Leisure | 2.31 | | 2.11 |
|
Investment Fund | 9.60 | | 7.00 |
|
Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | 1.79 | | 5.06 |
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Metals & Mining | 0.40 | | 0.72 |
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Non-durable Consumer Goods | 1.80 | | 2.06 |
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Retail | — | | 0.58 |
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Software | 2.00 | | 0.79 |
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Sovereign & Public Finance | 0.09 | | — |
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Structured Finance | 0.13 | | 0.37 |
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Telecommunications | 4.51 | | 7.76 |
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Transportation: Cargo | 4.27 | | 2.41 |
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Transportation: Consumer | 1.88 | | 1.96 |
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Wholesale | 3.19 | | 1.92 |
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Total | 100.00 | % | 100.00 | % |
See the Consolidated Schedules of Investments as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 in our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus for more information on these investments, including a list of companies and type, cost and fair value of investments which are included in our consolidated financial statements included in this prospectus.
Competition
Our primary competitors in providing financing to middle market companies include public and private funds, other BDCs, commercial and investment banks, collateralized loan obligations, commercial finance companies and, to the extent they provide an alternative form of financing, private equity and hedge funds. Many of our potential competitors are substantially larger and have considerably greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do. For example, some competitors may have a lower cost of funds and access to funding sources that will not be available to us. In addition, some of our competitors may have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments than we do, which could allow them to consider a wider variety of investments and establish more relationships than us. Furthermore, many of our competitors are not subject to the regulatory restrictions that the Investment Company Act and the Code impose on us. We cannot assure you that the competitive pressures we will face will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Also, as a result of this competition, we may not be able to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities from time to time, and we can offer no assurance that we will be able to identify and make investments that are consistent with our investment objective.
We expect to use the expertise of the members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee and its investment team to assess investment risks and determine appropriate pricing for our investments. In addition, we expect that the relationships developed by our Investment Adviser’s investment team will enable us to learn about and compete effectively for, financing opportunities with attractive middle market companies in the industries in which we seek to invest. For additional information concerning the competitive risks we face, see “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Investments—We operate in a highly competitive market for investment opportunities, and compete with investment vehicles sponsored or advised by our affiliates.”
Staffing
We do not currently have any employees. Our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer and Chief Operating Officer, each a Managing Director of Carlyle, and our Chief Compliance Officer and Secretary, a Director of Carlyle, are retained by our Administrator pursuant to the Carlyle Sub-Administration Agreements. Each of these professionals performs their respective functions for us under the terms of our Administration Agreement.
Our day-to-day investment operations are managed by our Investment Adviser. Pursuant to its personnel agreement with Carlyle Employee Co., our Investment Adviser has access to the members of its investment committee, and a team of additional experienced investment professionals who, collectively, comprise the Investment Adviser’s investment team. Our Investment Adviser may hire additional investment professionals to provide services to us.
Properties
We maintain our principal executive office at 520 Madison Ave., 40th Floor, New York, New York 10022. We do not own any real estate.
Legal Proceedings
From time to time, we may be a party to certain legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business, including proceedings relating to the enforcement of our rights under loans to or other contracts with our portfolio companies. We and our Investment Adviser are not currently subject to any material legal proceedings, and, to our knowledge, no material legal proceeding is threatened against us.
PORTFOLIO COMPANIES
The table set forth below contains certain information as of September 30, 2017 for each portfolio company in which we had an investment. Other than these investments, our only formal relationships with our portfolio companies are the managerial assistance that we may provide upon request and any board observer or participation rights we may receive in connection with our investment. In general, under the Investment Company Act, we would be presumed to “control” a portfolio company if we owned more than 25% of its voting securities and would be an “affiliate” of a portfolio company if we owned more than 5% of its outstanding voting securities. As a result, for purposes of the Investment Company Act, we are presumed to control Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC.
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Name and Address of Portfolio Company | | Industry | | Type of Investment | | Interest Rate | | Maturity | | Par/ Principal/ Shares | | Amortized Cost (1) | | Fair Value | | Percentage of Class Held |
Equity and Debt Investments (6) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Access CIG, LLC | | Business Services | | First Lien | | L + 5.00% (1% Floor) | | 10/17/2021 | | 18,195 |
| | 18,096 |
| | 18,246 |
| | — |
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6818 A Patterson Pass Road Livermore, CA 94550 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Achilles Acquisition LLC
| | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate
| | First Lien | | L + 6.00% (1% Floor) | | 6/6/2023 | | 38,657 |
| | 37,586 |
| | 38,209 |
| | — |
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200 Galleria Pkwy SE Atlanta, GA 30339
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Acrisure, LLC | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate
| | Second Lien | | L + 9.25% (1% Floor) | | 11/22/2024 | | 33,750 |
| | 32,884 |
| | 33,228 |
| | — |
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5664 Prairie Creek Drive SE Caledonia, MI 49316 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Advanced Instruments, LLC | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | First Lien | | L + 5.25% (1% Floor) | | 10/31/2022 | | 10,448 |
| | 10,253 |
| | 10,416 |
| | — |
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2 Technology Way Norward, MA 02062 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
AIM Group USA Inc. | | Aerospace & Defense | | Second Lien | | L + 9.00% (1% Floor) | | 8/2/2022 | | 23,000 |
| | 22,728 |
| | 22,830 |
| | — |
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705 SW 7th Street Renton, WA 98057 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Alpha Packaging Holdings, Inc. | | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | First Lien | | L + 4.25% (1% Floor) | | 5/12/2020 | | 2,904 |
| | 2,902 |
| | 2,904 |
| | — |
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1555 Page Industrial Blvd St. Louis, MO 63132 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
AMS Group HoldCo, LLC
| | Transportation: Cargo
| | First Lien | | L + 6.00% (1% Floor) | | 9/29/2023 | | 29,925 |
| | 29,172 |
| | 29,450 |
| | — |
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2400 Old Mill Road Carrollton, TX 75007 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
AmeriLife Group, LLC | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | Second Lien | | L + 8.75% (1% Floor) | | 1/10/2023 | | 22,000 |
| | 21,638 |
| | 21,723 |
| | — |
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2650 McCormick Drive Clearwater, FL 33759 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Anaren, Inc. | | Telecommunications | | First Lien | | L + 4.50% (1% Floor) | | 2/18/2021 | | 3,832 |
| | 3,812 |
| | 3,832 |
| | — |
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6635 Kirkville Road East Syracuse, NY 13057 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Argon Medical Devices, Inc. | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | Second Lien | | L + 9.50% (1% Floor) | | 6/23/2022 | | 25,000 |
| | 24,431 |
| | 25,000 |
| | — |
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5151 Headquarters Drive Suite 210 Plano, TX 75024 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Aquilex LLC | | Environmental Industries | | First Lien | | L + 4.00% (1% Floor) | | 12/31/2020 | | 3,208 |
| | 3,206 |
| | 3,208 |
| | |
13190 56th Ct N #401 Clearwater, FL 33760
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Audax AAMP Holdings, Inc. | | Durable Consumer Goods | | First Lien | | L + 7.50% (1% Floor) | | 1/31/2018 | | 12,487 |
| | 12,483 |
| | 12,441 |
| | — |
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13190 56th Ct N #401 Clearwater, FL 33760 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Berlin Packaging L.L.C. | | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | Second Lien | | L + 6.75% (1% Floor) | | 10/1/2022 | | 3,500 |
| | 3,487 |
| | 3,500 |
| | — |
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525 West Monroe Street 14th Floor Chicago, IL 60661 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Brooks Equipment Company, LLC | | Construction & Building | | First Lien | | L + 5.00% (1% Floor) | | 8/29/2020 | | 2,591 |
| | 2,578 |
| | 2,590 |
| | — |
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10926 David Taylor Drive Suite 300 Charlotte, NC 28262 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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Name and Address of Portfolio Company | | Industry | | Type of Investment | | Interest Rate | | Maturity | | Par/ Principal/ Shares | | Amortized Cost (1) | | Fair Value | | Percentage of Class Held |
Capstone Logistics Acquisition, Inc. | | Transportation: Cargo | | First Lien | | L + 4.50% (1% Floor) | | 10/7/2021 | | 19,198 |
| | 19,076 |
| | 19,150 |
| | — |
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16525 The Corners Parkway Peachtree Corners, GA 30092 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Captive Resources Midco, LLC | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | First Lien | | L + 5.75% (1% Floor) | | 6/30/2020 | | 30,900 |
| | 30,616 |
| | 30,900 |
| | — |
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201 East Commerce Drive Schaumburg, IL 60173 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Central Security Group, Inc. | | Consumer Services | | First Lien | | L + 5.63% (1% Floor) | | 10/6/2021 | | 39,183 |
| | 38,826 |
| | 39,101 |
| | — |
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2448 E. 81st Street, Suite 4300 Tulsa, OK 74137 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
CIP Revolution Holdings, LLC | | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | First Lien | | L + 6.00% (1% Floor) | | 8/19/2021 | | 19,105 |
| | 18,943 |
| | 18,977 |
| | — |
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CIP Revolution Investments, LLC | | | LLC interest | | | | | | 30,000 |
| | 300 |
| | 388 |
| | 0.58 | % |
4680 Parkway Drive, Suite 202 Mason, OH 45040 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Colony Hardware Corporation | | Construction & Building | | First Lien | | L + 6.00% (1% Floor) | | 10/23/2021 | | 22,128 |
| | 21,882 |
| | 22,030 |
| | — |
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269 S. Lambert Road Orange, CT 06477 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Confie Seguros Holding II Co. | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | Second Lien | | L + 10.00% (1.25% Floor) | | 5/8/2019 | | 9,000 |
| | 8,954 |
| | 8,798 |
| | — |
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7711 Center Avenue, Suite 200 Huntington Beach, CA 92647 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Continuum Managed Services Holdco, LLC | | High Tech Industries | | First Lien | | L + 8.75% (1% Floor) | | 6/8/2023 | | 22,943 |
| | 22,234 |
| | 23,175 |
| | — |
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99 High Street Boston, MA 02110 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Dade Paper & Bag, LLC
| | Forest Products & Paper | | First Lien | | L + 7.50% (1% Floor) | | 6/10/2024
| | 49,875 |
| | 48,920 |
| | 49,995 |
| | — |
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255 Route 1 & 9 Jersey City , NJ 07306 | | | LLC Interest | | | | | | 1,500,000 |
| | 1,500 |
| | 2,169 |
| | 0.47 | % |
Datapipe, Inc. | | Telecommunications | | First Lien | | L + 4.75% (1% Floor) | | 3/15/2019 | | 9,675 |
| | 9,619 |
| | 9,675 |
| | — |
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10 Exchange Place Jersey City, NJ 07302 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
DecoPac, Inc. | | Non-durable Consumer Goods | | Shares | | | | | | 1,500,000 |
| | 1,500 |
| | 1,500 |
| | 0.58 | % |
3500 Thurston Avenue Anoka, Minnesota 55303 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Dent Wizard International Corporation | | Automotive | | First Lien | | L + 4.75% (1% Floor) | | 4/7/2020 | | 897 |
| | 895 |
| | 896 |
| | — |
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4710 Earth City Expressway Bridgeton, MO 63044-3831 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Derm Growth Partners III, LLC (Dermatology Associates) | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | First Lien | | L + 6.50% (1% Floor) | | 5/31/2022 | | 49,917 |
| | 49,302 |
| | 49,624 |
| | — |
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1720 S. Beckham Ave, Suite 102 Tyler, Texas 75701 | | | | LLC interest | | | | | | 1,000,000 |
| | 1,000 |
| | 1,573 |
| | 0.49 | % |
DermaRite Industries, LLC | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | First Lien | | L + 7.00% (1% Floor) | | 3/3/2022 | | 20,053 |
| | 19,713 |
| | 19,911 |
| | — |
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7777 West Side Ave. North Bergen, NJ 07047 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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Name and Address of Portfolio Company | | Industry | | Type of Investment | | Interest Rate | | Maturity | | Par/ Principal/ Shares | | Amortized Cost (1) | | Fair Value | | Percentage of Class Held |
Dimensional Dental Management, LLC | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | First Lien (4) | | L + 6.75% (1% Floor) | | 2/12/2021 | | 31,780 |
| | 31,106 |
| | 31,625 |
| | — |
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1030 St. Georges Avenue Suite 401 Avenel, NJ 07001-1327 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Drew Marine Group Inc. | | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | Second Lien | | L + 7.00% (1% Floor) | | 5/19/2021 | | 12,500 |
| | 12,483 |
| | 12,469 |
| | — |
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100 South Jefferson Road Whippany, NJ 07981 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Direct Travel, Inc. | | Hotel, Gaming & Leisure | | First Lien | | L + 6.50% (1% Floor) | | 12/1/2021 | | 26,495 |
| | 25,963 |
| | 26,425 |
| | — |
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7430 E. Caley Avenue Suite 220 E Centinnial, CO 80111 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) | | Telecommunications | | First Lien (4) | | L + 6.25% (1% Floor) | | 6/7/2021 | | 27,284 |
| | 26,593 |
| | 26,921 |
| | — |
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989 Old Eagle School Road Wayne, PA 19087 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Emergency Communications Network, LLC | | Telecommunications | | First Lien | | L + 6.25% (1% Floor) | | 6/1/2023
| | 24,938 |
| | 24,723 |
| | 24,933 |
| | — |
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780 West Granada Blvd Ormond Beach, FL 32174 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
EP Minerals, LLC | | Metals & Mining | | First Lien | | L + 4.50% (1% Floor) | | 8/20/2020 | | 7,926 |
| | 7,905 |
| | 7,926 |
| | — |
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9785 Gateway Drive Reno, NV 89521 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
FCX Holdings Corp. | | Capital Equipment | | First Lien | | L + 4.50% (1% Floor) | | 8/4/2020 | | 3,829 |
| | 3,828 |
| | 3,829 |
| | — |
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3000 East 14th Avenue Columbus, OH 43219 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Frontline Technologies Holdings, LLC | | Software | | First Lien | | L + 6.50% (1% Floor) | | 9/18/2023
| | 39,295 |
| | 38,832 |
| | 39,205 |
| | — |
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1400 Atwater Drive Malvern, PA 19355 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
FWR Holding Corporation | | Beverage, Food & Tobacco | | First Lien | | L + 6.00% (1% Floor) | | 8/21/2023 | | 35,666 |
| | 34,444 |
| | 34,856 |
| | — |
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8027 Cooper Creek Blvd. #103 University Park, FL 34201 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Genex Holdings, Inc. | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | Second Lien | | L + 7.75% (1% Floor) | | 5/30/2022 | | 8,990 |
| | 8,913 |
| | 8,910 |
| | — |
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440 E Swedesford Rd Wayne, PA 19087 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Global Franchise Group, LLC | | Beverage, Food & Tobacco | | First Lien | | L + 5.75% (1% Floor) | | 12/18/2019 | | 14,505 |
| | 14,366 |
| | 14,463 |
| | — |
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5555 Glenridge Connector, Suite 850 Atlanta, GA 30342 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Global Software, LLC | | High Tech Industries | | First Lien | | L + 5.25% (1% Floor) | | 5/2/2022 | | 20,884 |
| | 20,548 |
| | 20,776 |
| | — |
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GS Holdco LLC (Global Software, LLC) | | | LLC interest | | | | | 1,000,000 |
| | 1,001 |
| | 1,506 |
| | 1.96 | % |
3201 Beechleaf Court, Suite 170 Raleigh, NC 27604 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Green Energy Partners/Stonewall LLC | | Energy: Electricity | | First Lien | | L + 5.50% (1% Floor) | | 11/13/2021 | | 20,000 |
| | 19,653 |
| | 18,652 |
| | — |
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4100 Spring Valley Rd. Suite 1001 Dallas, TX 75244 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Hummel Station LLC | | Energy: Electricity | | First Lien | | L + 6.00% (1% Floor) | | 10/27/2022 | | 25,000 |
| | 24,035 |
| | 22,938 |
| | — |
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5001 Spring Valley Rd. Suite 1150 Dallas, TX 75244 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Hydrofarm, LLC | | Wholesale | | First Lien | | L + 7.00% | | 5/12/2022 | | 18,881 |
| | 18,718 |
| | 18,851 |
| | — |
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2249 S. McDowell Ext. Petaluma, CA 94954 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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Name and Address of Portfolio Company | | Industry | | Type of Investment | | Interest Rate | | Maturity | | Par/ Principal/ Shares | | Amortized Cost (1) | | Fair Value | | Percentage of Class Held |
Indra Holdings Corp. (Totes Isotoner) | | Non-durable Consumer Goods | | First Lien | | L + 4.25% (1% Floor) | | 5/1/2021 | | 18,965 |
| | 17,138 |
| | 11,411 |
| | — |
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9655 International Blvd Cincinnati, OH 45246 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Integro Parent Inc. | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | First Lien | | L + 5.75% (1% Floor) | | 10/30/2022 | | 4,914 |
| | 4,814 |
| | 4,806 |
| | — |
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1 State Street Plaza New York, NY 10004 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | Second Lien | | L + 8.50% (1% Floor) | | 4/29/2022 | | 12,500 |
| | 12,414 |
| | 12,500 |
| | — |
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7 World Trade Center New York, NY 10007 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Jazz Acquisition, Inc. (Wencor) | | Aerospace & Defense | | Second Lien | | L + 6.75% (1% Floor) | | 6/19/2022 | | 7,500 |
| | 7,406 |
| | 7,088 |
| | — |
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1625 N 1100 W Springville, UT 84663 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Legacy.com Inc. | | High Tech Industries | | First Lien (4) | | L + 6.00% (1% Floor) | | 3/20/2023 | | 17,000 |
| | 16,642 |
| | 17,241 |
| | — |
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820 Davis Street, Suite 210 Evanston, IL 60201 | | | | Shares | | | | | | 1,500,000 |
| | 1,500 |
| | 1,679 |
| | 1.11 | % |
Metrogistics LLC | | Transportation Cargo | | First Lien | | L + 6.50% (1% Floor) | | 9/30/2022 | | 16,681 |
| | 16,491 |
| | 16,625 |
| | — |
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110 Rock Cliff Court Suite D Saint Louis, MO 63123 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
National Technical Systems, Inc. | | Aerospace & Defense | | First Lien | | L + 6.25% (1% Floor) | | 6/12/2021 | | 26,351 |
| | 26,056 |
| | 25,554 |
| | — |
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24007 Ventura Boulevard Calabasas, CA 91302 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
NES Global Talent Finance US LLC(2) | | Energy: Oil & Gas | | First Lien | | L + 5.50% (1% Floor) | | 10/3/2019 | | 13,800 |
| | 13,636 |
| | 13,296 |
| | — |
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Station House Stamford New Road Altrincham, Cheshire WA14 1EP Manchester, UK | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
NMI AcquisitionCo, Inc. | | High Tech Industries | | First Lien | | P + 5.75% (2% Floor)
| | 9/6/2022
| | 51,220 |
| | 50,196 |
| | 50,590 |
| | — |
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2174 W Grove Parkway Suite 150 Pleasant Grove, UT 84062 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
OnCourse Learning Corporation | | Consumer Services | | First Lien | | L + 6.50% (1% Floor) | | 9/12/2021 | | 30,411 |
| | 30,076 |
| | 30,198 |
| | — |
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20225 Water Town Blvd. 4th Floor Brookfield, WI 53045 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Paradigm Acquisition Corp. | | Business Services | | First Lien | | L + 5.00% (1% Floor) | | 6/2/2022 | | 15,461 |
| | 15,339 |
| | 15,461 |
| | — |
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1277 Treat Boulevard, Suite 800 Walnut Creek, CA 94597 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Payment Alliance International, Inc. | | Business Services | | First Lien (4) | | L + 6.05% (1% Floor) | | 9/15/2021 | | 26,544 |
| | 25,952 |
| | 26,287 |
| | — |
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6060 Dutchmans Lane Suite 320 Louisville, KY 40205 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Pelican Products, Inc. | | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | First Lien | | L + 4.25% (1% Floor) | | 4/11/2020 | | 3,594 |
| | 3,599 |
| | 3,585 |
| | — |
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23215 Early Ave Torrance, CA 90505 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Pexco LLC | | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | Second Lien | | L + 8.00% (1% Floor) | | 5/8/2025 | | 20,000 |
| | 19,814 |
| | 20,346 |
| | — |
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10101 78th Ave Pleasant Prairie, WI 53158 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Plano Molding Company, LLC | | Hotel, Gaming & Leisure | | First Lien | | L + 7.50% (1% Floor) | | 5/12/2021 | | 21,536 |
| | 21,232 |
| | 18,891 |
| | — |
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431 E. South St Plano, IL 60545 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
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Name and Address of Portfolio Company | | Industry | | Type of Investment | | Interest Rate | | Maturity | | Par/ Principal/ Shares | | Amortized Cost (1) | | Fair Value | | Percentage of Class Held |
PMG Acquisition Corporation | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | First Lien | | L+6.25% (1% Floor) | | 5/22/2022 | | 27,251 |
| | 26,843 |
| | 27,192 |
| | — |
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8 Matchett Industrial Park Drive Pierceton, IN 46562 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Power Stop, LLC (5) | | Automotive | | Mezzanine Loan | | 11.00% | | 5/29/2022 | | 10,000 |
| | 9,845 |
| | 9,920 |
| | — |
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Power Stop Intermediate Holdings, LLC | | | | LLC interest | | | | | | 7,150 |
| | 715 |
| | 1,139 |
| | 0.72 | % |
6112 W. 73rd Street, Unit C Bedford Park, IL 60638 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
PPT Management Holdings, LLC | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | First Lien | | L+6.00% (1% Floor) | | 12/16/2022 | | 24,813 |
| | 24,626 |
| | 24,582 |
| | — |
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333 Earle Ovington Suite 225 Uniondale, NY 11553 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Prime Risk Partners, Inc. | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | First Lien | | L+5.75% (1% Floor) | | 8/13/2023 | | 1,549 |
| | 1,503 |
| | 1,506 |
| | — |
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3820 Mansell Road, Suite 100 Alpharetta, GA 30022-1537 | | | First Lien | | L+5.75% (1% Floor) | | 8/13/2023 | | 19,339 |
| | 18,758 |
| | 18,888 |
| | — |
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Product Quest Manufacturing, LLC | | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | First Lien (4) | | L + 5.75% (1% Floor) | | 9/9/2020 | | 33,000 |
| | 32,270 |
| | 22,808 |
| | — |
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330 Carswell Avenue Daytona Beach, FL 32117 | | | First Lien | | L + 6.75% (3.25% Floor) | | 3/31/2019
| | 1,192 |
| | 1,192 |
| | 1,192 |
| | |
Prowler Acquisition Corp. (Pipeline Supply and Service, LLC) | | Wholesale | | First Lien | | L + 4.50% (1% Floor) | | 1/28/2020 | | 14,949 |
| | 14,260 |
| | 13,771 |
| | — |
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1010 Lamar, Suite 1320 Houston, TX 77022 | | | | Second Lien | | L + 8.50% (1% Floor) | | 7/28/2020 | | 3,000 |
| | 2,965 |
| | 2,337 |
| | — |
|
PSC Industrial Holdings Corp | | Environmental Industries | | First Lien | | L + 4.75% (1% Floor) | | 12/5/2020 | | 14,588 |
| | 14,378 |
| | 14,588 |
| | — |
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5151 San Felipe, Suite 1600 Houston, TX 77056 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
PT Intermediate Holdings III, LLC (Parts Town) | | Wholesale | | First Lien | | L + 6.50% (1% Floor) | | 6/23/2022 | | 22,700 |
| | 22,498 |
| | 22,642 |
| | — |
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1150A N Swift Rd Addison, IL 60101 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Q International Courier, LLC | | Transportation: Cargo | | Second Lien | | L + 8.25% (1% Floor) | | 9/19/2025 | | 18,750 |
| | 18,376 |
| | 18,546 |
| | — |
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175-28 148th Avenue Jamaica, NY 11434-5516 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
QW Holding Corporation (Quala) | | Environmental Industries | | First Lien | | L + 6.75% (1% Floor) | | 8/31/2022 | | 36,641 |
| | 35,819 |
| | 35,989 |
| | — |
|
1302 N. 19th Street, Suite 300 Tampa, FL 33605 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Reladyne, Inc. | | Wholesale | | Second Lien | | L + 9.50% (1% Floor) | | 1/21/2023 | | 5,000 |
| | 4,880 |
| | 4,975 |
| | — |
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8280 Montgomery Rd Suite 101 Cincinnati, OH 45236 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Reliant Pro Rehab, LLC | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | First Lien (4) | | L+10.00% (1% Floor) | | 12/29/2017 | | 24,625 |
| | 24,555 |
| | 24,625 |
| | — |
|
6860 Dallas Parkway, Suite 500 Plano, TX 75024 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Rough Country, LLC | | Durable Consumer Goods | | Second Lien | | L + 8.50% (1% Floor) | | 11/25/2023 | | 42,500 |
| | 41,275 |
| | 42,254 |
| | — |
|
1400 Morgan Road Dyersburg, TN 38024 | | | LLC interest | | | | | | 754,775 |
| | 755 |
| | 850 |
| | 0.28 | % |
SolAero Technologies Corp. | | Telecommunications | | First Lien | | L + 5.25% (1% Floor) | | 12/10/2020 | | 25,312 |
| | 24,501 |
| | 23,216 |
| | — |
|
10420 Research Road, SE Albuquerque, NM 87123 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Superion, LLC (fka Ramundsen Public Sector, LLC) | | Sovereign & Public Finance | | Second Lien | | L + 8.50% (1% Floor) | | 1/31/2025 | | 1,800 |
| | 1,784 |
| | 1,824 |
| | — |
|
1000 Business Center Drive Lake Mary, FL 32746 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Superior Health Linens, LLC | | Business Services | | First Lien | | L + 6.50% (1% Floor) | | 9/30/2021 | | 21,192 |
| | 20,902 |
| | 20,960 |
| | — |
|
5005 S. Packard Ave. Cudahy, WI 53110 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Name and Address of Portfolio Company | | Industry | | Type of Investment | | Interest Rate | | Maturity | | Par/ Principal/ Shares | | Amortized Cost (1) | | Fair Value | | Percentage of Class Held |
Surgical Information Systems, LLC | | High Tech Industries | | First Lien(4) | | L + 5.00% (1% Floor) | | 4/24/2023 | | 30,000 |
| | 29,718 |
| | 29,991 |
| | — |
|
555 North Point Center East Alpharetta, GA 30022 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
T2 Systems Canada, Inc. | | Transportation: Consumer | | First Lien | | L + 6.75% (1% Floor) | | 9/28/2022 | | 4,020 |
| | 3,933 |
| | 3,985 |
| | — |
|
T2 Systems, Inc. | | | | First Lien | | L + 6.75% (1% Floor) | | 9/28/2022 | | 32,728 |
| | 32,011 |
| | 32,429 |
| | — |
|
T2 Systems Parent Corporation | | | | Shares | | | | | | 555,556 |
| | 556 |
| | 553 |
| | 0.64 | % |
8900 Keystone Crossing Suite 700 Indianapolis, IN 46240 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
The Hilb Group, LLC | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | First Lien (4) | | L + 6.00% (1% Floor) | | 6/24/2021 | | 32,673 |
| | 32,157 |
| | 32,281 |
| | — |
|
THG Acquisition, LLC (The Hilb Group, LLC) | | | LLC interest | | | | | 1,500,000 |
| | 1,500 |
| | 2,195 |
| | 1.11 | % |
8720 Stony Point Parkway Suite 125 Richmond, VA 23235 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
The SI Organization, Inc. | | Aerospace & Defense | | First Lien | | L + 4.75% (1% Floor) | | 11/23/2019 | | 14,339 |
| | 14,350 |
| | 14,339 |
| | — |
|
15050 Conference Center Drive Chantilly, VA 20151 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
The Topps Company, Inc. | | Non-durable Consumer Goods | | First Lien | | L + 6.00% (1.25% Floor) | | 10/2/2020 | | 23,192 |
| | 22,986 |
| | 22,413 |
| | — |
|
1 Whitehall Street New York, NY 10004 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
TruckPro, LLC | | Automotive | | First Lien | | L + 5.00% (1% Floor) | | 8/6/2018 | | 8,917 |
| | 8,904 |
| | 8,877 |
| | — |
|
1610 Century Center Parkway Suite 107 Memphis, TN 38134 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Tweddle Group, Inc. | | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | First Lien | | L + 6.00% (1% Floor) | | 10/24/2022 | | 7,453 |
| | 7,362 |
| | 7,502 |
| | — |
|
24700 Maplehurt Dr. Clinton Twp, MI 48036 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
TwentyEighty, Inc. - Revolver (fka Miller Heiman, Inc.) | | Business Services | | First Lien | | L + 8.00% (1% Floor) | | 3/21/2020 | | — |
| | (6 | ) | | (9 | ) | | — |
|
TwentyEighty, Inc. – (Term A Loans) | | | | First Lien | | L + 3.50% (1% Floor) cash, 4.50% PIK | | 3/21/2020 | | 3,859 |
| | 3,839 |
| | 3,735 |
| | — |
|
TwentyEighty, Inc. – (Term B Loans) | | | | First Lien | | 1.00% cash, 7.00% PIK | | 3/21/2020 | | 6,598 |
| | 6,360 |
| | 6,149 |
| | — |
|
TwentyEighty, Inc. – (Term C Loans) | | | | First Lien | | 0.25% cash, 8.75% PIK | | 3/21/2020 | | 6,380 |
| | 5,742 |
| | 5,084 |
| | — |
|
TwentyEighty Investors LLC | | | | LLC interest | | | | | | 69,786 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 6.98 | % |
10901 W. Toller Drive, Suite 203 Littleton, CO 80127 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc. | | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | Second Lien | | P + 7.75% | | 2/5/2022 | | 500 |
| | 504 |
| | 500 |
| | — |
|
4650 South Racine Ave Chicago, IL 60609
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Vetcor Professional Practices, LLC | | Consumer Services | | First Lien | | L + 6.00% (1% Floor) | | 4/20/2021 | | 35,784 |
| | 35,387 |
| | 36,036 |
| | — |
|
350 Lincoln Place Hingham, MA 02043 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Vistage Worldwide, Inc. | | Business Services | | First Lien | | L + 5.50% (1% Floor) | | 8/19/2021 | | 33,133 |
| | 32,960 |
| | 33,133 |
| | — |
|
11452 El Camino Real, Suite 400 San Diego, CA 92130 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
VRC Companies, LLC | | Business Services | | First Lien | | L + 6.50% (1% Floor) | | 3/31/2023 | | 32,694 |
| | 31,983 |
| | 32,240 |
| | — |
|
5400 Meltech Blvd #101 Memphis, TN 38118 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Name and Address of Portfolio Company | | Industry | | Type of Investment | | Interest Rate | | Maturity | | Par/ Principal/ Shares | | Amortized Cost (1) | | Fair Value | | Percentage of Class Held |
W/S Packaging Group Inc. | | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | First Lien | | L + 5.00% (1% Floor) | | 8/9/2019 | | 4,015 |
| | 3,881 |
| | 3,583 |
| | — |
|
2571 S. Hemlock Road Green Bay, WI 54229
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Watchfire Enterprises, Inc. | | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | First Lien | | L + 4.00% (1% Floor) | | 10/2/2020 | | 1,362 |
| | 1,350 |
| | 1,362 |
| | — |
|
1015 Maple Street Danville, IL 61832 | | | Second Lien | | L + 8.00% (1% Floor) | | 10/2/2021 | | 7,000 |
| | 6,939 |
| | 7,000 |
| | |
Winchester Electronics Corporation | | Capital Equipment | | First Lien | | L + 6.50% (1% Floor) | | 6/30/2022 | | 31,688 |
| | 31,412 |
| | 32,021 |
| | — |
|
68 Water Street Norwalk, CT 06854 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Zest Holdings, LLC | | Durable Consumer Goods | | First Lien | | L + 4.25% (1% Floor) | | 8/16/2023 | | 3,440 |
| | 3,432 |
| | 3,465 |
| | — |
|
2061 Wineridge Place Escondido, CA 92029 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Zywave, Inc. | | High Tech Industries | | Second Lien | | L + 9.00% (1% Floor) | | 11/17/2023 | | 4,950 |
| | 4,884 |
| | 5,035 |
| | — |
|
10100 W. Innovation Drive Suite 300 Milwaukee, WI 53226 | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Total Equity and Debt Investments | | | | | | | | | | $ | 1,778,796 |
| | $ | 1,759,433 |
| | |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Name and Address of Portfolio Company | | Industry | | Type of Investment | | Interest Rate | | Maturity | | Par/LLC Interest | | Cost | | Fair Value |
Investment Fund (2) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC | | Investment Fund | | Mezzanine Loan | | L+9.00% | | 6/24/2018 | | $ | 112,300 |
| | $ | 112,300 |
| | $ | 112,300 |
|
520 Madison Avenue New York, NY 10022 | | | Subordinated Loan and Member’s Interest | | 0.001% | | 3/1/2021 | | 74,501 |
| | 74,501 |
| | 76,247 |
|
Total Investment Fund | | | | | | | | | | | | $ | 186,801 |
| | $ | 188,547 |
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Name and Address of Portfolio Company | | Industry | | Type of Investment | | Interest Rate | | Maturity | | Par/ Principal | | Amortized Cost (1) | | Fair Value |
Structured Finance Obligations (2) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
1776 CLO I, Ltd., Subordinated Notes | | Structured Finance | | | | | | 5/8/2020 | | $ | 11,750 |
| | $ | 6,436 |
| | $ | 2,585 |
|
Total Structured Finance Obligations | | | | | | | | | | $ | 6,436 |
| | $ | 2,585 |
|
Total Investments | | | | | | | | | | | | $ | 1,972,033 |
| | $ | 1,964,117 |
|
| |
(1) | Amortized cost represents original cost, including origination fees, adjusted for the accretion/amortization of discounts/premiums, as applicable, on debt investments using the effective interest method. Equity tranche CLO fund investments, which are referred to as “structured finance obligations”, are recorded at amortized cost using the effective interest method. |
| |
(2) | The Company has determined the indicated investments are non-qualifying assets under Section 55(a) of the Investment Company Act. Under the Investment Company Act, the Company may not acquire any non-qualifying assets unless, at the time such acquisition is made, qualifying assets represent at least 70% of the Company’s total assets. |
| |
(3) | The Company receives less than the stated interest rate of this loan as a result of an agreement among lenders. Pursuant to the agreement among lenders in respect of this loan, this investment represents a first lien/first out loan, which has first priority ahead of the first lien/last out loan with respect to principal, interest and other payments. |
| |
(4) | In addition to the interest earned based on the stated interest rate of this loan, which is the amount reflected in this schedule, the Company is entitled to receive additional interest as a result of an agreement among lenders. Pursuant to the agreement among lenders in respect of this loan, this investment represents a first lien/last out loan, which has a secondary priority behind the first lien/first out loan with respect to principal, interest and other payments. |
| |
(5) | Represents a corporate mezzanine loan, which is subordinated to senior secured term loans of the portfolio company/investment fund. |
| |
(6) | Assets are pledged as collateral for the Facilities or 2015-1 Notes. |
| |
(7) | Amounts in thousands, unless disclosed otherwise. |
MANAGEMENT
Our business and affairs are managed under the direction of our Board. Our Board currently consists of five members, three of whom are not “interested persons” as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act (each, an “Independent Director”) and two of whom are “interested persons” as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act (each, an “Interested Director”). The Board elects our officers, who serve at the discretion of our Board. The responsibilities of the Board include quarterly valuation of our assets, corporate governance activities, oversight of our financing arrangements and oversight of our investment activities.
Board of Directors and Executive Officers
Our Board is presently composed of five directors, divided into three classes, each serving staggered three-year terms. The term of our first class of directors will expire at the 2020 annual meeting of stockholders; the term of our second class of directors will expire at the 2018 annual meeting of stockholders; and the term of our third class of directors will expire at the 2019 annual meeting of stockholders.
Each director holds office for the term to which he or she is elected or appointed and until his or her successor is duly elected and qualifies, or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal.
Directors
|
| | | | |
Name | Age | Position | Director Since | Class |
Interested Directors | | | | |
Michael A. Hart | 56 | Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer | 2015 | Class I (term expires in 2020) |
Eliot P.S. Merrill | 47 | Director | 2013 | Class II (term expires in 2018) |
| | | | |
Independent Directors | | | | |
Nigel D. T. Andrews | 70 | Director | 2012 | Class II (term expires in 2018) |
Leslie E. Bradford | 62 | Director | 2017 | Class III (term expires in 2019) |
John G. Nestor | 72 | Director | 2013 | Class III (term expires in 2019) |
Executive Officers Who are Not Directors
|
| | | |
Name | Age | Position | Officer Since |
Jeffrey S. Levin | 37 | President | 2016 |
Orit Mizrachi | 45 | Chief Operating Officer | 2014 |
Venugopal Rathi | 38 | Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer | 2015 |
Matthew Cottrell | 45 | Chief Compliance Officer and Secretary | 2012 |
The business address of each director and executive officer who is not a director is 520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor, New York, NY 10022.
Biographical Information and Discussion of Experience and Qualifications
Set forth below is biographical information of each director, including a discussion of such director’s particular experience, qualifications, attributes or skills that lead us and our Board to conclude, as of the date of this prospectus, that such individual should serve as a director, in light of the Company’s business and structure.
Interested Directors
Michael A. Hart has served on our Board since March 2015 and as our Chairman of the Board since March 2017 and our Chief Executive Officer since May 2016. Mr. Hart is also Chairman of the Investment Adviser’s Investment Committee. Mr. Hart has also served on the board of directors and as the chief executive officer of BDC II and TCG BDC III, Inc. (“BDC III”) since April 2017. Prior to the completion of the NFIC Acquisition in June 2017, Mr. Hart served as a director on the board of directors of NFIC and as the chief executive officer of NFIC. Mr. Hart is also Head of Carlyle Direct Lending. Mr. Hart may from time to time serve as an officer, director or principal of entities affiliated with Carlyle or of investment vehicles managed by Carlyle and its affiliates. Mr. Hart has over 26 years of capital markets, corporate finance, M&A, risk management, accounting and managerial experience. Prior to joining Carlyle in 2014, Mr. Hart was a Managing Director in the Financial Markets Advisory group at BlackRock Solutions, where he served as co-head of the U.S. advisory practice and was a member of the BlackRock Solutions Operating Committee. Prior to joining BlackRock Solutions, Mr. Hart spent 12 years with Morgan Stanley where his responsibilities included Global Co-Head of Leveraged and Acquisition Finance, Global Head of the Loan Products Group and Co-Chairman of the firm’s Capital Commitment Committee. Mr. Hart is an experienced leader whose extensive experience in capital markets, corporate finance and risk management provides our Board with valuable insight and leadership.
Eliot P.S. Merrill has served on our Board since 2013 and served as Interim Chairman of our Board from May 2016 to March 2017. Mr. Merrill has also served on the board of directors of BDC II since October 2017 and BDC III since April 2017. Prior to the completion of the NFIC Acquisition in June 2017, Mr. Merrill served as a member of the board of directors of NFIC. Mr. Merrill is a Managing Director and Co-head of Carlyle Global Partners based in New York. Carlyle Global Partners seeks to deliver attractive risk-adjusted returns on significant sums of capital over a longer timeframe than typical private equity funds, thereby creating substantial longer-term appreciation. Mr. Merrill may from time to time serve as an officer, director or principal of entities affiliated with Carlyle or of investment vehicles managed by Carlyle and its affiliates. Before the launch of Carlyle Global Partners in 2014, Mr. Merrill was a Managing Director of Carlyle, primarily focused on U.S. buyout opportunities in the telecommunications and media sectors. Mr. Merrill is a member of the board of directors of Getty Images, TCW Group, Content Partners, and Schon Klinik and Citizen Schools of New York, a non-profit. Mr. Merrill has previously served on the boards of several other Carlyle investments, including AMC Loews and Nielson Company B.V. Prior to joining Carlyle in 2001, Mr. Merrill was a Principal at Freeman Spogli & Co., a buyout fund with offices in New York and Los Angeles. Prior to that, Mr. Merrill worked at Dillon Read & Co. Inc. in the Mergers and Acquisitions Group. Before that, Mr. Merrill was a Sail Consultant and Special Project Coordinator for Doyle Sailmakers, Inc. Mr. Merrill’s depth of experience in investment management and capital markets, intimate knowledge of the business and operations of Carlyle’s investment platform, and experience as a director of other public and private companies provides our Board with valuable insight.
Independent Directors
Nigel D.T. Andrews has served on our Board since 2012, and is the Chairman of our Audit Committee, a member of the nominating and governance committee of our Board (the “Nominating and Governance Committee”) and a member of the compensation committee of our Board (the “Compensation Committee”). Mr. Andrews has also served as a member of the board of directors and as chairman of the audit committee of BDC II and BDC III since April 2017. Prior to the completion of the NFIC Acquisition in June 2017, Mr. Andrews served as a member of the board of directors and on the audit committee of NFIC. Mr. Andrews may from time to time serve as an independent director of other entities affiliated with Carlyle or of investment vehicles managed by Carlyle or its affiliates. Mr. Andrews recently retired from his roles as governor at London Business School, a director and a member of the audit and remuneration committees at Old Mutual plc., and Chairman of Old Mutual Asset Management, where he served from 2002 to 2014. Mr. Andrews continues to actively manage his own private investments and to serve as a trustee of Victory funds, a position he has held since 2002. From 2000 to 2010, Mr. Andrews served on the board of directors of Chemtura Corporation, a New York Stock Exchange listed company. Mr. Andrews also served as a Managing Director of Internet Capital Group, Inc. from 2000 to 2001. From 1987 to 2000, Mr. Andrews held various senior management positions within General Electric Company, including Executive Vice President of GE Capital from 1993 to 2000 and, prior to that, Vice President and General Manager of GE Plastics-Americas. During Mr. Andrews’ 13-year career with GE, he also served as a Vice President for Corporate Business Development and Strategy reporting to the chairman of the board. Prior to joining GE, Mr. Andrews was a partner at Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. He began his career in business management at Shell International Chemical Company. Mr. Andrews’ broad executive experience with the operations and transactions of industrial and financial services businesses provides our Board with valuable insights and knowledge that will enhance our ability to achieve our investment objectives.
Leslie E. Bradford has served on our Board since October 2017 and is a member of our Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Compensation Committee. Ms. Bradford is also a member of the board of directors and the audit committee of BDC II since October 2017. Ms. Bradford may from time to time serve as an independent director of other entities affiliated with Carlyle or of investment vehicles managed by Carlyle or its affiliates. From 2011 to 2013, Ms. Bradford was a senior advisor and director of the Alumni Network of Morgan Stanley. Prior to that, Ms. Bradford had risk management and advisory responsibilities throughout all business unit and support areas of Morgan Stanley over a 25+ year career. Prior to joining Morgan
Stanley, Ms. Bradford was a vice president in the corporate division of Irving Trust Company from 1977 to 1985 and was responsible for the development of corporate client lending and non-lending business in Northeastern United States. Ms. Bradford has also served on the boards and committees of various organizations, including as a former trustee of the American Foundation for the Blind, a former trustee of the Morgan Stanley Foundation, and a Dartmouth College Fund Committee member. Ms. Bradford holds an undergraduate degree in Religion from Dartmouth College and an MBA in Finance from the New York University Graduate School of Business. Ms. Bradford’s broad industry experience in corporate, financial, and public sectors have provided her with an abundance of skills and valuable insight in handling complex transactions and issues, all of which makes her well qualified to serve on our Board.
John G. Nestor has served on our Board since 2013, and is a member of our Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Compensation Committee. Mr. Nestor is also a member of the board of directors and the audit committee of each of BDC II and BDC III. Prior to the completion of the NFIC Acquisition in June 2017, Mr. Nestor was a member of the board of directors and on the audit committee of NFIC. Mr. Nestor may from time to time serve as an independent director of other entities affiliated with Carlyle or of investment vehicles managed by Carlyle or its affiliates. Mr. Nestor joined Kirtland Capital Partners in March 1986. He is chairman and senior managing partner of this private investment firm. Prior to joining Kirtland Capital Partners, Mr. Nestor worked for 16 years for Continental Illinois Bank. For eight years he focused on lending to small businesses in the Chicago area. In 1977 Mr. Nestor was transferred to Philadelphia where he was involved in commercial lending and in 1979 he moved to Cleveland to manage Continental’s Cleveland Office. Mr. Nestor is chairman of the board of directors of SmartSource Computer and Audio Visual Rentals, and he is also a member of the board of directors of Form Tech Concrete Forms. Mr. Nestor serves as a trustee of the Kelvin and Eleanor Smith Foundation and as the board chair of Deaconess Community Foundation. Mr. Nestor is the former chairman of the board of trustees of the Cleveland Foodbank and The Diversity Center. Mr. Nestor is an experienced leader whose numerous board and advisory positions and experiences in the middle markets provide our Board valuable insights.
Executive Officers Who Are Not Directors
Jeffrey S. Levin was appointed as our President in May 2016. Mr. Levin also serves as the president of BDC II and BDC III since April 2017. Prior to the completion of the NFIC Acquisition in June 2017, Mr. Levin served as the president of NFIC. Prior to his appointment as our President, Mr. Levin served as the Head of Origination. Mr. Levin may from time to time serve as an officer, director or principal of entities affiliated with Carlyle or of investment vehicles managed by Carlyle and its affiliates. Prior to joining Carlyle in 2012, Mr. Levin was a founding member of Morgan Stanley Credit Partners, a corporate debt fund, where he was responsible for originating, structuring and executing credit and private equity investments across various industries. Prior to that role, Mr. Levin was a member of the Leveraged & Acquisition Finance Group at Morgan Stanley where he was responsible for originating and executing high yield bond and leveraged loan transactions.
Venugopal Rathi was appointed as our as our Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer in 2015. Mr. Rathi also serves as the chief financial officer and treasurer of BDC II and BDC III since April 2017. Prior to the completion of the NFIC Acquisition in June 2017, Mr. Rathi served as the chief financial officer and treasurer of NFIC. Mr. Rathi may from time to time serve as an officer, director or principal of entities affiliated with Carlyle or of investment vehicles managed by Carlyle and its affiliates. Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Rathi worked at Ernst & Young LLP and provided assurance and advisory services to a wide variety of clients in the financial services industry. Mr. Rathi has extensive knowledge of fund-level and vehicle-level accounting, US GAAP and SOX compliance, valuation, and financial reporting practices across a wide range of investment strategies, including carry funds, hedge funds, CLOs, BDCs and mutual funds.
Orit Mizrachi was appointed as our Chief Operating Officer in 2014 and is a Managing Director of Carlyle. Ms. Mizrachi is also the chief operating officer of BDC II and BDC III since April 2017. Prior to the completion of the NFIC Acquisition in June 2017, she served as the chief operating officer of NFIC. Since joining Carlyle, Ms. Mizrachi has been involved in various roles, including our chief financial officer and Director of Operations for the CGC segment. Ms. Mizrachi may from time to time serve as an officer, director or principal of entities affiliated with Carlyle or of investment vehicles managed by Carlyle and its affiliates. Prior to joining Carlyle in 2010, Ms. Mizrachi worked in the hedge fund industry as the chief financial officer of Carlyle Blue Wave Management L.P. and as controller at Sagamore Hill Capital Management L.P., two multi-strategy hedge funds. Ms. Mizrachi started her career at Goldstein Golub & Kessler LLP as an auditor in their financial services group.
Matthew Cottrell was appointed as our as our Chief Compliance Officer and Secretary in 2012 and is a Director of Carlyle based in London. Mr. Cottrell is also the chief compliance officer and secretary of BDC II and BDC III since April 2017. Prior to the completion of the NFIC Acquisition in June 2017, Mr. Cottrell served as the chief compliance officer and secretary of NFIC. Since joining Carlyle, Mr. Cottrell has been involved with fund structuring, documentation and management of a range of CLOs, low levered, market value and synthetic funds together with regulation, compliance and operations management for CGC in Europe. Mr. Cottrell may from time to time serve as an officer, director or principal of entities affiliated with Carlyle or of investment vehicles managed by Carlyle and its affiliates. Prior to joining Carlyle, Mr. Cottrell was a Director in structured finance and credit policy at Fitch Ratings and he practiced as a banking lawyer in the international finance group at Ashurst, an international law firm.
Board Leadership Structure
Our Board monitors and performs an oversight role with respect to our business and affairs, including with respect to our investment practices and performance, compliance with regulatory requirements and the services, expenses and performance of our service providers. Among other things, our Board approves the appointment of our Investment Adviser and officers, reviews and monitors the services and activities performed by our Investment Adviser and executive officers, and approves the engagement and reviews the performance of our independent registered public accounting firm.
Under our Bylaws, our Board may designate a Chairman to preside over the meetings of our Board and meetings of the stockholders and to perform such other duties as may be assigned to him by the Board. We do not have a fixed policy as to whether the Chairman of the Board should be an Independent Director, and we believe that we should maintain the flexibility to select the Chairman and reorganize the leadership structure, from time to time, based on criteria that are in our best interests and our stockholders’ best interests at such times.
Presently, Mr. Hart serves as Chairman of our Board. Mr. Hart is an Interested Director. We believe that Mr. Hart’s extensive knowledge of the financial services industry and capital markets in particular qualifies him to serve as the Chairman of our Board. We believe that we are best served through this existing leadership structure, as Mr. Hart’s relationship with our Investment Adviser provides an effective bridge and encourages an open dialogue between management and our Board, ensuring that both groups act with a common purpose.
Our Board does not currently have a designated lead Independent Director. We are aware of the potential conflicts that may arise when an Interested Director is Chairman of the Board, but believe these potential conflicts are offset by our strong corporate governance policies. Our corporate governance policies include regular meetings of the Independent Directors in executive session without the presence of Interested Directors and management, the establishment of an Audit Committee comprised solely of Independent Directors and the appointment of a Chief Compliance Officer, with whom the Independent Directors meet regularly without the presence of Interested Directors and other members of management, for administering our compliance policies and procedures.
We recognize that different board leadership structures are appropriate for companies in different situations.
Role in Risk Oversight
Our Board performs its risk oversight function primarily through (a) its standing Audit Committee, which reports to the entire Board and is comprised solely of Independent Directors, and (b) active monitoring by our Chief Compliance Officer and of the operation of our compliance policies and procedures. As described below in more detail under “Committees of the Board of Directors,” the Audit Committee assists our Board in fulfilling its risk oversight responsibilities. The Audit Committee’s risk oversight responsibilities include overseeing the internal audit staff (sourced through our Administrator and Carlyle Employee Co., with whom we have a personnel agreement), accounting and financial reporting processes, our valuation process, our systems of internal controls regarding finance and accounting and audits of our financial statements.
Our Board also performs its risk oversight responsibilities with the assistance of the Chief Compliance Officer. Our Board annually reviews a written report from the Chief Compliance Officer discussing the adequacy and effectiveness of our compliance policies and procedures and our service providers. The Chief Compliance Officer’s annual report addresses, at a minimum: (a) the operation of our compliance policies and procedures and our service providers since the last report; (b) any material changes to such policies and procedures since the last report; (c) any recommendations for material changes to such policies and procedures as a result of the Chief Compliance Officer’s annual review; and (d) any compliance matter that has occurred since the date of the last report about which our Board would reasonably need to know to oversee our compliance activities and risks. In addition, the Chief Compliance Officer meets separately in executive session with the Independent Directors at least four times each year.
We believe that our Board’s role in risk oversight is effective and appropriate given the extensive regulation to which we are already subject as a BDC. As a BDC, we are required to comply with certain regulatory requirements that control the levels of risk in our business and operations. For example, our ability to incur indebtedness is limited such that our asset coverage must equal at least 200% immediately after each time we incur indebtedness, we generally have to invest at least 70% of our total assets in “qualifying assets” and we are not generally permitted to invest in any portfolio company in which one of our affiliates currently has an investment.
We recognize that different board roles in risk oversight are appropriate for companies in different situations. We intend to re-examine the manners in which our Board administers its oversight function on an ongoing basis to ensure that they continue to meet our needs.
Committees of the Board of Directors
Our Board has established an Audit Committee, Nominating and Governance Committee and Compensation Committee and may establish additional committees in the future.
Audit Committee
The Audit Committee is currently composed of Messrs. Andrews and Nestor and Ms. Bradford, all of whom are Independent Directors. Mr. Andrews serves as Chairman of the Audit Committee. Our Board has determined that Mr. Andrews is an “audit committee financial expert” as that term is defined under Item 407 of Regulation S-K, as promulgated under the Exchange Act (“Regulation S-K”). Each of Messrs. Andrews and Nestor and Ms. Bradford meets the current independence and experience requirements of Rule 10A-3 of the Exchange Act. The Audit Committee operates pursuant to a charter approved by our Board, which sets forth the responsibilities of the Audit Committee. The Audit Committee’s responsibilities include establishing guidelines and making recommendations to our Board regarding the valuation of our loans and investments, selecting our independent registered public accounting firm, reviewing with such independent registered public accounting firm the planning, scope and results of their audit of our financial statements, pre-approving the fees for services performed, reviewing with the independent registered public accounting firm the adequacy of internal control systems, reviewing our annual financial statements, overseeing internal audit staff and periodic filings and receiving our audit reports and financial statements.
During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016, the Audit Committee met 9 times.
Our Audit Committee’s charter is available on our website at: www.tcgbdc.com.
Nominating and Governance Committee
The members of the Nominating and Governance Committee are Messrs. Andrews and Nestor and Ms. Bradford, each of whom is independent for purposes of the Investment Company Act and are independent for listing exchange corporate governance regulations. Mr. Nestor serves as Chairman of the Nominating and Governance Committee. The Nominating and Governance Committee is responsible for (i) developing, reviewing and, as appropriate, updating certain policies regarding the nomination of directors and recommending such policies or any changes in such policies to the Board for approval, (ii) identifying individuals qualified to become directors, (iii) evaluating and recommending to the Board nominees to fill vacancies on the Board or committees thereof or to stand for election by the stockholders of the Company, (iv) reviewing the Company’s policies relating to corporate governance and recommending any changes in such policies to the Board, and (v) overseeing the evaluation of the Board (including its leadership structure) and its committees. The Nominating and Governance Committee’s charter is available on our website (www.tcgbdc.com).
The Nominating and Governance Committee considers nominees properly recommended by stockholders in compliance with the procedures set forth in our bylaws. Our bylaws provide with respect to an annual meeting of stockholders, nominations of persons for election to the Board and the proposal of business to be considered by stockholders may be made only (1) pursuant to our notice of the meeting, (2) by or at the direction of the Board or (3) by a stockholder who is a stockholder of record both at the time of giving notice, as provided by the bylaws, and at the time of the annual meeting and who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has complied with the advance notice procedures of our bylaws. With respect to special meetings of stockholders, only the business specified in our notice of the meeting may be brought before the meeting. Nominations of persons for election to the Board at a special meeting may be made only pursuant to our notice of the meeting and (1) by or at the direction of the Board or (2) provided that the Board has determined that directors will be elected at the meeting, by a stockholder who is a stockholder of record both at the time of giving notice, as provided by the bylaws, and at the time of the special meeting and who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has complied with the advance notice provisions of the bylaws. See “Description of Capital Stock—Advance Notice Provisions for Stockholder Nominations and Stockholder Proposals.”
Compensation Committee
The members of the a compensation committee of the Board (the “Compensation Committee”) are Messrs. Andrews and Nestor and Ms. Bradford, each of whom is independent for purposes of the Investment Company Act and are independent for listing exchange corporate governance regulations. Mr. Andrews serves as chairman of the Compensation Committee. The Compensation Committee is responsible for determining, or recommending to the Board for determining, any compensation paid directly, if any, by us to our executive officers. The Compensation Committee is also charged with assisting the Board with all matters related to compensation, as directed by the Board. None of our executive officers is directly compensated by us and, as a result, the Compensation Committee does not produce and/or review and report on executive compensation practices. The Compensation Committee’s charter is available on our website (www.tcgbdc.com).
Rule 17j-1 Code of Ethics
We have adopted a code of ethics (the “Code of Ethics”) pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act that establishes procedures for personal investments and restricts certain transactions by our personnel. We have also adopted the Investment Adviser’s Policies and Procedures Regarding Material, Non-Public Information and the Prevention of Insider Trading (the “Code of Conduct and Insider Trading Policies”), intended to comply with Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act and Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. The Code of Ethics and the Code of Conduct and Insider Trading Policies generally do not permit investments by our and the Investment Adviser’s personnel in securities that may be purchased or sold by us.
Beneficial Ownership of Our Directors
The following table sets out the dollar range of our equity securities beneficially owned by each of our directors as of December 31, 2016. Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with Rule 16a-1(a)(2) under the Exchange Act.
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Name of Director | Dollar Range of Equity Securities in the Company (1)(2) |
Interested Directors | |
Michael A. Hart | Over $100,000 |
Eliot P.S. Merrill | Over $100,000 |
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Independent Directors | |
Nigel D.T. Andrews | Over $100,000 |
William P. Hendry (deceased)(3) | None |
John G. Nestor | None |
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(1) | Dollar ranges are as follows: none, $1 – $10,000, $10,001 – $50,000, $50,001 – $100,000, or over $100,000. |
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(2) | Dollar ranges were determined using the number of shares beneficially owned as of December 31, 2016 multiplied by our NAV per share as of September 30, 2017. |
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(3) | Ms. Bradford was appointed to the Board in October 2017 to fill the vacancy resulting from the death of Mr. Hendry in September 2017. |
Compensation of Independent Directors
Independent Directors are compensated as follows: (i) a $90,000 annual fee; (ii) for a meeting of our Board, $2,500 for each such board meeting attended in person, plus reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with attending such board meeting, and $950 for each such board meeting attended telephonically; (iii) for a meeting of a committee of the Board, $1,250 for each such committee meeting attended in person, plus reimbursement of reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with attending such committee meeting, and $650 for each such committee meeting attended telephonically; and (iv) an annual fee of $16,000 for the Chairman of our Audit Committee.
The following table sets forth information concerning total compensation earned by or paid to each of our Independent Directors during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016:
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| Fees Earned or Paid in Cash | Total Compensation from the Company | Total Compensation from the Fund Complex(1)(2) |
Nigel D.T. Andrews, Director | $ | 133,500 |
| $ | 133,500 |
| $ | 151,000 |
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John G. Nestor, Director | $ | 136,500 |
| $ | 136,500 |
| $ | 172,000 |
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William P. Hendry, Director (deceased)(2) | $ | 148,000 |
| $ | 148,000 |
| $ | 186,000 |
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Michael L. Rankowitz, Director (resigned)(3) | $ | 124,000 |
| $ | 124,000 |
| $ | 158,000 |
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(1) | Messrs. Andrews, Hendry and Nestor served on the board of directors of NFIC. The Company and NFIC were part of the Fund Complex during the year ended December 31, 2016. Compensation amounts shown include compensation such Directors received from the Company and NFIC for services rendered during the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016. Mr. Andrews was appointed to the board of directors of NFIC effective March 11, 2016. BDC II and BDC III were not formed until 2017, and thus no such compensation was paid by BDC II or BDC III for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016. |
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(2) | Ms. Bradford was appointed to the Board in October 2017 to fill the vacancy resulting from the death of Mr. Hendry in September 2017. |
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(3) | Mr. Rankowitz resigned from our Board and from the board of directors of NFIC effective November 9, 2016. In connection therewith, Mr. Rankowitz also resigned as a member of the Audit Committee of our Board and a member of the audit committee and the pricing committee of the board of directors of NFIC. |
Compensation of Executive Officers
We do not currently have any employees and do not expect to have any employees. Services necessary for our business are provided by individuals who are employees of our Investment Adviser or its affiliates or by subcontractors, pursuant to the terms of the Investment Advisory Agreement, and the Administration Agreement. Each of our executive officers is an employee of our Investment Adviser or its affiliates. Our day-to-day investment operations are managed by our Investment Adviser. Most of the services necessary for the origination and administration of our investment portfolio are provided by investment professionals employed by our Investment Adviser or its affiliates or by subcontractors.
None of our officers receives direct compensation from us. We have agreed to reimburse our Administrator for our allocable portion of the compensation paid to or compensatory distributions received by our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer. In addition, to the extent that our Administrator outsources any of its functions, we will pay the fees associated with such functions at cost. We have agreed to reimburse our Administrator, Carlyle Employee Co., with whom we have entered into a personnel agreement, and our sub-administrator, CELF, for our allocable portion of the compensation of any personnel, other than legal department personnel, that they provide for our use.
No compensation is expected to be paid to Directors who are Interested Directors.
Portfolio Managers
The management of our investment portfolio is the responsibility of our Investment Adviser and its investment committee, and we consider our Investment Adviser’s investment committee to be our portfolio managers. The majority of the members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee must approve each new investment that we make, including an affirmative vote of the Chairman of the investment committee. As of September 30, 2017, certain members of our Investment Committee are also primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of one other pooled investment vehicle, with approximately $185.8 million of capital commitments, and one other account, with approximately $50.0 million of capital commitments. The biographical information of the members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee is set forth below. Mr. Hart and Mr. Hennigan are the members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee that are primarily and jointly responsible for the day-to-day management of our investment portfolio. The members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee are not employed by us, and receive no compensation from us in connection with their portfolio management activities.
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Name | Position |
Michael A. Hart | Managing Director, Head of CDL, CEO and Chairman of the Board and Chairman of Investment Committee |
Mark Jenkins | Managing Director, Head of Carlyle Global Credit |
Jeffrey S. Levin | Managing Director, President of the Company |
Thomas Hennigan | Managing Director, Chief Risk Officer of CDL, Chief Risk Officer and Head of Underwriting and Portfolio Management of the Company |
Grishma Parekh | Managing Director, Head of Origination of the Company and Carlyle Global Credit |
Linda Pace | Managing Director, Head of Carlyle Loans and Structured Credit |
Erica Frontiero | Managing Director, Head of Capital Markets of Carlyle Global Credit |
For biographical information of Mr. Hart, see “—Biographical Information and Discussion of Experience and Qualifications—Interested Directors.” For biographical information about Mr. Levin see “—Biographical Information and Discussion of Experience and Qualifications—Executive Officers Who Are Not Directors.”
Mark Jenkins is a Managing Director of Carlyle and Head of Carlyle Global Credit. Prior to joining Carlyle in 2016, Mr. Jenkins was a Senior Managing Director at Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) where he was responsible for leading CPPIB’s Global Private Investment Group with approximately CAD$56 billion of AUM. He was Chair of the Credit Investment Committee, Chair of the Private Investments Committee and also managed the portfolio value creation group. While at CPPIB, Mr. Jenkins founded CPPIB Credit Investments, which is a multi-strategy platform making direct principal credit investments. He also led CPPIB’s acquisition and oversight of Antares Capital and the subsequent expansion in middle market direct lending. Prior to CPPIB, he was Managing Director, Co-Head of Leveraged Finance Origination and Execution for Barclays Capital in New York. Before Barclays, Mr. Jenkins
worked for 11 years at Goldman Sachs & Co. in senior positions within the Fixed Income and Financing Groups in New York. He served on the boards of Wilton Re, Teine Energy, Antares Capital and Merchant Capital Solutions.
Thomas Hennigan was appointed as our Chief Risk Officer in 2016. Mr. Hennigan is also the chief risk officer of BDC II and BDC III since April 2017. He has been our Head of Underwriting and Portfolio Management since inception. In addition, Mr. Hennigan serves as the Chief Risk Officer for Carlyle Direct Lending. Prior to the completion of the NFIC Acquisition in June 2017, Mr. Hennigan served as the chief risk officer of NFIC. Mr. Hennigan may from time to time serve as an officer, director or principal of entities affiliated with Carlyle or of investment vehicles managed by Carlyle and its affiliates. Prior to joining Carlyle in 2011, Mr. Hennigan was as senior vice president and head of underwriting and portfolio management for Churchill Financial LLC, which he joined in 2006. In this role, Mr. Hennigan was responsible for managing Churchill Financial’s underwriting and portfolio management activities, including supervising the professionals involved in the underwriting process and overseeing the firm’s regular portfolio review meetings. Mr. Hennigan joined Churchill Financial from GE Corporate Financial Services. During his four years at GE, Mr. Hennigan had underwriting and portfolio management responsibilities in the Global Sponsor Finance Group and in the Global Media and Communications Group. Mr. Hennigan began his career with Wachovia Securities, Inc. in 1998, where he worked in middle market investment banking and loan syndications.
Grishma Parekh was appointed as our Head of Origination in 2017. Ms. Parekh is also head of origination of BDC II since April 2017. Ms. Parekh is a Managing Director of Carlyle and also serves as the head of origination of Carlyle Global Credit. Since joining Carlyle, Ms. Parekh has been responsible for sourcing, structuring, evaluating and executing middle market private debt and equity investments across various industries. Ms. Parekh may from time to time serve as an officer, director or principal of entities affiliated with Carlyle or of investment vehicles managed by Carlyle and its affiliates. She has served on the board of directors for Shari’s Management, Voice Construction, Combined Systems, and as an observer for Document Technologies and FishNet Security. Prior to joining Carlyle in 2007, Ms. Parekh was an investment banker with JPMorgan in New York.
Linda Pace is a Managing Director of Carlyle and the Head of Carlyle Loans and Structured Credit. Since joining Carlyle, Ms. Pace has been responsible for portfolio management for Carlyle High Yield Partners, deploying capital into the U.S. market in cash and synthetic form. Prior to joining Carlyle, Ms. Pace spent 10 years with BHF-Bank AG, where she was co-head of the bank’s syndicated loan group in New York. She invested in leveraged loans on behalf of the bank’s $2 billion on-balance sheet portfolio, as well as their $400 million collateralized loan obligation funds. Prior to that, Ms. Pace worked at Société Générale as a corporate credit analyst.
Erica Frontiero is a Managing Director of Carlyle and the Head of Capital Markets for Carlyle Global Credit. Prior to joining Carlyle in 2016, Ms. Frontiero spent twelve years with Antares/GE Capital in Capital Markets, structuring, syndicating, and trading leveraged loans, across a wide spectrum of industries to investors including, banks, hedge funds, pension funds and other financial institutions. She began her professional career at Banc of America Securities (Bank of America Merrill Lynch) in leveraged finance, in New York and in London. She is currently a member of the board of directors of Dress for Success Worldwide and a member of the 2016 class of WomeninPower.org, an executive fellowship program created by the 92Y in Manhattan. Ms. Frontiero is also one of the founding members of the creative advisory board for Orchid Worldwide, a boutique, sales, marketing and Travel Company, and a member of the inaugural class of Pipeline Angels, which aims to increase the number of women angel investors and social entrepreneurs in the US.
The table below shows the dollar range of shares of common stock to be beneficially owned by our portfolio managers as of December 31, 2016.
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Name | Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity Securities in TCG BDC, Inc. (1) |
Michael A. Hart | $100,001 – $500,000 |
Mark Jenkins | None |
Jeffrey S. Levin | $100,001 – $500,000 |
Thomas Hennigan | $10,001 – $50,000 |
Grishma Parekh | $50,001 – $100,000 |
Linda Pace | $10,001 – $50,000 |
Erica Frontiero | None |
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(1) | Dollar ranges are as follows: none, $1-$10,000, $10,001-$50,000, $50,001-$100,000, $100,001-$500,000, $500,001-$1,000,000 or over $1,000,000. |
Investment Advisory Agreement
Pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement we entered into with our Investment Adviser, we pay our Investment Adviser a fee for investment advisory and management services consisting of two components—a base management fee and an incentive fee.
Base Management Fee
The base management fee is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears at an annual rate of 1.50% of our average gross assets, including assets acquired through the incurrence of debt, excluding cash and cash-equivalents and adjusted for share issuances or repurchases. Cash and cash-equivalents include any temporary investments in cash-equivalents, U.S. government securities and other high quality investment grade debt investments that mature in 12 months or less from the date of investment. Prior to our initial public offering, our Investment Adviser waived its right to receive one-third (0.50%) of the 1.50% base management fee, which waiver was extended at the time of our initial public offering through September 30, 2017 at which time it terminated. Any waived base management fees are not subject to recoupment by our Investment Adviser.
Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, the base management fee is calculated based on the average value of our gross assets at the end of the two most recently completed fiscal quarters, except for the first quarter following our initial public offering, in which case the base management fee was calculated based on our gross assets as of the end of such fiscal quarter. The base management fee is appropriately adjusted for any share issuances or repurchases during such fiscal quarter and the base management fees for any partial month or quarter will be pro-rated.
Incentive Fee
The incentive fee has two parts. The first part is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears based on our pre-incentive fee net investment income for the immediately preceding calendar quarter. The second part is determined and payable in arrears as of the end of each calendar year (or upon termination of the Investment Advisory Agreement) in an amount equal to 17.5% of our realized capital gains, if any, on a cumulative basis from inception through the end of each calendar year, computed net of all realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation on a cumulative basis, less the aggregate amount of any previously paid capital gain incentive fees.
Incentive Fee on Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income
Pre-incentive fee net investment income means interest income, dividend income and any other income (including any other fees (other than fees for providing managerial assistance), such as commitment, origination, structuring, diligence and consulting fees or other fees that we receive from portfolio companies) accrued during the calendar quarter, minus our operating expenses accrued for the quarter (including the base management fee, expenses payable under our Administration Agreement, and any interest expense or fees on any credit facilities or outstanding debt and dividends paid on any issued and outstanding preferred stock, but excluding the incentive fee). Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, pre-incentive net income includes, in the case of investments with a deferred interest feature, accrued income that we have not yet received in cash. Pre-incentive fee net investment income does not include any realized capital gains, realized capital losses or unrealized capital appreciation or depreciation.
Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, pre-incentive fee net investment income, expressed as a rate of return on the value of our net assets at the end of the immediately preceding calendar quarter, will be compared to a “hurdle rate” of 1.50% per quarter (6% annualized) or a “catch-up rate” of 1.82% per quarter (7.28% annualized), as applicable.
Our net investment income used to calculate this part of the incentive fee is also included in the amount of our gross assets used to calculate the 1.50% base management fee.
We pay our Investment Adviser an incentive fee with respect to our pre-incentive fee net investment income in each calendar quarter as follows:
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• | no incentive fee based on pre-incentive fee net investment income in any calendar quarter in which our pre-incentive fee net investment income does not exceed the hurdle rate of 1.50%; |
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• | 100% of our pre-incentive fee net investment income with respect to that portion of such pre-incentive fee net investment income, if any, that exceeds the hurdle rate but is less than 1.82% in any calendar quarter (7.28% annualized). We refer to this portion of our pre-incentive fee net investment income (which exceeds the hurdle rate but is less than 1.82%) as the “catch-up.” The “catch-up” is meant to provide our Investment Adviser with approximately 17.5% of our pre-incentive fee net investment income as if a hurdle rate did not apply if this net investment income exceeds 1.82% in any calendar quarter; and |
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• | 17.5% of the amount of our pre-incentive fee net investment income, if any, that exceeds 1.82% in any calendar quarter (7.28% annualized) is payable to our Investment Adviser. This reflects that once the hurdle rate is reached and the catch-up is achieved, 17.5% of all pre-incentive fee investment income thereafter is allocated to our Investment Adviser. |
The following is a graphical representation of the calculation of the income-related portion of the incentive fee:
Percentage of pre-incentive fee net investment income allocated to our Investment Adviser
These calculations are pro-rated for any period of less than three months and adjusted for any share issuances or repurchases during the relevant quarter. You should be aware that a rise in the general level of interest rates can be expected to lead to higher interest rates applicable to our debt investments. Accordingly, an increase in interest rates would make it easier for us to meet or exceed the incentive fee hurdle rate and may result in a substantial increase of the amount of incentive fees payable to our Investment Adviser with respect to pre-incentive fee net investment income.
Incentive Fee on Capital Gains
The second part of the incentive fee is determined and payable in arrears as of the end of each calendar year (or upon termination of the Investment Advisory Agreement, as of the termination date), and equals 17.5% of our realized capital gains, if any, on a cumulative basis from inception through the date of determination, computed net of all realized capital losses on a cumulative basis and unrealized capital depreciation, less the aggregate amount of any previously paid capital gain incentive fees, provided that, the incentive fee determined at the end of the first calendar year of operations may be calculated for a period of shorter than twelve calendar months to take into account any realized capital gains computed net of all realized capital losses on a cumulative basis and unrealized capital depreciation.
Examples of Quarterly Incentive Fee Calculation
The figures provided in the following examples are hypothetical, are presented for illustrative purposes only and are not indicative of actual expenses or returns. Please refer to our SEC filings for information on actual expenses and returns.
These examples assume a 17.5% incentive fee and a 1.50% management fee.
Example 1: Income Related Portion of Incentive Fee(*):
Alternative 1
Assumptions
Investment income (including interest, dividends, fees, etc.) = 1.25%.
Hurdle rate (1) = 1.50%.
Management fee (2) = 0.375%.
Other expenses (legal, accounting, custodian, transfer agent, etc.) (3) = 0.20%.
Pre-incentive fee net investment income =
(investment income - (management fee + other expenses)) = 0.675%.
Pre-incentive net investment income does not exceed hurdle rate, therefore there is no incentive fee.
Alternative 2
Assumptions
Investment income (including interest, dividends, fees, etc.) = 2.30%.
Hurdle rate (1) = 1.50%.
Management fee (2) = 0.375%.
Other expenses (legal, accounting, custodian, transfer agent, etc.) (3) = 0.20%.
Pre-incentive fee net investment income =
(investment income – (management fee + other expenses)) = 1.725%
Incentive fee = 17.5% × pre-incentive fee net investment income, subject to the “catch-up”(4)
= 100% × (1.725%–1.50%)
= 0.225%.
Alternative 3
Assumptions
Investment income (including interest, dividends, fees, etc.) = 4.00%.
Hurdle rate (1) = 1.50%.
Management fee (2) = 0.375%.
Other expenses (legal, accounting, custodian, transfer agent, etc.) (3) = 0.20%.
Pre-incentive fee net investment income =
(investment income – (management fee + other expenses)) = 3.425%.
Incentive fee = 17.5% × pre-incentive fee net investment income, subject to the “catch-up” (4)
Incentive fee = 100% × “catch-up” + (17.5% × (pre-incentive fee net investment income – 1.82%)).
Catch-up = 1.82% – 1.50%.
= 0.32%
Incentive fee = (100% × 0.32%) + (17.5% × (3.425% – 1.82%))
= 0.320% + (17.5% × 1.605%)
= 0.320% + 0.281%
= 0.601%.
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(*) | The hypothetical amount of pre-incentive fee net investment income shown is expressed, post-completion of the Company’s initial public offering, as a rate of return on the average daily Hurdle Calculation Value, and subsequently as a rate of return on the value of our total net assets. |
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(1) | Represents 6.00% annualized hurdle rate. |
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(2) | Represents 1.50% annualized management fee. |
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(3) | Hypothetical other expenses. Excludes organizational and offering expenses. |
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(4) | The “catch-up” provision is intended to provide our Adviser with an incentive fee of approximately 17.5% on all of our pre-incentive fee net investment income as if a hurdle rate did not apply when our net investment income exceeds 1.82% in any calendar quarter. The “catch-up” portion of our pre-incentive fee net investment income is the portion that exceeds the 1.5% hurdle rate but is less than or equal to approximately 1.82% (that is, 1.5% divided by (1 – 0.175)) in any calendar quarter. |
Example 2: Capital Gains Portion of Incentive Fee:
Alternative 1
Assumptions
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• | Year 1: $20 million investment made in Company A (“Investment A”), and $30 million investment made in Company B (“Investment B”). |
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• | Year 2: Investment A sold for $50 million and fair market value (“FMV”) of Investment B determined to be $32 million. |
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• | Year 3: FMV of Investment B determined to be $25 million. |
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• | Year 4: Investment B sold for $31 million. |
The capital gains portion of the incentive fee, if any, would be:
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• | Year 2: $5.25 million capital gains incentive fee, calculated as follows: |
$30 million realized capital gains on sale of Investment A multiplied by 17.5%.
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• | Year 3: None, calculated as follows:(5) |
$4.375 million cumulative fee (17.5% multiplied by $25 million ($30 million cumulative capital gains less $5 million cumulative capital depreciation)) less $5.25 million (previous capital gains fee paid in Year 2).
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• | Year 4: $175,000 capital gains incentive fee, calculated as follows: |
$5.425 million cumulative fee ($31 million cumulative realized capital gains ($30 million from Investment A and $1 million from Investment B) multiplied by 17.5%) less $5.25 million (previous capital gains fee paid in Year 2).
Alternative 2
Assumptions
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• | Year 1: $20 million investment made in Company A (“Investment A”), $30 million investment made in Company B (“Investment B”) and $25 million investment made in Company C (“Investment C”). |
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• | Year 2: Investment A sold for $50 million, FMV of Investment B determined to be $25 million and FMV of Investment C determined to be $25 million. |
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• | Year 3: FMV of Investment B determined to be $27 million and Investment C sold for $30 million. |
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• | Year 4: FMV of Investment B determined to be $35 million. |
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• | Year 5: Investment B sold for $20 million. |
The capital gains portion of the incentive fee, if any, would be:
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• | Year 2: $4.375 million capital gains incentive fee, calculated as follows: 17.5% multiplied by $25 million ($30 million realized capital gains on sale of Investment A less $5 million unrealized capital depreciation on Investment B). |
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• | Year 3: $1.225 million capital gains incentive fee, calculated as follows: $5.6 million cumulative fee (17.5% multiplied by $32 million ($35 million cumulative realized capital gains less $3 million unrealized capital depreciation)) less $4.375 million (previous capital gains fee paid in Year 2). |
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• | Year 4: $525,000 capital gains incentive fee, calculated as follows: $6.125 million cumulative fee (17.5% multiplied by $35 million cumulative realized capital gains) less $5.6 million (previous cumulative capital gains fee paid in Year 2 and Year 3). |
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• | Year 5: None $4.375 million cumulative fee (17.5% multiplied by $25 million ($35 million cumulative realized capital gains less $10 million realized capital losses)) less $6.125 million (previous cumulative capital gains fee paid in Years 2, 3 and 4). |
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(5) | If the Investment Advisory Agreement is terminated on a date other than December 31 of any year, we may pay aggregate capital gain incentive fees that are more than the amount of such fees that would have been payable if the Investment Advisory Agreement had been terminated on December 31 of such year. This would occur if the fair market value of an investment declined between the time the Amended Advisory Agreement was terminated and December 31. |
For the nine month period ended September 30, 2017, incentive fees related to pre-incentive fee net investment income were $15,459 thousand. For the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, incentive fees related to pre-incentive fee net investment income were $14,905 thousand and $8,881 thousand, respectively.
For the nine month period ended September 30, 2017, and for the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, there were no incentive fees related to realized capital gains.
For the nine month period ended September 30, 2017, base management fees were $11,854 thousand (net of waiver of $5,927 thousand). For the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, base management fees were $12,359 thousand and $8,907 thousand, respectively (net of waiver of $6,180 thousand and $4,454 thousand, respectively).
As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, $9,986 thousand and $8,157 thousand, respectively, was included in base management and incentive fees payable in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities.
Expenses
Our primary operating expenses include the payment of: (i) investment advisory fees, including base management fees and incentive fees, to our Investment Adviser pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement; (ii) costs and other expenses and our allocable portion of overhead incurred by our Administrator in performing its administrative obligations under the Administration Agreement; and (iii) other operating expenses as detailed below:
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• | the costs associated with the private offering of our common stock prior to our initial public offering; |
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• | the costs of any other offerings of our common stock and other securities, if any; |
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• | calculating individual asset values and our NAV (including the cost and expenses of any independent valuation firms); |
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• | expenses, including travel expenses, incurred by our Investment Adviser, or members of our Investment Adviser team managing our investments, or payable to third parties, performing due diligence on prospective portfolio companies and, if necessary, expenses of enforcing our rights; |
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• | the base management fee and any incentive fee payable under our Investment Advisory Agreement; |
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• | certain costs and expenses relating to distributions paid on our shares; |
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• | administration fees payable under our Administration Agreement and sub-administration agreements, including related expenses; |
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• | debt service and other costs of borrowings or other financing arrangements; |
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• | the allocated costs incurred by our Investment Adviser in providing managerial assistance to those portfolio companies that request it; |
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• | amounts payable to third parties relating to, or associated with, making or holding investments; |
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• | the costs associated with subscriptions to data service, research-related subscriptions and expenses and quotation equipment and services used in making or holding investments; |
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• | transfer agent and custodial fees; |
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• | commissions and other compensation payable to brokers or dealers; |
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• | federal and state registration fees; |
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• | any U.S. federal, state and local taxes, including any excise taxes; |
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• | independent director fees and expenses; |
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• | costs of preparing financial statements and maintaining books and records, costs of preparing tax returns, costs of Sarbanes-Oxley Act compliance and attestation and costs of filing reports or other documents with the SEC (or other regulatory |
bodies), and other reporting and compliance costs, including registration and listing fees, and the compensation of professionals responsible for the preparation or review of the foregoing;
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• | the costs of any reports, proxy statements or other notices to our stockholders (including printing and mailing costs), the costs of any stockholders’ meetings and the compensation of investor relations personnel responsible for the preparation of the foregoing and related matters; |
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• | the costs of specialty and custom software for monitoring risk, compliance and overall portfolio, including any development costs incurred prior to the filing of our election to be regulated as a BDC; |
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• | directors and officers/errors and omissions liability insurance, and any other insurance premiums; |
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• | indemnification payments; |
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• | direct fees and expenses associated with independent audits, agency, consulting and legal costs; and |
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• | all other expenses incurred by us or our Administrator in connection with administering our business, including our allocable share of certain officers and their staff compensation. |
We expect our general and administrative expenses to be relatively stable or to decline as a percentage of total assets during periods of asset growth and to increase during periods of asset declines.
Board Approval of the Investment Advisory Agreement
In accordance with Section 15(a) and 15(c) of the Investment Company Act, the Original Investment Advisory Agreement was amended and restated by the Investment Advisory Agreement after receiving the approval of our Board, including a majority of our Independent Directors, at an in-person meeting of the Board held on May 30, 2017, and the approval of our stockholders at a special meeting of our stockholders held on September 15, 2017.
In its consideration of the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Board considered the information it had received relating to, among other things:
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• | the nature, quality and extent of the advisory and other services to be provided to us by our Investment Adviser; |
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• | the investment performance of our Investment Adviser; |
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• | comparative data with respect to advisory fees or similar expenses paid by other BDCs, investment companies and other accounts, if any, of our Investment Adviser with similar investment objectives; |
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• | our projected operating expenses and expense ratio compared to BDCs, investment companies and other accounts, if any, of our Investment Adviser with similar investment objectives; |
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• | the costs of the services to be provided and profits to be realized by our Investment Adviser and its affiliates from the relationship with us; |
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• | the extent to which economies of scale would be realized as we continue to grow; |
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• | information about the services to be performed and the personnel performing such services under the Investment Advisory Agreement; |
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• | the organizational capability and financial condition of our Investment Adviser; and |
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• | the possibility of obtaining similar services from other third-party service providers or through an internally managed structure. |
No single factor was determinative of the Board’s and the Independent Directors’ decisions to approve the Investment Advisory Agreement, but rather, the directors based their determination on the total mix of information available to them. Following consideration of the foregoing, the Board determined that the terms of the Investment Advisory Agreement are fair to, and in the best interests of, us and our stockholders.
Duration, Termination and Amendment
On April 3, 2013, the Company’s Board, including a majority of Independent Directors approved the Original Investment Advisory Agreement in accordance with, and on the basis of an evaluation satisfactory to such directors as required by, Section 15(c) of the Investment Company Act. The Original Investment Advisory Agreement was amended and restated by the Investment Advisory Agreement on September 15, 2017 after the approval of the Company’s Board, including a majority of the Independent Directors, at an in-person meeting of the Board held on May 30, 2017 and the approval of the Company’s stockholders at a special meeting of stockholders held on September 15, 2017. The Investment Advisory Agreement amended the Original Investment Agreement to, among other things, (i) reduce the incentive fee payable by the Company to the Investment Adviser from an annual rate of 20% to an annual rate of 17.5%, (ii) delete the incentive fee payment deferral test described below, and (iii) include in the pre-incentive fee net investment income, in the case of investments with a deferred interest feature, accrued income that the Company has not yet received in cash. The initial term of the Investment Advisory Agreement will expire on September 15, 2019 and, unless terminated earlier, the Investment Advisory Agreement will renew automatically for successive annual periods, provided that such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the vote of the Board and by the vote of a majority of the Independent Directors. The Investment Advisory Agreement will automatically terminate in the event of an assignment and may be terminated by either party without penalty upon at least 60 days’ written notice to the other party.
Indemnification
The Investment Advisory Agreement provides that, absent willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of the reckless disregard of its duties and obligations, our Investment Adviser, its respective officers, managers, partners, agents, employees, controlling persons, members and any other person or entity affiliated with our Investment Adviser, including without limitation its sole member, are entitled to indemnification from us for all damages, liabilities, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and amounts reasonably paid in settlement) incurred by any of them in or by reason of any pending, threatened or completed action, suit, investigation or other proceeding (including an action or suit by or in the right of the Company or its security holders) arising out of or otherwise based upon the performance in good faith of any of the Investment Adviser’s duties or obligations under the Investment Advisory Agreement or otherwise as an investment adviser of the Company.
Organization of our Investment Adviser
Our Investment Adviser is a Delaware limited liability company that is registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act. The principal executive offices of our Investment Adviser are located at 520 Madison Ave., 40th Floor, New York, New York 10022.
Administration Agreement
CGCA, a Delaware limited liability company, serves as our Administrator. Pursuant to the Administration Agreement that we entered into with our Administrator, our Administrator furnishes us with office facilities, equipment and clerical, bookkeeping and record keeping services at such facilities. Under the Administration Agreement, our Administrator also performs, or oversees the performance of, our required administrative services, which include, among other things, providing assistance in accounting, legal, compliance, operations, technology and investor relations, and being responsible for the financial records that we are required to maintain and preparing reports to our stockholders and reports filed with the SEC. In addition, our Administrator assists us in determining and publishing our NAV, overseeing the preparation and filing of our tax returns and the printing and dissemination of reports to our stockholders, and generally overseeing the payment of our expenses and the performance of administrative and professional services rendered to us by others.
Payments under the Administration Agreement are equal to an amount that reimburses our Administrator for its costs and expenses and our allocable portion of overhead incurred by our Administrator in performing its obligations under the Administration Agreement, including our allocable portion of the compensation paid to or compensatory distributions received by our officers (including our Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Financial Officer) and their respective staff who provide services to us, operations staff who provide services to us, and internal audit staff. The Administration Agreement may be terminated by either party without penalty upon 60 days’ written notice to the other party. Additionally, we ultimately bear the costs of any sub-administration agreements that our Administrator enters into.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2017, we incurred $522 thousand in fees under the Administration Agreement, which were included in administration service fees in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. For the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, we incurred $703 thousand and $595 thousand, respectively, in fees under the Administrative Agreement, which were included in administrative service fees in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, $100 thousand and $137 thousand, respectively, was unpaid and included in administrative service fees payable in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities.
Sub-Administration Agreements
Our Administrator entered into the Carlyle Sub-Administration Agreements pursuant to which Carlyle Employee Co. and CELF agreed to provide our Administrator with access to certain legal, operations, financial, compliance, accounting, internal audit (in their role of performing our Sarbanes-Oxley Act internal control assessment), clerical and administrative personnel that presently support our Investment Adviser’s investment team. Pursuant to the Carlyle Sub-Administration Agreements, our Administrator agreed to reimburse Carlyle Employee Co. and CELF for their respective allocable portion of the compensation or compensatory distribution of any personnel, other than legal department personnel, that Carlyle Employee Co. and CELF provide for its use. In addition, our Administrator, pursuant to a separate sub-administration agreement, has engaged State Street, to act on behalf of our Administrator in its performance of certain other administrative services for us. The principal office of State Street is One Lincoln Street, Boston, MA 02111. State Street also serves as our custodian. The initial term of the State Street Sub-Administration Agreement ends on April 1, 2017 and, unless terminated earlier, the State Street Sub-Administration Agreement will renew automatically for successive annual periods, provided that such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the vote of the Board or by the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Company and (ii) the vote of a majority of the Company’s Independent Directors. The State Street Sub-Administration Agreement may be terminated upon at least 60 days’ written notice and without penalty by the vote of a majority of the outstanding securities of the Company, or by the vote of the Board or by either party to the State Street Sub-Administration Agreement.
For the nine months ended September 30, 2017, $531 thousand fees incurred in connection with the Sub-Administration Agreements were included in other general and administrative in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. For the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, fees incurred in connection with the Sub-Administration Agreements, which amounted to $602 thousand and $486 thousand, respectively, were included in other general and administrative in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, $122 thousand and $159 thousand, respectively, was unpaid and included in other accrued expenses and liabilities in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities.
Indemnification
The Administration Agreement provides that, absent willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of the reckless disregard of its duties and obligations, our Administrator, its officers, managers, partners, agents, employees, controlling persons, members, and any other person or entity affiliated with our Administrator, including without limitation its sole member, the Investment Adviser to the extent that they are providing services for or otherwise acting on behalf of our Administrator, Adviser or the Company, are entitled to indemnification from us for all damages, liabilities, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and amounts reasonably paid in settlement) incurred by any of them in or by reason of any pending, threatened or completed action, suit, investigation or other proceeding (including an action or suit by or in the right of the Company or its security holders) arising out of or otherwise based upon the performance in good faith of any of our Administrator’s duties or obligations under the Administration Agreement or otherwise as an administrator adviser of the Company.
CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS AND RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
As a BDC, we are also subject to certain regulatory requirements that restrict our ability to engage in certain related-party transactions. In the ordinary course of business, we may enter into transactions with affiliates and portfolio companies that may be considered related party transactions. In order to ensure that we do not engage in any prohibited transactions with any persons affiliated with us, we have implemented certain policies and procedures whereby certain of our executive officers screen each of our transactions for any possible affiliations between the proposed portfolio investment, us and other affiliated persons, including our Investment Adviser, stockholders that own more than 5% of us, employees, officers and directors of us and our Investment Adviser and certain persons directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with the foregoing persons. Our policies and procedures also assist us in complying with the relevant sections of the Investment Company Act and the restrictions associated with the Exemptive Relief. We will not enter into any agreements unless and until we are satisfied that doing so will not raise concerns under the Investment Company Act or, if such concerns exist, we have taken appropriate actions to seek review and approval by our Board or exemptive relief for such transactions. Our Board will review these procedures on an annual basis.
Investment Advisory Agreement
We are party to the Investment Advisory Agreement with our Investment Adviser, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carlyle, an entity in which certain of our directors and officers and members of our Investment Adviser’s investment team may have indirect ownership and pecuniary interests. See “Management—Investment Advisory Agreement.”
Our Investment Adviser, members of its investment committee, members of its investment team, our executive officers and directors and other current and future principals of our Investment Adviser may serve as investment advisers, officers, directors or principals of other entities and investment funds that operate in the same or a related line of business as we do and/or investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements advised by Carlyle, including other affiliated BDCs. Currently, our executive officers, as well as the other principals of our Investment Adviser manage other funds affiliated with Carlyle. In addition, our Investment Adviser’s investment team has responsibilities for sourcing and managing U.S. middle market debt investments for certain other investment funds and accounts. Accordingly, they have obligations to investors in those entities, the fulfillment of which may not be in the best interests of, or may be adverse to the interests of, us or our stockholders. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Structure— There are significant potential conflicts of interest, including the management of other investment funds and accounts by our Investment Adviser, which could impact our investment returns”; “Business—Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest”; and “Management—Investment Advisory Agreement” for more information. For information on payments made under the Investment Advisory Agreement, see “Management—Investment Advisory Agreement.”
Administration Agreement
Our Administrator, an affiliate of our Investment Adviser, provides us with the office facilities and administrative services necessary to conduct day-to-day operations pursuant to the Administration Agreement which we entered into with our Administrator. Our Administrator receives reimbursements equal to an amount that reimburses it for its costs and expenses and our allocable portion of overhead incurred by it in performing its obligations under the Administration Agreement, including our allocable portion of the compensation paid to or compensatory distributions received by our officers (including our Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Financial Officer) and respective staff who provide services to us, operations staff who provide services to us, and internal audit staff in their role of performing our Sarbanes-Oxley Act internal control assessment. See “Management—Organization of our Investment Adviser—Administration Agreement” for more information. For information on payments made under the Administration Agreement, see “Management—Organization of our Investment Adviser—Administration Agreement.”
Additionally, from time to time our Investment Adviser, our Administrator and their respective affiliates, may pay third-party providers to us of goods or services. We will subsequently reimburse our Investment Adviser, our Administrator or such affiliates thereof for any such amounts paid on our behalf.
10b5-1 Plan
Certain individuals affiliated with Carlyle have adopted the 10b5-1 Plan in accordance with Rules 10b5-1 and 10b-18 under the Exchange Act, under which the participants will buy up to $15 million in the aggregate of our common stock in the open market during the period beginning July 17, 2017 and ending on the earlier of the date on which the capital committed to the 10b5-1 Plan has been exhausted or June 19, 2018, subject to certain conditions. The 10b5-1 Plan requires the plan administrator to purchase shares of common stock when the market price per share is below the Company’s most recently reported NAV per share (including any updates, corrections or adjustments publicly announced by the Company to any previously announced NAV per share). Whether purchases will be made pursuant to the 10b5-1 Plan and how much will be purchased at any time is uncertain, dependent on prevailing market prices and trading volumes, all of which we cannot predict. These activities may have the effect of maintaining the market price of our common stock or retarding a decline in the market price of the common stock, and, as a result, the price of our common stock may be
higher than the price that otherwise might exist in the open market. See “Risk Factors—Purchases of our common stock under the 10b5-1 Plan may result in the price of our common stock being higher than the price that otherwise might exist in the open market.”
Placement Fees
The Company was party to a placement fee arrangement with TCG Securities, L.L.C. (“TCG”), a licensed broker-dealer and an affiliate of the Investment Adviser, which may require stockholders to pay a placement fee to TCG for TCG’s services, which terminated at the time our registration statement for our initial public offering went effective.
For the nine month period ended September 30, 2017, TCG earned placement fees of $19 thousand from the Company’s stockholders in connection with the issuance or sale of the Company’s common stock.
CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL STOCKHOLDERS
As of January 31, 2018, there were 62,568,651 shares of common stock issued and outstanding and 1,739 stockholders of record (including Cede & Co.).
Beneficial ownership is determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC. These rules generally provide that a person is the beneficial owner of securities if such person has or shares the power to vote or direct the voting thereof, or to dispose or direct the disposition thereof or has the right to acquire such powers within 60 days. Ownership information for those persons who beneficially own 5% or more of the outstanding shares of our common stock is based upon Schedule 13D, Schedule 13G, Form 13F or other filings by such persons with the SEC and other information obtained from such persons.
The following table sets forth, as of January 31, 2018, the beneficial ownership as indicated in the Company’s books and records of each current Director, each executive officer of the Company, the executive officers and Directors as a group, and each person known to us to beneficially own 5% or more of the outstanding shares of our common stock. To our knowledge, as of January 31, 2018, there were no other persons than those listed below who owned 5% or more of the outstanding shares of our common stock. Except as indicated in the footnotes to the table, each of the stockholders listed below has sole voting and/or investment power with respect to shares beneficially owned by such stockholder. Unless otherwise indicated by footnote, the address for each listed individual is 520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor, New York, NY 10022.
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Name of Beneficial Owner | Amount and Nature of Beneficial Ownership | | Percent of Class |
Five-Percent Stockholders: | | | |
State of Connecticut acting through its treasurer as trustee | 3,199,468 |
| (1) | 5.1 | % |
Directors and Named Executive Officers: | | | |
Interested Directors | | | |
Michael A. Hart | 21,238 |
| (2) | * |
|
Eliot P.S. Merrill | 10,100 |
| (3) | * |
|
Independent Directors | | | |
Nigel D.T. Andrews | 10,576 |
| (4) | * |
|
Leslie E. Bradford | — |
| | — |
|
John G. Nestor | 10,000 |
| (5) | * |
|
Named Executive Officers Who Are Not Directors | | | |
Mathew Cottrell | — |
| | — |
|
Jeffrey S. Levin | 15,782 |
| (6) | * |
|
Orit Mizrachi | 2,434 |
| (7) | * |
|
Venugopal Rathi | 526 |
| (8) | * |
|
All Directors and Executive Officers Group (nine persons) | 60,180 |
| | 0.1 | % |
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* | Represents less than one tenth of one percent. |
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(1) | Consists of 3,199,468 shares of common stock directly owned. The address of the State of Connecticut is 55 Elm Street, 6th Floor, Hartford, Connecticut 06106. |
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(2) | Consists of 21,238 shares of common stock directly owned by Mr. Hart. |
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(3) | Consists of 10,100 shares of common stock directly owned by Mr. Merrill. |
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(4) | Consists of 10,576 shares of common stock directly owned by Mr. Andrews. |
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(5) | Consists of 10,000 shares of common stock directly owned by Mr. Nestor. |
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(6) | Consists of 15,782 shares of common stock directly owned by Mr. Levin. |
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(7) | Consists of 2,434 shares of common stock directly owned by Ms. Mizrachi. |
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(8) | Consists of 526 shares of common stock directly owned by Mr. Rathi. |
SELLING STOCKHOLDERS
This prospectus also relates to 5,500,000 shares of our common stock that may be offered for resale on behalf of the stockholders identified below. The stockholders acquired their respective shares of our common stock (i) through subscription agreements prior to our initial public offering, (ii) through our dividend reinvestment plan, (iii) in the NFIC Acquisition or (iv) in the open market. We are registering the shares to permit the stockholders and their pledgees, donees, transferees and other successors-in-interest that receive their shares from a stockholder as a gift, partnership distribution or other non-sale related transfer after the date of this prospectus to resell the shares when and as they deem appropriate. We do not know how long the stockholders will hold the shares before selling them, if at all, or how many shares they will sell, if any, and we currently have no agreements, arrangements or understandings with any of the stockholders regarding the sale of any of the resale shares. The selling stockholders are parties to subscription agreements with us entered into prior to our initial public offering, and have certain participation rights related to certain potential underwritten secondary offerings that may be initiated by us on behalf of the selling stockholders, as described in more detail in “Description of Common Stock.”
Because these participation rights are exercisable, subject to certain transfer restrictions, at the option of the selling stockholders, at this time we are unable to identify with certainty the selling stockholders who may choose to participate in a future public offering of common stock. As of February 9, 2018, up to 51,899,651 shares of common stock had the benefit of such participation rights. Specific information about any such selling stockholders will be set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.
The following table sets forth:
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| | | |
| • | | the name of the stockholders; |
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| | | |
| • | | the number and percentage of shares of our common stock that the stockholders beneficially owned prior to the offering for resale of the shares under this prospectus; |
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| | | |
| • | | the number of shares of our common stock that may be offered for resale for the account of the stockholders under this prospectus; and |
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| | | |
| • | | the number and percentage of shares of our common stock to be beneficially owned by the stockholders after the offering of the resale shares (assuming all of the offered resale shares are sold by the stockholders). |
The number of shares in the column “Number of Shares Being Offered” represents all of the shares that each stockholder may offer under this prospectus. The shares offered by this prospectus may be offered from time to time by the stockholders listed below.
This table is prepared solely based on information supplied to us by the listed stockholders and any public documents filed with the SEC. The applicable percentages of beneficial ownership are based on an aggregate of 62,568,651 shares of our common stock issued and outstanding on January 31, 2018, adjusted as may be required by rules promulgated by the SEC. Certain selling stockholders have affiliations with broker-dealers, but received the shares in the ordinary course of business and, at the time of receipt, had no agreements or understandings, directly or indirectly, with any person to distribute the shares. No selling stockholder has, or within the past three years has had, any position, office, or other material relationship with us.
Beneficial ownership has been determined in accordance with the rules and regulations of the SEC and includes voting or investment power (including the power to dispose) with respect to the securities.
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| | | | | | | | | | |
| | Shares Beneficially Owned Prior to Offering | | Number of Shares Being Offered | | Shares Beneficially Owned After Offering |
Stockholders | | Number | | Percent | | Number | | Percent |
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DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE
In accordance with the procedures adopted by our Board, the NAV per share of our outstanding shares of common stock is determined by dividing the value of total assets minus liabilities by the total number of shares outstanding.
We conduct the valuation of our assets, pursuant to which our NAV shall be determined, at all times consistent with US GAAP and the Investment Company Act. Our Board, with the assistance of the Audit Committee, determines the fair value of our assets on at least a quarterly basis, in accordance with the terms of ASC 820. Our valuation procedures are set forth in more detail below.
ASC 820 defines fair value as “the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date.” Fair value is a market-based measurement, not an entity-specific measurement. For some assets and liabilities, observable market transactions or market information might be available. For other assets and liabilities, observable market transactions and market information might not be available. However, the objective of a fair value measurement in both cases is the same — to estimate the price at which an orderly transaction to sell the asset or transfer the liability would take place between market participants at the measurement date under current market conditions (that is, an exit price at the measurement date from the perspective of a market participant that holds the asset or owes the liability).
ASC 820 establishes a hierarchal disclosure framework which ranks the observability of inputs used in measuring financial instruments at fair value. The observability of inputs is impacted by a number of factors, including the type of financial instrument, the characteristic specific to the financial instrument and the state of the marketplace, including the existence and transparency of transactions between market participants. Financial instruments with readily available quoted prices, or for which fair value can be measured from quoted prices in active markets, will generally have a higher degree of market price observability and a lesser degree of judgment applied in determining fair value.
The three-level hierarchy for fair value measurement is defined as follows:
Level 1 — inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted prices available in active markets for identical investments as of the reporting date. The types of financial instruments included in Level 1 generally include unrestricted securities, including equities and derivatives, listed in active markets. We do not adjust the quoted price for these investments, even in situations where we hold a large position and a sale could reasonably impact the quoted price.
Level 2 — inputs to the valuation methodology are either directly or indirectly observable as of the reporting date and are those other than quoted prices in active markets. The type of financial instruments in this category generally includes less liquid and restricted securities listed in active markets, securities traded in other than active markets, government and agency securities, and certain over-the-counter derivatives where the fair value is based on observable inputs.
Level 3 — inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable and significant to overall fair value measurement. The inputs into the determination of fair value require significant management judgment or estimation. Financial instruments that are included in this category generally include investments in privately held entities, non-investment grade residual interests in securitizations, collateralized loan obligations, and certain over-the-counter derivatives where the fair value is based on unobservable inputs.
In certain cases, the inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, an investment’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the overall fair value measurement. Our Investment Adviser’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment and considers factors specific to the investment.
We value securities/instruments traded in active markets on the measurement date by multiplying the closing price of such traded securities/instruments by the quantity of shares or amount of the instrument held. We may also obtain quotes with respect to certain of our investments, such as our securities/instruments traded in active markets and our liquid securities/instruments that are not traded in active markets, from pricing services, brokers, or counterparties (i.e., “consensus pricing”). When doing so, we determine whether the quote obtained is sufficient according to US GAAP to determine the fair value of the security. We may use the quote obtained or alternative pricing sources may be utilized including valuation techniques typically utilized for illiquid securities/instruments.
Securities/instruments that are illiquid or for which the pricing source does not provide a valuation or methodology or provides a valuation or methodology that, in the judgment of the Investment Adviser or our Board, does not represent fair value, shall each be valued as of the measurement date using all techniques appropriate under the circumstances and for which sufficient data is available. These valuation techniques may vary by investment and include comparable public market valuations, comparable precedent transaction valuations and/or discounted cash flow analyses. The process generally used to determine the applicable value is as follows:
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(i) | the value of each portfolio company or investment is initially reviewed by the investment professionals responsible for such portfolio company or investment and, for non-traded investments, a standardized template designed to approximate fair market value based on observable market inputs, updated credit statistics and unobservable inputs is used to determine a preliminary value, which is also reviewed alongside consensus pricing, where available; |
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(ii) | preliminary valuation conclusions are documented and reviewed by a valuation committee comprised of members of our senior management; |
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(iii) | our Board engages a third-party valuation firm to provide positive assurance on portions of the Middle Market Senior Loans and equity investment portfolio each quarter (such that each non-traded investment (other than Credit Fund) is reviewed by a third-party valuation firm at least once on a rolling twelve month basis) including a review of management’s preliminary valuation and conclusion on fair value; |
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(iv) | our Audit Committee reviews the assessments of the Investment Adviser and the third-party valuation firm and provide our Board with any recommendations with respect to changes to the fair value of each investment in our portfolio; and |
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(v) | our Board discusses the valuation recommendations of the Audit Committee and determines the fair value of each investment in our portfolio in good faith based on the input of the Investment Adviser and, where applicable, the third-party valuation firm. |
All factors that might materially impact the value of an investment are considered, including, but not limited to the assessment of the following factors, as relevant:
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• | the nature and realizable value of any collateral; |
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• | call features, put features and other relevant terms of debt; |
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• | the portfolio company’s leverage and ability to make payments; |
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• | the portfolio company’s public or “private” credit rating; |
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• | the portfolio company’s actual and expected earnings and discounted cash flow; |
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• | prevailing interest rates and spreads for similar securities and expected volatility in future interest rates; |
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• | the markets in which the portfolio company does business and recent economic and/or market events; and |
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• | comparisons to comparable transactions and publicly traded securities. |
Investment performance data utilized are the most recently available financial statements and compliance certificate received from the portfolio companies as of the measurement date which in many cases may reflect a lag in information.
Securities for which market quotations are not readily available or for which a pricing source is not sufficient may include, but are not limited to, the following:
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• | private placements and restricted securities that do not have an active trading market; |
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• | securities whose trading has been suspended or for which market quotes are no longer available; |
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• | debt securities that have recently gone into default and for which there is no current market; |
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• | securities whose prices are stale; and |
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• | securities affected by significant events. |
The Board is ultimately responsible for the determination, in good faith, of the fair value of our portfolio investments.
Determination of fair value involves subjective judgments and estimates. Accordingly, the notes to our consolidated financial statements express the uncertainty with respect to the possible effect of such valuations, and any change in such valuations, on our consolidated financial statements.
DESCRIPTION OF SECURITIES
This prospectus contains a summary of the common stock, preferred stock, subscription rights, debt securities, warrants and units. These summaries are not meant to be a complete description of each security. However, this prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement will contain the material terms and conditions for each security.
DESCRIPTION OF CAPITAL STOCK
The following description is based on relevant portions of the Maryland General Corporation Law and on our Charter and bylaws.
STOCK
Our authorized stock consists of 200,000,000 shares, par value $0.01 per share, all of which are initially designated as common stock. There are no outstanding options or warrants to purchase our stock. Our common stock is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CGBD.” There are no outstanding options or warrants to purchase our stock. No stock has been authorized for issuance under any equity compensation plans. Under Maryland law, our stockholders generally are not personally liable for our debts or obligations. Under our Charter, our Board is authorized to classify and reclassify any unissued shares of stock into other classes or series of stock without obtaining stockholder approval. As permitted by the MGCL, our Charter provides that the Board, without any action by our stockholders, may amend the Charter from time to time to increase or decrease the aggregate number of shares of stock or the number of shares of stock of any class or series that we have authority to issue.
Common Stock
All shares of our common stock have equal rights as to earnings, assets, voting, and dividends and, when they are issued, will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. Distributions may be paid to the holders of our common stock if, as and when authorized by our Board and declared by us out of assets legally available therefor. Shares of our common stock have no preemptive, conversion or redemption rights and are freely transferable, except where their transfer is restricted by federal and state securities laws or by contract.
In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, each share of our common stock would be entitled to share ratably in all of our assets that are legally available for distribution after we pay all debts and other liabilities and subject to any preferential rights of holders of our preferred stock, if any preferred stock is outstanding at such time.
Each share of our common stock is entitled to one vote on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders, including the election of directors. Except as provided with respect to any other class or series of stock, the holders of our common stock will possess exclusive voting power. There is no cumulative voting in the election of directors, which means that holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of common stock can elect all of our directors, and holders of less than a majority of such shares will be unable to elect any director.
The following are our outstanding classes of capital stock as of November 30, 2017:
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(1) Title of Class | (2) Amount Authorized | (3) Amount Held by us or for Our Account | (4) Amount Outstanding Exclusive of Amounts Shown Under (3) |
Common Stock | 200,000,000 | None | 62,207,603 |
Preferred Stock
Our Charter authorizes our Board to classify and reclassify any unissued shares of stock into other classes or series of stock, including preferred stock. The cost of any such reclassification would be borne by our existing common stockholders. Prior to issuance of shares of each class or series, the Board is required by Maryland law and by our Charter to set the terms, preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends or other distributions, qualifications and terms or conditions of redemption for each class or series. Thus, the Board could authorize the issuance of shares of preferred stock with terms and conditions which could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for holders of our common stock or otherwise be in their best interest.
You should note, however, that any issuance of preferred stock must comply with the requirements of the Investment Company Act. The Investment Company Act requires, among other things, that (1) immediately after issuance and before any dividend or other distribution is made with respect to our common stock and before any purchase of common stock is made, such preferred stock together with all other senior securities must not exceed an amount equal to 50% of our total assets after deducting the amount of such dividend, distribution or purchase price, as the case may be, and (2) the holders of shares of preferred stock, if any are issued, must be entitled as a class to elect two directors at all times and to elect a majority of the directors if dividends on such preferred stock are in arrears by two full years or more. Certain matters under the Investment Company Act require the separate vote of the holders of any issued and outstanding preferred stock. For example, holders of preferred stock would vote separately from the holders of common
stock on a proposal to cease operations as a BDC. We believe that the availability for issuance of preferred stock will provide us with increased flexibility in structuring future financings and acquisitions. However, we do not currently have any plans to issue preferred stock.
Limitation on Liability of Directors and Officers; Indemnification and Advance of Expenses
Maryland law permits a Maryland corporation to include in its charter a provision limiting the liability of its directors and officers to the corporation and its stockholders for money damages except for liability resulting from (a) actual receipt of an improper benefit or profit in money, property or services or (b) active and deliberate dishonesty established by a final judgment as being material to the cause of action. Our Charter contains such a provision which eliminates directors’ and officers’ liability to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law, subject to the requirements of the Investment Company Act.
Our Charter authorizes us, to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law and subject to the requirements of the Investment Company Act, to indemnify any present or former director or officer of the corporation or any individual who, while serving as our director or officer and at our request, serves or has served another corporation, real estate investment trust, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise as a director, officer, partner or trustee, from and against any claim or liability to which that person may become subject or which that person may incur by reason of his or her service in any such capacity and to pay or reimburse their reasonable expenses in advance of final disposition of a proceeding. Our bylaws obligate us, to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law and subject to the requirements of the Investment Company Act, to indemnify any present or former director or officer or any individual who, while serving as our director or officer and at our request, serves or has served another corporation, real estate investment trust, limited liability company, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise as a director, officer, partner, trustee, member or manager and who is made, or threatened to be made, a party to the proceeding by reason of his or her service in that capacity from and against any claim or liability to which that person may become subject or which that person may incur by reason of his or her service in any such capacity and to pay or reimburse his or her reasonable expenses in advance of final disposition of a proceeding without requiring a preliminary determination of his or her ultimate entitlement to indemnification. The Charter and bylaws also permit us to indemnify and advance expenses to any person who served a predecessor of us in any of the capacities described above and any of our employees or agents or any employees or agents of our predecessor. In accordance with the Investment Company Act, we will not indemnify any person for any liability to which such person would be subject by reason of such person’s willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office.
Maryland law requires a corporation (unless its charter provides otherwise, which our Charter does not) to indemnify a director or officer who has been successful in the defense of any proceeding to which he or she is made, or threatened to be made, a party by reason of his or her service in that capacity. Maryland law permits a corporation to indemnify its present and former directors and officers, among others, against judgments, penalties, fines, settlements and reasonable expenses actually incurred by them in connection with any proceeding to which they may be made, or threatened to be made, a party by reason of their service in those or other capacities unless it is established that (a) the act or omission of the director or officer was material to the matter giving rise to the proceeding and (1) was committed in bad faith or (2) was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty, (b) the director or officer actually received an improper personal benefit in money, property or services or (c) in the case of any criminal proceeding, the director or officer had reasonable cause to believe that the act or omission was unlawful. However, under Maryland law, a Maryland corporation may not indemnify for an adverse judgment in a suit by or in the right of the corporation or for a judgment of liability on the basis that a personal benefit was improperly received unless, in either case a court orders indemnification, and then only for expenses. In addition, Maryland law permits a corporation to advance reasonable expenses to a director or officer in advance of final disposition of a proceeding upon the corporation’s receipt of (a) a written affirmation by the director or officer of his or her good faith belief that he or she has met the standard of conduct necessary for indemnification by the corporation and (b) a written undertaking by him or her or on his or her behalf to repay the amount paid or reimbursed by the corporation if it is ultimately determined that the standard of conduct was not met.
We have entered into indemnification agreements with our directors and executive officers that will provide the maximum indemnification permitted under Maryland law and the Investment Company Act.
Certain Provisions of the MGCL and Our Charter and Bylaws
The MGCL and our Charter and bylaws contain provisions that could make it more difficult for a potential acquiror to acquire us by means of a tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise. These provisions are expected to discourage certain coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids and to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to negotiate first with our Board. We believe that the benefits of these provisions outweigh the potential disadvantages of discouraging any such acquisition proposals because, among other things, the negotiation of such proposals may improve their terms.
Classified Board of Directors
Our Board is divided into three classes of directors serving staggered three-year terms. The current terms of the first, second and third classes will expire at the annual meeting of stockholders held in 2018, 2019 and 2020, respectively, and in each case, those directors will serve until their successors are duly elected and qualify. Each year, one class of directors will be elected by the stockholders. A classified board may render a change in control of us or removal of our incumbent management more difficult. We believe, however, that the longer time required to elect a majority of our Board will help to ensure the continuity and stability of our management and policies.
Election of Directors
As permitted by our Charter, our bylaws provide that a plurality of the votes cast at a meeting of stockholders duly called and at which a quorum is present will be required to elect a director. Pursuant to our Charter and bylaws our Board may amend the bylaws to alter the vote required to elect directors.
Number of Directors; Vacancies; Removal
Our Charter provides that the number of directors will be increased or decreased only by the Board in accordance with our bylaws. Our bylaws provide that a majority of our entire Board may at any time increase or decrease the number of directors. However, the number of directors may never be less than one nor more than twelve unless our bylaws are amended in which case we may have more than twelve directors but never less than one. Our Charter provides that, except as may be provided by the Board in setting the terms of any class or series of preferred stock, any and all vacancies on the Board may be filled only by the affirmative vote of a majority of the remaining directors in office, even if the remaining directors do not constitute a quorum, and any director elected to fill a vacancy will serve for the remainder of the full term of the directorship in which the vacancy occurred and until a successor is duly elected and qualifies, subject to any applicable requirements of the Investment Company Act.
Our Charter provides that a director may be removed only for cause, as defined in our Charter, and then only by the affirmative vote of at least two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast in the election of directors.
Action by Stockholders
Under the MGCL, stockholder action can be taken only at an annual or special meeting of stockholders or (unless the charter provides for stockholder action by less than unanimous written consent, which our Charter does not) by unanimous written consent in lieu of a meeting. These provisions, combined with the requirements of our bylaws regarding the calling of a stockholder-requested special meeting of stockholders discussed below, may have the effect of delaying consideration of a stockholder proposal until the next annual meeting.
Advance Notice Provisions for Stockholder Nominations and Stockholder Proposals
Our bylaws provide that with respect to an annual meeting of stockholders, nominations of persons for election to the Board and the proposal of business to be considered by stockholders may be made only (1) pursuant to our notice of the meeting, (2) by the Board or (3) by a stockholder who is a stockholder of record both at the time of giving notice, as provided by the bylaws, and at the time of the annual meeting and who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has complied with the advance notice procedures of our bylaws. With respect to special meetings of stockholders, only the business specified in our notice of the meeting may be brought before the meeting. Nominations of persons for election to the Board at a special meeting may be made only (1) by the Board or (2) provided that the Board has determined that directors will be elected at the meeting, by a stockholder who is a stockholder of record both at the time of giving notice, as provided by the bylaws, and at the time of the special meeting and who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has complied with the advance notice provisions of the bylaws.
The purpose of requiring stockholders to give us advance notice of nominations and other business is to afford our Board a meaningful opportunity to consider the qualifications of the proposed nominees and the advisability of any other proposed business and, to the extent deemed necessary or desirable by our Board, to inform stockholders and make recommendations about such qualifications or business, as well as to provide a more orderly procedure for conducting meetings of stockholders. Although our bylaws do not give our Board any power to disapprove stockholder nominations for the election of directors or proposals recommending certain action, they may have the effect of precluding a contest for the election of directors or the consideration of stockholder proposals if proper procedures are not followed and of discouraging or deterring a third party from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect its own slate of directors or to approve its own proposal without regard to whether consideration of such nominees or proposals might be harmful or beneficial to us and our stockholders.
Calling of Special Meetings of Stockholders
Our bylaws provide that special meetings of stockholders may be called by a majority of our Board, the Chairman of the Board and certain of our officers. Additionally, our bylaws provide that, subject to the satisfaction of certain procedural and informational requirements by the stockholders requesting the meeting, a special meeting of stockholders will be called by the Secretary of the corporation upon the written request of stockholders entitled to cast not less than a majority of all the votes entitled to be cast at such meeting.
Approval of Extraordinary Corporate Action; Amendment of Charter and Bylaws
Under Maryland law, a Maryland corporation generally cannot dissolve, amend its charter, merge, sell all or substantially all of its assets, engage in a share exchange, co-invest or engage in similar transactions outside the ordinary course of business, unless advised by its board of directors and approved by the affirmative vote of stockholders entitled to cast at least two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. However, a Maryland corporation may provide in its charter for approval of these matters by a lesser percentage, but not less than a majority of all of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. Our Charter generally provides for approval of Charter amendments and extraordinary transactions by the stockholders entitled to cast at least a majority of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. Our Charter also provides that the following matters require the approval of stockholders entitled to cast at least 80% of the votes entitled to be cast: (i) certain Charter amendments; (ii) any proposal for our conversion, whether by merger or otherwise, from a closed-end company to an open-end company; (iii) any proposal for our liquidation or dissolution; or (iv) any proposal regarding a merger, consolidation, share exchange or sale or exchange of all or substantially all of our assets that the MGCL requires to be approved by our stockholders. However, if such amendment or proposal is approved by a majority of our continuing directors (in addition to approval by our Board), such amendment or proposal may be approved by a majority of the votes entitled to be cast on such a matter. The “continuing directors” are defined in our Charter as (1) our current directors, (2) those directors whose nomination for election by the stockholders or whose election by the directors to fill vacancies is approved by a majority of our current directors then on the Board or (3) any successor directors whose nomination for election by the stockholders or whose election by the directors to fill vacancies is approved by a majority of continuing directors or the successor continuing directors then in office.
Our Charter and bylaws provide that the Board will have the exclusive power to make, alter, amend or repeal any provision of our bylaws.
No Appraisal Rights
As permitted by the MGCL, our Charter provides that stockholders will not be entitled to exercise appraisal rights unless a majority of the Board shall determine such rights apply.
Control Share Acquisitions
The MGCL, pursuant to the Control Share Act, provides that control shares of a Maryland corporation acquired in a control share acquisition have no voting rights except to the extent approved by a vote of two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast on the matter. Shares owned by the acquiror, by officers or by directors who are employees of the corporation are excluded from shares entitled to vote on the matter. Control shares are voting shares of stock which, if aggregated with all other shares of stock owned by the acquiror or in respect of which the acquiror is able to exercise or direct the exercise of voting power (except solely by virtue of a revocable proxy), would entitle the acquiror to exercise voting power in electing directors within one of their increasing ranges of voting power. The requisite stockholder approval must be obtained each time an acquiror crosses one of the thresholds of voting power. Control shares do not include shares the acquiring person is then entitled to vote as a result of having previously obtained stockholder approval. A control share acquisition means the acquisition of control shares, subject to certain exceptions.
Our bylaws contain a provision exempting from the Control Share Act any and all acquisitions by any person of our shares of stock. There can be no assurance that such provision will not be amended or eliminated at any time in the future. However, we will amend our bylaws to be subject to the Control Share Act only if the Board determines that it would be in our best interests and if the SEC staff does not object to our determination that our being subject to the Control Share Act does not conflict with the Investment Company Act. The SEC staff has issued informal guidance setting forth its position that certain provisions of the Control Share Act would, if implemented, violate Section 18(i) of the Investment Company Act.
Business Combinations
Under Maryland law, “business combinations” between a Maryland corporation and an interested stockholder or an affiliate of an interested stockholder are prohibited for five years after the most recent date on which the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. These business combinations include a merger, consolidation, share exchange or, in circumstances specified in the statute, an asset transfer or issuance or reclassification of equity securities. An interested stockholder is defined as:
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• | any person who beneficially owns, directly or indirectly, 10% or more of the voting power of the corporation’s outstanding voting stock; or |
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• | an affiliate or associate of the corporation who, at any time within the two-year period prior to the date in question, was the beneficial owner, directly or indirectly, of 10% or more of the voting power of the then outstanding voting stock of the corporation. |
A person is not an interested stockholder under this statute if the Board approved in advance the transaction by which the stockholder otherwise would have become an interested stockholder. However, in approving a transaction, the Board may provide that its approval is subject to compliance, at or after the time of approval, with any terms and conditions determined by the board.
After the five-year prohibition, any business combination between the Maryland corporation and an interested stockholder generally must be recommended by the Board of the corporation and approved by the affirmative vote of at least:
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• | 80% of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of outstanding shares of voting stock of the corporation; and |
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• | two-thirds of the votes entitled to be cast by holders of voting stock of the corporation other than shares held by the interested stockholder with whom or with whose affiliate the business combination is to be effected or held by an affiliate or associate of the interested stockholder. |
These super-majority vote requirements do not apply if the corporation’s common stockholders receive a minimum price, as defined under Maryland law, for their shares in the form of cash or other consideration in the same form as previously paid by the interested stockholder for its shares.
The statute permits various exemptions from its provisions, including business combinations that are exempted by the Board before the time that the interested stockholder becomes an interested stockholder. Our Board has adopted a resolution that any business combination between us and any other person is exempted from the provisions of the MBCA, provided that the business combination is first approved by the Board, including a majority of the directors who are not interested persons (as defined in the Investment Company Act). This resolution may be altered or repealed in whole or in part at any time; however, our Board will adopt resolutions so as to make us subject to the provisions of the MBCA only if the Board determines that it would be in our best interests and if the SEC staff does not object to our determination that our being subject to the MBCA does not conflict with the Investment Company Act. If this resolution is repealed, or the Board does not otherwise approve a business combination, the statute may discourage others from trying to acquire control of us and increase the difficulty of consummating any offer.
Conflict with Investment Company Act
Our bylaws provide that, if and to the extent that any provision of the MGCL, including the Control Share Act (if we amend our bylaws to be subject to such Act) and the MBCA, or any provision of our Charter or bylaws conflicts with any provision of the Investment Company Act, the applicable provision of the Investment Company Act will control.
Exclusive Forum
Our Charter and bylaws provide that, to the fullest extent permitted by law, unless we consent in writing to the selection of an alternative forum, the sole and exclusive forum for (i) any derivative action or proceeding brought on behalf of the Company, (ii) any action asserting a claim of breach of a fiduciary duty owed by any director, officer or other employee of the Company to the Company or the Company’s stockholders, (iii) any action asserting a claim arising pursuant to any provision of the MGCL, the Charter or bylaws or the securities, antifraud, unfair trade practices or similar laws of any international, national, state, provincial, territorial, local or other governmental or regulatory authority, including, in each case, the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, or (iv) any action asserting a claim governed by the internal affairs doctrine shall be a federal or state court located in the state of Delaware, provided that to the extent the appropriate court located in the state of Delaware determines that it does not have jurisdiction over such action, then the sole and exclusive forum shall be any federal or state court located in the state of Maryland. Any person or entity purchasing or otherwise acquiring any interest in shares of capital stock of the Company shall be deemed, to the fullest extent permitted by law, to have notice of and consented to these exclusive forum provisions and to have irrevocably submitted to, and waived any objection to, the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts in connection with any such action or proceeding and consented to process being served in any such action or proceeding, without limitation, by United States mail addressed to the stockholder at the stockholder’s address as it appears on the records of the Company, with postage thereon prepaid.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED STOCK
In addition to shares of common stock, our Charter authorizes the issuance of preferred stock. If we offer preferred stock under this prospectus, we will issue an appropriate prospectus supplement. We may issue preferred stock from time to time in one or more classes or series, without stockholder approval. Prior to issuance of shares of each class or series, our Board is required by Maryland law and by our Charter to set, subject to the express terms of any of our then outstanding classes or series of stock, the preferences, conversion or other rights, voting powers, restrictions, limitations as to dividends or other distributions, qualifications and terms or conditions of redemption for each class or series. Any such issuance must adhere to the requirements of the Investment Company Act, Maryland law and any other limitations imposed by law.
The Investment Company Act currently requires, among other things, that (a) immediately after issuance and before any distribution is made with respect to common stock, the liquidation preference of the preferred stock, together with all other senior securities, must not exceed an amount equal to 50% of our total assets (taking into account such distribution), (b) the holders of shares of preferred stock, if any are issued, must be entitled as a class to elect two directors at all times and to elect a majority of the directors if dividends on the preferred stock are in arrears by two years or more and (c) such class of stock have complete priority over any other class of stock as to distribution of assets and payment of dividends, which dividends shall be cumulative.
For any class or series of preferred stock that we may issue, our Board will determine and the articles supplementary and the prospectus supplement relating to such class or series will describe:
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• | the designation and number of shares of such class or series; |
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• | the rate and time at which, and the preferences and conditions under which, any dividends will be paid on shares of such class or series, as well as whether such dividends are participating or non‑participating; |
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• | any provisions relating to convertibility or exchangeability of the shares of such class or series, including adjustments to the conversion price of such class or series; |
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• | the rights and preferences, if any, of holders of shares of such class or series upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up of our affairs; |
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• | the voting powers, if any, of the holders of shares of such class or series; |
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• | any provisions relating to the redemption of the shares of such class or series; |
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• | any limitations on our ability to pay dividends or make distributions on, or acquire or redeem, other securities while shares of such class or series are outstanding; |
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• | any conditions or restrictions on our ability to issue additional shares of such class or series or other securities; |
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• | if applicable, a discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations; and |
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• | any other relative powers, preferences and participating, optional or special rights of shares of such class or series, and the qualifications, limitations or restrictions thereof. |
The features of the preferred stock are further limited by the requirements applicable to RICs (as defined below) under the Code.
All shares of preferred stock that we may issue will be identical and of equal rank except as to the particular terms thereof that may be fixed by our Board, and all shares of each class or series of preferred stock will be identical and of equal rank except as to the dates from which dividends, if any, thereon will be cumulative.
DESCRIPTION OF SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS
GENERAL
We may issue subscription rights to our stockholders to purchase common stock. Subscription rights may be issued independently or together with any other offered security and may or may not be transferable by the person purchasing or receiving the subscription rights. In connection with a subscription rights offering to our stockholders, we would distribute certificates evidencing the subscription rights and a prospectus supplement to our stockholders on the record date that we set for receiving subscription rights in such subscription rights offering.
The applicable prospectus supplement would describe the following terms of subscription rights in respect of which this prospectus is being delivered:
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• | the period of time the offering would remain open (which shall be open a minimum number of days such that all record holders would be eligible to participate in the offering and shall not be open longer than 120 days); |
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• | the title of such subscription rights; |
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• | the exercise price for such subscription rights (or method of calculation thereof); |
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• | the ratio of the offering (which, in the case of transferable rights, will require a minimum of three shares to be held of record before a person is entitled to purchase an additional share); |
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• | the number of such subscription rights issued to each stockholder; |
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• | the extent to which such subscription rights are transferable and the market on which they may be traded if they are transferable; |
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• | if applicable, a discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to the issuance or exercise of such subscription rights; |
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• | the date on which the right to exercise such subscription rights shall commence, and the date on which such right shall expire (subject to any extension); |
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• | the extent to which such subscription rights include an over‑subscription privilege with respect to unsubscribed securities and the terms of such over‑subscription privilege; |
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• | any termination right we may have in connection with such subscription rights offering; and |
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• | any other terms of such subscription rights, including exercise, settlement and other procedures and limitations relating to the transfer and exercise of such subscription rights. |
EXERCISE OF SUBSCRIPTION RIGHTS
Each subscription right would entitle the holder of the subscription right to purchase for cash such amount of shares of common stock at such exercise price as shall in each case be set forth in, or be determinable as set forth in, the prospectus supplement relating to the subscription rights offered thereby. Subscription rights may be exercised at any time up to the close of business on the expiration date for such subscription rights set forth in the prospectus supplement. After the close of business on the expiration date, all unexercised subscription rights would become void.
Subscription rights may be exercised as set forth in the prospectus supplement relating to the subscription rights offered thereby. Upon receipt of payment and the subscription rights certificate properly completed and duly executed at the corporate trust office of the subscription rights agent or any other office indicated in the prospectus supplement we will forward, as soon as practicable, the shares of common stock purchasable upon such exercise. To the extent permissible under applicable law, we may determine to offer any unsubscribed offered securities directly to persons other than stockholders, to or through agents, underwriters or dealers or through a combination of such methods, as set forth in the applicable prospectus supplement.
DILUTIVE EFFECTS
Any stockholder who chooses not to participate in a rights offering should expect to own a smaller interest in us upon completion of such rights offering. Any rights offering will dilute the ownership interest and voting power of stockholders who do not fully exercise their subscription rights. Further, because the net proceeds per share from any rights offering may be lower than our then current NAV per share, the rights offering may reduce our NAV per share. The amount of dilution that a stockholder will experience could be substantial, particularly to the extent we engage in multiple rights offerings within a limited time period. In addition, the market price of our common stock could be adversely affected while a rights offering is ongoing as a result of the possibility that a significant number of additional shares may be issued upon completion of such rights offering. All of our stockholders will also indirectly bear the expenses associated with any rights offering we may conduct, regardless of whether they elect to exercise any rights.
DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS
The following is a general description of the terms of the warrants we may issue from time to time. Particular terms of any warrants we offer will be described in the prospectus supplement relating to such warrants.
We may issue warrants to purchase shares of our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities. Such warrants may be issued independently or together with shares of common stock, preferred stock or debt securities and may be attached or separate from such securities. We will issue each series of warrants under a separate warrant agreement to be entered into between us and a warrant agent. The warrant agent will act solely as our agent and will not assume any obligation or relationship of agency for or with holders or beneficial owners of warrants.
A prospectus supplement will describe the particular terms of any series of warrants we may issue, including the following:
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• | the title of such warrants; |
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• | the aggregate number of such warrants; |
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• | the price or prices at which such warrants will be issued; |
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• | the currency or currencies, including composite currencies, in which the price of such warrants may be payable; |
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• | if applicable, the designation and terms of the securities with which the warrants are issued and the number of warrants issued with each such security or each principal amount of such security; |
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• | in the case of warrants to purchase debt securities, the principal amount of debt securities purchasable upon exercise of one warrant and the price at which and the currency or currencies, including composite currencies, in which this principal amount of debt securities may be purchased upon such exercise; |
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• | in the case of warrants to purchase common stock or preferred stock, the number of shares of common stock or preferred stock, as the case may be, purchasable upon exercise of one warrant and the price at which and the currency or currencies, including composite currencies, in which these shares may be purchased upon such exercise; |
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• | the date on which the right to exercise such warrants shall commence and the date on which such right will expire; |
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• | whether such warrants will be issued in registered form or bearer form; |
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• | if applicable, the minimum or maximum amount of such warrants that may be exercised at any one time; |
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• | if applicable, the date on and after which such warrants and the related securities will be separately transferable; |
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• | the terms of any rights to redeem, or call such warrants; |
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• | information with respect to book‑entry procedures, if any; |
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• | the terms of the securities issuable upon exercise of the warrants; |
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• | if applicable, a discussion of certain U.S. federal income tax considerations; and |
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• | any other terms of such warrants, including terms, procedures and limitations relating to the exchange and exercise of such warrants. |
We and the warrant agent may amend or supplement the warrant agreement for a series of warrants without the consent of the holders of the warrants issued thereunder to effect changes that are not inconsistent with the provisions of the warrants and that do not materially and adversely affect the interests of the holders of the warrants.
Prior to exercising their warrants, holders of warrants will not have any of the rights of holders of the securities purchasable upon such exercise, including, in the case of warrants to purchase debt securities, the right to receive principal, premium, if any, or interest payments, on the debt securities purchasable upon exercise or to enforce covenants in the applicable indenture or, in the case of warrants to purchase common stock or preferred stock, the right to receive dividends, if any, or payments upon our liquidation, dissolution or winding up or to exercise any voting rights.
Under the Investment Company Act, we may generally only offer warrants provided that (a) the warrants expire by their terms within ten years, (b) the exercise or conversion price is not less than the current market value at the date of issuance, (c) our stockholders authorize the proposal to issue such warrants, and our Board approves such issuance on the basis that the issuance is in the best interests of Ares Capital and its stockholders and (d) if the warrants are accompanied by other securities, the warrants are not separately transferable unless no class of such warrants and the securities accompanying them has been publicly distributed. The Investment Company Act also provides that the amount of our voting securities that would result from the exercise of all outstanding warrants, as well as options and rights, at the time of issuance may not exceed 25% of our outstanding voting securities.
DESCRIPTION OF DEBT SECURITIES
We may issue debt securities in one or more series. The specific terms of each series of debt securities will be described in the particular prospectus supplement relating to that series. The prospectus supplement may or may not modify the general terms found in this prospectus and will be filed with the SEC. For a complete description of the terms of a particular series of debt securities, you should read both this prospectus and the prospectus supplement relating to that particular series.
As required by federal law for all bonds and notes of companies that are publicly offered, the debt securities are governed by a document called an “indenture.” An indenture is a contract between us and a financial institution acting as trustee on your behalf, and is subject to and governed by the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended. The trustee has two main roles. First, the trustee can enforce your rights against us if we default. There are some limitations on the extent to which the trustee acts on your behalf, described in the second paragraph under “Events of Default—Remedies if an Event of Default Occurs.” Second, the trustee performs certain administrative duties for us.
Because this section is a summary, it does not describe every aspect of the debt securities and the indenture. We urge you to read the indenture because it, and not this description, defines your rights as a holder of debt securities. For example, in this section, we use capitalized words to signify terms that are specifically defined in the indenture. Some of the definitions are repeated in this prospectus, but for the rest you will need to read the indenture. We have filed the form of the indenture with the SEC. See “Additional Information” for information on how to obtain a copy of the indenture.
The prospectus supplement, which will accompany this prospectus, will describe the particular series of debt securities being offered, including, among other things:
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• | the designation or title of the series of debt securities; |
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• | the total principal amount of the series of debt securities; |
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• | the percentage of the principal amount at which the series of debt securities will be offered; |
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• | the date or dates on which principal will be payable; |
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• | the rate or rates (which may be either fixed or variable) and/or the method of determining such rate or rates of interest, if any; |
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• | the date or dates from which any interest will accrue, or the method of determining such date or dates, and the date or dates on which any interest will be payable; |
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• | the terms for redemption, extension or early repayment, if any; |
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• | the currencies in which the series of debt securities are issued and payable; |
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• | whether the amount of payments of principal, premium or interest, if any, on a series of debt securities will be determined with reference to an index, formula or other method (which could be based on one or more currencies, commodities, equity indices or other indices) and how these amounts will be determined; |
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• | the place or places, if any, other than or in addition to the City of New York, of payment, transfer, conversion and/or exchange of the debt securities; |
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• | the denominations in which the offered debt securities will be issued; |
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• | the provision for any sinking fund; |
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• | any restrictive covenants; |
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• | whether the series of debt securities is issuable in certificated form; |
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• | any provisions for defeasance or covenant defeasance; |
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• | any special federal income tax implications, including, if applicable, U.S. federal income tax considerations relating to original issue discount; |
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• | whether and under what circumstances we will pay additional amounts in respect of any tax, assessment or governmental charge and, if so, whether we will have the option to redeem the debt securities rather than pay the additional amounts (and the terms of this option); |
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• | any provisions for convertibility or exchangeability of the debt securities into or for any other securities; |
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• | whether the debt securities are subject to subordination and the terms of such subordination; |
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• | whether the debt securities are secured and the terms of any security interest; |
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• | the listing, if any, on a securities exchange; and |
The debt securities may be secured or unsecured obligations. Unless the prospectus supplement states otherwise, principal (and premium, if any) and interest, if any, will be paid by us in immediately available funds.
We are permitted, under specified conditions, to issue multiple classes of indebtedness if our asset coverage, calculated pursuant to the Investment Company Act, is at least equal to 200% immediately after each such issuance. In addition, while any indebtedness and senior securities remain outstanding, we must make provisions to prohibit the distribution to our stockholders or the repurchase of such securities or shares unless we meet the applicable asset coverage ratios at the time of the distribution or repurchase. Specifically, we may be precluded from declaring dividends or repurchasing shares of our common stock unless our asset coverage is at least 200%. We may also borrow amounts up to 5% of the value of our total assets for temporary or emergency purposes without regard to asset coverage. For a discussion of the risks associated with leverage, see “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business and Structure—Regulations governing our operation as a BDC affect our ability to, and the way in which we will, raise additional capital. As a BDC, the necessity of raising additional capital may expose us to risks, including the typical risks associated with leverage.”
GENERAL
The indenture provides that any debt securities proposed to be sold under this prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement (“offered debt securities”) and any debt securities issuable upon the exercise of warrants or upon conversion or exchange of other offered securities (“underlying debt securities”) may be issued under the indenture in one or more series.
For purposes of this prospectus, any reference to the payment of principal of or premium or interest, if any, on debt securities will include additional amounts if required by the terms of the debt securities.
The indenture does not limit the amount of debt securities that may be issued thereunder from time to time. Debt securities issued under the indenture, when a single trustee is acting for all debt securities issued under the indenture, are called the “indenture securities.” The indenture also provides that there may be more than one trustee thereunder, each with respect to one or more different series of indenture securities. See “Resignation of Trustee” below. At a time when two or more trustees are acting under the indenture, each with respect to only certain series, the term “indenture securities” means the one or more series of debt securities with respect to which each respective trustee is acting. In the event that there is more than one trustee under the indenture, the powers and trust obligations of each trustee described in this prospectus will extend only to the one or more series of indenture securities for which it is trustee. If two or more trustees are acting under the indenture, then the indenture securities for which each trustee is acting would be treated as if issued under separate indentures.
The indenture does not contain any provisions that give you protection in the event we issue a large amount of debt or we are acquired by another entity.
We refer you to the prospectus supplement for information with respect to any deletions from, modifications of or additions to the events of default or our covenants that are described below, including any addition of a covenant or other provision providing event risk or similar protection.
We have the ability to issue indenture securities with terms different from those of indenture securities previously issued and, without the consent of the holders thereof, to reopen a previous issue of a series of indenture securities and issue additional indenture securities of that series unless the reopening was restricted when that series was created.
We expect that we will usually issue debt securities in book entry only form represented by global securities.
CONVERSION AND EXCHANGE
If any debt securities are convertible into or exchangeable for other securities, the prospectus supplement will explain the terms and conditions of the conversion or exchange, including the conversion price or exchange ratio (or the calculation method), the conversion or exchange period (or how the period will be determined), if conversion or exchange will be mandatory or at the option of the holder or us, provisions for adjusting the conversion price or the exchange ratio and provisions affecting conversion or exchange in the event of the redemption of the underlying debt securities. These terms may also include provisions under which the number or amount of other securities to be received by the holders of the debt securities upon conversion or exchange would be calculated according to the market price of the other securities as of a time stated in the prospectus supplement.
PAYMENT AND PAYING AGENTS
We will pay interest to the person listed in the applicable trustee’s records as the owner of the debt security at the close of business on a particular day in advance of each due date for interest, even if that person no longer owns the debt security on the interest due date. That day, usually about two weeks in advance of the interest due date, is called the “record date.” Because we will pay all the interest for an interest period to the holders on the record date, holders buying and selling debt securities must work out between themselves the appropriate purchase price. The most common manner is to adjust the sales price of the debt securities to prorate interest fairly between buyer and seller based on their respective ownership periods within the particular interest period. This prorated interest amount is called “accrued interest.”
Payments on Global Securities
We will make payments on a global security in accordance with the applicable policies of the depositary as in effect from time to time. Under those policies, we will make payments directly to the depositary, or its nominee, and not to any indirect holders who own beneficial interests in the global security. An indirect holder’s right to those payments will be governed by the rules and practices of the depositary and its participants.
Payments on Certificated Securities
We will make payments on a certificated debt security as follows. We will pay interest that is due on an interest payment date by check mailed on the interest payment date to the holder at his or her address shown on the trustee’s records as of the close of business on the regular record date. We will make all payments of principal and premium, if any, by check at the office of the applicable trustee in New York, NY and/or at other offices that may be specified in the prospectus supplement or in a notice to holders against surrender of the debt security.
Alternatively, if the holder asks us to do so, we will pay any amount that becomes due on the debt security by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account at a bank in New York City, on the due date. To request payment by wire, the holder must give the applicable trustee or other paying agent appropriate transfer instructions at least 15 business days before the requested wire payment is due. In the case of any interest payment due on an interest payment date, the instructions must be given by the person who is the holder on the relevant regular record date. Any wire instructions, once properly given, will remain in effect unless and until new instructions are given in the manner described above.
Payment When Offices Are Closed
Except as otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, if any payment is due on a debt security on a day that is not a business day, we will make the payment on the next day that is a business day. Payments made on the next business day in this situation will be treated under the indenture as if they were made on the original due date, except as otherwise indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement. Such payment will not result in a default under any debt security or the indenture, and no interest will accrue on the payment amount from the original due date to the next day that is a business day.
Book‑entry and other indirect holders should consult their banks or brokers for information on how they will receive payments on their debt securities.
EVENTS OF DEFAULT
You will have rights if an Event of Default occurs in respect of the debt securities of your series and is not cured, as described later in this subsection.
The term “Event of Default” in respect of the debt securities of your series means any of the following (unless the prospectus supplement relating to such debt securities states otherwise):
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• | We do not pay the principal of, or any premium on, a debt security of the series on its due date, and do not cure this default within 5 days. |
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• | We do not pay interest on a debt security of the series when due, and such default is not cured within 30 days. |
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• | We do not deposit any sinking fund payment in respect of debt securities of the series on its due date, and do not cure this default within 5 days. |
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• | We remain in breach of a covenant in respect of debt securities of the series for 60 days after we receive a written notice of default stating we are in breach. The notice must be sent by either the trustee or holders of at least 25% of the principal amount of debt securities of the series. |
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• | We file for bankruptcy or certain other events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization occur and remain undischarged or unstayed for a period of 90 days. |
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• | Any other Event of Default in respect of debt securities of the series described in the applicable prospectus supplement occurs. |
An Event of Default for a particular series of debt securities does not necessarily constitute an Event of Default for any other series of debt securities issued under the same or any other indenture. The trustee may withhold notice to the holders of debt securities of any default, except in the payment of principal, premium or interest, if it considers the withholding of notice to be in the best interests of the holders.
Remedies if an Event of Default Occurs
If an Event of Default has occurred and has not been cured, the trustee or the holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the debt securities of the affected series may declare the entire principal amount of all the debt securities of that series to be due and immediately payable. This is called a declaration of acceleration of maturity. In certain circumstances, a declaration of acceleration of maturity may be canceled by the holders of a majority in principal amount of the debt securities of the affected series.
The trustee is not required to take any action under the indenture at the request of any holders unless the holders offer the trustee reasonable protection from expenses and liability (called an “indemnity”) (Section 315 of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939). If reasonable indemnity is provided, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding debt securities of the relevant series may direct the time, method and place of conducting any lawsuit or other formal legal action seeking any remedy available to the trustee. The trustee may refuse to follow those directions in certain circumstances. No delay or omission in exercising any right or remedy will be treated as a waiver of that right, remedy or Event of Default.
Before you are allowed to bypass your trustee and bring your own lawsuit or other formal legal action or take other steps to enforce your rights or protect your interests relating to the debt securities, the following must occur:
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• | You must give your trustee written notice that an Event of Default has occurred and remains uncured. |
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• | The holders of at least 25% in principal amount of all outstanding debt securities of the relevant series must make a written request that the trustee take action because of the default and must offer reasonable indemnity to the trustee against the cost and other liabilities of taking that action. |
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• | The trustee must not have taken action for 60 days after receipt of the above notice and offer of indemnity. |
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• | The holders of a majority in principal amount of the debt securities must not have given the trustee a direction inconsistent with the above notice during that 60 day period. |
However, you are entitled at any time to bring a lawsuit for the payment of money due on your debt securities on or after the due date.
Holders of a majority in principal amount of the debt securities of the affected series may waive any past defaults other than:
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• | the payment of principal, any premium or interest; or |
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• | in respect of a covenant that cannot be modified or amended without the consent of each holder. |
Book‑entry and other indirect holders should consult their banks or brokers for information on how to give notice or direction to or make a request of the trustee and how to declare or cancel an acceleration of maturity.
Each year, we will furnish to each trustee a written statement of certain of our officers certifying that to their knowledge we are in compliance with the indenture and the debt securities, or else specifying any default.
MERGER OR CONSOLIDATION
Under the terms of the indenture, we are generally permitted to consolidate or merge with another entity. We are also permitted to sell all or substantially all of our assets to another entity. However, unless the prospectus supplement relating to certain debt securities states otherwise, we may not take any of these actions unless all the following conditions are met:
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• | Where we merge out of existence or sell our assets, the resulting entity must agree to be legally responsible for our obligations under the debt securities. |
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• | Immediately after giving effect to such transaction, no default or Event of Default shall have happened and be continuing. |
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• | We must deliver certain certificates and documents to the trustee. |
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• | We must satisfy any other requirements specified in the prospectus supplement relating to a particular series of debt securities. |
MODIFICATION OR WAIVER
There are three types of changes we can make to the indenture and the debt securities issued thereunder.
Changes Requiring Your Approval
First, there are changes that we cannot make to your debt securities without your specific approval. The following is a list of those types of changes:
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• | change the stated maturity of the principal of or interest on a debt security; |
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• | reduce any amounts due on a debt security; |
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• | reduce the amount of principal payable upon acceleration of the maturity of a security following a default; |
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• | adversely affect any right of repayment at the holder’s option; |
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• | change the place (except as otherwise described in the prospectus or prospectus supplement) or currency of payment on a debt security; |
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• | impair your right to sue for payment; |
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• | materially adversely affect any right to convert or exchange a debt security in accordance with its terms; |
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• | modify the subordination provisions in the indenture in a manner that is adverse to holders of the debt securities; |
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• | reduce the percentage of holders of debt securities whose consent is needed to modify or amend the indenture; |
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• | reduce the percentage of holders of debt securities whose consent is needed to waive compliance with certain provisions of the indenture or to waive certain defaults; |
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• | modify certain of the provisions of the indenture dealing with supplemental indentures, modification and waiver of past defaults, changes to the quorum or voting requirements or the waiver of certain covenants; and |
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• | change any obligation we have to pay additional amounts. |
Changes Not Requiring Approval
The second type of change does not require any vote by the holders of the debt securities. This type is limited to clarifications, establishment of the form or terms of new securities of any series as permitted by the indenture, and certain other changes that would not adversely affect holders of the outstanding debt securities in any material respect, including adding additional covenants or events of default. We also do not need any approval to make any change that affects only debt securities to be issued under the indenture after the change takes effect.
Changes Requiring Majority Approval
Any other change to the indenture and the debt securities would require the following approval:
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• | If the change affects only one series of debt securities, it must be approved by the holders of a majority in principal amount of that series. |
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• | If the change affects more than one series of debt securities issued under the same indenture, it must be approved by the holders of a majority in principal amount of all of the series affected by the change, with all affected series voting together as one class for this purpose. |
The holders of a majority in principal amount of all of the series of debt securities issued under an indenture, voting together as one class for this purpose, may waive our compliance with some of our covenants in that indenture. However, we cannot obtain a waiver of a payment default or of any of the matters covered by the bullet points included above under “—Changes Requiring Your Approval.”
Further Details Concerning Voting
When taking a vote, we will use the following rules to decide how much principal to attribute to a debt security:
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• | For original issue discount securities, we will use the principal amount that would be due and payable on the voting date if the maturity of these debt securities were accelerated to that date because of a default. |
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• | For debt securities whose principal amount is not known (for example, because it is based on an index), we will use a special rule for that debt security described in the prospectus supplement. |
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• | For debt securities denominated in one or more foreign currencies, we will use the U.S. dollar equivalent. |
Debt securities will not be considered outstanding, and therefore not eligible to vote, if we have deposited or set aside in trust money for their payment or redemption. Debt securities will also not be eligible to vote if they have been fully defeased as described later under “Defeasance—Full Defeasance.”
We will generally be entitled to set any day as a record date for the purpose of determining the holders of outstanding indenture securities that are entitled to vote or take other action under the indenture. If we set a record date for a vote or other action to be taken by holders of one or more series, that vote or action may be taken only by persons who are holders of outstanding indenture securities of those series on the record date and must be taken within eleven months following the record date.
Book‑entry and other indirect holders should consult their banks or brokers for information on how approval may be granted or denied if we seek to change the indenture or the debt securities or request a waiver.
DEFEASANCE
The following provisions will be applicable to each series of debt securities unless we state in the applicable prospectus supplement that the provisions of covenant defeasance and full defeasance will not be applicable to that series.
Covenant Defeasance
If certain conditions are satisfied, we can make the deposit described below and be released from some of the restrictive covenants in the indenture under which the particular series was issued. This is called “covenant defeasance.” In that event, you would lose the protection of those restrictive covenants but would gain the protection of having money and government securities set aside in trust to repay your debt securities. If applicable, you also would be released from the subordination provisions described under “Indenture Provisions—Subordination” below. In order to achieve covenant defeasance, we must do the following:
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• | If the debt securities of the particular series are denominated in U.S. dollars, we must deposit in trust for the benefit of all holders of such debt securities a combination of money and U.S. government or U.S. government agency notes or bonds that will generate enough cash to make interest, principal and any other payments on the debt securities on their various due dates. |
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• | We must deliver to the trustee a legal opinion of our counsel confirming that, under current U.S. federal income tax law, we may make the above deposit without causing you to be taxed on the debt securities any differently than if we did not make the deposit and just repaid the debt securities ourselves at maturity. |
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• | We must deliver to the trustee a legal opinion of our counsel stating that the above deposit does not require registration by us under the Investment Company Act and a legal opinion and officers’ certificate stating that all conditions precedent to covenant defeasance have been complied with. |
If we accomplish covenant defeasance, you can still look to us for repayment of the debt securities if there were a shortfall in the trust deposit or the trustee is prevented from making payment. For example, if one of the remaining Events of Default occurred (such as our bankruptcy) and the debt securities became immediately due and payable, there might be a shortfall. Depending on the event causing the default, you may not be able to obtain payment of the shortfall.
Full Defeasance
If there is a change in U.S. federal tax law, as described below, we can legally release ourselves from all payment and other obligations on the debt securities of a particular series (called “full defeasance”) if we put in place the following other arrangements for you to be repaid:
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• | If the debt securities of the particular series are denominated in U.S. dollars, we must deposit in trust for the benefit of all holders of such debt securities a combination of money and U.S. government or U.S. government agency notes or bonds that will generate enough cash to make interest, principal and any other payments on the debt securities on their various due dates. |
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• | We must deliver to the trustee a legal opinion confirming that there has been a change in current U.S. federal tax law or an Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) ruling that allows us to make the above deposit without causing you to be taxed on the debt securities any differently than if we did not make the deposit and just repaid the debt securities ourselves at maturity. Under current U.S. federal tax law, the deposit and our legal release from the debt securities would be treated as though we paid you your share of the cash and notes or bonds at the time the cash and notes or bonds were deposited in trust in exchange for your debt securities and you would recognize gain or loss on the debt securities at the time of the deposit. |
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• | We must deliver to the trustee a legal opinion of our counsel stating that the above deposit does not require registration by us under the Investment Company Act and a legal opinion and officers’ certificate stating that all conditions precedent to defeasance have been complied with. |
If we ever did accomplish full defeasance, as described above, you would have to rely solely on the trust deposit for repayment of the debt securities. You could not look to us for repayment in the unlikely event of any shortfall. Conversely, the trust deposit would most likely be protected from claims of our lenders and other creditors if we ever became bankrupt or insolvent. If applicable, you would also be released from the subordination provisions described later under “Indenture Provisions—Subordination.”
FORM, EXCHANGE AND TRANSFER OF CERTIFICATED REGISTERED SECURITIES
Holders may exchange their certificated securities, if any, for debt securities of smaller denominations or combined into fewer debt securities of larger denominations, as long as the total principal amount is not changed.
Holders may exchange or transfer their certificated securities, if any, at the office of their trustee. We have appointed the trustee to act as our agent for registering debt securities in the names of holders transferring debt securities. We may appoint another entity to perform these functions or perform them ourselves.
Holders will not be required to pay a service charge to transfer or exchange their certificated securities, if any, but they may be required to pay any tax or other governmental charge associated with the transfer or exchange. The transfer or exchange will be made only if our transfer agent is satisfied with the holder’s proof of legal ownership.
If we have designated additional transfer agents for your debt security, they will be named in your prospectus supplement. We may appoint additional transfer agents or cancel the appointment of any particular transfer agent. We may also approve a change in the office through which any transfer agent acts.
If any certificated securities of a particular series are redeemable and we redeem less than all the debt securities of that series, we may block the transfer or exchange of those debt securities during the period beginning 15 days before the day we mail the notice of redemption and ending on the day of that mailing, in order to freeze the list of holders to prepare the mailing. We may also refuse to register transfers or exchanges of any certificated securities selected for redemption, except that we will continue to permit transfers and exchanges of the unredeemed portion of any debt security that will be partially redeemed.
If a registered debt security is issued in book-entry form, only the depositary will be entitled to transfer and exchange the debt security as described in this subsection, since it will be the sole holder of the debt security.
RESIGNATION OF TRUSTEE
Each trustee may resign or be removed with respect to one or more series of indenture securities provided that a successor trustee is appointed to act with respect to these series. In the event that two or more persons are acting as trustee with respect to different series of indenture securities under the indenture, each of the trustees will be a trustee of a trust separate and apart from the trust administered by any other trustee.
INDENTURE PROVISIONS—SUBORDINATION
Upon any distribution of our assets upon our dissolution, winding up, liquidation or reorganization, the payment of the principal of (and premium, if any) and interest, if any, on any indenture securities denominated as subordinated debt securities is to be subordinated to the extent provided in the indenture in right of payment to the prior payment in full of all Senior Indebtedness (as defined below), but our obligation to you to make payment of the principal of (and premium, if any) and interest, if any, on such subordinated debt securities will not otherwise be affected. In addition, no payment on account of principal (or premium, if any), sinking fund or interest, if any, may be made on such subordinated debt securities at any time unless full payment of all amounts due in respect of the principal (and premium, if any), sinking fund and interest on Senior Indebtedness has been made or duly provided for in money or money’s worth.
In the event that, notwithstanding the foregoing, any payment by us is received by the trustee in respect of subordinated debt securities or by the holders of any of such subordinated debt securities before all Senior Indebtedness is paid in full, the payment or distribution must be paid over to the holders of the Senior Indebtedness or on their behalf for application to the payment of all the Senior Indebtedness remaining unpaid until all the Senior Indebtedness has been paid in full, after giving effect to any concurrent payment or distribution to the holders of the Senior Indebtedness. Subject to the payment in full of all Senior Indebtedness upon this distribution by us, the holders of such subordinated debt securities will be subrogated to the rights of the holders of the Senior Indebtedness to the extent of payments made to the holders of the Senior Indebtedness out of the distributive share of such subordinated debt securities.
By reason of this subordination, in the event of a distribution of our assets upon our insolvency, certain of our senior creditors may recover more, ratably, than holders of any subordinated debt securities. The indenture provides that these subordination provisions will not apply to money and securities held in trust under the defeasance provisions of the indenture. “Senior Indebtedness” is defined in the indenture as the principal of (and premium, if any) and unpaid interest on:
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• | our indebtedness (including indebtedness of others guaranteed by us), whenever created, incurred, assumed or guaranteed, for money borrowed (other than indenture securities issued under the indenture and denominated as subordinated debt securities), unless in the instrument creating or evidencing the same or under which the same is outstanding it is provided that this indebtedness is not senior or prior in right of payment to the subordinated debt securities, and |
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• | renewals, extensions, modifications and refinancings of any of this indebtedness. |
If this prospectus is being delivered in connection with the offering of a series of indenture securities denominated as subordinated debt securities, the accompanying prospectus supplement will set forth the approximate amount of our Senior Indebtedness outstanding as of a recent date.
THE TRUSTEE UNDER THE INDENTURE
We intend to use a nationally recognized financial institution to serve as the trustee under the indenture.
CERTAIN CONSIDERATIONS RELATING TO FOREIGN CURRENCIES
Debt securities denominated or payable in foreign currencies may entail significant risks. These risks include the possibility of significant fluctuations in the foreign currency markets, the imposition or modification of foreign exchange controls and potential illiquidity in the secondary market. These risks will vary depending upon the currency or currencies involved and will be more fully described in the applicable prospectus supplement.
BOOK‑ENTRY DEBT SECURITIES
The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”), New York, NY, will act as securities depository for the debt securities. The debt securities will be issued as fully‑ registered securities registered in the name of Cede & Co. (DTC’s partnership nominee) or such other name as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. One fully‑registered certificate will be issued for the debt securities, in the aggregate principal amount of such issue, and will be deposited with DTC. If, however, the aggregate principal amount of any issue exceeds $500 million, one certificate will be issued with respect to each $500 million of principal amount, and an additional certificate will be issued with respect to any remaining principal amount of such issue.
DTC, the world’s largest securities depository, is a limited‑purpose trust company organized under the New York Banking Law, a “banking organization” within the meaning of the New York Banking Law, a member of the Federal Reserve System, a “clearing corporation” within the meaning of the New York Uniform Commercial Code, and a “clearing agency” registered pursuant to the provisions of Section 17A of the Exchange Act. DTC holds and provides asset servicing for over 3.5 million issues of U.S. and non‑U.S. equity, corporate and municipal debt issues, and money market instruments from over 100 countries that DTC’s participants (“Direct Participants”) deposit with DTC. DTC also facilitates the post‑trade settlement among Direct Participants of sales and other securities transactions in deposited securities through electronic, computerized book‑entry transfers and pledges between Direct Participants’ accounts. This eliminates the need for physical movement of securities certificates. Direct Participants include both U.S. and non‑U.S. securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies, clearing corporations, and certain other organizations. DTC is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (“DTCC”).
DTCC is the holding company for DTC, National Securities Clearing Corporation and Fixed Income Clearing Corporation, all of which are registered clearing agencies. DTCC is owned by the users of its regulated subsidiaries. Access to the DTC system is also available to others such as both U.S. and non‑U.S. securities brokers and dealers, banks, trust companies and clearing corporations that clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a Direct Participant, either directly or indirectly (“Indirect Participants”). DTC has a Standard & Poor’s rating of AA+. The DTC Rules applicable to its Participants are on file with the SEC. More information about DTC can be found at www.dtcc.com.
Purchases of debt securities under the DTC system must be made by or through Direct Participants, which will receive a credit for the debt securities on DTC’s records. The ownership interest of each actual purchaser of each security (“Beneficial Owner”) is, in turn, to be recorded on the Direct and Indirect Participants’ records. Beneficial Owners will not receive written confirmation from DTC of their purchase. Beneficial Owners are, however, expected to receive written confirmations providing details of the transaction, as well as periodic statements of their holdings, from the Direct or Indirect Participant through which the Beneficial Owner entered into the transaction. Transfers of ownership interests in the debt securities are to be accomplished by entries made on the books of Direct and Indirect Participants acting on behalf of Beneficial Owners. Beneficial Owners will not receive certificates representing their ownership interests in debt securities, except in the event that use of the book‑entry system for the debt securities is discontinued.
To facilitate subsequent transfers, all debt securities deposited by Direct Participants with DTC are registered in the name of DTC’s partnership nominee, Cede & Co., or such other name as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. The deposit of debt securities with DTC and their registration in the name of Cede & Co. or such other DTC nominee do not affect any change in beneficial ownership. DTC has no knowledge of the actual Beneficial Owners of the debt securities; DTC’s records reflect only the identity of the Direct Participants to whose accounts such debt securities are credited, which may or may not be the Beneficial Owners. The Direct and Indirect Participants will remain responsible for keeping account of their holdings on behalf of their customers.
Conveyance of notices and other communications by DTC to Direct Participants, by Direct Participants to Indirect Participants, and by Direct Participants and Indirect Participants to Beneficial Owners will be governed by arrangements among them, subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements as may be in effect from time to time.
Redemption notices shall be sent to DTC. If less than all of the debt securities within an issue are being redeemed, DTC’s practice is to determine by lot the amount of the interest of each Direct Participant in such issue to be redeemed.
Neither DTC nor Cede & Co. (nor any other DTC nominee) will consent or vote with respect to the debt securities unless authorized by a Direct Participant in accordance with DTC’s Procedures. Under its usual procedures, DTC mails an Omnibus Proxy to us as soon as possible after the record date. The Omnibus Proxy assigns Cede & Co.’s consenting or voting rights to those Direct Participants to whose accounts the debt securities are credited on the record date (identified in a listing attached to the Omnibus Proxy).
Redemption proceeds, distributions, and dividend payments on the debt securities will be made to Cede & Co., or such other nominee as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC. DTC’s practice is to credit Direct Participants’ accounts upon DTC’s receipt of funds and corresponding detail information from us or the trustee on the payment date in accordance with their respective holdings shown on DTC’s records. Payments by Participants to Beneficial Owners will be governed by standing instructions and customary practices, as is the case with securities held for the accounts of customers in bearer form or registered in “street name,” and will be the responsibility of such Participant and not of DTC or its nominee, the trustee, or us, subject to any statutory or regulatory requirements as may be in effect from time to time. Payment of redemption proceeds, distributions, and dividend payments to Cede & Co. (or such other nominee as may be requested by an authorized representative of DTC) is the responsibility of us or the trustee, but disbursement of such payments to Direct Participants will be the responsibility of DTC, and disbursement of such payments to the Beneficial Owners will be the responsibility of the Direct and Indirect Participants.
DTC may discontinue providing its services as depository with respect to the debt securities at any time by giving reasonable notice to us or the trustee. Under such circumstances, in the event that a successor depository is not obtained, certificates are required to be printed and delivered. We may decide to discontinue use of the system of book‑entry‑only transfers through DTC (or a successor securities depository). In that event, certificates will be printed and delivered to DTC.
The information in this section concerning DTC and DTC’s book‑entry system has been obtained from sources that we believe to be reliable, but we take no responsibility for the accuracy thereof.
DESCRIPTION OF UNITS
The following is a general description of the terms of the units we may issue from time to time. Particular terms of any units we offer will be described in the prospectus supplement relating to such units. For a complete description of the terms of particular units, you should read both this prospectus and the prospectus supplement relating to those particular units.
We may issue units comprised of one or more of the other securities described in this prospectus in any combination. Each unit may also include debt obligations of third parties, such as U.S. Treasury securities. Each unit will be issued so that the holder of the unit is also the holder of each security included in the unit. Thus, the holder of a unit will have the rights and obligations of a holder of each included security.
A prospectus supplement will describe the particular terms of any series of units we may issue, including the following:
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• | the designation and terms of the units and of the securities comprising the units, including whether and under what circumstances the securities comprising the units may be held or transferred separately; |
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• | a description of the terms of any unit agreement governing the units; |
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• | a description of the provisions for the payment, settlement, transfer or exchange of the units; and |
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• | whether the units will be issued in fully registered or global form. |
We will not offer any units under this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement without first filing a new post-effective amendment to the registration statement.
DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT PLAN
We have an “opt out” dividend reinvestment plan that provides for reinvestment of our dividends and other distributions on behalf of our stockholders, other than those stockholders who have “opted out” of the plan. Under the plan, if our Board authorizes, and we declare, a cash dividend or distribution, our stockholders who have not elected to “opt out” of our dividend reinvestment plan will have their cash dividends or distributions automatically reinvested in additional shares of our common stock, rather than receiving cash.
Each registered stockholder may elect to have such stockholder’s dividends and distributions distributed in cash rather than participate in the plan.
For any registered stockholder that does not so elect, distributions on such stockholder’s shares will be reinvested by State Street, our plan administrator, in additional shares. The number of shares to be issued to the stockholder will be determined based on the total dollar amount of the cash distribution payable, net of applicable withholding taxes. The plan administrator will maintain all participants’ accounts in the plan and furnish written confirmation of all transactions in the accounts. Shares in the account of each participant will be held by the plan administrator on behalf of the participant in book entry form in the plan administrator’s name or the plan administrator’s nominee. Those stockholders whose shares are held through a broker or other nominee may receive cash distributions by notifying their broker or nominee of their election. We intend to continue to pay quarterly distributions to our stockholders out of assets legally available for distribution. Future quarterly distributions, if any, will be determined by our Board. All future distributions will be subject to lawfully available funds therefor, and no assurance can be given that we will be able to declare such distributions in future periods. See “Price Range of Common Stock and Distributions.”
We intend to use primarily newly issued shares to implement the plan so long as the market value per share is equal to or greater than the NAV per share on the relevant valuation date. If the market value per share is less than the NAV per share on the relevant valuation date, the plan administrator would implement the plan through the purchase of common stock on behalf of participants in the open market, unless we instruct the plan administrator otherwise. If we are implementing the plan through the issuance of newly issued shares, the number of shares to be issued to a stockholder would be determined by dividing the total dollar amount of the dividend or distribution payable to such stockholder by the market price per share of our common stock on the relevant valuation date. If the plan administrator is purchasing common stock on behalf of participants to implement the plan, the number of shares to be issued to a stockholder would be determined by dividing the total dollar amount of the dividend or distribution payable to such stockholder by the average purchase price per share of all shares of common stock purchased with respect to that dividend or distribution. Market price per share as of any date would be the closing price per share of our common stock on the primary exchange on which our common stock is traded or, if no sale is reported for such day on such exchange, at the average of the electronically reported bid and asked prices for that day. The number of shares of our common stock to be outstanding after giving effect to payment of a dividend or distribution cannot be established until the value per share at which additional shares will be issued has been determined and elections of our stockholders have been tabulated.
The plan administrator’s fees under the plan are paid by us. If a participant elects to sell part or all of his, her or its shares and have the proceeds remitted to the participant, such request must first be submitted to the participant’s broker, who will coordinate with the plan administrator and who may deduct a per share brokerage commission from the proceeds.
Participants may terminate their accounts under the plan by notifying the plan administrator.
Stockholders who receive dividends and distributions in the form of stock are generally subject to the same U.S. federal, state and local tax consequences as are stockholders who receive their dividends and distributions in cash. However, since their cash dividends and distributions will be reinvested in our common stock, such stockholder will not receive cash with which to pay applicable taxes on reinvested dividends and distributions. A stockholder’s basis for determining gain or loss upon the sale of stock received in a dividend or distribution from us will generally be equal to the cash that would have been received if the stockholder had received the dividend or distribution in cash, unless we issue new shares that are trading at or above NAV, in which case, the stockholder’s basis in the new shares will generally be equal to their fair market value. Any stock received in a dividend or distribution will have a new holding period for tax purposes commencing on the day following the day on which the shares are credited to the U.S. stockholder’s account.
We reserve the right to amend or terminate the plan upon notice in writing to each participant at least 30 days prior to any record date for the payment of any dividend or distribution by us. There is no direct service charge to participants with regard to purchases in the plan; however, we reserve the right to amend the plan to include a service charge payable by the participants. Notice will be sent to participants of any amendments as soon as practicable after such action by us.
All correspondence concerning the plan should be directed to the plan administrator by mail at State Street Corporation, Attention: Plan Administrator, 100 Huntington Ave., Copley Place Tower 2, Floor 3, Mail Code: CPH0255, Boston, MA 02116. Participants who hold their shares through a broker or other nominee should direct correspondence or questions concerning the dividend reinvestment plan to their broker or nominee.
SHARES ELIGIBLE FOR FUTURE SALE
Rule 144
In general, under Rule 144 as currently in effect, if six months have elapsed since the date of acquisition of restricted securities from us or any of our affiliates and we are subject to the Exchange Act periodic reporting requirements for at least three months prior to the sale, the holder of such restricted securities can sell such securities. However, the number of securities sold by a holder that is an affiliate within any three-month period cannot exceed the greater of:
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• | 1% of the total number of securities then outstanding; or |
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• | the average weekly trading volume of our securities during the four calendar weeks preceding the date on which notice of the sale is filed with the SEC. |
Sales under Rule 144 by our affiliates also are subject to certain manner of sale limitations, notice requirements and the availability of current public information about us. No prediction can be made as to the effect, if any, that future sales of securities, or the availability of securities for future sales, will have on the market price prevailing from time to time. Sales of substantial amounts of our securities, or the perception that such sales could occur, may affect adversely prevailing market prices of our common stock.
Subscription Agreements
Certain of our stockholders received shares of our common stock prior to our IPO pursuant to subscription agreements with us. Under the subscription agreements, these stockholders could not transfer shares for a period beginning on the date of completion of an initial public offering and continuing to the earlier of (i) 180 days after the closing of the final secondary offering described in the next sentence or (ii) the second anniversary of our IPO. The subscription agreements obligate us to initiate up to four registered underwritten secondary offerings on behalf of the stockholders as follows: (1) the first secondary offering would be initiated during the period beginning 180 days after the closing of an initial public offering and ending on the 240th day after the closing of such initial public offering and (2) each subsequent secondary offering would be initiated during the period beginning 180 days after and ending 240 days after the prior secondary offering was completed or cancelled. We have no obligation to conduct any secondary offering unless (a) the stockholders and the Investment Adviser commit, in the aggregate, to sell at least the number of shares expected to result in gross proceeds of at least 7% times the total amount of capital commitments prior to the initial public offering (based on then-current market price per share) and (b) the number of shares that the underwriters in such secondary offering believe they can sell is at least that number of shares. If the aggregate number of shares acquired before the initial public offering still held by stockholders is less than the amount set forth in clause (b), then we are not obligated to conduct any further secondary offerings.
We advised such stockholders that the transfer restrictions under the subscription agreements were modified so that after the completion of our IPO, the shares of common stock subject to the subscription agreement lock-ups were, in addition to the rights they already had, also released from such lock-ups as described below (the “Lock-up Periods”):
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• | During the period commencing on the expiration of the IPO underwriters lock-up, which was December 10, 2017 (the “Release Date”) and 180 days thereafter: 25% of 51,899,651 shares of common stock held by such investor at the time of the IPO (the “Pre-IPO Shares”); |
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• | During the period beginning 360 days after the Release Date: an additional 25% of 51,966,283 Pre-IPO Shares, together with any Pre-IPO Shares permitted to be but not otherwise sold during the period beginning 180 days after the Release Date; |
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• | During the period beginning 540 days after the Release Date: an additional 25% of 51,966,283 Pre-IPO Shares, together with any Pre-IPO Shares permitted to be but not otherwise sold during the period beginning 360 days after the Release Date; |
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• | During the period beginning 720 days after the Release Date and thereafter: any remaining Pre-IPO Shares permitted to be but not otherwise previously sold during the above periods. |
After receiving notice of a registered underwritten secondary offering initiated by us pursuant to the subscription agreements, and subject to certain conditions and transfer restrictions, such stockholders may elect to include shares of common stock that they own under the subscription agreements in such registered underwritten secondary offering.
REGULATION
General
We have elected to be regulated as a BDC under the Investment Company Act and have elected to be treated as a RIC under the Code. A BDC must be organized in the United States for the purpose of investing in or lending to primarily private companies and making significant managerial assistance available to them. A BDC may use capital provided by public stockholders and from other sources to make long-term, private investments in businesses. A publicly traded BDC provides stockholders with 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.
We may not change the nature of our business so as to cease to be, or withdraw our election as, a BDC unless authorized by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities, as required by the Investment Company Act. A majority of the outstanding voting securities of a company is defined under the Investment Company Act as the lesser of: (a) 67% or more of such company’s voting securities present at a meeting if more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of such company are present or represented by proxy, or (b) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of such company. We do not anticipate any substantial change in the nature of our business.
As with other companies regulated by the Investment Company Act, a BDC must adhere to certain substantive regulatory requirements. A majority of our directors must be Independent Directors. We are required to provide and maintain a bond issued by a reputable fidelity insurance company to protect the BDC. Furthermore, as a BDC, we are prohibited from protecting any director or officer against any liability to us or our stockholders arising from willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of such person’s office.
The Investment Company Act contains prohibitions and restrictions relating to certain transactions between BDCs and certain affiliates (including any investment advisers or sub-advisers), principal underwriters and certain affiliates of those affiliates or underwriters. Because we are a BDC, we are not generally permitted to make loans to companies controlled by Carlyle or other funds managed by Carlyle. We are also not permitted to make any co-investments with our Investment Adviser or its affiliates (including any fund managed by Carlyle) complying with our Exemptive Relief, subject to certain exceptions, including with respect to our downstream affiliates. Co-investments made under the Exemptive Relief are subject to compliance with the conditions and other requirements contained in the Exemptive Relief, which could limit our ability to participate in a co-investment transaction. We may also co-invest with funds managed by Carlyle or any of its downstream affiliates, subject to compliance with applicable law and regulations, existing regulatory guidance, and our Investment Adviser’s allocation policies and procedures.
As a BDC, we are generally required to meet an asset coverage ratio, defined under the Investment Company Act as the ratio of our total assets (less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities) to our outstanding senior securities, of at least 200% after each issuance of senior securities. We may invest up to 100% of our assets in securities acquired directly from issuers in privately negotiated transactions. With respect to such securities, we may, for the purpose of public resale, be deemed an “underwriter” as that term is defined in the Securities Act. Our intention is to not write (sell) or buy put or call options to manage the risks associated with the publicly traded securities of our portfolio companies. We may enter into hedging transactions to manage the risks associated with interest rate and currency fluctuations. We may purchase or otherwise receive warrants or options to purchase the common stock of our portfolio companies in connection with acquisition financings or other investments. In connection with such an acquisition, we may acquire rights to require the issuers of acquired securities or their affiliates to repurchase them under certain circumstances.
We do not intend to acquire securities issued by any investment company that exceed the limits imposed by the Investment Company Act. Under these limits, except for registered money market funds, we generally cannot acquire more than 3% of the voting stock of any investment company, invest more than 5% of the value of our total assets in the securities of one investment company or invest more than 10% of the value of our total assets in the securities of investment companies in the aggregate. The portion of our portfolio invested in securities issued by investment companies ordinarily will subject our stockholders to additional indirect expenses. Our investment portfolio is also subject to diversification requirements by virtue of our intended status to be a RIC for U.S. tax purposes. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Structure” for more information.
In addition, investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act and private funds that are excluded from the definition of “investment company” pursuant to either Section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act may not acquire, directly or through a controlled entity, more than 3% of our total outstanding voting stock (measured at the time of the acquisition), unless the funds comply with an exemption under the Investment Company Act. As a result, certain of our investors may hold a smaller position in our shares than if they were not subject to these restrictions.
We are generally not able to issue and sell our common stock at a price below NAV per share. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Structure—Regulations governing our operation as a BDC affect our ability to, and the way in which we will,
raise additional capital.” As a BDC, the necessity of raising additional capital may expose us to risks, including the typical risks associated with leverage.” We may, however, sell our common stock, or warrants, options or rights to acquire our common stock, at a price below the then-current NAV of our common stock if our Board determines that such sale is in our best interests and the best interests of our stockholders, and our stockholders approve such sale. In addition, we may generally issue new shares of our common stock at a price below NAV in rights offerings to existing stockholders, in payment of dividends and in certain other limited circumstances.
We will be periodically examined by the SEC for compliance with the Investment Company Act.
As a BDC, we are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Our Business and Structure.”
Qualifying Assets
We may invest up to 30% of our portfolio opportunistically in “non-qualifying assets,” which will be driven primarily through opportunities sourced through the CDL platform. However, under the Investment Company Act, a BDC may not acquire any asset other than assets of the type listed in Section 55(a) of the Investment Company Act, which are referred to as “qualifying assets,” unless, at the time the acquisition is made, qualifying assets represent at least 70% of the BDC’s total assets. The principal categories of qualifying assets relevant to our proposed business are the following:
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(1) | Securities purchased in transactions not involving any public offering from the issuer of such securities, which issuer (subject to certain limited exceptions) is an eligible portfolio company, or from any person who is, or has been during the preceding 13 months, an affiliated person of an eligible portfolio company, or from any other person, subject to such rules as may be prescribed by the SEC. An eligible portfolio company is defined in the Investment Company Act as any issuer which: |
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(a) | is organized under the laws of, and has its principal place of business in, the United States; |
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(b) | is not an investment company (other than a small business investment company wholly owned by the BDC) or a company that would be an investment company but for certain exclusions under the Investment Company Act; and |
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(c) | satisfies any of the following: |
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i. | does not have any class of securities that is traded on a national securities exchange; |
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ii. | has a class of securities listed on a national securities exchange, but has an aggregate market value of outstanding voting and non-voting common equity of less than $250 million; |
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iii. | is controlled by a BDC or a group of companies including a BDC, and the BDC has an affiliated person who is a director of the eligible portfolio company; or |
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iv. | is a small and solvent company having total assets of not more than $4.0 million and capital and surplus of not less than $2.0 million. |
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(2) | Securities of any eligible portfolio company which we control. |
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(3) | Securities purchased in a private transaction from a U.S. issuer that is not an investment company or from an affiliated person of the issuer, or in transactions incident thereto, if the issuer is in bankruptcy and subject to reorganization or if the issuer, immediately prior to the purchase of its securities, was unable to meet its obligations as they came due without material assistance other than conventional lending or financing arrangements. |
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(4) | Securities of an eligible portfolio company purchased from any person in a private transaction if there is no ready market for such securities and we already own 60% of the outstanding equity of the eligible portfolio company. |
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(5) | Securities received in exchange for or distributed on or with respect to securities described in (1) through (4) above, or pursuant to the exercise of warrants or rights relating to such securities. |
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(6) | Cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities or high quality debt securities maturing in one year or less from the time of investment. |
Managerial Assistance to Portfolio Companies
A BDC must have been organized under the laws of, and have its principal place of business in, any state or states within the United States and must be operated for the purpose of making investments in the types of securities described in (1), (2) or (3) above. However, in order to count portfolio securities as qualifying assets for the purpose of the 70% test, the BDC must either control the issuer of the securities or must offer to make available to the issuer of the securities (other than small and solvent companies described above) significant managerial assistance; except that, where the BDC purchases such securities in conjunction with one or more other
persons acting together, one of the other persons in the group may make available such managerial assistance. Making available managerial assistance means, among other things, any arrangement whereby the BDC, through its directors, officers or employees, offers to provide, and, if accepted, does so provide, significant guidance and counsel concerning the management, operations or business objectives and policies of a portfolio company. Our Investment Adviser or an affiliate thereof may provide such managerial assistance on our behalf to portfolio companies that request such assistance. We may receive fees for these services.
Temporary Investments
Pending investment in other types of “qualifying assets,” as described above, our investments may consist of cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities or high quality debt securities maturing in one year or less from the time of investment, which we refer to, collectively, as “temporary investments,” so that 70% of our assets are qualifying assets. We may also invest in U.S. Treasury bills or in repurchase agreements, provided that such agreements are fully collateralized by cash or securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies. A repurchase agreement involves the purchase by an investor, such as us, of a specified security and the simultaneous agreement by the seller to repurchase it at an agreed-upon future date and at a price which is greater than the purchase price by an amount that reflects an agreed-upon interest rate. There is no percentage restriction on the proportion of our assets that may be invested in such repurchase agreements. However, if more than 25% of our gross assets constitute repurchase agreements from a single counterparty, we would not meet the diversification tests in order to qualify as a RIC. Thus, we do not intend to enter into repurchase agreements with a single counterparty in excess of this limit. Our Investment Adviser will monitor the creditworthiness of the counterparties with which we enter into repurchase agreement transactions.
Indebtedness and Senior Securities
We are permitted, under specified conditions, to issue multiple classes of indebtedness and one class of stock senior to our common stock if our asset coverage, as defined in the Investment Company Act, is at least equal to 200% immediately after each such issuance. In addition, while any senior securities remain outstanding, we must make provisions to prohibit any distribution to our stockholders or the repurchase of such securities or shares unless we meet the applicable asset coverage ratios at the time of the distribution or repurchase. We may also borrow amounts up to 5% of the value of our total assets for temporary or emergency purposes without regard to asset coverage. For a discussion of the risks associated with leverage, see “Risk Factor—Risks Related to Our Business and Structure—Regulations governing our operation as a BDC affect our ability to, and the way in which we will, raise additional capital. As a BDC, the necessity of raising additional capital may expose us to risks, including the typical risks associated with leverage.”
Code of Ethics
We and our Investment Adviser have each adopted a code of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act and Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act, respectively, that establishes procedures for personal investments and restricts certain transactions by our personnel. Our codes of ethics generally do not permit investments by our and our Investment Adviser’s personnel in securities that may be purchased or sold by us. Our code of ethics is filed with the SEC. For information on how to obtain a copy of the code of ethics, see “Additional Information.”
Compliance Policies and Procedures
We and our Investment Adviser have each adopted and implemented written policies and procedures reasonably designed to detect and prevent violation of the federal securities laws and are required to review these compliance policies and procedures annually for their adequacy and the effectiveness of their implementation and designate a Chief Compliance Officer to be responsible for administering the policies and procedures.
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 affect us. For example:
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• | pursuant to Rule 13a-14 of the Exchange Act, our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer must certify the accuracy of the financial statements contained in our periodic reports; |
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• | pursuant to Item 307 of Regulation S-K, our periodic reports must disclose our conclusions about the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures; |
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• | pursuant to Rule 13a-15 of the Exchange Act, our management must prepare a report regarding its assessment of our internal control over financial reporting and, commencing as of December 31, 2017, which is the date on which we ceased to be an emerging growth company under the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, as amended, must obtain an audit of |
the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting performed by our independent registered public accounting firm; and
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• | pursuant to Item 308 of Regulation S-K and Rule 13a-15 of the Exchange Act, our periodic reports must disclose whether there were significant changes in our internal controls over financial reporting or in other factors that could significantly affect these controls subsequent to the date of their evaluation, including any corrective actions with regard to material weaknesses. |
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires us to review our current policies and procedures to determine whether we comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder. We will continue to monitor our compliance with all regulations that are adopted under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and will take actions necessary to ensure that we are in compliance therewith.
Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures
We have delegated our proxy voting responsibility to our Investment Adviser. The proxy voting policies and procedures of our Investment Adviser are set forth below. These guidelines are reviewed periodically by our Investment Adviser and our Independent Directors, and, accordingly, are subject to change.
An investment adviser registered under the Advisers Act has a fiduciary duty to act solely in the best interests of its clients. As part of this duty, our Investment Adviser recognizes that it must vote portfolio securities in a timely manner free of conflicts of interest and in the best interests of its clients.
These policies and procedures for voting proxies are intended to comply with Section 206 of, and Rule 206(4)-6 under, the Advisers Act.
Our Investment Adviser will vote proxies relating to our portfolio securities in what it perceives to be the best interest of our stockholders. Our Investment Adviser will review on a case-by-case basis each proposal submitted to a stockholder vote to determine its impact on the portfolio securities held by us. Although our Investment Adviser will generally vote against proposals that may have a negative impact on our portfolio securities, it may vote for such a proposal if there exist compelling long-term reasons to do so.
Our Investment Adviser’s proxy voting decisions will be made by its investment committee. To ensure that the vote is not the product of a conflict of interest, our Investment Adviser will require that: (1) anyone involved in the decision making process disclose to our Investment Adviser’s investment committee, and Independent Directors, any potential conflict that he or she is aware of and any contact that he or she has had with any interested party regarding a proxy vote; and (2) employees involved in the decision making process or vote administration are prohibited from revealing how our Investment Adviser intends to vote on a proposal in order to reduce any attempted influence from interested parties.
Stockholders may obtain information regarding how we voted proxies with respect to our portfolio securities during the nine month period ended September 30, 2017 free of charge by making a written request for proxy voting information to our Investor Relations Department at TCG BDC, Inc., 520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor, New York, New York, 10022, by calling us at (212) 813-4900 or on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
Privacy Principles
We endeavor to maintain the privacy of our stockholders and to safeguard their non-public personal information. The following information is provided to help stockholders understand what non-public personal information we collect, how we protect that information and why, in certain cases, we may share that information with select other parties.
We may collect non-public personal information about stockholders from our subscription agreements or other forms, such as name, address, account number and the types and amounts of investments, and information about transactions with us or our affiliates, such as participation in other investment programs, ownership of certain types of accounts or other account data and activity. We may disclose the non-public personal information that we collect from our stockholders or former stockholders, as described above, to our affiliates and service providers and as allowed by applicable law or regulation. Any party that receives this information from us is permitted to use it only for the services required by us and as allowed by applicable law or regulation, and is not permitted to share or use this information for any other purpose. We permit access only by authorized personnel who need access to that non-public personal information to provide services to us and our stockholders. We also maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards for non-public personal information that are designed to comply with applicable law.
Compliance with Listing Requirements
Our shares of common stock began trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CGBD” on June 14, 2017. As a listed company on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, we are subject to various listing standards including corporate governance listing standards. We will monitor our compliance with all listing standards and will take actions necessary to ensure that we are in compliance therewith.
U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
The following discussion is a general summary of the material U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to us, to our qualification and taxation as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Subchapter M of the Code, and to an investment in shares of our common stock. This summary does not discuss the consequences of an investment in shares of our preferred stock, debt securities or warrants representing rights to purchase shares of our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities. If we choose to issue preferred stock, debt securities or warrants representing rights to purchase shares of our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities, the material U.S. federal income tax considerations in relation to such securities will be addressed in the relevant prospectus supplement. This summary applies only to beneficial owners of our common stock that hold such common stock as capital assets.
This summary does not purport to be a complete description of all the income tax considerations applicable to such an investment. For example, we have not described all of the tax consequences that may be relevant to certain types of holders subject to special treatment under U.S. federal income tax laws, including stockholders subject to the alternative minimum tax, tax-exempt organizations, partnerships or other pass-through entities (including S corporations) and their owners, insurance companies, dealers in securities, a trader in securities that elects to use a market-to-market method of accounting for its securities holdings, pension plans and trusts, financial institutions, real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) , RICs, U.S. persons with a functional currency other than the U.S. dollar, non-U.S. stockholders (as defined below) engaged in a trade or business in the United States or entitled to claim the benefits of an applicable income tax treaty, persons who have ceased to be U.S. citizens or to be taxed as residents of the United States, “controlled foreign corporations,” “passive foreign investment companies,” and persons that hold our common stock as a position in a “straddle,” “hedge,” or as part of a “constructive sale” for U.S. federal income tax purposes or to the owners or partners of a stockholder. This summary assumes that investors hold our common stock as capital assets (within the meaning of the Code). The discussion is based upon the Code, its legislative history, existing and proposed regulations, and published rulings and court decisions all as currently in effect, all of which are subject to change or differing interpretations, possibly retroactively, which could affect the continuing validity of this discussion. We have not sought, and will not seek, any ruling from the IRS regarding any matter discussed herein, and this discussion is not binding on the IRS. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the IRS will not assert, and a court will not sustain, a position contrary to any of the tax consequences discussed herein. This summary does not discuss any aspects of U.S. estate or gift tax or foreign, state or local tax. It does not discuss the Medicare surtax on net investment income, special treatment under U.S. federal income tax laws that could result if we invest in tax-exempt securities or certain other investment assets. For purposes of this discussion, a “U.S. stockholder” generally is a beneficial owner of shares of our common stock who is for U.S. federal income tax purposes:
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• | an individual who is a citizen or resident of the United States; |
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• | a corporation, or other entity treated as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes, created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or any state thereof, including, for this purpose, the District of Columbia; |
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• | a trust if (i) a U.S. court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over its administration and one or more U.S. persons (as defined in the Code) have the authority to control all of the substantial decisions of the trust, or (ii) the trust has in effect a valid election to be treated as a domestic trust for U.S. federal income tax purposes; or |
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• | an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source. |
For purposes of this discussion, a “non-U.S. stockholder” generally is a beneficial owner of the shares of our common stock that is not a U.S. stockholder or a partnership (or an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership) for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
If a partnership (including an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds shares of our common stock, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership will generally depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership (or entity or arrangement treated as a partnership) and certain determinations made at the partner level. A prospective stockholder that is a partner of a partnership holding shares of our common stock should consult its own tax advisors with respect to the partnership’s purchase, ownership and disposition of shares of our common stock.
Tax matters are very complicated and the tax consequences to an investor of an investment in shares of our common stock will depend on the facts of its particular situation. We encourage investors to consult their own tax advisers regarding the specific consequences of such an investment, including tax reporting requirements, the applicability of U.S. federal, state, local and foreign tax laws, eligibility for the benefits of any applicable income tax treaty and the effect of any possible changes in the tax laws.
Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company
We have elected to be treated, and intend to qualify annually, as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, we generally will not pay corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes on any net ordinary income or capital gains that we timely distribute to our stockholders as dividends. Instead, dividends we distribute generally will be taxable to the holders of our common stock, and any net operating losses, foreign tax credits and most other tax attributes generally will not pass through to the
holders of our common stock. To qualify as a RIC, we must, among other things, meet certain source-of-income and asset diversification requirements (as described below). In addition, we must distribute to our stockholders on an annual basis at least 90% of our investment company taxable income or ICTI (generally, our net ordinary income plus the excess of our realized net short-term capital gains over realized net long-term capital losses, determined without regard to the dividends paid deduction) for each taxable year (the “Annual Distribution Requirement”). The following discussion assumes that we qualify as a RIC and have satisfied the Annual Distribution Requirement for each taxable year.
In order to qualify as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Subchapter M of the Code, we must, among other things:
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• | continue to qualify and have in effect an election to be treated as a BDC under the Investment Company Act at all times during each taxable year; |
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• | derive in each taxable year at least 90% of our gross income from dividends, interest, payments with respect to loans of certain securities, gains from the sale of stock or other securities or foreign currencies, net income from certain “qualified publicly traded partnerships,” or other income derived with respect to our business of investing in such stock or securities or foreign currencies (the “90% Gross Income Test”); and |
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• | diversify our holdings such that at the end of each quarter of our taxable year, at least 50% of the value of our assets consists of cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs, and other securities if such other securities of any one issuer do not represent more than 5% of the value of our assets or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer; and no more than 25% of the value of our assets is invested in the securities, other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs, of one issuer, or of two or more issuers that are controlled, as determined under applicable Code rules, by us and that are engaged in the same or similar or related trades or businesses, or the securities of one or more “qualified publicly traded partnerships”(the “Diversification Tests”). |
If we qualify as a RIC and satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, as we believe we will, then we will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of our net taxable income that we timely distribute (or are deemed to timely distribute) to stockholders. We are subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate rates on any income or capital gains not distributed (or deemed distributed) to our stockholders.
We intend to make distributions as additional shares of our common stock, unless you elect to “opt out” of our dividend reinvestment plan, in which case you will receive your distributions in cash. Under certain applicable provisions of the Code and the Treasury regulations, distributions payable in cash or in shares of stock at the election of stockholders are treated as taxable dividends. The IRS has issued private rulings indicating that this rule will apply even if the issuer limits the total amount of cash that may be distributed, provided that the limitation does not cause the cash to be less than 20% of the total distribution. We generally intend to pay distributions in cash to stockholders who have “opted out” of our dividend reinvestment plan. However, we reserve the right, in our sole discretion from time to time, to limit the total amount of cash distributed to as little as 20% of the total distribution depending on, among other factors, the levels of our cash balances. In such a case, each stockholder receiving cash would receive a pro rata share of the total cash to be distributed and would receive the remainder of their distribution in shares of stock. In no event will any stockholder that has “opted out” of our dividend reinvestment plan, in which case such stockholder will receive cash, receive less than 20% of his or her entire distribution in cash. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, the amount of a dividend paid in stock will be equal to the amount of cash that could have been received instead of stock.
Stockholders receiving dividends in shares of our common stock will be required to include the full amount of the dividend (including the portion payable in stock) as ordinary income (or, in certain circumstances, long-term capital gain) to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and profits for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, stockholders may be required to pay income taxes with respect to such dividends in excess of the cash dividends received. If a U.S. stockholder sells the common stock that it receives as a dividend in order to pay this tax, the sales proceeds may be less than the amount included in income with respect to the dividend, depending on the market price of our common stock at the time of the sale. Furthermore, with respect to non-U.S. stockholders, we may be required to withhold U.S. tax with respect to such dividends, including in respect of all or a portion of such dividend that is payable in common stock. In addition, if a significant number of our stockholders were to determine to sell shares of our common stock in order to pay taxes owed on dividends, it may put downward pressure on the trading price (if any) of our common stock. It is unclear whether and to what extent we will be able to pay taxable dividends of the type described in this paragraph. We may make investments that produce income that is not matched by a corresponding cash receipt by us. Any such income would be treated as income earned by us and therefore would be subject to both the Annual Distribution Requirement and the Excise Tax Distribution Requirements (as defined below). Such investments may require us to borrow money or dispose of other securities in order to comply with those requirements. However, under the Investment Company Act (and possibly certain debt covenants), we are not permitted to make distributions to our stockholders while our debt obligations and other senior securities are outstanding unless certain “asset coverage” tests are met. See “Regulation.”
Moreover, our ability to dispose of assets to meet our distribution requirements may be limited by (1) the illiquid nature of our portfolio and/or (2) other requirements relating to our status as a RIC, including the Diversification Tests. If we dispose of assets in order to meet the Annual Distribution Requirement or the Excise Tax Distribution Requirements (as defined below), we may make such dispositions at times that, from an investment standpoint, are not advantageous. If we are prohibited from making distributions or are unable to raise additional debt or equity capital or sell assets to make distributions, we may not be able to make sufficient distributions to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, and therefore would not be able to maintain our qualification as a RIC. Additionally, we may make investments that result in the recognition of ordinary income rather than capital gain, or that prevent us from accruing a long-term holding period. These investments may prevent us from making capital gain distributions as described below. We intend to monitor our transactions, make the appropriate tax elections and make the appropriate entries in our books and records when we make any such investments in order to mitigate the effect of these rules.
A RIC is limited in its ability to deduct expenses in excess of its “investment company taxable income” (which is, generally, ordinary income plus net realized short-term capital gains in excess of net realized long-term capital losses). If our expenses in a given year exceed our investment company income, we would have a net operating loss for that year. However, a RIC is not permitted to carry forward net operating losses to subsequent years and such net operating losses generally do not pass through to the holders of its common stock. In addition, expenses can be used only to offset investment company taxable income, not net capital gain. A RIC may not use any net capital losses (that is, realized capital losses in excess of realized capital gains) to offset the RIC’s investment company taxable income, but may carry forward such losses, and use them to offset future capital gains, indefinitely. Due to these limits on the deductibility of expenses and net capital losses, we may for U.S. federal income tax purposes have aggregate taxable income for several years that we are required to distribute and that is taxable to our stockholders even if such income is greater than the aggregate net income we actually earned during those years. Such distributions may be made from our cash assets or by liquidation of investments, if necessary. We may realize gains or losses from such liquidations. In the event we realize net capital gains from such transactions, you may receive a larger capital gain distribution than you would have received in the absence of such transactions. In addition, if future capital gains are offset by carried forward capital losses, such future capital gains are not subject to any corporate-level U.S. federal income tax, regardless of whether they are distributed to the holders of our common stock.
We may include in our taxable income certain amounts that we have not yet received in cash. For example, if we hold debt obligations that are treated under applicable U.S. federal income tax rules as having original issue discount (such as debt instruments with PIK interest or, in certain cases, that have increasing interest rates or are issued with warrants), we must include in our taxable income in each year a portion of the original issue discount that accrues over the life of the obligation, regardless of whether we receive cash representing such income in the same taxable year. We may also have to include in our taxable income other amounts that we have not yet received in cash, such as accruals on a contingent payment debt instrument or deferred loan origination fees that are paid after origination of the loan or are paid in non-cash compensation, such as warrants or stock. Because such original issue discount or other amounts accrued will be included in our investment company taxable income for the year of accrual, we may be required to make distributions to the holders of our common stock in order to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirements and/or the Excise Tax Distribution Requirement, even though we will have not received any corresponding cash payments. Accordingly, to enable us to make distributions to the holders of our common stock that will be sufficient to enable us to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, we may need to sell some of our assets at times and/or at prices that we would not consider advantageous, we may need to raise additional equity or debt capital or we may need to forego new investment opportunities or otherwise take actions that are disadvantageous to our business (or be unable to take actions that are advantageous to our business). If we are unable to obtain cash from other sources to enable us to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, we may fail to qualify for the U.S. federal income tax benefits allowable to RICs and, thus, become subject to a corporate-level U.S. federal income tax (and any applicable state and local taxes).
In addition, if we fail to distribute in a timely manner an amount at least equal to the sum of (1) 98% of our ordinary income for the calendar year, (2) 98.2% of our capital gain net income (both long-term and short-term) for the one-year period ending October 31 in that calendar year and (3) any undistributed ordinary income and capital gain net income for preceding years on which we paid no U.S. federal income tax less certain over-distributions in prior years (together, the “Excise Tax Distribution Requirements”), we will be liable for a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the portion of the undistributed amounts of such income that are less than the amounts required to be distributed based on the Excise Tax Distribution Requirements. For this purpose, however, any ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by us that is subject to corporate income tax for the tax year ending in that calendar year will be considered to have been distributed by year end (or earlier if estimated taxes are paid). We currently intend to make sufficient distributions each taxable year to satisfy the Excise Tax Distribution Requirements.
Failure to Qualify as a RIC
If we failed to satisfy the 90% Gross Income Test for any taxable year or the Diversification Tests for any quarter of a taxable year, we might nevertheless continue to qualify as a RIC for such year if certain relief provisions of the Code apply (which might, among other things, require us to pay certain corporate-level U.S. federal taxes or to dispose of certain assets). If we failed to qualify for treatment as a RIC and such relief provisions do not apply to us, we would be subject to U.S. federal income tax on all of our
taxable income at regular corporate U.S. federal income tax rates (and we also would be subject to any applicable state and local taxes), regardless of whether we make any distributions to the holders of our common stock. We would not be able to deduct distributions to our stockholders, nor would distributions to the holders of our common stock be required to be made for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Any distributions we make generally would be taxable to the holders of our common stock as ordinary dividend income and, subject to certain limitations under the Code, would be eligible for the current maximum rate applicable to qualifying dividend income of individuals and other non-corporate U.S. stockholders, to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and profits. Subject to certain limitations under the Code, U.S. holders of our common stock that are corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes would be eligible for the dividends-received deduction. Distributions in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits would be treated first as a return of capital to the extent of the holder’s adjusted tax basis in its shares of our common stock, and any remaining distributions would be treated as capital gain.
Subject to a limited exception applicable to RICs that qualified as such under Subchapter M of the Code for at least one year prior to disqualification and that requalify as a RIC no later than the second year following the non-qualifying year, we could be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any unrealized net built-in gains in the assets held by us during the period in which we failed to qualify as a RIC that are recognized during the 5-year period after our requalification as a RIC, unless we made a special election to pay corporate-level U.S. federal income tax on such net built-in gains at the time of our requalification as a RIC. We may decide to be taxed as a regular corporation even if we would otherwise qualify as a RIC if we determine that treatment as a corporation for a particular year would be in our best interests.
Our Investments—General
Certain of our investment practices may be subject to special and complex U.S. federal income tax provisions that may, among other things, (1) treat dividends that would otherwise constitute qualified dividend income as non-qualified dividend income, (2) disallow, suspend or otherwise limit the allowance of certain losses or deductions, (3) convert lower-taxed long-term capital gain into higher-taxed short-term capital gain or ordinary income, (4) convert an ordinary loss or a deduction into a capital loss (the deductibility of which is more limited), (5) cause us to recognize income or gain without receipt of a corresponding cash payment, (6) adversely affect the time as to when a purchase or sale of stock or securities is deemed to occur, (7) adversely alter the characterization of certain complex financial transactions and (8) produce income that will not be qualifying income for purposes of the 90% Gross Income Test. We have and intend to continue to monitor our transactions and may make certain tax elections to mitigate the potential adverse effect of these provisions, but there can be no assurance that we will be eligible for any such tax elections or that any adverse effects of these provisions will be mitigated.
Gain or loss recognized by us from warrants or other securities acquired by us, as well as any loss attributable to the lapse of such warrants, generally will be treated as capital gain or loss. Such gain or loss generally will be long-term or short-term depending on how long we held a particular warrant or security.
A portfolio company in which we invest may face financial difficulties that require us to work-out, modify or otherwise restructure our investment in the portfolio company. Any such transaction could, depending upon the specific terms of the transaction, cause us to recognize taxable income without a corresponding receipt of cash, which could affect our ability to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement and/or the Excise Tax Distribution Requirements or result in unusable capital losses and future non-cash income. Any such transaction could also result in our receiving assets that give rise to non-qualifying income for purposes of the 90% Gross Income Test or otherwise would not count toward satisfying the Diversification Tests.
Our investment in non-U.S. securities may be subject to non-U.S. income, withholding and other taxes. In that case, our yield on those securities would be decreased. Stockholders generally will not be entitled to claim a U.S. foreign tax credit or deduction with respect to non-U.S. taxes paid by us.
If we purchase shares in a “passive foreign investment company” (a “PFIC”), we may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a portion of any “excess distribution” received on, or any gain from the disposition of, such shares even if we distribute such income as a taxable dividend to the holders of our common stock. Additional charges in the nature of interest generally will be imposed on us in respect of deferred taxes arising from any such excess distribution or gain. If we invest in a PFIC and elect to treat the PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” under the Code (a “QEF”), in lieu of the foregoing requirements, we will be required to include in income each year our proportionate share of the ordinary earnings and net capital gain of the QEF, even if such income is not distributed by the QEF. Alternatively, we may be able to elect to mark-to-market at the end of each taxable year our shares in a PFIC; in this case, we will recognize as ordinary income any increase in the value of such shares, and as ordinary loss any decrease in such value to the extent that any such decrease does not exceed prior increases included in our income. Our ability to make either election will depend on factors beyond our control, and is subject to restrictions which may limit the availability of the benefit of these elections. Under either election, we may be required to recognize in a year income in excess of any distributions we receive from PFICs and any proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock during that year, and such income will nevertheless be subject to the Annual Distribution
Requirement and will be taken into account for purposes of determining whether we satisfy the Excise Tax Distribution Requirements. See “—Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company” above.
Under Section 988 of the Code, gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates between the time we accrue income, expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time we actually collect such income or pay such expenses or liabilities are generally treated as ordinary income or loss. Similarly, gains or losses on foreign currency forward contracts and the disposition of debt obligations denominated in a foreign currency, to the extent attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates between the acquisition and disposition dates, are also treated as ordinary income or loss.
Some of the income that we might otherwise earn, such as fees for providing managerial assistance, certain fees earned with respect to our investments, income recognized in a work-out or restructuring of a portfolio investment or income recognized from an equity investment in an operating partnership, may not satisfy the 90% Gross Income Test. To manage the risk that such income might disqualify us as a RIC for failure to satisfy the 90% Gross Income Test, one or more subsidiary entities treated as U.S. corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes may be employed to earn such income and (if applicable) hold the related asset. Such subsidiary entities will be required to pay U.S. federal income tax on their earnings, which ultimately will reduce the yield to the holders of our common stock on such fees and income.
The remainder of this discussion assumes that we qualify as a RIC for each taxable year.
Taxation of U.S. Stockholders
The following discussion applies only to U.S. stockholders. If you are not a U.S. stockholder, this section does not apply to you.
Distributions by us generally are taxable to U.S. stockholders as ordinary income or capital gains. Distributions of our “investment company taxable income” (which is, generally, our ordinary income plus realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized net long-term capital losses) will be taxable as ordinary income to U.S. stockholders to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional common stock. To the extent such distributions we pay to non-corporate stockholders (including individuals) are attributable to dividends from U.S. corporations and certain qualified foreign corporations, such distributions (“Qualifying Dividends”) generally are taxable to U.S. stockholders at the preferential rates applicable to long-term capital gains. However, it is anticipated that distributions paid by us will generally not be attributable to dividends and, therefore, generally will not qualify for the preferential rates applicable to Qualifying Dividends or the dividends received deduction available to corporations under the Code. Distributions of our net capital gains (which are generally our realized net long-term capital gains in excess of realized net short-term capital losses) that are properly reported by us as “capital gain dividends” will be taxable to a U.S. stockholder as long-term capital gains that are currently taxable at reduced rates in the case of non-corporate taxpayers, regardless of the U.S. stockholder’s holding period for his, her or its common stock and regardless of whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional common stock. Distributions in excess of our earnings and profits first will reduce a U.S. stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in such stockholder’s common stock and, after the adjusted tax basis is reduced to zero, will constitute capital gains to such U.S. stockholder.
Our stockholders who have not “opted out” of our dividend reinvestment plan will have their cash dividends and distributions automatically reinvested in additional shares of our common stock, rather than receiving cash dividends and distributions. Any dividends or distributions reinvested under the plan will nevertheless remain taxable to U.S. stockholders. A U.S. stockholder will have an adjusted basis in the additional common stock purchased through the plan equal to the dollar amount that would have been received if the stockholder had received the dividend or distribution in cash, unless we were to issue new shares that are trading at or above NAV, in which case, the stockholder’s basis in the new shares would generally be equal to their fair market value. The additional shares will have a new holding period commencing on the day following the day on which the shares are credited to the U.S. stockholder’s account.
Although we currently intend to distribute any net long-term capital gains at least annually, we may in the future decide to retain some or all of our net long-term capital gains but designate the retained amount as a “deemed distribution.” In that case, among other consequences, we will pay tax on the retained amount, each U.S. stockholder will be required to include such stockholder’s share of the deemed distribution in income as if it had been actually distributed to the U.S. stockholder, and the U.S. stockholder will be entitled to claim a credit equal to such stockholder’s allocable share of the tax paid on the deemed distribution by us. The amount of the deemed distribution net of such tax will be added to the U.S. stockholder’s tax basis for its shares of common stock. Since we expect to pay tax on any retained capital gains at the regular corporate tax rate, and since that rate is in excess of the maximum rate currently payable by individuals (and other non-corporate U.S. stockholders) on long-term capital gains, the amount of tax that individual stockholders (and other non-corporate U.S. stockholders) will be treated as having paid and for which they will receive a credit will exceed the tax they owe on the retained net capital gain. Such excess generally may be claimed as a credit against the U.S. stockholder’s other U.S. federal income tax obligations or may be refunded to the extent it exceeds a stockholder’s liability for U.S.
federal income tax. In order to utilize the deemed distribution approach, we must provide written notice to our stockholders. We cannot treat any of our investment company taxable income as a “deemed distribution.”
For purposes of determining (1) whether the Annual Distribution Requirement is satisfied for any year and (2) the amount of capital gain dividends paid for that year, we may, under certain circumstances, elect to treat a dividend that is paid during the following taxable year as if it had been paid during the taxable year in question. If we make such an election, the U.S. stockholder will still be treated as receiving the dividend in the taxable year in which the distribution is made. However, any dividend declared by us in October, November or December of any calendar year, payable to stockholders of record on a specified date in such a month and actually paid during January of the following year, will be treated as if it had been received by our U.S. stockholders on December 31 of the year in which the dividend was declared.
If an investor purchases shares of our common stock shortly before the record date of a distribution, the price of the shares will include the value of the distribution and the investor will be subject to tax on the distribution even though economically it may represent a return of his, her or its investment.
A stockholder generally will recognize taxable gain or loss if the stockholder sells or otherwise disposes of his, her or its shares of our common stock. The amount of gain or loss will be measured by the difference between such stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in the common stock sold and the amount of the proceeds received in exchange. Any gain or loss arising from such sale or disposition generally will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the stockholder has held his, her or its shares for more than one year. Otherwise, such gain or loss will be classified as short-term capital gain or loss. However, any capital loss arising from the sale or disposition of shares of our common stock held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of the amount of capital gain dividends received, or undistributed capital gain deemed received, with respect to such shares. In addition, all or a portion of any loss recognized upon a disposition of shares of our common stock may be disallowed if other shares of our common stock are purchased (whether through reinvestment of distributions or otherwise) within 30 days before or after the disposition. In such a case, the basis of the common stock acquired will be increased to reflect the disallowed loss.
In general, individual and certain other non-corporate U.S. stockholders currently are subject to a maximum U.S. federal income tax rate of 20% on their net capital gain (i.e., the excess of realized net long-term capital gains over realized net short-term capital losses), including any long-term capital gain derived from an investment in our shares, and a maximum U.S. federal income tax rate of 23.8% on their net taxable gain after taking into account the net investment income tax, discussed below. Such rate is lower than the maximum rate on ordinary income currently payable by individuals. Corporate U.S. stockholders currently are subject to U.S. federal income tax on net capital gain at the maximum 35% rate also applied to ordinary income. Non-corporate stockholders with net capital losses for a year (i.e., capital losses in excess of capital gains) generally may currently deduct up to $3,000 of such losses against their ordinary income each year; any net capital losses of a non-corporate U.S. stockholder in excess of $3,000 generally may be carried forward and used in subsequent years as provided in the Code. Corporate U.S. stockholders generally may not deduct any net capital losses for a year, but may carry back such losses for three years or carry forward such losses for five years.
We believe that we qualify as a publicly offered RIC and will continue to qualify as a publicly offered RIC for this and future tax years. We qualify as a publicly offered RIC if either (i) shares of our common stock are held by at least 500 persons at all times during a taxable year or (ii) shares of our common stock are treated as regularly traded on an established securities market. For any period that we are not considered to be a “publicly offered” RIC, for purposes of computing the taxable income of U.S. stockholders that are individuals, trusts or estates, (i) our earnings will be computed without taking into account such U.S. stockholders’ allocable shares of the management and incentive fees paid to our Investment Adviser and certain of our other expenses, (ii) each such U.S. stockholder will be treated as having received or accrued a dividend from us in the amount of such U.S. stockholder’s allocable share of these fees and expenses for the calendar year, (iii) each such U.S. stockholder will be treated as having paid or incurred such U.S. stockholder’s allocable share of these fees and expenses for the calendar year and (iv) each such U.S. stockholder’s allocable share of these fees and expenses will be treated as miscellaneous itemized deductions by such U.S. stockholder. Miscellaneous itemized deductions generally are deductible by a U.S. stockholder of our common stock that is an individual, trust or estate only to the extent that the aggregate of such U.S. stockholder’s miscellaneous itemized deductions exceeds 2% of such U.S. stockholder’s adjusted gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, are not deductible for purposes of the alternative minimum tax and are subject to the overall limitation on itemized deductions under Section 67 of the Code.
We will send to each of our U.S. stockholders, as promptly as possible after the end of each calendar year, a notice detailing, on a per share and per distribution basis, the amounts includible in such U.S. stockholder’s taxable income for such year as ordinary income and as long-term capital gain. In addition, the U.S. federal tax status of each year’s distributions generally will be reported to the IRS (including the amount of dividends, if any, eligible for the preferential rates applicable to long-term capital gains). Dividends paid by us generally will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction or the preferential tax rate applicable to Qualifying Dividends because our income generally will not consist of dividends. Distributions may also be subject to additional state, local and foreign taxes depending on a U.S. stockholder’s particular situation.
Tax Shelter Reporting Regulations
If a U.S. stockholder recognizes a loss with respect to common stock of the Company of $2 million or more for a non-corporate U.S. stockholder or $10 million or more for a corporate U.S. stockholder, the U.S. stockholder generally must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct U.S. stockholders of portfolio securities are in many cases exempted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, U.S. stockholders of a RIC are not exempted. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Significant monetary penalties apply to a failure to comply with this reporting requirement. States may also have a similar reporting requirement. U.S. stockholders should consult their own tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their specific circumstances.
Net Investment Income Tax
A non-corporate U.S. stockholder (other than certain trusts) generally will be subject to a 3.8% tax on the lesser of (i) the U.S. stockholder’s “net investment income” for a taxable year and (ii) the excess of the U.S. holder’s modified adjusted gross income for such taxable year over $200,000 ($250,000 in the case of joint filers). For these purposes, “net investment income” generally includes interest and taxable distributions and deemed distributions paid with respect to the our common stock, and net gain attributable to the disposition of the our common stock (in each case, unless such common stock is held in connection with certain trades or businesses), but will be reduced by any deductions properly allocable to such distributions or net gain.
Taxation of Non-U.S. Stockholders
The following discussion applies only to non-U.S. stockholders. If you are not a non-U.S. stockholder, this discussion does not apply to you.
Whether an investment in shares of our common stock is appropriate for a non-U.S. stockholder will depend upon that stockholder’s particular circumstances. An investment in shares of our common stock by a non-U.S. stockholder may have adverse tax consequences.
Distributions of our “investment company taxable income” to non-U.S. stockholders (including interest income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized long-term capital losses, which generally would be free of withholding if paid to non-U.S. stockholders directly) that are not effectively connected with such non-U.S. stockholder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States will be subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax at a 30% rate (or lower rate provided by an applicable income tax treaty) to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and profits. This withholding may be applied to reduce any future distributions to which you may be entitled. If the distributions are effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the non-U.S. stockholder, and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, attributable to a permanent establishment in the United States, the distributions will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the rates applicable to U.S. stockholders, and we will not be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax if the non-U.S. stockholder complies with applicable certification and disclosure requirements. Special certification requirements apply to a non-U.S. stockholder that is a foreign partnership or a foreign trust, and such entities are urged to consult their own tax advisors.
Under Section 871(k) of the Code, certain properly designated dividends received by a non-U.S. stockholder are generally exempt from withholding of U.S. federal income tax where they (1) are paid in respect of our “qualified net interest income” (generally, our U.S.-source interest income, other than certain contingent interest and interest from obligations of a corporation or partnership in which we or the non-U.S. stockholder of our common stock are at least a 10% stockholder, reduced by expenses that are allocable to such income), or (2) are paid in connection with our “qualified short-term capital gains” (generally, the excess of our net short-term capital gain over our long-term capital loss for such taxable year). However, depending on the circumstances, we may designate all, some or none of our potentially eligible dividends as such qualified net interest income or as qualified short-term capital gains, and/or treat such dividends, in whole or in part, as ineligible for this exemption from withholding. In order to qualify for this exemption from withholding, a non-U.S. stockholder must comply with applicable certification requirements relating to its non-U.S. status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS Form W-8 or an acceptable substitute or successor form). In the case of shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may withhold even if we designate the payment as qualified net interest income or qualified short-term capital gain. Non-U.S. stockholders should contact their intermediaries with respect to the application of these rules to their accounts.
Actual or deemed distributions of our net capital gains to a stockholder that is a non-U.S. stockholder, and gains realized by a non-U.S. stockholder upon the sale or redemption of our common stock, will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax or any withholding of such tax unless (a) the distributions or gains, as the case may be, are effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the non-U.S. stockholder (and, if an income tax treaty applies, are attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the non-U.S. stockholder in the United States), in which case the distribution or gains will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net basis
at the rates and in the manner applicable to U.S. stockholders generally or, (b) in the case of an individual, the non-U.S. stockholder was present in the United States for 183 days or more during the taxable year and certain other conditions are met, in which case, except as otherwise provided by an applicable income tax treaty, the distributions or gain, which may be offset by certain U.S.-source capital losses, generally will be subject to a flat 30% U.S. federal income tax, even though the non-U.S. stockholder is not considered a resident alien under the Code.
If we distribute our net capital gains in the form of deemed rather than actual distributions, a stockholder that is a non-U.S. stockholder will be entitled to a U.S. federal income tax credit or tax refund equal to the stockholder’s allocable share of the corporate-level tax we pay on the capital gains deemed to have been distributed; however, in order to obtain the refund, the non-U.S. stockholder must obtain a U.S. taxpayer identification number and file a U.S. federal income tax return even if the non-U.S. stockholder would not otherwise be required to obtain a U.S. taxpayer identification number or file a U.S. federal income tax return.
For a corporate non-U.S. stockholder, distributions (both actual and deemed) and gains realized upon the sale or redemption of our common stock that are effectively connected to a U.S. trade or business may, under certain circumstances, be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate (or at a lower rate if provided for by an applicable income tax treaty). Our stockholders who have not “opted out” of our dividend reinvestment plan will have their cash distributions automatically reinvested in additional shares of our common stock, rather than receiving the cash distributions. If a distribution is a distribution of our investment company taxable income and it is not effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the non-U.S. stockholder (or, if a treaty applies, is not attributable to a permanent establishment of the non-U.S. stockholder), the amount distributed (to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and profits) would be subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax at a 30% rate (or lower rate provided by an applicable income tax treaty) and only the net after-tax amount will be reinvested in shares of our common stock. If the distribution is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the non-U.S. stockholder (or, if a treaty applies, is not attributable to a permanent establishment of the non-U.S. stockholder), generally the full amount of the distribution will be reinvested in the plan and will nevertheless be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the ordinary income rates applicable to U.S. persons. The non-U.S. stockholder will have an adjusted tax basis in the additional shares of our common stock purchased through the plan equal to the total dollar amount that would have been received if the stockholder had received the distribution in cash, unless we issue new shares that are trading at or above NAV, in which case, the stockholder’s basis in the new shares would generally be equal to their fair market value. The additional shares would have a new holding period commencing on the day following the day on which the shares are credited to the non-U.S. stockholder’s account.
A non-U.S. stockholder who is a non-resident alien individual may be subject to information reporting and backup withholding of U.S. federal income tax on dividends unless the non-U.S. stockholder provides us or the dividend paying agent with an IRS Form W-8 or an acceptable substitute form or otherwise meets documentary evidence requirements for establishing that it is a non-U.S. stockholder or otherwise establishes an exemption from backup withholding.
Non-U.S. persons should consult their own tax advisors with respect to the U.S. federal income tax and withholding tax, and state, local and foreign tax consequences of an investment in our common stock.
Certain Additional Tax Considerations
Information Reporting and Backup Withholding
U.S. stockholders. Information returns will generally be filed with the IRS in connection with payments on our common stock and the proceeds from a sale or other disposition of our common stock. We may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax (“backup withholding”) at currently applicable rates, from all taxable distributions to any U.S. stockholder (other than a stockholder that otherwise qualifies for an exemption) (1) who fails to furnish us with a correct taxpayer identification number or a certificate that such stockholder is exempt from backup withholding or (2) with respect to whom the IRS notifies us that such stockholder has failed to properly report certain interest and dividend income to the IRS and to respond to notices to that effect. An individual’s taxpayer identification number generally is his or her social security number. Backup withholding is not an additional tax, and any amount withheld under backup withholding may be refunded or credited against the U.S. stockholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability, provided that proper information is timely provided to the IRS.
Non-U.S. stockholders. Generally, we must report to the IRS and to non-U.S. stockholders the amount of interest and dividends paid to the non-U.S. stockholder and the amount of tax, if any, withheld with respect to those payments. Copies of the information returns reporting such dividend payments and any withholding may also be made available to the tax authorities in the country in which the holder resides under the provisions of an applicable tax treaty or agreement. In general, a non-U.S. stockholder will not be subject to backup withholding with respect to payments of dividends if (a) the non-U.S. stockholder provides its name and address, and certifies, under penalties of perjury, to the applicable withholding agent that it is not a U.S. person (which certification may be made on an IRS W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E (or successor form)) or (b) the non-U.S. stockholder holds our common stock through certain foreign intermediaries or certain foreign partnerships, and satisfies the certification requirements of applicable Treasury regulations. A
non-U.S. stockholder will be subject to information reporting and, depending on the circumstances, backup withholding with respect to the proceeds of the sale or other disposition (including a redemption) of shares of our common stock within the United States or conducted through certain U.S.-related payors, unless the payor of the proceeds receives the statement described above or the non-U.S. stockholder otherwise establishes an exemption.
Withholding and Information Reporting on Foreign Financial Accounts
Under the Code and recently issued Treasury regulations, the applicable withholding agent generally will be required to withhold 30% of any payments of dividends on our common stock and, after December 31, 2018, 30% of the gross proceeds from a sale or other disposition of our common stock paid, in each case, to (i) a non-U.S. financial institution (whether such financial institution is the beneficial owner or an intermediary) unless such non-U.S. financial institution agrees to verify, report and disclose its U.S. account holders and meets certain other specified requirements or (ii) a non-financial non-U.S. entity (whether such entity is the beneficial owner or an intermediary) unless such entity certifies that it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or provides the name, address and taxpayer identification number of each substantial U.S. owner and such entity meets certain other specified requirements. If payment of this withholding tax is made, non-U.S. stockholders that are otherwise eligible for an exemption from, or a reduction in, withholding of U.S. federal income taxes with respect to such interest, dividends or proceeds will be required to seek a credit or refund from the IRS to obtain the benefit of such exemption or reduction. We will not pay any additional amounts in respect of any amounts withheld. This withholding may be applied to reduce any future distributions to which you may be entitled. All stockholders should consult their own tax advisers with respect to the U.S. federal income and withholding tax consequences, and state, local and foreign tax consequences, of an investment in our common stock.
CUSTODIAN, TRANSFER AND DISTRIBUTION PAYING AGENT AND REGISTRAR
Our assets are held by State Street pursuant to a custody agreement. State Street also acts as our transfer agent, distribution paying agent and registrar for our common stock. The principal business address of State Street is One Heritage Drive, Floor 1, North Quincy, MA 02171.
BROKERAGE ALLOCATION AND OTHER PRACTICES
Since the Company generally acquires and disposes of its investments in privately negotiated transactions, it infrequently uses brokers in the normal course of business.
Subject to policies established by the Company’s Board, the Investment Adviser is primarily responsible for the execution of any traded securities in the Company’s portfolio and the Company’s allocation of brokerage commissions. The Investment Adviser does not expect to execute transactions through any particular broker or dealer, but seeks to obtain the best net results for the Company, taking into account such factors as price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), size of order, difficulty of execution, and operations facilities of the firm and the firm’s risk and skill in positioning blocks of securities.
While the Investment Adviser generally seeks reasonably competitive trade execution costs, the Company will not necessarily pay the lowest spread or commission available. Subject to applicable legal requirements, the Investment Adviser may select a broker based partly upon brokerage or research services provided to the Investment Adviser and the Company and any other clients. In return for such services, the Company may pay a higher commission than other brokers would charge if the Investment Adviser determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in relation to the services provided.
PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION
We may offer, from time to time, in one or more offerings or series, up to $500,000,000 of our common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, subscription rights to purchase shares of our common stock or warrants representing rights to purchase shares of our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities, or units comprised of any combination of the foregoing, in one or more underwritten public offerings, at‑the‑market offerings, negotiated transactions, block trades, best efforts or a combination of these methods. In addition, this prospectus relates to 5,500,000 shares of our common stock that may be sold by the selling stockholders identified under “Selling Stockholders.”
We or the selling stockholders may sell the securities through underwriters or dealers, directly to one or more purchasers, including existing stockholders in a rights offering, through agents designated from time to time by us or through a combination of any such methods of sale. In the case of a rights offering, the applicable prospectus supplement will set forth the number of shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of each right and the other terms of such rights offering. Any underwriter or agent involved in the offer and sale of the securities will be named in the applicable prospectus supplement. A prospectus supplement or supplements will also describe the terms of the offering of the securities, including: the purchase price of the securities and the proceeds we or the selling stockholders will receive from the sale; any over‑allotment options under which underwriters may purchase additional securities from us or the selling stockholders; any agency fees or underwriting discounts and other items constituting agents’ or underwriters’ compensation; the public offering price; any discounts or concessions allowed or re‑allowed or paid to dealers; any securities exchange or market on which the securities may be listed; and, in the case of a rights offering, the number of shares of our common stock issuable upon the exercise of each right. Only underwriters named in the prospectus supplement will be underwriters of the securities offered by the prospectus supplement.
The distribution of the securities may be effected from time to time in one or more transactions at a fixed price or prices, which may be changed, at prevailing market prices at the time of sale, at prices related to such prevailing market prices, or at negotiated prices, provided, however, that the offering price per share of any common stock offered by us, less any underwriting commissions or discounts, must equal or exceed the NAV per share of our common stock at the time of the offering except (a) in connection with a rights offering to our existing stockholders, (b) with the consent of the majority of our common stockholders or (c) under such circumstances as the SEC may permit. The price at which securities may be distributed may represent a discount from prevailing market prices.
In connection with the sale of the securities, underwriters or agents may receive compensation from us, the selling stockholders or from purchasers of the securities, for whom they may act as agents, in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions. Underwriters may sell the securities to or through dealers and such dealers may receive compensation in the form of discounts, concessions or commissions from the underwriters and/or commissions from the purchasers for whom they may act as agents. Underwriters, dealers and agents that participate in the distribution of the securities may be deemed to be underwriters under the Securities Act, and any discounts and commissions they receive from us or the selling stockholders and any profit realized by them on the resale of the securities may be deemed to be underwriting discounts and commissions under the Securities Act. Any such underwriter or agent will be identified and any such compensation received from us or the selling stockholders will be described in the applicable prospectus supplement. The maximum aggregate commission or discount to be received by any member of FINRA or independent broker‑dealer will not be greater than 8% of the gross proceeds of the sale of securities offered pursuant to this prospectus and any applicable prospectus supplement. We or the selling stockholders, as applicable, may also reimburse the underwriter or agent for certain fees and legal expenses incurred by it.
Any underwriter may engage in over‑allotment, stabilizing transactions, short‑covering transactions and penalty bids in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act. Over‑allotment involves sales in excess of the offering size, which create a short position. Stabilizing transactions permit bids to purchase the underlying security so long as the stabilizing bids do not exceed a specified maximum price. Syndicate‑covering or other short‑covering transactions involve purchases of the securities, either through exercise of the option to purchase additional shares from us or in the open market after the distribution is completed, to cover short positions. Penalty bids permit the underwriters to reclaim a selling concession from a dealer when the securities originally sold by the dealer are purchased in a stabilizing or covering transaction to cover short positions. Those activities may cause the price of the securities to be higher than it would otherwise be. If commenced, the underwriters may discontinue any of the activities at any time.
Any underwriters that are qualified market makers on The NASDAQ Global Select Market may engage in passive market making transactions in our common stock on The NASDAQ Global Select Market in accordance with Regulation M under the Exchange Act, during the business day prior to the pricing of the offering, before the commencement of offers or sales of our common stock. Passive market makers must comply with applicable volume and price limitations and must be identified as passive market makers. In general, a passive market maker must display its bid at a price not in excess of the highest independent bid for such security; if all independent bids are lowered below the passive market maker’s bid, however, the passive market maker’s bid must then be lowered when certain purchase limits are exceeded. Passive market making may stabilize the market price of the securities at a level above that which might otherwise prevail in the open market and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time.
We or the selling stockholders may sell securities directly or through agents we designate from time to time. We will name any agent involved in the offering and sale of securities and we will describe any commissions we or the selling stockholders will pay the agent in the prospectus supplement. Unless the prospectus supplement states otherwise, our agent will act on a best‑efforts basis for the period of its appointment.
Unless otherwise specified in the applicable prospectus supplement, each class or series of securities will be a new issue with no trading market, other than our common stock, which is traded on The NASDAQ Global Select Market. We may elect to list any other class or series of securities on any exchanges, but we are not obligated to do so. We cannot guarantee the liquidity of the trading markets for any securities.
Under agreements that we or the selling stockholders may enter, underwriters, dealers and agents who participate in the distribution of shares of our securities may be entitled to indemnification by us or the selling stockholders, as applicable against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or contribution with respect to payments that the agents or underwriters may make with respect to these liabilities. Underwriters, dealers and agents may engage in transactions with, or perform services for, us in the ordinary course of business.
If so indicated in the applicable prospectus supplement, we or the selling stockholders will authorize underwriters or other persons acting as our agents to solicit offers by certain institutions to purchase our securities from us or the selling stockholders pursuant to contracts providing for payment and delivery on a future date. Institutions with which such contracts may be made include commercial and savings banks, insurance companies, pension funds, investment companies, educational and charitable institutions and others, but in all cases such institutions must be approved by us or the selling stockholders, as applicable. The obligations of any purchaser under any such contract will be subject to the condition that the purchase of our securities shall not at the time of delivery be prohibited under the laws of the jurisdiction to which such purchaser is subject. The underwriters and such other agents will not have any responsibility in respect of the validity or performance of such contracts. Such contracts will be subject only to those conditions set forth in the prospectus supplement, and the prospectus supplement will set forth the commission payable for solicitation of such contracts.
We or the selling stockholders may enter into derivative transactions with third parties, or sell securities not covered by this prospectus to third parties in privately negotiated transactions. If the applicable prospectus supplement indicates, in connection with those derivatives, the third parties may sell securities covered by this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, including in short sale transactions. If so, the third party may use securities pledged by us or the selling stockholders or borrowed from us, the selling stockholders or others to settle those sales or to close out any related open borrowings of stock, and may use securities received from us or the selling stockholders in settlement of those derivatives to close out any related open borrowings of stock. The third parties in such sale transactions will be underwriters and, if not identified in this prospectus, will be identified in the applicable prospectus supplement.
In order to comply with the securities laws of certain states, if applicable, our securities offered hereby will be sold in such jurisdictions only through registered or licensed brokers or dealers.
We may not sell securities pursuant to this prospectus without delivering a prospectus supplement describing the method and terms of the offering of such securities.
LEGAL MATTERS
The legality of the securities offered hereby will be passed upon for the Company by Proskauer Rose LLP, Los Angeles, California, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, New York, New York and Venable LLP, Baltimore, Maryland. Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be passed upon for the underwriters, if any, by the counsel named in the applicable prospectus supplement.
INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM
The consolidated financial statements of TCG BDC, Inc. at December 31, 2016 and 2015, and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2016, and the senior securities schedule under the heading “Senior Securities” as of December 31, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013, appearing in this Prospectus and Registration Statement have been audited by Ernst & Young LLP, 5 Times Square, New York, NY 10036, independent registered public accounting firm, as set forth in their reports thereon appearing elsewhere herein, and are included in reliance upon such reports given on the authority of such firm as experts in accounting and auditing.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
We have filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form N-2, together with all amendments and related exhibits, under the Securities Act, with respect to our shares of common stock offered by this prospectus. The registration statement contains additional information about us and our shares of common stock being offered by this prospectus.
We also file with or submit to the SEC periodic and current reports, proxy statements and other information meeting the informational requirements of the Exchange Act. You may inspect and copy these reports, proxy statements and other information, as well as the registration statement and related exhibits and schedules, at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549-0102. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.
We maintain a website (www.tcgbdc.com) and intend to make all of our annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other publicly filed information available, free of charge, on or through our website. You may also obtain such information by contacting us by mail sent to the attention of the Secretary of the Company, Matthew Cottrell, at our principal executive offices located at 520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor, New York, NY 10022 or you can call us by dialing 212-813-4900. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information filed electronically by us with the SEC which are available on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of these reports, proxy and information statements and other information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the SEC’s Public Reference Section, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549-0102.
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$500,000,000 TCG BDC, Inc. Common Stock Preferred Stock Debt Securities Subscription Rights Warrants Units 5,500,000 Shares of Common Stock by Selling Stockholders
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TCG BDC, INC.
INDEX TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
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TCG BDC, Inc. | |
| Unaudited Financial Statements | |
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| Audited Financial Statements | |
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TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
(dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)
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| | | | | | | |
| September 30, 2017 | | December 31, 2016 |
ASSETS | (unaudited) | | |
Investments, at fair value | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated, at fair value (amortized cost of $1,769,297 and $1,332,596, respectively) | $ | 1,760,611 |
| | $ | 1,323,102 |
|
Investments—non-controlled/affiliated, at fair value (amortized cost of $15,935 and $0, respectively) | 14,959 |
| | — |
|
Investments—controlled/affiliated, at fair value (amortized cost of $186,801 and $97,385, respectively) | 188,547 |
| | 99,657 |
|
Total investments, at fair value (amortized cost of $1,972,033 and $1,429,981, respectively) | 1,964,117 |
| | 1,422,759 |
|
Cash and cash equivalents | 35,149 |
| | 38,489 |
|
Receivable for investment sold | — |
| | 19,750 |
|
Deferred financing costs | 3,734 |
| | 3,308 |
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Interest receivable from non-controlled/non-affiliated investments | 4,892 |
| | 3,407 |
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Interest and dividend receivable from controlled/affiliated investments | 5,528 |
| | 2,400 |
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Prepaid expenses and other assets | 55 |
| | 42 |
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Total assets | $ | 2,013,475 |
| | $ | 1,490,155 |
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LIABILITIES | | | |
Secured borrowings (Note 6) | $ | 578,769 |
| | $ | 421,885 |
|
2015-1 Notes payable, net of unamortized debt issuance costs of $1,999 and $2,151, respectively (Note 7) | 271,001 |
| | 270,849 |
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Due to Investment Adviser | 102 |
| | 215 |
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Interest and credit facility fees payable (Notes 6 and 7) | 4,792 |
| | 3,599 |
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Dividend payable (Note 9) | 22,888 |
| | 20,018 |
|
Base management and incentive fees payable (Note 4) | 9,986 |
| | 8,157 |
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Administrative service fees payable (Note 4) | 100 |
| | 137 |
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Other accrued expenses and liabilities | 1,484 |
| | 1,158 |
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Total liabilities | 889,122 |
| | 726,018 |
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Commitments and contingencies (Notes 8 and 11) | | | |
NET ASSETS | | | |
Common stock, $0.01 par value; 200,000,000 shares authorized; 61,859,848 shares and 41,702,318 shares issued and outstanding at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively | 619 |
| | 417 |
|
Paid-in capital in excess of par value | 1,166,599 |
| | 799,580 |
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Offering costs | (1,588 | ) | | (74 | ) |
Accumulated net investment income (loss), net of cumulative dividends of $191,773 and $129,065 at September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively | (280 | ) | | (3,207 | ) |
Accumulated net realized gain (loss) | (33,081 | ) | | (25,357 | ) |
Accumulated net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) | (7,916 | ) | | (7,222 | ) |
Total net assets | $ | 1,124,353 |
| | $ | 764,137 |
|
NET ASSETS PER SHARE | $ | 18.18 |
| | $ | 18.32 |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)
(unaudited)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| For the three month periods ended | | For the nine month periods ended |
| September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 | | September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 |
Investment income: | | | | | | | |
From non-controlled/non-affiliated investments: | | | | | | | |
Interest income | $ | 34,684 |
| | $ | 26,362 |
| | $ | 93,564 |
| | $ | 72,551 |
|
Other income | 1,318 |
| | 1,909 |
| | 7,900 |
| | 4,578 |
|
Total investment income from non-controlled/non-affiliated investments | 36,002 |
| | 28,271 |
| | 101,464 |
| | 77,129 |
|
From non-controlled/affiliated investments: | | | | | | | |
Interest income | 834 |
| | — |
| | 834 |
| | — |
|
Total investment income from non-controlled/affiliated investments | 834 |
| | — |
| | 834 |
| | — |
|
From controlled/affiliated investments: | | | | | | | |
Interest income | 3,012 |
| | 336 |
| | 7,333 |
| | 336 |
|
Dividend income | 2,800 |
| | 350 |
| | 5,860 |
| | 350 |
|
Total investment income from controlled/affiliated investments | 5,812 |
| | 686 |
| | 13,193 |
| | 686 |
|
Total investment income | 42,648 |
| | 28,957 |
| | 115,491 |
| | 77,815 |
|
Expenses: | | | | | | | |
Base management fees (Note 4) | 6,999 |
| | 4,699 |
| | 17,781 |
| | 13,184 |
|
Incentive fees (Note 4) | 5,321 |
| | 3,962 |
| | 15,459 |
| | 10,318 |
|
Professional fees | 361 |
| | 568 |
| | 1,957 |
| | 1,574 |
|
Administrative service fees (Note 4) | 184 |
| | 180 |
| | 522 |
| | 526 |
|
Interest expense (Notes 6 and 7) | 5,922 |
| | 4,051 |
| | 16,694 |
| | 11,475 |
|
Credit facility fees (Note 6) | 521 |
| | 682 |
| | 1,553 |
| | 2,139 |
|
Directors’ fees and expenses | 121 |
| | 146 |
| | 355 |
| | 410 |
|
Other general and administrative | 472 |
| | 390 |
| | 1,462 |
| | 1,312 |
|
Total expenses | 19,901 |
| | 14,678 |
| | 55,783 |
| | 40,938 |
|
Waiver of base management fees (Note 4) | 2,333 |
| | 1,567 |
| | 5,927 |
| | 4,395 |
|
Net expenses | 17,568 |
| | 13,111 |
| | 49,856 |
| | 36,543 |
|
Net investment income (loss) | 25,080 |
| | 15,846 |
| | 65,635 |
| | 41,272 |
|
Net realized gain (loss) and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments: | | | | | | | |
Net realized gain (loss) from: | | | | | | | |
Non-controlled/non-affiliated investments | 172 |
| | 544 |
| | (7,724 | ) | | (9,055 | ) |
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation): | | | | | | | |
Non-controlled/non-affiliated | 279 |
| | 10,536 |
| | 808 |
| | 18,239 |
|
Non-controlled/affiliated | 976 |
| | — |
| | (976 | ) | | — |
|
Controlled/affiliated | (964 | ) | | 2,244 |
| | (526 | ) | | 1,957 |
|
Net realized gain (loss) and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | 463 |
| | 13,324 |
| | (8,418 | ) | | 11,141 |
|
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | $ | 25,543 |
| | $ | 29,170 |
| | $ | 57,217 |
| | $ | 52,413 |
|
Basic and diluted earnings per common share (Note 9) | $ | 0.41 |
| | $ | 0.78 |
| | $ | 1.15 |
| | $ | 1.51 |
|
Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding—Basic and Diluted (Note 9) | 61,840,100 |
| | 37,489,297 |
| | 49,915,318 |
| | 34,623,225 |
|
Dividends declared per common share (Note 9) | $ | 0.37 |
| | $ | 0.40 |
| | $ | 1.15 |
| | $ | 1.20 |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS
(dollar amounts in thousands)
(unaudited)
|
| | | | | | | |
| For the nine month periods ended |
| September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 |
Increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations: | | | |
Net investment income (loss) | $ | 65,635 |
| | $ | 41,272 |
|
Net realized gain (loss) on investments | (7,724 | ) | | (9,055 | ) |
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | (694 | ) | | 20,196 |
|
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | 57,217 |
| | 52,413 |
|
Capital transactions: | | | |
Common stock issued, net of offering and underwriting costs | 365,505 |
| | 150,102 |
|
Reinvestment of dividends | 202 |
| | 194 |
|
Dividends declared (Note 12) | (62,708 | ) | | (43,197 | ) |
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from capital share transactions | 302,999 |
| | 107,099 |
|
Net increase (decrease) in net assets | 360,216 |
| | 159,512 |
|
Net assets at beginning of period | 764,137 |
| | 571,726 |
|
Net assets at end of period | $ | 1,124,353 |
| | $ | 731,238 |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(dollar amounts in thousands)
(unaudited)
|
| | | | | | | |
| For the nine month periods ended |
| September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 |
Cash flows from operating activities: | | | |
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | $ | 57,217 |
| | $ | 52,413 |
|
Adjustments to reconcile net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities: | | | |
Amortization of deferred financing costs | 694 |
| | 1,180 |
|
Net accretion of discount on investments | (8,403 | ) | | (3,605 | ) |
Paid-in-kind interest | (778 | ) | | — |
|
Net realized (gain) loss on investments | 7,724 |
| | 9,055 |
|
Net change in unrealized (appreciation) depreciation on investments | 694 |
| | (20,196 | ) |
Cost of investments purchased and change in payable for investments purchased | (1,011,782 | ) | | (562,916 | ) |
Proceeds from sales and repayments of investments and change in receivable for investments sold | 541,111 |
| | 256,482 |
|
Changes in operating assets: | | | |
Interest receivable | (3,138 | ) | | (897 | ) |
Dividend receivable | (1,475 | ) | | (350 | ) |
Prepaid expenses and other assets | (13 | ) | | 130 |
|
Changes in operating liabilities: | | | |
Due to Investment Adviser | (113 | ) | | (49 | ) |
Interest and credit facility fees payable | 1,193 |
| | 700 |
|
Base management and incentive fees payable | 1,829 |
| | 10,865 |
|
Administrative service fees payable | (37 | ) | | 30 |
|
Other accrued expenses and liabilities | 290 |
| | 347 |
|
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | (414,987 | ) | | (256,811 | ) |
Cash flows from financing activities: | | | |
Proceeds from issuance of common stock, net of offering and underwriting costs | 357,495 |
| | 150,102 |
|
Borrowings on SPV Credit Facility and Credit Facility | 597,450 |
| | 411,435 |
|
Repayments of SPV Credit Facility and Credit Facility | (440,566 | ) | | (250,732 | ) |
Repayments of debt assumed from NFIC Acquisition | (42,128 | ) | | — |
|
Debt issuance costs paid | (968 | ) | | (620 | ) |
Dividends paid in cash | (59,636 | ) | | (45,370 | ) |
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | 411,647 |
| | 264,815 |
|
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | (3,340 | ) | | 8,004 |
|
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of period | 38,489 |
| | 41,837 |
|
Cash and cash equivalents, end of period | $ | 35,149 |
| | $ | 49,841 |
|
Supplemental and non-cash activities: | | | |
Offering costs payable | $ | 36 |
| | $ | — |
|
Interest paid during the period | $ | 15,423 |
| | $ | 10,700 |
|
Excise taxes paid during the period | $ | 169 |
| | $ | 76 |
|
Dividends declared during the period | $ | 62,708 |
| | $ | 43,197 |
|
Reinvestment of dividends | $ | 202 |
| | $ | 194 |
|
Cost of investments received in the NFIC Acquisition from shares issued (Note 13) | $ | (8,046 | ) | | $ | — |
|
Shares issued in consideration of NFIC Acquisition (Note 13) | $ | 8,046 |
| | $ | — |
|
Debt assumed from NFIC Acquisition (Note 13) | $ | 42,128 |
| | $ | — |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS
As of September 30, 2017
(dollar amounts in thousands)
(unaudited)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
First Lien Debt (75.13%) | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Access CIG, LLC (2) (3) (4) (13) (16) | Business Services | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/17/2021 | | $ | 18,195 |
| | $ | 18,096 |
| | $ | 18,246 |
| | 1.62 | % |
Achilles Acquisition LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/6/2023 | | 38,657 |
| | 37,586 |
| | 38,209 |
| | 3.40 |
|
Advanced Instruments, LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) (16) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/31/2022 | | 10,448 |
| | 10,253 |
| | 10,416 |
| | 0.93 |
|
Alpha Packaging Holdings, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/12/2020 | | 2,904 |
| | 2,902 |
| | 2,904 |
| | 0.26 |
|
AMS Group HoldCo, LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Transportation: Cargo | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/29/2023 | | 29,925 |
| | 29,172 |
| | 29,450 |
| | 2.62 |
|
Anaren, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) | Telecommunications | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/18/2021 | | 3,832 |
| | 3,812 |
| | 3,832 |
| | 0.34 |
|
Aquilex LLC (2) (3) (13) (16) | Environmental Industries | | L + 4.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/31/2020 | | 3,208 |
| | 3,206 |
| | 3,208 |
| | 0.29 |
|
Audax AAMP Holdings, Inc. (2) (3) (5) | Durable Consumer Goods | | L + 7.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/31/2018 | | 12,487 |
| | 12,483 |
| | 12,441 |
| | 1.11 |
|
Brooks Equipment Company, LLC (2) (3) (4) (13) | Construction & Building | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/29/2020 | | 2,591 |
| | 2,578 |
| | 2,590 |
| | 0.23 |
|
Capstone Logistics Acquisition, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) (16) | Transportation: Cargo | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/7/2021 | | 19,198 |
| | 19,076 |
| | 19,150 |
| | 1.70 |
|
Captive Resources Midco, LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) (16) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/30/2020 | | 30,900 |
| | 30,616 |
| | 30,900 |
| | 2.75 |
|
Central Security Group, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) (16) | Consumer Services | | L + 5.63% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/6/2021 | | 39,183 |
| | 38,826 |
| | 39,101 |
| | 3.48 |
|
CIP Revolution Holdings, LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/19/2021 | | 19,105 |
| | 18,943 |
| | 18,977 |
| | 1.69 |
|
Colony Hardware Corporation (2) (3) (4) (13) | Construction & Building | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/23/2021 | | 22,128 |
| | 21,882 |
| | 22,030 |
| | 1.96 |
|
Continuum Managed Services Holdco, LLC (2) (3) (5) (13) (15) (16) | High Tech Industries | | L + 8.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/8/2023 | | 22,943 |
| | 22,234 |
| | 23,175 |
| | 2.06 |
|
Dade Paper & Bag, LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (16) | Forest Products & Paper | | L + 7.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/10/2024 | | 49,875 |
| | 48,920 |
| | 49,995 |
| | 4.45 |
|
Datapipe, Inc. (2) (3) (13) | Telecommunications | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 3/15/2019 | | 9,675 |
| | 9,619 |
| | 9,675 |
| | 0.86 |
|
Dent Wizard International Corporation (2) (3) (4) (16) | Automotive | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/7/2020 | | 897 |
| | 895 |
| | 896 |
| | 0.08 |
|
Derm Growth Partners III, LLC (Dermatology Associates) (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/31/2022 | | 49,917 |
| | 49,302 |
| | 49,624 |
| | 4.41 |
|
DermaRite Industries, LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (15) (16) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 7.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 3/3/2022 | | 20,053 |
| | 19,713 |
| | 19,911 |
| | 1.77 |
|
Dimensional Dental Management, LLC (2) (3) (5) (12) (15) (16) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/12/2021 | | 31,780 |
| | 31,106 |
| | 31,625 |
| | 2.81 |
|
Direct Travel, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Hotel, Gaming & Leisure | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/1/2021 | | 26,495 |
| | 25,963 |
| | 26,425 |
| | 2.36 |
|
EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (2) (3) (5) (12) (13) (16) | Telecommunications | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/7/2021 | | 27,284 |
| | 26,593 |
| | 26,921 |
| | 2.39 |
|
Emergency Communications Network, LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (16) | Telecommunications | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/1/2023 | | 24,938 |
| | 24,723 |
| | 24,933 |
| | 2.22 |
|
EP Minerals, LLC (2) (3) (4) (13) | Metals & Mining | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/20/2020 | | 7,926 |
| | 7,905 |
| | 7,926 |
| | 0.70 |
|
FCX Holdings Corp. (2) (3) (4) (13) (16) | Capital Equipment | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/4/2020 | | 3,829 |
| | 3,828 |
| | 3,829 |
| | 0.34 |
|
Frontline Technologies Holdings, LLC (2) (3) (5) (15) | Software | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/18/2023 | | 39,295 |
| | 38,832 |
| | 39,205 |
| | 3.49 |
|
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (continued)
As of September 30, 2017
(dollar amounts in thousands)
(unaudited)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
First Lien Debt (75.13%) (continued) | | | | | | | | | | | | |
FWR Holding Corporation (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Beverage, Food & Tobacco | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/21/2023 | | $ | 35,666 |
| | $ | 34,444 |
| | $ | 34,856 |
| | 3.10 | % |
Global Franchise Group, LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Beverage, Food & Tobacco | | L + 5.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/18/2019 | | 14,505 |
| | 14,366 |
| | 14,463 |
| | 1.29 |
|
Global Software, LLC (2) (3) (4) (13) | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/2/2022 | | 20,884 |
| | 20,548 |
| | 20,776 |
| | 1.85 |
|
Green Energy Partners/Stonewall LLC (2) (3) (4) (13) | Energy: Electricity | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/13/2021 | | 20,000 |
| | 19,653 |
| | 18,652 |
| | 1.66 |
|
Hummel Station LLC (2) (3) (5) (13) (16) | Energy: Electricity | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/27/2022 | | 25,000 |
| | 24,035 |
| | 22,938 |
| | 2.04 |
|
Hydrofarm, LLC (2) (5) (13) (16) | Wholesale | | L + 7.00% | | 5/12/2022 | | 18,881 |
| | 18,718 |
| | 18,851 |
| | 1.68 |
|
Indra Holdings Corp. (Totes Isotoner) (2) (3) (5) (13) | Non-durable Consumer Goods | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/1/2021 | | 18,965 |
| | 17,138 |
| | 11,411 |
| | 1.01 |
|
Integro Parent Inc. (2) (3) (13) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/30/2022 | | 4,914 |
| | 4,814 |
| | 4,806 |
| | 0.43 |
|
Legacy.com Inc. (2) (3) (5) (12) | High Tech Industries | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 3/20/2023 | | 17,000 |
| | 16,642 |
| | 17,241 |
| | 1.53 |
|
Metrogistics LLC (2) (3) (4) (13) | Transportation: Cargo | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/30/2022 | | 16,681 |
| | 16,491 |
| | 16,625 |
| | 1.48 |
|
National Technical Systems, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) (16) | Aerospace & Defense | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/12/2021 | | 26,351 |
| | 26,056 |
| | 25,554 |
| | 2.27 |
|
NES Global Talent Finance US LLC (United Kingdom) (2) (3) (4) (8) (13) | Energy: Oil & Gas | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/3/2019 | | 13,800 |
| | 13,636 |
| | 13,296 |
| | 1.18 |
|
NMI AcquisitionCo, Inc. (2) (3) (5) (15) (17) | High Tech Industries | | P + 5.75% (2.00% Floor) | | 9/6/2022 | | 51,220 |
| | 50,196 |
| | 50,590 |
| | 4.50 |
|
OnCourse Learning Corporation (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Consumer Services | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/12/2021 | | 30,411 |
| | 30,076 |
| | 30,198 |
| | 2.69 |
|
Paradigm Acquisition Corp. (2) (3) (4) (13) | Business Services | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/2/2022 | | 15,461 |
| | 15,339 |
| | 15,461 |
| | 1.38 |
|
Payment Alliance International, Inc. (2) (3) (5) (12) (16) | Business Services | | L + 6.05% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/15/2021 | | 26,544 |
| | 25,952 |
| | 26,287 |
| | 2.34 |
|
Pelican Products, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/11/2020 | | 3,594 |
| | 3,599 |
| | 3,585 |
| | 0.32 |
|
Plano Molding Company, LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (16) | Hotel, Gaming & Leisure | | L + 7.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/12/2021 | | 21,536 |
| | 21,232 |
| | 18,891 |
| | 1.68 |
|
PMG Acquisition Corporation (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/22/2022 | | 27,251 |
| | 26,843 |
| | 27,192 |
| | 2.42 |
|
PPT Management Holdings, LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/16/2022 | | 24,813 |
| | 24,626 |
| | 24,582 |
| | 2.19 |
|
Prime Risk Partners, Inc. (2) (3) (5) (15) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/13/2023 | | 1,549 |
| | 1,503 |
| | 1,506 |
| | 0.13 |
|
Prime Risk Partners, Inc. (2) (3) (5) (12) (15) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/13/2023 | | 19,339 |
| | 18,758 |
| | 18,888 |
| | 1.68 |
|
Product Quest Manufacturing, LLC (2) (3) (5) (10) (12) | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 5.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/9/2020 | | 33,000 |
| | 32,270 |
| | 22,808 |
| | 2.03 |
|
Product Quest Manufacturing, LLC (2) (3) (5) (15) (16) | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 6.75% (3.25% Floor) | | 3/31/2019 | | 1,192 |
| | 1,192 |
| | 1,192 |
| | 0.11 |
|
Prowler Acquisition Corp. (Pipeline Supply and Service, LLC) (2) (3) (4) (5) | Wholesale | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/28/2020 | | 14,949 |
| | 14,260 |
| | 13,771 |
| | 1.22 |
|
PSC Industrial Holdings Corp (2) (3) (4) (13) (16) | Environmental Industries | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/5/2020 | | 14,588 |
| | 14,378 |
| | 14,588 |
| | 1.30 |
|
PT Intermediate Holdings III, LLC (Parts Town) (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Wholesale | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/23/2022 | | 22,700 |
| | 22,498 |
| | 22,642 |
| | 2.01 |
|
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (continued)
As of September 30, 2017
(dollar amounts in thousands)
(unaudited)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
First Lien Debt (75.13%) (continued) | | | | | | | | | | | | |
QW Holding Corporation (Quala) (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) | Environmental Industries | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/31/2022 | | $ | 36,641 |
| | $ | 35,819 |
| | $ | 35,989 |
| | 3.20 | % |
Reliant Pro Rehab, LLC (2) (3) (5) (12) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 10.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/29/2017 | | 24,625 |
| | 24,555 |
| | 24,625 |
| | 2.19 |
|
SolAero Technologies Corp. (2) (3) (4) (5) (16) | Telecommunications | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/10/2020 | | 25,312 |
| | 24,501 |
| | 23,216 |
| | 2.05 |
|
Superior Health Linens, LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) (16) | Business Services | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/30/2021 | | 21,192 |
| | 20,902 |
| | 20,960 |
| | 1.86 |
|
Surgical Information Systems, LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (12) (13) (16) | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/24/2023 | | 30,000 |
| | 29,718 |
| | 29,991 |
| | 2.67 |
|
T2 Systems Canada, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Transportation: Consumer | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/28/2022 | | 4,020 |
| | 3,933 |
| | 3,985 |
| | 2.11 |
|
T2 Systems, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Transportation: Consumer | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/28/2022 | | 32,728 |
| | 32,011 |
| | 32,429 |
| | 1.13 |
|
The Hilb Group, LLC (2) (3) (5) (12) (15) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/24/2021 | | 32,673 |
| | 32,157 |
| | 32,281 |
| | 2.87 |
|
The SI Organization, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) | Aerospace & Defense | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/23/2019 | | 14,339 |
| | 14,350 |
| | 14,339 |
| | 1.28 |
|
The Topps Company, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) | Non-durable Consumer Goods | | L + 6.00% (1.25% Floor) | | 10/2/2020 | | 23,192 |
| | 22,986 |
| | 22,413 |
| | 1.99 |
|
Truckpro, LLC. (2) (3) (4) (13) (16) | Automotive | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/6/2018 | | 8,917 |
| | 8,904 |
| | 8,877 |
| | 0.79 |
|
Tweddle Group, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/24/2022 | | 7,453 |
| | 7,362 |
| | 7,502 |
| | 0.67 |
|
Vetcor Professional Practices, LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Consumer Services | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/20/2021 | | 35,784 |
| | 35,387 |
| | 36,036 |
| | 3.21 |
|
Vistage Worldwide Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) (16) | Business Services | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/19/2021 | | 33,133 |
| | 32,960 |
| | 33,133 |
| | 2.95 |
|
VRC Companies, LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) (16) | Business Services | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 3/31/2023 | | 32,694 |
| | 31,983 |
| | 32,240 |
| | 2.86 |
|
W/S Packaging Group Inc. (2) (3) (4) (16) | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/9/2019 | | 4,015 |
| | 3,881 |
| | 3,583 |
| | 0.32 |
|
Watchfire Enterprises, Inc. (2) (3) (13) | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 4.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/2/2020 | | 1,362 |
| | 1,350 |
| | 1,362 |
| | 0.12 |
|
Winchester Electronics Corporation (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Capital Equipment | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/30/2022 | | 31,688 |
| | 31,412 |
| | 32,021 |
| | 2.84 |
|
Zest Holdings, LLC (2) (3) (4) (13) (16) | Durable Consumer Goods | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/16/2023 | | 3,440 |
| | 3,432 |
| | 3,465 |
| | 0.31 |
|
First Lien Debt Total | | | | | | | | | $ | 1,485,930 |
| | $ | 1,475,691 |
| | 131.26 | % |
Second Lien Debt (13.69%) | | | | | | | | | |
| | |
| | |
Acrisure, LLC (2) (3) (5) (15) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 9.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/22/2024 | | $ | 33,750 |
| | $ | 32,884 |
| | $ | 33,228 |
| | 2.96 | % |
AIM Group USA Inc. (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) | Aerospace & Defense | | L + 9.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/2/2022 | | 23,000 |
| | 22,728 |
| | 22,830 |
| | 2.03 |
|
AmeriLife Group, LLC (2) (3) (5) (13) (16) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 8.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/10/2023 | | 22,000 |
| | 21,638 |
| | 21,723 |
| | 1.94 |
|
Argon Medical Devices, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (5) (16) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 9.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/23/2022 | | 25,000 |
| | 24,431 |
| | 25,000 |
| | 2.23 |
|
Berlin Packaging L.L.C. (2) (3) (5) (13) (16) | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/1/2022 | | 3,500 |
| | 3,487 |
| | 3,500 |
| | 0.31 |
|
Confie Seguros Holding II Co. (2) (3) (5) (13) (16) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 10.00% (1.25% Floor) | | 5/8/2019 | | 9,000 |
| | 8,954 |
| | 8,798 |
| | 0.78 |
|
Drew Marine Group Inc. (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (16) | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 7.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/19/2021 | | 12,500 |
| | 12,483 |
| | 12,469 |
| | 1.11 |
|
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (continued)
As of September 30, 2017
(dollar amounts in thousands)
(unaudited)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
Second Lien Debt (13.69%) (continued) | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Genex Holdings, Inc. (2) (3) (5) (16) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 7.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/30/2022 | | $ | 8,990 |
| | $ | 8,913 |
| | $ | 8,910 |
| | 0.79 | % |
Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (2) (3) (5) (13) (16) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 8.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/29/2022 | | 12,500 |
| | 12,414 |
| | 12,500 |
| | 1.11 |
|
Jazz Acquisition, Inc. (Wencor) (2) (3) (5) (13) | Aerospace & Defense | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/19/2022 | | 7,500 |
| | 7,406 |
| | 7,088 |
| | 0.63 |
|
Pexco LLC (2) (3) (5) | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 8.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/8/2025 | | 20,000 |
| | 19,814 |
| | 20,346 |
| | 1.81 |
|
Power Stop, LLC (5) (9) | Automotive | | 11.00% | | 5/29/2022 | | 10,000 |
| | 9,845 |
| | 9,920 |
| | 0.88 |
|
Prowler Acquisition Corp. (Pipeline Supply and Service, LLC) (2) (3) (5) | Wholesale | | L + 8.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/28/2020 | | 3,000 |
| | 2,965 |
| | 2,337 |
| | 0.21 |
|
Q International Courier, LLC (2) (3) (5) | Transportation: Cargo | | L + 8.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/19/2025 | | 18,750 |
| | 18,376 |
| | 18,546 |
| | 1.65 |
|
Reladyne, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) | Wholesale | | L + 9.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/21/2023 | | 5,000 |
| | 4,880 |
| | 4,975 |
| | 0.44 |
|
Rough Country, LLC (2) (3) (5) (13) (16) | Durable Consumer Goods | | L + 8.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/25/2023 | | 42,500 |
| | 41,275 |
| | 42,254 |
| | 3.76 |
|
Superion, LLC (fka Ramundsen Public Sector, LLC) (2) (3) (13) | Sovereign & Public Finance | | L + 8.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/31/2025 | | 1,800 |
| | 1,784 |
| | 1,824 |
| | 0.16 |
|
Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc. (2) (4) (17) | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | P + 7.75% | | 2/5/2022 | | 500 |
| | 504 |
| | 500 |
| | 0.04 |
|
Watchfire Enterprises, Inc. (2) (3) (5) (13) | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 8.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/2/2021 | | 7,000 |
| | 6,939 |
| | 7,000 |
| | 0.62 |
|
Zywave, Inc. (2) (3) (5) | High Tech Industries | | L + 9.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/17/2023 | | 4,950 |
| | 4,884 |
| | 5,035 |
| | 0.45 |
|
Second Lien Debt Total | | | | | | | | | $ | 266,604 |
| | $ | 268,783 |
| | 23.91 | % |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | Industry | | Maturity Date | | Par Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
Structured Finance Obligations (0.13%) (5) (8) (11) | | | | | | | | | | | |
1776 CLO I, Ltd., Subordinated Notes | Structured Finance | | 5/8/2020 | | $ | 11,750 |
| | $ | 6,436 |
| | $ | 2,585 |
| | 0.23 | % |
Structured Finance Obligations Total | | | | | | | $ | 6,436 |
| | $ | 2,585 |
| | 0.23 | % |
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (continued)
As of September 30, 2017
(dollar amounts in thousands)
(unaudited)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | Industry | | Shares/ Units | | Cost | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
Equity Investments (0.69%) (5) | | | | | | | | | |
CIP Revolution Holdings, LLC | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | 30,000 |
| | $ | 300 |
| | $ | 388 |
| | 0.04 | % |
Dade Paper & Bag, LLC | Forest Products & Paper | | 1,500,000 |
| | 1,500 |
| | 2,169 |
| | 0.19 |
|
DecoPac, Inc. | Non-durable Consumer Goods | | 1,500,000 |
| | 1,500 |
| | 1,500 |
| | 0.13 |
|
Derm Growth Partners III, LLC (Dermatology Associates) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | 1,000,000 |
| | 1,000 |
| | 1,573 |
| | 0.14 |
|
GS Holdco LLC (Global Software, LLC) | High Tech Industries | | 1,000,000 |
| | 1,001 |
| | 1,506 |
| | 0.13 |
|
Legacy.com Inc. | High Tech Industries | | 1,500,000 |
| | 1,500 |
| | 1,679 |
| | 0.15 |
|
Power Stop Intermediate Holdings, LLC | Automotive | | 7,150 |
| | 715 |
| | 1,139 |
| | 0.10 |
|
Rough Country, LLC | Durable Consumer Goods | | 754,775 |
| | 755 |
| | 850 |
| | 0.08 |
|
T2 Systems Parent Corporation | Transportation: Consumer | | 555,556 |
| | 556 |
| | 553 |
| | 0.05 |
|
THG Acquisition, LLC (The Hilb Group, LLC) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | 1,500,000 |
| | 1,500 |
| | 2,195 |
| | 0.20 |
|
Equity Investments Total | | | | | $ | 10,327 |
| | $ | 13,552 |
| | 1.21 | % |
Total investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated | | | | | $ | 1,769,297 |
| | $ | 1,760,611 |
| | 156.61 | % |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/affiliated (5) 18) | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
First Lien Debt (0.76%) | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
TwentyEighty, Inc.—Revolver (2) (3) (15) | Business Services | | L + 8.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 3/21/2020 | | $ | — |
| | $ | (6 | ) | | $ | (9 | ) | | — | % |
TwentyEighty, Inc.—(Term A Loans) (2) (3) | Business Services | | L + 3.50% (1.00% Floor) cash, 4.50% PIK | | 3/21/2020 | | 3,859 |
| | 3,839 |
| | 3,735 |
| | 0.33 |
|
TwentyEighty, Inc.—(Term B Loans) | Business Services | | 1.00% cash, 7.00% PIK | | 3/21/2020 | | 6,598 |
| | 6,360 |
| | 6,149 |
| | 0.55 |
|
TwentyEighty, Inc.—(Term C Loans) | Business Services | | 0.25% cash, 8.75% PIK | | 3/21/2020 | | 6,380 |
| | 5,742 |
| | 5,084 |
| | 0.45 |
|
First Lien Debt Total | | | | | | | | | $ | 15,935 |
| | $ | 14,959 |
| | 1.33 | % |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/affiliated (5) (18) | Industry | | Shares/ Units | | Cost | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
Equity Investments (0.00%) | | | | | | | | | |
TwentyEighty Investors LLC | Business Services | | 69,786 |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | — | % |
Equity Investments Total | | | | | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | — | % |
Total investments—non-controlled/affiliated | | | | | $ | 15,935 |
| | $ | 14,959 |
| | 1.33 | % |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—controlled/affiliated | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par Amount/ LLC Interest | | Cost | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
Investment Fund (9.60%) (8) | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, Mezzanine Loan (2) (5) (9) (14) | Investment Fund | | L + 9.00% | | 6/24/2018 | | $ | 112,300 |
| | $ | 112,300 |
| | $ | 112,300 |
| | 9.99 | % |
Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, Subordinated Loan and Member’s Interest (5) (14) | Investment Fund | | 0.001 | | 3/1/2021 | | 74,501 |
| | 74,501 |
| | 76,247 |
| | 6.78 |
|
Investment Fund Total | | | | | | | | | $ | 186,801 |
| | $ | 188,547 |
| | 16.77 | % |
Total investments—controlled/affiliated | | | | | | | | | $ | 186,801 |
| | $ | 188,547 |
| | 16.77 | % |
Total investments | | | | | | | | | $ | 1,972,033 |
| | $ | 1,964,117 |
| | 174.71 | % |
| |
(1) | Unless otherwise indicated, issuers of debt and equity investments held by TCG BDC, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, “we,” “us,” “our,” “TCG BDC” or the “Company”) are domiciled in the United States and issuers of structured finance obligations are domiciled in the Cayman Islands. Under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Investment Company Act”), the Company |
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (continued)
As of September 30, 2017
(dollar amounts in thousands)
(unaudited)
would be deemed to “control” a portfolio company if the Company owned more than 25% of its outstanding voting securities and/or held the power to exercise control over the management or policies of the portfolio company. As of September 30, 2017, the Company does not “control” any of these portfolio companies. Under the Investment Company Act, the Company would be deemed an “affiliated person” of a portfolio company if the Company owns 5% or more of the portfolio company’s outstanding voting securities. As of September 30, 2017, the Company is not an “affiliated person” of any of these portfolio companies.
| |
(2) | Variable rate loans to the portfolio companies bear interest at a rate that may be determined by reference to either LIBOR (“L”) or an alternate base rate (commonly based on the Federal Funds Rate or the U.S. Prime Rate), which generally resets quarterly. For each such loan, the Company has provided the interest rate in effect as of September 30, 2017. As of September 30, 2017, all of our LIBOR loans were indexed to the 90-day LIBOR rate at 1.33%, except for those loans as indicated in Note 16 below. |
| |
(3) | Loan includes interest rate floor feature. |
| |
(4) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, TCG BDC SPV LLC (the “SPV”). The SPV has entered into a senior secured revolving credit facility (as amended, the “SPV Credit Facility”). The lenders of the SPV Credit Facility have a first lien security interest in substantially all of the assets of the SPV (see Note 6, Borrowings). Accordingly, such assets are not available to creditors of the Company or the 2015-1 Issuer. |
| |
(5) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by the Company. The Company has entered into a senior secured revolving credit facility (as amended, the “Credit Facility” and, together with the SPV Credit Facility, the “Facilities”). The lenders of the Credit Facility have a first lien security interest in substantially all of the portfolio investments held by the Company (see Note 6, Borrowings). Accordingly, such assets are not available to creditors of the SPV or Carlyle GMS Finance MM CLO 2015-1 LLC (the “2015-1 Issuer”). |
| |
(6) | Amortized cost represents original cost, including origination fees and upfront fees received that are deemed to be an adjustment to yield, adjusted for the accretion/amortization of discounts/premiums, as applicable, on debt investments using the effective interest method. Equity tranche collateralized loan obligation (“CLO”) fund investments, which are referred to as “structured finance obligations”, are recorded at amortized cost using the effective interest method. |
| |
(7) | Fair value is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Board of Directors of the Company (see Note 2, Significant Accounting Policies, and Note 3, Fair Value Measurements), pursuant to the Company’s valuation policy. The fair value of all first lien and second lien debt investments, structured finance obligations, equity investments and the investment fund mezzanine loan was determined using significant unobservable inputs. |
| |
(8) | The Company has determined the indicated investments are non-qualifying assets under Section 55(a) of the Investment Company Act. Under the Investment Company Act, the Company may not acquire any non-qualifying assets unless, at the time such acquisition is made, qualifying assets represent at least 70% of the Company’s total assets. |
| |
(9) | Represents a corporate mezzanine loan, which is subordinated to senior secured term loans of the portfolio company/investment fund. |
| |
(10) | Loan was on non-accrual status as of September 30, 2017. |
| |
(11) | As of September 30, 2017, the Company has a greater than 25% but less than 50% equity or subordinated notes ownership interest in certain structured finance obligations. These investments have governing documents that preclude the Company from controlling management of the entity and therefore the Company has determined that the issuer of the investment is not a controlled affiliate or a non-controlled affiliate because the investments are not “voting securities”. |
| |
(12) | In addition to the interest earned based on the stated interest rate of this loan, which is the amount reflected in this schedule, the Company is entitled to receive additional interest as a result of an agreement among lenders as follows: Dimensional Dental Management, LLC (4.46%), EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (3.98%), Legacy.com Inc. (4.13%), Payment Alliance International Inc. (2.70%), Prime Risk Partners, Inc. (3.33%), Product Quest Manufacturing, LLC (3.54%), Reliant Pro Rehab, LLC (nil), Surgical Information Systems, LLC (1.01%) and The Hilb Group, LLC (3.40%). Pursuant to the agreement among lenders in respect of this loan, this investment represents a first lien/last out loan, which has a secondary priority behind the first lien/first out loan with respect to principal, interest and other payments. |
| |
(13) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by the 2015-1 Issuer and secure the notes issued in connection with a $400 million term debt securitization completed by the Company on June 26, 2015 (see Note 7, 2015-1 Notes). Accordingly, such assets are not available to the creditors of the SPV or the Company. |
| |
(14) | Under the Investment Company Act, the Company is deemed to be an “affiliated person” of and “control” this investment fund because the Company owns more than 25% of the investment fund’s outstanding voting securities and/or has the power to exercise control over management or policies of such investment fund. See Note 5, Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, for more details. |
| |
(15) | As of September 30, 2017, the Company had the following unfunded commitments to fund delayed draw and revolving senior secured loans: |
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (continued)
As of September 30, 2017
(dollar amounts in thousands)
(unaudited)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated | Type | | Unused Fee | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Fair Value |
First and Second Lien Debt—unfunded delayed draw and revolving term loans commitments | | | | |
Achilles Acquisition LLC | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | $ | 4,392 |
| | $ | (46 | ) |
Acrisure, LLC | Delayed Draw | | 1.50 |
| | 11,250 |
| | (131 | ) |
Advanced Instruments, LLC | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 1,167 |
| | (3 | ) |
AMS Group HoldCo, LLC | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 |
| | 5,491 |
| | (69 | ) |
AMS Group HoldCo, LLC
| Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 2,315 |
| | (29 | ) |
Captive Resources Midco, LLC | Delayed Draw | | 1.50 |
| | 3,571 |
| | — |
|
Captive Resources Midco, LLC | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 2,143 |
| | — |
|
CIP Revolution Holdings, LLC | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 1,331 |
| | (8 | ) |
Continuum Managed Services HoldCo, LLC | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 |
| | 1,917 |
| | 16 |
|
Continuum Managed Services HoldCo, LLC | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 2,500 |
| | 21 |
|
DermaRite Industries, LLC | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 3,848 |
| | (23 | ) |
Derm Growth Partners III, LLC (Dermatology Associates) | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 |
| | 869 |
| | (5 | ) |
Derm Growth Partners III, LLC (Dermatology Associates) | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 2,420 |
| | (13 | ) |
Dimensional Dental Management, LLC | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 |
| | 11,478 |
| | (41 | ) |
Direct Travel, Inc. | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 |
| | 7,309 |
| | (15 | ) |
Frontline Technologies Holdings, LLC | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 |
| | 7,705 |
| | (15 | ) |
FWR Holding Corporation | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 |
| | 11,111 |
| | (180 | ) |
FWR Holding Corporation | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 3,221 |
| | (52 | ) |
Global Franchise Group, LLC | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 495 |
| | (1 | ) |
National Technical Systems, Inc. | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 2,500 |
| | (85 | ) |
NMI AcquisitionCo, Inc. | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 1,280 |
| | (15 | ) |
OnCourse Learning Corporation | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 954 |
| | (6 | ) |
PMG Acquisition Corporation | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 2,356 |
| | (5 | ) |
Prime Risk Partners, Inc. | Delayed Draw | | 0.50 |
| | 863 |
| | (15 | ) |
Prime Risk Partners, Inc. | Delayed Draw | | 0.50 |
| | 10,744 |
| | (161 | ) |
Product Quest Manufacturing, LLC | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 4,766 |
| | — |
|
PT Intermediate Holdings III, LLC (Parts Town)
| Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 500 |
| | (1 | ) |
Superior Health Linens, LLC | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 2,617 |
| | (25 | ) |
T2 Systems, Inc. | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 1,760 |
| | (15 | ) |
The Hilb Group, LLC | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 |
| | 9,543 |
| | (89 | ) |
TwentyEighty, Inc. (fka Miller Heiman, Inc.) | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 607 |
| | (9 | ) |
Vetcor Professional Practices, LLC | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 |
| | 3,175 |
| | 20 |
|
VRC Companies, LLC | Delayed Draw | | 0.75 |
| | 1,805 |
| | (23 | ) |
VRC Companies, LLC | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 903 |
| | (12 | ) |
Winchester Electronics Corporation | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 |
| | 2,917 |
| | 28 |
|
Total unfunded commitments | | | | | $ | 131,823 |
| | $ | (1,007 | ) |
| |
(16) | As of September 30, 2017, this LIBOR loan was indexed to the 30-day LIBOR rate at 1.23%. |
| |
(17) | As of September 30, 2017, this loan was indexed to the U.S. Prime Rate at 4.25%. |
| |
(18) | Under the Investment Company Act, the Company is deemed an “affiliated person” of this portfolio company because the Company owns 5% or more of the portfolio company’s outstanding voting securities. |
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (continued)
As of September 30, 2017
(dollar amounts in thousands)
(unaudited)
As of September 30, 2017, investments at fair value consisted of the following: |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Type | Amortized Cost | | Fair Value | | % of Fair Value |
First Lien Debt (excluding First Lien/Last Out) | $ | 1,264,114 |
| | $ | 1,259,983 |
| | 64.15 | % |
First Lien/Last Out Unitranche | 237,751 |
| | 230,667 |
| | 11.74 |
|
Second Lien Debt | 266,604 |
| | 268,783 |
| | 13.69 |
|
Structured Finance Obligations | 6,436 |
| | 2,585 |
| | 0.13 |
|
Equity Investments | 10,327 |
| | 13,552 |
| | 0.69 |
|
Investment Fund | 186,801 |
| | 188,547 |
| | 9.60 |
|
Total | $ | 1,972,033 |
| | $ | 1,964,117 |
| | 100.00 | % |
The rate type of debt investments at fair value as of September 30, 2017 was as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
Rate Type | Amortized Cost | | Fair Value | | % of Fair Value of First and Second Lien Debt |
Floating Rate | $ | 1,746,522 |
| | $ | 1,738,280 |
| | 98.80 | % |
Fixed Rate | 21,947 |
| | 21,153 |
| | 1.20 |
|
Total | $ | 1,768,469 |
| | $ | 1,759,433 |
| | 100.00 | % |
The industry composition of investments at fair value as of September 30, 2017 was as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
Industry | Amortized Cost | | Fair Value | | % of Fair Value |
Aerospace & Defense | $ | 70,540 |
| | $ | 69,811 |
| | 3.55 | % |
Automotive | 20,359 |
| | 20,832 |
| | 1.06 |
|
Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | 211,737 |
| | 213,944 |
| | 10.89 |
|
Beverage, Food & Tobacco | 48,810 |
| | 49,319 |
| | 2.51 |
|
Business Services | 161,167 |
| | 161,286 |
| | 8.21 |
|
Capital Equipment | 35,240 |
| | 35,850 |
| | 1.83 |
|
Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | 32,801 |
| | 33,315 |
| | 1.70 |
|
Construction & Building | 24,460 |
| | 24,620 |
| | 1.25 |
|
Consumer Services | 104,289 |
| | 105,335 |
| | 5.36 |
|
Containers, Packaging & Glass | 47,331 |
| | 37,572 |
| | 1.91 |
|
Durable Consumer Goods | 57,945 |
| | 59,010 |
| | 3.00 |
|
Energy: Electricity | 43,688 |
| | 41,590 |
| | 2.12 |
|
Energy: Oil & Gas | 13,636 |
| | 13,296 |
| | 0.68 |
|
Environmental Industries | 53,403 |
| | 53,785 |
| | 2.74 |
|
Forest Products & Paper | 50,420 |
| | 52,164 |
| | 2.66 |
|
Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | 211,829 |
| | 214,548 |
| | 10.92 |
|
High Tech Industries | 146,723 |
| | 149,993 |
| | 7.64 |
|
Hotel, Gaming & Leisure | 47,195 |
| | 45,316 |
| | 2.31 |
|
Investment Fund | 186,801 |
| | 188,547 |
| | 9.60 |
|
Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | 34,894 |
| | 35,229 |
| | 1.79 |
|
Metals & Mining | 7,905 |
| | 7,926 |
| | 0.40 |
|
Non-durable Consumer Goods | 41,624 |
| | 35,324 |
| | 1.80 |
|
Software | 38,832 |
| | 39,205 |
| | 2.00 |
|
Sovereign & Public Finance | 1,784 |
| | 1,824 |
| | 0.09 |
|
Structured Finance | 6,436 |
| | 2,585 |
| | 0.13 |
|
Telecommunications | 89,248 |
| | 88,577 |
| | 4.51 |
|
Transportation: Cargo | 83,115 |
| | 83,771 |
| | 4.27 |
|
Transportation: Consumer | 36,500 |
| | 36,967 |
| | 1.88 |
|
Wholesale | 63,321 |
| | 62,576 |
| | 3.19 |
|
Total | $ | 1,972,033 |
| | $ | 1,964,117 |
| | 100.00 | % |
The geographical composition of investments at fair value as of September 30, 2017 was as follows:
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (continued)
As of September 30, 2017
(dollar amounts in thousands)
(unaudited)
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
Geography | Amortized Cost | | Fair Value | | % of Fair Value |
Cayman Islands | $ | 6,436 |
| | $ | 2,585 |
| | 0.13 | % |
United Kingdom | 13,636 |
| | 13,296 |
| | 0.68 |
|
United States | 1,951,961 |
| | 1,948,236 |
| | 99.19 |
|
Total | $ | 1,972,033 |
| | $ | 1,964,117 |
| | 100.00 | % |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS
As of December 31, 2016
(dollar amounts in thousands)
(unaudited)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
First Lien Debt (80.09%) | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Access CIG, LLC (2) (3) (4) (13) | Business Services | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/17/2021 | | $ | 18,335 |
| | $ | 18,222 |
| | $ | 18,335 |
| | 2.40 | % |
Advanced Instruments, LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/31/2022 | | 22,500 |
| | 22,019 |
| | 22,252 |
| | 2.91 |
|
AF Borrower LLC (Accuvant) (2) (3) (4) | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/28/2022 | | 16,113 |
| | 15,923 |
| | 16,113 |
| | 2.11 |
|
Alpha Packaging Holdings, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/12/2020 | | 11,322 |
| | 11,313 |
| | 11,322 |
| | 1.48 |
|
Anaren, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) | Telecommunications | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/18/2021 | | 10,869 |
| | 10,800 |
| | 10,869 |
| | 1.42 |
|
Audax AAMP Holdings, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) | Durable Consumer Goods | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/24/2017 | | 10,424 |
| | 10,400 |
| | 10,348 |
| | 1.35 |
|
BAART Programs, Inc. (2) (4) (16) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 7.75% (0.00% Floor) | | 10/9/2021 | | 7,406 |
| | 7,355 |
| | 7,534 |
| | 0.99 |
|
Brooks Equipment Company, LLC (2) (3) (4) (13) | Construction & Building | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/29/2020 | | 6,694 |
| | 6,657 |
| | 6,683 |
| | 0.87 |
|
Capstone Logistics Acquisition, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) | Transportation: Cargo | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/7/2021 | | 19,478 |
| | 19,337 |
| | 19,212 |
| | 2.51 |
|
Captive Resources Midco, LLC (2) (3) (4) (13) (15) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/30/2020 | | 29,050 |
| | 28,683 |
| | 29,009 |
| | 3.80 |
|
Central Security Group, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) (16) | Consumer Services | | L + 5.63% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/6/2020 | | 28,658 |
| | 28,300 |
| | 28,557 |
| | 3.74 |
|
CIP Revolution Holdings, LLC (2) (3) (5) (15) | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/19/2021 | | 16,500 |
| | 16,325 |
| | 16,585 |
| | 2.17 |
|
Colony Hardware Corporation (2) (3) (4) (13) | Construction & Building | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/23/2021 | | 17,038 |
| | 16,806 |
| | 17,038 |
| | 2.23 |
|
Datapipe, Inc. (2) (3) (13) (16) | Telecommunications | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 3/15/2019 | | 9,750 |
| | 9,666 |
| | 9,764 |
| | 1.28 |
|
Dent Wizard International Corporation (2) (3) (4) (13) (16) | Automotive | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/7/2020 | | 7,216 |
| | 7,190 |
| | 7,216 |
| | 0.94 |
|
Derm Growth Partners III, LLC (Dermatology Associates) (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/31/2022 | | 32,929 |
| | 32,393 |
| | 32,958 |
| | 4.31 |
|
Dimensional Dental Management, LLC (2) (3) (5) (12) (15) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 7.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/12/2021 | | 18,000 |
| | 17,601 |
| | 17,811 |
| | 2.33 |
|
Dimora Brands, Inc. (fka TK USA Enterprises, Inc.) (2) (3) (5) (15) | Construction & Building | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/4/2022 | | — |
| | (60 | ) | | (30 | ) | | — |
|
Direct Travel, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Hotel, Gaming & Leisure | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/1/2021 | | 12,842 |
| | 12,420 |
| | 12,712 |
| | 1.66 |
|
EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (2) (3) (5) (12) | Telecommunications | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/7/2021 | | 23,750 |
| | 23,098 |
| | 23,242 |
| | 3.04 |
|
Emerging Markets Communications, LLC (2) (3) (4) (8) (13) | Telecommunications | | L + 5.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/1/2021 | | 17,730 |
| | 16,299 |
| | 17,730 |
| | 2.32 |
|
EP Minerals, LLC (2) (3) (4) (13) | Metals & Mining | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/20/2020 | | 10,264 |
| | 10,232 |
| | 10,259 |
| | 1.34 |
|
FCX Holdings Corp. (2) (3) (4) (13) (16) | Capital Equipment | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/4/2020 | | 9,856 |
| | 9,852 |
| | 9,856 |
| | 1.29 |
|
Genex Holdings, Inc. (2) (3) (13) (16) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/30/2021 | | 4,200 |
| | 4,187 |
| | 4,196 |
| | 0.55 |
|
Global Software, LLC (2) (3) (4) (13) (16) | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/2/2022 | | 16,163 |
| | 15,880 |
| | 16,163 |
| | 2.12 |
|
Green Energy Partners/Stonewall LLC (2) (3) (5) (13) | Energy: Electricity | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/13/2021 | | 16,600 |
| | 16,475 |
| | 16,598 |
| | 2.17 |
|
Green Plains II LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Beverage, Food & Tobacco | | L + 7.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/3/2022 | | 15,205 |
| | 15,059 |
| | 15,379 |
| | 2.01 |
|
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (continued)
As of December 31, 2016
(dollar amounts in thousands)
(unaudited)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
First Lien Debt (80.09%) (continued) | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Hummel Station LLC (2) (3) (5) (13) (16) | Energy: Electricity | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/27/2022 | | $ | 21,000 |
| | $ | 20,308 |
| | $ | 20,160 |
| | 2.64 | % |
Imagine! Print Solutions, LLC (2) (3) (4) (13) | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 3/30/2022 | | 18,461 |
| | 18,213 |
| | 18,603 |
| | 2.43 |
|
Imperial Bag & Paper Co. LLC (2) (3) (4) (13) (16) | Forest Products & Paper | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/7/2022 | | 24,074 |
| | 23,752 |
| | 23,924 |
| | 3.13 |
|
Indra Holdings Corp. (Totes Isotoner) (2) (3) (5) (13) | Non-durable Consumer Goods | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/1/2021 | | 14,224 |
| | 14,130 |
| | 10,553 |
| | 1.38 |
|
International Medical Group, Inc. (2) (3) (5) (12) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/30/2020 | | 30,000 |
| | 29,505 |
| | 30,237 |
| | 3.96 |
|
Jackson Hewitt Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) | Retail | | L + 7.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/30/2020 | | 8,758 |
| | 8,625 |
| | 8,320 |
| | 1.09 |
|
Metrogistics LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) | Transportation: Cargo | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/30/2022 | | 15,200 |
| | 14,986 |
| | 15,094 |
| | 1.98 |
|
MSX International, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) | Automotive | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/21/2020 | | 8,940 |
| | 8,882 |
| | 8,940 |
| | 1.17 |
|
National Technical Systems, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) (15) | Aerospace & Defense | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/12/2021 | | 25,123 |
| | 24,854 |
| | 23,927 |
| | 3.13 |
|
NES Global Talent Finance US LLC (United Kingdom) (2) (3) (4) (8) (13) | Energy: Oil & Gas | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/3/2019 | | 11,250 |
| | 11,132 |
| | 10,911 |
| | 1.43 |
|
OnCourse Learning Corporation (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) (16) | Consumer Services | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/12/2021 | | 26,141 |
| | 25,770 |
| | 26,220 |
| | 3.43 |
|
Paradigm Acquisition Corp. (2) (3) (4) (13) | Business Services | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/2/2022 | | 23,246 |
| | 22,963 |
| | 23,223 |
| | 3.04 |
|
Pelican Products, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/11/2020 | | 7,643 |
| | 7,654 |
| | 7,593 |
| | 0.99 |
|
Plano Molding Company, LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) | Hotel, Gaming & Leisure | | L + 7.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/12/2021 | | 18,163 |
| | 18,030 |
| | 17,302 |
| | 2.26 |
|
PPT Management Holdings, LLC (2) (3) (5) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/16/2022 | | 22,500 |
| | 22,288 |
| | 22,426 |
| | 2.93 |
|
Premier Senior Marketing, LLC (2) (3) (5) (16) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/1/2022 | | 3,741 |
| | 3,690 |
| | 3,741 |
| | 0.49 |
|
Product Quest Manufacturing, LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (12) | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 5.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/9/2020 | | 28,000 |
| | 27,565 |
| | 25,838 |
| | 3.38 |
|
Prowler Acquisition Corp. (Pipeline Supply and Service, LLC) (2) (3) (4) | Wholesale | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/28/2020 | | 10,798 |
| | 10,739 |
| | 8,101 |
| | 1.06 |
|
PSC Industrial Holdings Corp (2) (3) (4) (13) | Environmental Industries | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/5/2020 | | 11,760 |
| | 11,679 |
| | 11,290 |
| | 1.48 |
|
PSI Services LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (12) (16) | Business Services | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/27/2021 | | 32,705 |
| | 32,022 |
| | 34,784 |
| | 4.56 |
|
PT Intermediate Holdings III, LLC (Parts Town) (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Wholesale | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/23/2022 | | 17,417 |
| | 17,215 |
| | 17,563 |
| | 2.30 |
|
QW Holding Corporation (Quala) (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) | Environmental Industries | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/31/2022 | | 29,925 |
| | 29,084 |
| | 30,009 |
| | 3.93 |
|
Reliant Pro Rehab, LLC (2) (3) (5) (12) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 10.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/29/2017 | | 22,331 |
| | 22,024 |
| | 22,331 |
| | 2.92 |
|
SolAero Technologies Corp. (2) (3) (4) (5) | Telecommunications | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/10/2020 | | 19,677 |
| | 19,541 |
| | 18,901 |
| | 2.47 |
|
Superior Health Linens, LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Business Services | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/30/2021 | | 19,206 |
| | 18,891 |
| | 19,068 |
| | 2.50 |
|
T2 Systems, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) (16) | Transportation: Consumer | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/28/2022 | | 22,950 |
| | 22,333 |
| | 23,208 |
| | 3.04 |
|
T2 Systems Canada, Inc. (2) (3) (5) (16) | Transportation: Consumer | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/28/2022 | | 4,050 |
| | 3,952 |
| | 4,090 |
| | 0.54 |
|
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (continued)
As of December 31, 2016
(dollar amounts in thousands)
(unaudited)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
First Lien Debt (80.09%) (continued) | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Teaching Strategies, LLC (2) (3) (4) (13) | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 5.50% (0.50% Floor) | | 10/1/2019 | | $ | 13,369 |
| | $ | 13,333 |
| | $ | 13,369 |
| | 1.75 | % |
The Hilb Group, LLC (2) (3) (5) (12) (15) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/24/2021 | | 29,682 |
| | 29,113 |
| | 29,826 |
| | 3.90 |
|
The SI Organization, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) | Aerospace & Defense | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/23/2019 | | 8,574 |
| | 8,527 |
| | 8,676 |
| | 1.15 |
|
The Topps Company, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) | Non-durable Consumer Goods | | L + 6.00% (1.25% Floor) | | 10/2/2020 | | 18,707 |
| | 18,629 |
| | 18,795 |
| | 2.46 |
|
TruckPro, LLC (2) (3) (4) (13) (16) | Automotive | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/6/2018 | | 9,292 |
| | 9,267 |
| | 9,262 |
| | 1.21 |
|
Tweddle Group, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/24/2022 | | 16,200 |
| | 15,885 |
| | 16,114 |
| | 2.11 |
|
TwentyEighty, Inc. (fka Miller Heiman, Inc.) (2) (3) (5) (10) (13) | Business Services | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/30/2019 | | 18,719 |
| | 18,571 |
| | 7,628 |
| | 1.00 |
|
U.S. Farathane, LLC (2) (3) (4) (13) | Automotive | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/23/2021 | | 1,925 |
| | 1,895 |
| | 1,925 |
| | 0.25 |
|
U.S. TelePacific Holdings Corp. (2) (3) (5) | Telecommunications | | L + 8.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/24/2021 | | 30,000 |
| | 29,149 |
| | 29,853 |
| | 3.91 |
|
Vetcor Professional Practices, LLC (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Consumer Services | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/20/2021 | | 25,001 |
| | 24,623 |
| | 25,164 |
| | 3.29 |
|
Violin Finco S.A.R.L. (Alexander Mann Solutions) (United Kingdom) (2) (3) (4) (8) (13) | Business Services | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/20/2019 | | 10,065 |
| | 10,012 |
| | 10,058 |
| | 1.32 |
|
Vistage Worldwide, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (13) (16) | Business Services | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/19/2021 | | 28,757 |
| | 28,524 |
| | 28,688 |
| | 3.75 |
|
Vitera Healthcare Solutions, LLC (2) (3) (4) (13) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/4/2020 | | 9,104 |
| | 9,050 |
| | 9,078 |
| | 1.19 |
|
Winchester Electronics Corporation (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) (15) | Capital Equipment | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/30/2022 | | 27,367 |
| | 26,959 |
| | 27,460 |
| | 3.59 |
|
Zest Holdings, LLC (2) (3) (4) (13) | Durable Consumer Goods | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/16/2020 | | 9,530 |
| | 9,530 |
| | 9,584 |
| | 1.25 |
|
First Lien Debt Total | | | | | | | | | $ | 1,145,326 |
| | $ | 1,139,548 |
| | 149.13 | % |
Second Lien Debt (12.08%) | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
AF Borrower LLC (Accuvant) (2) (3) (5) | High Tech Industries | | L + 9.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/30/2023 | | $ | 8,000 |
| | $ | 7,934 |
| | $ | 8,000 |
| | 1.05 | % |
AIM Group USA Inc. (2) (3) (5) (13) | Aerospace & Defense | | L + 9.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/2/2022 | | 23,000 |
| | 22,701 |
| | 23,196 |
| | 3.04 |
|
AmeriLife Group, LLC (2) (3) (5) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 8.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/10/2023 | | 20,000 |
| | 19,656 |
| | 19,208 |
| | 2.51 |
|
Argon Medical Devices, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (5) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 9.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/23/2022 | | 24,000 |
| | 23,363 |
| | 24,233 |
| | 3.17 |
|
Berlin Packaging L.L.C. (2) (3) (5) (13) | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/1/2022 | | 2,927 |
| | 2,910 |
| | 2,953 |
| | 0.39 |
|
Charter NEX US Holdings, Inc. (2) (3) (5) (13) | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 8.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/5/2023 | | 7,394 |
| | 7,303 |
| | 7,468 |
| | 0.98 |
|
Confie Seguros Holding II Co. (2) (3) (5) (16) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 9.00% (1.25% Floor) | | 5/8/2019 | | 12,000 |
| | 11,921 |
| | 11,918 |
| | 1.56 |
|
Drew Marine Group Inc. (2) (3) (4) (5) (13) | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 7.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/19/2021 | | 12,500 |
| | 12,481 |
| | 12,333 |
| | 1.61 |
|
Genex Holdings, Inc. (2) (3) (5) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 7.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/30/2022 | | 7,990 |
| | 7,915 |
| | 7,978 |
| | 1.04 |
|
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (continued)
As of December 31, 2016
(dollar amounts in thousands)
(unaudited)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
Second Lien Debt (12.08%) (continued) | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (2) (3) (5) (13) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 8.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/29/2022 | | $ | 12,500 |
| | $ | 12,408 |
| | $ | 12,359 |
| | 1.62 | % |
Jazz Acquisition, Inc. (Wencor) (2) (3) (5) (13) | Aerospace & Defense | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/19/2022 | | 6,700 |
| | 6,677 |
| | 5,572 |
| | 0.73 |
|
MRI Software, LLC (2) (3) (5) | Software | | L + 8.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/23/2022 | | 11,250 |
| | 11,110 |
| | 11,265 |
| | 1.47 |
|
Power Stop, LLC (5) (9) | Automotive | | 11.00% | | 5/29/2022 | | 10,000 |
| | 9,831 |
| | 9,863 |
| | 1.29 |
|
Prowler Acquisition Corp. (Pipeline Supply and Service, LLC) (2) (3) (5) | Wholesale | | L + 8.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/28/2020 | | 3,000 |
| | 2,960 |
| | 1,682 |
| | 0.22 |
|
Vitera Healthcare Solutions, LLC (2) (3) (4) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 8.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/4/2021 | | 2,000 |
| | 1,979 |
| | 1,945 |
| | 0.26 |
|
Watchfire Enterprises, Inc. (2) (3) (5) (13) | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 8.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/2/2021 | | 7,000 |
| | 6,932 |
| | 6,976 |
| | 0.91 |
|
Zywave, Inc. (2) (3) (5) | High Tech Industries | | L + 9.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/17/2023 | | 4,950 |
| | 4,879 |
| | 4,915 |
| | 0.64 |
|
Second Lien Debt Total | | | | | | | | | $ | 172,960 |
| | $ | 171,864 |
| | 22.49 | % |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | Industry | | Maturity Date | | Par Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
Structured Finance Obligations (0.37%) (5) (8) (11) | | | | | | | | | | | |
1776 CLO I, Ltd., Subordinated Notes | Structured Finance | | 5/8/2020 | | $ | 11,750 |
| | $ | 6,739 |
| | $ | 2,761 |
| | 0.36 | % |
Clydesdale CLO 2005, Ltd., Subordinated Notes | Structured Finance | | 12/6/2017 | | 5,750 |
| | — |
| | 10 |
| | — |
|
MSIM Peconic Bay, Ltd., Subordinated Notes | Structured Finance | | 7/20/2019 | | 4,500 |
| | 63 |
| | 5 |
| | — |
|
Nautique Funding Ltd., Income Notes | Structured Finance | | 4/15/2020 | | 5,000 |
| | 2,437 |
| | 2,440 |
| | 0.32 |
|
Structured Finance Obligations Total | | | | | | | $ | 9,239 |
| | $ | 5,216 |
| | 0.68 | % |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | Industry | | Shares/ Units | | Cost | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
Equity Investments (0.46%) (5) | | | | | | | | | |
CIP Revolution Investments, LLC | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | 30,000 |
| | $ | 300 |
| | $ | 352 |
| | 0.05 | % |
Derm Growth Partners III, LLC (Dermatology Associates) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | 1,000,000 |
| | 1,000 |
| | 976 |
| | 0.13 |
|
GS Holdco LLC (Global Software, LLC) | High Tech Industries | | 1,000,000 |
| | 1,001 |
| | 1,126 |
| | 0.15 |
|
Power Stop Intermediate Holdings, LLC | Automotive | | 7,150 |
| | 715 |
| | 1,208 |
| | 0.16 |
|
T2 Systems Parent Corporation | Transportation: Consumer | | 555,556 |
| | 556 |
| | 584 |
| | 0.07 |
|
THG Acquisition, LLC (The Hilb Group, LLC) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | 1,500,000 |
| | 1,499 |
| | 2,228 |
| | 0.29 |
|
Equity Investments Total | | | | | $ | 5,071 |
| | $ | 6,474 |
| | 0.85 | % |
Total investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated | | | | $ | 1,332,596 |
| | $ | 1,323,102 |
| | 173.15 | % |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—controlled/affiliated | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par Amount/ LLC Interest | | Cost | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
Investment Fund (7.00%) (8) | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, Mezzanine Loan (2) (5) (9) (14) | Investment Fund | | L + 9.50% | | 6/24/2017 | | $ | 62,384 |
| | $ | 62,384 |
| | $ | 62,384 |
| | 8.16 | % |
Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, Subordinated Loan and Member’s Interest (5) (14) | Investment Fund | | 0.001 | | 3/1/2021 | | 35,001 |
| | 35,001 |
| | 37,273 |
| | 4.88 |
|
Investment Fund Total | | | | | | | | | $ | 97,385 |
| | $ | 99,657 |
| | 13.04 | % |
Total investments—controlled/affiliated | | | | | | | | | $ | 97,385 |
| | $ | 99,657 |
| | 13.04 | % |
Total investments | | | | | | | | | $ | 1,429,981 |
| | $ | 1,422,759 |
| | 186.19 | % |
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (continued)
As of December 31, 2016
(dollar amounts in thousands)
(unaudited)
| |
(1) | Unless otherwise indicated, issuers of debt and equity investments held by the Company are domiciled in the United States and issuers of structured finance obligations are domiciled in the Cayman Islands. Under the Investment Company Act, the Company would be deemed to “control” a portfolio company if the Company owned more than 25% of its outstanding voting securities and/or held the power to exercise control over the management or policies of the portfolio company. As of December 31, 2016, the Company does not “control” any of these portfolio companies. Under the Investment Company Act, the Company would be deemed an “affiliated person” of a portfolio company if the Company owns 5% or more of the portfolio company’s outstanding voting securities. As of December 31, 2016, the Company is not an “affiliated person” of any of these portfolio companies. |
| |
(2) | Variable rate loans to the portfolio companies bear interest at a rate that may be determined by reference to either LIBOR or an alternate base rate (commonly based on the Federal Funds Rate or the U.S. Prime Rate), which generally resets quarterly. For each such loan, the Company has provided the interest rate in effect as of December 31, 2016. As of December 31, 2016, all of our LIBOR loans were indexed to the 90-day LIBOR rate at 1.00%, except for those loans as indicated in Note 16 below. |
| |
(3) | Loan includes interest rate floor feature. |
| |
(4) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by the SPV. The SPV has entered into the SPV Credit Facility. The lenders of the SPV Credit Facility have a first lien security interest in substantially all of the assets of the SPV (see Note 6, Borrowings). Accordingly, such assets are not available to creditors of the Company or the 2015-1 Issuer, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of the Company. |
| |
(5) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by the Company. The Company has entered into the Credit Facility. The lenders of the Credit Facility have a first lien security interest in substantially all of the portfolio investments held by the Company (see Note 6, Borrowings). Accordingly, such assets are not available to creditors of the SPV or the 2015-1 Issuer. |
| |
(6) | Amortized cost represents original cost, including origination fees and upfront fees received that are deemed to be an adjustment to yield, adjusted for the accretion/amortization of discounts/premiums, as applicable, on debt investments using the effective interest method. Equity tranche CLO fund investments, which are referred to as “structured finance obligations”, are recorded at amortized cost using the effective interest method. |
| |
(7) | Fair value is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Board of Directors of the Company (see Note 2, Significant Accounting Policies, and Note 3, Fair Value Measurements), pursuant to the Company’s valuation policy. |
| |
(8) | The Company has determined the indicated investments are non-qualifying assets under Section 55(a) of the Investment Company Act. Under the Investment Company Act, the Company may not acquire any non-qualifying assets unless, at the time such acquisition is made, qualifying assets represent at least 70% of the Company’s total assets. |
| |
(9) | Represents a corporate mezzanine loan, which is subordinated to senior secured term loans of the portfolio company/investment fund. |
| |
(10) | Loan was on non-accrual status as of December 31, 2016. |
| |
(11) | As of December 31, 2016, the Company has a greater than 25% but less than 50% equity or subordinated notes ownership interest in certain structured finance obligations. These investments have governing documents that preclude the Company from controlling management of the entity and therefore the Company has determined that the issuer of the investment is not a controlled affiliate or a non-controlled affiliate because the investments are not “voting securities”. |
| |
(12) | In addition to the interest earned based on the stated interest rate of this loan, which is the amount reflected in this schedule, the Company is entitled to receive additional interest as a result of an agreement among lenders as follows: Dimensional Dental Management, LLC (4.54%), EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (3.84%), International Medical Group, Inc. (4.64%), Product Quest Manufacturing, LLC (3.54%), PSI Services LLC (4.40%), Reliant Pro Rehab, LLC (nil) and The Hilb Group, LLC (3.96%). Pursuant to the agreement among lenders in respect of this loan, this investment represents a first lien/last out loan, which has a secondary priority behind the first lien/first out loan with respect to principal, interest and other payments. |
| |
(13) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by the 2015-1 Issuer and secure the notes issued in connection with a $400 million term debt securitization completed by the Company on June 26, 2015 (see Note 7, 2015-1 Notes). Accordingly, such assets are not available to the creditors of the SPV or the Company. |
| |
(14) | Under the Investment Company Act, the Company is deemed to be an “affiliated person” of and “control” this investment fund because the Company owns more than 25% of the investment fund’s outstanding voting securities and/or has the power to exercise control over management or policies of such investment fund. See Note 5, Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, for more details. |
| |
(15) | As of December 31, 2016, the Company had the following unfunded commitments to fund delayed draw and revolving senior secured loans: |
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (continued)
As of December 31, 2016
(dollar amounts in thousands)
(unaudited)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated | Type | | Unused Fee | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Fair Value |
First Lien Debt—unfunded delayed draw and revolving term loans commitments | | | | | | | |
Advanced Instruments, LLC | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | $ | 2,500 |
| | $ | (25 | ) |
Captive Resources Midco, LLC | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 1,875 |
| | (2 | ) |
Captive Resources Midco, LLC | Delayed Draw | | 1.25 |
| | 3,125 |
| | (4 | ) |
CIP Revolution Holdings, LLC | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 1,331 |
| | 6 |
|
CIP Revolution Holdings, LLC | Delayed Draw | | 0.75 |
| | 1,331 |
| | 6 |
|
Derm Growth Partners III, LLC (Dermatology Associates) | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 1,672 |
| | 1 |
|
Derm Growth Partners III, LLC (Dermatology Associates) | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 |
| | 5,247 |
| | 4 |
|
Dimensional Dental Management, LLC | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 |
| | 2,507 |
| | (23 | ) |
Dimora Brands, Inc. (fka TK USA Enterprises, Inc.) | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 4,750 |
| | (30 | ) |
Direct Travel, Inc. | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 |
| | 9,658 |
| | (56 | ) |
Green Plains II LLC | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 1,352 |
| | 14 |
|
National Technical Systems, Inc. | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 2,031 |
| | (102 | ) |
National Technical Systems, Inc. | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 |
| | 4,469 |
| | (165 | ) |
OnCourse Learning Corporation | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 859 |
| | 2 |
|
PT Intermediate Holdings III, LLC (Parts Town) | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 2,025 |
| | 15 |
|
Superior Health Linens, LLC | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 2,735 |
| | (17 | ) |
T2 Systems, Inc. | Revolver | | 0.50 |
| | 2,933 |
| | 29 |
|
The Hilb Group, LLC | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 |
| | 3,810 |
| | 16 |
|
Vetcor Professional Practices, LLC | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 |
| | 3,057 |
| | 18 |
|
Winchester Electronics Corporation | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 |
| | 2,500 |
| | 8 |
|
Total unfunded commitments | | | | | $ | 59,767 |
| | $ | (305 | ) |
| |
(16) | As of December 31, 2016, this LIBOR loan was indexed to the 30-day LIBOR rate at 0.77%. |
As of December 31, 2016, investments at fair value consisted of the following:
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
Type | Amortized Cost | | Fair Value | | % of Fair Value |
First Lien Debt (excluding First Lien/Last Out) | $ | 964,398 |
| | $ | 955,478 |
| | 67.15 | % |
First Lien/Last Out Unitranche | 180,928 |
| | 184,070 |
| | 12.94 |
|
Second Lien Debt | 172,960 |
| | 171,864 |
| | 12.08 |
|
Structured Finance Obligations | 9,239 |
| | 5,216 |
| | 0.37 |
|
Equity Investments | 5,071 |
| | 6,474 |
| | 0.46 |
|
Investment Fund | 97,385 |
| | 99,657 |
| | 7.00 |
|
Total | $ | 1,429,981 |
| | $ | 1,422,759 |
| | 100.00 | % |
The rate type of debt investments at fair value as of December 31, 2016 was as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
Rate Type | Amortized Cost | | Fair Value | | % of Fair Value of First and Second Lien Debt |
Floating Rate | $ | 1,308,455 |
| | $ | 1,301,549 |
| | 99.25 | % |
Fixed Rate | 9,831 |
| | 9,863 |
| | 0.75 |
|
Total | $ | 1,318,286 |
| | $ | 1,311,412 |
| | 100.00 | % |
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (continued)
As of December 31, 2016
(dollar amounts in thousands)
(unaudited)
The industry composition of investments at fair value as of December 31, 2016 was as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
Industry | Amortized Cost | | Fair Value | | % of Fair Value |
Aerospace & Defense | $ | 62,759 |
| | $ | 61,371 |
| | 4.31 | % |
Automotive | 37,780 |
| | 38,414 |
| | 2.70 |
|
Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | 148,577 |
| | 150,700 |
| | 10.59 |
|
Beverage, Food & Tobacco | 15,059 |
| | 15,379 |
| | 1.08 |
|
Business Services | 149,205 |
| | 141,784 |
| | 9.97 |
|
Capital Equipment | 36,811 |
| | 37,316 |
| | 2.62 |
|
Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | 19,784 |
| | 19,801 |
| | 1.39 |
|
Construction & Building | 23,403 |
| | 23,691 |
| | 1.67 |
|
Consumer Services | 78,693 |
| | 79,941 |
| | 5.62 |
|
Containers, Packaging & Glass | 49,442 |
| | 47,706 |
| | 3.35 |
|
Durable Consumer Goods | 19,930 |
| | 19,932 |
| | 1.04 |
|
Energy: Electricity | 36,783 |
| | 36,758 |
| | 2.59 |
|
Energy: Oil & Gas | 11,132 |
| | 10,911 |
| | 0.77 |
|
Environmental Industries | 40,763 |
| | 41,299 |
| | 2.90 |
|
Forest Products & Paper | 23,752 |
| | 23,924 |
| | 1.68 |
|
Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | 159,072 |
| | 161,544 |
| | 11.36 |
|
High Tech Industries | 45,617 |
| | 46,317 |
| | 3.26 |
|
Hotel, Gaming & Leisure | 30,450 |
| | 30,014 |
| | 2.11 |
|
Investment Fund | 97,385 |
| | 99,657 |
| | 7.00 |
|
Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | 70,988 |
| | 71,999 |
| | 5.06 |
|
Metals & Mining | 10,232 |
| | 10,259 |
| | 0.72 |
|
Non-durable Consumer Goods | 32,759 |
| | 29,348 |
| | 2.06 |
|
Retail | 8,625 |
| | 8,320 |
| | 0.58 |
|
Software | 11,110 |
| | 11,265 |
| | 0.79 |
|
Structured Finance | 9,239 |
| | 5,216 |
| | 0.37 |
|
Telecommunications | 108,553 |
| | 110,359 |
| | 7.76 |
|
Transportation: Cargo | 34,323 |
| | 34,306 |
| | 2.41 |
|
Transportation: Consumer | 26,841 |
| | 27,882 |
| | 1.96 |
|
Wholesale | 30,914 |
| | 27,346 |
| | 1.92 |
|
Total | $ | 1,429,981 |
| | $ | 1,422,759 |
| | 100.00 | % |
The geographical composition of investments at fair value as of December 31, 2016 was as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | |
Geography | Amortized Cost | | Fair Value | | % of Fair Value |
Cayman Islands | $ | 9,239 |
| | $ | 5,216 |
| | 0.37 | % |
United Kingdom | 21,144 |
| | 20,969 |
| | 1.47 |
|
United States | 1,399,598 |
| | 1,396,574 |
| | 98.16 |
|
Total | $ | 1,429,981 |
| | $ | 1,422,759 |
| | 100.00 | % |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
TCG BDC, INC.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS (unaudited)
As of September 30, 2017
(dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)
1. ORGANIZATION
TCG BDC, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, “we,” “us,” “our,” “TCG BDC” or the “Company”) is a Maryland corporation formed on February 8, 2012, and structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment company. The Company is managed by its investment adviser, Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C. (f/k/a Carlyle GMS Investment Management L.L.C.) (“CGCIM” or “Investment Adviser”), a wholly owned subsidiary of The Carlyle Group L.P. The Company has elected to be regulated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Investment Company Act”). In addition, the Company has elected to be treated, and intends to continue to comply with the requirements to qualify annually, as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Code”).
The Company’s investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which the Company defines as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), which the Company believes is a useful proxy for cash flow. The Company seeks to achieve its investment objective primarily through direct originations of secured debt, including first lien senior secured loans (which may include stand-alone first lien loans, first lien/last out loans and “unitranche” loans) and second lien senior secured loans (collectively, “Middle Market Senior Loans”), with the balance of our assets invested in higher yielding investments (which may include unsecured debt, mezzanine debt and investments in equities). The Middle Market Senior Loans are generally made to private U.S. middle market companies that are, in many cases, controlled by private equity firms. Depending on market conditions, the Company expects that between 70% and 80% of the value of its assets will be invested in Middle Market Senior Loans. The Company expects that the composition of its portfolio will change over time given the Investment Adviser’s view on, among other things, the economic and credit environment (including with respect to interest rates) in which the Company is operating.
On May 2, 2013, the Company completed its initial closing of capital commitments (the “Initial Closing”) and subsequently commenced substantial investment operations. Effective March 15, 2017, the Company changed its name from “Carlyle GMS Finance, Inc.” to “TCG BDC, Inc.” On June 19, 2017, the Company closed its initial public offering (“IPO”), issuing 9,454,200 shares of its common stock (including shares issued pursuant to the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option on July 5, 2017) at a public offering price of $18.50 per share. Net of underwriting costs, the Company received cash proceeds of $169,488. Shares of common stock of TCG BDC began trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CGBD” on June 14, 2017.
The Company is an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012. Pursuant to this Act, the Company will remain an emerging growth company for up to five years following the IPO, although if the market value of the common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700,000 as of any June 30 before that time, the Company would cease to be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31. As of June 30, 2017, the market value of the common stock held by non-affiliates exceeded $700,000. Accordingly, the Company will cease to be an emerging growth company as of December 31, 2017.
The Company is externally managed by the Investment Adviser, an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. (f/k/a Carlyle GMS Finance Administration L.L.C.) (the “Administrator”) provides the administrative services necessary for the Company to operate. Both the Investment Adviser and the Administrator are wholly owned subsidiaries of Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C., a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group L.P. “Carlyle” refers to The Carlyle Group L.P. and its affiliates and its consolidated subsidiaries (other than portfolio companies of its affiliated funds), a global alternative asset manager publicly traded on NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CG”. Refer to the sec.gov website for further information on Carlyle.
TCG BDC SPV LLC (the “SPV”) is a Delaware limited liability company that was formed on January 3, 2013. The SPV invests in first and second lien senior secured loans. The SPV is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and is consolidated in these consolidated financial statements commencing from the date of its formation, January 3, 2013. Effective March 15, 2017, the SPV changed its name from “Carlyle GMS Finance SPV LLC” to “TCG BDC SPV LLC”.
On June 9, 2017, pursuant to the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated May 3, 2017 (the “Agreement”), by and between the Company and NF Investment Corp. (“NFIC”), NFIC merged with and into the Company (the “NFIC Acquisition”), with the Company as the surviving entity. The NFIC Acquisition was accounted for as an asset acquisition. NFIC SPV LLC (the “NFIC SPV” and, together with the SPV, the “SPVs”) is a Delaware limited liability company that was formed on June 18, 2013. Upon the
consummation of the NFIC Acquisition, the NFIC SPV became a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and is consolidated in these consolidated financial statements commencing from the closing date of the NFIC Acquisition, June 9, 2017. Refer to Note 13, NFIC Acquisition, for details.
On June 26, 2015, the Company completed a $400 million term debt securitization (the “2015-1 Debt Securitization”). The notes offered in the 2015-1 Debt Securitization (the “2015-1 Notes”) were issued by Carlyle GMS Finance MM CLO 2015-1 LLC (the “2015-1 Issuer”), a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of the Company, and are secured by a diversified portfolio of the 2015-1 Issuer consisting primarily of first and second lien senior secured loans. Refer to Note 7 for details. The 2015-1 Issuer is consolidated in these consolidated financial statements commencing from the date of its formation, May 8, 2015.
On February 29, 2016, the Company and Credit Partners USA LLC (“Credit Partners”) entered into an amended and restated limited liability company agreement, which was subsequently amended on June 24, 2016 (as amended, the “Limited Liability Company Agreement”) to co-manage Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC (“Credit Fund”). Credit Fund primarily invests in first lien loans of middle market companies. Credit Fund is managed by a six-member board of managers, on which the Company and Credit Partners each have equal representation. The Company and Credit Partners each have 50% economic ownership of Credit Fund and have commitments to fund, from time to time, capital of up to $400,000 each. Refer to Note 5, Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, for details.
As a BDC, the Company is required to comply with certain regulatory requirements. As part of these requirements, the Company must not acquire any assets other than “qualifying assets” specified in the Investment Company Act unless, at the time the acquisition is made, at least 70% of its total assets are qualifying assets (with certain limited exceptions).
To qualify as a RIC, the Company must, among other things, meet certain source-of-income and asset diversification requirements and timely distribute to its stockholders generally at least 90% of its investment company taxable income, as defined by the Code, for each year. Pursuant to this election, the Company generally does not have to pay corporate level taxes on any income that it distributes to stockholders, provided that the Company satisfies those requirements.
2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the accrual basis of accounting in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“US GAAP”). The Company is an investment company for the purposes of accounting and financial reporting in accordance with Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2013-08, Financial Services—Investment Companies (“ASU 2013-08”): Amendments to the Scope, Measurement and Disclosure Requirements. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries, the SPVs and the 2015-1 Issuer. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. US GAAP for an investment company requires investments to be recorded at fair value. The carrying value for all other assets and liabilities approximates their fair value.
The interim financial statements have been prepared in accordance with US GAAP for interim financial information and pursuant to the requirements for reporting on Form 10-Q and Articles 6 and 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, certain disclosures accompanying the annual consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with US GAAP are omitted. In the opinion of management, all adjustments considered necessary for the fair presentation of consolidated financial statements for the interim period presented have been included. These adjustments are of a normal, recurring nature. This Form 10-Q should be read in conjunction with the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016. The results of operations for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 are not necessarily indicative of the operating results to be expected for the full year.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with US GAAP requires management to make assumptions and estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Management’s estimates are based on historical experiences and other factors, including expectations of future events that management believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. It also requires management to exercise judgment in the process of applying the Company’s accounting policies. Assumptions and estimates regarding the valuation of investments and their resulting impact on base management and incentive fees involve a higher degree of judgment and complexity and these assumptions and estimates may be significant to the consolidated financial statements. Actual results could differ from these estimates and such differences could be material.
Investments
Investment transactions are recorded on the trade date. Realized gains or losses are measured by the difference between the net proceeds from the repayment or sale and the amortized cost basis of the investment using the specific identification method without regard to unrealized appreciation or depreciation previously recognized, and includes investments charged off during the period, net of recoveries. Net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation on investments as presented in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations reflects the net change in the fair value of investments, including the reversal of previously recorded unrealized appreciation or depreciation when gains or losses are realized. See Note 3 for further information about fair value measurements.
Cash and Cash Equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents consist of demand deposits and highly liquid investments (e.g., money market funds, U.S. treasury notes) with original maturities of three months or less. Cash equivalents are carried at amortized cost, which approximates fair value. The Company’s cash and cash equivalents are held with two large financial institutions and cash held in such financial institutions may, at times, exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insured limit.
Revenue Recognition
Interest from Investments and Realized Gain/Loss on Investments
Interest income is recorded on an accrual basis and includes the accretion of discounts and amortization of premiums. Discounts from and premiums to par value on debt investments purchased are accreted/amortized into interest income over the life of the respective security using the effective interest method. The amortized cost of debt investments represents the original cost, including origination fees and upfront fees received that are deemed to be an adjustment to yield, adjusted for the accretion of discounts and amortization of premiums, if any. At time of exit, the realized gain or loss on an investment is the difference between the amortized cost at time of exit and the cash received at exit using the specific identification method.
The Company may have loans in its portfolio that contain payment-in-kind (“PIK”) provisions. PIK represents interest that is accrued and recorded as interest income at the contractual rates, increases the loan principal on the respective capitalization dates, and is generally due at maturity. Such income is included in interest income in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. As of September 30, 2017, the fair value of the loan in the portfolio with PIK provisions was $14,968, which represents approximately 0.76% of total investments at fair value. For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017, the Company earned $778 in PIK income. As of December 31, 2016 and for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2016, no loans in the portfolio contained PIK provisions.
Dividend Income
Dividend income from the investment fund is recorded on the record date for the investment fund to the extent that such amounts are payable by the investment fund and are expected to be collected.
Other Income
Other income may include income such as consent, waiver, amendment, syndication and prepayment fees associated with the Company’s investment activities as well as any fees for managerial assistance services rendered by the Company to the portfolio companies. Such fees are recognized as income when earned or the services are rendered. The Company may receive fees for guaranteeing the outstanding debt of a portfolio company. Such fees are amortized into other income over the life of the guarantee. The unamortized amount, if any, is included in other assets in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities. For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017, the Company earned $1,318 and $7,900, respectively, in other income, primarily from syndication and prepayment fees. For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2016, the Company earned $1,909 and $4,578, respectively, in other income, primarily from syndication and prepayment fees.
Non-Accrual Income
Loans are generally placed on non-accrual status when principal or interest payments are past due 30 days or more or when there is reasonable doubt that principal or interest will be collected in full. Accrued and unpaid interest is generally reversed when a loan is placed on non-accrual status. Interest payments received on non-accrual loans may be recognized as income or applied to principal depending upon management’s judgment regarding collectability. Non-accrual loans are restored to accrual status when past due principal and interest are paid current and, in management’s judgment, are likely to remain current. Management may not place a loan on non-accrual status if the loan has sufficient collateral value and is in the process of collection. As of September 30, 2017, the fair value of the loan in the portfolio on non-accrual status was $22,808, which represents approximately 1.16% of total investments at fair
value. The remaining first and second lien debt investments were performing and current on their interest payments as of September 30, 2017. All first and second lien debt investments were performing and current on their interest payments as of September 30, 2016.
SPV Credit Facility, Credit Facility and 2015-1 Notes Related Costs, Expenses and Deferred Financing Costs (See Note 6, Borrowings, and Note 7, 2015-1 Notes)
Interest expense and unused commitment fees on the SPV Credit Facility and Credit Facility are recorded on an accrual basis. Unused commitment fees are included in credit facility fees in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations.
The SPV Credit Facility and Credit Facility are recorded at carrying value, which approximates fair value.
Deferred financing costs include capitalized expenses related to the closing or amendments of the SPV Credit Facility and Credit Facility. Amortization of deferred financing costs for each credit facility is computed on the straight-line basis over the respective term of each credit facility, except for a portion that was accelerated in connection with the amendment of the SPV Credit Facility as described in Note 6. The unamortized balance of such costs is included in deferred financing costs in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities. The amortization of such costs is included in credit facility fees in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Debt issuance costs include capitalized expenses including structuring and arrangement fees related to the offering of the 2015-1 Notes. Amortization of debt issuance costs for the 2015-1 Notes is computed on the effective yield method over the term of the 2015-1 Notes. The unamortized balance of such costs is presented as a direct deduction to the carrying amount of the 2015-1 Notes in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities. The amortization of such costs is included in interest expense in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations.
The 2015-1 Notes are recorded at carrying value, which approximates fair value.
Organization and Offering Costs
The Company agreed to reimburse the Investment Adviser for initial organization and offering costs incurred on behalf of the Company up to $1,500. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, $1,500 of initial organization and offering costs had been incurred by the Company and $57 of excess initial organization and offering costs had been incurred by the Investment Adviser since inception. The Company’s initial organization costs incurred were expensed and the initial offering costs were charged against equity when incurred.
Offering costs consist primarily of fees and expenses incurred in connection with the offering of shares, including legal, underwriting, printing and other costs, as well as costs associated with the preparation and filing of applicable registration statements. Upon consummation of the IPO, the Company is no longer a closed–end fund with a continuous offering period and, thus, offering costs are charged against equity when incurred. During the nine month period ended September 30, 2017, $3,028 of the offering costs were incurred, 50% of which were paid by the Investment Adviser.
Income Taxes
For federal income tax purposes, the Company has elected to be treated as a RIC under the Code, and intends to make the required distributions to its stockholders as specified therein. In order to qualify as a RIC, the Company must meet certain minimum distribution, source-of-income and asset diversification requirements. If such requirements are met, then the Company is generally required to pay income taxes only on the portion of its taxable income and gains it does not distribute.
The minimum distribution requirements applicable to RICs require the Company to distribute to its stockholders at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (“ICTI”), as defined by the Code, each year. Depending on the level of ICTI earned in a tax year, the Company may choose to carry forward ICTI in excess of current year distributions into the next tax year. Any such carryover ICTI must be distributed before the end of that next tax year through a dividend declared prior to filing the final tax return related to the year which generated such ICTI.
In addition, based on the excise distribution requirements, the Company is subject to a 4% nondeductible federal excise tax on undistributed income unless the Company distributes in a timely manner an amount at least equal to the sum of (1) 98% of its ordinary income for each calendar year, (2) 98.2% of capital gain net income (both long-term and short-term) for the one-year period ending October 31 in that calendar year and (3) any income realized, but not distributed, in the preceding year. For this purpose, however, any ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by the Company that is subject to corporate income tax is considered to have been distributed. The Company intends to make sufficient distributions each taxable year to satisfy the excise distribution requirements.
The Company evaluates tax positions taken or expected to be taken in the course of preparing its consolidated financial statements to determine whether the tax positions are “more-likely than not” to be sustained by the applicable tax authority. All penalties and interest associated with income taxes, if any, are included in income tax expense. The SPVs and the 2015-1 Issuer are disregarded entities for tax purposes and are consolidated with the tax return of the Company.
Dividends and Distributions to Common Stockholders
To the extent that the Company has taxable income available, the Company intends to make quarterly distributions to its common stockholders. Dividends and distributions to common stockholders are recorded on the record date. The amount to be distributed is determined by the Board of Directors each quarter and is generally based upon the taxable earnings estimated by management and available cash. Net realized capital gains, if any, are generally distributed at least annually, although the Company may decide to retain such capital gains for investment.
Prior to July 5, 2017, the Company had an “opt in” dividend reinvestment plan. Effective on July 5, 2017, the Company converted the “opt in” dividend reinvestment plan to an “opt out” dividend reinvestment plan that provides for reinvestment of dividends and other distributions on behalf of the stockholders, other than those stockholders who have “opted out” of the plan. As a result of adopting the plan, if our Board of Directors authorizes, and the Company declares, a cash dividend or distribution, the stockholders who have not elected to “opt out” of the dividend reinvestment plan will have their cash dividends or distributions automatically reinvested in additional shares of the Company’s common stock, rather than receiving cash. Each registered stockholder may elect to have such stockholder’s dividends and distributions distributed in cash rather than participate in the plan. For any registered stockholder that does not so elect, distributions on such stockholder’s shares will be reinvested by State Street Bank and Trust Company, our plan administrator, in additional shares. The number of shares to be issued to the stockholder will be determined based on the total dollar amount of the cash distribution payable, net of applicable withholding taxes. The Company intends to use primarily newly issued shares to implement the plan so long as the market value per share is equal to or greater than the net asset value per share on the relevant valuation date. If the market value per share is less than the net asset value per share on the relevant valuation date, the plan administrator would implement the plan through the purchase of common stock on behalf of participants in the open market, unless the Company instructs the plan administrator otherwise.
Functional Currency
The functional currency of the Company is the U.S. Dollar and all transactions were in U.S. Dollars.
3. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
The Company applies fair value accounting in accordance with the terms of Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement (“ASC 820”). ASC 820 defines fair value as the amount that would be exchanged to sell an asset or transfer a liability in an orderly transfer between market participants at the measurement date. The Company values securities/instruments traded in active markets on the measurement date by multiplying the closing price of such traded securities/instruments by the quantity of shares or amount of the instrument held. The Company may also obtain quotes with respect to certain of its investments, such as its securities/instruments traded in active markets and its liquid securities/instruments that are not traded in active markets, from pricing services, brokers, or counterparties (i.e., “consensus pricing”). When doing so, the Company determines whether the quote obtained is sufficient according to US GAAP to determine the fair value of the security. The Company may use the quote obtained or alternative pricing sources may be utilized including valuation techniques typically utilized for illiquid securities/instruments.
Securities/instruments that are illiquid or for which the pricing source does not provide a valuation or methodology or provides a valuation or methodology that, in the judgment of the Investment Adviser or the Company’s Board of Directors, does not represent fair value shall each be valued as of the measurement date using all techniques appropriate under the circumstances and for which sufficient data is available. These valuation techniques may vary by investment and include comparable public market valuations, comparable precedent transaction valuations and/or discounted cash flow analyses. The process generally used to determine the applicable value is as follows: (i) the value of each portfolio company or investment is initially reviewed by the investment professionals responsible for such portfolio company or investment and, for non-traded investments, a standardized template designed to approximate fair market value based on observable market inputs, updated credit statistics and unobservable inputs is used to determine a preliminary value, which is also reviewed alongside consensus pricing, where available; (ii) preliminary valuation conclusions are documented and reviewed by a valuation committee comprised of members of senior management; (iii) the Board of Directors engages a third-party valuation firm to provide positive assurance on portions of the Middle Market Senior Loans and equity investments portfolio each quarter (such that each non-traded investment other than Credit Fund is reviewed by a third-party valuation firm at least once on a rolling twelve month basis) including a review of management’s preliminary valuation and conclusion on fair value; (iv) the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors (the “Audit Committee”) reviews the assessments of the Investment Adviser and the third-party valuation firm and provides the Board of Directors with any recommendations with respect to changes to the fair
value of each investment in the portfolio; and (v) the Board of Directors discusses the valuation recommendations of the Audit Committee and determines the fair value of each investment in the portfolio in good faith based on the input of the Investment Adviser and, where applicable, the third-party valuation firm.
All factors that might materially impact the value of an investment are considered, including, but not limited to the assessment of the following factors, as relevant:
| |
• | the nature and realizable value of any collateral; |
| |
• | call features, put features and other relevant terms of debt; |
| |
• | the portfolio company’s leverage and ability to make payments; |
| |
• | the portfolio company’s public or private credit rating; |
| |
• | the portfolio company’s actual and expected earnings and discounted cash flow; |
| |
• | prevailing interest rates and spreads for similar securities and expected volatility in future interest rates; |
| |
• | the markets in which the portfolio company does business and recent economic and/or market events; and |
| |
• | comparisons to comparable transactions and publicly traded securities. |
Investment performance data utilized are the most recently available financial statements and compliance certificate received from the portfolio companies as of the measurement date which in many cases may reflect a lag in information.
Due to the inherent uncertainty of determining the fair value of investments that do not have a readily available market value, the fair value of the Company’s investments may fluctuate from period to period. Because of the inherent uncertainty of valuation, these estimated values may differ significantly from the values that would have been reported had a ready market for the investments existed, and it is reasonably possible that the difference could be material.
In addition, changes in the market environment and other events that may occur over the life of the investments may cause the realized gains or losses on investments to be different from the net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation currently reflected in the consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016.
US GAAP establishes a hierarchical disclosure framework which ranks the level of observability of market price inputs used in measuring investments at fair value. The observability of inputs is impacted by a number of factors, including the type of investment and the characteristics specific to the investment and state of the marketplace, including the existence and transparency of transactions between market participants. Investments with readily available quoted prices or for which fair value can be measured from quoted prices in active markets generally have a higher degree of market price observability and a lesser degree of judgment applied in determining fair value.
Investments measured and reported at fair value are classified and disclosed based on the observability of inputs used in determination of fair values, as follows:
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• | Level 1—inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted prices available in active markets for identical investments as of the reporting date. The types of financial instruments in Level 1 generally include unrestricted securities, including equities and derivatives, listed in active markets. The Company does not adjust the quoted price for these investments, even in situations where the Company holds a large position and a sale could reasonably impact the quoted price. |
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• | Level 2—inputs to the valuation methodology are either directly or indirectly observable as of the reporting date and are those other than quoted prices in active markets. The type of financial instruments in this category generally includes less liquid and restricted securities listed in active markets, securities traded in other than active markets, government and agency securities, and certain over-the-counter derivatives where the fair value is based on observable inputs. |
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• | Level 3—inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable and significant to overall fair value measurement. The inputs into the determination of fair value require significant management judgment or estimation. Financial instruments that are in this category generally include investments in privately-held entities, CLOs, and certain over-the-counter derivatives where the fair value is based on unobservable inputs. |
In certain cases, the inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, an investment’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the overall fair value measurement. The Investment Adviser’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, and considers factors specific to the investment.
Transfers between levels, if any, are recognized at the beginning of the quarter in which the transfers occur. For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, there were no transfers between levels.
The following tables summarize the Company’s investments measured at fair value on a recurring basis by the above fair value hierarchy levels as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016:
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| September 30, 2017 |
| Level 1 | | Level 2 | | Level 3 | | Total |
Assets | | | | | |
First Lien Debt | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 1,490,650 |
| | $ | 1,490,650 |
|
Second Lien Debt | — |
| | — |
| | 268,783 |
| | 268,783 |
|
Structured Finance Obligations | — |
| | — |
| | 2,585 |
| | 2,585 |
|
Equity Investments | — |
| | — |
| | 13,552 |
| | 13,552 |
|
Investment Fund | | | | | | | |
Mezzanine Loan | — |
| | — |
| | 112,300 |
| | 112,300 |
|
Subtotal | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 1,887,870 |
| | $ | 1,887,870 |
|
Investments measured at net asset value (1) | | | | | | | 76,247 |
|
Total | | | | | | | $ | 1,964,117 |
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| December 31, 2016 |
| Level 1 | | Level 2 | | Level 3 | | Total |
Assets | | | | | |
First Lien Debt | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 1,139,548 |
| | $ | 1,139,548 |
|
Second Lien Debt | — |
| | — |
| | 171,864 |
| | 171,864 |
|
Structured Finance Obligations | — |
| | — |
| | 5,216 |
| | 5,216 |
|
Equity Investments | — |
| | — |
| | 6,474 |
| | 6,474 |
|
Investment Fund | | | | | | | |
Mezzanine Loan | — |
| | — |
| | 62,384 |
| | 62,384 |
|
Subtotal | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 1,385,486 |
| | $ | 1,385,486 |
|
Investments measured at net asset value (1) | | | | | | | 37,273 |
|
Total | | | | | | | $ | 1,422,759 |
|
| |
(1) | Amount represents the Company’s subordinated loan and member’s interest investments in Credit Fund. The fair value of these investments has been estimated using the net asset value of the Company’s ownership interests in Credit Fund. |
The changes in the Company’s investments at fair value for which the Company has used Level 3 inputs to determine fair value and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) included in earnings for Level 3 investments still held are as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Financial Assets For the three month period ended September 30, 2017 |
| First Lien Debt | | Second Lien Debt | | Structured Finance Obligations | | Equity Investments | | Investment Fund - Mezzanine Loan | | Total |
Balance, beginning of period | $ | 1,270,078 |
| | $ | 250,765 |
| | $ | 2,597 |
| | $ | 10,722 |
| | $ | 113,100 |
| | $ | 1,647,262 |
|
Purchases | 267,658 |
| | 28,875 |
| | — |
| | 1,500 |
| | 7,600 |
| | 305,633 |
|
Sales | (20,610 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | (20,610 | ) |
Paydowns | (26,731 | ) | | (12,500 | ) | | (43 | ) | | — |
| | (8,400 | ) | | (47,674 | ) |
Accretion of discount | 1,548 |
| | 284 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 1,832 |
|
Net realized gains (losses) | 141 |
| | — |
| | 31 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 172 |
|
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) | (1,434 | ) | | 1,359 |
| | — |
| | 1,330 |
| | — |
| | 1,255 |
|
Balance, end of period | $ | 1,490,650 |
| | $ | 268,783 |
| | $ | 2,585 |
| | $ | 13,552 |
| | $ | 112,300 |
| | $ | 1,887,870 |
|
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) included in earnings related to investments still held as of September 30, 2017 included in net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments non-controlled/non-affiliated on the Consolidated Statements of Operations | $ | (1,053 | ) | | $ | 1,519 |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 1,330 |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 1,796 |
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Financial Assets For the three month period ended September 30, 2016 |
| First Lien Debt | | Second Lien Debt | | Structured Finance Obligations | | Equity Investments | | Investment Fund - Mezzanine Loan | | Total |
Balance, beginning of period | $ | 944,494 |
| | $ | 219,383 |
| | $ | 8,040 |
| | $ | 4,703 |
| | $ | 1,000 |
| | $ | 1,177,620 |
|
Purchases | 244,501 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 856 |
| | 53,200 |
| | 298,557 |
|
Sales | (13,342 | ) | | (8,274 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | (22,400 | ) | | (44,016 | ) |
Paydowns | (65,764 | ) | | (20,969 | ) | | (1,432 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | (88,165 | ) |
Accretion of discount | 1,591 |
| | 288 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 1,879 |
|
Net realized gains (losses) | (99 | ) | | 221 |
| | (1 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | 121 |
|
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) | 3,206 |
| | 5,648 |
| | 1,145 |
| | 661 |
| | — |
| | 10,660 |
|
Balance, end of period | $ | 1,114,587 |
| | $ | 196,297 |
| | $ | 7,752 |
| | $ | 6,220 |
| | $ | 31,800 |
| | $ | 1,356,656 |
|
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) included in earnings related to investments still held as of September 30, 2016 included in net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments non-controlled/non-affiliated on the Consolidated Statements of Operations | $ | 4,051 |
| | $ | 5,507 |
| | $ | 1,145 |
| | $ | 661 |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 11,364 |
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Financial Assets For the nine month period ended September 30, 2017 |
| First Lien Debt | | Second Lien Debt | | Structured Finance Obligations | | Equity Investments | | Investment Fund - Mezzanine Loan | | Total |
Balance, beginning of period | $ | 1,139,548 |
| | $ | 171,864 |
| | $ | 5,216 |
| | $ | 6,474 |
| | $ | 62,384 |
| | $ | 1,385,486 |
|
Purchases | 800,283 |
| | 125,935 |
| | — |
| | 5,256 |
| | 91,760 |
| | 1,023,234 |
|
Sales | (149,302 | ) | | (2,978 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | (152,280 | ) |
Paydowns | (294,552 | ) | | (29,893 | ) | | (2,792 | ) | | — |
| | (41,844 | ) | | (369,081 | ) |
Accretion of discount | 7,821 |
| | 582 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 8,403 |
|
Net realized gains (losses) | (7,710 | ) | | (3 | ) | | (11 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | (7,724 | ) |
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) | (5,438 | ) | | 3,276 |
| | 172 |
| | 1,822 |
| | — |
| | (168 | ) |
Balance, end of period | $ | 1,490,650 |
| | $ | 268,783 |
| | $ | 2,585 |
| | $ | 13,552 |
| | $ | 112,300 |
| | $ | 1,887,870 |
|
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) included in earnings related to investments still held as of September 30, 2017 included in net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments non-controlled/non-affiliated on the Consolidated Statements of Operations | $ | (9,517 | ) | | $ | 3,627 |
| | $ | 127 |
| | $ | 1,822 |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | (3,941 | ) |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Financial Assets For the nine month period ended September 30, 2016 |
| First Lien Debt | | Second Lien Debt | | Structured Finance Obligations | | Equity Investments | | Investment Fund - Mezzanine Loan | | Total |
Balance, beginning of period | $ | 785,459 |
| | $ | 210,396 |
| | $ | 44,812 |
| | $ | 2,424 |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 1,043,091 |
|
Purchases | 468,155 |
| | 33,488 |
| | — |
| | 2,857 |
| | 54,200 |
| | 558,700 |
|
Sales | (54,641 | ) | | (19,109 | ) | | (30,457 | ) | | — |
| | (22,400 | ) | | (126,607 | ) |
Paydowns | (90,540 | ) | | (33,462 | ) | | (6,689 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | (130,691 | ) |
Accretion of discount | 3,033 |
| | 574 |
| | (31 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | 3,576 |
|
Net realized gains (losses) | 72 |
| | 221 |
| | (9,771 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | (9,478 | ) |
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) | 3,049 |
| | 4,189 |
| | 9,888 |
| | 939 |
| | — |
| | 18,065 |
|
Balance, end of period | $ | 1,114,587 |
| | $ | 196,297 |
| | $ | 7,752 |
| | $ | 6,220 |
| | $ | 31,800 |
| | $ | 1,356,656 |
|
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) included in earnings related to investments still held as of September 30, 2016 included in net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments non-controlled/non-affiliated on the Consolidated Statements of Operations | $ | 2,713 |
| | $ | 3,281 |
| | $ | 687 |
| | $ | 939 |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 7,620 |
|
The Company generally uses the following framework when determining the fair value of investments that are categorized as Level 3:
Investments in debt securities are initially evaluated to determine whether the enterprise value of the portfolio company is greater than the applicable debt. The enterprise value of the portfolio company is estimated using a market approach and an income approach. The market approach utilizes market value (EBITDA) multiples of publicly traded comparable companies and available precedent sales transactions of comparable companies. The Company carefully considers numerous factors when selecting the appropriate companies whose multiples are used to value its portfolio companies. These factors include, but are not limited to, the type of organization, similarity to the business being valued, relevant risk factors, as well as size, profitability and growth expectations. The income approach typically uses a discounted cash flow analysis of the portfolio company.
Investments in debt securities that do not have sufficient coverage through the enterprise value analysis are valued based on an expected probability of default and discount recovery analysis.
Investments in debt securities with sufficient coverage through the enterprise value analysis are generally valued using a discounted cash flow analysis of the underlying security. Projected cash flows in the discounted cash flow typically represent the relevant security’s contractual interest, fees and principal payments plus the assumption of full principal recovery at the security’s expected maturity date. The discount rate to be used is determined using an average of two market-based methodologies. Investments in debt securities may also be valued using consensus pricing.
Investments in structured finance obligations are generally valued using a discounted cash flow and/or consensus pricing.
Investments in equities are generally valued using a market approach and/or an income approach. The market approach utilizes EBITDA multiples of publicly traded comparable companies and available precedent sales transactions of comparable companies. The income approach typically uses a discounted cash flow analysis of the portfolio company.
Investments in the subordinated loan and member’s interest of the investment fund are valued using the net asset value of the Company’s ownership interest in the investment fund and investments in the mezzanine loan of the investment fund are valued using discounted cash flow analysis with expected repayment rate of principal and interest.
The following tables summarize the quantitative information related to the significant unobservable inputs for Level 3 instruments which are carried at fair value as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Fair Value as of September 30, 2017 | | Valuation Techniques | | Significant Unobservable Inputs | | Range | | |
| Low | | High | | Weighted Average |
Investments in First Lien Debt | $ | 1,391,668 |
| | Discounted Cash Flow | | Discount Rate | | 4.36 | % | | 17.63 | % | | 8.16 | % |
| 76,174 |
| | Consensus Pricing | | Indicative Quotes | | 60.17 |
| | 100.28 |
| | 93.59 |
|
| 22,808 |
| | Income Approach | | Discount Rate | | 9.47 | % | | 9.47 | % | | 9.47 | % |
| | | Market Approach | | Comparable Multiple | | 8.09x |
| | 8.09x |
| | 8.09x |
|
Total First Lien Debt | 1,490,650 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Investments in Second Lien Debt | 211,396 |
| | Discounted Cash Flow | | Discount Rate | | 7.72 | % | | 20.22 | % | | 9.85 | % |
| 57,387 |
| | Consensus Pricing | | Indicative Quotes | | 94.50 |
| | 100.00 |
| | 98.98 |
|
Total Second Lien Debt | 268,783 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Investments in Structured Finance Obligations | 2,585 |
| | Consensus Pricing | | Indicative Quotes | | 22.00 |
| | 22.00 |
| | 22.00 |
|
Total Structured Finance Obligations | 2,585 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Investments in Equity | 13,552 |
| | Income Approach | | Discount Rate | | 7.69 | % | | 12.12 | % | | 8.85 | % |
| | | Market Approach | | Comparable Multiple | | 7.52x |
| | 14.86x |
| | 11.10x |
|
Total Equity Investments | 13,552 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Investments in Investment Fund—Mezzanine Loan | 112,300 |
| | Income Approach | | Repayment Rate | | 100.00 | % | | 100.00 | % | | 100.00 | % |
Total Investment Fund—Mezzanine Loan | 112,300 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Total Level 3 Investments | $ | 1,887,870 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Fair Value as of December 31, 2016 | | Valuation Techniques | | Significant Unobservable Inputs | | Range | | |
| Low | | High | | Weighted Average |
Investments in First Lien Debt | $ | 986,695 |
| | Discounted Cash Flow | | Discount Rate | | 4.50 | % | | 16.33 | % | | 7.94 | % |
| 152,853 |
| | Consensus Pricing | | Indicative Quotes | | 40.75 |
| | 106.36 |
| | 97.29 |
|
Total First Lien Debt | 1,139,548 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Investments in Second Lien Debt | 153,657 |
| | Discounted Cash Flow | | Discount Rate | | 7.93 | % | | 11.05 | % | | 9.75 | % |
| 16,525 |
| | Consensus Pricing | | Indicative Quotes | | 83.17 |
| | 100.88 |
| | 94.48 |
|
| 1,682 |
| | Income Approach | | Discount Rate | | 15.32 | % | | 15.32 | % | | 15.32 | % |
| | | Market Approach | | Comparable Multiple | | 8.01x |
| | 8.68x |
| | 8.34x |
|
Total Second Lien Debt | 171,864 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Investments in Structured Finance Obligations | 2,761 |
| | Discounted Cash Flow | | Discount Rate | | 22.00 | % | | 22.00 | % | | 22.00 | % |
| | | | | Default Rate | | 1.13 |
| | 1.13 |
| | 1.13 |
|
| | | | | Prepayment Rate | | 35.00 |
| | 35.00 |
| | 35.00 |
|
| | | | | Recovery Rate | | 65.00 |
| | 65.00 |
| | 65.00 |
|
| 2,455 |
| | Consensus Pricing | | Indicative Quotes | | 0.10 |
| | 48.79 |
| | 48.50 |
|
Total Structured Finance Obligations | 5,216 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Investments in Equity | 6,474 |
| | Income Approach | | Discount Rate | | 8.68 | % | | 10.40 | % | | 9.41 | % |
| | | Market Approach | | Comparable Multiple | | 7.22x |
| | 13.71x |
| | 11.00x |
|
Total Equity Investments | 6,474 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Investments in Investment Fund—Mezzanine Loan | 62,384 |
| | Income Approach | | Repayment Rate | | 100.00 | % | | 100.00 | % | | 100.00 | % |
Total Investment Fund—Mezzanine Loan | 62,384 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Total Level 3 Investments | $ | 1,385,486 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the Company’s investments in first and second lien debt securities are discount rates, indicative quotes and comparable EBITDA multiples. Significant increases in discount rates would result in a significantly lower fair value measurement. Significant decreases in indicative quotes or comparable EBITDA multiples in isolation may result in a significantly lower fair value measurement.
The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the Company’s investments in structured finance obligations are discount rates, default rates, prepayment rates, recovery rates and indicative quotes. Significant increases in discount rates, default rates or prepayment rates in isolation would result in a significantly lower fair value measurement, while a significant increase in recovery rates in isolation would result in a significantly higher fair value. Significant decreases in indicative quotes in isolation may result in a significantly lower fair value measurement.
The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the Company’s investments in equities are discount rates and comparable EBITDA multiples. Significant increases in discount rates would result in a significantly lower fair value measurement. Significant decreases in comparable EBITDA multiples would result in a significantly lower fair value measurement.
Financial instruments disclosed but not carried at fair value
The following table presents the carrying value and fair value of the Company’s secured borrowings disclosed but not carried at fair value as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| September 30, 2017 | | December 31, 2016 |
| Carrying Value | | Fair Value | | Carrying Value | | Fair Value |
Secured borrowings | $ | 578,769 |
| | $ | 578,769 |
| | $ | 421,885 |
| | $ | 421,885 |
|
Total | $ | 578,769 |
| | $ | 578,769 |
| | $ | 421,885 |
| | $ | 421,885 |
|
The carrying values of the secured borrowings approximate their respective fair values and are categorized as Level 3 within the hierarchy. Secured borrowings are valued generally using discounted cash flow analysis. The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the Company’s secured borrowings are discount rates. Significant increases in discount rates would result in a significantly lower fair value measurement.
The following table represents the carrying values (before debt issuance costs) and fair values of the Company’s 2015-1 Notes disclosed but not carried at fair value as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| September 30, 2017 | | December 31, 2016 |
| Carrying Value | | Fair Value | | Carrying Value | | Fair Value |
Aaa/AAA Class A-1A Notes | $ | 160,000 |
| | $ | 160,030 |
| | $ | 160,000 |
| | $ | 160,072 |
|
Aaa/AAA Class A-1B Notes | 40,000 |
| | 40,009 |
| | 40,000 |
| | 39,960 |
|
Aaa/AAA Class A-1C Notes | 27,000 |
| | 27,009 |
| | 27,000 |
| | 26,951 |
|
Aa2 Class A-2 Notes | 46,000 |
| | 46,008 |
| | 46,000 |
| | 45,784 |
|
Total | $ | 273,000 |
| | $ | 273,056 |
| | $ | 273,000 |
| | $ | 272,767 |
|
The fair value determination of the Company’s 2015-1 Notes was based on the market quotation(s) received from broker/dealer(s). These fair value measurements were based on significant inputs not observable and thus represent Level 3 measurements as defined in the accounting guidance for fair value measurement.
The carrying value of other financial assets and liabilities approximates their fair value based on the short term nature of these items.
4. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Investment Advisory Agreement
On April 3, 2013, the Company’s Board of Directors, including a majority of the directors who are not “interested persons” as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act (the “Independent Directors”), approved an investment advisory agreement (the “Original Investment Advisory Agreement”) between the Company and the Investment Adviser in accordance with, and on the basis of an evaluation satisfactory to such directors as required by, Section 15(c) of the Investment Company Act. The Original Investment Advisory Agreement was amended on September 15, 2017 (as amended, the “Investment Advisory Agreement”) after the approval of the Company’s Board of Directors, including a majority of the Independent Directors, at an in-person meeting of the Board of Directors held on May 30, 2017 and the approval of the Company’s stockholders at a special meeting of stockholders held on September 15, 2017. The Investment Advisory Agreement was amended, among other things, to (i) reduce the incentive fee payable by the Company to the Investment Adviser from an annual rate of 20% to an annual rate of 17.5%, (ii) delete the incentive fee payment deferral test described below, and (iii) include in the pre-incentive fee net investment income, in the case of investments with a deferred interest feature, accrued income that the Company has not yet received in cash. The initial term of the Investment Advisory Agreement is two years from September 15, 2017 and, unless terminated earlier, the Investment Advisory Agreement will renew automatically for successive annual periods, provided that such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the vote of the Board of Directors and by the vote of a majority of the Independent Directors. The Investment Advisory Agreement will automatically terminate in the event of an assignment and may be terminated by either party without penalty upon at least 60 days’ written notice to the other party. Subject to the overall supervision of the Board of Directors, the Investment Adviser provides investment advisory services to the Company. For providing these services, the Investment Adviser receives fees from the Company consisting of two components—a base management fee and an incentive fee.
Effective September 15, 2017, the base management fee is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears at an annual rate of 1.50% of the average value of the gross assets at the end of the two most recently completed fiscal quarters, except for the first quarter following the IPO, in which case the base management fee is calculated based on the Company’s gross assets as of the end of such fiscal quarter. In each case, the base management fee will be appropriately adjusted for any share issuances or repurchases during such fiscal quarter and the base management fees for any partial month or quarter will be pro-rated. The Company’s gross assets exclude any cash and cash equivalents and include assets acquired through the incurrence of debt from use of the SPV Credit Facility, Credit Facility and 2015-1 Notes (see Note 6, Borrowings, and Note 7, 2015-1 Notes). For purposes of this calculation, cash and cash equivalents include any temporary investments in cash-equivalents, U.S. government securities and other high quality investment grade debt investments that mature in 12 months or less from the date of investment.
Prior to September 15, 2017, under the Original Investment Advisory Agreement, the base management fee was calculated and payable quarterly in arrears at an annual rate of 1.50% of the average daily gross assets of the Company for the period adjusted for share issuances or repurchases. Prior to the IPO, the Investment Adviser waived its right to receive one-third (0.50%) of the 1.50% base management fee. Any waived base management fees are not subject to recoupment by the Investment Adviser
The fee waiver terminated when the IPO had been consummated. As previously disclosed, in connection with the IPO, the Investment Adviser has agreed to continue the fee waiver until the completion of the first full quarter after the consummation of the IPO. As a result, beginning October 1, 2017, the base management fee is calculated at an annual rate of 1.50% of the Company’s gross assets.
The incentive fee has two parts. The first part is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears based on the pre-incentive fee net investment income for the immediately preceding calendar quarter. The second part is determined and payable in arrears based on capital gains as of the end of each calendar year.
Pre-incentive fee net investment income means interest income, dividend income and any other income (including any other fees (other than fees for providing managerial assistance), such as commitment, origination, structuring, diligence and consulting fees or other fees that the Company receives from portfolio companies) accrued during the calendar quarter, minus the operating expenses accrued for the quarter (including the base management fee, expenses payable under the administration agreement, and any interest expense or fees on any credit facilities or outstanding debt and dividends paid on any issued and outstanding preferred stock, but excluding the incentive fee). Pre-incentive fee net investment income includes, in the case of investments with a deferred interest feature, accrued income that the Company has not yet received in cash. Pre-incentive fee net investment income does not include any realized capital gains, realized capital losses or unrealized capital appreciation or depreciation.
Effective September 15, 2017, pre-incentive fee net investment income, expressed as a rate of return on the value of our net assets at the end of the immediately preceding calendar quarter, will be compared to a “hurdle rate” of 1.50% per quarter (6% annualized) or a “catch-up rate” of 1.82% per quarter (7.28% annualized), as applicable.
Pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Company pays its Investment Adviser an incentive fee with respect to its pre-incentive fee net investment income in each calendar quarter as follows:
| |
• | no incentive fee based on pre-incentive fee net investment income in any calendar quarter in which its pre-incentive fee net investment income does not exceed the hurdle rate of 1.50%; |
| |
• | 100% of pre-incentive fee net investment income with respect to that portion of such pre-incentive fee net investment income, if any, that exceeds the hurdle rate but is less than 1.82% in any calendar quarter (7.28% annualized). The Company refers to this portion of the pre-incentive fee net investment income (which exceeds the hurdle rate but is less than 1.82%) as the “catch-up.” The “catch-up” is meant to provide the Investment Adviser with approximately 17.5% of the Company’s pre-incentive fee net investment income as if a hurdle rate did not apply if this net investment income exceeds 1.82% in any calendar quarter; and |
| |
• | 17.5% of the amount of pre-incentive fee net investment income, if any, that exceeds 1.82% in any calendar quarter (7.28% annualized) will be payable to the Investment Adviser. This reflects that once the hurdle rate is reached and the catch-up is achieved, 17.5% of all pre-incentive fee investment income thereafter is allocated to the Investment Adviser. |
The second part of the incentive fee is determined and payable in arrears as of the end of each calendar year (or upon termination of the Investment Advisory Agreement, as of the termination date), and equals 17.5% of realized capital gains, if any, on a cumulative basis from inception through the date of determination, computed net of all realized capital losses on a cumulative basis and unrealized capital depreciation, less the aggregate amount of any previously paid capital gain incentive fees, provided that, the incentive fee determined at the end of the first calendar year of operations may be calculated for a period of shorter than twelve calendar months to take into account any realized capital gains computed net of all realized capital losses on a cumulative basis and unrealized capital depreciation.
Prior to the September 15, 2017, under the Original Investment Advisory Agreement, pre-incentive fee net investment income, which did not include, in the case of investments with a deferred interest feature, accrued income that the Company has not yet received in cash, and was expressed as a rate of return on the average daily Hurdle Calculation Value (as defined below) throughout the immediately preceding calendar quarter, was compared to a “hurdle rate” of 1.50% per quarter (6% annualized) or a “catch-up” of 1.875% per quarter (7.50% annualized), as applicable. “Hurdle Calculation Value” meant, on any given day, the sum of (x) the value of net assets as of the end of the calendar quarter immediately preceding such day plus (y) the aggregate amount of capital drawn from investors (or reinvested in the Company pursuant to a dividend reinvestment plan) from the beginning of the current quarter to such day minus (z) the aggregate amount of distributions (including share repurchases) made by the Company from the beginning of the current quarter to such day, but only to the extent such distributions were not declared and accounted for on the books and records in a previous quarter. In addition, under the Original Investment Advisory Agreement, the Company deferred payment of any incentive fee otherwise earned by the Investment Adviser if, during the most recent four full calendar quarter periods ending on or prior to the date such payment is to be made, the sum of (a) the aggregate distributions to stockholders and (b) the change in net assets (defined as gross assets less indebtedness and before taking into account any incentive fees payable during the period) is less than 6.0% of net
assets (defined as gross assets less indebtedness) at the beginning of such period. These calculations were adjusted for any share issuances or repurchases. Any deferred incentive fees were carried over for payment in subsequent calculation periods.
As previously disclosed, in connection with the IPO, the Investment Adviser agreed to charge 17.5% instead of 20% with respect to, or effectively waive 2.5% from, the entire calculation of the incentive fee beginning on the first full quarter following the consummation of the IPO until the earlier of (i) October 1, 2017 and (ii) the date that the Company’s stockholders vote on the approval of the amendment to the Original Investment Advisory Agreement. The Company’s stockholders voted to approve the Investment Advisory Agreement on September 15, 2017.
For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017, base management fees were $4,666 and $11,854, respectively (net of waiver of $2,333 and $5,927, respectively), incentive fees related to pre-incentive fee net investment income were $5,321 and $15,459, respectively, and there were no incentive fees related to realized capital gains. For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2016, base management fees were $3,132 and $8,789, respectively (net of waiver of $1,567 and $4,395, respectively), incentive fees related to pre-incentive fee net investment income were $3,962 and $10,318, respectively, and there were no incentive fees related to realized capital gains. For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, there were no accrued capital gains incentive fees based upon the cumulative net realized and unrealized appreciation (depreciation) as of September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively. The accrual for any capital gains incentive fee under US GAAP in a given period may result in an additional expense if such cumulative amount is greater than in the prior period or a reduction of previously recorded expense if such cumulative amount is less than in the prior period. If such cumulative amount is negative, then there is no accrual.
As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, $9,986 and $8,157, respectively, was included in base management and incentive fees payable in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities.
On April 3, 2013, the Investment Adviser entered into a personnel agreement with The Carlyle Group Employee Co., L.L.C. (“Carlyle Employee Co.”), an affiliate of the Investment Adviser, pursuant to which Carlyle Employee Co. provides the Investment Adviser with access to investment professionals.
Administration Agreement
On April 3, 2013, the Company’s Board of Directors approved an administration agreement (the “Administration Agreement”) between the Company and the Administrator. Pursuant to the Administration Agreement, the Administrator provides services and receives reimbursements equal to an amount that reimburses the Administrator for its costs and expenses and the Company’s allocable portion of overhead incurred by the Administrator in performing its obligations under the Administration Agreement, including the Company’s allocable portion of the compensation paid to or compensatory distributions received by the Company’s officers (including the Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Financial Officer) and respective staff who provide services to the Company, operations staff who provide services to the Company, and any internal audit staff, to the extent internal audit performs a role in the Company’s Sarbanes-Oxley Act internal control assessment. Reimbursement under the Administration Agreement occurs quarterly in arrears.
The initial term of the Administration Agreement is two years from April 3, 2013 and, unless terminated earlier, the Administration Agreement will renew automatically for successive annual periods, provided that such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the vote of the Board of Directors or by a majority vote of the outstanding voting securities of the Company and (ii) the vote of a majority of the Company’s Independent Directors. On March 20, 2017, the Company’s Board of Directors, including a majority of the Independent Directors, approved the continuance of the Administration Agreement for a one year period. The Administration Agreement may not be assigned by a party without the consent of the other party and may be terminated by either party without penalty upon at least 60 days’ written notice to the other party.
For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017, the Company incurred $184 and $522, respectively, and for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2016, the Company incurred $180 and $526, respectively, in fees under the Administrative Agreement, which were included in administrative service fees in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, $100 and $137, respectively, was unpaid and included in administrative service fees payable in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities.
Sub-Administration Agreements
On April 3, 2013, the Administrator entered into sub-administration agreements with Carlyle Employee Co. and CELF Advisors LLP (“CELF”) (the “Carlyle Sub-Administration Agreements”). Pursuant to the Carlyle Sub-Administration Agreements, Carlyle Employee Co. and CELF provide the Administrator with access to personnel.
On April 3, 2013, the Administrator entered into a sub-administration agreement with State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street” and, such agreement, the “State Street Sub-Administration Agreement” and, together with the Carlyle Sub-Administration Agreements, the “Sub-Administration Agreements”). On March 11, 2015, the Company’s Board of Directors, including a majority of the Independent Directors, approved an amendment to the State Street Sub-Administration Agreement. The initial term of the State Street Sub-Administration Agreement ends on April 1, 2017 and, unless terminated earlier, the State Street Sub-Administration Agreement will renew automatically for successive annual periods, provided that such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the vote of the Board of Directors or by the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Company and (ii) the vote of a majority of the Company’s Independent Directors. The State Street Sub-Administration Agreement may be terminated upon at least 60 days’ written notice and without penalty by the vote of a majority of the outstanding securities of the Company, or by the vote of the Board of Directors or by either party to the State Street Sub-Administration Agreement.
For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017, fees incurred in connection with the State Street Sub-Administration Agreement, which amounted to $209 and $531, respectively, were included in other general and administrative in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2016, fees incurred in connection with the State Street Sub-Administration Agreement, which amounted to $154 and $442, respectively, were included in other general and administrative in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, $122 and $159, respectively, was unpaid and included in other accrued expenses and liabilities in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities.
Placement Fees
On April 3, 2013, the Company entered into a placement fee arrangement with TCG Securities, L.L.C. (“TCG”), a licensed broker-dealer and an affiliate of the Investment Adviser, which may require stockholders to pay a placement fee to TCG for TCG’s services. At the time of the IPO, the placement fee arrangement with TCG was automatically terminated.
For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017, TCG earned placement fees of $0 and $19, respectively, from the Company’s stockholders in connection with the issuance or sale of the Company’s common stock. For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2016, TCG earned placement fees of $2 and $8, respectively, from the Company’s stockholders in connection with the issuance or sale of the Company’s common stock.
Board of Directors
The Company’s Board of Directors currently consists of five members, three of whom are Independent Directors. On April 3, 2013, the Board of Directors established an Audit Committee consisting of its Independent Directors. The Board of Directors also established a Pricing Committee of the Board of Directors, a Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board of Directors and a Compensation Committee of the Board of Directors, and may establish additional committees in the future. For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017, the Company incurred $121 and $355, respectively, and for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2016, the Company incurred $146 and $410, respectively, in fees and expenses associated with its Independent Directors and the Audit Committee. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, $1 and $0 was unpaid and included in other accrued expenses and liabilities in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities.
Transactions
During the nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, the Company sold 16 and 1 investments, respectively, to Credit Fund for proceeds of $113,321 and $20,038, respectively, and realized gains of $190 and $0, respectively. See Note 5, Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, for further information about Credit Fund.
5. MIDDLE MARKET CREDIT FUND, LLC
Overview
On February 29, 2016, the Company and Credit Partners entered into the Limited Liability Company Agreement to co-manage Credit Fund, an unconsolidated Delaware limited liability company. Credit Fund primarily invests in first lien loans of middle market companies. Credit Fund is managed by a six-member board of managers, on which the Company and Credit Partners each have equal representation. Establishing a quorum for Credit Fund’s board of managers requires at least four members to be present at a meeting, including at least two of the Company’s representatives and two of Credit Partners’ representatives. The Company and Credit Partners each have 50% economic ownership of Credit Fund and have commitments to fund, from time to time, capital of up to $400,000 each. Funding of such commitments generally requires the approval of the board of Credit Fund, including the board members appointed by the Company. By virtue of its membership interest, the Company and Credit Partners each indirectly bear an allocable share of all expenses and other obligations of Credit Fund.
Together with Credit Partners, the Company co-invests through Credit Fund. Investment opportunities for Credit Fund are sourced primarily by the Company and its affiliates. Portfolio and investment decisions with respect to Credit Fund must be unanimously approved by a quorum of Credit Fund’s investment committee consisting of an equal number of representatives of the Company and Credit Partners. Therefore, although the Company owns more than 25% of the voting securities of Credit Fund, the Company does not believe that it has control over Credit Fund (other than for purposes of the Investment Company Act). Middle Market Credit Fund SPV, LLC (the “Credit Fund Sub”), a Delaware limited liability company, was formed on April 5, 2016. Credit Fund Sub primarily invests in first lien loans of middle market companies. Credit Fund Sub is a wholly owned subsidiary of Credit Fund and is consolidated in Credit Fund’s consolidated financial statements commencing from the date of its formation. Credit Fund follows the same Internal Risk Rating System as the Company.
Credit Fund, the Company and Credit Partners entered into an administration agreement with Carlyle GMS Finance Administration L.L.C., the administrative agent of Credit Fund (in such capacity, the “Administrative Agent”), pursuant to which the Administrative Agent is delegated certain administrative and non-discretionary functions, is authorized to enter into sub-administration agreements at our expense with the approval of the board of managers of Credit Fund, and is reimbursed by Credit Fund for its costs and expenses and Credit Fund’s allocable portion of overhead incurred by the Administrative Agent in performing its obligations thereunder
Selected Financial Data
Since inception of Credit Fund and through September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company and Credit Partners each made capital contributions of $1 in members’ equity and $74,500 and $35,000, respectively, in subordinated loans to Credit Fund. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, Credit Fund had net borrowings of $112,300 and $62,384, respectively, in mezzanine loans under a revolving credit facility with the Company (the “Credit Fund Facility”). As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, Credit Fund had subordinated loans and members’ capital of $152,495 and $74,547, respectively. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company’s ownership interest in such subordinated loans and members’ capital was $76,247 and $37,273, respectively, and in such mezzanine loans was $112,300 and $62,384, respectively.
As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, Credit Fund held cash and cash equivalents totaling $14,767 and $6,103, respectively.
As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, Credit Fund had total investments at fair value of $823,129 and $437,829, respectively, which was comprised of first lien senior secured loans and second lien senior secured loans to 47 and 28 portfolio companies, respectively. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, no loans in Credit Fund’s portfolio were on non-accrual status or contained PIK provisions. All investments in the portfolio were floating rate debt investments with an interest rate floor. The portfolio companies in Credit Fund are U.S. middle market companies in industries similar to those in which the Company may invest directly. Additionally, as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, Credit Fund had commitments to fund various undrawn revolvers and delayed draw investments to its portfolio companies totaling $65,341 and $30,361, respectively.
Below is a summary of Credit Fund’s portfolio, followed by a listing of the loans in Credit Fund’s portfolio as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016:
|
| | | | | | | |
| As of September 30, 2017 | | As of December 31, 2016 |
Senior secured loans (1) | $ | 827,857 |
| | $ | 439,086 |
|
Weighted average yields of senior secured loans based on amortized cost (2) | 6.63 | % | | 6.47 | % |
Weighted average yields of senior secured loans based on fair value (2) | 6.60 | % | | 6.41 | % |
Number of portfolio companies in Credit Fund | 47 |
| | 28 |
|
Average amount per portfolio company (1) | $ | 17,614 |
| | $ | 15,682 |
|
| |
(1) | At par/principal amount. |
| |
(2) | Weighted average yields include the effect of accretion of discounts and amortization of premiums and are based on interest rates as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016. Weighted average yield on debt and income producing securities at fair value is computed as (a) the annual stated interest rate or yield earned plus the net annual amortization of OID and market discount earned on accruing debt included in such securities, divided by (b) total first lien and second lien debt at fair value included in such securities. Weighted average yield on debt and income producing securities at amortized cost is computed as (a) the annual stated interest rate or yield earned plus the net annual amortization of OID and market discount earned on accruing debt included in such securities, divided by (b) total first lien and second lien debt at amortized cost included in such securities. Actual yields earned over the life of each investment could differ materially from the yields presented above. |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Consolidated Schedule of Investments as of September 30, 2017 |
Investments (1) | Industry | | Interest Rate | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (5) | | Fair Value (6) |
First Lien Debt (99.60% of fair value) | | | | | | | | | | | |
Acrisure, LLC (2) (3) (4) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/22/2023 | | $ | 19,900 |
| | $ | 19,855 |
| | $ | 20,099 |
|
Advanced Instruments, LLC (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) (11) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/31/2022 | | 11,940 |
| | 11,818 |
| | 11,904 |
|
Alpha Packaging Holdings, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/12/2020 | | 15,288 |
| | 15,236 |
| | 15,289 |
|
AM Conservation Holding Corporation (2) (3) (4) | Energy: Electricity | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/31/2022 | | 29,775 |
| | 29,530 |
| | 29,647 |
|
AMS Finco, S.A.R.L. (Alexander Mann Solutions) (United Kingdom) (2) (3) (4) (11) | Business Services | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/26/2024 | | 24,938 |
| | 24,700 |
| | 25,012 |
|
Anaren, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Telecommunications | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/18/2021 | | 10,065 |
| | 10,040 |
| | 10,065 |
|
AQA Acquisition Holding, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | High Tech Industries | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/24/2023 | | 27,472 |
| | 27,346 |
| | 27,469 |
|
Borchers, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/13/2024 | | 8,024 |
| | 7,982 |
| | 8,024 |
|
Brooks Equipment Company, LLC (2) (3) (4) | Construction & Building | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/29/2020 | | 7,196 |
| | 7,180 |
| | 7,195 |
|
Datapipe, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Telecommunications | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 3/15/2019 | | 9,675 |
| | 9,618 |
| | 9,675 |
|
DBI Holding LLC (2) (3) (4) (11) | Transportation: Cargo
| | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/1/2021 | | 19,850 |
| | 19,697 |
| | 19,832 |
|
DecoPac, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Non-durable Consumer Goods | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/29/2024 | | 13,286 |
| | 13,136 |
| | 13,218 |
|
Dent Wizard International Corporation (2) (3) (4) (11) | Automotive | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/7/2020 | | 24,564 |
| | 24,431 |
| | 24,530 |
|
DTI Holdco, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/30/2023 | | 19,800 |
| | 19,619 |
| | 19,008 |
|
EAG, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (11) | Business Services | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/28/2018 | | 8,231 |
| | 8,252 |
| | 8,231 |
|
EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (2) (3) (4) (8) (11) | Telecommunications | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/7/2021 | | 22,740 |
| | 22,178 |
| | 22,374 |
|
EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (2) (3) (4) (9) (11) | Telecommunications | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/7/2021 | | 1,500 |
| | 1,461 |
| | 1,480 |
|
Empower Payments Acquisitions, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/30/2023 | | 17,369 |
| | 17,050 |
| | 17,369 |
|
FCX Holdings Corp. (2) (3) (4) (11) | Capital Equipment | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/4/2020 | | 9,620 |
| | 9,578 |
| | 9,620 |
|
Golden West Packaging Group LLC (2) (3) (4) (11) | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/20/2023 | | 20,948 |
| | 20,754 |
| | 20,839 |
|
J.S. Held LLC (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/27/2023 | | 18,249 |
| | 18,057 |
| | 18,121 |
|
Jensen Hughes, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) (12) | Utilities: Electric | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/4/2021 | | 20,682 |
| | 20,491 |
| | 20,682 |
|
Kestra Financial, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/24/2022 | | 19,750 |
| | 19,514 |
| | 19,630 |
|
MSHC, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Construction & Building | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/31/2023 | | 10,000 |
| | 9,956 |
| | 9,990 |
|
North American Dental Management, LLC (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/7/2023 | | 16,869 |
| | 16,299 |
| | 16,574 |
|
PAI Holdco, Inc. (Parts Authority) (2) (3) (4) | Automotive | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/30/2022 | | 9,875 |
| | 9,817 |
| | 9,875 |
|
Paradigm Acquisition Corp. (2) (3) (4) | Business Services | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/2/2022 | | 11,909 |
| | 11,820 |
| | 11,909 |
|
Pasternack Enterprises, Inc. (Infinite RF) (2) (3) (4) (11) | Capital Equipment | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/27/2022 | | 20,280 |
| | 20,181 |
| | 20,278 |
|
Premier Senior Marketing, LLC (2) (3) (4) (11) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/1/2022 | | 8,722 |
| | 8,680 |
| | 8,665 |
|
PSI Services LLC (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) (11) | Business Services | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/19/2023 | | 30,828 |
| | 30,278 |
| | 30,238 |
|
Q Holding Company (2) (3) (4) | Automotive | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/18/2021 | | 17,322 |
| | 17,233 |
| | 17,322 |
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Consolidated Schedule of Investments as of September 30, 2017 |
Investments (1) | Industry | | Interest Rate | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (5) | | Fair Value (6) |
First Lien Debt (99.60% of fair value) | | | | | | | | | | | |
QW Holding Corporation (Quala) (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Environmental Industries | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/31/2022 | | 10,400 |
| | 9,777 |
| | 9,994 |
|
Restaurant Technologies, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Retail | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/23/2022 | | 17,412 |
| | 17,275 |
| | 17,226 |
|
Sovos Brands Intermediate, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Beverage, Food & Tobacco | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/18/2024 | | 21,622 |
| | 21,513 |
| | 21,619 |
|
Superion, LLC (fka Ramundsen Public Sector, LLC) (2) (3) (4) | Sovereign & Public Finance | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/1/2024 | | 3,980 |
| | 3,964 |
| | 3,980 |
|
Surgical Information Systems, LLC (2) (3) (4) (9) (11) | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/24/2023 | | 30,000 |
| | 29,718 |
| | 29,991 |
|
Systems Maintenance Services Holding, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (11) | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/30/2023 | | 24,316 |
| | 24,155 |
| | 24,076 |
|
T2 Systems Canada, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Transportation: Consumer | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/28/2022 | | 2,680 |
| | 2,621 |
| | 2,656 |
|
T2 Systems, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Transportation: Consumer | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/28/2022 | | 15,967 |
| | 15,600 |
| | 15,818 |
|
Teaching Strategies, LLC (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) (11) | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/27/2023 | | 18,009 |
| | 17,840 |
| | 17,936 |
|
The Original Cakerie, Ltd. (Canada) (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Beverage, Food & Tobacco | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/20/2021 | | 6,957 |
| | 6,892 |
| | 6,957 |
|
The Original Cakerie, Co. (Canada) (2) (3) (4) | Beverage, Food & Tobacco | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/20/2021 | | 3,594 |
| | 3,580 |
| | 3,594 |
|
U.S. Acute Care Solutions, LLC (2) (3) (4) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/15/2021 | | 32,111 |
| | 31,874 |
| | 31,723 |
|
U.S. TelePacific Holdings Corp. (2) (3) (4) (11) | Telecommunications | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/2/2023 | | 29,925 |
| | 29,632 |
| | 29,177 |
|
Valicor Environmental Services, LLC (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) (11) | Environmental Industries | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/1/2023 | | 19,977 |
| | 19,492 |
| | 19,692 |
|
Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc. (2) (4) (11) | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | P + 3.50% | | 2/5/2021 | | 22,218 |
| | 22,142 |
| | 22,218 |
|
WIRB - Copernicus Group, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/12/2022 | | 14,875 |
| | 14,806 |
| | 14,875 |
|
WRE Holding Corp. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Environmental Industries | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/3/2023 | | 5,028 |
| | 4,936 |
| | 4,976 |
|
Zest Holdings, LLC (2) (3) (4) (11) | Durable Consumer Goods | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/16/2023 | | 21,500 |
| | 21,448 |
| | 21,657 |
|
Zywave, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/17/2022 | | 17,369 |
| | 17,207 |
| | 17,529 |
|
First Lien Debt Total | | | | | | | | | $ | 816,259 |
| | $ | 819,858 |
|
Second Lien Debt (0.40% of fair value) | | | | | | | | | | | |
Superion, LLC (fka Ramundsen Public Sector, LLC) (2) (3) (7) | Sovereign & Public Finance | | L + 8.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/31/2025 | | $ | 200 |
| | $ | 198 |
| | $ | 203 |
|
Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc. (2) (4) (11) | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | P + 7.75% | | 2/5/2022 | | 2,000 |
| | 1,968 |
| | 2,000 |
|
Zywave, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | High Tech Industries | | L + 9.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/17/2023 | | 1,050 |
| | 1,036 |
| | 1,068 |
|
Second Lien Debt Total | | | | | | | | | $ | 3,202 |
| | $ | 3,271 |
|
Total Investments | | | | | | | | | $ | 819,461 |
| | $ | 823,129 |
|
| |
(1) | Unless otherwise indicated, issuers of investments held by Credit Fund are domiciled in the United States. As of September 30, 2017, the geographical composition of investments as a percentage of fair value was 1.28% in Canada, 3.04% in the United Kingdom, and 95.68% in the United States. |
| |
(2) | Variable rate loans to the portfolio companies bear interest at a rate that may be determined by reference to either LIBOR or an alternate base rate (commonly based on the Federal Funds Rate or the U.S. Prime Rate (“P”)), which generally resets quarterly. For each such loan, Credit Fund has provided the interest rate in effect as of September 30, 2017. As of September 30, 2017, all of Credit Fund’s LIBOR loans were indexed to the 90-day LIBOR rate at 1.34%, except for those loans as indicated in Note 11 below, and the U.S. Prime Rate loan was indexed at 4.25%. |
| |
(3) | Loan includes interest rate floor feature. |
| |
(4) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by Credit Fund Sub. Credit Fund Sub has entered into a revolving credit facility (the “Credit Fund Sub Facility”). The lenders of the Credit Fund Sub Facility have a first lien security interest in substantially all of the assets of Credit Fund Sub. Accordingly, such assets are not available to creditors of Credit Fund. |
| |
(5) | Amortized cost represents original cost, including origination fees and upfront fees received that are deemed to be an adjustment to yield, adjusted for the accretion/amortization of discounts/premiums, as applicable, on debt investments using the effective interest method. |
| |
(6) | Fair value is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the board of managers of Credit Fund, pursuant to Credit Fund’s valuation policy, with the fair value of all investments determined using significant unobservable inputs, which is substantially similar to the valuation policy of the Company provided in Note 3, Fair Value Measurements. |
| |
(7) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by Credit Fund. Credit Fund has entered into the Credit Fund Facility. The lenders of the Credit Fund Facility have a first lien security interest in substantially all of the assets of Credit Fund. Accordingly, such assets are not available to creditors of Credit Fund Sub. |
| |
(8) | Credit Fund receives less than the stated interest rate of this loan as a result of an agreement among lenders. The interest rate reduction is 1.25% on EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP). Pursuant to the agreement among lenders in respect of this loan, this investment represents a first lien/first out loan, which has first priority ahead of the first lien/last out loan with respect to principal, interest and other payments. |
| |
(9) | In addition to the interest earned based on the stated interest rate of this loan, which is the amount reflected in this schedule, Credit Fund is entitled to receive additional interest as a result of an agreement among lenders as follows: EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (3.98%) and Surgical Information Systems, LLC (1.01%). Pursuant to the agreement among lenders in respect of these loans, these investments represent a first lien/last out loan, which has a secondary priority behind the first lien/first out loan with respect to principal, interest and other payments. |
| |
(10) | As of September 30, 2017, Credit Fund had the following unfunded commitments to fund delayed draw and revolving senior secured loans: |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
First Lien Debt—unfunded delayed draw and revolving term loans commitments | Type | | Unused Fee | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Fair Value |
Advanced Instruments, LLC | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | $ | 1,333 |
| | $ | (4 | ) |
Alpha Packaging Holdings, Inc. | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 1,780 |
| | — |
|
AQA Acquisition Holding, Inc. | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 2,459 |
| | — |
|
Borchers, Inc. | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,935 |
| | — |
|
DecoPac, Inc. | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,714 |
| | (8 | ) |
Jensen Hughes, Inc. | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 1,461 |
| | — |
|
Jensen Hughes, Inc. | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 2,000 |
| | — |
|
J.S. Held LLC | Delayed Draw | | 0.50 | % | | 2,253 |
| | (14 | ) |
North American Dental Management, LLC | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 10,101 |
| | (99 | ) |
North American Dental Management, LLC | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 3,030 |
| | (30 | ) |
PSI Services LLC | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 226 |
| | (4 | ) |
QW Holding Corporation (Quala) | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 7,515 |
| | (134 | ) |
QW Holding Corporation (Quala) | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 4,948 |
| | (88 | ) |
Sovos Brands Intermediate, Inc. | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 3,378 |
| | — |
|
T2 Systems, Inc. | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,173 |
| | (10 | ) |
Teaching Strategies, LLC | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,900 |
| | (7 | ) |
The Original Cakerie, Ltd. (Canada) | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,665 |
| | — |
|
Valicor Environmental Services, LLC | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 5,825 |
| | (55 | ) |
Valicor Environmental Services, LLC
| Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 4,197 |
| | (40 | ) |
WRE Holding Corp. | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 4,125 |
| | (21 | ) |
WRE Holding Corp. | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 823 |
| | (4 | ) |
Zywave, Inc. | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,500 |
| | 13 |
|
Total unfunded commitments | | | | | $ | 65,341 |
| | $ | (505 | ) |
| |
(11) | As of September 30, 2017, this LIBOR loan was indexed to the 30-day LIBOR rate at 1.23%. |
| |
(12) | As of September 30, 2017, this LIBOR loan was indexed to the 180-day LIBOR rate at 1.51%. |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Consolidated Schedule of Investments as of December 31, 2016 |
Investments (1) | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (5) | | Fair Value (6) |
First Lien Debt (99.31% of fair value) | | | | | | | | | | | |
AM Conservation Holding Corporation (2) (3) (4) | Energy: Electricity | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/31/2022 | | $ | 30,000 |
| | $ | 29,721 |
| | $ | 29,925 |
|
Datapipe, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (11) | Telecommunications | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 3/15/2019 | | 9,750 |
| | 9,654 |
| | 9,764 |
|
Dimora Brands, Inc. (fka TK USA Enterprises, Inc.) (2) (3) (4) (11) | Construction & Building | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/4/2023 | | 19,850 |
| | 19,580 |
| | 19,723 |
|
Diversitech Corporation (2) (4) (10) (11) | Capital Equipment | | P + 3.50% | | 11/19/2021 | | 14,803 |
| | 14,617 |
| | 14,803 |
|
DTI Holdco, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/30/2023 | | 19,950 |
| | 19,751 |
| | 19,651 |
|
DYK Prime Acquisition LLC (2) (3) (4) | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/1/2022 | | 5,775 |
| | 5,735 |
| | 5,775 |
|
EAG, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (11) | Business Services | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/28/2018 | | 8,713 |
| | 8,686 |
| | 8,720 |
|
EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (2) (3) (4) (8) | Telecommunications | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/7/2021 | | 22,971 |
| | 22,323 |
| | 22,509 |
|
EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (2) (3) (4) (9) | Telecommunications | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/7/2021 | | 1,500 |
| | 1,455 |
| | 1,468 |
|
Empower Payments Acquisitions, Inc. (2) (3) (7) | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/30/2023 | | 17,500 |
| | 17,154 |
| | 17,279 |
|
Generation Brands Holdings, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Durable Consumer Goods | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/10/2022 | | 19,900 |
| | 19,712 |
| | 20,099 |
|
Jensen Hughes, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (10) | Utilities: Electric | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/4/2021 | | 20,409 |
| | 20,188 |
| | 20,327 |
|
Kestra Financial, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/24/2022 | | 19,900 |
| | 19,632 |
| | 19,814 |
|
MSHC, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (10) | Construction & Building | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/19/2021 | | 13,177 |
| | 13,062 |
| | 13,003 |
|
PAI Holdco, Inc. (Parts Authority) (2) (3) (4) | Automotive | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/30/2022 | | 9,950 |
| | 9,886 |
| | 9,950 |
|
Pasternack Enterprises, Inc. (Infinite RF) (2) (3) (4) | Capital Equipment | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/27/2022 | | 11,941 |
| | 11,844 |
| | 11,941 |
|
Q Holding Company (2) (3) (4) | Automotive | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/18/2021 | | 13,964 |
| | 13,828 |
| | 13,941 |
|
QW Holding Corporation (Quala) (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | Environmental Industries | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/31/2022 | | 8,975 |
| | 8,413 |
| | 9,030 |
|
RelaDyne Inc. (2) (3) (4) (10) | Wholesale | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/22/2022 | | 23,514 |
| | 23,117 |
| | 23,443 |
|
Restaurant Technologies, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Retail | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/23/2022 | | 14,000 |
| | 13,871 |
| | 13,969 |
|
Systems Maintenance Services Holding, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/30/2023 | | 12,000 |
| | 11,885 |
| | 12,001 |
|
T2 Systems Canada, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (11) | Transportation: Consumer | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/28/2022 | | 2,700 |
| | 2,635 |
| | 2,727 |
|
T2 Systems, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (10) (11) | Transportation: Consumer | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/28/2022 | | 15,300 |
| | 14,888 |
| | 15,473 |
|
The Original Cakerie, Ltd. (Canada) (2) (3) (4) (10) | Beverage, Food & Tobacco | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/20/2021 | | 7,009 |
| | 6,946 |
| | 7,009 |
|
The Original Cakerie, Co. (Canada) (2) (3) (4) | Beverage, Food & Tobacco | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/20/2021 | | 3,621 |
| | 3,591 |
| | 3,621 |
|
U.S. Acute Care Solutions, LLC (2) (3) (4) | Health & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/15/2021 | | 26,400 |
| | 26,154 |
| | 26,336 |
|
U.S. Anesthesia Partners, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Health & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/31/2019 | | 10,374 |
| | 10,275 |
| | 10,362 |
|
Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (11) | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/5/2021 | | 17,910 |
| | 17,786 |
| | 17,903 |
|
WIRB—Copernicus Group, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | Health & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/12/2022 | | 7,980 |
| | 7,916 |
| | 8,050 |
|
Zest Holdings, LLC (2) (3) (4) | Durable Consumer Goods | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/16/2020 | | 8,700 |
| | 8,658 |
| | 8,749 |
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Consolidated Schedule of Investments as of December 31, 2016 |
Investments (1) | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (5) | | Fair Value (6) |
First Lien Debt (99.31% of fair value) | | | | | | | | | | | |
Zywave, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (7) (10) | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/17/2022 | | $ | 17,500 |
| | $ | 17,315 |
| | $ | 17,434 |
|
First Lien Debt Total | | | | | | | | | $ | 430,278 |
| | $ | 434,799 |
|
Second Lien Debt (0.69% of fair value) | | | | | | | | | | | |
Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc. (2) (3) (4) (11) | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 8.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/5/2022 | | $ | 2,000 |
| | $ | 1,960 |
| | $ | 1,987 |
|
Zywave, Inc. (2) (3) (4) | High Tech Industries | | L + 9.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/17/2023 | | 1,050 |
| | 1,034 |
| | 1,043 |
|
Second Lien Debt Total | | | | | | | | | $ | 2,994 |
| | $ | 3,030 |
|
Total Investments | | | | | | | | | $ | 433,272 |
| | $ | 437,829 |
|
| |
(1) | Unless otherwise indicated, issuers of investments held by Credit Fund are domiciled in the United States. As of December 31, 2016, the geographical composition of investments as a percentage of fair value was 2.43% in Canada and 97.57% in the United States. |
| |
(2) | Variable rate loans to the portfolio companies bear interest at a rate that may be determined by reference to either LIBOR (“L”) or an alternate base rate (commonly based on the Federal Funds Rate or the U.S. Prime Rate (“P”)), which generally resets quarterly. For each such loan, Credit Fund has provided the interest rate in effect as of December 31, 2016. As of December 31, 2016, all of Credit Fund’s LIBOR loans were indexed to the 90-day LIBOR rate at 1.00%, except for those loans as indicated in Note 11 below, and the U.S. Prime Rate loan was indexed at 3.75%. |
| |
(3) | Loan includes interest rate floor feature. |
| |
(4) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by Credit Fund Sub. Credit Fund Sub has entered into a revolving credit facility (the “Credit Fund Sub Facility”). The lenders of the Credit Fund Sub Facility have a first lien security interest in substantially all of the assets of Credit Fund Sub. Accordingly, such assets are not available to creditors of Credit Fund. |
| |
(5) | Amortized cost represents original cost, including origination fees and upfront fees received that are deemed to be an adjustment to yield, adjusted for the accretion/amortization of discounts/premiums, as applicable, on debt investments using the effective interest method. |
| |
(6) | Fair value is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the board of managers of Credit Fund, pursuant to Credit Fund’s valuation policy, which is substantially similar to the valuation policy of the Company provided in “—Critical Accounting Policies—Fair Value Measurements.” |
| |
(7) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by Credit Fund. Credit Fund has entered into the Credit Fund Facility. The lenders of the Credit Fund Facility have a first lien security interest in substantially all of the assets of Credit Fund. Accordingly, such assets are not available to creditors of Credit Fund Sub. |
| |
(8) | Credit Fund receives less than the stated interest rate of this loan as a result of an agreement among lenders. The interest rate reduction is 1.25% on EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP). Pursuant to the agreement among lenders in respect of this loan, this investment represents a first lien/first out loan, which has first priority ahead of the first lien/last out loan with respect to principal, interest and other payments. |
| |
(9) | In addition to the interest earned based on the stated interest rate of this loan, which is the amount reflected in this schedule, Credit Fund is entitled to receive additional interest as a result of an agreement among lenders as follows: EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (3.84%). Pursuant to the agreement among lenders in respect of this loan, this investment represents a first lien/last out loan, which has a secondary priority behind the first lien/first out loan with respect to principal, interest and other payments. |
| |
(10) | As of December 31, 2016, Credit Fund had the following unfunded commitments to fund delayed draw and revolving senior secured loans: |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
First Lien Debt—unfunded delayed draw and revolving term loans commitments | Type | | Unused Fee | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Fair Value |
Diversitech Corporation | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | $ | 5,000 |
| | $ | — |
|
Jensen Hughes, Inc. | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 2,000 |
| | (7 | ) |
Jensen Hughes, Inc. | Delayed Draw | | 0.50 | % | | 1,461 |
| | (5 | ) |
MSHC, Inc. | Delayed Draw | | 1.50 | % | | 1,790 |
| | (21 | ) |
QW Holding Corporation (Quala) | Revolver | | 1.00 | % | | 5,086 |
| | 14 |
|
QW Holding Corporation (Quala) | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 5,918 |
| | 17 |
|
RelaDyne Inc. | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 2,162 |
| | (6 | ) |
RelaDyne Inc. | Delayed Draw | | 0.50 | % | | 1,824 |
| | (5 | ) |
T2 Systems, Inc. | Revolver | | 1.00 | % | | 1,955 |
| | 20 |
|
The Original Cakerie, Ltd. (Canada) | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,665 |
| | — |
|
Zywave, Inc. | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,500 |
| | (5 | ) |
Total unfunded commitments | | | | | $ | 30,361 |
| | $ | 2 |
|
| |
(11) | As of December 31, 2016, this LIBOR loan was indexed to the 30-day LIBOR rate at 0.77%. |
Below is certain summarized consolidated financial information for Credit Fund as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, respectively. Credit Fund commenced operations in May 2016.
|
| | | | | | | | |
| | September 30, 2017 | | December 31, 2016 |
| | (unaudited) | | |
Selected Consolidated Balance Sheet Information | | | | |
ASSETS | | | | |
Investments, at fair value (amortized cost of $819,461 and $433,272, respectively) | | $ | 823,129 |
| | $ | 437,829 |
|
Cash and other assets | | 21,868 |
| | 11,326 |
|
Total assets | | $ | 844,997 |
| | $ | 449,155 |
|
LIABILITIES AND MEMBERS’ EQUITY | | | | |
Secured borrowings | | $ | 566,061 |
| | $ | 248,540 |
|
Mezzanine loans | | 112,300 |
| | 62,384 |
|
Other liabilities | | 14,141 |
| | 63,684 |
|
Subordinated loans and members’ equity | | 152,495 |
| | 74,547 |
|
Liabilities and members’ equity | | $ | 844,997 |
| | $ | 449,155 |
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | For the three month periods ended | | For the nine month periods ended |
| | September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 | | September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 |
| | (unaudited) | | (unaudited) | | (unaudited) | | (unaudited) |
Selected Consolidated Statement of Operations Information: | | | | | | | | |
Total investment income | | $ | 14,914 |
| | $ | 3,642 |
| | $ | 33,802 |
| | $ | 3,658 |
|
Expenses | | | | | | | | |
Interest and credit facility expenses | | 8,809 |
| | 1,798 |
| | 21,204 |
| | 1,836 |
|
Other expenses | | 356 |
| | 496 |
| | 1,041 |
| | 883 |
|
Total expenses | | 9,165 |
| | 2,294 |
| | 22,245 |
| | 2,719 |
|
Net investment income (loss) | | 5,749 |
| | 1,348 |
| | 11,557 |
| | 939 |
|
Net realized gain (loss) on investments | | — |
| | 41 |
| | — |
| | 41 |
|
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | | (2,076 | ) | | 3,798 |
| | (889 | ) | | 3,634 |
|
Net increase (decrease) resulting from operations | | $ | 3,673 |
| | $ | 5,187 |
| | $ | 10,668 |
| | $ | 4,614 |
|
Debt
Credit Fund Facility
On June 24, 2016, Credit Fund entered into the Credit Fund Facility with the Company pursuant to which Credit Fund may from time to time request mezzanine loans from the Company, which was subsequently amended on June 5, 2017. The maximum principal amount of the Credit Fund Facility is $125,000. The maturity date of the Credit Fund Facility is June 24, 2018. Amounts borrowed under the Credit Fund Facility bear interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 9.00%.
During the three month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, there were mezzanine loan borrowings of $7,600 and $53,200, respectively, and repayments of $8,400 and $22,400, respectively, under the Credit Fund Facility. During the nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, there were mezzanine loan borrowings of $91,760 and $54,200, respectively, and repayments of $41,844 and $22,400, respectively, under the Credit Fund Facility. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, there were $112,300 and $62,384 in mezzanine loans outstanding, respectively.
As of September 30, 2017, Credit Fund was in compliance with all covenants and other requirements of the Credit Fund Facility.
Credit Fund Sub Facility
On June 24, 2016, Credit Fund Sub closed on the Credit Fund Sub Facility with lenders, which was subsequently amended on May 31, 2017. The Credit Fund Sub Facility provides for secured borrowings during the applicable revolving period up to an amount equal to $640,000. The facility is secured by a first lien security interest in substantially all of the portfolio investments held by Credit Fund Sub. The maturity date of the Credit Fund Sub Facility is May 22, 2023. Amounts borrowed under the Credit Fund Sub Facility bear interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 2.50%.
During the three month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, there were secured borrowings of $59,900 and $187,225, respectively, and repayments of $39,784 and $0, respectively, under the Credit Fund Sub Facility. During the nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, there were secured borrowings of $357,305 and $206,075, respectively, and repayments of $39,784 and $0, respectively, under the Credit Fund Sub Facility. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, there was $566,061 and $248,540 in secured borrowings outstanding, respectively.
As of September 30, 2017, Credit Fund Sub was in compliance with all covenants and other requirements of the Credit Fund Sub Facility.
6. BORROWINGS
In accordance with the Investment Company Act, the Company is only allowed to borrow amounts such that its asset coverage, as defined in the Investment Company Act, is at least 200% after such borrowing. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, asset coverage was 232.00% and 209.97%, respectively. During the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017, there were secured borrowings of $291,450 and $597,450, respectively, under the SPV Credit Facility and Credit Facility and repayments of $44,278 and $440,566, respectively, under the SPV Credit Facility and Credit Facility. During the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2016, there were secured borrowings of $186,435 and $411,435, respectively, under the SPV Credit Facility and Credit Facility and repayments of $96,732 and $250,732, respectively, under the SPV Credit Facility and Credit Facility. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, there was $578,769 and $421,885, respectively, in secured borrowings outstanding.
SPV Credit Facility
The SPV closed on May 24, 2013 on the SPV Credit Facility, which was subsequently amended on June 30, 2014, June 19, 2015, June 9, 2016 and May 26, 2017. The SPV Credit Facility provides for secured borrowings during the applicable revolving period up to an amount equal to the lesser of $400,000 (the borrowing base as calculated pursuant to the terms of the SPV Credit Facility) and the amount of net cash proceeds and unpledged capital commitments the Company has received, with an accordion feature that can, subject to certain conditions, increase the aggregate maximum credit commitment up to an amount not to exceed $750,000, subject to restrictions imposed on borrowings under the Investment Company Act and certain restrictions and conditions set forth in the SPV Credit Facility, including adequate collateral to support such borrowings. The SPV Credit Facility has a revolving period through May 22, 2020 and a maturity date of May 23, 2022. Borrowings under the SPV Credit Facility bear interest initially at the applicable commercial paper rate (if the lender is a conduit lender) or LIBOR (or, if applicable, a rate based on the prime rate or federal funds rate) plus 2.00% per year through May 23, 2018, with a pre-determined future interest rate increase of 0.50% during the final two years of the revolving period and pre-determined future interest rate increases of 0.875%-1.75% over the two years following the end of the revolving period. The SPV is also required to pay an undrawn commitment fee of between 0.50% and 0.75% per year depending on the drawings under the SPV Credit Facility. Payments under the SPV Credit Facility are made quarterly. The lenders have a first lien security interest on substantially all of the assets of the SPV.
As part of the SPV Credit Facility, the SPV is subject to limitations as to how borrowed funds may be used and the types of loans that are eligible to be acquired by the SPV including, but not limited to, restrictions on sector and geographic concentrations, loan size, payment frequency, tenor and minimum investment ratings (or estimated ratings). In addition, borrowed funds are intended to be used primarily to purchase first lien loan assets, and the SPV is limited in its ability to purchase certain other assets (including, but not limited to, second lien loans, covenant-lite loans, revolving and delayed draw loans and discount loans) and other assets are not permitted to be purchased (including, but not limited to paid-in-kind loans and structured finance obligations). The SPV Credit Facility has certain requirements relating to interest coverage, collateral quality and portfolio performance, including limitations on delinquencies and charge offs, certain violations of which could result in the immediate acceleration of the amounts due under the SPV Credit Facility. The SPV Credit Facility is also subject to a borrowing base that applies different advance rates to assets held by the SPV based generally on the fair market value of such assets. Under certain circumstances as set forth in the SPV Credit Facility, the Company could be obliged to repurchase loans from the SPV.
As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the SPV was in compliance with all covenants and other requirements of the SPV Credit Facility.
Credit Facility
The Company closed on March 21, 2014 on the Credit Facility, which was subsequently amended on January 8, 2015, May 25, 2016 and March 22, 2017. The maximum principal amount of the Credit Facility is $383,000. subject to availability under the Credit Facility, which is based on certain advance rates multiplied by the value of the Company’s portfolio investments (subject to certain concentration limitations) net of certain other indebtedness that the Company may incur in accordance with the terms of the Credit Facility. Proceeds of the Credit Facility may be used for general corporate purposes, including the funding of portfolio investments.
Maximum capacity under the Credit Facility may be increased to $550,000 through the exercise by the Company of an uncommitted accordion feature through which existing and new lenders may, at their option, agree to provide additional financing. The Credit Facility includes a $20,000 limit for swingline loans and a $5,000 limit for letters of credit. The Company may borrow amounts in U.S. dollars or certain other permitted currencies. Amounts drawn under the Credit Facility, including amounts drawn in respect of letters of credit, bear interest at either LIBOR plus an applicable spread of 2.25%, or an “alternative base rate” (which is the highest of a prime rate, the federal funds effective rate plus 0.50%, or one month LIBOR plus 1.00%) plus an applicable spread of 1.25%. The Company may elect either the LIBOR or the “alternative base rate” at the time of drawdown, and loans may be converted from one rate to another at any time, subject to certain conditions. The Company also pays a fee of 0.375% on undrawn amounts under the Credit Facility and, in respect of each undrawn letter of credit, a fee and interest rate equal to the then-applicable margin under the Credit Facility while the letter of credit is outstanding. The availability period under the Credit Facility will terminate on March 21, 2021 and the Credit Facility will mature on March 21, 2022. During the period from March 21, 2021 to March 21, 2022, the Company will be obligated to make mandatory prepayments under the Credit Facility out of the proceeds of certain asset sales, other recovery events and equity and debt issuances.
Subject to certain exceptions, the Credit Facility is secured by a first lien security interest in substantially all of the portfolio investments held by the Company and the Company’s unfunded investor equity capital commitments (provided that the amount of unfunded capital commitments ultimately available to the lenders is limited to $100,000). The pledge of unfunded investor equity capital commitments was subject to release once $100,000 of incremental capital had been called and received by the Company subsequent to January 8, 2015. The pledge of unfunded investor equity capital commitments had been released as of September 30, 2017. The Credit Facility includes customary covenants, including certain financial covenants related to asset coverage, shareholders’ equity and liquidity, certain limitations on the incurrence of additional indebtedness and liens, and other maintenance covenants, as well as usual and customary events of default for senior secured revolving credit facilities of this nature.
As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company was in compliance with all covenants and other requirements of the Credit Facility.
Summary of Facilities
The Facilities consisted of the following as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| September 30, 2017 |
| Total Facility | | Borrowings Outstanding | | Unused Portion (1) | | Amount Available (2) |
SPV Credit Facility | $ | 400,000 |
| | $ | 329,769 |
| | $ | 70,231 |
| | $ | 2,664 |
|
Credit Facility | 383,000 |
| | 249,000 |
| | 134,000 |
| | 134,000 |
|
Total | $ | 783,000 |
| | $ | 578,769 |
| | $ | 204,231 |
| | $ | 136,664 |
|
| | | | | | | |
| December 31, 2016 |
| Total Facility | | Borrowings Outstanding | | Unused Portion (1) | | Amount Available (2) |
SPV Credit Facility | $ | 400,000 |
| | $ | 252,885 |
| | $ | 147,115 |
| | $ | 5,988 |
|
Credit Facility | 220,000 |
| | 169,000 |
| | 51,000 |
| | 51,000 |
|
Total | $ | 620,000 |
| | $ | 421,885 |
| | $ | 198,115 |
| | $ | 56,988 |
|
| |
(1) | The unused portion is the amount upon which commitment fees are based. |
| |
(2) | Available for borrowing based on the computation of collateral to support the borrowings and subject to compliance with applicable covenants and financial ratios. |
As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, $2,525 and $1,667, respectively, of interest expense, $294 and $203, respectively, of unused commitment fees and $23 and $23, respectively, of other fees were included in interest and credit facility fees payable. For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017, the weighted average interest rate was 3.40% and 3.24%, respectively, and average principal debt outstanding was $406,498 and $402,787, respectively. For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2016, the weighted average interest rate was 2.75% and 2.67%, respectively, and average principal debt outstanding was $292,084 and $277,575, respectively. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the weighted average interest rate was 3.38% and 2.85%, respectively, based on floating LIBOR rates.
For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, the components of interest expense and credit facility fees on the Facilities were as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| For the three month periods ended | | For the nine month periods ended |
| September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 | | September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 |
Interest expense | $ | 3,535 |
| | $ | 2,071 |
| | $ | 9,916 |
| | $ | 5,661 |
|
Facility unused commitment fee | 309 |
| | 351 |
| | 925 |
| | 1,034 |
|
Amortization of deferred financing costs | 183 |
| | 305 |
| | 541 |
| | 1,027 |
|
Other fees | 29 |
| | 26 |
| | 89 |
| | 78 |
|
Total interest expense and credit facility fees | $ | 4,056 |
| | $ | 2,753 |
| | $ | 11,471 |
| | $ | 7,800 |
|
Cash paid for interest expense | $ | 2,698 |
| | $ | 2,023 |
| | $ | 9,043 |
| | $ | 5,231 |
|
7. 2015-1 Notes
On June 26, 2015, the Company completed the 2015-1 Debt Securitization. The 2015-1 Notes were issued by the 2015-1 Issuer, a wholly-owned and consolidated subsidiary of the Company, and are secured by a diversified portfolio of the 2015-1 Issuer consisting primarily of first and second lien senior secured loans. The 2015-1 Debt Securitization was executed through a private placement of the 2015-1 Notes, consisting of $160 million of Aaa/AAA Class A-1A Notes which bear interest at the three-month London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) plus 1.85%; $40 million of Aaa/AAA Class A-1B Notes which bear interest at the three-month LIBOR plus 1.75% for the first 24 months and the three-month LIBOR plus 2.05% thereafter; $27 million of Aaa/AAA Class A-1C Notes which bear interest at 3.75%; and $46 million of Aa2 Class A-2 Notes which bear interest at the three month LIBOR plus 2.70%. The 2015-1 Notes were issued at par and are scheduled to mature on July 15, 2027. The Company received 100% of the preferred interests (the “Preferred Interests”) issued by the 2015-1 Issuer on the closing date of the 2015-1 Debt Securitization in exchange for the Company’s contribution to the Issuer of the initial closing date loan portfolio. The Preferred Interests do not bear interest and had a nominal value of $125.9 million at closing. In connection with the contribution, the Company made customary representations, warranties and covenants to the 2015-1 Issuer in the purchase agreement. The Class A-1A, Class A-1B and Class A-1C and Class A-2 Notes are included in the September 30, 2017 consolidated financial statements. The Preferred Interests were eliminated in consolidation.
On the closing date of the 2015-1 Debt Securitization, the 2015-1 Issuer effected a one-time distribution to the Company of a substantial portion of the proceeds of the private placement of the 2015-1 Notes, net of expenses, which distribution was used to repay a portion of certain amounts outstanding under the SPV Credit Facility and the Credit Facility. As part of the 2015-1 Debt Securitization, certain first and second lien senior secured loans were distributed by the SPV to the Company pursuant to a distribution and contribution agreement. The Company contributed the loans that comprised the initial closing date loan portfolio (including the loans distributed to the Company from the SPV) to the 2015-1 Issuer pursuant to a contribution agreement. Future loan transfers from the Company to the 2015-1 Issuer will be made pursuant to a sale agreement and are subject to the approval of the Company’s Board of Directors. Assets of the 2015-1 Issuer are not available to the creditors of the SPV or the Company. In connection with the issuance and sale of the 2015-1 Notes, the Company made customary representations, warranties and covenants in the purchase agreement.
During the reinvestment period, pursuant to the indenture governing the 2015-1 Notes, all principal collections received on the underlying collateral may be used by the 2015-1 Issuer to purchase new collateral under the direction of Investment Adviser in its capacity as collateral manager of the 2015-1 Issuer and in accordance with the Company’s investment strategy.
The Investment Adviser serves as collateral manager to the 2015-1 Issuer under a collateral management agreement (the “Collateral Management Agreement”). Pursuant to the Collateral Management Agreement, the 2015-1 Issuer pays management fees (comprised of base management fees, subordinated management fees and incentive management fees) to the Investment Adviser for rendering collateral management services. As per the Collateral Management Agreement, for the period the Company retains all of the Preferred Interests, the Investment Adviser does not earn management fees for providing such collateral management services. The Company currently retains all of the Preferred Interests, thus the Investment Adviser did not earn any management fees from the 2015-1 Issuer for the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016. Any such waived fees may not be recaptured by the Investment Adviser.
Pursuant to an undertaking by the Company in connection with the 2015-1 Debt Securitization, the Company has agreed to hold on an ongoing basis Preferred Interests with an aggregate dollar purchase price at least equal to 5% of the aggregate outstanding amount of all collateral obligations by the 2015-1 Issuer for so long as any securities of the 2015-1 Issuer remain outstanding. As of September 30, 2017, the Company was in compliance with its undertaking.
The 2015-1 Issuer pays ongoing administrative expenses to the trustee, independent accountants, legal counsel, rating agencies and independent managers in connection with developing and maintaining reports, and providing required services in connection with the administration of the 2015-1 Issuer.
As of September 30, 2017, there were 64 first lien and second lien senior secured loans with a total fair value of approximately $393,392 and cash of $9,705 securing the 2015-1 Notes. The pool of loans in the securitization must meet certain requirements, including asset mix and concentration, term, agency rating, collateral coverage, minimum coupon, minimum spread and sector diversity requirements in the indenture governing the 2015-1 Notes.
For the nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, the effective annualized weighted average interest rate, which includes amortization of debt issuance costs on the 2015-1 Notes, was 3.27% and 2.84%, respectively, based on floating LIBOR rates.
As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, $1,952 and $1,706, respectively, of interest expense was included in interest and credit facility fees payable. For the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, the components of interest expense on the 2015-1 Notes were as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| For the three month periods ended | | For the nine month periods ended |
| September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 | | September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 |
Interest expense | $ | 2,336 |
| | $ | 1,929 |
| | $ | 6,625 |
| | $ | 5,661 |
|
Amortization of deferred financing costs | 51 |
| | 51 |
| | 153 |
| | 153 |
|
Total interest expense and credit facility fees | $ | 2,387 |
| | $ | 1,980 |
| | $ | 6,778 |
| | $ | 5,814 |
|
Cash paid for interest expense | $ | 2,213 |
| | $ | 1,883 |
| | $ | 6,380 |
| | $ | 5,469 |
|
8. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
A summary of significant contractual payment obligations was as follows as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | SPV Credit Facility and Credit Facility | | 2015-1 Notes |
Payment Due by Period | | September 30, 2017 | | December 31, 2016 | | September 30, 2017 | | December 31, 2016 |
Less than 1 Year | | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
|
1-3 Years | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
|
3-5 Years | | 578,769 |
| | 421,885 |
| | — |
| | — |
|
More than 5 Years | | — |
| | — |
| | 273,000 |
| | 273,000 |
|
Total | | $ | 578,769 |
| | $ | 421,885 |
| | $ | 273,000 |
| | $ | 273,000 |
|
In the ordinary course of its business, the Company enters into contracts or agreements that contain indemnification or warranties. Future events could occur that lead to the execution of these provisions against the Company. The Company believes that the likelihood of such an event is remote; however, the maximum potential exposure is unknown. No accrual has been made in the consolidated financial statements as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016 for any such exposure.
Upon the completion of the IPO, uncalled capital commitments payable to the Company by the Company’s pre-IPO investors were automatically reduced to zero.
The Company had the following unfunded commitments to fund delayed draw and revolving senior secured loans as of the indicated dates:
|
| | | | | | | |
| Par Value as of |
| September 30, 2017 | | December 31, 2016 |
Unfunded delayed draw commitments | $ | 94,140 |
| | $ | 35,704 |
|
Unfunded revolving term loan commitments | 37,683 |
| | 24,063 |
|
Total unfunded commitments | $ | 131,823 |
| | $ | 59,767 |
|
9. NET ASSETS
The Company has the authority to issue 200,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.01 per share par value.
During the nine month period ended September 30, 2017, the Company issued 20,157,530 shares for $367,221, including the reinvestment of dividends. In connection with the NFIC Acquisition, the Company issued 434,233 shares of common stock valued at approximately $8,046. See Note 13 for additional information regarding the NFIC Acquisition. In connection with the Company’s IPO, the Company issued 9,454,200 shares of common stock (including shares issued pursuant to the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option) at a public offering price of $18.50 per share. Net of underwriting costs, the Company received cash proceeds of $169,488. The following table summarizes capital activity during the nine month period ended September 30, 2017:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Common Stock | | Capital in Excess of Par Value | | Offering Costs | | Accumulated Net Investment Income (Loss) | | Accumulated Net Realized Gain (Loss) on Investments | | Accumulated Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on Investments | | Total Net Assets |
| | Shares | | Amount | |
Balance, beginning of period | | 41,702,318 |
| | $ | 417 |
| | $ | 799,580 |
| | $ | (74 | ) | | $ | (3,207 | ) | | $ | (25,357 | ) | | $ | (7,222 | ) | | $ | 764,137 |
|
Common stock issued | | 20,146,560 |
| | 202 |
| | 366,817 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 367,019 |
|
Reinvestment of dividends | | 10,970 |
| | — |
| | 202 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 202 |
|
Offering costs | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | (1,514 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | (1,514 | ) |
Net investment income (loss) | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 65,635 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 65,635 |
|
Net realized gain (loss) on investments | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | (7,724 | ) | | — |
| | (7,724 | ) |
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | (694 | ) | | (694 | ) |
Dividends declared | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | (62,708 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | (62,708 | ) |
Balance, end of period | | 61,859,848 |
| | $ | 619 |
| | $ | 1,166,599 |
| | $ | (1,588 | ) | | $ | (280 | ) | | $ | (33,081 | ) | | $ | (7,916 | ) | | $ | 1,124,353 |
|
During the nine month period ended September 30, 2016, the Company issued 8,267,399 shares for $150,296 including reinvestment of dividends. The following table summarizes capital activity during the nine month period ended September 30, 2016:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Common Stock | | Capital in Excess of Par Value | | Offering Costs | | Accumulated Net Investment Income (Loss) | | Accumulated Net Realized Gain (Loss) on Investments | | Accumulated Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on Investments | | Total Net Assets |
| | Shares | | Amount | |
Balance, beginning of period | | 31,524,083 |
| | $ | 315 |
| | $ | 613,944 |
| | $ | (74 | ) | | $ | (12,994 | ) | | $ | (2,411 | ) | | $ | (27,054 | ) | | $ | 571,726 |
|
Common stock issued | | 8,256,770 |
| | 83 |
| | 150,019 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 150,102 |
|
Reinvestment of dividends | | 10,629 |
| | — |
| | 194 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 194 |
|
Net investment income (loss) | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 41,272 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 41,272 |
|
Net realized gain (loss) on investments | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | (9,055 | ) | | — |
| | (9,055 | ) |
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 20,196 |
| | 20,196 |
|
Dividends declared | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | (43,197 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | (43,197 | ) |
Balance, end of period | | 39,791,482 |
| | $ | 398 |
| | $ | 764,157 |
| | $ | (74 | ) | | $ | (14,919 | ) | | $ | (11,466 | ) | | $ | (6,858 | ) | | $ | 731,238 |
|
The following table summarizes total shares issued and proceeds received related to capital activity during the nine month period ended September 30, 2017:
|
| | | | | | | |
| | Shares Issued | | Proceeds Received |
January 24, 2017* | | 5,837 |
| | $ | 108 |
|
April 24, 2017* | | 5,133 |
| | 94 |
|
May 19, 2017 | | 2,141,416 |
| | 39,488 |
|
June 9, 2017 | | 8,116,711 |
| | 149,997 |
|
June 9, 2017** | | 434,233 |
| | 8,046 |
|
June 19, 2017 | | 9,000,000 |
| | 161,505 |
|
July 5, 2017 | | 454,200 |
| | 7,983 |
|
Total | | 20,157,530 |
| | $ | 367,221 |
|
* Represents shares issued upon the reinvestment of dividends
** Represents shares issued in accordance with the elections of the NFIC stockholders pursuant to the NFIC Acquisition (see Note 13, NFIC Acquisition)
The following table summarizes total shares issued and proceeds received related to capital activity during the nine month period ended September 30, 2016:
|
| | | | | | | |
| | Shares Issued | | Proceeds Received |
January 22, 2016* | | 3,885 |
| | $ | 74 |
|
March 11, 2016 | | 1,815,181 |
| | 33,000 |
|
April 22, 2016* | | 2,988 |
| | 54 |
|
May 6, 2016 | | 1,510,859 |
| | 26,999 |
|
June 24, 2016 | | 1,660,333 |
| | 30,102 |
|
July 22, 2016* | | 3,756 |
| | 66 |
|
August 26, 2016 | | 1,909,449 |
| | 35,000 |
|
September 16, 2016 | | 1,360,948 |
| | 25,001 |
|
Total | | 8,267,399 |
| | $ | 150,296 |
|
* Represents shares issued upon the reinvestment of dividends
Subscription transactions during the nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 were executed at an offering price that represented a premium to net asset value due to the requirement to use prior quarter net asset value as the offering price unless it would result in the Company selling shares of its common stock at a price below the current net asset value and also in order to effect a reallocation of organizational costs to subsequent investors. Additionally, on June 19, 2017, the Company closed its IPO, issuing 9,454,200 shares of its common stock (including the exercise of the underwriters’ over-allotment option on July 5, 2017) at a public offering price of $18.50 per share. Net of underwriting costs, the common stock issued in the IPO and net asset value experienced dilution during the period, and such subscription and IPO transactions increased/(decreased) net asset value by $(0.10) per share and $0.02 per share, respectively, for the nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016, respectively.
The Company computes earnings per common share in accordance with ASC 260, Earnings Per Share. Basic earnings per common share were calculated by dividing net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations attributable to the Company by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the period.
Basic and diluted earnings per common share were as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | For the three month periods ended | | For the nine month periods ended |
| | September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 | | September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 |
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | | $ | 25,543 |
| | $ | 29,170 |
| | $ | 57,217 |
| | $ | 52,413 |
|
Weighted-average common shares outstanding | | 61,840,100 |
| | 37,489,297 |
| | 49,915,318 |
| | 34,623,225 |
|
Basic and diluted earnings per common share | | $ | 0.41 |
| | $ | 0.78 |
| | $ | 1.15 |
| | $ | 1.51 |
|
The following table summarizes the Company’s dividends declared and payable since inception through September 30, 2017:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
Date Declared | | Record Date | | Payment Date | | Per Share Amount | | Total Amount |
March 13, 2014 | | March 31, 2014 | | April 14, 2014 | | $ | 0.19 |
| | $ | 2,449 |
|
June 26, 2014 | | June 30, 2014 | | July 14, 2014 | | $ | 0.27 |
| | $ | 3,481 |
|
September 12, 2014 | | September 18, 2014 | | October 9, 2014 | | $ | 0.44 |
| | $ | 5,956 |
|
December 19, 2014 | | December 29, 2014 | | January 26, 2015 | | $ | 0.35 |
| | $ | 6,276 |
|
March 11, 2015 | | March 13, 2015 | | April 17, 2015 | | $ | 0.37 |
| | $ | 7,833 |
|
June 24, 2015 | | June 30, 2015 | | July 22, 2015 | | $ | 0.37 |
| | $ | 9,902 |
|
September 24, 2015 | | September 24, 2015 | | October 22, 2015 | | $ | 0.42 |
| | $ | 11,670 |
|
December 29, 2015 | | December 29, 2015 | | January 22, 2016 | | $ | 0.40 |
| | $ | 12,610 |
|
December 29, 2015 | | December 29, 2015 | | January 22, 2016 | | $ | 0.18 |
| (1) | $ | 5,674 |
|
March 10, 2016 | | March 14, 2016 | | April 22, 2016 | | $ | 0.40 |
| | $ | 13,337 |
|
June 8, 2016 | | June 8, 2016 | | July 22, 2016 | | $ | 0.40 |
| | $ | 13,943 |
|
September 28, 2016 | | September 28, 2016 | | October 24, 2016 | | $ | 0.40 |
| | $ | 15,917 |
|
December 29, 2016 | | December 29, 2016 | | January 24, 2017 | | $ | 0.41 |
| | $ | 17,098 |
|
December 29, 2016 | | December 29, 2016 | | January 24, 2017 | | $ | 0.07 |
| (1) | $ | 2,919 |
|
March 20, 2017 | | March 20, 2017 | | April 24, 2017 | | $ | 0.41 |
| | $ | 17,100 |
|
June 20, 2017 | | June 30, 2017 | | July 18, 2017 | | $ | 0.37 |
| | $ | 22,720 |
|
August 7, 2017 | | September 29, 2017 | | October 18, 2017 | | $ | 0.37 |
| | $ | 22,888 |
|
| |
(1) | Represents a special dividend. |
10. CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The following is a schedule of consolidated financial highlights for the nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016:
|
| | | | | | | |
| For the nine month periods ended |
| September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 |
Per Share Data: | | | |
Net asset value per share, beginning of period | $ | 18.32 |
| | $ | 18.14 |
|
Net investment income (loss) (1) | 1.31 |
| | 1.19 |
|
Net realized gain (loss) and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | (0.20 | ) | | 0.23 |
|
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | 1.11 |
| | 1.42 |
|
Dividends declared (2) | (1.15 | ) | | (1.20 | ) |
Effect of offering price of subscriptions and the offering price of common stock in the IPO, net of underwriting and offering costs (3) | (0.10 | ) | | 0.02 |
|
Net asset value per share, end of period | $ | 18.18 |
| | $ | 18.38 |
|
Market price per share, end of period | $ | 18.82 |
| | n/a |
|
| | | |
Number of shares outstanding, end of period | 61,859,848 |
| | 39,791,482 |
|
Total return based on net asset value (4) | 5.51 | % | | 7.94 | % |
Total return based on market price (5) | 5.73 | % | | n/a |
|
Net assets, end of period | $ | 1,124,353 |
| | $ | 731,238 |
|
Ratio to average net assets (6): | | | |
Expenses net of waiver, before incentive fees | 3.68 | % | | 4.12 | % |
Expenses net of waiver, after incentive fees | 5.34 | % | | 5.74 | % |
Expenses gross of waiver, after incentive fees | 5.97 | % | | 6.43 | % |
Net investment income (loss) (7) | 7.03 | % | | 6.49 | % |
Interest expense and credit facility fees | 1.95 | % | | 2.14 | % |
Ratios/Supplemental Data: | | | |
Asset coverage, end of period | 232.00 | % | | 209.46 | % |
Portfolio turnover | 34.13 | % | | 22.06 | % |
Weighted-average shares outstanding | 49,915,318 |
| | 34,623,226 |
|
| |
(1) | Net investment income (loss) per share was calculated as net investment income (loss) for the period divided by the weighted average number of shares outstanding for the period. |
| |
(2) | Dividends declared per share was calculated as the sum of dividends declared during the period divided by the number of shares outstanding at each respective quarter-end date (refer to Note 9). |
| |
(3) | Increase (decrease) is due to the offering price of subscriptions and the issuance of common stock in the IPO, net of underwriting and offering costs during the period (refer to Note 9). |
| |
(4) | Total return based on net asset value (not annualized) is based on the change in net asset value per share during the period plus the declared dividends, assuming reinvestment of dividends in accordance with the dividend reinvestment plan, divided by the beginning net asset value for the period. Total return for the nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 is inclusive of $(0.10) and $0.02, respectively, per share increase (decrease) in net asset value for the periods related to the offering price of subscriptions and the offering price of common stock in the IPO, net of underwriting and offering costs during the period. Excluding the effects of these common stock issuances, total return (not annualized) would have been 6.06% and 7.83%, respectively (refer to Note 9). |
| |
(5) | Total return based on market value (not annualized) is calculated as the change in market value per share during the period plus the declared dividends, assuming reinvestment of dividends in accordance with the dividend reinvestment plan, divided by the beginning market price for the period. The beginning market value per share is based on the IPO offering price of $18.50 per share. |
| |
(6) | These ratios to average net assets have not been annualized. |
| |
(7) | The net investment income ratio is net of the waiver of base management fees. |
11. LITIGATION
The Company may become party to certain lawsuits in the ordinary course of business. The Company does not believe that the outcome of current matters, if any, will materially impact the Company or its consolidated financial statements. As of September 30,
2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company was not subject to any material legal proceedings, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, is any material legal proceeding threatened against the Company.
In addition, portfolio investments of the Company could be the subject of litigation or regulatory investigations in the ordinary course of business. The Company does not believe that the outcome of any current contingent liabilities of its portfolio investments, if any, will materially affect the Company or these consolidated financial statements.
12. TAX
The Company has not recorded a liability for any uncertain tax positions pursuant to the provisions of ASC 740, Income Taxes, as of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016.
In the normal course of business, the Company is subject to examination by federal and certain state, local and foreign tax regulators. As of September 30, 2017 and December 31, 2016, the Company had filed tax returns and therefore is subject to examination.
The Company’s taxable income for each period is an estimate and will not be finally determined until the Company files its tax return for each year. Therefore, the final taxable income, and the taxable income earned in each period and carried forward for distribution in the following period, may be different than this estimate. The estimated tax character of dividends declared for nine month periods ended September 30, 2017 and 2016 was as follows:
|
| | | | | | | |
| For the nine month periods ended |
| September 30, 2017 | | September 30, 2016 |
Ordinary income | $ | 62,708 |
| | $ | 43,197 |
|
Tax return of capital | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
|
13. NFIC ACQUISITION
On June 9, 2017 (the “Acquisition Date”), the Company closed the NFIC Acquisition, with the Company as the surviving entity. As of the effective time of the NFIC Acquisition, each share of common stock of NFIC was converted into the right to receive a mixture of cash and shares of common stock of the Company, in accordance with the elections of the NFIC stockholders (the “Elections”). Based on the results of the Elections, the NFIC stockholders received in the aggregate 434,233 shares of common stock of the Company and approximately $145,602 in cash.
The NFIC Acquisition was accounted for under the asset acquisition method of accounting in accordance with ASC Topic 805, Business Combinations. As the acquirer for accounting purposes, the Company allocated the purchase price based on the estimated fair value of NFIC’s assets acquired and liabilities assumed as of the Acquisition Date. There was no goodwill created because the NFIC Acquisition was accounted for as an asset acquisition.
The Company used the fair market value of NFIC’s assets and liabilities as of the Acquisition Date to account for the NFIC Acquisition. The following table summarizes the assets and liabilities of NFIC as of the Acquisition Date:
|
| | | |
ASSETS | |
Total investments, at fair value | $ | 190,672 |
|
Cash and other assets | 12,464 |
|
Total assets | $ | 203,136 |
|
LIABILITIES | |
Secured borrowings | $ | 42,128 |
|
Other accrued expenses and liabilities | 7,360 |
|
Total liabilities | 49,488 |
|
NET ASSETS | |
Total net assets | $ | 153,648 |
|
On June 9, 2017, the debt assumed as part of the NFIC Acquisition was fully repaid.
During the three month and nine month periods ended September 30, 2017, the Company incurred $322 in professional fees and other costs related to the NFIC Acquisition. The Company determined that the fair value of the net assets acquired equaled the purchase price excluding these costs. Accordingly, these costs related to the NFIC Acquisition were expensed.
14. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
Subsequent events have been evaluated through the date the consolidated financial statements were issued. There have been no subsequent events that require recognition or disclosure through the date the consolidated financial statements were issued, except as disclosed below.
Subsequent to September 30, 2017, the Company borrowed $68,200 under the Credit Facility to fund investment acquisitions. The Company also voluntarily repaid $54,219 under the Credit Facility and SPV Credit Facility.
On November 7, 2017, our Board of Directors declared a quarterly dividend of $0.37 per share, which is payable on January 17, 2018 to stockholders of record as of December 29, 2017.
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
The Board of Directors and Stockholders of
TCG BDC, Inc.
We have audited the accompanying consolidated statements of assets and liabilities of TCG BDC, Inc. (the “Company”), including the consolidated schedules of investments, as of December 31, 2016 and 2015, and the related consolidated statements of operations, cash flows and changes in net assets for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Company’s management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audits.
We conducted our December 31, 2016 audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) and in accordance with auditing standards generally accepted in the United States of America. We conducted our December 31, 2015 and 2014 audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. We were not engaged to perform an audit of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of December 31, 2016 by correspondence with the custodian and debt agents. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our opinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the consolidated financial position of TCG BDC, Inc. at December 31, 2016 and 2015, and the consolidated results of its operations, its cash flows, and the changes in its net assets for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
New York, NY
March 21, 2017
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF ASSETS AND LIABILITIES
(dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)
|
| | | | | | | | |
| | December 31, 2016 | | December 31, 2015 |
ASSETS | | | | |
Investments, at fair value | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated, at fair value (amortized cost of $1,332,596 and $1,079,720, respectively) | | $ | 1,323,102 |
| | $ | 1,052,666 |
|
Investments—controlled/affiliated, at fair value (amortized cost of $97,385 and $0, respectively) | | 99,657 |
| | — |
|
Total investments, at fair value (amortized cost of $1,429,981 and $1,079,720, respectively) | | 1,422,759 |
| | 1,052,666 |
|
Cash and cash equivalents | | 38,489 |
| | 41,837 |
|
Receivable for investment sold | | 19,750 |
| | 1,987 |
|
Deferred financing costs | | 3,308 |
| | 3,877 |
|
Interest receivable non-controlled/non-affiliated investments | | 3,407 |
| | 3,279 |
|
Interest and dividend receivable from controlled/affiliated investments | | 2,400 |
| | — |
|
Prepaid expenses and other assets | | 42 |
| | 386 |
|
Total assets | | $ | 1,490,155 |
| | $ | 1,104,032 |
|
LIABILITIES | | | | |
Secured borrowings (Note 6) | | $ | 421,885 |
| | $ | 234,313 |
|
2015-1 Notes payable, net of unamortized debt issuance costs of $2,151 and $2,356, respectively (Note 7) | | 270,849 |
| | 270,644 |
|
Due to Investment Adviser | | 215 |
| | 189 |
|
Interest and credit facility fees payable (Notes 6 and 7) | | 3,599 |
| | 2,577 |
|
Dividend payable (Note 9) | | 20,018 |
| | 18,284 |
|
Base management and incentive fees payable (Note 4) | | 8,157 |
| | 5,277 |
|
Administrative service fees payable (Note 4) | | 137 |
| | 97 |
|
Other accrued expenses and liabilities | | 1,158 |
| | 925 |
|
Total liabilities | | 726,018 |
| | 532,306 |
|
Commitments and contingencies (Notes 8 and 11) | | | | |
NET ASSETS | | | | |
Common stock, $0.01 par value; 200,000,000 shares authorized; 41,702,318 shares and 31,524,083 shares, respectively, issued and outstanding | | 417 |
| | 315 |
|
Paid-in capital in excess of par value | | 799,580 |
| | 613,944 |
|
Offering costs | | (74 | ) | | (74 | ) |
Accumulated net investment income (loss), net of cumulative dividends of $129,065 and $65,851, respectively | | (3,207 | ) | | (12,994 | ) |
Accumulated net realized gain (loss) | | (25,357 | ) | | (2,411 | ) |
Accumulated net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) | | (7,222 | ) | | (27,054 | ) |
Total net assets | | $ | 764,137 |
| | $ | 571,726 |
|
NET ASSETS PER SHARE | | $ | 18.32 |
| | $ | 18.14 |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF OPERATIONS
(dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | For the years ended December 31, |
| | 2016 | | 2015 | | 2014 |
Investment income: | | | | | | |
Interest income from non-controlled/non-affiliated investments | | $ | 101,196 |
| | $ | 68,356 |
| | $ | 32,740 |
|
Other income from non-controlled/non-affiliated investments | | 6,635 |
| | 834 |
| | 244 |
|
Interest income from controlled/affiliated investments | | 1,465 |
| | — |
| | — |
|
Dividend income from controlled/affiliated investments | | 1,675 |
| | — |
| | — |
|
Total investment income | | 110,971 |
| | 69,190 |
| | 32,984 |
|
Expenses: | | | | | | |
Base management fees (Note 4) | | 18,539 |
| | 13,361 |
| | 6,559 |
|
Incentive fees (Note 4) | | 14,905 |
| | 8,881 |
| | 3,578 |
|
Professional fees | | 2,103 |
| | 1,845 |
| | 2,169 |
|
Administrative service fees (Note 4) | | 703 |
| | 595 |
| | 626 |
|
Interest expense (Notes 6 and 7) | | 16,462 |
| | 9,582 |
| | 3,648 |
|
Credit facility fees (Note 6) | | 2,573 |
| | 1,898 |
| | 3,052 |
|
Directors’ fees and expenses | | 553 |
| | 419 |
| | 395 |
|
Other general and administrative | | 1,692 |
| | 1,539 |
| | 883 |
|
Total expenses | | 57,530 |
| | 38,120 |
| | 20,910 |
|
Waiver of base management fees (Note 4) | | 6,180 |
| | 4,454 |
| | 2,186 |
|
Net expenses | | 51,350 |
| | 33,666 |
| | 18,724 |
|
Net investment income (loss) | | 59,621 |
| | 35,524 |
| | 14,260 |
|
Net realized gain (loss) and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments: | | | | | | |
Net realized gain (loss) on investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated | | (9,644 | ) | | 1,164 |
| | 72 |
|
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated | | 17,560 |
| | (18,015 | ) | | (8,718 | ) |
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments—controlled/affiliated | | 2,272 |
| | — |
| | — |
|
Net realized gain (loss) and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | | 10,188 |
| | (16,851 | ) | | (8,646 | ) |
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | | $ | 69,809 |
| | $ | 18,673 |
| | $ | 5,614 |
|
Basic and diluted earnings per common share (Note 9) | | $ | 1.93 |
| | $ | 0.75 |
| | $ | 0.43 |
|
Weighted-average shares of common stock outstanding—Basic and Diluted (Note 9) | | 36,152,390 |
| | 24,830,200 |
| | 13,091,544 |
|
Dividends declared per common share (Note 9) | | $ | 1.68 |
| | $ | 1.74 |
| | $ | 1.25 |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CHANGES IN NET ASSETS
(dollar amounts in thousands)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | For the years ended December 31, |
| | 2016 | | 2015 | | 2014 |
Increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations: | | | | | | |
Net investment income (loss) | | $ | 59,621 |
| | $ | 35,524 |
| | $ | 14,260 |
|
Net realized gain (loss) on investments | | (9,644 | ) | | 1,164 |
| | 72 |
|
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | | 19,832 |
| | (18,015 | ) | | (8,718 | ) |
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | | 69,809 |
| | 18,673 |
| | 5,614 |
|
Capital transactions: | | | | | | |
Common stock issued | | 185,537 |
| | 262,354 |
| | 164,769 |
|
Reinvestment of dividends | | 279 |
| | 131 |
| | 34 |
|
Dividends declared (Note 12) | | (63,214 | ) | | (47,689 | ) | | (18,162 | ) |
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from capital share transactions | | 122,602 |
| | 214,796 |
| | 146,641 |
|
Net increase (decrease) in net assets | | 192,411 |
| | 233,469 |
| | 152,255 |
|
Net assets at beginning of year | | 571,726 |
| | 338,257 |
| | 186,002 |
|
Net assets at end of year | | $ | 764,137 |
| | $ | 571,726 |
| | $ | 338,257 |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS
(dollar amounts in thousands)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | For the years ended December 31, |
| | 2016 | | 2015 | | 2014 |
Cash flows from operating activities: | | | | | | |
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | | $ | 69,809 |
| | $ | 18,673 |
| | $ | 5,614 |
|
Adjustments to reconcile net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations to net cash provided by (used in) operating activities: | | | | | | |
Amortization of deferred financing costs | | 1,417 |
| | 1,051 |
| | 1,820 |
|
Net accretion of discount on investments | | (5,605 | ) | | (3,035 | ) | | (1,108 | ) |
Net realized (gain) loss on investments | | 9,644 |
| | (1,164 | ) | | (72 | ) |
Net change in unrealized (appreciation) depreciation on investments | | (19,832 | ) | | 18,015 |
| | 8,718 |
|
Cost of investments purchased and change in payable for investments purchased | | (755,654 | ) | | (653,154 | ) | | (565,432 | ) |
Proceeds from sales and repayments of investments and change in receivable for investments sold | | 383,591 |
| | 228,004 |
| | 121,229 |
|
Changes in operating assets: | | | | | | |
Interest receivable | | (1,203 | ) | | 1,233 |
| | (2,828 | ) |
Dividend receivable | | (1,325 | ) | | — |
| | — |
|
Prepaid expenses and other assets | | 344 |
| | (229 | ) | | (117 | ) |
Changes in operating liabilities: | | | | | | |
Due to Investment Adviser | | 26 |
| | 148 |
| | 25 |
|
Interest and credit facility fees payable | | 1,022 |
| | 1,384 |
| | 643 |
|
Base management and incentive fees payable | | 2,880 |
| | (1,042 | ) | | 5,694 |
|
Administrative service fees payable | | 40 |
| | 6 |
| | (40 | ) |
Other accrued expenses and liabilities | | 233 |
| | 165 |
| | 91 |
|
Net cash provided by (used in) operating activities | | (314,613 | ) | | (389,945 | ) | | (425,763 | ) |
Cash flows from financing activities: | | | | | | |
Proceeds from issuance of common stock | | 185,537 |
| | 262,354 |
| | 164,769 |
|
Borrowings on SPV Credit Facility and Credit Facility | | 566,351 |
| | 402,200 |
| | 420,023 |
|
Repayments of SPV Credit Facility and Credit Facility | | (378,779 | ) | | (476,328 | ) | | (178,404 | ) |
Proceeds from issuance of 2015-1 Notes | | — |
| | 273,000 |
| | — |
|
Debt issuance costs paid | | (643 | ) | | (2,648 | ) | | (2,029 | ) |
Dividends paid in cash | | (61,201 | ) | | (35,550 | ) | | (11,852 | ) |
Net cash provided by (used in) financing activities | | 311,265 |
| | 423,028 |
| | 392,507 |
|
Net increase (decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | | (3,348 | ) | | 33,083 |
| | (33,256 | ) |
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year | | 41,837 |
| | 8,754 |
| | 42,010 |
|
Cash and cash equivalents, end of year | | $ | 38,489 |
| | $ | 41,837 |
| | $ | 8,754 |
|
Supplemental disclosures: | | | | | | |
Offering expenses and debt issuance costs due | | $ | — |
| | $ | 1 |
| | $ | — |
|
Interest paid during the year | | $ | 15,267 |
| | $ | 8,083 |
| | $ | 2,882 |
|
Dividends declared during the year | | $ | 63,214 |
| | $ | 47,689 |
| | $ | 18,162 |
|
Reinvestment of dividends | | $ | 279 |
| | $ | 131 |
| | $ | 34 |
|
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS
As of December 31, 2016
(dollar amounts in thousands)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
First Lien Debt (80.09%) | | | | | | | | | | |
Access CIG, LLC (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Business Services | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/17/2021 | | $ | 18,335 |
| | $ | 18,222 |
| | $ | 18,335 |
| | 2.40 | % |
Advanced Instruments, LLC(2)(3)(4)(5)(13)(15) | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/31/2022 | | 22,500 |
| | 22,019 |
| | 22,252 |
| | 2.91 |
|
AF Borrower LLC (Accuvant) (2)(3)(4) | | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/28/2022 | | 16,113 |
| | 15,923 |
| | 16,113 |
| | 2.11 |
|
Alpha Packaging Holdings, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/12/2020 | | 11,322 |
| | 11,313 |
| | 11,322 |
| | 1.48 |
|
Anaren, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Telecommunications | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/18/2021 | | 10,869 |
| | 10,800 |
| | 10,869 |
| | 1.42 |
|
Audax AAMP Holdings, Inc.(2)(3)(4)(13) | | Durable Consumer Goods | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/24/2017 | | 10,424 |
| | 10,400 |
| | 10,348 |
| | 1.35 |
|
BAART Programs, Inc. (2)(4)(16) | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 7.75% (0.00% Floor) | | 10/9/2021 | | 7,406 |
| | 7,355 |
| | 7,534 |
| | 0.99 |
|
Brooks Equipment Company, LLC(2)(3)(4)(13) | | Construction & Building | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/29/2020 | | 6,694 |
| | 6,657 |
| | 6,683 |
| | 0.87 |
|
Capstone Logistics Acquisition, Inc.(2)(3)(4)(13) | | Transportation: Cargo | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/7/2021 | | 19,478 |
| | 19,337 |
| | 19,212 |
| | 2.51 |
|
Captive Resources Midco, LLC(2)(3)(4)(13)(15) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/30/2020 | | 29,050 |
| | 28,683 |
| | 29,009 |
| | 3.80 |
|
Central Security Group, Inc.(2)(3)(4)(13)(16) | | Consumer Services | | L + 5.63% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/6/2020 | | 28,658 |
| | 28,300 |
| | 28,557 |
| | 3.74 |
|
CIP Revolution Holdings, LLC (2)(3)(5)(15) | | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/19/2021 | | 16,500 |
| | 16,325 |
| | 16,585 |
| | 2.17 |
|
Colony Hardware Corporation(2)(3)(4)(13) | | Construction & Building | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/23/2021 | | 17,038 |
| | 16,806 |
| | 17,038 |
| | 2.23 |
|
Datapipe, Inc. (2)(3)(13)(16) | | Telecommunications | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 3/15/2019 | | 9,750 |
| | 9,666 |
| | 9,764 |
| | 1.28 |
|
Dent Wizard International Corporation(2)(3)(4)(13)(16) | | Automotive | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/7/2020 | | 7,216 |
| | 7,190 |
| | 7,216 |
| | 0.94 |
|
Derm Growth Partners III, LLC (Dermatology Associates) (2)(3)(4)(5)(13)(15) | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/31/2022 | | 32,929 |
| | 32,393 |
| | 32,958 |
| | 4.31 |
|
Dimensional Dental Management, LLC (2)(3)(5)(12)(15) | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 7.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/12/2021 | | 18,000 |
| | 17,601 |
| | 17,811 |
| | 2.33 |
|
Dimora Brands, Inc. (fka TK USA Enterprises, Inc.) (2)(3)(5)(15) | | Construction & Building | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/4/2022 | | — |
| | (60 | ) | | (30 | ) | | — |
|
Direct Travel, Inc.(2)(3)(4)(5)(13)(15) | | Hotel, Gaming & Leisure | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/1/2021 | | 12,842 |
| | 12,420 |
| | 12,712 |
| | 1.66 |
|
EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP)(2)(3)(5)(12) | | Telecommunications | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/7/2021 | | 23,750 |
| | 23,098 |
| | 23,242 |
| | 3.04 |
|
Emerging Markets Communications, LLC(2)(3)(4)(8)(13) | | Telecommunications | | L + 5.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/1/2021 | | 17,730 |
| | 16,299 |
| | 17,730 |
| | 2.32 |
|
EP Minerals, LLC (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Metals & Mining | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/20/2020 | | 10,264 |
| | 10,232 |
| | 10,259 |
| | 1.34 |
|
FCX Holdings Corp. (2)(3)(4)(13)(16) | | Capital Equipment | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/4/2020 | | 9,856 |
| | 9,852 |
| | 9,856 |
| | 1.29 |
|
Genex Holdings, Inc. (2)(3)(13)(16) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/30/2021 | | 4,200 |
| | 4,187 |
| | 4,196 |
| | 0.55 |
|
Global Software, LLC(2)(3)(4)(13)(16) | | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/2/2022 | | 16,163 |
| | 15,880 |
| | 16,163 |
| | 2.12 |
|
Green Energy Partners/Stonewall LLC(2)(3)(5)(13) | | Energy: Electricity | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/13/2021 | | 16,600 |
| | 16,475 |
| | 16,598 |
| | 2.17 |
|
Green Plains II LLC(2)(3)(4)(5)(13)(15) | | Beverage, Food & Tobacco | | L + 7.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/3/2022 | | 15,205 |
| | 15,059 |
| | 15,379 |
| | 2.01 |
|
Hummel Station LLC (2)(3)(5)(13)(16) | | Energy: Electricity | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/27/2022 | | 21,000 |
| | 20,308 |
| | 20,160 |
| | 2.64 |
|
Imagine! Print Solutions, LLC(2)(3)(4)(13) | | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 3/30/2022 | | 18,461 |
| | 18,213 |
| | 18,603 |
| | 2.43 |
|
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
As of December 31, 2016
(dollar amounts in thousands)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
First Lien Debt (80.09%) (continued) | | | | | | | | | | |
Imperial Bag & Paper Co. LLC(2)(3)(4)(13)(16) | | Forest Products & Paper | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/7/2022 | | $ | 24,074 |
| | $ | 23,752 |
| | $ | 23,924 |
| | 3.13 | % |
Indra Holdings Corp. (Totes Isotoner)(2)(3)(5)(13) | | Non-durable Consumer Goods | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/1/2021 | | 14,224 |
| | 14,130 |
| | 10,553 |
| | 1.38 |
|
International Medical Group, Inc.(2)(3)(5)(12) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/30/2020 | | 30,000 |
| | 29,505 |
| | 30,237 |
| | 3.96 |
|
Jackson Hewitt Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Retail | | L + 7.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/30/2020 | | 8,758 |
| | 8,625 |
| | 8,320 |
| | 1.09 |
|
Metrogistics LLC (2)(3)(4)(5)(13) | | Transportation: Cargo | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/30/2022 | | 15,200 |
| | 14,986 |
| | 15,094 |
| | 1.98 |
|
MSX International, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Automotive | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/21/2020 | | 8,940 |
| | 8,882 |
| | 8,940 |
| | 1.17 |
|
National Technical Systems, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13)(15) | | Aerospace & Defense | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/12/2021 | | 25,123 |
| | 24,854 |
| | 23,927 |
| | 3.13 |
|
NES Global Talent Finance US LLC (United Kingdom) (2)(3)(4)(8)(13) | | Energy: Oil & Gas | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/3/2019 | | 11,250 |
| | 11,132 |
| | 10,911 |
| | 1.43 |
|
OnCourse Learning Corporation(2)(3)(4)(5)(13)(15)(16) | | Consumer Services | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/12/2021 | | 26,141 |
| | 25,770 |
| | 26,220 |
| | 3.43 |
|
Paradigm Acquisition Corp.(2)(3)(4)(13) | | Business Services | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/2/2022 | | 23,246 |
| | 22,963 |
| | 23,223 |
| | 3.04 |
|
Pelican Products, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/11/2020 | | 7,643 |
| | 7,654 |
| | 7,593 |
| | 0.99 |
|
Plano Molding Company, LLC(2)(3)(4)(5)(13) | | Hotel, Gaming & Leisure | | L + 7.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/12/2021 | | 18,163 |
| | 18,030 |
| | 17,302 |
| | 2.26 |
|
PPT Management Holdings, LLC(2)(3)(5) | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/16/2022 | | 22,500 |
| | 22,288 |
| | 22,426 |
| | 2.93 |
|
Premier Senior Marketing, LLC(2)(3)(5)(16) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/1/2022 | | 3,741 |
| | 3,690 |
| | 3,741 |
| | 0.49 |
|
Product Quest Manufacturing, LLC(2)(3)(4)(5)(12) | | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 5.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/9/2020 | | 28,000 |
| | 27,565 |
| | 25,838 |
| | 3.38 |
|
Prowler Acquisition Corp. (Pipeline Supply and Service, LLC) (2)(3)(4) | | Wholesale | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/28/2020 | | 10,798 |
| | 10,739 |
| | 8,101 |
| | 1.06 |
|
PSC Industrial Holdings Corp(2)(3)(4)(13) | | Environmental Industries | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/5/2020 | | 11,760 |
| | 11,679 |
| | 11,290 |
| | 1.48 |
|
PSI Services LLC (2)(3)(4)(5)(12)(16) | | Business Services | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/27/2021 | | 32,705 |
| | 32,022 |
| | 34,784 |
| | 4.56 |
|
PT Intermediate Holdings III, LLC (Parts Town)(2)(3)(4)(5)(13)(15) | | Wholesale | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/23/2022 | | 17,417 |
| | 17,215 |
| | 17,563 |
| | 2.30 |
|
QW Holding Corporation (Quala)(2)(3)(4)(5)(13) | | Environmental Industries | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/31/2022 | | 29,925 |
| | 29,084 |
| | 30,009 |
| | 3.93 |
|
Reliant Pro Rehab, LLC (2)(3)(5)(12) | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 10.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/29/2017 | | 22,331 |
| | 22,024 |
| | 22,331 |
| | 2.92 |
|
SolAero Technologies Corp.(2)(3)(4)(5) | | Telecommunications | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/10/2020 | | 19,677 |
| | 19,541 |
| | 18,901 |
| | 2.47 |
|
Superior Health Linens, LLC (2)(3)(4)(5)(13)(15) | | Business Services | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/30/2021 | | 19,206 |
| | 18,891 |
| | 19,068 |
| | 2.50 |
|
T2 Systems, Inc.(2)(3)(4)(5)(13)(15)(16) | | Transportation: Consumer | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/28/2022 | | 22,950 |
| | 22,333 |
| | 23,208 |
| | 3.04 |
|
T2 Systems Canada, Inc. (2)(3)(5)(16) | | Transportation: Consumer | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/28/2022 | | 4,050 |
| | 3,952 |
| | 4,090 |
| | 0.54 |
|
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
As of December 31, 2016
(dollar amounts in thousands)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
First Lien Debt (80.09%) (continued) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Teaching Strategies, LLC(2)(3)(4)(13) | | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 5.50% (0.50% Floor) | | 10/1/2019 | | $ | 13,369 |
| | $ | 13,333 |
| | $ | 13,369 |
| | 1.75 | % |
The Hilb Group, LLC (2)(3)(5)(12)(15) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/24/2021 | | 29,682 |
| | 29,113 |
| | 29,826 |
| | 3.90 |
|
The SI Organization, Inc.(2)(3)(4)(13) | | Aerospace & Defense | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/23/2019 | | 8,574 |
| | 8,527 |
| | 8,676 |
| | 1.15 |
|
The Topps Company, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Non-durable Consumer Goods | | L + 6.00% (1.25% Floor) | | 10/2/2020 | | 18,707 |
| | 18,629 |
| | 18,795 |
| | 2.46 |
|
TruckPro, LLC (2)(3)(4)(13)(16) | | Automotive | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/6/2018 | | 9,292 |
| | 9,267 |
| | 9,262 |
| | 1.21 |
|
Tweddle Group, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/24/2022 | | 16,200 |
| | 15,885 |
| | 16,114 |
| | 2.11 |
|
TwentyEighty, Inc. (fka Miller Heiman, Inc.) (2)(3)(5)(10)(13) | | Business Services | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/30/2019 | | 18,719 |
| | 18,571 |
| | 7,628 |
| | 1.00 |
|
U.S. Farathane, LLC (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Automotive | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/23/2021 | | 1,925 |
| | 1,895 |
| | 1,925 |
| | 0.25 |
|
U.S. TelePacific Holdings Corp.(2)(3)(5) | | Telecommunications | | L + 8.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/24/2021 | | 30,000 |
| | 29,149 |
| | 29,853 |
| | 3.91 |
|
Vetcor Professional Practices, LLC (2)(3)(4)(5)(13)(15) | | Consumer Services | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/20/2021 | | 25,001 |
| | 24,623 |
| | 25,164 |
| | 3.29 |
|
Violin Finco S.A.R.L. (Alexander Mann Solutions) (United Kingdom) (2)(3)(4)(8)(13) | | Business Services | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/20/2019 | | 10,065 |
| | 10,012 |
| | 10,058 |
| | 1.32 |
|
Vistage Worldwide, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13)(16) | | Business Services | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/19/2021 | | 28,757 |
| | 28,524 |
| | 28,688 |
| | 3.75 |
|
Vitera Healthcare Solutions, LLC (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/4/2020 | | 9,104 |
| | 9,050 |
| | 9,078 |
| | 1.19 |
|
Winchester Electronics Corporation (2)(3)(4)(5)(13)(15) | | Capital Equipment | | L + 6.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/30/2022 | | 27,367 |
| | 26,959 |
| | 27,460 |
| | 3.59 |
|
Zest Holdings, LLC (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Durable Consumer Goods | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/16/2020 | | 9,530 |
| | 9,530 |
| | 9,584 |
| | 1.25 |
|
First Lien Debt Total | | | | | | | | | | $ | 1,145,326 |
| | $ | 1,139,548 |
| | 149.13 | % |
Second Lien Debt (12.08%) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
AF Borrower LLC (Accuvant) (2)(3)(5) | | High Tech Industries | | L + 9.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/30/2023 | | $ | 8,000 |
| | $ | 7,934 |
| | $ | 8,000 |
| | 1.05 | % |
AIM Group USA Inc. (2)(3)(5)(13) | | Aerospace & Defense | | L + 9.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/2/2022 | | 23,000 |
| | 22,701 |
| | 23,196 |
| | 3.04 |
|
AmeriLife Group, LLC (2)(3)(5) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 8.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/10/2023 | | 20,000 |
| | 19,656 |
| | 19,208 |
| | 2.51 |
|
Argon Medical Devices, Inc.(2)(3)(4)(5) | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 9.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/23/2022 | | 24,000 |
| | 23,363 |
| | 24,233 |
| | 3.17 |
|
Berlin Packaging L.L.C. (2)(3)(5)(13) | | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/1/2022 | | 2,927 |
| | 2,910 |
| | 2,953 |
| | 0.39 |
|
Charter NEX US Holdings, Inc.(2)(3)(5)(13) | | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 8.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/5/2023 | | 7,394 |
| | 7,303 |
| | 7,468 |
| | 0.98 |
|
Confie Seguros Holding II Co.(2)(3)(5)(16) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 9.00% (1.25% Floor) | | 5/8/2019 | | 12,000 |
| | 11,921 |
| | 11,918 |
| | 1.56 |
|
Drew Marine Group Inc.(2)(3)(4)(5)(13) | | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 7.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/19/2021 | | 12,500 |
| | 12,481 |
| | 12,333 |
| | 1.61 |
|
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
As of December 31, 2016
(dollar amounts in thousands)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
Second Lien Debt (12.08%) (continued) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Genex Holdings, Inc. (2)(3)(5) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 7.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/30/2022 | | $ | 7,990 |
| | $ | 7,915 |
| | $ | 7,978 |
| | 1.04 | % |
Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (2)(3)(5)(13) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 8.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/29/2022 | | 12,500 |
| | 12,408 |
| | 12,359 |
| | 1.62 |
|
Jazz Acquisition, Inc. (Wencor) (2)(3)(5)(13) | | Aerospace & Defense | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/19/2022 | | 6,700 |
| | 6,677 |
| | 5,572 |
| | 0.73 |
|
MRI Software, LLC (2)(3)(5) | | Software | | L + 8.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/23/2022 | | 11,250 |
| | 11,110 |
| | 11,265 |
| | 1.47 |
|
Power Stop, LLC (5)(9) | | Automotive | | 11.00% | | 5/29/2022 | | 10,000 |
| | 9,831 |
| | 9,863 |
| | 1.29 |
|
Prowler Acquisition Corp. (Pipeline Supply and Service, LLC) (2)(3)(5) | | Wholesale | | L + 8.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/28/2020 | | 3,000 |
| | 2,960 |
| | 1,682 |
| | 0.22 |
|
Vitera Healthcare Solutions, LLC (2)(3)(4) | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 8.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/4/2021 | | 2,000 |
| | 1,979 |
| | 1,945 |
| | 0.26 |
|
Watchfire Enterprises, Inc.(2)(3)(5)(13) | | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 8.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/2/2021 | | 7,000 |
| | 6,932 |
| | 6,976 |
| | 0.91 |
|
Zywave, Inc. (2)(3)(5) | | High Tech Industries | | L + 9.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/17/2023 | | 4,950 |
| | 4,879 |
| | 4,915 |
| | 0.64 |
|
Second Lien Debt Total | | | | | | | | | | $ | 172,960 |
| | $ | 171,864 |
| | 22.49 | % |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | | Industry | | Maturity Date | | Par Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
Structured Finance Obligations (0.37%) (5)(8)(11) | | | | | | | | | | | | |
1776 CLO I, Ltd., Subordinated Notes | | Structured Finance | | 5/8/2020 | | $ | 11,750 |
| | $ | 6,739 |
| | $ | 2,761 |
| | 0.36 | % |
Clydesdale CLO 2005, Ltd., Subordinated Notes | | Structured Finance | | 12/6/2017 | | 5,750 |
| | — |
| | 10 |
| | — |
|
MSIM Peconic Bay, Ltd., Subordinated Notes | | Structured Finance | | 7/20/2019 | | 4,500 |
| | 63 |
| | 5 |
| | — |
|
Nautique Funding Ltd., Income Notes | | Structured Finance | | 4/15/2020 | | 5,000 |
| | 2,437 |
| | 2,440 |
| | 0.32 |
|
Structured Finance Obligations Total | | | | | | | | $ | 9,239 |
| | $ | 5,216 |
| | 0.68 | % |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | | Industry | | Shares/ Units | | Cost | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
Equity Investments (0.46%) (5) | | | | | | | | | | |
CIP Revolution Investments, LLC | | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | 30,000 |
| | $ | 300 |
| | $ | 352 |
| | 0.05 | % |
Derm Growth Partners III, LLC (Dermatology Associates) | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | 1,000,000 |
| | 1,000 |
| | 976 |
| | 0.13 |
|
GS Holdco LLC (Global Software, LLC) | | High Tech Industries | | 1,000,000 |
| | 1,001 |
| | 1,126 |
| | 0.15 |
|
Power Stop Intermediate Holdings, LLC | | Automotive | | 7,150 |
| | 715 |
| | 1,208 |
| | 0.16 |
|
T2 Systems Parent Corporation | | Transportation: Consumer | | 555,556 |
| | 556 |
| | 584 |
| | 0.07 |
|
THG Acquisition, LLC (The Hilb Group, LLC) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | 1,500,000 |
| | 1,499 |
| | 2,228 |
| | 0.29 |
|
Equity Investments Total | | | | | | $ | 5,071 |
| | $ | 6,474 |
| | 0.85 | % |
Total investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated | | | | | | $ | 1,332,596 |
| | $ | 1,323,102 |
| | 173.15 | % |
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
As of December 31, 2016
(dollar amounts in thousands)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—controlled/affiliated | | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par Amount/ LLC Interest | | Cost | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
Investment Fund (7.00%) (8) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, Mezzanine Loan (2)(5)(9)(14) | | Investment Fund | | L + 9.50 | | 6/24/2017 | | $ | 62,384 |
| | $ | 62,384 |
| | $ | 62,384 |
| | 8.16 | % |
Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, Subordinated Loan and Member’s Interest (5)(14) | | Investment Fund | | 0.001 | | 3/1/2021 | | 35,000 |
| | 35,001 |
| | 37,273 |
| | 4.88 |
|
Investment Fund Total | | | | | | | | | | $ | 97,385 |
| | $ | 99,657 |
| | 13.04 | % |
Total investments—controlled/affiliated | | | | | | | | | | $ | 97,385 |
| | $ | 99,657 |
| | 13.04 | % |
Total investments | | | | | | | | | | $ | 1,429,981 |
| | $ | 1,422,759 |
| | 186.19 | % |
| |
(1) | Unless otherwise indicated, issuers of debt and equity investments held by TCG BDC, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, “we,” “us,” “our,” “TCG BDC” or the “Company”) are domiciled in the United States and issuers of structured finance obligations are domiciled in the Cayman Islands. Under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Investment Company Act”), the Company would be deemed to “control” a portfolio company if the Company owned more than 25% of its outstanding voting securities and/or held the power to exercise control over the management or policies of the portfolio company. As of December 31, 2016, the Company does not “control” any of these portfolio companies. Under the Investment Company Act, the Company would be deemed an “affiliated person” of a portfolio company if the Company owns 5% or more of the portfolio company’s outstanding voting securities. As of December 31, 2016, the Company is not an “affiliated person” of any of these portfolio companies. |
| |
(2) | Variable rate loans to the portfolio companies bear interest at a rate that may be determined by reference to either LIBOR (“L”) or an alternate base rate (commonly based on the Federal Funds Rate or the U.S. Prime Rate), which generally resets quarterly. For each such loan, the Company has provided the interest rate in effect as of December 31, 2016. As of December 31, 2016, all of our LIBOR loans were indexed to the 90-day LIBOR rate at 1.00%, except for those loans as indicated in Note 16 below. |
| |
(3) | Loan includes interest rate floor feature. |
| |
(4) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by the Company’s wholly owned subsidiary, TCG BDC SPV LLC (the “SPV”). The SPV has entered into a senior secured revolving credit facility (as amended, the “SPV Credit Facility”). The lenders of the SPV Credit Facility have a first lien security interest in substantially all of the assets of the SPV (see Note 6, Borrowings). Accordingly, such assets are not available to creditors of the Company or Carlyle GMS Finance MM CLO 2015-1 LLC (the “2015-1 Issuer”), a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of the Company. |
| |
(5) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by the Company. The Company has entered into a senior secured revolving credit facility (as amended, the “Credit Facility”). The lenders of the Credit Facility have a first lien security interest in substantially all of the portfolio investments held by the Company (see Note 6, Borrowings). Accordingly, such assets are not available to creditors of the SPV or the 2015-1 Issuer. |
| |
(6) | Amortized cost represents original cost, including origination fees, adjusted for the accretion/amortization of discounts/premiums, as applicable, on debt investments using the effective interest method. Equity tranche collateralized loan obligation (“CLO”) fund investments, which are referred to as “structured finance obligations”, are recorded at amortized cost using the effective interest method. |
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
As of December 31, 2016
(dollar amounts in thousands)
| |
(7) | Fair value is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Board of Directors of the Company (see Note 2, Significant Accounting Policies, and Note 3, Fair Value Measurements), pursuant to the Company’s valuation policy. |
| |
(8) | The Company has determined the indicated investments are non-qualifying assets under Section 55(a) of the Investment Company Act. Under the Investment Company Act, the Company may not acquire any non-qualifying assets unless, at the time such acquisition is made, qualifying assets represent at least 70% of the Company’s total assets. |
| |
(9) | Represents a corporate mezzanine loan, which is subordinated to senior secured term loans of the portfolio company/investment fund. |
| |
(10) | Loan was on non-accrual status as of December 31, 2016. |
| |
(11) | As of December 31, 2016, the Company has a greater than 25% but less than 50% equity or subordinated notes ownership interest in certain structured finance obligations. These investments have governing documents that preclude the Company from controlling management of the entity and therefore the Company has determined that the issuer of the investment is not a controlled affiliate or a non-controlled affiliate because the investments are not “voting securities”. |
| |
(12) | In addition to the interest earned based on the stated interest rate of this loan, which is the amount reflected in this schedule, the Company is entitled to receive additional interest as a result of an agreement among lenders as follows: Dimensional Dental Management, LLC (4.54%), EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (3.84%), International Medical Group, Inc. (4.64%), Product Quest Manufacturing, LLC (3.54%), PSI Services LLC (4.40%), Reliant Pro Rehab, LLC (nil) and The Hilb Group, LLC (3.96%). Pursuant to the agreement among lenders in respect of this loan, this investment represents a first lien/last out loan, which has a secondary priority behind the first lien/first out loan with respect to principal, interest and other payments. |
| |
(13) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by the 2015-1 Issuer and secure the notes issued in connection with a $400 million term debt securitization completed by the Company on June 26, 2015 (see Note 7, 2015-1 Notes). Accordingly, such assets are not available to the creditors of the SPV or the Company. |
| |
(14) | Under the Investment Company Act, the Company is deemed to be an “affiliated person” of and “control” this investment fund because the Company owns more than 25% of the investment fund’s outstanding voting securities and/or has the power to exercise control over management or policies of such investment fund. See Note 5, Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, for more details. |
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
As of December 31, 2016
(dollar amounts in thousands)
| |
(15) | As of December 31, 2016, the Company had the following unfunded commitments to fund delayed draw and revolving senior secured loans: |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non controlled/non-affiliated | | Type | | Unused Fee | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Fair Value |
First Lien Debt—unfunded delayed draw and revolving term loans commitments | | | | | | | | |
Advanced Instruments, LLC | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | $ | 2,500 |
| | $ | (25 | ) |
Captive Resources Midco, LLC | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,875 |
| | (2 | ) |
Captive Resources Midco, LLC | | Delayed Draw | | 1.25 | % | | 3,125 |
| | (4 | ) |
CIP Revolution Holdings, LLC | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,331 |
| | 6 |
|
CIP Revolution Holdings, LLC | | Delayed Draw | | 0.75 | % | | 1,331 |
| | 6 |
|
Derm Growth Partners III, LLC (Dermatology Associates) | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,672 |
| | 1 |
|
Derm Growth Partners III, LLC (Dermatology Associates) | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 5,247 |
| | 4 |
|
Dimensional Dental Management, LLC | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 2,507 |
| | (23 | ) |
Dimora Brands, Inc. (fka TK USA Enterprises, Inc.) | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 4,750 |
| | (30 | ) |
Direct Travel, Inc. | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 9,658 |
| | (56 | ) |
Green Plains II LLC | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,352 |
| | 14 |
|
National Technical Systems, Inc. | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 2,031 |
| | (102 | ) |
National Technical Systems, Inc. | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 4,469 |
| | (165 | ) |
OnCourse Learning Corporation | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 859 |
| | 2 |
|
PT Intermediate Holdings III, LLC (Parts Town) | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 2,025 |
| | 15 |
|
Superior Health Linens, LLC | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 2,735 |
| | (17 | ) |
T2 Systems, Inc. | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 2,933 |
| | 29 |
|
The Hilb Group, LLC | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 3,810 |
| | 16 |
|
Vetcor Professional Practices, LLC | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 3,057 |
| | 18 |
|
Winchester Electronics Corporation | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 2,500 |
| | 8 |
|
Total unfunded commitments | | | | | | $ | 59,767 |
| | $ | (305 | ) |
| |
(16) | As of December 31, 2016, this LIBOR loan was indexed to the 30-day LIBOR rate at 0.77%. |
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
As of December 31, 2016
(dollar amounts in thousands)
As of December 31, 2016, investments at fair value consisted of the following:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Type—% of Fair Value | | Amortized Cost | | Fair Value | | % of Fair Value |
First Lien Debt | | $ | 1,145,326 |
| | $ | 1,139,548 |
| | 80.09 | % |
Second Lien Debt | | 172,960 |
| | 171,864 |
| | 12.08 |
|
Structured Finance Obligations | | 9,239 |
| | 5,216 |
| | 0.37 |
|
Equity Investments | | 5,071 |
| | 6,474 |
| | 0.46 |
|
Investment Fund | | 97,385 |
| | 99,657 |
| | 7.00 |
|
Total | | $ | 1,429,981 |
| | $ | 1,422,759 |
| | 100.00 | % |
Type—% of Fair Value of First and Second Lien Debt | | Amortized Cost | | Fair Value | | % of Fair Value |
Floating Rate | | $ | 1,308,455 |
| | $ | 1,301,549 |
| | 99.25 | % |
Fixed Rate | | 9,831 |
| | 9,863 |
| | 0.75 |
|
Total | | $ | 1,318,286 |
| | $ | 1,311,412 |
| | 100.00 | % |
The industrial composition of investments at fair value as of December 31, 2016 was as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Industry | | Amortized Cost | | Fair Value | | % of Fair Value |
Aerospace & Defense | | $ | 62,759 |
| | $ | 61,371 |
| | 4.31 | % |
Automotive | | 37,780 |
| | 38,414 |
| | 2.7 |
|
Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | 148,577 |
| | 150,700 |
| | 10.59 |
|
Beverage, Food & Tobacco | | 15,059 |
| | 15,379 |
| | 1.08 |
|
Business Services | | 149,205 |
| | 141,784 |
| | 9.97 |
|
Capital Equipment | | 36,811 |
| | 37,316 |
| | 2.62 |
|
Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | 19,784 |
| | 19,801 |
| | 1.39 |
|
Construction & Building | | 23,403 |
| | 23,691 |
| | 1.67 |
|
Consumer Services | | 78,693 |
| | 79,941 |
| | 5.62 |
|
Containers, Packaging & Glass | | 49,442 |
| | 47,706 |
| | 3.35 |
|
Durable Consumer Goods | | 19,930 |
| | 19,932 |
| | 1.04 |
|
Energy: Electricity | | 36,783 |
| | 36,758 |
| | 2.59 |
|
Energy: Oil & Gas | | 11,132 |
| | 10,911 |
| | 0.77 |
|
Environmental Industries | | 40,763 |
| | 41,299 |
| | 2.90 |
|
Forest Products & Paper | | 23,752 |
| | 23,924 |
| | 1.68 |
|
Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | 159,072 |
| | 161,544 |
| | 11.36 |
|
High Tech Industries | | 45,617 |
| | 46,317 |
| | 3.26 |
|
Hotel, Gaming & Leisure | | 30,450 |
| | 30,014 |
| | 2.11 |
|
Investment Fund | | 97,385 |
| | 99,657 |
| | 7.00 |
|
Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | 70,988 |
| | 71,999 |
| | 5.06 |
|
Metals & Mining | | 10,232 |
| | 10,259 |
| | 0.72 |
|
Non-durable Consumer Goods | | 32,759 |
| | 29,348 |
| | 2.06 |
|
Retail | | 8,625 |
| | 8,320 |
| | 0.58 |
|
Software | | 11,110 |
| | 11,265 |
| | 0.79 |
|
Structured Finance | | 9,239 |
| | 5,216 |
| | 0.37 |
|
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
As of December 31, 2016
(dollar amounts in thousands)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Industry | | Amortized Cost | | Fair Value | | % of Fair Value |
Telecommunications | | $ | 108,553 |
| | $ | 110,359 |
| | 7.76 | % |
Transportation: Cargo | | 34,323 |
| | 34,306 |
| | 2.41 |
|
Transportation: Consumer | | 26,841 |
| | 27,882 |
| | 1.96 |
|
Wholesale | | 30,914 |
| | 27,346 |
| | 1.92 |
|
Total | | $ | 1,429,981 |
| | $ | 1,422,759 |
| | 100.00 | % |
The geographical composition of investments at fair value as of December 31, 2016 was as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Geography | | Amortized Cost | | Fair Value | | % of Fair Value |
Cayman Islands | | $ | 9,239 |
| | $ | 5,216 |
| | 0.37 | % |
United Kingdom | | 21,144 |
| | 20,969 |
| | 1.47 |
|
United States | | 1,399,598 |
| | 1,396,574 |
| | 98.16 |
|
Total | | $ | 1,429,981 |
| | $ | 1,422,759 |
| | 100.00 | % |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS
As of December 31, 2015
(dollar amounts in thousands)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
First Lien Debt (75.53%) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Access CIG, LLC (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Business Services | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/17/2021 | | $ | 18,522 |
| | $ | 18,388 |
| | $ | 18,291 |
| | 3.20 | % |
AF Borrower LLC (Accuvant) (2)(3)(5)(13) | | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/28/2022 | | 16,277 |
| | 16,055 |
| | 15,829 |
| | 2.77 |
|
Alpha Packaging Holdings, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/12/2020 | | 11,409 |
| | 11,398 |
| | 11,180 |
| | 1.96 |
|
Anaren, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Telecommunications | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/18/2021 | | 10,981 |
| | 10,898 |
| | 10,759 |
| | 1.88 |
|
APX Group, Inc. (5)(8) | | Consumer Services | | 6.38% | | 12/1/2019 | | 10,000 |
| | 9,749 |
| | 9,575 |
| | 1.67 |
|
Audax AAMP Holdings, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Durable Consumer Goods | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/24/2017 | | 11,025 |
| | 10,954 |
| | 10,885 |
| | 1.90 |
|
BAART Programs, Inc. (2)(4)(15) | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 8.07% (0.00% Floor) | | 10/9/2021 | | 7,481 |
| | 7,422 |
| | 7,556 |
| | 1.32 |
|
Blue Bird Body Company (2)(3)(4)(8)(13) | | Transportation: Consumer | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/26/2020 | | 9,491 |
| | 9,110 |
| | 9,361 |
| | 1.64 |
|
Brooks Equipment Company, LLC (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Construction & Building | | L + 5.35% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/29/2020 | | 7,209 |
| | 7,160 |
| | 7,097 |
| | 1.24 |
|
Capstone Logistics Acquisition, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13)(15) | | Transportation: Cargo | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/7/2021 | | 19,750 |
| | 19,582 |
| | 19,134 |
| | 3.35 |
|
Captive Resources Midco, LLC (2)(3)(4)(14) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/30/2020 | | 29,350 |
| | 28,890 |
| | 28,900 |
| | 5.05 |
|
Castle Management Borrower LLC (Highgate Hotels L.P.) (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Hotel, Gaming & Leisure | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/18/2020 | | 9,878 |
| | 9,807 |
| | 9,535 |
| | 1.67 |
|
Central Security Group, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Consumer Services | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/6/2020 | | 24,750 |
| | 24,444 |
| | 23,884 |
| | 4.18 |
|
Colony Hardware Corporation (2)(3)(5)(13) | | Construction & Building | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/23/2021 | | 13,000 |
| | 12,787 |
| | 12,861 |
| | 2.25 |
|
CRCI Holdings Inc. (CLEAResult Consulting, Inc.) (2)(3)(4)(13)(15) | | Utilities: Electric | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/10/2019 | | 5,910 |
| | 5,892 |
| | 5,704 |
| | 1.00 |
|
Dent Wizard International Corporation (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Automotive | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/7/2020 | | 7,809 |
| | 7,775 |
| | 7,591 |
| | 1.33 |
|
Emerging Markets Communications, LLC (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Telecommunications | | L + 5.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/1/2021 | | 17,910 |
| | 16,225 |
| | 16,882 |
| | 2.95 |
|
EP Minerals, LLC (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Metals & Mining | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/20/2020 | | 10,369 |
| | 10,329 |
| | 10,168 |
| | 1.78 |
|
FCX Holdings Corp. (2)(3)(4)(13)(15) | | Capital Equipment | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/4/2020 | | 10,047 |
| | 10,041 |
| | 9,862 |
| | 1.72 |
|
Genex Holdings, Inc. (2)(3)(13)(15) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/30/2021 | | 4,243 |
| | 4,227 |
| | 4,164 |
| | 0.73 |
|
Green Energy Partners/Stonewall LLC (2)(3)(5)(13) | | Energy: Electricity | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/13/2021 | | 16,600 |
| | 16,456 |
| | 16,354 |
| | 2.86 |
|
Hummel Station LLC (2)(3)(5)(15) | | Energy: Electricity | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/27/2022 | | 21,000 |
| | 20,174 |
| | 20,553 |
| | 3.59 |
|
Indra Holdings Corp. (Totes Isotoner) (2)(3)(5)(13) | | Non-durable Consumer Goods | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/1/2021 | | 14,285 |
| | 14,173 |
| | 13,818 |
| | 2.42 |
|
International Medical Group, Inc. (2)(3)(5)(12) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/30/2020 | | 30,000 |
| | 29,415 |
| | 30,276 |
| | 5.30 |
|
Jackson Hewitt Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Retail | | L + 7.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/30/2020 | | 14,800 |
| | 14,526 |
| | 14,600 |
| | 2.55 |
|
Language Line, LLC (2)(3)(4)(13)(15) | | Telecommunications | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/7/2021 | | 23,896 |
| | 23,675 |
| | 23,697 |
| | 4.14 |
|
Ministry Brands, LLC (2)(3)(5)(10)(14) | | High Tech Industries | | L + 7.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/20/2021 | | 936 |
| | 926 |
| | 901 |
| | 0.16 |
|
Ministry Brands, LLC (2)(3)(5)(12)(14) | | High Tech Industries | | L + 7.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/20/2021 | | 17,471 |
| | 17,190 |
| | 17,371 |
| | 3.04 |
|
MSX International, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Automotive | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/21/2020 | | 9,499 |
| | 9,424 |
| | 9,218 |
| | 1.61 |
|
National Technical Systems, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(5)(13)(14) | | Aerospace & Defense | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/12/2021 | | 25,935 |
| | 25,609 |
| | 24,919 |
| | 4.36 |
|
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
As of December 31, 2015
(dollar amounts in thousands)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
First Lien Debt (75.53%) (continued) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
NES Global Talent Finance US LLC (United Kingdom) (2)(3)(4)(8)(13) | | Energy: Oil & Gas | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/3/2019 | | $ | 11,875 |
| | $ | 11,715 |
| | $ | 11,327 |
| | 1.98 | % |
Paradigm Acquisition Corp. (2)(3)(5)(13) | | Business Services | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/2/2022 | | 23,482 |
| | 23,154 |
| | 22,984 |
| | 4.02 |
|
Pelican Products, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/11/2020 | | 7,817 |
| | 7,832 |
| | 7,444 |
| | 1.30 |
|
Plano Molding Company, LLC (2)(3)(5)(13) | | Hotel, Gaming & Leisure | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/12/2021 | | 22,487 |
| | 22,294 |
| | 21,779 |
| | 3.81 |
|
Product Quest Manufacturing, LLC (2)(3)(4)(5)(12) | | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 5.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/9/2020 | | 28,000 |
| | 27,477 |
| | 27,810 |
| | 4.86 |
|
Prowler Acquisition Corp. (Pipeline Supply and Service, LLC) (2)(3)(4) | | Wholesale | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/28/2020 | | 10,911 |
| | 10,836 |
| | 9,736 |
| | 1.70 |
|
PSC Industrial Holdings Corp (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Environmental Industries | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/5/2020 | | 11,880 |
| | 11,782 |
| | 11,622 |
| | 2.03 |
|
PSI Services LLC (2)(3)(4)(5)(12) | | Business Services | | L + 7.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/27/2021 | | 23,471 |
| | 22,885 |
| | 23,933 |
| | 4.19 |
|
SolAero Technologies Corp. (2)(3)(4)(15) | | Telecommunications | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/10/2020 | | 10,827 |
| | 10,744 |
| | 10,511 |
| | 1.84 |
|
SolAero Technologies Corp. (2)(3)(13)(15) | | Telecommunications | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/10/2020 | | 9,104 |
| | 9,023 |
| | 8,887 |
| | 1.55 |
|
Synarc-Biocore Holdings, LLC (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 3/10/2021 | | 13,264 |
| | 13,162 |
| | 12,599 |
| | 2.20 |
|
Systems Maintenance Services Holding, Inc. (2)(3)(13) | | High Tech Industries | | L + 4.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/18/2019 | | 2,193 |
| | 2,187 |
| | 2,155 |
| | 0.38 |
|
TASC, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(8)(13) | | Aerospace & Defense | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/23/2020 | | 18,351 |
| | 17,713 |
| | 17,916 |
| | 3.13 |
|
Teaching Strategies, LLC (2)(3)(4)(13)(15) | | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 5.50% (0.50% Floor) | | 10/1/2019 | | 13,953 |
| | 13,904 |
| | 13,844 |
| | 2.42 |
|
The Hilb Group, LLC (2)(3)(5)(12)(13)(14) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/24/2021 | | 23,458 |
| | 22,850 |
| | 23,555 |
| | 4.12 |
|
The Hygenic Corporation (Performance Health) (2)(3)(4)(13)(15) | | Non-durable Consumer Goods | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/11/2020 | | 15,920 |
| | 15,721 |
| | 15,368 |
| | 2.69 |
|
The SI Organization, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Aerospace & Defense | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/23/2019 | | 8,778 |
| | 8,716 |
| | 8,724 |
| | 1.53 |
|
The Topps Company, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Non-durable Consumer Goods | | L + 6.00% (1.25% Floor) | | 10/2/2018 | | 11,395 |
| | 11,326 |
| | 11,395 |
| | 1.99 |
|
TruckPro, LLC (2)(3)(4)(13)(15) | | Automotive | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/6/2018 | | 9,683 |
| | 9,648 |
| | 9,546 |
| | 1.67 |
|
TwentyEighty, Inc. (fka Miller Heiman, Inc.) (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Business Services | | L + 5.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/30/2019 | | 19,094 |
| | 18,901 |
| | 16,904 |
| | 2.96 |
|
U.S. Farathane, LLC (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Automotive | | L + 5.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/23/2021 | | 15,818 |
| | 15,535 |
| | 15,586 |
| | 2.73 |
|
Vetcor Professional Practices, LLC (2)(3)(4)(5)(13)(14) | | Consumer Services | | L + 6.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/20/2021 | | 11,085 |
| | 10,983 |
| | 11,034 |
| | 1.93 |
|
Violin Finco S.A.R.L. (Alexander Mann Solutions) (United Kingdom) (2)(3)(4)(8)(13) | | Business Services | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/20/2019 | | 11,252 |
| | 11,176 |
| | 11,241 |
| | 1.97 |
|
Vistage Worldwide, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(13)(15) | | Business Services | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/19/2021 | | 29,813 |
| | 29,529 |
| | 29,505 |
| | 5.16 |
|
Vitera Healthcare Solutions, LLC (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/4/2020 | | 9,437 |
| | 9,369 |
| | 9,107 |
| | 1.59 |
|
Zest Holdings, LLC (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Durable Consumer Goods | | L + 4.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/16/2020 | | 9,694 |
| | 9,694 |
| | 9,597 |
| | 1.69 |
|
First Lien Debt Total | | | | | | | | | | $ | 800,857 |
| | $ | 795,034 |
| | 139.06 | % |
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
As of December 31, 2015
(dollar amounts in thousands)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
Second Lien Debt (19.98%) | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
AF Borrower LLC (Accuvant) (2)(3)(5) | | High Tech Industries | | L + 9.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/30/2023 | | $ | 8,000 |
| | $ | 7,927 |
| | $ | 7,666 |
| | 1.34 | % |
Allied Security Holdings LLC (2)(3)(5)(13) | | Business Services | | L + 7.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/13/2021 | | 8,000 |
| | 7,948 |
| | 7,460 |
| | 1.30 |
|
AmeriLife Group, LLC (2)(3)(5) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 8.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 1/10/2023 | | 20,000 |
| | 19,619 |
| | 19,598 |
| | 3.44 |
|
Argon Medical Devices, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(5) | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 9.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/23/2022 | | 24,000 |
| | 23,294 |
| | 23,354 |
| | 4.09 |
|
Berlin Packaging L.L.C. (2)(3)(5)(13)(15) | | Containers, Packaging & Glass | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/1/2022 | | 9,200 |
| | 9,139 |
| | 8,694 |
| | 1.52 |
|
Charter NEX US Holdings, Inc. (2)(3)(5)(13) | | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 8.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/5/2023 | | 10,000 |
| | 9,864 |
| | 9,459 |
| | 1.65 |
|
Confie Seguros Holding II Co. (2)(3)(5)(15) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 9.00% (1.25% Floor) | | 5/8/2019 | | 12,000 |
| | 11,896 |
| | 11,820 |
| | 2.07 |
|
Creganna Finance (US) LLC (Ireland) (2)(3)(5)(8) | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 8.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/1/2022 | | 9,900 |
| | 9,814 |
| | 9,740 |
| | 1.70 |
|
DiversiTech Corporation (2)(3)(5)(13) | | Capital Equipment | | L + 8.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/19/2022 | | 8,400 |
| | 8,294 |
| | 8,131 |
| | 1.42 |
|
Drew Marine Group Inc. (2)(3)(4)(5) | | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 7.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/19/2021 | | 12,500 |
| | 12,478 |
| | 11,743 |
| | 2.05 |
|
Genex Holdings, Inc. (2)(3)(5)(15) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 7.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/30/2022 | | 7,990 |
| | 7,906 |
| | 7,390 |
| | 1.29 |
|
Genoa, a QoL Healthcare Company, LLC (2)(3)(5)(13) | | Retail | | L + 7.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/28/2023 | | 9,900 |
| | 9,807 |
| | 9,523 |
| | 1.67 |
|
Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (2)(3)(5)(13) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 7.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/30/2022 | | 12,500 |
| | 12,397 |
| | 12,014 |
| | 2.10 |
|
Jazz Acquisition, Inc. (Wencor) (2)(3)(5)(13) | | Aerospace & Defense | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/19/2022 | | 6,700 |
| | 6,674 |
| | 5,759 |
| | 1.01 |
|
Landslide Holdings, Inc. (LANDesk Software) (2)(3)(13) | | Software | | L + 7.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/25/2021 | | 3,500 |
| | 3,480 |
| | 3,113 |
| | 0.54 |
|
MRI Software, LLC (2)(3)(5)(15) | | Software | | L + 8.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/23/2022 | | 11,250 |
| | 11,093 |
| | 10,890 |
| | 1.91 |
|
Phillips-Medisize Corporation (2)(3)(5)(13) | | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 7.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/16/2022 | | 5,000 |
| | 4,958 |
| | 4,700 |
| | 0.82 |
|
Power Stop, LLC (5)(9) | | Automotive | | 11.00% | | 5/29/2022 | | 10,000 |
| | 9,811 |
| | 10,080 |
| | 1.76 |
|
Prime Security Services Borrower, LLC (Protection One, Inc.) (2)(3)(5) | | Consumer Services | | L + 8.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/1/2022 | | 6,700 |
| | 6,607 |
| | 6,271 |
| | 1.10 |
|
Prowler Acquisition Corp. (Pipeline Supply and Service, LLC) (2)(3)(5) | | Wholesale | | L + 8.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/28/2020 | | 3,000 |
| | 2,953 |
| | 2,493 |
| | 0.44 |
|
Systems Maintenance Services Holding, Inc. (2)(3)(4) | | High Tech Industries | | L + 8.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/18/2020 | | 6,000 |
| | 5,959 |
| | 5,860 |
| | 1.02 |
|
TASC, Inc. (5)(8) | | Aerospace & Defense | | 12.00% | | 5/21/2021 | | 6,000 |
| | 5,891 |
| | 6,075 |
| | 1.06 |
|
Vitera Healthcare Solutions, LLC (2)(3)(4)(13) | | Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 8.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/4/2021 | | 2,000 |
| | 1,976 |
| | 1,784 |
| | 0.31 |
|
Watchfire Enterprises, Inc. (2)(3)(5)(13) | | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 8.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/2/2021 | | 7,000 |
| | 6,923 |
| | 6,779 |
| | 1.19 |
|
Second Lien Debt Total | | | | | | | | | | $ | 216,708 |
| | $ | 210,396 |
| | 36.80 | % |
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
As of December 31, 2015
(dollar amounts in thousands)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | | Industry | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (6) | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
Structured Finance Obligations (4.26%) (5)(8)(11) | | | | | | | | | | | | |
1776 CLO I, Ltd., Subordinated Notes | | Structured Finance | | 5/8/2020 | | $ | 11,750 |
| | $ | 8,079 |
| | $ | 3,347 |
| | 0.59 | % |
AIMCO CLO, Series 2014-A, Class F, 5.47% (2) | | Structured Finance | | 7/20/2026 | | 2,700 |
| | 2,369 |
| | 1,701 |
| | 0.30 |
|
AIMCO CLO, Series 2014-A, Subordinated Notes | | Structured Finance | | 7/20/2026 | | 11,500 |
| | 8,369 |
| | 5,779 |
| | 1.00 |
|
Ares XXVIII CLO Ltd., Subordinated Notes | | Structured Finance | | 10/17/2024 | | 7,000 |
| | 4,416 |
| | 3,255 |
| | 0.57 |
|
Babson CLO Ltd. 2005-I, Subordinated Notes | | Structured Finance | | 4/15/2019 | | 7,632 |
| | 333 |
| | 86 |
| | 0.02 |
|
CIFC Funding 2007-III, Ltd., Income Notes | | Structured Finance | | 7/26/2021 | | 6,500 |
| | 2,902 |
| | 2,453 |
| | 0.43 |
|
Clydesdale CLO 2005, Ltd., Subordinated Notes | | Structured Finance | | 12/6/2017 | | 5,750 |
| | — |
| | 11 |
| | — |
|
Flagship VII Limited, Subordinated Notes | | Structured Finance | | 1/20/2026 | | 7,000 |
| | 4,781 |
| | 3,184 |
| | 0.56 |
|
ING IM CLO 2012-1 LLC, Preferred Shares | | Structured Finance | | 3/14/2022 | | 7,610 |
| | 4,637 |
| | 3,789 |
| | 0.66 |
|
ING IM CLO 2012-1 LLC, Subordinated Notes | | Structured Finance | | 3/14/2022 | | 2,500 |
| | 1,523 |
| | 1,245 |
| | 0.22 |
|
MSIM Peconic Bay, Ltd., Subordinated Notes | | Structured Finance | | 7/20/2019 | | 4,500 |
| | 1,112 |
| | 923 |
| | 0.16 |
|
Nautique Funding Ltd., Income Notes | | Structured Finance | | 4/15/2020 | | 5,000 |
| | 2,760 |
| | 2,275 |
| | 0.40 |
|
Steele Creek CLO 2014-I, LLC, Subordinated Notes | | Structured Finance | | 8/21/2026 | | 18,000 |
| | 13,453 |
| | 12,241 |
| | 2.14 |
|
Venture VI CDO Limited, Preference Shares | | Structured Finance | | 8/3/2020 | | 7,000 |
| | 3,488 |
| | 3,203 |
| | 0.56 |
|
Westwood CDO I, Ltd., Subordinated Notes | | Structured Finance | | 3/25/2021 | | 4,000 |
| | 1,718 |
| | 1,320 |
| | 0.23 |
|
Structured Finance Obligations Total | | | | | | $ | 59,940 |
| | $ | 44,812 |
| | 7.84 | % |
Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated (1) | | Industry | | | | Units | | Cost | | Fair Value (7) | | Percentage of Net Assets |
Equity Investments (0.23%) (5) | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Power Stop Intermediate Holdings, LLC | | Automotive | | | | 7,150 |
| | $ | 715 |
| | $ | 788 |
| | 0.14 | % |
THG Acquisition, LLC (The Hilb Group, LLC) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | | | 1,500,000 |
| | 1,500 |
| | 1,636 |
| | 0.28 |
|
Equity Investments Total | | | | | | | | $ | 2,215 |
| | $ | 2,424 |
| | 0.42 | % |
Total Investments—non-controlled/non-affiliated | | | | | | | | $ | 1,079,720 |
| | $ | 1,052,666 |
| | 184.12 | % |
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
As of December 31, 2015
(dollar amounts in thousands)
| |
(1) | Unless otherwise indicated, issuers of debt and equity investments held by the Company are domiciled in the United States and issuers of structured finance obligations are domiciled in the Cayman Islands. Under the Investment Company Act, the Company would be deemed to “control” a portfolio company if the Company owned more than 25% of its outstanding voting securities and/or held the power to exercise control over the management or policies of the portfolio company. As of December 31, 2015, the Company does not “control” any of these portfolio companies. Under the Investment Company Act, the Company would be deemed an “affiliated person” of a portfolio company if the Company owns 5% or more of the portfolio company’s outstanding voting securities. As of December 31, 2015, the Company is not an “affiliated person” of any of these portfolio companies. |
| |
(2) | Variable rate loans to the portfolio companies and variable rate notes of structured finance obligations bear interest at a rate that may be determined by reference to either LIBOR or an alternate base rate (commonly based on the Federal Funds Rate or the U.S. Prime Rate), which generally resets quarterly. For each such loan and note, the Company has provided the interest rate in effect as of December 31, 2015. As of December 31, 2015, all of our LIBOR loans were indexed to the 90-day LIBOR rate at 0.61%, except for those loans as indicated in Note 15 below. |
| |
(3) | Loan includes interest rate floor feature. |
| |
(4) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by the SPV. The SPV has entered into the SPV Credit Facility. The lenders of the SPV Credit Facility have a first lien security interest in substantially all of the assets of the SPV (see Note 6, Borrowings). Accordingly, such assets are not available to creditors of the Company or the 2015-1 Issuer. |
| |
(5) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by the Company. The Company has entered into the Credit Facility. The lenders of the Credit Facility have a first lien security interest in substantially all of the portfolio investments held by the Company (see Note 6, Borrowings). Accordingly, such assets are not available to creditors of the SPV or the 2015-1 Issuer. |
| |
(6) | Amortized cost represents original cost, including origination fees, adjusted for the accretion/amortization of discounts/premiums, as applicable, on debt investments using the effective interest method. Equity tranche CLO fund investments, which are referred to as “structured finance obligations”, are recorded at amortized cost using the effective interest method. |
| |
(7) | Fair value is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Board of Directors of the Company (see Note 2, Significant Accounting Policies, and Note 3, Fair Value Measurements), pursuant to the Company’s valuation policy. |
| |
(8) | The Company has determined the indicated investments are non-qualifying assets under Section 55(a) of the Investment Company Act. Under the Investment Company Act, the Company may not acquire any non-qualifying assets unless, at the time such acquisition is made, qualifying assets represent at least 70% of the Company’s total assets. |
| |
(9) | Represents a corporate mezzanine loan, which is subordinated to senior secured term loans of the portfolio company. |
| |
(10) | The Company receives less than the stated interest rate of this loan as a result of an agreement among lenders. Pursuant to the agreement among lenders in respect of this loan, this investment represents a first lien/first out loan, which has first priority ahead of the first lien/last out loan with respect to principal, interest and other payments. |
| |
(11) | As of December 31, 2015, the Company has a greater than 25% but less than 50% equity or subordinated notes ownership interest in certain structured finance obligations. These investments have governing documents that preclude the Company from controlling management of the entity and therefore the Company has determined that the issuer of the investment is not a controlled affiliate or a non-controlled affiliate because the investments are not “voting securities”. |
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
As of December 31, 2015
(dollar amounts in thousands)
| |
(12) | In addition to the interest earned based on the stated interest rate of this loan, which is the amount reflected in this schedule, the Company is entitled to receive additional interest as a result of an agreement among lenders. Pursuant to the agreement among lenders in respect of this loan, this investment represents a first lien/last out loan, which has a secondary priority behind the first lien/first out loan with respect to principal, interest and other payments. |
| |
(13) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by the 2015-1 Issuer and secure the notes issued in connection with a $400 million term debt securitization completed by the Company on June 26, 2015 (see Note 7, 2015-1 Notes). Accordingly, such assets are not available to the creditors of the SPV or the Company. |
| |
(14) | As of December 31, 2015, the Company had the following unfunded commitments to fund delayed draw and revolving senior secured loans: |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
First Lien Debt—unfunded delayed draw and revolving term loans commitments | | Type | | Unused Fee | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Fair Value |
Captive Resources Midco, LLC | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | $ | 1,875 |
| | $ | (25 | ) |
Captive Resources Midco, LLC | | Delayed Draw | | 1.25 | % | | 3,125 |
| | (41 | ) |
Ministry Brands, LLC (First Lien/First Out) | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 64 |
| | (2 | ) |
Ministry Brands, LLC (First Lien/Last Out) | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 1,530 |
| | (8 | ) |
National Technical Systems, Inc. | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 2,031 |
| | (79 | ) |
National Technical Systems, Inc. | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 4,469 |
| | (138 | ) |
The Hilb Group, LLC | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 10,034 |
| | 29 |
|
Vetcor Professional Practices, LLC | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 1,473 |
| | (6 | ) |
Total unfunded commitments | | | | | | $ | 24,601 |
| | $ | (270 | ) |
| |
(15) | As of December 31, 2015, this LIBOR loan was indexed to the 30-day LIBOR rate at 0.43%. |
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
As of December 31, 2015
(dollar amounts in thousands)
As of December 31, 2015, investments at fair value consisted of the following:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Type—% of Fair Value | | Amortized Cost | | Fair Value | | % of Fair Value |
First Lien Debt | | $ | 800,857 |
| | $ | 795,034 |
| | 75.53 | % |
Second Lien Debt | | 216,708 |
| | 210,396 |
| | 19.98 |
|
Structured Finance Obligations | | 59,940 |
| | 44,812 |
| | 4.26 |
|
Equity Investments | | 2,215 |
| | 2,424 |
| | 0.23 |
|
Total | | $ | 1,079,720 |
| | $ | 1,052,666 |
| | 100.00 | % |
Type—% of Fair Value of First and Second Lien Debt | | Amortized Cost | | Fair Value | | % of Fair Value |
Floating Rate | | $ | 992,114 |
| | $ | 979,700 |
| | 97.44 | % |
Fixed Rate | | 25,451 |
| | 25,730 |
| | 2.56 |
|
Total | | $ | 1,017,565 |
| | $ | 1,005,430 |
| | 100.00 | % |
The industrial composition of investments at fair value as of December 31, 2015 was as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Industry | | Amortized Cost | | Fair Value | | % of Fair Value |
Aerospace & Defense | | $ | 64,603 |
| | $ | 63,393 |
| | 6.02 | % |
Automotive | | 52,908 |
| | 52,809 |
| | 5.02 |
|
Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | 138,700 |
| | 139,353 |
| | 13.24 |
|
Business Services | | 131,981 |
| | 130,318 |
| | 12.38 |
|
Capital Equipment | | 18,335 |
| | 17,993 |
| | 1.71 |
|
Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | 27,300 |
| | 25,902 |
| | 2.46 |
|
Construction & Building | | 19,947 |
| | 19,958 |
| | 1.90 |
|
Consumer Services | | 51,783 |
| | 50,764 |
| | 4.82 |
|
Containers, Packaging & Glass | | 55,846 |
| | 55,128 |
| | 5.24 |
|
Durable Consumer Goods | | 20,648 |
| | 20,482 |
| | 1.94 |
|
Energy: Electricity | | 36,630 |
| | 36,907 |
| | 3.51 |
|
Energy: Oil & Gas | | 11,715 |
| | 11,327 |
| | 1.08 |
|
Environmental Industries | | 11,782 |
| | 11,622 |
| | 1.10 |
|
Healthcare & Pharmaceuticals | | 65,037 |
| | 64,140 |
| | 6.09 |
|
High Tech Industries | | 50,244 |
| | 49,782 |
| | 4.73 |
|
Hotel, Gaming & Leisure | | 32,101 |
| | 31,314 |
| | 2.97 |
|
Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | 20,827 |
| | 20,623 |
| | 1.96 |
|
Metals & Mining | | 10,329 |
| | 10,168 |
| | 0.97 |
|
Non-durable Consumer Goods | | 41,220 |
| | 40,581 |
| | 3.85 |
|
Retail | | 24,333 |
| | 24,123 |
| | 2.29 |
|
Software | | 14,573 |
| | 14,003 |
| | 1.33 |
|
Structured Finance | | 59,940 |
| | 44,812 |
| | 4.26 |
|
Telecommunications | | 70,565 |
| | 70,736 |
| | 6.72 |
|
Transportation: Cargo | | 19,582 |
| | 19,134 |
| | 1.82 |
|
Transportation: Consumer | | 9,110 |
| | 9,361 |
| | 0.89 |
|
Utilities: Electric | | 5,892 |
| | 5,704 |
| | 0.54 |
|
Wholesale | | 13,789 |
| | 12,229 |
| | 1.16 |
|
Total | | $ | 1,079,720 |
| | $ | 1,052,666 |
| | 100.00 | % |
TCG BDC, INC.
CONSOLIDATED SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS (Continued)
As of December 31, 2015
(dollar amounts in thousands)
The geographical composition of investments at fair value as of December 31, 2015 was as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Geography | | Amortized Cost | | Fair Value | | % of Fair Value |
Cayman Islands | | $ | 59,940 |
| | $ | 44,812 |
| | 4.26 | % |
Ireland | | 9,814 |
| | 9,740 |
| | 0.93 |
|
United Kingdom | | 22,891 |
| | 22,568 |
| | 2.14 |
|
United States | | 987,075 |
| | 975,546 |
| | 92.67 |
|
Total | | $ | 1,079,720 |
| | $ | 1,052,666 |
| | 100.00 | % |
The accompanying notes are an integral part of these consolidated financial statements.
NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
As of December 31, 2016
(dollar amounts in thousands, except per share data)
1. ORGANIZATION
TCG BDC, Inc. (together with its consolidated subsidiaries, “we,” “us,” “our,” “TCG BDC” or the “Company”) is a Maryland corporation formed on February 8, 2012, and structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment company. The Company is managed by its investment adviser, Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C. (f/k/a Carlyle GMS Investment Management L.L.C.) (“CGCIM” or “Investment Adviser”), a wholly owned subsidiary of The Carlyle Group L.P. The Company has elected to be regulated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Investment Company Act”). In addition, the Company has elected to be treated, and intends to continue to comply with the requirements to qualify annually, as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Code”).
The Company’s investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which the Company defines as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), which the Company believes is a useful proxy for cash flow. The Company seeks to achieve its investment objective primarily through direct originations of secured debt, including first lien senior secured loans (which may include stand-alone first lien loans, first lien/last out loans and “unitranche” loans) and second lien senior secured loans (collectively, “Middle Market Senior Loans”), with the balance of our assets invested in higher yielding investments (which may include unsecured debt, mezzanine debt and investments in equities). The Middle Market Senior Loans are generally made to private U.S. middle market companies that are, in many cases, controlled by private equity firms. Depending on market conditions, the Company expects that between 70% and 80% of the value of its assets will be invested in Middle Market Senior Loans. The Company expects that the composition of its portfolio will change over time given the Investment Adviser’s view on, among other things, the economic and credit environment (including with respect to interest rates) in which the Company is operating.
On May 2, 2013, the Company completed its initial closing of capital commitments (the “Initial Closing”) and subsequently commenced substantial investment operations. If the Company has not consummated an initial public offering of its common stock that results in an unaffiliated public float of at least 15% of the aggregate capital commitments received prior to the date of such initial public offering (a “Qualified IPO”) by May 2, 2018, then the Board of Directors of the Company (subject to any necessary stockholder approvals and applicable requirements of the Investment Company Act) will use its best efforts to wind down and/or liquidate and dissolve.
The Company is an “emerging growth company” as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act of 2012. The Company will remain an emerging growth company for up to five years following an initial public offering, although if the market value of the common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of any June 30 before that time, the Company would cease to be an emerging growth company as of the following December 31.
The Company is externally managed by the Investment Adviser, an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. (f/k/a Carlyle GMS Finance Administration L.L.C.) (the “Administrator”) provides the administrative services necessary for the Company to operate. Both the Investment Adviser and the Administrator are wholly owned subsidiaries of Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C., a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group L.P. “Carlyle” refers to The Carlyle Group L.P. and its affiliates and its
consolidated subsidiaries (other than portfolio companies of its affiliated funds), a global alternative asset manager publicly traded on NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CG”. Refer to the sec.gov website for further information on Carlyle.
Effective March 15, 2017, the Company changed its name from “Carlyle GMS Finance, Inc.” to “TCG BDC, Inc.”
TCG BDC SPV LLC (the “SPV”) is a Delaware limited liability company that was formed on January 3, 2013. The SPV invests in first and second lien senior secured loans. The SPV is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company and is consolidated in these consolidated financial statements commencing from the date of its formation, January 3, 2013. Effective March 15, 2017, the SPV changed its name from “Carlyle GMS Finance SPV LLC” to “TCG BDC SPV LLC”.
On June 26, 2015, the Company completed a $400 million term debt securitization (the “2015-1 Debt Securitization”). The notes offered in the 2015-1 Debt Securitization (the “2015-1 Notes”) were issued by Carlyle GMS Finance MM CLO 2015-1 LLC (the “2015-1 Issuer”), a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of the Company, and are secured by a diversified portfolio of the
2015-1 Issuer consisting primarily of first and second lien senior secured loans. Refer to Note 7 for details. The 2015-1 Issuer is consolidated in these consolidated financial statements commencing from the date of its formation, May 8, 2015.
On February 29, 2016, the Company and Credit Partners USA LLC (“Credit Partners”) entered into an amended and restated limited liability company agreement, which was subsequently amended on June 24, 2016 (as amended, the “Limited Liability Company Agreement”) to co-manage Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC (“Credit Fund”). Credit Fund primarily invests in first lien loans of middle market companies. Credit Fund is managed by a six-member board of managers, on which the Company and Credit Partners each have equal representation. The Company and Credit Partners each have 50% economic ownership of Credit Fund and have commitments to fund, from time to time, capital of up to $400,000 each. Refer to Note 5, Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, for details.
As a BDC, the Company is required to comply with certain regulatory requirements. As part of these requirements, the Company must not acquire any assets other than “qualifying assets” specified in the Investment Company Act unless, at the time the acquisition is made, at least 70% of its total assets are qualifying assets (with certain limited exceptions).
To qualify as a RIC, the Company must, among other things, meet certain source-of-income and asset diversification requirements and timely distribute to its stockholders generally at least 90% of its investment company taxable income, as defined by the Code, for each year. Pursuant to this election, the Company generally does not have to pay corporate level taxes on any income that it distributes to stockholders, provided that the Company satisfies those requirements.
2. SIGNIFICANT ACCOUNTING POLICIES
Basis of Presentation
The consolidated financial statements have been prepared on the accrual basis of accounting in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (“US GAAP”). The Company is an investment company for the purposes of accounting and financial reporting in accordance with Accounting Standards Update (“ASU”) 2013-08, Financial Services—Investment Companies (“ASU 2013-08”): Amendments to the Scope, Measurement and Disclosure Requirements. The consolidated financial statements include the accounts of the Company and its wholly owned subsidiaries, the SPV and the 2015-1 Issuer. All significant intercompany balances and transactions have been eliminated. US GAAP for an investment company requires investments to be recorded at fair value. The carrying value for all other assets and liabilities approximates their fair value.
The annual financial statements have been prepared in accordance with US GAAP for annual financial information and pursuant to the requirements for reporting on Form 10-K and Article 6 of Regulation S-X. In the opinion of management, all adjustments considered necessary for the fair presentation of consolidated financial statements for the years presented have been included.
Use of Estimates
The preparation of consolidated financial statements in conformity with US GAAP requires management to make assumptions and estimates that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities and disclosure of contingent assets and liabilities at the date of the financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses during the reporting period. Management’s estimates are based on historical experiences and other factors, including expectations of future events that management believes to be reasonable under the circumstances. It also requires management to exercise judgment in the process of applying the Company’s accounting policies. Assumptions and estimates regarding the valuation of investments and their resulting impact on base management and incentive fees involve a higher degree of judgment and complexity and these assumptions and estimates may be significant to the consolidated financial statements. Actual results could differ from these estimates and such differences could be material.
Investments
Investment transactions are recorded on the trade date. Realized gains or losses are measured by the difference between the net proceeds from the repayment or sale and the amortized cost basis of the investment using the specific identification method without regard to unrealized appreciation or depreciation previously recognized, and includes investments charged off during the period, net of recoveries. Net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation on investments as presented in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations reflects the net change in the fair value of investments, including the reversal of previously recorded unrealized appreciation or depreciation when gains or losses are realized. See Note 3 for further information about fair value measurements.
Cash and cash equivalents
Cash and cash equivalents consist of demand deposits and highly liquid investments (e.g. money market funds, U.S. treasury notes) with original maturities of three months or less. Cash equivalents are carried at amortized cost, which approximates fair value. The Company’s cash and cash equivalents are held with two large financial institutions and cash held in such financial institutions may, at times, exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insured limit.
Revenue Recognition
Interest from Investments and Realized Gain/Loss on Investments
Interest income is recorded on an accrual basis and includes the accretion of discounts and amortization of premiums. Discounts from and premiums to par value on debt investments purchased are accreted/amortized into interest income over the life of the respective security using the effective interest method. The amortized cost of debt investments represents the original cost, including origination fees, adjusted for the accretion of discounts and amortization of premiums, if any. At time of exit, the realized gain or loss on an investment is the difference between the amortized cost at time of exit and the cash received at exit using the specific identification method.
The Company may have loans in its portfolio that contain payment-in-kind (“PIK”) provisions. PIK represents interest that is accrued and recorded as interest income at the contractual rates, increases the loan principal on the respective capitalization dates, and is generally due at maturity. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015 and for the years then ended, no loans in the portfolio contained PIK provisions.
Interest income from investments in the “equity” class of collateralized loan obligation (“CLO”) funds, which are included in “structured finance obligations”, is recorded based upon an estimation of an effective yield to expected maturity utilizing assumed cash flows in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 325-40, Beneficial Interests in Securitized Financials Assets. The Company monitors the expected cash inflows from its CLO equity investments, including the expected residual payments and the effective yield is determined and updated at least quarterly. In estimating these cash flows, there are a number of assumptions that are subject to uncertainties, including the amount and timing of principal payments which are impacted by prepayments, repurchases, defaults, delinquencies and liquidations of or within the CLO funds. These uncertainties are difficult to predict and are subject to future events that could have impacted the Company’s estimates if the information was known at the time. As a result, actual results may differ significantly from these estimates.
Other Income
Other income may include income such as consent, waiver, amendment, syndication and prepayment fees associated with the Company’s investment activities as well as any fees for managerial assistance services rendered by the Company to the portfolio companies. Such fees are recognized as income when earned or the services are rendered. The Company may receive fees for guaranteeing the outstanding debt of a portfolio company. Such fees are amortized into other income over the life of the guarantee. The unamortized amount, if any, is included in other assets in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the Company earned $6,635, $834 and $244, respectively, in other income, primarily from syndication and prepayment fees.
Non-Accrual Income
Loans are generally placed on non-accrual status when principal or interest payments are past due 30 days or more or when there is reasonable doubt that principal or interest will be collected in full. Accrued and unpaid interest is generally reversed when a loan is placed on non-accrual status. Interest payments received on non-accrual loans may be recognized as income or applied to principal depending upon management’s judgment regarding collectability. Non-accrual loans are restored to accrual status when past due principal and interest are paid current and, in management’s judgment, are likely to remain current. Management may not place a loan on non-accrual status if the loan has sufficient collateral value and is in the process of collection. As of December 31, 2016, fair value of the loan on non-accrual status was $7,628, which represents approximately 0.5% of total investments at fair value. The remaining first and second lien debt investments were performing and current on their interest payments as of December 31, 2016 and for the year then ended. As of December 31, 2015, no loans in the portfolio were on non-accrual status.
SPV Credit Facility, Credit Facility and 2015-1 Notes Related Costs, Expenses and Deferred Financing Costs (See Note 6, Borrowings, and Note 7, 2015-1 Notes)
Interest expense and unused commitment fees on the SPV Credit Facility and Credit Facility are recorded on an accrual basis. Unused commitment fees are included in credit facility fees in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations.
The SPV Credit Facility and Credit Facility are recorded at carrying value, which approximates fair value.
Deferred financing costs include capitalized expenses related to the closing or amendments of the SPV Credit Facility and Credit Facility. Amortization of deferred financing costs for each credit facility is computed on the straight-line basis over the respective term of each credit facility, except for a portion that was accelerated in connection with the amendment of the SPV Credit Facility as described in Note 6. The unamortized balance of such costs is included in deferred financing costs in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities. The amortization of such costs is included in credit facility fees in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Debt issuance costs include capitalized expenses including structuring and arrangement fees related to the offering of the 2015-1 Notes. Amortization of debt issuance costs for the 2015-1 Notes is computed on the effective yield method over the term of the 2015-1 Notes. The unamortized balance of such costs is presented as a direct deduction to the carrying amount of the 2015-1 Notes in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities. The amortization of such costs is included in interest expense in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations.
The 2015-1 Notes are recorded at carrying value, which approximates fair value.
Organization and Offering Costs
The Company agreed to reimburse the Investment Adviser for initial organization and offering costs incurred on behalf of the Company up to $1,500. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, $1,500 of organization and offering costs had been incurred by the Company and $57 of excess organization and offering costs had been incurred by the Investment Adviser since inception. The $1,500 of incurred organization and offering costs are allocated to all stockholders based on their respective capital commitment and are re-allocated amongst all stockholders at the time of each capital drawdown subsequent to the Initial Closing. The Company’s organization costs incurred are expensed and the offering costs are charged against equity when incurred.
Income Taxes
For federal income tax purposes, the Company has elected to be treated as a RIC under the Code, and intends to make the required distributions to its stockholders as specified therein. In order to qualify as a RIC, the Company must meet certain minimum distribution, source-of-income and asset diversification requirements. If such requirements are met, then the Company is generally required to pay income taxes only on the portion of its taxable income and gains it does not distribute.
The minimum distribution requirements applicable to RICs require the Company to distribute to its stockholders at least 90% of its investment company taxable income (“ICTI”), as defined by the Code, each year. Depending on the level of ICTI earned in a tax year, the Company may choose to carry forward ICTI in excess of current year distributions into the next tax year. Any such carryover ICTI must be distributed before the end of that next tax year through a dividend declared prior to filing the final tax return related to the year which generated such ICTI.
In addition, based on the excise distribution requirements, the Company is subject to a 4% nondeductible federal excise tax on undistributed income unless the Company distributes in a timely manner an amount at least equal to the sum of (1) 98% of its ordinary income for each calendar year, (2) 98.2% of capital gain net income (both long-term and short-term) for the one-year period ending October 31 in that calendar year and (3) any income realized, but not distributed, in the preceding year. For this purpose, however, any ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by the Company that is subject to corporate income tax is considered to have been distributed. The Company intends to make sufficient distributions each taxable year to satisfy the excise distribution requirements.
The Company evaluates tax positions taken or expected to be taken in the course of preparing its consolidated financial statements to determine whether the tax positions are “more-likely than not” to be sustained by the applicable tax authority. All penalties and interest associated with income taxes, if any, are included in income tax expense.
The SPV and the 2015-1 Issuer are disregarded entities for tax purposes and are consolidated with the tax return of the Company.
Capital Calls and Dividends and Distributions to Common Stockholders
The Company records the shares issued in connection with capital calls as of the effective date of the capital call. To the extent that the Company has taxable income available, the Company intends to make quarterly distributions to its common stockholders. Dividends and distributions to common stockholders are recorded on the record date. The amount to be distributed is determined by the Board of Directors each quarter and is generally based upon the taxable earnings estimated by management and available cash. Net realized capital gains, if any, are generally distributed at least annually, although the Company may decide to retain such capital gains for investment.
The Company has adopted a dividend reinvestment plan that provides for reinvestment of any distributions on behalf of its stockholders, for those who have elected to participate in the plan. As a result of adopting such a plan, if the Board of Directors authorizes, and the Company declares a cash dividend or distribution, the stockholders who have elected to participate in the dividend reinvestment plan would have their cash dividends or distributions automatically reinvested in additional shares of the Company’s common stock, rather than receiving cash. Prior to a Qualified IPO, the Company intends to use primarily newly issued shares of its common stock to implement the plan issued at the net asset value per share most recently determined by the Board of Directors. After a Qualified IPO, the Company intends to use primarily newly issued shares to implement the plan so long as the market value per share is equal to or greater than the net asset value per share as of the close of business on the relevant payment date for such dividend or distribution. If the market value per share is less than the net asset value per share as of the close of business on the relevant payment date, the plan administrator would purchase the common stock on behalf of participants in the open market, unless the Company instructs the plan administrator otherwise.
Functional Currency
The functional currency of the Company is the U.S. Dollar and all transactions were in U.S. Dollars.
Recent Accounting Standards Updates
On April 7, 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued ASU 2015-3, Interest—Imputation of Interest (Subtopic 835-30) Simplifying the Presentation of Debt Issuance Costs (“ASU 2015-3”). ASU 2015-3 requires debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability to be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability, consistent with debt discounts and premiums. This guidance was effective for the Company on January 1, 2016 and the ASU requires the guidance to be applied on a retrospective basis. The Company adopted this guidance on January 1, 2016 and reclassified $2,356 of debt issuance costs from deferred financing costs to 2015-1 Notes payable in the accompanying Consolidated Statement of Assets and Liabilities as of December 31, 2015.
In May 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued ASU 2015-7, Fair Value Measurement (Topic 820)—Disclosures for Investments in Certain Entities That Calculate Net Asset Value per Share (or Its Equivalent) (“ASU 2015-7”). ASU 2015-7 provides amended guidance on the disclosures for investments in certain entities that calculate net asset value per share (or its equivalent). The amendments remove the requirement to categorize within the fair value hierarchy all investments for which fair value is measured using the net asset value per share practical expedient. The amendments also remove the requirement to make certain disclosures for all investments that are eligible to be measured at fair value using the net asset value per share practical expedient. Rather, those disclosures are limited to investments for which the entity has elected to measure the fair value using that practical expedient. The guidance is effective for the Company on January 1, 2016. The Company adopted the new accounting guidance on January 1, 2016 and presented the fair value disclosures accordingly.
In August 2015, the Financial Accounting Standards Board issued ASU 2015-15, Interest—Imputation of Interest (Sub-topic 835-30): Presentation and Subsequent Measurement of Debt Issuance Costs Associated with Line-of-Credit Arrangements (“ASU 2015-15”). ASU 2015-03 does not address presentation or subsequent measurement of debt issuance costs related to line-of-credit arrangements. In accordance with ASU 2015-15, an entity may defer and present debt issuance costs as an asset and subsequently amortize the deferred debt issuance costs ratably over the term of the line-of-credit arrangement, regardless of whether there are any outstanding borrowings on the line-of-credit arrangement. This guidance was effective for the Company on January 1, 2016. The Company adopted the new accounting guidance and it did not have a material impact on the Company’s consolidated financial statements.
3. FAIR VALUE MEASUREMENTS
The Company applies fair value accounting in accordance with the terms of Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) Topic 820, Fair Value Measurement (“ASC 820”). ASC 820 defines fair value as the amount that would be exchanged to sell an asset or transfer a liability in an orderly transfer between market participants at the measurement date. The Company values securities/instruments traded in active markets on the measurement date by multiplying the closing price of such traded securities/instruments by the quantity of shares or amount of the instrument held. The Company may also obtain quotes with respect to certain of its investments, such as its securities/instruments traded in active markets and its liquid securities/instruments that are not traded in active markets, from pricing services, brokers, or counterparties (i.e., “consensus pricing”). When doing so, the Company determines whether the quote obtained is sufficient according to US GAAP to determine the fair value of the security. The Company may use the quote obtained or alternative pricing sources may be utilized including valuation techniques typically utilized for illiquid securities/instruments.
Securities/instruments that are illiquid or for which the pricing source does not provide a valuation or methodology or provides a valuation or methodology that, in the judgment of the Investment Adviser or the Company’s Board of Directors, does not represent fair
value shall each be valued as of the measurement date using all techniques appropriate under the circumstances and for which sufficient data is available. These valuation techniques may vary by investment and include comparable public market valuations, comparable precedent transaction valuations and/or discounted cash flow analyses. The process generally used to determine the applicable value is as follows: (i) the value of each portfolio company or investment is initially reviewed by the investment professionals responsible for such portfolio company or investment and, for non-traded investments, a standardized template designed to approximate fair market value based on observable market inputs, updated credit statistics and unobservable inputs is used to determine a preliminary value, which is also reviewed alongside consensus pricing, where available; (ii) preliminary valuation conclusions are documented and reviewed by a valuation committee comprised of members of senior management; (iii) the Board of Directors engages a third-party valuation firm to provide positive assurance on portions of the Middle Market Senior Loans and equity investments portfolio each quarter (such that each non-traded investment other than Credit Fund is reviewed by a third-party valuation firm at least once on a rolling twelve month basis) including a review of management’s preliminary valuation and conclusion on fair value; (iv) the Audit Committee of the Board of Directors (the “Audit Committee”) reviews the assessments of the Investment Adviser and the third-party valuation firm and provides the Board of Directors with any recommendations with respect to changes to the fair value of each investment in the portfolio; and (v) the Board of Directors discusses the valuation recommendations of the Audit Committee and determines the fair value of each investment in the portfolio in good faith based on the input of the Investment Adviser and, where applicable, the third-party valuation firm.
All factors that might materially impact the value of an investment are considered, including, but not limited to the assessment of the following factors, as relevant:
| |
• | the nature and realizable value of any collateral; |
| |
• | call features, put features and other relevant terms of debt; |
| |
• | the portfolio company’s leverage and ability to make payments; |
| |
• | the portfolio company’s public or private credit rating; |
| |
• | the portfolio company’s actual and expected earnings and discounted cash flow; |
| |
• | prevailing interest rates and spreads for similar securities and expected volatility in future interest rates; |
| |
• | the markets in which the portfolio company does business and recent economic and/or market events; and |
| |
• | comparisons to comparable transactions and publicly traded securities. |
Investment performance data utilized are the most recently available financial statements and compliance certificates received from the portfolio companies as of the measurement date which in many cases may reflect a lag in information.
Due to the inherent uncertainty of determining the fair value of investments that do not have a readily available market value, the fair value of the Company’s investments may fluctuate from period to period. Because of the inherent uncertainty of valuation, these estimated values may differ significantly from the values that would have been reported had a ready market for the investments existed, and it is reasonably possible that the difference could be material.
In addition, changes in the market environment and other events that may occur over the life of the investments may cause the realized gains or losses on investments to be different from the net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation currently reflected in the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014.
US GAAP establishes a hierarchical disclosure framework which ranks the level of observability of market price inputs used in measuring investments at fair value. The observability of inputs is impacted by a number of factors, including the type of investment and the characteristics specific to the investment and state of the marketplace, including the existence and transparency of transactions between market participants. Investments with readily available quoted prices or for which fair value can be measured from quoted prices in active markets generally have a higher degree of market price observability and a lesser degree of judgment applied in determining fair value.
Investments measured and reported at fair value are classified and disclosed based on the observability of inputs used in determination of fair values, as follows:
| |
• | Level 1—inputs to the valuation methodology are quoted prices available in active markets for identical investments as of the reporting date. The types of financial instruments in Level 1 generally include unrestricted securities, including equities and derivatives, listed in active markets. The Company does not adjust the quoted price for these investments, even in situations where the Company holds a large position and a sale could reasonably impact the quoted price. |
| |
• | Level 2—inputs to the valuation methodology are either directly or indirectly observable as of the reporting date and are those other than quoted prices in active markets. The type of financial instruments in this category generally includes less liquid and restricted securities listed in active markets, securities traded in other than active markets, government and agency securities, and certain over-the-counter derivatives where the fair value is based on observable inputs. |
| |
• | Level 3—inputs to the valuation methodology are unobservable and significant to overall fair value measurement. The inputs into the determination of fair value require significant management judgment or estimation. Financial instruments that are in |
this category generally include investments in privately-held entities, CLOs, and certain over-the-counter derivatives where the fair value is based on unobservable inputs.
In certain cases, the inputs used to measure fair value may fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy. In such cases, an investment’s level within the fair value hierarchy is based on the lowest level of input that is significant to the overall fair value measurement. The Investment Adviser’s assessment of the significance of a particular input to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, and considers factors specific to the investment.
Transfers between levels, if any, are recognized at the beginning of the year in which the transfers occur. For the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, there were no transfers between levels.
The following tables summarize the Company’s investments measured at fair value on a recurring basis by the above fair value hierarchy levels as of December 31, 2016 and 2015:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | December 31, 2016 |
| | Level 1 | | Level 2 | | Level 3 | | Total |
Assets | | | | | | | | |
First Lien Debt | | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 1,139,548 |
| | $ | 1,139,548 |
|
Second Lien Debt | | — |
| | — |
| | 171,864 |
| | 171,864 |
|
Structured Finance Obligations | | — |
| | — |
| | 5,216 |
| | 5,216 |
|
Equity Investments | | — |
| | — |
| | 6,474 |
| | 6,474 |
|
Investment Fund | | | | | | | | |
Mezzanine Loan | | — |
| | — |
| | 62,384 |
| | 62,384 |
|
Subtotal | | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 1,385,486 |
| | $ | 1,385,486 |
|
Investments measured at net asset value (1) | | | | | | | | $ | 37,273 |
|
Total | | | | | | $ | 1,422,759 |
|
| | December 31, 2015 |
| | Level 1 | | Level 2 | | Level 3 | | Total |
Assets | | | | | | | | |
First Lien Debt | | $ | — |
| | $ | 9,575 |
| | $ | 785,459 |
| | $ | 795,034 |
|
Second Lien Debt | | — |
| | — |
| | 210,396 |
| | 210,396 |
|
Structured Finance Obligations | | — |
| | — |
| | 44,812 |
| | 44,812 |
|
Equity Investments | | — |
| | — |
| | 2,424 |
| | 2,424 |
|
Total | | $ | — |
| | $ | 9,575 |
| | $ | 1,043,091 |
| | $ | 1,052,666 |
|
| |
(1) | Amount represents the Company’s subordinated loan and member’s interest investments in Credit Fund. The fair value of these investments has been estimated using the net asset value of the Company’s ownership interests in Credit Fund. |
The changes in the Company’s investments at fair value for which the Company has used Level 3 inputs to determine fair value and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) included in earnings for Level 3 investments still held are as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Financial Assets For the year ended December 31, 2016 |
| | First Lien Debt | | Second Lien Debt | | Structured Finance Obligations | | Equity Investments | | Investment Fund - Mezzanine Loan | | Total |
Balance, beginning of year | | $ | 785,459 |
| | $ | 210,396 |
| | $ | 44,812 |
| | $ | 2,424 |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 1,043,091 |
|
Purchases | | 594,633 |
| | 38,380 |
| | — |
| | 2,857 |
| | 84,784 |
| | 720,654 |
|
Sales | | (77,434 | ) | | (25,398 | ) | | (33,327 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | (136,159 | ) |
Paydowns | | (167,699 | ) | | (57,855 | ) | | (7,041 | ) | | — |
| | (22,400 | ) | | (254,995 | ) |
Accretion of discount | | 4,757 |
| | 850 |
| | (31 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | 5,576 |
|
Net realized gains (losses) | | (40 | ) | | 275 |
| | (10,302 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | (10,067 | ) |
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) | | (128 | ) | | 5,216 |
| | 11,105 |
| | 1,193 |
| | — |
| | 17,386 |
|
Balance, end of year | | $ | 1,139,548 |
| | $ | 171,864 |
| | $ | 5,216 |
| | $ | 6,474 |
| | $ | 62,384 |
| | $ | 1,385,486 |
|
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) included in earnings related to investments still held as of December 31, 2016 included in net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments non-controlled/non-affiliated on the Consolidated Statements of Operations | | $ | (1,000 | ) | | $ | 3,331 |
| | $ | 1,372 |
| | $ | 1,193 |
| | — |
| | $ | 4,896 |
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Financial Assets For the year ended December 31, 2015 |
| | First Lien Debt | | Second Lien Debt | | Structured Finance Obligations | | Equity Investments | | Total |
Balance, beginning of year | | $ | 505,212 |
| | $ | 107,874 |
| | $ | 76,001 |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | 689,087 |
|
Purchases | | 472,342 |
| | 113,195 |
| | 10,059 |
| | 2,215 |
| | 597,811 |
|
Sales | | (17,454 | ) | | — |
| | (19,930 | ) | | — |
| | (37,384 | ) |
Paydowns | | (174,427 | ) | | (8,025 | ) | | (10,155 | ) | | — |
| | (192,607 | ) |
Accretion of discount | | 2,677 |
| | 277 |
| | 20 |
| | — |
| | 2,974 |
|
Net realized gains (losses) | | 208 |
| | — |
| | 956 |
| | — |
| | 1,164 |
|
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) | | (3,099 | ) | | (2,925 | ) | | (12,139 | ) | | 209 |
| | (17,954 | ) |
Balance, end of year | | $ | 785,459 |
| | $ | 210,396 |
| | $ | 44,812 |
| | $ | 2,424 |
| | $ | 1,043,091 |
|
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) included in earnings related to investments still held as of December 31, 2015 included in net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments non-controlled/non-affiliated on the Consolidated Statements of Operations | | $ | (4,423 | ) | | $ | (2,838 | ) | | $ | (12,219 | ) | | $ | 209 |
| | $ | (19,271 | ) |
The Company generally uses the following framework when determining the fair value of investments that are categorized as Level 3:
Investments in debt securities are initially evaluated to determine whether the enterprise value of the portfolio company is greater than the applicable debt. The enterprise value of the portfolio company is estimated using a market approach and an income approach. The market approach utilizes market value (EBITDA) multiples of publicly traded comparable companies and available precedent sales transactions of comparable companies. The Company carefully considers numerous factors when selecting the appropriate companies whose multiples are used to value its portfolio companies. These factors include, but are not limited to, the type of organization, similarity to the business being valued, relevant risk factors, as well as size, profitability and growth expectations. The income approach typically uses a discounted cash flow analysis of the portfolio company.
Investments in debt securities that do not have sufficient coverage through the enterprise value analysis are valued based on an expected probability of default and discount recovery analysis.
Investments in debt securities with sufficient coverage through the enterprise value analysis are generally valued using a discounted cash flow analysis of the underlying security. Projected cash flows in the discounted cash flow typically represent the relevant security’s contractual interest, fees and principal payments plus the assumption of full principal recovery at the security’s expected maturity date. The discount rate to be used is determined using an average of two market-based methodologies. Investments in debt securities may also be valued using consensus pricing.
Investments in structured finance obligations are generally valued using a discounted cash flow and/or consensus pricing.
Investments in equities are generally valued using a market approach and/or an income approach. The market approach utilizes EBITDA multiples of publicly traded comparable companies and available precedent sales transactions of comparable companies. The income approach typically uses a discounted cash flow analysis of the portfolio company.
Investments in the subordinated loan and member’s interest of the investment fund are valued using the net asset value of the Company’s ownership interest in the investment fund and investments in the mezzanine loan of the investment fund are valued using discounted cash flow analysis with expected repayment rate of principal and interest.
The following tables summarize the quantitative information related to the significant unobservable inputs for Level 3 instruments which are carried at fair value as of December 31, 2016 and 2015:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Fair Value as of December 31, 2016 | | Valuation Techniques | | Significant Unobservable Inputs | | Range | | Weighted Average |
| | Low | | High | |
Investments in First Lien Debt | | $ | 986,695 |
| | Discounted Cash Flow | | Discount Rate | | 4.50 | % | | 16.33 | % | | 7.94 | % |
| | 152,853 |
| | Consensus Pricing | | Indicative Quotes | | 40.75 |
| | 106.36 |
| | 97.29 |
|
Total First Lien Debt | | 1,139,548 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Investments in Second Lien Debt | | 153,657 |
| | Discounted Cash Flow | | Discount Rate | | 7.93 | % | | 11.05 | % | | 9.75 | % |
| | 16,525 |
| | Consensus Pricing | | Indicative Quotes | | 83.17 |
| | 100.88 |
| | 94.48 |
|
| | 1,682 |
| | Income Approach | | Discount Rate | | 15.32 | % | | 15.32 | % | | 15.32 | % |
| | | | Market Approach | | Comparable Multiple | | 8.01x |
| | 8.68x |
| | 8.34x |
|
Total Second Lien Debt | | 171,864 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Investments in Structured Finance Obligations | | 2,761 |
| | Discounted Cash Flow | | Discount Rate | | 22.00 | % | | 22.00 | % | | 22.00 | % |
| | | | | | Default Rate | | 1.13 |
| | 1.13 |
| | 1.13 |
|
| | | | | | Prepayment Rate | | 35.00 |
| | 35.00 |
| | 35.00 |
|
| | | | | | Recovery Rate | | 65.00 |
| | 65.00 |
| | 65.00 |
|
| | 2,455 |
| | Consensus Pricing | | Indicative Quotes | | 0.10 |
| | 48.79 |
| | 48.50 |
|
Total Structured Finance Obligations | | 5,216 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Investments in Equity | | 6,474 |
| | Income Approach | | Discount Rate | | 8.68 | % | | 10.40 | % | | 9.41 | % |
| | | | Market Approach | | Comparable Multiple | | 7.22x |
| | 13.71x |
| | 11.00x |
|
Total Equity Investments | | 6,474 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Investments in Investment Fund – Mezzanine Loan | | 62,384 |
| | Income Approach | | Repayment Rate | | 100.00 | % | | 100.00 | % | | 100.00 | % |
Total Investment Fund – Mezzanine Loan | | 62,384 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Total Level 3 Investments | | $ | 1,385,486 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Fair Value as of December 31, 2015 | | Valuation Techniques | | Significant Unobservable Inputs | | Range | | Weighted Average |
| | Low | | High | |
Investments in First Lien Debt | | $ | 618,172 |
| | Discounted Cash Flow | | Discount Rate | | 5.57 | % | | 13.37 | % | | 8.19 | % |
| | 167,287 |
| | Consensus Pricing | | Indicative Quotes | | 96.50 |
| | 99.38 |
| | 97.97 |
|
Total First Lien Debt | | 785,459 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Investments in Second Lien Debt | | 161,907 |
| | Discounted Cash Flow | | Discount Rate | | 9.37 | % | | 15.44 | % | | 10.56 | % |
| | 48,489 |
| | Consensus Pricing | | Indicative Quotes | | 93.25 |
| | 101.25 |
| | 96.86 |
|
Total Second Lien Debt | | 210,396 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Investments in Structured Finance Obligations | | 43,016 |
| | Discounted Cash Flow | | Discount Rate | | 13.00 | % | | 17.50 | % | | 14.05 | % |
| | | | | | Default Rate | | 0.19 |
| | 1.56 |
| | 1.09 |
|
| | | | | | Prepayment Rate | | 18.16 |
| | 40.00 |
| | 22.09 |
|
| | | | | | Recovery Rate | | 69.27 |
| | 75.00 |
| | 74.36 |
|
| | 1,796 |
| | Consensus Pricing | | Indicative Quotes | | 0.18 |
| | 63.00 |
| | 59.69 |
|
Total Structured Finance Obligations | | 44,812 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Investments in Equity | | 2,424 |
| | Income Approach | | Discount Rate | | 10.19 | % | | 10.90 | % | | 10.42 | % |
| | | | Market Approach | | Comparable Multiple | | 9.94x |
| | 11.09x |
| | 10.71x |
|
Total Equity Investments | | 2,424 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
Total Level 3 Investments | | $ | 1,043,091 |
| | | | | | | | | | |
The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the Company’s investments in first and second lien debt securities are discount rates and indicative quotes. Significant increases in discount rates would result in a significantly lower fair value measurement. Significant decreases in indicative quotes in isolation may result in a significantly lower fair value measurement.
The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the Company’s investments in structured finance obligations are discount rates, default rates, prepayment rates, recovery rates and indicative quotes. Significant increases in discount rates, default rates or prepayment rates in isolation would result in a significantly lower fair value measurement, while a significant increase in recovery rates in isolation would result in a significantly higher fair value. Significant decreases in indicative quotes in isolation may result in a significantly lower fair value measurement.
The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the Company’s investments in equities are discount rates and comparable EBITDA multiples. Significant increases in discount rates would result in a significantly lower fair value measurement. Significant decreases in comparable EBITDA multiples would result in a significantly lower fair value measurement.
Financial instruments disclosed but not carried at fair value
The following table presents the carrying value and fair value of the Company’s secured borrowings disclosed but not carried at fair value as of December 31, 2016 and 2015:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | December 31, 2016 | | December 31, 2015 |
| | Carrying Value | | Fair Value | | Carrying Value | | Fair Value |
Secured borrowings | | $ | 421,885 |
| | $ | 421,885 |
| | $ | 234,313 |
| | $ | 234,313 |
|
Total | | $ | 421,885 |
| | $ | 421,885 |
| | $ | 234,313 |
| | $ | 234,313 |
|
The carrying values of the secured borrowings approximate their respective fair values and are categorized as Level 3 within the hierarchy. Secured borrowings are valued generally using discounted cash flow analysis. The significant unobservable inputs used in the fair value measurement of the Company’s secured borrowings are discount rates. Significant increases in discount rates would result in a significantly lower fair value measurement.
The following table represents the carrying values (before debt issuance costs) and fair values of the Company’s 2015-1 Notes disclosed but not carried at fair value as of December 31, 2016 and 2015:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | December 31, 2016 | | December 31, 2015 |
| | Carrying Value | | Fair Value | | Carrying Value | | Fair Value |
Aaa/AAA Class A-1A Notes | | $ | 160,000 |
| | $ | 160,072 |
| | $ | 160,000 |
| | $ | 157,200 |
|
Aaa/AAA Class A-1B Notes | | 40,000 |
| | 39,960 |
| | 40,000 |
| | 39,700 |
|
Aaa/AAA Class A-1C Notes | | 27,000 |
| | 26,951 |
| | 27,000 |
| | 26,823 |
|
Aa2 Class A-2 Notes | | 46,000 |
| | 45,784 |
| | 46,000 |
| | 45,122 |
|
Total | | $ | 273,000 |
| | $ | 272,767 |
| | $ | 273,000 |
| | $ | 268,845 |
|
The fair value determination of the Company’s 2015-1 Notes was based on the market quotation(s) received from broker/dealer(s). These fair value measurements were based on significant inputs not observable and thus represent Level 3 measurements as defined in the accounting guidance for fair value measurement.
The carrying value of other financial assets and liabilities approximates their fair value based on the short term nature of these items.
4. RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
Investment Advisory Agreement
On April 3, 2013, the Company’s Board of Directors, including a majority of the directors who are not “interested persons” as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act (the “Independent Directors”), approved an investment advisory agreement (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”) between the Company and the Investment Adviser in accordance with, and on the basis of an evaluation satisfactory to such directors as required by, Section 15(c) of the Investment Company Act. The initial term of the Investment Advisory Agreement is two years from April 3, 2013 and, unless terminated earlier, the Investment Advisory Agreement will renew automatically for successive annual periods, provided that such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by the vote of the Board of Directors and by the vote of a majority of the Independent Directors. On March 20, 2017, the Company’s Board of Directors, including a majority of the Independent Directors, approved the continuance of the Investment Advisory Agreement for a one year period. The Investment Advisory Agreement will automatically terminate in the event of an assignment and may be terminated by either party without penalty upon at least 60 days’ written notice to the other party. Subject to the overall supervision of the Board of Directors, the Investment Adviser provides investment advisory services to the Company. For providing these services, the Investment Adviser receives fees from the Company consisting of two components—a base management fee and an incentive fee.
Prior to a Qualified IPO, the base management fee is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears at an annual rate of 1.50% of the average daily gross assets of the Company for the period adjusted for share issuances or repurchases, excluding any cash and cash equivalents and including assets acquired through the incurrence of debt from use of the SPV Credit Facility, Credit Facility and 2015-1 Notes (see Note 6, Borrowings, and Note 7, 2015-1 Notes). For purposes of this calculation, cash and cash equivalents include any temporary investments in cash-equivalents, U.S. government securities and other high quality investment grade debt investments that mature in 12 months or less from the date of investment. Base management fees for any partial quarter are prorated. The Investment Adviser waived its right to receive one-third (0.50%) of the base management fee prior to a Qualified IPO. The fee waiver will terminate if and when a Qualified IPO has been consummated. Any waived base management fees are not subject to recoupment by the Investment Adviser.
The incentive fee has two parts. The first part is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears based on the pre-incentive fee net investment income for the immediately preceding calendar quarter. The second part is determined and payable in arrears based on capital gains as of the end of each calendar year.
Pre-incentive fee net investment income means interest income, dividend income and any other income (including any other fees (other than fees for providing managerial assistance), such as commitment, origination, structuring, diligence and consulting fees or other fees that the Company receives from portfolio companies) accrued during the calendar quarter, minus the operating expenses accrued for the quarter (including the base management fee, expenses payable under the administration agreement, and any interest expense or fees on any credit facilities or outstanding debt and dividends paid on any issued and outstanding preferred stock, but excluding the incentive fee). Pre-incentive fee net investment income does not include, in the case of investments with a deferred interest feature (such as OID, debt instruments with pay-in-kind interest and zero coupon securities), accrued income that the Company has not yet received in cash. Pre-incentive fee net investment income does not include any realized capital gains, realized capital losses or unrealized capital appreciation or depreciation.
Prior to any Qualified IPO of the Company’s common stock, pre-incentive fee net investment income, expressed as a rate of return on the average daily Hurdle Calculation Value (as defined below) throughout the immediately preceding calendar quarter, is compared to a “hurdle rate” of 1.50% per quarter (6% annualized). “Hurdle Calculation Value” means, on any given day, the sum of
(x) the value of net assets as of the end of the calendar quarter immediately preceding such day plus (y) the aggregate amount of capital drawn from investors (or reinvested in the Company pursuant to a dividend reinvestment plan) from the beginning of the current quarter to such day minus (z) the aggregate amount of distributions (including share repurchases) made by the Company from the beginning of the current quarter to such day but only to the extent such distributions were not declared and accounted for on the books and records in a previous quarter.
The Company pays its Investment Adviser an incentive fee with respect to its pre-incentive fee net investment income in each calendar quarter as follows:
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• | no incentive fee based on pre-incentive fee net investment income in any calendar quarter in which its pre-incentive fee net investment income does not exceed the hurdle of 1.50%; |
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• | 100% of pre-incentive fee net investment income with respect to that portion of such pre-incentive fee net investment income, if any, that exceeds the hurdle but is less than 1.875% in any calendar quarter (7.50% annualized). The Company refers to this portion of the pre-incentive fee net investment income (which exceeds the hurdle but is less than 1.875%) as the “catch-up.” The “catch-up” is meant to provide the Investment Adviser with approximately 20% of the Company’s pre-incentive fee net investment income as if a hurdle did not apply if this net investment income exceeds 1.875% in any calendar quarter; and |
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• | 20% of the amount of pre-incentive fee net investment income, if any, that exceeds 1.875% in any calendar quarter (7.50% annualized) will be payable to the Investment Adviser. This reflects that once the hurdle is reached and the catch-up is achieved, 20% of all pre-incentive fee investment income thereafter is allocated to the Investment Adviser. |
The second part of the incentive fee is determined and payable in arrears as of the end of each calendar year (or upon termination of the Investment Advisory Agreement, as of the termination date), and equals 20% of realized capital gains, if any, on a cumulative basis from inception through the date of determination, computed net of all realized capital losses on a cumulative basis and unrealized capital depreciation, less the aggregate amount of any previously paid capital gain incentive fees, provided that, the incentive fee determined at the end of the first calendar year of operations may be calculated for a period of shorter than twelve calendar months to take into account any realized capital gains computed net of all realized capital losses on a cumulative basis and unrealized capital depreciation.
The Company will defer payment of any incentive fee otherwise earned by the Investment Adviser if, during the most recent four full calendar quarter periods (or, if less, the number of full calendar quarters completed since the initial drawdown of capital from the stockholders, “Initial Drawdown”) ending on or prior to the date such payment is to be made, the sum of (a) the aggregate distributions to stockholders and (b) the change in net assets (defined as gross assets less indebtedness and before taking into account any incentive fees payable during the period) is less than 6.0% of net assets (defined as gross assets less indebtedness) at the beginning of such period, provided, that such percentage will be appropriately prorated during the four full calendar quarters immediately following the Initial Drawdown. These calculations are adjusted for any share issuances or repurchases. Any deferred incentive fees are carried over for payment in subsequent calculation periods. The Investment Adviser may earn an incentive fee under the Investment Advisory Agreement on the Company’s repurchase of debt issued by the Company at a gain.
For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, base management fees were $12,359, $8,907 and $4,373, respectively (net of waiver of $6,180, $4,454 and $2,186, respectively), incentive fees related to pre-incentive fee net investment income were $14,905, $8,881 and $3,578, respectively, and there were no incentive fees related to realized capital gains. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, there were no accrued capital gains incentive fees based upon the cumulative net realized and unrealized appreciation (depreciation) as of December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively. The accrual for any capital gains incentive fee under US GAAP in a given period may result in an additional expense if such cumulative amount is greater than in the prior period or a reduction of previously recorded expense if such cumulative amount is less than in the prior period. If such cumulative amount is negative, then there is no accrual.
As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, $8,157 and $5,277, respectively, was included in base management and incentive fees payable in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities.
On April 3, 2013, the Investment Adviser entered into a personnel agreement with The Carlyle Group Employee Co., L.L.C. (“Carlyle Employee Co.”), an affiliate of the Investment Adviser, pursuant to which Carlyle Employee Co. provides the Investment Adviser with access to investment professionals.
Administration Agreement
On April 3, 2013, the Company’s Board of Directors approved an administration agreement (the “Administration Agreement”) between the Company and the Administrator. Pursuant to the Administration Agreement, the Administrator provides services and receives reimbursements equal to an amount that reimburses the Administrator for its costs and expenses and the Company’s allocable
portion of overhead incurred by the Administrator in performing its obligations under the Administration Agreement, including the Company’s allocable portion of the compensation paid to or compensatory distributions received by the Company’s officers (including the Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Financial Officer) and respective staff who provide services to the Company, operations staff who provide services to the Company, and any internal audit staff, to the extent internal audit performs a role in the Company’s Sarbanes-Oxley Act internal control assessment. Reimbursement under the Administration Agreement occurs quarterly in arrears.
The initial term of the Administration Agreement is two years from April 3, 2013 and, unless terminated earlier, the Administration Agreement will renew automatically for successive annual periods, provided that such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the vote of the Board of Directors or by a majority vote of the outstanding voting securities of the Company and (ii) the vote of a majority of the Company’s Independent Directors. On March 20, 2017, the Company’s Board of Directors, including a majority of the Independent Directors, approved the continuance of the Administration Agreement for a one year period. The Administration Agreement may not be assigned by a party without the consent of the other party and may be terminated by either party without penalty upon at least 60 days’ written notice to the other party.
For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the Company incurred $703, $595 and $626, respectively, in fees under the Administrative Agreement, which were included in administrative service fees in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, $137 and $97, respectively, was unpaid and included in administrative service fees payable in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities.
Sub-Administration Agreements
On April 3, 2013, the Administrator entered into sub-administration agreements with Carlyle Employee Co. and CELF Advisors LLP (“CELF”) (the “Carlyle Sub-Administration Agreements”). Pursuant to the Carlyle Sub-Administration Agreements, Carlyle Employee Co. and CELF provide the Administrator with access to personnel.
On April 3, 2013, the Administrator entered into a sub-administration agreement with State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street” and, such agreement, the “State Street Sub-Administration Agreement” and, together with the Carlyle Sub-Administration Agreements, the “Sub-Administration Agreements”). On March 11, 2015, the Company’s Board of Directors, including a majority of the Independent Directors, approved an amendment to the State Street Sub-Administration Agreement. The initial term of the State Street Sub-Administration Agreement ends on April 1, 2017 and, unless terminated earlier, the State Street Sub-Administration Agreement will renew automatically for successive annual periods, provided that such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the vote of the Board of Directors or by the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Company and (ii) the vote of a majority of the Company’s Independent Directors. The State Street Sub-Administration Agreement may be terminated upon at least 60 days’ written notice and without penalty by the vote of a majority of the outstanding securities of the Company, or by the vote of the Board of Directors or by either party to the State Street Sub-Administration Agreement.
For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, fees incurred in connection with the State Street Sub-Administration Agreement, which amounted to $602, $486 and $222, respectively, were included in other general and administrative in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, $159 and $138, respectively, was unpaid and included in other accrued expenses and liabilities in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities.
Placement Fees
On April 3, 2013, the Company entered into a placement fee arrangement with TCG Securities, L.L.C. (“TCG”), a licensed broker-dealer and an affiliate of the Investment Adviser, which may require stockholders to pay a placement fee to TCG for TCG’s services.
For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, TCG earned placement fees of $12, $6 and $1, respectively, from the Company’s stockholders in connection with the issuance or sale of the Company’s common stock.
Board of Directors
The Company’s Board of Directors currently consists of five members, three of whom are Independent Directors. On April 3, 2013, the Board of Directors also established an Audit Committee consisting of its Independent Directors, and may establish additional committees in the future. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the Company incurred $553, $419 and $395, respectively, in fees and expenses associated with its Independent Directors and Audit Committee. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, $0 was unpaid and included in other accrued expenses and liabilities in the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, current directors had committed $765 in capital commitments to the Company.
Transactions
On May 13, 2016 and October 14, 2016, the Company sold investments to a wholly owned subsidiary of Credit Fund for proceeds of $20,038 and $19,800, respectively. The Company had no realized gain or loss on these trades. See Note 5, Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, for further information about Credit Fund.
5. MIDDLE MARKET CREDIT FUND, LLC
Overview
On February 29, 2016, the Company and Credit Partners entered into the Limited Liability Company Agreement to co-manage Credit Fund, an unconsolidated Delaware limited liability company. Credit Fund primarily invests in first lien loans of middle market companies. Credit Fund is managed by a six-member board of managers, on which the Company and Credit Partners each have equal representation. The Company and Credit Partners each have 50% economic ownership of Credit Fund and have commitments to fund, from time to time, capital of up to $400,000 each. Funding of such commitments generally requires the approval of the board of Credit Fund, including the board members appointed by the Company.
Together with Credit Partners, the Company co-invests through Credit Fund. Portfolio and investment decisions with respect to Credit Fund must be unanimously approved by a quorum of Credit Fund’s investment committee consisting of an equal number of representatives of the Company and Credit Partners. Therefore, although the Company owns more than 25% of the voting securities of Credit Fund, the Company does not believe that it has control over Credit Fund (other than for purposes of the Investment Company Act). Middle Market Credit Fund SPV, LLC (the “Credit Fund Sub”), a Delaware limited liability company, was formed on April 5, 2016. Credit Fund Sub primarily invests in first lien loans of middle market companies. Credit Fund Sub is a wholly owned subsidiary of Credit Fund and is consolidated in Credit Fund’s consolidated financial statements commencing from the date of its formation.
Selected Financial Data
Since inception of Credit Fund and through December 31, 2016, the Company and Credit Partners each made capital contributions of $1 in members’ equity and $35,000 in subordinated loans to Credit Fund. Additionally, Credit Fund had net borrowings of $62,384 in mezzanine loans under a revolving credit facility with the Company (the “Credit Fund Facility”). As of December 31, 2016, Credit Fund had subordinated loans and members’ capital of $74,547 and mezzanine loans of $62,384. The Company’s ownership interest in such subordinated loans and members’ capital was $37,273 and in such mezzanine loans was $62,384.
As of December 31, 2016, Credit Fund held cash and cash equivalents totaling $6,103.
As of December 31, 2016, Credit Fund had total investments at fair value of $437,829, which was comprised of first lien senior secured loans and second lien senior secured loans to 28 portfolio companies. As of December 31, 2016, no loans in Credit Fund’s portfolio were on non-accrual status or contained PIK provisions. All investments in the portfolio were floating rate debt instruments with interest rate floors. The portfolio companies in Credit Fund are U.S. middle market companies in industries similar to those in which the Company may invest directly. Additionally, as of December 31, 2016, Credit Fund had commitments to fund various undrawn revolvers and delayed draw investments to its portfolio companies totaling $30,361.
Below is a summary of Credit Fund’s portfolio, followed by a listing of the loans in Credit Fund’s portfolio as of December 31, 2016:
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| As of December 31, 2016 |
Senior secured loans (1) | $ | 439,086 |
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Weighted average yields of senior secured loans based on amortized cost (2) | 6.47 | % |
Weighted average yields of senior secured loans based on fair value (2) | 6.41 | % |
Number of portfolio companies in Credit Fund | 28 |
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(1) | At par/principal amount. |
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(2) | Weighted average yields include the effect of accretion of discounts and amortization of premiums and are based on interest rates as of December 31, 2016. Weighted average yield on debt and income producing securities at fair value is computed as (a) the annual stated interest rate or yield earned plus the net annual amortization of OID and market discount earned on accruing debt included in such securities, divided by (b) total first lien and second lien debt at fair value included in such securities. Weighted average yield on debt and income producing securities at amortized cost is computed as (a) the annual stated interest rate or yield earned plus the net annual amortization of OID and market discount earned on accruing debt |
included in such securities, divided by (b) total first lien and second lien debt at amortized cost included in such securities. Actual yields earned over the life of each investment could differ materially from the yields presented above.
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Consolidated Schedule of Investments as of December 31, 2016 |
Investments (1) | | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (5) | | Fair Value (6) |
First Lien Debt (99.31% of fair value) | | | | | | | | | | | | |
AM Conservation Holding Corporation (2)(3)(4) | | Energy: Electricity | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/31/2022 | | $ | 30,000 |
| | $ | 29,721 |
| | $ | 29,925 |
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Datapipe, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(11) | | Telecommunications | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 3/15/2019 | | 9,750 |
| | 9,654 |
| | 9,764 |
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Dimora Brands, Inc. (fka TK USA Enterprises, Inc.) (2)(3)(4)(11) | | Construction & Building | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/4/2023 | | 19,850 |
| | 19,580 |
| | 19,723 |
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Diversitech Corporation (2)(4)(10)(11) | | Capital Equipment | | P + 3.50% | | 11/19/2021 | | 14,803 |
| | 14,617 |
| | 14,803 |
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DTI Holdco, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(7) | | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/30/2023 | | 19,950 |
| | 19,751 |
| | 19,651 |
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DYK Prime Acquisition LLC (2)(3)(4) | | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 4/1/2022 | | 5,775 |
| | 5,735 |
| | 5,775 |
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EAG, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(11) | | Services: Business | | L + 4.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/28/2018 | | 8,713 |
| | 8,686 |
| | 8,720 |
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EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (2)(3)(4)(8) | | Telecommunications | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/7/2021 | | 22,971 |
| | 22,323 |
| | 22,509 |
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EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (2)(3)(4)(9) | | Telecommunications | | L + 6.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/7/2021 | | 1,500 |
| | 1,455 |
| | 1,468 |
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Empower Payments Acquisitions, Inc. (2)(3)(7) | | Media: Advertising, Printing & Publishing | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/30/2023 | | 17,500 |
| | 17,154 |
| | 17,279 |
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Generation Brands Holdings, Inc. (2)(3)(4) | | Durable Consumer Goods | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/10/2022 | | 19,900 |
| | 19,712 |
| | 20,099 |
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Jensen Hughes, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(10) | | Utilities: Electric | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/4/2021 | | 20,409 |
| | 20,188 |
| | 20,327 |
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Kestra Financial, Inc. (2)(3)(4) | | Banking, Finance, Insurance & Real Estate | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 6/24/2022 | | 19,900 |
| | 19,632 |
| | 19,814 |
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MSHC, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(10) | | Construction & Building | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/19/2021 | | 13,177 |
| | 13,062 |
| | 13,003 |
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PAI Holdco, Inc. (Parts Authority) (2)(3)(4) | | Automotive | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/30/2022 | | 9,950 |
| | 9,886 |
| | 9,950 |
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Pasternack Enterprises, Inc. (Infinite RF) (2)(3)(4) | | Capital Equipment | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/27/2022 | | 11,941 |
| | 11,844 |
| | 11,941 |
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Q Holding Company (2)(3)(4) | | Automotive | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/18/2021 | | 13,964 |
| | 13,828 |
| | 13,941 |
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QW Holding Corporation (Quala)(2)(3)(4)(7)(10) | | Environmental Industries | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/31/2022 | | 8,975 |
| | 8,413 |
| | 9,030 |
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Restaurant Technologies, Inc. (2)(3)(4) | | Retail | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/23/2022 | | 23,514 |
| | 23,117 |
| | 23,443 |
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RelaDyne Inc. (2)(3)(4)(10) | | Wholesale | | L + 5.25% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/22/2022 | | 14,000 |
| | 13,871 |
| | 13,969 |
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Systems Maintenance Services Holding, Inc. (2)(3)(4) | | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 10/30/2023 | | 12,000 |
| | 11,885 |
| | 12,001 |
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T2 Systems Canada, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(11) | | Transportation: Consumer | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/28/2022 | | 2,700 |
| | 2,635 |
| | 2,727 |
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T2 Systems, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(10)(11) | | Transportation: Consumer | | L + 6.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 9/28/2022 | | 15,300 |
| | 14,888 |
| | 15,473 |
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The Original Cakerie, Ltd. (Canada) (2)(3)(4)(10) | | Beverage, Food & Tobacco | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/20/2021 | | 7,009 |
| | 6,946 |
| | 7,009 |
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The Original Cakerie, Co. (Canada) (2)(3)(4) | | Beverage, Food & Tobacco | | L + 5.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 7/20/2021 | | 3,621 |
| | 3,591 |
| | 3,621 |
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U.S. Acute Care Solutions, LLC (2)(3)(4) | | Health & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 5/15/2021 | | 26,400 |
| | 26,154 |
| | 26,336 |
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U.S. Anesthesia Partners, Inc. (2)(3)(4) | | Health & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 12/31/2019 | | 10,374 |
| | 10,275 |
| | 10,362 |
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Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(11) | | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 4.50% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/5/2021 | | 17,910 |
| | 17,786 |
| | 17,903 |
|
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| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Consolidated Schedule of Investments as of December 31, 2016 |
Investments (1) | | Industry | | Interest Rate (2) | | Maturity Date | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Amortized Cost (5) | | Fair Value (6) |
WIRB – Copernicus Group, Inc. (2)(3)(4) | | Health & Pharmaceuticals | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/12/2022 | | $ | 7,980 |
| | $ | 7,916 |
| | $ | 8,050 |
|
Zest Holdings, LLC (2)(3)(4) | | Durable Consumer Goods | | L + 4.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 8/16/2020 | | 8,700 |
| | 8,658 |
| | 8,749 |
|
Zywave, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(7)(10) | | High Tech Industries | | L + 5.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/17/2022 | | 17,500 |
| | 17,315 |
| | 17,434 |
|
First Lien Debt Total | | | | | | | | | | $ | 430,278 |
| | $ | 434,799 |
|
Second Lien Debt (0.69% of fair value) | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Vantage Specialty Chemicals, Inc. (2)(3)(4)(11) | | Chemicals, Plastics & Rubber | | L + 8.75% (1.00% Floor) | | 2/5/2022 | | $ | 2,000 |
| | $ | 1,960 |
| | $ | 1,987 |
|
Zywave, Inc. (2)(3)(4) | | High Tech Industries | | L + 9.00% (1.00% Floor) | | 11/17/2023 | | 1,050 |
| | 1,034 |
| | 1,043 |
|
Second Lien Debt Total | | | | | | | | | | $ | 2,994 |
| | $ | 3,030 |
|
Total Investments | | | | | | | | | | $ | 433,272 |
| | $ | 437,829 |
|
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(1) | Unless otherwise indicated, issuers of investments held by Credit Fund are domiciled in the United States. As of December 31, 2016, the geographical composition of investments as a percentage of fair value was 2.43% in Canada and 97.57% in the United States. |
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(2) | Variable rate loans to the portfolio companies bear interest at a rate that may be determined by reference to either LIBOR or an alternate base rate (commonly based on the Federal Funds Rate or the U.S. Prime Rate (“P”)), which generally resets quarterly. For each such loan, Credit Fund has provided the interest rate in effect as of December 31, 2016. As of December 31, 2016, all of Credit Fund’s LIBOR loans were indexed to the 90-day LIBOR rate at 1.00%, except for those loans as indicated in Note 11 below, and the U.S. Prime Rate loan was indexed at 3.75%. |
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(3) | Loan includes interest rate floor feature. |
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(4) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by Credit Fund Sub. Credit Fund Sub has entered into a revolving credit facility (the “Credit Fund Sub Facility”). The lenders of the Credit Fund Sub Facility have a first lien security interest in substantially all of the assets of Credit Fund Sub. Accordingly, such assets are not available to creditors of Credit Fund. |
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(5) | Amortized cost represents original cost, including origination fees, adjusted for the accretion/amortization of discounts/premiums, as applicable, on debt investments using the effective interest method. |
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(6) | Fair value is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the board of managers of Credit Fund, pursuant to Credit Fund’s valuation policy, which is substantially similar to the valuation policy of the Company provided in Note 3, Fair Value Measurements. |
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(7) | Denotes that all or a portion of the assets are owned by Credit Fund. Credit Fund has entered into the Credit Fund Facility. The lenders of the Credit Fund Facility have a first lien security interest in substantially all of the assets of Credit Fund. Accordingly, such assets are not available to creditors of Credit Fund Sub. |
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(8) | Credit Fund receives less than the stated interest rate of this loan as a result of an agreement among lenders. The interest rate reduction is 1.25% on EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP). Pursuant to the agreement among lenders in respect of this loan, this investment represents a first lien/first out loan, which has first priority ahead of the first lien/last out loan with respect to principal, interest and other payments. |
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(9) | In addition to the interest earned based on the stated interest rate of this loan, which is the amount reflected in this schedule, the Company is entitled to receive additional interest as a result of an agreement among lenders as follows: EIP Merger Sub, LLC (Evolve IP) (3.84%). Pursuant to the agreement among lenders in respect of this loan, this investment represents a first lien/last out loan, which has a secondary priority behind the first lien/first out loan with respect to principal, interest and other payments. |
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(10) | As of December 31, 2016, Credit Fund had the following unfunded commitments to fund delayed draw and revolving senior secured loans: |
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First Lien Debt – unfunded delayed draw and revolving term loans commitments | | Type | | Unused Fee | | Par/ Principal Amount | | Fair Value |
Diversitech Corporation | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | $ | 5,000 |
| | $ | — |
|
Jensen Hughes, Inc. | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 2,000 |
| | (7 | ) |
Jensen Hughes, Inc. | | Delayed Draw | | 0.50 | % | | 1,461 |
| | (5 | ) |
MSHC, Inc. | | Delayed Draw | | 1.50 | % | | 1,790 |
| | (21 | ) |
QW Holding Corporation (Quala) | | Revolver | | 1.00 | % | | 5,086 |
| | 14 |
|
QW Holding Corporation (Quala) | | Delayed Draw | | 1.00 | % | | 5,918 |
| | 17 |
|
RelaDyne Inc. | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 2,162 |
| | (6 | ) |
RelaDyne Inc. | | Delayed Draw | | 0.50 | % | | 1,824 |
| | (5 | ) |
T2 Systems, Inc. | | Revolver | | 1.00 | % | | 1,955 |
| | 20 |
|
The Original Cakerie, Ltd. (Canada) | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,665 |
| | — |
|
Zywave, Inc. | | Revolver | | 0.50 | % | | 1,500 |
| | (5 | ) |
Total unfunded commitments | | | | | | $ | 30,361 |
| | $ | 2 |
|
| |
(11) | As of December 31, 2016, this LIBOR loan was indexed to the 30-day LIBOR rate at 0.77%. |
Below is certain summarized consolidated financial information for Credit Fund as of December 31, 2016. Credit Fund commenced operations in May 2016.
|
| | | |
| |
| December 31, 2016 |
Selected Consolidated Balance Sheet Information | |
ASSETS | |
Investments, at fair value (amortized cost of $433,272) | $ | 437,829 |
|
Cash and other assets | 11,326 |
|
| |
Total assets | $ | 449,155 |
|
| |
LIABILITIES AND MEMBERS’ EQUITY | |
Secured borrowings | $ | 248,540 |
|
Mezzanine loans | 62,384 |
|
Other liabilities | 63,684 |
|
Subordinated loans and members’ equity | 74,547 |
|
| |
Liabilities and members’ equity | $ | 449,155 |
|
| |
Selected Consolidated Statement of Operations Information: |
Total investment income | $ | 9,973 |
|
| |
|
Expenses |
Interest and credit facility expenses | 5,410 |
|
Other expenses | 1,266 |
|
| |
Total expenses | 6,676 |
|
| |
Net investment income (loss) | 3,297 |
|
| |
Net realized gain (loss) on investments | 41 |
|
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | 4,557 |
|
| |
Net increase (decrease) resulting from operations | $ | 7,895 |
|
| |
Debt
Credit Fund Facility
On June 24, 2016, Credit Fund entered into the Credit Fund Facility with the Company pursuant to which Credit Fund may from time to time request mezzanine loans from the Company. The maximum principal amount of the Credit Fund Facility is $100,000. The maturity date of the Credit Fund Facility is June 24, 2017. Amounts borrowed under the Credit Fund Facility bear interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 9.50%.
During the year ended December 31, 2016, there were mezzanine loan borrowings of $84,784 and repayments of $22,400 under the Credit Fund Facility. As of December 31, 2016, there were $62,384 in mezzanine loans outstanding.
As of December 31, 2016, Credit Fund was in compliance with all covenants and other requirements of the Credit Fund Facility.
Credit Fund Sub Facility
On June 24, 2016, Credit Fund Sub closed on the Credit Fund Sub Facility with lenders. The Credit Fund Sub Facility provides for secured borrowings during the applicable revolving period up to an amount equal to $450,000, with an accordion feature that can, subject to certain conditions, increase the aggregate maximum credit commitment up to an amount not to exceed $1,400,000. The facility is secured by a first lien security interest in substantially all of the portfolio investments held by Credit Fund Sub and the Company’s and Credit Partners’ unfunded capital commitments. The maturity date of the Credit Fund Sub Facility is June 24, 2022. Amounts borrowed under the Credit Fund Sub Facility bear interest at a rate of LIBOR plus 2.50%.
During the year ended December 31, 2016, there were secured borrowings of $248,540 under the Credit Fund Sub Facility. As of December 31, 2016, there was $248,540 in secured borrowings outstanding.
As of December 31, 2016, Credit Fund Sub was in compliance with all covenants and other requirements of the Credit Fund Sub Facility.
6. BORROWINGS
In accordance with the Investment Company Act, the Company is only allowed to borrow amounts such that its asset coverage, as defined in the Investment Company Act, is at least 200% after such borrowing. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, asset coverage was 209.97% and 212.70%, respectively. During the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, there were secured borrowings of $566,351, $402,200 and $420,023, respectively, under the SPV Credit Facility and Credit Facility and repayments of $378,779, $476,328 and $178,404, respectively, under the SPV Credit Facility and Credit Facility. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, there were $421,885 and $234,313, respectively, in secured borrowings outstanding.
SPV Credit Facility
The SPV closed on May 24, 2013 on the SPV Credit Facility, which was subsequently amended on June 30, 2014, June 19, 2015 and June 9, 2016. The SPV Credit Facility provides for secured borrowings during the applicable revolving period up to an amount equal to the lesser of $400,000 (the borrowing base as calculated pursuant to the terms of the SPV Credit Facility) and the amount of net cash proceeds and unpledged capital commitments the Company has received, with an accordion feature that can, subject to certain conditions, increase the aggregate maximum credit commitment up to an amount not to exceed $750,000, subject to restrictions imposed on borrowings under the Investment Company Act and certain restrictions and conditions set forth in the SPV Credit Facility, including adequate collateral to support such borrowings. The SPV Credit Facility has a revolving period through May 23, 2019 and a maturity date of May 24, 2021. Borrowings under the SPV Credit Facility bear interest initially at the applicable commercial paper rate (if the lender is a conduit lender) or LIBOR (or, if applicable, a rate based on the prime rate or federal funds rate) plus 2.00% per year through May 23, 2018, with a pre-determined future interest rate increase of 0.50% during the final year of the revolving period and pre-determined future interest rate increases of 0.875%-1.75% over the two years following the end of the revolving period. The SPV is also required to pay an undrawn commitment fee of between 0.25% and 0.75% per year depending on the usage of the SPV Credit Facility. Payments under the SPV Credit Facility are made quarterly. The lenders have a first lien security interest on substantially all of the assets of the SPV.
As part of the SPV Credit Facility, the SPV is subject to limitations as to how borrowed funds may be used and the types of loans that are eligible to be acquired by the SPV including, but not limited to, restrictions on sector and geographic concentrations, loan size, payment frequency, tenor and minimum investment ratings (or estimated ratings). In addition, borrowed funds are intended to be used primarily to purchase first lien loan assets, and the SPV is limited in its ability to purchase certain other assets (including, but not limited to, second lien loans, covenant-lite loans, revolving and delayed draw loans and discount loans) and other assets are not permitted to be purchased (including, but not limited to paid-in-kind loans and structured finance obligations). The SPV Credit Facility has certain requirements relating to interest coverage, collateral quality and portfolio performance, including limitations on delinquencies and charge offs, certain violations of which could result in the immediate acceleration of the amounts due under the SPV Credit Facility. The SPV Credit Facility is also subject to a borrowing base that applies different advance rates to assets held by the SPV based generally on the fair market value of such assets. Under certain circumstances as set forth in the SPV Credit Facility, the Company could be obliged to repurchase loans from the SPV.
As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, the SPV was in compliance with all covenants and other requirements of the SPV Credit Facility.
Credit Facility
The Company closed on March 21, 2014 on the Credit Facility, which was subsequently amended on January 8, 2015 and May 25, 2016 (the “Second Facility Amendment”). The maximum principal amount of the Credit Facility is $220,000, subject to availability under the Credit Facility, which is based on certain advance rates multiplied by the value of the Company’s portfolio investments (subject to certain concentration limitations) net of certain other indebtedness that the Company may incur in accordance with the terms of the Credit Facility. Proceeds of the Credit Facility may be used for general corporate purposes, including the funding of portfolio investments. Maximum capacity under the Credit Facility may be increased to $225,000 through the exercise by the Company of an uncommitted accordion feature through which existing and new lenders may, at their option, agree to provide additional financing. The Credit Facility includes a $20,000 limit for swingline loans and a $5,000 limit for letters of credit. The Company may borrow amounts in U.S. dollars or certain other permitted currencies. Amounts drawn under the Credit Facility, including amounts drawn in respect of letters of credit, bear interest at either LIBOR plus an applicable spread of 2.25%, or an “alternative base rate” (which is the highest of a prime rate, the federal funds effective rate plus 0.50%, or one month LIBOR plus 1.00%) plus an applicable spread of 1.25%. The Company may elect either the LIBOR or the “alternative base rate” at the time of drawdown, and loans may be converted from one rate to another at any time, subject to certain conditions. The Company also pays a fee of 0.375% on undrawn amounts under the Credit Facility and, in respect of each undrawn letter of credit, a fee and interest rate
equal to the then-applicable margin under the Credit Facility while the letter of credit is outstanding. The availability period under the Credit Facility will terminate on March 21, 2020 and the Credit Facility will mature on March 21, 2021. During the period from March 21, 2020 to March 21, 2021, the Company will be obligated to make mandatory prepayments under the Credit Facility out of the proceeds of certain asset sales, other recovery events and equity and debt issuances.
Subject to certain exceptions, the Credit Facility is secured by a first lien security interest in substantially all of the portfolio investments held by the Company and the Company’s unfunded investor equity capital commitments (provided that the amount of unfunded capital commitments ultimately available to the lenders is limited to $100,000). The pledge of unfunded investor equity capital commitments was subject to release once $100,000 of incremental capital had been called and received by the Company subsequent to January 8, 2015. The pledge of unfunded investor equity capital commitments had been released as of December 31, 2016. The Credit Facility includes customary covenants, including certain financial covenants related to asset coverage, shareholders’ equity and liquidity, certain limitations on the incurrence of additional indebtedness and liens, and other maintenance covenants, as well as usual and customary events of default for senior secured revolving credit facilities of this nature.
Related to the Second Credit Facility Amendment, $380 of deferred financing costs (representing the prorated financing costs related to a departing lender) were immediately expensed on May 25, 2016 in lieu of continuing to amortize over the term of the Credit Facility.
As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company was in compliance with all covenants and other requirements of the Credit Facility.
Summary of Facilities
The facilities of the Company and the SPV consisted of the following as of December 31, 2016 and 2015:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | December 31, 2016 |
| | Total Facility | | Borrowings Outstanding | | Unused Portion (1) | | Amount Available (2) |
SPV Credit Facility | | $ | 400,000 |
| | $ | 252,885 |
| | $ | 147,115 |
| | $ | 5,988 |
|
Credit Facility | | 220,000 |
| | 169,000 |
| | 51,000 |
| | 51,000 |
|
Total | | $ | 620,000 |
| | $ | 421,885 |
| | $ | 198,115 |
| | $ | 56,988 |
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | December 31, 2015 |
| | Total Facility | | Borrowings Outstanding | | Unused Portion (1) | | Amount Available (2) |
SPV Credit Facility | | $ | 400,000 |
| | $ | 170,313 |
| | $ | 229,687 |
| | $ | 3,155 |
|
Credit Facility | | 150,000 |
| | 64,000 |
| | 86,000 |
| | 86,000 |
|
Total | | $ | 550,000 |
| | $ | 234,313 |
| | $ | 315,687 |
| | $ | 89,155 |
|
| |
(1) | The unused portion is the amount upon which commitment fees are based. |
| |
(2) | Available for borrowing based on the computation of collateral to support the borrowings and subject to compliance with applicable covenants and financial ratios. |
As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, $1,667 and $966, respectively, of interest expense, $203 and $141, respectively, of unused commitment fees and $23 and $22, respectively, of other fees were included in interest and credit facility fees payable. For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the weighted average interest rate was 2.73%, 2.23% and 2.18%, respectively, and average principal debt outstanding was $307,734, $265,277 and $164,980, respectively. As of December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the weighted average interest rate was 2.92%, 2.37% and 2.17%, respectively, based on floating LIBOR rates.
For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the components of interest expense and credit facility fees were as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | For the years ended December 31, |
| | 2,016 | | 2,015 | | 2,014 |
Interest expense | | $ | 8,559 |
| | $ | 6,008 |
| | $ | 3,648 |
|
Facility unused commitment fee | | 1,253 |
| | 847 |
| | 1,129 |
|
Amortization of deferred financing costs | | 1,213 |
| | 945 |
| | 1,820 |
|
Other fees | | 107 |
| | 106 |
| | 103 |
|
Total interest expense and credit facility fees | | $ | 11,132 |
| | $ | 7,906 |
| | $ | 6,700 |
|
Cash paid for interest expense | | $ | 7,828 |
| | $ | 6,062 |
| | $ | 2,882 |
|
7. 2015-1 Notes
On June 26, 2015, the Company completed the 2015-1 Debt Securitization. The 2015-1 Notes were issued by the 2015-1 Issuer, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of the Company, and are secured by a diversified portfolio of the 2015-1 Issuer consisting primarily of first and second lien senior secured loans. The 2015-1 Debt Securitization was executed through a private placement of the 2015-1 Notes, consisting of $160 million of Aaa/AAA Class A-1A Notes which bear interest at the three-month London Interbank Offered Rate (“LIBOR”) plus 1.85%; $40 million of Aaa/AAA Class A-1B Notes which bear interest at the three-month LIBOR plus 1.75% for the first 24 months and the three-month LIBOR plus 2.05% thereafter; $27 million of Aaa/AAA Class A-1C Notes which bear interest at 3.75%; and $46 million of Aa2 Class A-2 Notes which bear interest at the three month LIBOR plus 2.70%. The 2015-1 Notes were issued at par and are scheduled to mature on July 15, 2027. The Company received 100% of the preferred interests (the “Preferred Interests”) issued by the 2015-1 Issuer on the closing date of the 2015-1 Debt Securitization in exchange for the Company’s contribution to the Issuer of the initial closing date loan portfolio. The Preferred Interests do not bear interest and had a nominal value of $125.9 million at closing. In connection with the contribution, the Company made customary representations, warranties and covenants to the 2015-1 Issuer in the purchase agreement. The Class A-1A, Class A-1B and Class A-1C and Class A-2 Notes are included in the December 31, 2016 consolidated financial statements. The Preferred Interests were eliminated in consolidation.
On the closing date of the 2015-1 Debt Securitization, the 2015-1 Issuer effected a one-time distribution to the Company of a substantial portion of the proceeds of the private placement of the 2015-1 Notes, net of expenses, which distribution was used to repay a portion of certain amounts outstanding under the SPV Credit Facility and the Credit Facility. As part of the 2015-1 Debt Securitization, certain first and second lien senior secured loans were distributed by the SPV to the Company pursuant to a distribution and contribution agreement. The Company contributed the loans that comprised the initial closing date loan portfolio (including the loans distributed to the Company from the SPV) to the 2015-1 Issuer pursuant to a contribution agreement. Future loan transfers from the Company to the 2015-1 Issuer will be made pursuant to a sale agreement and are subject to the approval of the Company’s Board of Directors. Assets of the 2015-1 Issuer are not available to the creditors of the SPV or the Company. In connection with the issuance and sale of the 2015-1 Notes, the Company made customary representations, warranties and covenants in the purchase agreement.
During the reinvestment period, pursuant to the indenture governing the 2015-1 Notes, all principal collections received on the underlying collateral may be used by the 2015-1 Issuer to purchase new collateral under the direction of Investment Adviser in its capacity as collateral manager of the 2015-1 Issuer and in accordance with the Company’s investment strategy.
The Investment Adviser serves as collateral manager to the 2015-1 Issuer under a collateral management agreement (the “Collateral Management Agreement”). Pursuant to the Collateral Management Agreement, the 2015-1 Issuer pays management fees (comprised of base management fees, subordinated management fees and incentive management fees) to the Investment Adviser for rendering collateral management services. As per the Collateral Management Agreement, for the period the Company retains all of the Preferred Interests, the Investment Adviser does not earn management fees for providing such collateral management services. The Company currently retains all of the Preferred Interests, thus the Investment Adviser did not earn any management fees from the 2015-1 Issuer for the year ended December 31, 2016. Any such waived fees may not be recaptured by the Investment Adviser.
Pursuant to an undertaking by the Company in connection with the 2015-1 Debt Securitization, the Company has agreed to hold on an ongoing basis Preferred Interests with an aggregate dollar purchase price at least equal to 5% of the aggregate outstanding amount of all collateral obligations by the 2015-1 Issuer for so long as any securities of the 2015-1 Issuer remain outstanding. As of December 31, 2016, the Company was in compliance with its undertaking.
The 2015-1 Issuer pays ongoing administrative expenses to the trustee, independent accountants, legal counsel, rating agencies and independent managers in connection with developing and maintaining reports, and providing required services in connection with the administration of the 2015-1 Issuer.
As of December 31, 2016, there were 62 first lien and second lien senior secured loans with a total fair value of approximately $389,437 securing the 2015-1 Notes. The pool of loans in the securitization must meet certain requirements, including asset mix and
concentration, term, agency rating, collateral coverage, minimum coupon, minimum spread and sector diversity requirements in the indenture governing the 2015-1 Notes.
For the years ended December 31, 2016 and 2015, the weighted average interest rate, which includes amortization of debt issuance costs on the 2015-1 Notes, was 2.89% and 2.45%, respectively, based on floating LIBOR rates.
For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, the components of interest expense on the 2015-1 Notes were as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | For the years ended December 31, |
| | 2,016 | | 2,015 | | 2,014 |
Interest expense | | $ | 7,698 |
| | $ | 3,468 |
| | $ | — |
|
Amortization of debt issuance costs | | 205 |
| | 106 |
| | — |
|
Total interest expense and credit facility fees | | $ | 7,903 |
| | $ | 3,574 |
| | $ | — |
|
Cash paid for interest expense | | $ | 7,439 |
| | $ | 2,021 |
| | $ | — |
|
8. COMMITMENTS AND CONTINGENCIES
A summary of significant contractual payment obligations was as follows as of December 31, 2016 and 2015:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | SPV Credit Facility and Credit Facility | | 2015-1 Notes |
Payment Due by Period | | December 31, 2016 | | December 31, 2015 | | December 31, 2016 | | December 31, 2015 |
Less than 1 Year | | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
|
1-3 Years | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
|
3-5 Years | | 421,885 |
| | 64,000 |
| | — |
| | — |
|
More than 5 Years | | — |
| | 170,313 |
| | 273,000 |
| | 273,000 |
|
Total | | $ | 421,885 |
| | $ | 234,313 |
| | $ | 273,000 |
| | $ | 273,000 |
|
In the ordinary course of its business, the Company enters into contracts or agreements that contain indemnification or warranties. Future events could occur that lead to the execution of these provisions against the Company. The Company believes that the likelihood of such an event is remote; however, the maximum potential exposure is unknown. No accrual has been made in the consolidated financial statements as of December 31, 2016 and 2015 for any such exposure.
As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company had $1,222,358 and $1,174,340, respectively, in total capital commitments from stockholders, of which $421,698 and $559,214, respectively, was unfunded. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, current directors had committed $765 in capital commitments to the Company.
The Company had the following unfunded commitments to fund delayed draw and revolving senior secured loans as of the indicated dates:
|
| | | | | | | | |
| | Par Value as of |
| | December 31, 2016 | | December 31, 2015 |
Unfunded delayed draw commitments | | $ | 35,704 |
| | $ | 20,695 |
|
Unfunded revolving term loan commitments | | 24,063 |
| | 3,906 |
|
Total unfunded commitments | | $ | 59,767 |
| | $ | 24,601 |
|
As of December 31, 2016, the Company had remaining commitments to fund, from time to time, capital to Credit Fund of up to $364,999. Funding of such commitments generally requires the approval of the board of Credit Fund, including the board members appointed by the Company. As of December 31, 2016, the Company had remaining commitments to fund, from time to time, mezzanine loans to Credit Fund of up to $37,617, of which $13,500 was available for borrowing based on the computation of collateral to support the borrowings.
9. NET ASSETS
The Company has the authority to issue 200,000,000 shares of common stock, $0.01 per share par value.
During the year ended December 31, 2016, the Company issued 10,178,235 shares for $185,816 including reinvestment of dividends. The following table summarizes capital activity during the year ended December 31, 2016:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Common Stock | | Capital in Excess of Par Value | | Offering Costs | | Accumulated Net Investment Income (Loss) | | Accumulated Net Realized Gain (Loss) on Investments | | Accumulated Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on Investments | | Total Net Assets |
Shares | | Amount | |
Balance, beginning of year | | 31,524,083 |
| | $ | 315 |
| | $ | 613,944 |
| | $ | (74 | ) | | $ | (12,994 | ) | | $ | (2,411 | ) | | $ | (27,054 | ) | | $ | 571,726 |
|
Common stock issued | | 10,162,898 |
| | 102 |
| | 185,435 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 185,537 |
|
Reinvestment of dividends | | 15,337 |
| | — |
| | 279 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 279 |
|
Net investment income (loss) | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 59,621 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 59,621 |
|
Net realized gain (loss) on investments | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | (9,644 | ) | | — |
| | (9,644 | ) |
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 19,832 |
| | 19,832 |
|
Dividends declared | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | (63,214 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | (63,214 | ) |
Tax reclassification of stockholders’ equity in accordance with US GAAP | | — |
| | — |
| | (78 | ) | | — |
| | 13,380 |
| | (13,302 | ) | | — |
| | — |
|
Balance, end of year | | 41,702,318 |
| | $ | 417 |
| | $ | 799,580 |
| | $ | (74 | ) | | $ | (3,207 | ) | | $ | (25,357 | ) | | $ | (7,222 | ) | | $ | 764,137 |
|
During the year ended December 31, 2015, the Company issued 13,591,386 shares for $262,485 including reinvestment of dividends. The following table summarizes capital activity during the year ended December 31, 2015:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Common Stock | | Capital in Excess of Par Value | | Offering Costs | | Accumulated Net Investment Income (Loss) | | Accumulated Net Realized Gain (Loss) on Investments | | Accumulated Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on Investments | | Total Net Assets |
Shares | | Amount | |
Balance, beginning of year | | 17,932,697 |
| | $ | 179 |
| | $ | 351,636 |
| | $ | (74 | ) | | $ | (4,388 | ) | | $ | (57 | ) | | $ | (9,039 | ) | | $ | 338,257 |
|
Common stock issued | | 13,584,508 |
| | 136 |
| | 262,218 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 262,354 |
|
Reinvestment of dividends | | 6,878 |
| | — |
| | 131 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 131 |
|
Net investment income (loss) | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 35,524 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 35,524 |
|
Net realized gain (loss) on investments—non-controlled/ non-affiliated | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 1,164 |
| | — |
| | 1,164 |
|
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments—non-controlled/ non-affiliated | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | (18,015 | ) | | (18,015 | ) |
Dividends declared | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | (47,689 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | (47,689 | ) |
Tax reclassification of stockholders’ equity in accordance with US GAAP | | — |
| | — |
| | (41 | ) | | — |
| | 3,559 |
| | (3,518 | ) | | — |
| | — |
|
Balance, end of year | | 31,524,083 |
| | $ | 315 |
| | $ | 613,944 |
| | $ | (74 | ) | | $ | (12,994 | ) | | $ | (2,411 | ) | | $ | (27,054 | ) | | $ | 571,726 |
|
During the year ended December 31, 2014, the Company issued 8,356,707 shares for $164,803 including reinvestment of dividends. The following table summarizes capital activity during the year ended December 31, 2014:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | Common Stock | | Capital in Excess of Par Value | | Offering Costs | | Accumulated Net Investment Income (Loss) | | Accumulated Net Realized Gain (Loss) on Investments | | Accumulated Net Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation) on Investments | | Total Net Assets |
Shares | | Amount | |
Balance, beginning of year | | 9,575,990 |
| | $ | 96 |
| | $ | 186,965 |
| | $ | (74 | ) | | $ | (664 | ) | | $ | — |
| | $ | (321 | ) | | $ | 186,002 |
|
Common stock issued | | 8,354,987 |
| | 83 |
| | 164,686 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 164,769 |
|
Reinvestment of dividends | | 1,720 |
| | — |
| | 34 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 34 |
|
Net investment income (loss) | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 14,260 |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 14,260 |
|
Net realized gain (loss) on investments—non-controlled/ non-affiliated | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | 72 |
| | — |
| | 72 |
|
Net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments—non-controlled/ non-affiliated | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | (8,718 | ) | | (8,718 | ) |
Dividends declared | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | (18,162 | ) | | — |
| | — |
| | (18,162 | ) |
Tax reclassification of stockholders’ equity in accordance with US GAAP | | — |
| | — |
| | (49 | ) | | — |
| | 178 |
| | (129 | ) | | — |
| | — |
|
Balance, end of year | | 17,932,697 |
| | $ | 179 |
| | $ | 351,636 |
| | $ | (74 | ) | | $ | (4,388 | ) | | $ | (57 | ) | | $ | (9,039 | ) | | $ | 338,257 |
|
The following table summarizes total shares issued and proceeds received related to capital subscriptions for the Company’s common stock and reinvestment of dividends during the year ended December 31, 2016:
|
| | | | | | | |
| | Shares Issued | | Proceeds Received |
January 22, 2016* | | 3,885 |
| | $ | 74 |
|
March 11, 2016 | | 1,815,181 |
| | 33,000 |
|
April 22, 2016* | | 2,988 |
| | 54 |
|
May 6, 2016 | | 1,510,859 |
| | 26,999 |
|
June 24, 2016 | | 1,660,333 |
| | 30,102 |
|
July 22, 2016* | | 3,756 |
| | 66 |
|
August 26, 2016 | | 1,909,449 |
| | 35,000 |
|
September 16, 2016 | | 1,360,948 |
| | 25,001 |
|
October 24, 2016* | | 4,708 |
| | 85 |
|
November 18, 2016 | | 1,906,128 |
| | 35,435 |
|
Total | | 10,178,235 |
| | $ | 185,816 |
|
* Represents shares issued upon the reinvestment of dividends.
The following table summarizes total shares issued and proceeds received related to capital subscriptions for the Company’s common stock and reinvestment of dividends during the year ended December 31, 2015:
|
| | | | | | | |
| | Shares Issued | | Proceeds Received |
January 16, 2015 | | 924,977 |
| | $ | 18,000 |
|
January 26, 2015* | | 1,051 |
| | 20 |
|
February 26, 2015 | | 2,312,659 |
| | 45,005 |
|
April 21, 2015* | | 1,351 |
| | 25 |
|
May 1, 2015 | | 1,462,746 |
| | 28,085 |
|
May 22, 2015 | | 1,708,068 |
| | 33,000 |
|
June 25, 2015 | | 2,412,386 |
| | 46,992 |
|
July 22, 2015* | | 2,018 |
| | 38 |
|
August 21, 2015 | | 1,032,504 |
| | 20,002 |
|
September 30, 2015 | | 104,954 |
| | 2,009 |
|
October 9, 2015 | | 1,255,914 |
| | 24,038 |
|
October 22, 2015* | | 2,458 |
| | 47 |
|
December 21, 2015 | | 2,370,300 |
| | 45,224 |
|
Total | | 13,591,386 |
| | $ | 262,485 |
|
* Represents shares issued upon the reinvestment of dividends.
The following table summarizes total shares issued and proceeds received related to capital subscriptions for the Company’s common stock and reinvestment of dividends during the year ended December 31, 2014:
|
| | | | | | | |
| | Shares Issued | | Proceeds Received |
January 27, 2014 | | 1,020,810 |
| | $ | 19,998 |
|
February 21, 2014 | | 491,849 |
| | 9,689 |
|
March 21, 2014 | | 1,802,772 |
| | 35,785 |
|
April 14, 2014* | | 148 |
| | 3 |
|
July 14, 2014* | | 586 |
| | 12 |
|
September 17, 2014 | | 643,060 |
| | 12,790 |
|
October 9, 2014* | | 986 |
| | 19 |
|
October 16, 2014 | | 1,134,723 |
| | 22,502 |
|
November 3, 2014 | | 1,008,570 |
| | 20,000 |
|
December 9, 2014 | | 2,253,203 |
| | 44,005 |
|
Total | | 8,356,707 |
| | $ | 164,803 |
|
* Represents shares issued upon the reinvestment of dividends.
Subscribed but unissued shares are presented in equity with a deduction of subscriptions receivable until cash is received for a subscription. There were no subscribed but unissued shares as of December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014.
Subscription transactions during the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 were executed at an offering price at a premium to net asset value due to the requirement to use prior quarter net asset value as offering price unless it would result in the Company selling shares of its common stock at a price below the current net asset value and also in order to effect a reallocation of organizational costs to subsequent investors. Such subscription transactions increased net asset value by $0.01 per share, $0.11 per share, and $0.09 per share, respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, respectively.
The Company computes earnings per common share in accordance with ASC 260, Earnings Per Share. Basic earnings per common share were calculated by dividing net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations attributable to the Company by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding for the year.
Basic and diluted earnings per common share were as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | For the years ended December 31, |
| | 2,016 | | 2,015 | | 2,014 |
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | | $ | 69,809 |
| | $ | 18,673 |
| | $ | 5,614 |
|
Weighted-average common shares outstanding | | 36,152,390 |
| | 24,830,200 |
| | 13,091,544 |
|
Basic and diluted earnings per common share | | $ | 1.93 |
| | $ | 0.75 |
| | $ | 0.43 |
|
The following table summarizes the Company’s dividends declared and payable since inception through the year ended December 31, 2016:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
Date Declared | | Record Date | | Payment Date | | Per Share Amount | | | Total Amount |
March 13, 2014 | | March 31, 2014 | | April 14, 2014 | | $ | 0.19 |
| | | $ | 2,449 |
|
June 26, 2014 | | June 30, 2014 | | July 14, 2014 | | $ | 0.27 |
| | | $ | 3,481 |
|
September 12, 2014 | | September 18, 2014 | | October 9, 2014 | | $ | 0.44 |
| | | $ | 5,956 |
|
December 19, 2014 | | December 29, 2014 | | January 26, 2015 | | $ | 0.35 |
| | | $ | 6,276 |
|
March 11, 2015 | | March 13, 2015 | | April 17, 2015 | | $ | 0.37 |
| | | $ | 7,833 |
|
June 24, 2015 | | June 30, 2015 | | July 22, 2015 | | $ | 0.37 |
| | | $ | 9,902 |
|
September 24, 2015 | | September 24, 2015 | | October 22, 2015 | | $ | 0.42 |
| | | $ | 11,670 |
|
December 29, 2015 | | December 29, 2015 | | January 22, 2016 | | $ | 0.40 |
| | | $ | 12,610 |
|
December 29, 2015 | | December 29, 2015 | | January 22, 2016 | | $ | 0.18 |
| (1) | | $ | 5,674 |
|
March 10, 2016 | | March 14, 2016 | | April 22, 2016 | | $ | 0.40 |
| | | $ | 13,337 |
|
June 8, 2016 | | June 8, 2016 | | July 22, 2016 | | $ | 0.40 |
| | | $ | 13,943 |
|
September 28, 2016 | | September 28, 2016 | | October 24, 2016 | | $ | 0.40 |
| | | $ | 15,917 |
|
December 29, 2016 | | December 29, 2016 | | January 24, 2017 | | $ | 0.41 |
| | | $ | 17,098 |
|
December 29, 2016 | | December 29, 2016 | | January 24, 2017 | | $ | 0.07 |
| (1) | | $ | 2,919 |
|
| |
(1) | Represents a special dividend. |
10. CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS
The following is a schedule of consolidated financial highlights for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | For the years ended December 31, |
| | 2,016 | | 2,015 | | 2,014 | | 2,013 |
Per Share Data: | | | | | | | | |
Net asset value per share, beginning of year | | $ | 18.14 |
| | $ | 18.86 |
| | $ | 19.42 |
| | $ | 20.00 |
|
Net investment income (loss) (1) | | 1.65 |
| | 1.43 |
| | 1.09 |
| | (0.55 | ) |
Net realized gain (loss) and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | | 0.20 |
| | (0.52 | ) | | (0.49 | ) | | (0.34 | ) |
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | | 1.85 |
| | 0.91 |
| | 0.60 |
| | (0.89 | ) |
Dividends declared (2) | | (1.68 | ) | | (1.74 | ) | | (1.25 | ) | | — |
|
Effect of subscription offering price (3) | | 0.01 |
| | 0.11 |
| | 0.09 |
| | 0.32 |
|
Offering costs | | — |
| | — |
| | — |
| | (0.01 | ) |
Net asset value per share, end of year | | $ | 18.32 |
| | $ | 18.14 |
| | $ | 18.86 |
| | $ | 19.42 |
|
Number of shares outstanding, end of year | | 41,702,318 |
| | 31,524,083 |
| | 17,932,697 |
| | 9,575,990 |
|
Total return (4) | | 10.25 | % | | 5.41 | % | | 3.55 | % | | (2.90 | )% |
Net assets, end of year | | $ | 764,137 |
| | $ | 571,726 |
| | $ | 338,257 |
| | $ | 186,002 |
|
Ratio to average net assets (5): | | | | | | | | |
Expenses net of waiver, before incentive fees | | 5.46 | % | | 5.11 | % | | 5.78 | % | | 9.75 | % |
Expenses net of waiver, after incentive fees | | 7.69 | % | | 6.94 | % | | 7.15 | % | | 9.75 | % |
Expenses gross of waiver, after incentive fees | | 8.62 | % | | 7.86 | % | | 7.98 | % | | 10.21 | % |
Net investment income (loss) (6) | | 8.93 | % | | 7.33 | % | | 5.45 | % | | (2.45 | )% |
Interest expense and credit facility fees | | 2.85 | % | | 2.37 | % | | 2.56 | % | | 2.23 | % |
Ratios/Supplemental Data: | | | | | | | | |
Asset coverage, end of period | | 209.97 | % | | 212.70 | % | | 209.67 | % | | 378.35 | % |
Portfolio turnover | | 32.39 | % | | 26.04 | % | | 28.06 | % | | 6.43 | % |
Total committed capital, end of year | | $ | 1,222,358 |
| | $ | 1,174,340 |
| | $ | 1,129,522 |
| | $ | 877,408 |
|
Ratio of total contributed capital to total committed capital, end of year | | 65.50 | % | | 52.38 | % | | 31.23 | % | | 21.43 | % |
Weighted-average shares outstanding | | 36,152,390 |
| | 24,830,200 |
| | 13,091,544 |
| | 3,016,298 |
|
| |
(1) | For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, net investment income (loss) per share was calculated as net investment income (loss) for the year divided by the weighted-average number of shares outstanding for the year. For the year ended December 31, 2013, net investment income (loss) per share was calculated as net investment income (loss) for the period divided by the weighted average number of shares outstanding for the period June 5, 2013 (date of issuance of shares related to the first capital drawdown) through December 31, 2013. |
| |
(2) | For the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014, dividends declared per share was calculated as the sum of dividends declared during the year divided by the number of shares outstanding at each respective quarter-end date (refer to Notes 9 and 12). |
| |
(3) | Increase is due to offering price of subscriptions during the year (refer to Note 9). |
| |
(4) | Total return is based on the change in net asset value per share during the year plus the declared dividends, assuming reinvestment of dividends in accordance with the dividend reinvestment plan, divided by the beginning net asset value for the year. Total return based on change in net asset value for the year ended December 31, 2013 was calculated for the period from commencement of operations through December 31, 2013. Total return for the years ended December 31, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013 was inclusive of $0.01, $0.11, $0.09, and $0.32, respectively, per share increase in net asset value related to the offering price of subscriptions. Excluding the effects of the higher offering price of subscriptions, total return would have been 10.20%, 4.83%, 3.09%, and (4.50%), respectively (refer to Note 9). |
| |
(5) | The Company commenced operations on May 2, 2013; therefore, ratios to average net assets and portfolio turnover for the year ended December 31, 2013 may have been different had there been a full year of operations. |
| |
(6) | The net investment income ratio is net of the waiver of base management fees. |
11. LITIGATION
The Company may become party to certain lawsuits in the ordinary course of business. The Company does not believe that the outcome of current matters, if any, will materially impact the Company or its consolidated financial statements. As of December 31,
2016 and 2015, the Company was not subject to any material legal proceedings, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, is any material legal proceeding threatened against the Company.
In addition, portfolio investments of the Company could be the subject of litigation or regulatory investigations in the ordinary course of business. The Company does not believe that the outcome of any current contingent liabilities of its portfolio investments, if any, will materially affect the Company or these consolidated financial statements.
12. TAX
The Company has not recorded a liability for any uncertain tax positions pursuant to the provisions of ASC 740, Income Taxes, as of December 31, 2016 and 2015.
In the normal course of business, the Company is subject to examination by federal and certain state, local and foreign authorities for 2013-2016. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company had filed tax returns and therefore is subject to examination.
Book and tax basis differences relating to stockholder dividends and distributions and other permanent book and tax differences are reclassified among the Company’s capital accounts. In addition, the character of income and gains to be distributed is determined in accordance with income tax regulations that may differ from US GAAP. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, permanent differences primarily due to the tax treatment of passive foreign investment companies and non- deductible excise tax resulted in a net decrease in accumulated net investment loss by $13,380 and $3,559, respectively, net decrease in accumulated net realized gain by $13,302 and $3,518, respectively, and net decrease in additional paid-in capital in excess of par by $78 and $41, respectively, on the Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities. Total earnings and net asset value were not affected.
The tax character of the distributions paid for the fiscal years ended December 31, 2016, 2015 and 2014 was as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | For the years ended December 31, |
| | 2,016 | | 2,015 | | 2,014 |
Ordinary income | | $ | 63,214 |
| | $ | 47,689 |
| | $ | 18,162 |
|
Tax return of capital | | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
| | $ | — |
|
Income Tax Information and Distributions to Stockholders
As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, the components of accumulated earnings (deficit) on a tax basis were as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | |
| | 2,016 | | 2,015 |
Undistributed ordinary income | | $ | 5,365 |
| | $ | 2,691 |
|
Other book/tax temporary differences(1) | | (2,108 | ) | | (2,012 | ) |
Capital loss carryforwards | | (25,414 | ) | | (2,411 | ) |
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments (2) | | (13,629 | ) | | (40,727 | ) |
Total accumulated earnings (deficit) | | $ | (35,786 | ) | | $ | (42,459 | ) |
| |
(1) | Consists of the unamortized portion of organization costs as of December 31, 2016 and 2015, respectively. |
| |
(2) | The difference between the book-basis and tax-basis unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments is attributable primarily to the tax treatment of passive foreign investment companies, which include the structured finance obligations. |
Also, consists of book to tax difference on interest income on CLO equity investments recognized using the effective yield method for financial statement purposes.
As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, the cost of investments for federal income tax purposes and gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation on investments were as follows:
|
| | | | | | | | |
| | 2,016 | | 2,015 |
Cost of investments | | $ | 1,436,387 |
| | $ | 1,093,393 |
|
Gross unrealized appreciation on investments | | 22,390 |
| | 5,911 |
|
Gross unrealized depreciation on investments | | (36,019 | ) | | (46,638 | ) |
Net unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | | $ | (13,629 | ) | | $ | (40,727 | ) |
On December 22, 2010, the Regulated Investment Company Modernization Act of 2010 (the “RIC Modernization Act”) was enacted which changed various technical rules governing the tax treatment of RICs. The changes are generally effective for taxable years beginning after the date of enactment. Under the RIC Modernization Act, the fund will be permitted to carry forward capital losses incurred in taxable years beginning after the date of enactment for an unlimited period. However, any losses incurred during those future taxable years will be required to be utilized prior to the losses incurred in pre-enactment taxable years, which carry an expiration date. As a result of this ordering rule, pre-enactment capital loss carryforwards may be more likely to expire unused. Additionally, post-enactment capital losses that are carried forward will retain their character as either short-term or long-term losses rather than being considered all short-term as under previous law. As of December 31, 2016 and 2015, the Company did not have any pre-enactment capital loss carryforwards, and had $25,414 and $2,411, respectively, of post enactment capital loss carryforwards, $614 and $727 of which were post-enactment short-term capital loss carryforwards, respectively, and $24,800 and $1,684, of which were post-enactment long-term capital loss carryforwards, respectively.
13. SELECTED QUARTERLY FINANCIAL DATA (UNAUDITED)
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | 2,016 |
| | Q4 | | Q3 | | Q2 | | Q1 |
Total investment income | | $ | 33,156 |
| | $ | 28,957 |
| | $ | 25,748 |
| | $ | 23,110 |
|
Net expenses | | 14,807 |
| | 13,111 |
| | 12,282 |
| | 11,150 |
|
Net investment income (loss) | | 18,349 |
| | 15,846 |
| | 13,466 |
| | 11,960 |
|
Net realized gain (loss) and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | | (953 | ) | | 13,324 |
| | 12,485 |
| | (14,668 | ) |
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | | 17,396 |
| | 29,170 |
| | 25,951 |
| | (2,708 | ) |
Net asset value per share | | 18.32 |
| | 18.38 |
| | 18.02 |
| | 17.66 |
|
Basic and diluted earnings per common share | | $ | 0.48 |
| | $ | 0.78 |
| | $ | 0.75 |
| | $ | (0.08 | ) |
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | 2,015 |
| | Q4 | | Q3 | | Q2 | | Q1 |
Total investment income | | $ | 20,685 |
| | $ | 19,601 |
| | $ | 15,925 |
| | $ | 12,979 |
|
Net expenses | | 9,920 |
| | 9,267 |
| | 7,980 |
| | 6,499 |
|
Net investment income (loss) | | 10,765 |
| | 10,334 |
| | 7,945 |
| | 6,480 |
|
Net realized gain (loss) and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | | (20,748 | ) | | (681 | ) | | 1,270 |
| | 3,308 |
|
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | | (9,983 | ) | | 9,653 |
| | 9,215 |
| | 9,788 |
|
Net asset value per share | | 18.14 |
| | 19.02 |
| | 19.09 |
| | 19.05 |
|
Basic and diluted earnings per common share | | $ | (0.34 | ) | | $ | 0.35 |
| | $ | 0.40 |
| | $ | 0.50 |
|
|
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| | 2,014 |
| | Q4 | | Q3 | | Q2 | | Q1 |
Total investment income | | $ | 5,885 |
| | $ | 10,522 |
| | $ | 9,944 |
| | $ | 6,633 |
|
Net expenses | | 4,906 |
| | 4,816 |
| | 5,408 |
| | 3,594 |
|
Net investment income (loss) | | 979 |
| | 5,706 |
| | 4,536 |
| | 3,039 |
|
Net realized gain (loss) and net change in unrealized appreciation (depreciation) on investments | | (4,910 | ) | | (4,769 | ) | | 56 |
| | 977 |
|
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | | (3,931 | ) | | 937 |
| | 4,592 |
| | 4,016 |
|
Net asset value per share | | 18.86 |
| | 19.35 |
| | 19.71 |
| | 19.63 |
|
Basic and diluted earnings per common share | | $ | (0.25 | ) | | $ | 0.07 |
| | $ | 0.36 |
| | $ | 0.37 |
|
14. SUBSEQUENT EVENTS
Subsequent events have been evaluated through the date the consolidated financial statements were issued. There have been no subsequent events that require recognition or disclosure through the date the consolidated financial statements were issued, except as disclosed below.
Subsequent to December 31, 2016, the Company borrowed $81,000 under the Credit Facility and SPV Credit Facility to fund investment acquisitions. The Company also voluntarily repaid $124,277 under the Credit Facility and SPV Credit Facility.
Effective January 31, 2017, TwentyEighty, Inc. (fka Miller Heiman, Inc.) completed a restructuring whereby the first lien debt held by us was converted into new term loans and equity. Such term loan investments contain cash interest and PIK provisions. As a result, we realized a loss of $7,738 during the period.
On February 28, 2017, Credit Fund issued a capital call and delivered capital drawdown notices of $3,000 to each of the Company and Credit Partners. Proceeds from the capital call were due, and the related issuance of $6,000 of subordinated loans occurred, on March 7, 2017.
On March 20, 2017, the Company’s Board of Directors, including a majority of the Independent Directors, approved the renewal of the Company’s Investment Advisory Agreement with the Investment Adviser and the Company’s Administration Agreement with the Administrator, each for an additional one year term.
On March 20, 2017, the Company’s Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.41 per share, which is payable on or about April 24, 2017 to holders of record of the Company’s common stock at the close of business on March 20, 2017.
PART C
Other Information
Item 25. Financial Statements and Exhibits
(1) Financial Statements
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TCG BDC, Inc. | |
| Unaudited Financial Statements | |
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| Audited Financial Statements | |
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(2) Exhibits
|
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(a)(1) | |
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(a)(2) | |
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(b)(1) | |
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(b)(2) | |
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(c) | Not Applicable |
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(d)(1) | |
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(d)(2) | |
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(d)(3) | Form of Indenture** |
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(e) | |
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(f) | Not Applicable |
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(g) | |
| |
(h)(1)
(h)(2)
(h)(3) |
Form of Equity Distribution Agreement** |
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|
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(i) | Not Applicable |
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(j) | |
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(k)(1) | |
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(k)(2) | |
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(k)(3) | Loan and Servicing Agreement, dated as of May 24, 2013, among Carlyle GMS Finance SPV LLC, as borrower, Carlyle GMS Finance, Inc., as servicer and transferor, each of the Conduit Lenders, Liquidity Banks, Lender Agent and Institutional Lenders party thereto, Citibank, N.A. as collateral and administrative agent, Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as account bank, backup servicer and collateral administrator, and Citibank, N.A. and Suntrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc., as joint lead arrangers(12) |
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(k)(4) | Senior Secured Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of March 21, 2014, among Carlyle GMS Finance, Inc., as borrower, the Lenders party thereto, Suntrust Bank, as administrative agent, and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as syndication agent(13) |
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(k)(5) | First Amendment to the Loan and Servicing Agreement, dated as of June 30, 2014, among Carlyle GMS Finance SPV LLC, as borrower, Carlyle GMS Finance, Inc., as servicer and transferor, each of the Conduit Lenders, Liquidity Banks, Lender Agent and Institutional Lenders party thereto, Citibank, N.A. as collateral and administrative agent, Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as account bank, backup servicer and collateral administrator, and Citibank, N.A. and Suntrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc., as joint lead arrangers(14) |
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(k)(6) | Omnibus Amendment No. 1, dated as of January 8, 2015, among Carlyle GMS Finance, Inc., as borrower, the Lenders party thereto, Suntrust Bank, as administrative agent, and JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., as syndication agent(15) |
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(k)(7) | Omnibus Amendment No. 2, dated as of May 25, 2016, among Carlyle GMS Finance, Inc., as borrower, the Lenders party thereto, Suntrust Bank, as existing administrative agent, and HSBC Bank USA, N.A., as successor administrative agent(16) |
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(k)(8) | Second Amendment to the Loan and Servicing Agreement, dated as of June 19, 2015, among Carlyle GMS Finance SPV LLC, as borrower, Carlyle GMS Finance, Inc., as servicer and transferor, each of the Conduit Lenders, Liquidity Banks, Lender Agent and Institutional Lenders party thereto, Citibank, N.A. as collateral and administrative agent, Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as account bank, backup servicer and collateral administrator, and Citibank, N.A. and Suntrust Robinson Humphrey, Inc., as joint lead arrangers(17) |
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(k)(9) | |
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(k)(10) | |
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(k)(11) | Third Amendment to the Loan and Servicing Agreement, dated as of June 9, 2016, among Carlyle GMS Finance SPV LLC, as borrower, Carlyle GMS Finance, Inc., as servicer and transferor, each of the Conduit Lenders, Liquidity Banks, Lender Agent and Institutional Lenders party thereto, Citibank, N.A. as collateral and administrative agent, Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as account bank, backup servicer and collateral administrator, and Citibank, N.A., as lead arranger(20) |
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(k)(12) | |
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(k)(13) | Fourth Amendment to the Loan and Servicing Agreement, dated as of May 26, 2017, among TCG BDC SPV LLC, as borrower, TCG BDC, Inc., as servicer and transferor, each of the Conduit Lenders, Liquidity Banks, Lender Agents and Institutional Lenders party thereto, Citibank, N.A. as collateral and administrative agent, Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as account bank, backup servicer and collateral administrator, and Citibank, N.A., as lead arranger(22) |
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(k)(14) | |
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(k)(15) | |
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(l)(1) | Opinion and Consent of Venable LLP, Maryland counsel for TCG BDC, Inc.** |
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(l)(2) | Opinion and Consent of Proskauer Rose LLP, counsel for TCG BDC, Inc.** |
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(m) | Not Applicable |
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(n)(1) | |
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(n)(2) | |
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(o) | Not Applicable |
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(p) | Not Applicable |
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(q) | Not Applicable |
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(r)(1) | |
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(r)(2)
99.1
99.2
99.3
99.4
99.5
99.6
99.7
99.8 |
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** | To be filed by amendment. |
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(1) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.1 to the Company’s Form 10-12G/A filed by the Company on April 11, 2013 (File No. 000-54899) |
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(2) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Company’s Form 10-K filed by the Company on March 22, 2017 (File No. 000-54899) |
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(3) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.2 to the Company’s Form 10-12G/A filed by the Company on April 11, 2013 (File No. 000-54899) |
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(4) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 3.4 to the Company’s Form 10-K filed by the Company on March 22, 2017 (File No. 000-54899) |
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(5) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 4.1 to the Company’s Form 10-12G/A filed by the Company on April 11, 2013 (File No. 000-54899) |
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(6) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed by the Company on August 12, 2015 (File No. 814-00995) |
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(7) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit (e)(2) to the Company’s Form N-2 filed by the Company on June 5, 2017 (File No. 333-218114) |
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(8) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed by the Company on September 20, 2017 (File No. 814-00995) |
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(9) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit (j) to the Company’s Registration Statement on Form N-2 filed by the Company on May 19, 2017 (File No. 333-218114) |
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(10) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Form 10-12G/A filed by the Company on April 11, 2013 (File No. 000-54899) |
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(11) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Form 10-12G/A filed by the Company on April 11, 2013 (File No. 000-54899) |
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(12) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed by the Company on July 31, 2013 (File No. 814-00995) |
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(13) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed by the Company on May 9, 2014 (File No. 814-00995) |
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(14) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed by the Company on August 13, 2014 (File No. 814-00995) |
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(15) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.7 to the Company’s Form 10-K filed by the Company on March 27, 2015 (File No. 814-00995) |
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(16) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed by the Company on August 8, 2016 (File No. 814-00995) |
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(17) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed by the Company on August 12, 2015 (File No. 814-00995) |
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(18) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.3 to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed by the Company on August 12, 2015 (File No. 814-00995) |
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(19) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.4 to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed by the Company on August 12, 2015 (File No. 814-00995) |
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(20) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.2 to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed by the Company on August 8, 2016 (File No. 814-00995) |
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(21) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed by the Company on May 10, 2017 (File No. 814-00995) |
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(22) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit (k)(13) to the Company’s Form N-2 filed by the Company on June 5, 2017 (File No. 333-218114) |
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(23) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 10.1 to the Company’s Form 10-Q filed by the Company on November 10, 2016 (File No. 814-00995) |
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(24) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit 2.1 to the Company’s Form 8-K filed by the Company on May 9, 2017 (File No. 814-00995) |
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(25) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit (n)(2) to the Company’s Form N-2 filed by the Company on December 15, 2017 (File No. 333-222096) |
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(26) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit (r)(1) to the Company’s Form N-2 filed by the Company on June 8, 2017 (File No. 333-218114) |
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(27) | Incorporated by reference to Exhibit (r)(2) to the Company’s Form N-2 filed by the Company on June 8, 2017 (File No. 333-218114) |
Item 26. Marketing Arrangements
The information contained under the heading “Plan of Distribution” on this Registration Statement is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 27. Other Expenses of Issuance and Distribution
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Commission registration fee | $ |
NASDAQ listing fee | $ |
FINRA filing fee | $ |
Accounting fees and expenses | $ |
Legal fees and expenses | $ |
Printing | $ |
Miscellaneous fees and expenses | $ |
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Total | $ |
Item 28. Persons Controlled by or Under Common Control with Registrant
Direct Subsidiaries
The following list sets forth each of our subsidiaries, the state or country under whose laws the subsidiary is organized, and the percentage of voting securities or membership interests owned by us in such subsidiary:
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Carlyle GMS Finance MM CLO 2015-1 LLC (Delaware) | 100 | % |
TCG BDC Finance SPV LLC (Delaware) | 100 | % |
Each of our direct subsidiaries listed above is consolidated for financial reporting purposes.
In addition, we may be deemed to control certain portfolio companies. See “Portfolio Companies” in the Prospectus.
Item 29. Number of Holders of Securities
The following table sets forth the approximate number of record holders of the Registrant’s common stock and each class of the Registrant’s senior securities (including bank loans) as of January 31, 2018.
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Title of Class | Number of Record Holders |
Common shares, par value $0.01 per share | 1,739 |
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Item 30. Indemnification
Maryland law permits a Maryland corporation to include in its charter a provision limiting the liability of its directors and officers to the corporation and its stockholders for money damages except for liability resulting from (a) actual receipt of an improper benefit or profit in money, property or services or (b) active and deliberate dishonesty established by a final adjudication as being material to the cause of action. Our Charter contains such a provision which eliminates directors’ and officers’ liability to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law, subject to the requirements of the Investment Company Act.
Our Charter authorizes us, to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law and subject to the requirements of the Investment Company Act, to obligate us to indemnify any present or former director or officer or any individual who, while a director or officer and at our request, serves or has served another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise as a director, officer, partner or trustee, from and against any claim or liability to which that person may become subject or which that person may incur by reason of his or her status as a present or former director or officer and to pay or reimburse their reasonable expenses in advance of final disposition of a proceeding. Our bylaws obligate us, to the maximum extent permitted by Maryland law and the Investment Company Act, to indemnify any present or former director or officer or any individual who, while a director or officer and at our request, serves or has served another corporation, real estate investment trust, partnership, joint venture, trust, employee benefit plan or other enterprise as a director, officer, partner or trustee and who is made or threatened to be made a party to a proceeding by reason of his or her service in that capacity from and against any claim or liability to which that person may become subject or which that person may incur by reason of his or her service in that capacity and to pay or reimburse their reasonable
expenses in advance of final disposition of a proceeding. The Charter and bylaws also permit us to, with the approval of the Board or a duly authorized committee thereof, indemnify and advance expenses to any person who served a predecessor of us in any of the capacities described above and any of our employees or agents or any employees or agents of our predecessor. In accordance with the Investment Company Act, we will not indemnify any person for any liability to which such person would be subject by reason of such person’s willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office. In addition to the indemnification provided for in our bylaws, we have entered into indemnification agreements with each of our current directors and certain of our officers and with members of our investment adviser’s investment committee and we intend to enter into indemnification agreements with each of our future directors, members of our investment adviser’s investment committee and certain of our officers. The indemnification agreements provide these directors and senior officers the maximum indemnification permitted under Maryland law and the Investment Company Act. The agreements provide, among other things, for the advancement of expenses and indemnification for liabilities which such person may incur by reason of his or her status as a present or former director or officer or member of our investment adviser’s investment committee in any action or proceeding arising out of the performance of such person’s services as a present or former director or officer or member of our investment adviser’s investment committee.
Maryland law requires a corporation (unless its charter provides otherwise, which our Charter does not) to indemnify a director or officer who has been successful, on the merits or otherwise, in the defense of any proceeding to which he or she is made or threatened to be made a party by reason of his or her service in that capacity. Maryland law permits a corporation to indemnify its present and former directors and officers, among others, against judgments, penalties, fines, settlements and reasonable expenses actually incurred by them in connection with any proceeding to which they may be made or are threatened to be made a party by reason of their service in those or other capacities unless it is established that (a) the act or omission of the director or officer was material to the matter giving rise to the proceeding and (i) was committed in bad faith or (ii) was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty, (b) the director or officer actually received an improper personal benefit in money, property or services or (c) in the case of any criminal proceeding, the director or officer had reasonable cause to believe that the act or omission was unlawful. However, under Maryland law, a Maryland corporation may not indemnify for an adverse judgment in a suit by or in the right of the corporation or for a judgment of liability on the basis that a personal benefit was improperly received unless, in either case a court order indemnification, and then only for expenses. In addition, Maryland law permits a corporation to advance reasonable expenses to a director or officer upon the corporation’s receipt of (a) a written affirmation by the director or officer of his or her good faith belief that he or she has met the standard of conduct necessary for indemnification by the corporation and (b) a written undertaking by him or her or on his or her behalf to repay the amount paid or reimbursed by the corporation if it is ultimately determined that the standard of conduct was not met.
The Investment Advisory Agreement provides that, absent willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of the reckless disregard of its duties and obligations, our Investment Adviser and its officers, managers, partners, agents, employees, controlling persons, members and any other person or entity affiliated with it are entitled to indemnification from the Company for any damages, liabilities, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and amounts reasonably paid in settlement) arising from the rendering of our Investment Adviser’s services under the Investment Advisory Agreement or otherwise as an Adviser of the Company.
The Administration Agreement provides that, absent willful misfeasance, bad faith or negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of the reckless disregard of its duties and obligations, the Administrator and its officers, manager, partners, agents, employees, controlling persons, members and any other person or entity affiliated with it are entitled to indemnification from the Company for any damages, liabilities, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and amounts reasonably paid in settlement) arising from the rendering of services under the Administration Agreement or otherwise as Administrator for the Company.
Insofar as indemnification for liability arising under the Securities Act may be permitted to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Company pursuant to the foregoing provisions, or otherwise, the Company has been advised that in the opinion of the SEC such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Company of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Company in the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding) is asserted by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Company will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is against public policy as expressed in the Securities Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.
Item 31. Business and Other Connections of Our Investment Adviser
A description of any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature in which our investment adviser, and each managing director, director or executive officer of our investment adviser, is or has been during the past two fiscal years, engaged in for his or her own account or in the capacity of director, officer, employee, partner or trustee, is set forth in Part A of this Registration Statement in the section entitled “Management.” Additional information regarding our investment adviser and its officers
and directors is set forth in its Form ADV, as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC File No. 801-77691), and is incorporated herein by reference.
Item 32. Locations of Accounts and Records
All accounts, books and other documents required to be maintained by Section 31(a) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, and the rules thereunder are maintained at the offices of:
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(1) | the Registrant, TCG BDC, Inc., 520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor, New York, NY 10022; |
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(2) | the Transfer Agent, State Street Bank and Trust Company, One Heritage Drive, Floor 1, North Quincy, MA 02171; |
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(3) | the Custodian, State Street Bank and Trust Company, One Heritage Drive, Floor 1, North Quincy, MA 02171; and |
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(4) | the Investment Adviser, Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C., 520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor, New York, NY 10022. |
Item 33. Management Services
Not applicable.
Item 34. Undertakings
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1. | The Registrant undertakes to suspend the offering of shares until the Prospectus is amended if (1) subsequent to the effective date of its registration statement, the NAV declines more than ten percent from its NAV as of the effective date of the registration statement; or (2) the NAV increases to an amount greater than the net proceeds as stated in the Prospectus. |
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3. | If the securities being registered are to be offered to existing shareholders pursuant to warrants or rights, and any securities not taken by shareholders are to be reoffered to the public, the Registrant undertakes to supplement the prospectus, after the expiration of the subscription period, to set forth the results of the subscription offer, the transactions by underwriters during the subscription period, the amount of unsubscribed securities to be purchased by underwriters, and the terms of any subsequent reoffering thereof. If any public offering by the underwriters of the securities being registered is to be made on terms differing from those set forth on the cover page of the prospectus, the Registrant undertakes to file a post-effective amendment to set forth the terms of such offering. |
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4. | The Registrant undertakes: |
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(a) | to file, during any period in which offers or sales are being made, a post-effective amendment to the registration statement: |
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(1) | to include any prospectus required by Section 10(a)(3) of the 1933 Act; |
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(2) | to reflect in the prospectus any facts or events after the effective date of the registration statement (or the most recent post-effective amendment thereof) which, individually or in the aggregate, represent a fundamental change in the information set forth in the registration statement; and |
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(3) | to include any material information with respect to the plan of distribution not previously disclosed in the registration statement or any material change to such information in the registration statement; |
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(b) | that, for the purpose of determining any liability under the 1933 Act, each such post-effective amendment shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of those securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof; |
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(c) | to remove from registration by means of a post-effective amendment any of the securities being registered which remain unsold at the termination of the offering; |
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(d) | that, for the purpose of determining liability under the 1933 Act to any purchaser, if the Registrant is subject to Rule 430C: Each prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 497(b), (c), (d) or (e) under the 1933 Act as part of a registration statement relating to an offering, other than prospectuses filed in reliance on Rule 430A under the 1933 Act, shall be deemed to be part of and included in the registration statement as of the date it is first used after effectiveness. Provided, however, that no statement made in a registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration |
statement or made in a document incorporated or deemed incorporated by reference into the registration statement or prospectus that is part of the registration statement will, as to a purchaser with a time of contract of sale prior to such first use, supersede or modify any statement that was made in the registration statement or prospectus that was part of the registration statement or made in any such document immediately prior to such date of first use;
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(e) | that for the purpose of determining liability of the Registrant under the 1933 Act to any purchaser in the initial distribution of securities: |
The undersigned Registrant undertakes that in a primary offering of securities of the undersigned Registrant pursuant to this registration statement, regardless of the underwriting method used to sell the securities to the purchaser, if the securities are offered or sold to such purchaser by means of any of the following communications, the undersigned Registrant will be a seller to the purchaser and will be considered to offer or sell such securities to the purchaser:
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(1) | any preliminary prospectus or prospectus of the undersigned Registrant relating to the offering required to be filed pursuant to Rule 497 under the 1933 Act; |
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(2) | the portion of any advertisement pursuant to Rule 482 under the 1933 Act relating to the offering containing material information about the undersigned Registrant or its securities provided by or on behalf of the undersigned Registrant; and |
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(3) | any other communication that is an offer in the offering made by the undersigned Registrant to the purchaser. |
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5. | The Registrant undertakes that: |
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(a) | For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act, the information omitted from the form of prospectus filed as part of this registration statement in reliance upon Rule 430A and contained in a form of prospectus filed by the Registrant pursuant to Rule 497(h) under the Securities Act of 1933 shall be deemed to be part of this registration statement as of the time it was declared effective; and |
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(b) | For the purpose of determining any liability under the Securities Act of 1933, each post-effective amendment that contains a form of prospectus shall be deemed to be a new registration statement relating to the securities offered therein, and the offering of such securities at that time shall be deemed to be the initial bona fide offering thereof. |
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7. | The Registrant undertakes to file a post-effective amendment to the registration statement with respect to any offerings of units. |
SIGNATURES
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, the Registrant has duly caused this Registration Statement on Form N-2 to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of New York, and the State of New York on the 9th day of February 2018.
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TCG BDC, INC. |
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By: | /s/ Michael A. Hart |
Name: | Michael A. Hart |
Title: | Chief Executive Officer |
Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, this Registration Statement has been signed by the following persons in the capacities and on the dates indicated. This document may be executed by the signatories hereto on any number of counterparts, all of which constitute one and the same instrument.
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| | TCG BDC, INC. |
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Dated: February 9, 2018 | | By | /s/ Michael A. Hart |
| | | Michael A. Hart |
| | | Chairman, Director and Chief Executive Officer (principal executive officer) |
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Dated: February 9, 2018 | | By | /s/ Venugopal Rathi |
| | | Venugopal Rathi |
| | | Chief Financial Officer (principal financial and accounting officer) |
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Dated: February 9, 2018 | | By | * |
| | | Nigel D. T. Andrews |
| | | Director |
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Dated: February 9, 2018 | | By | * |
| | | Leslie E. Bradford |
| | | Director |
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Dated: February 9, 2018 | | By | * |
| | | Eliot P.S. Merrill |
| | | Director |
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Dated: February 9, 2018 | | By | * |
| | | John G. Nestor |
| | | Director |
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*By: | /s/ Orit Mizrachi |
| Orit Mizrachi |
| Attorney-in-fact |
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Exhibit
Exhibit 99.1
The information in this prospectus supplement is not complete and may be changed. [A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission.] This prospectus supplement is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject to Completion
Preliminary Prospectus Supplement dated , 20
[FORM OF PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH FUTURE COMMON STOCK OFFERINGS](*)
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To Prospectus dated , 20 )
[ ] Shares
Common Stock
We are offering for sale shares of our common stock.
We are an externally managed specialty finance company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. We seek to achieve this investment objective by investing primarily in first lien senior secured loans and second lien senior secured loans.
As of , 20 , our investment portfolio consisted of investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million.
We are managed by Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C., an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. provides the administrative services necessary for us to operate. Both Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C. and Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. are wholly owned subsidiaries of Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C., a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group L.P. The Carlyle Group L.P. is a global alternative asset manager with approximately $ billion of assets under management as of , 20 .
Our common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CGBD.” On , 20 , the last reported sales price of our common stock on The NASDAQ Global Select Market was $ per share. The net asset value (“NAV”) per share of our common stock at , 20 (the last date prior to the date of this prospectus supplement on which we determined NAV) was $ .
Investing in our common stock involves risks that are described in the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page [ ] of the accompanying prospectus, including the risk of leverage.
Shares of closed-end investment companies, including BDCs, that are listed on an exchange frequently trade at a discount to their NAV per share. If our shares trade at a discount to our NAV per share, it may increase the risk of loss for purchasers in any offerings pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain important information you should know before investing in our securities. Please read this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus before you invest
and keep each for future reference. Information required to be included in a Statement of Additional Information may be found in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We also file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information about us with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). You may obtain this information or make stockholder inquiries by written or oral request and free of charge by contacting us by mail at our principal executive offices located at 520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor, New York, NY 10022, on our website at www.tcgbdc.com, or by calling us at (212) 813-4900. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, and you should not consider that information to be a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. The SEC also maintains a website at http://www.sec.gov that contains this information.
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| | Per Share | | Total | |
Public offering price | | $ | | | $ | | |
Underwriting discount (sales load) | | $ | | | $ | | |
Proceeds to us, before expenses(1) | | $ | | | $ | | |
(1) Before deducting expenses payable by us related to this offering, estimated at $ .
[The underwriters may also purchase up to an additional shares from us at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount, within days of the date of this prospectus supplement to cover overallotments, if any. If the underwriters exercise this option in full, the total public offering price will be $ , the total underwriting discount (sales load) paid by us will be $ , and total proceeds, before expenses, will be $ .]
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The shares will be ready for delivery on or about , 20 .
The date of this prospectus supplement is , 20 .
(*) In addition to the sections outlined in this form of prospectus supplement, each prospectus supplement actually used in connection with an offering conducted pursuant to the registration statement to which this form of prospectus supplement is attached will be updated to include such other information as may then be required to be disclosed therein pursuant to applicable law or regulation as in effect as of the date of each such prospectus supplement, including, without limitation, information particular to the terms of each security offered thereby and any related risk factors or tax considerations pertaining thereto. This form of prospectus supplement is intended only to provide an approximation of the nature and type of disclosure that may appear in any actual prospectus supplement used for the purposes of offering securities pursuant to the registration statement to which this form of prospectus supplement is attached, and is not intended to and does not contain all of the information that would appear is any such actual prospectus supplement, and should not be used or relied upon in connection with any offer or sale of securities.
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized any other person to provide you with different information or to make any representations not contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, as applicable. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.
Prospectus Supplement
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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| Page |
Forward-Looking Statements | S-[ ] |
The Company | S-[ ] |
Fees and Expenses | S-[ ] |
Selected Financial and Other Information | S-[ ] |
Use of Proceeds | S-[ ] |
Price Range of Common Stock and Distributions | S-[ ] |
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations | S-[ ] |
Capitalization | S-[ ] |
Underwriting | S-[ ] |
Legal Matters | S-[ ] |
Financial Statements | S-[ ] |
Prospectus
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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| Page |
[Insert table of contents from base prospectus.] | |
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,” “should,” “may,” “plans,” “continue,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “would,” “could,” “targets,” “projects,” “outlook,” “potential,” “predicts” and variations of these words and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements include these words. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss our plans, strategies, prospects and expectations concerning our business, operating results, financial condition and other similar matters. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. Our forward-looking statements include information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus regarding general domestic and global economic conditions, our future financing plans, our ability to operate as a BDC and the expected performance of, and the yield on, our portfolio companies. There may be events in the future, however, that we are not able to predict accurately or control. The factors listed under “Risk Factors” in the accompanying prospectus, as well as any cautionary language in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. Before you invest in our securities, you should be aware that the occurrence of the events described in these risk factors and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial position. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which we make it. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Under Sections 27A(b)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E(b)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 do not apply to statements made in connection with any offering of securities pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or in a beneficial ownership report we file under the Exchange Act.
The following factors are among those that may cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements:
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• | our, or our portfolio companies’, future business, operations, operating results or prospects; |
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• | the return or impact of current and future investments; |
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• | the impact of any protracted decline in the liquidity of credit markets on our business; |
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• | the impact of fluctuations in interest rates on our business; |
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• | currency fluctuations could adversely affect the results of our investments in foreign companies, particularly to the extent that we receive payments denominated in foreign currency rather than U.S. dollars; |
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• | our future operating results; |
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• | the impact of changes in laws, policies or regulations (including the interpretation thereof) affecting our operations or the operations of our portfolio companies; |
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• | the valuation of our investments in portfolio companies, particularly those having no liquid trading market; |
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• | our ability to recover unrealized losses; |
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• | market conditions and our ability to access alternative debt markets and additional debt and equity capital; |
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• | our contractual arrangements and relationships with third parties; |
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• | the general economy and its impact on the industries in which we invest; |
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• | the financial condition of and ability of our current and prospective portfolio companies to achieve their objectives; |
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• | competition with other entities and our affiliates for investment opportunities; |
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• | the speculative and illiquid nature of our investments; |
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• | the use of borrowed money to finance a portion of our investments; |
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• | our expected financings and investments; |
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• | the adequacy of our cash resources and working capital; |
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• | the loss of key personnel; |
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• | the costs associated with being a publicly traded company; |
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• | the timing, form and amount of any dividend distributions; |
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• | the timing of cash flows, if any, from the operations of our portfolio companies; |
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• | the ability to consummate acquisitions; |
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• | the ability of our Investment Adviser to locate suitable investments for us and to monitor and administer our investments; |
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• | the ability of The Carlyle Group Employee Co., L.L.C. and CELF Advisors LLP to attract and retain highly talented professionals that can provide services to our Investment Adviser and Administrator; |
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• | our ability to maintain our status as a BDC; and |
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• | our intent to satisfy the requirements of a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Code. |
Our actual results and condition could differ materially from those implied or expressed in the forward-looking statements for any reason, including the factors set forth in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
THE COMPANY
This summary highlights some of the information contained elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. This summary is not complete and may not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in the securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. You should review the more detailed information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, especially the information set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Unless indicated otherwise in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, or the context suggests otherwise:
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• | the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “TCG BDC” and “Company” refer to TCG BDC, Inc., a Maryland corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries; |
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• | the term “SPV” refers to TCG BDC SPV LLC, our wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary; |
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• | the term “2015-1 Issuer” refers to Carlyle GMS Finance MM CLO 2015-1 LLC, our wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary; |
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• | the term “Carlyle” refers to The Carlyle Group L.P. (NASDAQ: CG) and its affiliates and consolidated subsidiaries (other than portfolio companies of its affiliated funds); |
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• | the term “CDL” refers to the Carlyle Direct Lending platform, which is Carlyle’s direct lending business unit that operates within the broader Carlyle Global Credit (“CGC”) segment; |
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• | the terms “CGCA” and “Administrator” refer to Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C., our administrator, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of Carlyle; |
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• | the terms “CGCIM” and “Investment Adviser” refer to Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C., our investment adviser, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of Carlyle; and |
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• | the term “Credit Fund” refers to Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, an unconsolidated limited liability company, in which we own a 50% economic interest and co-manage with Credit Partners USA LLC, and its wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary.
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We have elected to be regulated as a business development company, or a “BDC,” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Investment Company Act”). In addition, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we have elected to be treated as a regulated investment company, or RIC, under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (together, with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Code”).
[TCG BDC, Inc.
We are an externally managed specialty finance company focused on lending to middle market companies. We are managed by our Investment Adviser, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carlyle. Since we commenced investment operations in May 2013 through , 20 , we have invested approximately $ billion in aggregate principal amount of debt and equity investments prior to any subsequent exits or repayments. Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), which we believe is a useful proxy for cash flow. We seek to achieve our investment objective primarily through direct originations of secured debt, including first lien senior secured loans (which may include stand-alone first lien loans, first lien/last out loans and “unitranche” loans) and second lien senior secured loans (collectively, “Middle Market Senior Loans”), with the balance of our assets invested in higher yielding investments (which may include unsecured debt, mezzanine debt and investments in equities).
We generate revenues primarily in the form of interest income from the investments we hold. In addition, we generate income from dividends on direct equity investments, capital gains on the sales of loans and debt and equity securities and various loan origination and other fees.
In conducting our investment activities, we believe that we benefit from the significant scale and resources of Carlyle, including our Investment Adviser and its affiliates. We have operated our business as a BDC since we began our investment activities in May 2013.
Investment Strategy
Our Investment Adviser is served by an origination, capital markets, underwriting and portfolio management team comprised of experienced investment professionals in the CDL platform, which is Carlyle’s direct lending business unit that operates within the broader Carlyle Global Credit platform (which in turn operates within Carlyle’s CGC segment). Our investment approach is focused on long-term credit performance and principal preservation. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team utilizes a rigorous, systematic, and consistent investment process, refined over Carlyle’s -year history investing in private markets across multiple cycles, designed to achieve enhanced risk-adjusted returns.
Origination Strategy
Our Investment Adviser has built a strong direct origination platform with coverage of over private equity firms and over lending institutions. Our Investment Adviser’s origination team sources approximately opportunities per year for us with an ultimate investment rate by us of less than % annually. The scale of our Investment Adviser’s origination platform allows us to maximize access to investment opportunities and enhance overall investment selectivity. We further seek to reduce risk by partnering with experienced sponsors with strong track records. We believe lending to companies owned by leading private equity firms (versus non-sponsored companies) has several important and potentially defensive characteristics. Sponsor involvement provides for:
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• | maximization of investment opportunities as approximately % of middle market loan volume is sponsor backed as of , 20 , according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Middle Market Fact Sheet; |
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• | validation of enterprise value; |
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• | support, as needed, in strategy, operations and governance of portfolio companies; and |
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• | the potential for additional capital commitment by sponsor if company requires financial support. |
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Investment Approach and Risk Monitoring of Investments
Our Investment Adviser utilizes a rigorous, systematic and consistent due diligence underwriting process to evaluate all investment opportunities. Our Investment Adviser’s investment teams primarily consist of origination professionals, research analysts and underwriters. An investment team works on a particular transaction from initial screening through closing, and the same team continues to monitor the credit for the life cycle of the investment.
During the investment process, the investment team works closely with the private equity sponsor in all aspects of due diligence, including onsite meetings, due diligence calls, and review of third party diligence reports. Our Investment Adviser also conducts an independent evaluation of the business, utilizing both internal and external sources. A key differentiator is our Investment Adviser’s integrated credit platform and collaborative efforts that leverage Carlyle’s broader resources, which include access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge.
Diversification of our portfolio is a key tenet of our risk management strategy, including diversification by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. Additionally, we view proactive portfolio monitoring as a vital part of the investment process. Our Investment Adviser utilizes a proprietary credit surveillance report and software system, an objective rules-based Internal Risk Rating system and proprietary valuation model to assess risk in the portfolio. In addition to monthly portfolio reviews, our Investment Adviser compiles a quarterly risk report that examines, among other metrics,
migration in portfolio and loan level investment mix, industry diversification, Internal Risk Ratings, revenue, EBITDA, and leverage. Our Investment Adviser supplements these policies with additional analyses and projections, including stress scenarios, to assess the potential exposure of our portfolio to variable macroeconomic factors and market conditions.
Strategic Relationships
We have established two highly differentiated strategic relationships that expand our product offering and increase our scale, enhancing our investment opportunities and optimizing selectivity rates, as we determine which credits provide the best risk adjusted returns for our stockholders. In early 2015, our Investment Adviser developed a key strategic relationship with Madison Capital Funding LLC (“Madison Capital”), a prominent non-bank finance company that is a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company, which has allowed us to offer various lending solutions to potential borrowers and has increased our coverage of U.S. middle market private equity firms. Additionally, in early 2016, we agreed to co-invest with Credit Partners USA LLC (“Credit Partners”), a wholly owned subsidiary of a large Canadian pension fund, to form Credit Fund, a joint venture primarily focused on investing in first lien loans to middle market companies. We and Credit Partners each have 50% economic ownership of Credit Fund and have commitments to fund, from time to time, capital of up to $400 million each. See “—Competitive Strengths—Strategic Relationships” in the accompanying prospectus.
Investment Portfolio
As of , 20 , we had investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million. During the ended , 20 , we invested approximately $ billion in new investments. During the same period, we had approximately $ million in exits and repayments resulting in net portfolio increase of approximately $ million.
As of , 20 , our portfolio was invested across industries. As of , 20 , no single portfolio company (excluding Credit Fund) represented more than % of our investments at fair value and no single industry represented more than % of our investments at fair value. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of our investments were in U.S. domestic companies. As of such date, the weighted average remaining term of our debt investments was approximately years. Based on fair value as of , 20 , our portfolio consisted of approximately % in secured debt (% in first lien debt (including % in first lien/last out loans) and % in second lien debt), % in Credit Fund, % in structured finance obligations and % in equity investments. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a fixed interest rate and approximately % of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate, which primarily are subject to interest rate floors.
As of , 20 , the weighted average yield of our first lien debt (including first lien/last out loans) was % and % based on the amortized cost and fair value, respectively. During that same period, the weighted average yield on our second lien debt was % and % based on the amortized cost and fair value, respectively.
We invest primarily in loans to middle market companies whose debt, if rated, is rated below investment grade, and, if not rated, would likely be rated below investment grade if it were rated (that is, below BBB- or Baa3, which is often referred to as “junk”). Exposure to below investment grade instruments involves certain risks, including speculation with respect to the borrower’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal.
As of , 20 , we and Credit Partners had each contributed $ million and $ million, respectively, to Credit Fund. As of , 20 , Credit Fund’s portfolio was invested in companies across industries. As of , 20 , Credit Fund had investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of Credit Fund’s investments were in U.S. domestic companies, and % was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate with an interest rate floor.
Competitive Strengths
Market Leading Direct Origination Platform. We have access to CDL’s strong direct origination platform, with coverage of over private equity firms and over lending institutions. We take a regional approach to client coverage with offices in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The origination team is highly experienced, and maintains deep relationships with a broad network of financial sponsors, commercial and investment banks, and finance companies, which are expected to continue to generate a significant amount of investment opportunities.
Scaled Investment Platform and Capabilities. CDL is an established, scaled investment platform with the ability to invest across the entire capital structure. CDL’s broad capabilities and ability to offer a full financing solution give us access to a wide funnel of opportunities, allow us to select high quality credits, construct the optimal financing package as it relates to price and terms, assert greater control over documentation, and generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders. We believe CDL’s hold sizes are among the largest in the middle market, which we believe results in the ability to generate premium economics, as sponsors are willing to pay higher spreads for financing certainty. CDL’s large hold sizes and strategic relationships enable us to provide certainty with regards to spreads, fees, structure and covenants. Furthermore, the breadth of CDL’s debt offerings also allows us to deploy capital at a measured pace across credit cycles and construct a portfolio that will perform in a broad range of economic conditions.
One Carlyle Capabilities Leading to Superior Credit Performance. We benefit from our Investment Adviser’s utilization of the broader resources of Carlyle, which includes access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge from almost three decades of private market investing. Our underwriting process leverages Carlyle’s investment professionals across multiple alternative investment asset classes, operating executives, information obtained through direct ownership of over companies and lending relationships with over companies, credit industry research analysts, and in-house government affairs and economic research teams. Our systematic and consistent approach is augmented by industry expertise and tenured underwriting professionals who both lead our Investment Adviser’s investment team and serve on our Investment Adviser’s investment committee. Strong credit underwriting has been a key component of our investing process, where our Investment Adviser seeks to select borrowers whose businesses are expected to generate substantial cash flows, to have leading management teams, stable operating histories, high barriers to entry and meaningful equity value, and to retain significant value.
Experienced Investment Team. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team comprises investment professionals in CDL who have extensive middle market lending experience. The investment team consists of dedicated investment professionals. The seven members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee have an average of years of industry experience. We believe the breadth and depth of the investment team in sourcing, structuring, executing, and monitoring a broad range of private investments provides us with a significant competitive advantage in building a high quality portfolio of investments.
Carefully Constructed Portfolio of Diversified Senior Secured, Floating Rate Loans. Our portfolio has been defensively constructed, exhibits strong credit quality, generates stable risk-adjusted returns and allows us to generate meaningful investment income, and consequently dividend income, for our stockholders. We have invested approximately $ billion since our inception in directly originated middle market loans. Our portfolio is highly diversified by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. As of , 20 , we had a portfolio of investments in portfolio companies across industries and unique sponsors. As of , 20 , approximately % of our debt investments bore interest at floating rates, subject to interest rate floors, and % of our portfolio was invested in first lien debt investments (including % first lien/last out loans).
Strategic Relationships. Our strategic relationships enhance our ability to provide full financing solutions to our borrowers, which results in our being able to generate optimal economics, significant access to diligence and control over documentation terms. Additionally, these relationships further strengthen our origination platform and ability to develop creative financing solutions to invest through the capital structure based on where we believe the best risk-adjusted return opportunities reside. Our Investment Adviser’s strategic relationship with Madison Capital, a leading middle market senior lender with approximately $ billion of assets under management (“AUM”) as of , 20, allows us to offer a full unitranche financing solution. This product provides middle market companies with certainty for financing without syndication risk and generates attractive risk-adjusted returns on these investments for our stockholders. Madison Capital provides the first lien/first out portion of the unitranche loan, which allows us to provide the first lien/last out portion. Collectively, we and Madison Capital have provided over $ billion (before any repayments or exits) of unitranche loans to middle market companies. The relationship has been extremely successful, and we frequently invest alongside Madison Capital on a variety of investment opportunities (in addition to unitranche loans).
Separately, Credit Fund, our strategic joint venture with a large Canadian pension fund, primarily invests in first lien loans of middle market companies. Since its inception and through , 20 , Credit Fund has provided $ million (before any repayments or exits) of senior secured loans. This joint venture provides us with an enhanced first lien loan product for certain transactions, thus further increasing our deal flow, and results in an increased number of borrowers in our portfolio, which provides strategic benefits as we build incumbent positions for future growth and investment opportunity.
Market Opportunity
We believe the middle market lending environment provides attractive investment opportunities as a result of a combination of the following factors:
Favorable Market Environment. We believe the middle market remains one of the most attractive investment areas due to its large size, superior value relative to the broadly syndicated loan market, and supply-demand imbalance that continues to favor non-bank lenders. We believe market yields remain attractive and leverage levels at middle market companies are stable, creating a favorable investment environment.
Large and Growing U.S. Middle Market. The U.S. middle market is the largest market by many measures, which is expected to enable us to invest selectively as approximately % of middle market loan volume is sponsor-backed. According to S&P Capital IQ, as of , 20 , there are over U.S. middle market companies generating between $20 million and $1 billion in annual revenue, compared with approximately companies with revenue greater than $1 billion. We believe these middle market companies, both sponsored and non-sponsored, represent a significant growth segment of the U.S. economy and often require substantial capital investments to grow.
Leverage, Pricing and Risk. According to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Quarterly Leveraged Lending Review (Q 20 ), middle market companies are less levered, have larger equity contributions, experience lower rates of default, and achieve higher recoveries versus large cap broadly syndicated loans. Middle market loans also tend to achieve more attractive pricing and structures, including documentation, covenants and information/governance, than broadly syndicated loans. Over the year period from 20 to 20, middle market loans have exhibited an approximate basis points spread premium over broadly syndicated loans according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Leveraged Loan Index.
Market Environment Favors Non-Traditional Lenders. Traditional middle market lenders, such as commercial and regional banks and commercial finance companies, have contracted their origination and lending activities and are focusing on more liquid asset classes or have exited the business. At the same time, institutional investors have sought to invest in larger, more liquid offerings, limiting the ability of middle market companies to raise debt capital through public capital markets. This has resulted in other capital providers, such as specialty finance companies, structured-credit vehicles such as collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), BDCs, and private investment funds, actively investing in the middle market. We believe the aforementioned changes and restrictions have created a large and growing market opportunity for alternative lenders such as us.
Favorable Capital Markets Trends. Current and future demand for middle market financings, driven by private equity investment and upcoming maturities are expected to provide us with ample deal flow. Current data from the Thompson Reuters LPC Middle Market Weekly Report ( , 20 ) suggests that approximately $ billion of upcoming loan maturities for middle market companies are due between 20 and 20, and the PitchBook PE & VE Fundraising and Capital Overhang Report ( H 20 ) suggests that there is over $ billion of uninvested capital in 2010-YTD Q 20 vintage private equity funds. We believe these refinancings and uninvested capital will provide a steady flow of attractive opportunities for well-positioned lenders with deep and longstanding sponsor and market relationships, particularly for providers of full capital structure financing solutions.
Benefits of Traditional Middle Market Focus. We believe there are significant advantages in our focus on the traditional middle market, a market we categorize to include borrowers with EBITDA in the range of approximately $10 million to $100 million. Traditional middle market companies are generally less levered than companies with EBITDA in excess of $100 million and loans to those borrowers offer more attractive economics in the form of upfront fees, spreads, and prepayment penalties. Senior secured middle market loans typically have strong defensive characteristics: these loans have priority in payment among a portfolio company’s security holders and they carry the least risk among investments in the capital structure; these investments, which are secured by the portfolio company’s assets, typically contain carefully structured covenant packages which allow lenders to take early action in situations where obligors underperform; and these characteristics can provide protection against credit deterioration. Middle market lenders like us are often able to complete more thorough due diligence investigations prior to investment than lenders in the broadly syndicated space.
Carlyle and Our Investment Adviser
Our investment activities are managed by our Investment Adviser. Our Investment Adviser is responsible for sourcing potential investments, conducting research and due diligence on prospective investments and equity sponsors, analyzing investment opportunities, structuring our investments and monitoring our investments on an ongoing basis.
Our Investment Adviser is an affiliate of Carlyle. Carlyle is one of the world’s largest and most diversified multi-product global alternative asset management firms. Carlyle and its affiliates advise an array of specialized investment funds and other investment vehicles that invest across a range of industries, geographies, asset classes and investment strategies. Since its founding in Washington, D.C. in 1987, Carlyle has grown to become a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $ billion in AUM across investment vehicles as of , 20.
Carlyle Global Credit is one of the largest integrated credit platforms in the industry with approximately $ billion in AUM and employees with multiple offices, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, as of , 20 . Carlyle Global Credit’s investment strategies include loans and structured credit, distressed credit, private credit (through CDL) and energy credit. CDL advises four funds, including us, totaling, in the aggregate, approximately $ billion in AUM as of , 20 .
Our Investment Adviser’s seven-person investment committee is responsible for reviewing and approving our investment opportunities. The members of the investment committee have experience investing through different credit cycles. The investment committee is led by Michael A. Hart, Managing Director of Carlyle, Head of CDL, Chairman of our Board of Directors (“Board”) and our Chief Executive Officer and also includes Jeffrey S. Levin, Managing Director of Carlyle and our President. See “Management—Portfolio Management” in the accompanying prospectus for biographical information of members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee.
Our Investment Adviser also serves, and may serve in the future, as investment adviser to other existing and future affiliated BDCs that have investment objectives similar to our investment objectives.
Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest
Our Investment Adviser’s investment team forms the exclusive Carlyle platform for U.S. middle market debt investments. The SEC has granted us exemptive relief that permits us and certain of our affiliates to co-invest in suitable negotiated investments (the “Exemptive Relief”). If Carlyle is presented with investment opportunities that generally fall within our investment objective and other board-established criteria and those of other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements (including other existing and future affiliated BDCs) whether focused on a debt strategy or otherwise, Carlyle allocates such opportunities among us and such other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements in a manner consistent with the Exemptive Relief, our Investment Adviser’s allocation policies and procedures and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures, where applicable, as discussed below. More specifically, investment opportunities in suitable negotiated investments for investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements managed by our Investment Adviser, and other funds, accounts or similar arrangements managed by affiliated investment advisers that seek to co-invest with us or other Carlyle BDCs, are allocated in accordance with the Exemptive Relief. Investment opportunities for all other investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements not managed by our Investment Adviser are allocated in accordance with their respective investment advisers’ and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures. Such policies and procedures may result in certain investment opportunities that are attractive to us being allocated to other funds that are not managed by our Investment Adviser. Carlyle’s, including our Investment Adviser’s, allocation policies and procedures are designed to allocate investment opportunities fairly and equitably among its clients over time, taking into account a variety of factors which may include the sourcing of the transaction, the nature of the investment focus of each such other Carlyle fund, accounts or other similar arrangements, each fund’s, account’s or similar arrangement’s desired level of investment, the relative amounts of capital available for investment, the nature and extent of involvement in the transaction on the part of the respective teams of investment professionals, any requirements contained in the governing agreements of the Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements and other considerations deemed relevant by Carlyle in good faith, including suitability considerations and reputational matters. The application of these considerations may cause differences in the performance of different Carlyle funds, accounts and similar arrangements that have similar strategies. For a further explanation of the allocation of opportunities and other related conflicts and risks, please see “Business—Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest” in the accompanying prospectus.
Because we are a BDC, we are not generally permitted to make loans to companies controlled by Carlyle or other funds managed by Carlyle.
We are also not permitted to make any co-investments with clients of our Investment Adviser or its affiliates (including any fund managed by Carlyle) without complying with our Exemptive Relief, subject to certain exceptions, including with respect to our downstream affiliates. Co-investments made under the Exemptive Relief are subject to compliance with the conditions and other requirements contained in the Exemptive Relief, which could limit our ability to participate in a co-investment transaction. We may also co-invest with funds managed by Carlyle or any of its downstream affiliates, subject to
compliance with applicable law and regulations, existing regulatory guidance, and our Investment Adviser’s and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures.
Operating and Regulatory Structure
We have elected to be treated as a BDC under the Investment Company Act. As a BDC, we are required to comply with certain regulatory requirements and are generally prohibited from acquiring assets other than qualifying assets, unless, after giving effect to any acquisition, at least 70% of our total assets are qualifying assets. Qualifying assets generally include securities of eligible portfolio companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and high quality debt instruments maturing in one year or less from the time of investment. Under the rules of the Investment Company Act, “eligible portfolio companies” include (i) private U.S. operating companies, (ii) public U.S. operating companies whose securities are not listed on a national securities exchange (e.g., the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex Equities and The NASDAQ Global Market) or registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and (iii) public U.S. operating companies having a market capitalization of less than $250 million.
Also, while we may borrow funds to make investments, our ability to use debt is limited in certain significant aspects. In particular, as a BDC, we must have at least 200% asset coverage calculated pursuant to the Investment Company Act in order to incur debt or issue preferred stock (which we refer to collectively as “senior securities”). In effect, we are permitted to borrow one dollar for every dollar we have in assets less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities issued by us, which requires us to finance our investments with at least as much equity as senior securities in the aggregate. Certain of our credit facilities also require that we maintain asset coverage of at least 200%. See “—Use of Leverage” and “Regulation” in the accompanying prospectus.
In addition, as a consequence of our election to be treated as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes, our asset growth is dependent on our ability to raise equity capital through the issuance of common stock. RICs generally must distribute substantially all of their investment company taxable income (as defined under the Code) to stockholders as dividends in order to preserve their status as a RIC and not be subject to additional U.S. federal corporate-level taxes. This requirement, in turn, generally prevents us from using our earnings to support our operations, including making new investments. See “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” in the accompanying prospectus.
Use of Leverage
Leverage increases the potential for gain and loss on amounts invested and, as a result, increases the risks associated with investing in our securities. The costs associated with our borrowings, including any increase in the fees payable to our Investment Adviser, are borne by our stockholders. Any decision on our part to use borrowings depends upon our assessment of the attractiveness of available investment opportunities in relation to the costs and perceived risks of such leverage. Through the SPV, our wholly owned subsidiary, we have a $ million senior secured revolving credit facility with various lenders (as amended, the “SPV Credit Facility”). In addition, we have a $ million senior secured revolving credit facility with various lenders (as amended, the “Credit Facility” and, together with the SPV Credit Facility, the “Facilities”).
On June 26, 2015, through our wholly owned subsidiary, the 2015-1 Issuer, we completed a $400 million term debt securitization (the “2015-1 Debt Securitization”), of which we retained 100% of the preferred interests (the “Preferred Interests”), or approximately $126 million at closing. For more information on our debt, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources” in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Corporate Structure
We were formed in February 2012 as a Maryland corporation structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment company. On May 2, 2013, we elected to be regulated as a BDC and commenced substantial investment operations upon the completion of our initial closing of equity capital commitments. Effective on March 15, 2017, we changed our name from “Carlyle GMS Finance, Inc.” to “TCG BDC, Inc.”
Recent Developments
[Insert description of recent developments at time of offering.]
Corporate Information
Our principal executive offices are located at 520 Madison Ave., 40th Floor, New York, New York 10022 and our telephone number is (212) 813-4900. We maintain a website located at www.tcgbdc.com. Information on our website is not incorporated into or a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.]
FEES AND EXPENSES
The following table is intended to assist you in understanding the costs and expenses that an investor in our common stock will bear, directly or indirectly, based on the assumptions set forth below. We caution you that some of the percentages indicated in the table below are estimates and may vary. The following table should not be considered a representation of our future expenses. Actual expenses may be greater or less than shown. The expenses shown in the table under “estimated annual expenses” are based on estimated amounts for our current fiscal year. Except where the context suggests otherwise, whenever this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus contains a reference to fees or expenses paid by “us,” the “Company” or says that “we” will pay fees or expenses, stockholders will indirectly bear these fees or expenses as our investors.
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Stockholder transaction expenses (as a percentage of offering price): | | | |
Sales load | | | %(1) |
Offering expenses | | | %(2) |
Dividend reinvestment plan expenses | | None | (3) |
Total stockholder transaction expenses paid | | | % |
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Annual expenses (as a percentage of net assets attributable to common stock)(4): | | | |
Base management fee payable under the Investment Advisory Agreement | | | %(5) |
Incentive fee payable under the Investment Advisory Agreement ( % of pre-incentive fee net investment income and capital gains) | | | %(6) |
Interest payments on borrowed funds | | | %(7) |
Other expenses | | | %(8)(10) |
Acquired fund fees and expenses | | | %(9) |
Total annual expenses | | | %(10) |
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(1) | The underwriting discounts and commissions with respect to the shares sold in this offering, which is a one-time fee, is the only sales load paid in connection with this offering. |
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(2) | Amount reflects estimated offering expenses of approximately $ and based on the shares offered in this offering (assuming that the underwriters do not exercise their overallotment option). |
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(3) | The expenses of the dividend reinvestment plan are included in “Other expenses.” For additional information, see “Dividend Reinvestment Plan” in the accompanying prospectus. |
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(4) | The “net assets attributable to common stock” used to calculate percentages in this table is our net assets of $ billion as of , 20 . |
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(5) | The base management fee under the Investment Advisory Agreement is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears at an annual rate of 1.50% of our average gross assets, including assets acquired through the incurrence of debt, |
excluding cash and cash equivalents and adjusted for share issuances or repurchases. For purposes of the table above, the percentage reflected is calculated based on our average net assets (rather than our average gross assets) for the same period. The base management fee is payable quarterly in arrears. See “Management—Investment Advisory Agreement” in the accompanying prospectus.
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(6) We may have capital gains and net investment income that could result in the payment of an incentive fee to the Investment Adviser in the twelve months after the date of this prospectus supplement. The incentive fee payable in the example below is estimated based on annualizing our actual results for the ended , 20 as if they had occurred following our initial public offering, and assumes that the incentive fee is % for all relevant periods. However, the incentive fee payable to the Investment Adviser is based on our performance and will not be paid unless we achieve certain goals.
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The incentive fee has two parts. The first part is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears based on our pre-incentive fee net investment income for the immediately preceding calendar quarter. The second part is determined and payable in arrears as of the end of each calendar year (or upon termination of the Investment Advisory Agreement, as of the termination date) in an amount equal to % of our realized capital gains, if any, on a cumulative basis from inception through the end of each calendar year, computed net of all realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation on a cumulative basis, less the aggregate amount of any previously paid capital gain incentive fees.
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(7) | Interest payments on borrowed funds is estimated based on annualizing our interest expense for the ended , 20 under our secured borrowings and the notes offered in the Debt Securitization (the “2015-1 Notes”) excluding fees (such as fees on undrawn amounts and amortization of upfront fees). This estimated item is based on the assumption that our borrowings and interest costs after an offering will remain similar to those prior to such offering. We may borrow additional funds from time to time to make investments to the extent we determine that the economic situation is conducive to doing so. Our stockholders indirectly bear the costs of borrowings under any debt instruments we may enter into. |
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(8) | Includes our estimated overhead expenses, such as payments under the Administration Agreement for certain expenses incurred by the Investment Adviser. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Administration Agreement” and “—Sub-Administration Agreements” in the accompanying prospectus. The expenses in this table are based on our actual other expenses for the ended , 20 . |
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(9) | Our stockholders indirectly bear the expenses of underlying funds or other investment vehicles in which we invest that (1) are investment companies or (2) would be investment companies under Section 3(a) of the Investment Company Act but for the exceptions to that definition provided for in Sections 3(c)(1) and 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act. This amount includes the estimated annual fees and expenses of Credit Fund, which was our only acquired fund as of , 20 . |
Example
The following example demonstrates the projected dollar amount of total cumulative expenses over various periods with respect to a hypothetical investment in our common stock. In calculating the following expense amounts, we have assumed we would have no additional leverage and that our annual operating expenses would remain at the levels set forth in the table above. The incentive fee payable in the example below assumes that the incentive fee is % for all relevant periods. Transaction expenses are included in the following example.
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| | 1 year | | 3 years | | 5 years | | 10 years | |
You would pay the following expenses on a $1,000 common stock investment, assuming a 5% annual return (none of which is subject to the incentive fee based on capital gains)(1) | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | |
(1) Assumes that we will not realize any capital gains computed net of all realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation.
The foregoing table is to assist you in understanding the various costs and expenses that an investor in our common stock will bear directly or indirectly. While the example assumes, as required by the SEC, a 5% annual return, our performance will vary and may result in a return greater or less than 5%. The income portion of the incentive fee under the Investment Advisory Agreement, which, assuming a 5% annual return, would either not be payable or have an immaterial impact on the expense amounts shown above, is not included in the example. If we achieve sufficient returns on our investments, including through net realized capital gains, to trigger an incentive fee of a material amount, our expenses, and returns to our investors, would be higher. In addition, while the example assumes reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at NAV, under certain circumstances, reinvestment of dividends and other distributions under our dividend reinvestment plan may occur at a price per share that differs from NAV. See “Dividend Reinvestment Plan” in the accompanying prospectus for additional information regarding our dividend reinvestment plan.
This example and the expenses in the table above should not be considered a representation of our future expenses, and actual expenses (including the cost of debt, if any, and other expenses) may be greater or less than those shown.
SELECTED FINANCIAL AND OTHER INFORMATION
The tables below set forth our selected consolidated historical financial data for the periods indicated. The selected consolidated historical financial data as of and for the years ended December 31, 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 and 20 , have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included in “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of the accompanying prospectus. Interim financial information for the ended , 20 and 20 has been derived from our unaudited interim financial statements. Our unaudited interim financial statements were prepared on a basis consistent with our audited financial statements and, in our opinion, include all adjustments necessary for the fair statement of the results for the periods represented. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of future results. The selected financial data in this section is not intended to replace the financial statements and is qualified in its entirety by the financial statements and related notes included in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
The selected consolidated financial information and other data presented below should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our financial statements and the related notes thereto, which are included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
[Insert Selected Financial and Other Information reflecting most recently filed financials prior to the offering.]
USE OF PROCEEDS
We estimate that the net proceeds we will receive from the sale of shares of our common stock in this offering will be approximately $ million (or approximately $ million if the underwriters fully exercise their overallotment option), in each case assuming a public offering price of $ per share, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions of $ million (or approximately $ million if the underwriters fully exercise their overallotment option) payable by us and estimated offering expenses of approximately $ million payable by us.
[Describe use of proceeds and include any other relevant information to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
PRICE RANGE OF COMMON STOCK AND DISTRIBUTIONS
Our common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CGBD.” Our common stock has historically traded at prices both above and below our NAV per share. It is not possible to predict whether our common stock will trade at, above or below NAV. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Offerings Pursuant to this Prospectus—Our shares of common stock have traded at a discount from NAV and may do so again, which could limit our ability to raise additional equity capital” in the accompanying prospectus.
The following table sets forth, for each fiscal quarter for the fiscal years ended December 31, 20 , 20 and 20 , the NAV per share of our common stock, the range of high and low closing sales prices of our common stock, the closing sales price as a premium (discount) to NAV and the dividends or distributions declared by us. On , 20 , the last reported closing sales price of our common stock on The NASDAQ Global Select Market was $ per share, which represented a [premium][discount] of approximately % to the NAV per share reported by us as of , 20 .
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| | | | Price Range | | High Sales Price Premium (Discount) to NAV | | Low Sales Price Premium (Discount) to NAV | | Cash Dividend Per | |
| | NAV(1) | | High | | Low | | (2) | | (2) | | Share(3) | |
Year ended December 31, 20 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
First Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Second Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Third Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Fourth Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Year ended December 31, 20 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
First Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Second Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Third Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Fourth Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Year ending December 31, 20 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
[First Quarter] | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
[Second Quarter] | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
[Third Quarter] | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
[Fourth Quarter] | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
| |
(1) | NAV per share is determined as of the last day in the relevant quarter and therefore may not reflect the NAV per share on the date of the high and low closing sales prices. The NAVs shown are based on outstanding shares at the end of the relevant quarter. |
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(2) | Calculated as the respective high or low closing sales price less NAV, divided by NAV (in each case, as of the applicable quarter). |
(3) Represents the dividend or distribution declared in the relevant quarter.
To the extent that we have taxable income available, we intend to distribute quarterly dividends to our stockholders. The amount of our dividends, if any, will be determined by our Board. Any dividends to our stockholders will be declared out of assets legally available for distribution. We anticipate that our distributions will generally be paid from taxable earnings, including interest and capital gains generated by our investment portfolio, and any other income, including any other fees (other than fees for providing managerial assistance), such as commitment, origination, structuring, diligence and consulting fees or other fees, that we receive from portfolio companies. However, if we do not generate sufficient taxable earnings during a year, all or part of a distribution may constitute a return of capital. The specific tax characteristics of our dividends and other distributions will be reported to stockholders after the end of each calendar year. See “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” in the accompanying prospectus for further information regarding the tax treatment of our distributions and the tax consequences of our retention of net capital gains.
The following table summarizes our dividends or distributions declared for the fiscal years ended December 31, 20 , 20 and 20 :
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Date Declared | | | Record Date | | Payment Date | | Amount | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
Total declared for 20 | | | | | | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
Total declared for 20 | | | | | | | $ | | |
[ , 20 | ] | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
[ , 20 | ] | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
[ , 20 | ] | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
[ , 20 | ] | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
Total declared for 20 | | | | | | | $ | | |
We have elected to be treated, and intend to continue to qualify annually, as a RIC. To maintain our qualification as a RIC, we must, among other things, fulfill the Annual Distribution Requirement, the 90% Gross Income Test and the Diversification Tests (each defined term, defined and more fully explained in “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company” in the accompanying prospectus). In order to avoid certain excise taxes imposed on RICs, we intend to distribute during each calendar year an amount in accordance with the Excise Tax Distribution
Requirements, as defined and discussed further in “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company” in the accompanying prospectus.
In addition, although we currently intend to distribute realized net capital gains (i.e., net long term capital gains in excess of short term capital losses), if any, at least annually, we may in the future decide to retain such capital gains for investment, pay U.S. federal income tax on such amounts at regular corporate tax rates, and elect to treat such gains as deemed distributions to stockholders. As a BDC, we must have at least 200% asset coverage calculated pursuant to the Investment Company Act immediately after each time we issue senior securities. Certain of our credit facilities also require that we maintain asset coverage of at least 200%. As of , 20 , our asset coverage calculated in accordance with the Investment Company Act was %. We can offer no assurance that we will achieve results that will permit the payment of any cash distributions and, to the extent that we issue senior securities, we will be prohibited from making distributions if doing so causes us to fail to maintain the asset coverage ratios stipulated by the Investment Company Act or if distributions are limited by the terms of any of our borrowings. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Offerings Pursuant to this Prospectus—There is a risk that our stockholders may not receive distributions or that our distributions may not grow over time and a portion of our distributions to you may be a return of capital for U.S. federal income tax purposes” in the accompanying prospectus.
Unless you elect to receive your distributions in cash, we intend to make distributions in additional shares of our common stock under our dividend reinvestment plan. Stockholders who “opt out” of our dividend reinvestment plan receive cash distributions. See “Dividend Reinvestment Plan” in the accompanying prospectus. We can offer no assurance that we will achieve results that will permit the payment of any cash distributions and, if we issue senior securities, we will be prohibited from making distributions if doing so causes us to fail to maintain the asset coverage ratios stipulated by the Investment Company Act or if distributions are limited by the terms of any of our borrowings.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with “Selected Financial and Other Information” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. The information in this section contains forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties. Please see “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” in the accompanying prospectus for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with this discussion and analysis. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated by such forward-looking information due to factors discussed under “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” in the accompanying prospectus.
[Insert Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations from most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, as applicable, prior to the offering.]
CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth (a) our actual capitalization at , 20 and (b) our pro forma capitalization to reflect the effects of the sale of our common stock in this offering (assuming that the underwriters do not exercise their overallotment option) assuming a public offering price of $ per share, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. You should read this table together with “Use of Proceeds” and our most recent balance sheet included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
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| | As of ,20 (unaudited, dollar amounts in thousands) | |
| | Actual | | Pro Forma | |
Cash and cash equivalents | | $ | | | $ | | |
Debt | | | | | |
[List Debt outstanding as of period reported] | | | | | |
Total Debt | | | | | |
Stockholders’ Equity | | | | | |
Common stock, par value $.01 per share, common shares authorized, and common shares issued and outstanding, respectively | | $ | | | $ | | |
Paid-in capital in excess of par value | | | | | |
Accumulated net investment income (loss) | | | | | |
Accumulated net realized gain (loss) | | | | | |
Accumulated net realized un appreciation (depreciation) | | | | | |
Total stockholders’ equity | | $ | | | $ | | |
Total capitalization | | $ | | | $ | | |
UNDERWRITING
[ ] are acting as representatives of each of the underwriters named below. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in a purchase agreement among us and the underwriters, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters, and each of the underwriters has agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase from us, the number of shares of common stock set forth opposite its name below.
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Underwriter | | Number of Shares | |
| | | |
Total | | | |
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the purchase agreement, the underwriters have agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase all of the shares sold under the purchase agreement if any of these shares are purchased. If an underwriter defaults, the purchase agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the nondefaulting underwriters may be increased or the purchase agreement may be terminated.
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
The underwriters are offering the shares, subject to prior sale, when, as and if issued to and accepted by them, subject to approval of legal matters by their counsel, including the validity of the shares, and other conditions contained in the purchase agreement, such as the receipt by the underwriters of officer’s certificates and legal opinions. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part.
Commissions and Discounts
The representatives have advised us that the underwriters propose initially to offer the shares to the public at the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement and to dealers at that price less a concession not in excess of $ per share. After the initial offering, the public offering price, concession or any other term of the offering may be changed.
The following table shows the public offering price, underwriting discount and proceeds before expenses to us. [The information assumes either no exercise or full exercise by the underwriters of their overallotment option.]
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| | Per Share | | [Without Option | | With Option] | |
Public offering price | | | | | | | |
Underwriting discount | | | | | | | |
Proceeds to us, before expenses | | | | | | | |
The expenses of the offering, not including the underwriting discount, are estimated at $ and are payable by us.
[Overallotment Option
We have granted an option to the underwriters to purchase up to additional shares at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount. The underwriters may exercise this option for days from the date of this prospectus supplement solely to cover any overallotments. If the underwriters exercise this option, each will be obligated, subject to conditions contained in the purchase agreement, to purchase a number of additional shares proportionate to that underwriter’s initial amount reflected in the above table.]
[No Sales of Similar Securities
We have agreed, with exceptions, not to sell or transfer any common stock for days after the date of this prospectus supplement without first obtaining the written consent of [ ].
Our executive officers and directors and our Investment Adviser and certain of its affiliates have agreed, with exceptions, not to sell or transfer any common stock for days after the date of this prospectus supplement without first obtaining the written consent of [ ]. Specifically, we and these other persons have agreed, with certain limited exceptions, not to directly or indirectly
• offer, pledge, sell or contract to sell any common stock,
• sell any option or contract to purchase any common stock,
• purchase any option or contract to sell any common stock,
• grant any option, right or warrant for the sale of any common stock,
• lend or otherwise dispose of or transfer any common stock,
• request or demand that we file a registration statement related to the common stock, or
• enter into any swap or other agreement that transfers, in whole or in part, the economic consequence of ownership of any common stock whether any such swap or transaction is to be settled by delivery of shares or other securities, in cash or otherwise.
This lock-up provision applies to common stock and to securities convertible into or exchangeable or exercisable for or repayable with common stock. It also applies to common stock owned now or acquired later by the person executing the agreement or for which the person executing the agreement later acquires the power of disposition. In the event that either (x) during the last 17 days of the lock-up period referred to above, we issue an earnings release or material news or a material event relating to the Company occurs or (y) prior to the expiration of the lock-up period, we announce that we will release earnings results or become aware that material news or a material event will occur during the 16-day period beginning on the last day of the lock-up period, the restrictions described above shall continue to apply until the expiration of the 18-day period beginning on the issuance of the earnings release or the occurrence of the material news or material event.]
NASDAQ Global Select Market Listing
The shares are listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CGBD.”
Price Stabilization, Short Positions and Penalty Bids
Until the distribution of the shares is completed, SEC rules may limit underwriters and selling group members from bidding for and purchasing our common stock. However, the representatives may engage in transactions that stabilize the price of the common stock, such as bids or purchases to peg, fix or maintain that price.
In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell our common stock in the open market. These transactions may include short sales, purchases on the open market to cover positions created by short sales and stabilizing transactions. Short sales involve the sale by the underwriters of a greater number of shares than they are required to purchase in the offering. “Covered” short sales are sales made in an amount not greater than the underwriters’ overallotment option described above. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their overallotment option or purchasing shares in the open market. In determining the source of shares to close out the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of shares available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase shares through the overallotment option. “Naked” short sales are sales in excess of the overallotment option. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of our common stock in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors
who purchase in the offering. Stabilizing transactions consist of various bids for or purchases of shares of common stock made by the underwriters in the open market prior to the completion of the offering.
The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the underwriters a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the representatives have repurchased shares sold by or for the account of such underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.
Similar to other purchase transactions, the underwriters’ purchases to cover the syndicate short sales may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our common stock or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our common stock. As a result, the price of our common stock may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. The underwriters may conduct these transactions on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise.
Neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our common stock. In addition, neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation that the representatives will engage in these transactions or that these transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.
Electronic Offer, Sale and Distribution of Common Stock
The underwriters may make prospectuses available in electronic (PDF) format. A prospectus in electronic (PDF) format may be made available on a web site maintained by the underwriters, and the underwriters may distribute such prospectuses electronically. The underwriters may allocate a limited principal amount of the common stock for sale to their online brokerage customers.
Passive Market Making
In connection with this offering, underwriters and selling group members may engage in passive market making transactions in the common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market in accordance with Rule 103 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act during a period before the commencement of offers or sales of common stock and extending through the completion of distribution. A passive market maker must display its bid at a price not in excess of the highest independent bid of that security. However, if all independent bids are lowered below the passive market maker’s bid, that bid must then be lowered when specified purchase limits are exceeded. Passive market making may cause the price of our common stock to be higher than the price that otherwise would exist in the open market in the absence of those transactions. The underwriters and dealers are not required to engage in passive market making and may end passive market making activities at any time.
Other Relationships
The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include sales and trading, commercial and investment banking, advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, market making, brokerage and other financial and non-financial activities and services. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, a variety of these services to the issuer and to persons and entities with relationships with us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.
In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates, officers, directors and employees may purchase, sell or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps and other financial instruments for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and trading activities may involve or relate to assets, securities or instruments of us (directly, as collateral securing other obligations or otherwise) or persons and entities with relationships with us.
After the date of this prospectus supplement, the underwriters and their affiliates may from time to time obtain information regarding specific portfolio companies or us that may not be available to the general public. Any such information is obtained by the underwriters and their affiliates in the ordinary course of their business and not in connection with the offering of the common stock. In addition, after the offering period for the sale of our common stock, the underwriters or their affiliates may develop analyses or opinions related to us or persons or entities with relationships with us
and buy or sell interests in one or more of our portfolio companies on behalf of their proprietary or client accounts and may engage in competitive activities. There is no obligation on behalf of these parties to disclose their respective analyses, opinions or purchase and sale activities regarding any portfolio company or regarding us to our stockholders or any other persons.
We may purchase securities of third parties from the underwriters or their affiliates after the offering. However, we have not entered into any agreement or arrangement regarding the acquisition of any such securities, and we may not purchase any such securities. We would only purchase any such securities if—among other things—we identified securities that satisfied our investment needs and completed our due diligence review of such securities.
[Describe any other specific transactions and compensation related thereto to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
[Describe if underwriters receiving proceeds of offering, if required by FINRA.]
[Insert principal business addresses of underwriters.]
[Insert applicable legends for jurisdictions in which offers and sales may be made.]
LEGAL MATTERS
Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be passed upon for the Company by Proskauer Rose LLP, Los Angeles, California, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, New York, New York and Venable LLP, Baltimore, Maryland. Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be passed upon for the underwriters by [ ].
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
[Insert financial statements and notes thereto from most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, as applicable, prior to the offering.]
Shares
Common Stock
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
[Underwriters]
, 20
Exhibit
Exhibit 99.2
The information in this prospectus supplement is not complete and may be changed. [A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission.] This prospectus supplement is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject to Completion
Preliminary Prospectus Supplement dated , 20
[FORM OF PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH FUTURE PREFERRED STOCK OFFERINGS](*)
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To Prospectus dated , 20 )
Shares
Series [ ] Preferred Stock
Liquidation Preference $ Per Share
We are offering for sale shares of our Series [ ] preferred stock, or our “preferred stock,” with a liquidation preference of $ per share. [Insert relevant information regarding ranking, conversion, redemption, dividends, etc. to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
We are an externally managed specialty finance company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. We seek to achieve this investment objective by investing primarily in first lien senior secured loans and second lien senior secured loans.
As of , 20 , our investment portfolio consisted of investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million.
We are managed by Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C., an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. provides the administrative services necessary for us to operate. Both Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C. and Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. are wholly owned subsidiaries of Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C., a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group L.P. The Carlyle Group L.P. is a global alternative asset manager with approximately $ billion of assets under management as of , 20 .
[Add relevant disclosure depending on whether preferred shares are listed or not.]
Investing in our preferred stock involves risks that are described in the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page S-[ ] of this prospectus supplement and page [ ] of the accompanying prospectus, including the risk of leverage.
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain important information you should know before investing in our preferred stock. Please read this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus before you
invest and keep each for future reference. Information required to be included in a Statement of Additional Information may be found in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We also file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information about us with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). You may obtain this information or make stockholder inquiries by written or oral request and free of charge by contacting us by mail at our principal executive offices located at 520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor, New York, NY 10022, on our website at www.tcgbdc.com, or by calling us at (212) 813-4900. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, and you should not consider that information to be a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. The SEC also maintains a website at http://www.sec.gov that contains this information.
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| | Per Share | | Total | |
Public offering price | | $ | | $ | |
Underwriting discount (sales load) | | $ | | $ | |
Proceeds to us, before expenses (1) | | $ | | $ | |
(1) Before deducting expenses payable by us related to this offering, estimated at $ .
[The underwriters may also purchase up to an additional shares of preferred stock from us at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount, within days of the date of this prospectus supplement to cover overallotments, if any. If the underwriters exercise this option in full, the total public offering price will be $ , the total underwriting discount (sales load) paid by us will be $ , and total proceeds, before expenses, will be $ .]
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The shares will be ready for delivery on or about , 20 .
The date of this prospectus supplement is , 20 .
(*) In addition to the sections outlined in this form of prospectus supplement, each prospectus supplement actually used in connection with an offering conducted pursuant to the registration statement to which this form of prospectus supplement is attached will be updated to include such other information as may then be required to be disclosed therein pursuant to applicable law or regulation as in effect as of the date of each such prospectus supplement, including, without limitation, information particular to the terms of each security offered thereby and any related risk factors or tax considerations pertaining thereto. The terms of the preferred stock may differ from the information provided in this form of prospectus supplement. This form of prospectus supplement is intended only to provide an approximation of the nature and type of disclosure that may appear in any actual prospectus supplement used for the purposes of offering securities pursuant to the registration statement to which this form of prospectus supplement is attached, and, accordingly, the terms and descriptions of the preferred stock for which this form of prospectus supplement is to be used may differ from the information provided in this form of prospectus supplement. This form of prospectus supplement is not intended to and does not contain all of the information that would appear is any such actual prospectus supplement, and should not be used or relied upon in connection with any offer or sale of securities.
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized any other person to provide you with different information or to make any representations not contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, as applicable. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.
Prospectus Supplement
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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| Page |
Forward-Looking Statements | S-[ ] |
The Company | S-[ ] |
Specific Terms of the Preferred Stock and the Offering | S-[ ] |
Selected Financial and Other Information | S-[ ] |
Risk Factors | S-[ ] |
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Prospectus
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,” “should,” “may,” “plans,” “continue,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “would,” “could,” “targets,” “projects,” “outlook,” “potential,” “predicts” and variations of these words and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements include these words. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss our plans, strategies, prospects and expectations concerning our business, operating results, financial condition and other similar matters. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. Our forward-looking statements include information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus regarding general domestic and global economic conditions, our future financing plans, our ability to operate as a BDC and the expected performance of, and the yield on, our portfolio companies. There may be events in the future, however, that we are not able to predict accurately or control. The factors listed under “Risk Factors” in the accompanying prospectus, as well as any cautionary language in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. Before you invest in our securities, you should be aware that the occurrence of the events described in these risk factors and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial position. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which we make it. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Under Sections 27A(b)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E(b)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 do not apply to statements made in connection with any offering of securities pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or in a beneficial ownership report we file under the Exchange Act.
The following factors are among those that may cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements:
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• | our, or our portfolio companies’, future business, operations, operating results or prospects; |
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• | the return or impact of current and future investments; |
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• | the impact of any protracted decline in the liquidity of credit markets on our business; |
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• | the impact of fluctuations in interest rates on our business; |
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• | currency fluctuations could adversely affect the results of our investments in foreign companies, particularly to the extent that we receive payments denominated in foreign currency rather than U.S. dollars; |
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• | our future operating results; |
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• | the impact of changes in laws, policies or regulations (including the interpretation thereof) affecting our operations or the operations of our portfolio companies; |
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• | the valuation of our investments in portfolio companies, particularly those having no liquid trading market; |
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• | our ability to recover unrealized losses; |
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• | market conditions and our ability to access alternative debt markets and additional debt and equity capital; |
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• | our contractual arrangements and relationships with third parties; |
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• | the general economy and its impact on the industries in which we invest; |
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• | the financial condition of and ability of our current and prospective portfolio companies to achieve their objectives; |
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• | competition with other entities and our affiliates for investment opportunities; |
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• | the speculative and illiquid nature of our investments; |
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• | the use of borrowed money to finance a portion of our investments; |
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• | our expected financings and investments; |
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• | the adequacy of our cash resources and working capital; |
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• | the loss of key personnel; |
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• | the costs associated with being a publicly traded company; |
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• | the timing, form and amount of any dividend distributions; |
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• | the timing of cash flows, if any, from the operations of our portfolio companies; |
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• | the ability to consummate acquisitions; |
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• | the ability of our Investment Adviser to locate suitable investments for us and to monitor and administer our investments; |
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• | the ability of The Carlyle Group Employee Co., L.L.C. and CELF Advisors LLP to attract and retain highly talented professionals that can provide services to our Investment Adviser and Administrator; |
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• | our ability to maintain our status as a BDC; and |
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• | our intent to satisfy the requirements of a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Code. |
Our actual results and condition could differ materially from those implied or expressed in the forward-looking statements for any reason, including the factors set forth in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
THE COMPANY
This summary highlights some of the information contained elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. This summary is not complete and may not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in the securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. You should review the more detailed information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, especially the information set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Unless indicated otherwise in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, or the context suggests otherwise:
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• | the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “TCG BDC” and “Company” refer to TCG BDC, Inc., a Maryland corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries; |
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• | the term “SPV” refers to TCG BDC SPV LLC, our wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary; |
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• | the term “2015-1 Issuer” refers to Carlyle GMS Finance MM CLO 2015-1 LLC, our wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary; |
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• | the term “Carlyle” refers to The Carlyle Group L.P. (NASDAQ: CG) and its affiliates and consolidated subsidiaries (other than portfolio companies of its affiliated funds); |
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• | the term “CDL” refers to the Carlyle Direct Lending platform, which is Carlyle’s direct lending business unit that operates within the broader Carlyle Global Credit (“CGC”) segment; |
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• | the terms “CGCA” and “Administrator” refer to Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C., our administrator, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of Carlyle; |
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• | the terms “CGCIM” and “Investment Adviser” refer to Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C., our investment adviser, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of Carlyle; and |
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• | the term “Credit Fund” refers to Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, an unconsolidated limited liability company, in which we own a 50% economic interest and co-manage with Credit Partners USA LLC, and its wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary.
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We have elected to be regulated as a business development company, or a “BDC,” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Investment Company Act”). In addition, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we have elected to be treated as a regulated investment company, or RIC, under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (together, with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Code”).
[TCG BDC, Inc.
We are an externally managed specialty finance company focused on lending to middle market companies. We are managed by our Investment Adviser, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carlyle. Since we commenced investment operations in May 2013 through , 20 , we have invested approximately $ billion in aggregate principal amount of debt and equity investments prior to any subsequent exits or repayments. Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), which we believe is a useful proxy for cash flow. We seek to achieve our investment objective primarily through direct originations of secured debt, including first lien senior secured loans (which may include stand-alone first lien loans, first lien/last out loans and “unitranche” loans) and second lien senior secured loans (collectively, “Middle Market Senior Loans”),
with the balance of our assets invested in higher yielding investments (which may include unsecured debt, mezzanine debt and investments in equities).
We generate revenues primarily in the form of interest income from the investments we hold. In addition, we generate income from dividends on direct equity investments, capital gains on the sales of loans and debt and equity securities and various loan origination and other fees.
In conducting our investment activities, we believe that we benefit from the significant scale and resources of Carlyle, including our Investment Adviser and its affiliates. We have operated our business as a BDC since we began our investment activities in May 2013.
Investment Strategy
Our Investment Adviser is served by an origination, capital markets, underwriting and portfolio management team comprised of experienced investment professionals in the CDL platform, which is Carlyle’s direct lending business unit that operates within the broader Carlyle Global Credit platform (which in turn operates within Carlyle’s CGC segment). Our investment approach is focused on long-term credit performance and principal preservation. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team utilizes a rigorous, systematic, and consistent investment process, refined over Carlyle’s -year history investing in private markets across multiple cycles, designed to achieve enhanced risk-adjusted returns.
Origination Strategy
Our Investment Adviser has built a strong direct origination platform with coverage of over private equity firms and over lending institutions. Our Investment Adviser’s origination team sources approximately opportunities per year for us with an ultimate investment rate by us of less than % annually. The scale of our Investment Adviser’s origination platform allows us to maximize access to investment opportunities and enhance overall investment selectivity. We further seek to reduce risk by partnering with experienced sponsors with strong track records. We believe lending to companies owned by leading private equity firms (versus non-sponsored companies) has several important and potentially defensive characteristics. Sponsor involvement provides for:
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• | maximization of investment opportunities as approximately % of middle market loan volume is sponsor backed as of , 20 , according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Middle Market Fact Sheet; |
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• | validation of enterprise value; |
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• | support, as needed, in strategy, operations and governance of portfolio companies; and |
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• | the potential for additional capital commitment by sponsor if company requires financial support. |
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Investment Approach and Risk Monitoring of Investments
Our Investment Adviser utilizes a rigorous, systematic and consistent due diligence underwriting process to evaluate all investment opportunities. Our Investment Adviser’s investment teams primarily consist of origination professionals, research analysts and underwriters. An investment team works on a particular transaction from initial screening through closing, and the same team continues to monitor the credit for the life cycle of the investment.
During the investment process, the investment team works closely with the private equity sponsor in all aspects of due diligence, including onsite meetings, due diligence calls, and review of third party diligence reports. Our Investment Adviser also conducts an independent evaluation of the business, utilizing both internal and external sources. A key differentiator is our Investment Adviser’s integrated credit platform and collaborative efforts that leverage Carlyle’s broader resources, which include access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge.
Diversification of our portfolio is a key tenet of our risk management strategy, including diversification by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. Additionally, we view proactive portfolio monitoring as a vital part of the investment process. Our Investment Adviser utilizes a proprietary credit surveillance report and software system, an
objective rules-based Internal Risk Rating system and proprietary valuation model to assess risk in the portfolio. In addition to monthly portfolio reviews, our Investment Adviser compiles a quarterly risk report that examines, among other metrics, migration in portfolio and loan level investment mix, industry diversification, Internal Risk Ratings, revenue, EBITDA, and leverage. Our Investment Adviser supplements these policies with additional analyses and projections, including stress scenarios, to assess the potential exposure of our portfolio to variable macroeconomic factors and market conditions.
Strategic Relationships
We have established two highly differentiated strategic relationships that expand our product offering and increase our scale, enhancing our investment opportunities and optimizing selectivity rates, as we determine which credits provide the best risk adjusted returns for our stockholders. In early 2015, our Investment Adviser developed a key strategic relationship with Madison Capital Funding LLC (“Madison Capital”), a prominent non-bank finance company that is a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company, which has allowed us to offer various lending solutions to potential borrowers and has increased our coverage of U.S. middle market private equity firms. Additionally, in early 2016, we agreed to co-invest with Credit Partners USA LLC (“Credit Partners”), a wholly owned subsidiary of a large Canadian pension fund, to form Credit Fund, a joint venture primarily focused on investing in first lien loans to middle market companies. We and Credit Partners each have 50% economic ownership of Credit Fund and have commitments to fund, from time to time, capital of up to $400 million each. See “—Competitive Strengths—Strategic Relationships” in the accompanying prospectus.
Investment Portfolio
As of , 20 , we had investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million. During the ended , 20 , we invested approximately $ billion in new investments. During the same period, we had approximately $ million in exits and repayments resulting in net portfolio increase of approximately $ million.
As of , 20 , our portfolio was invested across industries. As of , 20 , no single portfolio company (excluding Credit Fund) represented more than % of our investments at fair value and no single industry represented more than % of our investments at fair value. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of our investments were in U.S. domestic companies. As of such date, the weighted average remaining term of our debt investments was approximately years. Based on fair value as of , 20 , our portfolio consisted of approximately % in secured debt (% in first lien debt (including % in first lien/last out loans) and % in second lien debt), % in Credit Fund, % in structured finance obligations and % in equity investments. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a fixed interest rate and approximately % of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate, which primarily are subject to interest rate floors.
As of , 20 , the weighted average yield of our first lien debt (including first lien/last out loans) was % and % based on the amortized cost and fair value, respectively. During that same period, the weighted average yield on our second lien debt was % and % based on the amortized cost and fair value, respectively.
We invest primarily in loans to middle market companies whose debt, if rated, is rated below investment grade, and, if not rated, would likely be rated below investment grade if it were rated (that is, below BBB- or Baa3, which is often referred to as “junk”). Exposure to below investment grade instruments involves certain risks, including speculation with respect to the borrower’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal.
As of , 20 , we and Credit Partners had each contributed $ million and $ million, respectively, to Credit Fund. As of , 20 , Credit Fund’s portfolio was invested in companies across industries. As of , 20 , Credit Fund had investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of Credit Fund’s investments were in U.S. domestic companies, and % was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate with an interest rate floor.
Competitive Strengths
Market Leading Direct Origination Platform. We have access to CDL’s strong direct origination platform, with coverage of over private equity firms and over lending institutions. We take a regional approach to client coverage with offices in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The origination team is highly experienced, and maintains deep relationships with a broad network of financial sponsors, commercial and investment banks, and finance companies, which are expected to continue to generate a significant amount of investment opportunities.
Scaled Investment Platform and Capabilities. CDL is an established, scaled investment platform with the ability to invest across the entire capital structure. CDL’s broad capabilities and ability to offer a full financing solution give us access to a wide funnel of opportunities, allow us to select high quality credits, construct the optimal financing package as it relates to price and terms, assert greater control over documentation, and generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders. We believe CDL’s hold sizes are among the largest in the middle market, which we believe results in the ability to generate premium economics, as sponsors are willing to pay higher spreads for financing certainty. CDL’s large hold sizes and strategic relationships enable us to provide certainty with regards to spreads, fees, structure and covenants. Furthermore, the breadth of CDL’s debt offerings also allows us to deploy capital at a measured pace across credit cycles and construct a portfolio that will perform in a broad range of economic conditions.
One Carlyle Capabilities Leading to Superior Credit Performance. We benefit from our Investment Adviser’s utilization of the broader resources of Carlyle, which includes access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge from almost three decades of private market investing. Our underwriting process leverages Carlyle’s investment professionals across multiple alternative investment asset classes, operating executives, information obtained through direct ownership of over companies and lending relationships with over companies, credit industry research analysts, and in-house government affairs and economic research teams. Our systematic and consistent approach is augmented by industry expertise and tenured underwriting professionals who both lead our Investment Adviser’s investment team and serve on our Investment Adviser’s investment committee. Strong credit underwriting has been a key component of our investing process, where our Investment Adviser seeks to select borrowers whose businesses are expected to generate substantial cash flows, to have leading management teams, stable operating histories, high barriers to entry and meaningful equity value, and to retain significant value.
Experienced Investment Team. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team comprises investment professionals in CDL who have extensive middle market lending experience. The investment team consists of dedicated investment professionals. The seven members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee have an average of years of industry experience. We believe the breadth and depth of the investment team in sourcing, structuring, executing, and monitoring a broad range of private investments provides us with a significant competitive advantage in building a high quality portfolio of investments.
Carefully Constructed Portfolio of Diversified Senior Secured, Floating Rate Loans. Our portfolio has been defensively constructed, exhibits strong credit quality, generates stable risk-adjusted returns and allows us to generate meaningful investment income, and consequently dividend income, for our stockholders. We have invested approximately $ billion since our inception in directly originated middle market loans. Our portfolio is highly diversified by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. As of , 20 , we had a portfolio of investments in portfolio companies across industries and unique sponsors. As of , 20 , approximately % of our debt investments bore interest at floating rates, subject to interest rate floors, and % of our portfolio was invested in first lien debt investments (including % first lien/last out loans).
Strategic Relationships. Our strategic relationships enhance our ability to provide full financing solutions to our borrowers, which results in our being able to generate optimal economics, significant access to diligence and control over documentation terms. Additionally, these relationships further strengthen our origination platform and ability to develop creative financing solutions to invest through the capital structure based on where we believe the best risk-adjusted return opportunities reside. Our Investment Adviser’s strategic relationship with Madison Capital, a leading middle market senior lender with approximately $ billion of assets under management (“AUM”) as of , 20, allows us to offer a full unitranche financing solution. This product provides middle market companies with certainty for financing without syndication risk and generates attractive risk-adjusted returns on these investments for our stockholders. Madison Capital provides the first lien/first out portion of the unitranche loan, which allows us to provide the first lien/last out portion. Collectively, we and Madison Capital have provided over $ billion (before any repayments or exits) of unitranche loans to middle market companies. The relationship has been extremely successful, and we frequently invest alongside Madison Capital on a variety of investment opportunities (in addition to unitranche loans).
Separately, Credit Fund, our strategic joint venture with a large Canadian pension fund, primarily invests in first lien loans of middle market companies. Since its inception and through , 20 , Credit Fund has provided $ million (before any repayments or exits) of senior secured loans. This joint venture provides us with an enhanced first lien loan product for certain transactions, thus further increasing our deal flow, and results in an increased number of borrowers in our portfolio, which provides strategic benefits as we build incumbent positions for future growth and investment opportunity.
Market Opportunity
We believe the middle market lending environment provides attractive investment opportunities as a result of a combination of the following factors:
Favorable Market Environment. We believe the middle market remains one of the most attractive investment areas due to its large size, superior value relative to the broadly syndicated loan market, and supply-demand imbalance that continues to favor non-bank lenders. We believe market yields remain attractive and leverage levels at middle market companies are stable, creating a favorable investment environment.
Large and Growing U.S. Middle Market. The U.S. middle market is the largest market by many measures, which is expected to enable us to invest selectively as approximately % of middle market loan volume is sponsor-backed. According to S&P Capital IQ, as of , 20 , there are over U.S. middle market companies generating between $20 million and $1 billion in annual revenue, compared with approximately companies with revenue greater than $1 billion. We believe these middle market companies, both sponsored and non-sponsored, represent a significant growth segment of the U.S. economy and often require substantial capital investments to grow.
Leverage, Pricing and Risk. According to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Quarterly Leveraged Lending Review (Q 20 ), middle market companies are less levered, have larger equity contributions, experience lower rates of default, and achieve higher recoveries versus large cap broadly syndicated loans. Middle market loans also tend to achieve more attractive pricing and structures, including documentation, covenants and information/governance, than broadly syndicated loans. Over the year period from 20 to 20, middle market loans have exhibited an approximate basis points spread premium over broadly syndicated loans according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Leveraged Loan Index.
Market Environment Favors Non-Traditional Lenders. Traditional middle market lenders, such as commercial and regional banks and commercial finance companies, have contracted their origination and lending activities and are focusing on more liquid asset classes or have exited the business. At the same time, institutional investors have sought to invest in larger, more liquid offerings, limiting the ability of middle market companies to raise debt capital through public capital markets. This has resulted in other capital providers, such as specialty finance companies, structured-credit vehicles such as collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), BDCs, and private investment funds, actively investing in the middle market. We believe the aforementioned changes and restrictions have created a large and growing market opportunity for alternative lenders such as us.
Favorable Capital Markets Trends. Current and future demand for middle market financings, driven by private equity investment and upcoming maturities are expected to provide us with ample deal flow. Current data from the Thompson Reuters LPC Middle Market Weekly Report ( , 20 ) suggests that approximately $ billion of upcoming loan maturities for middle market companies are due between 20 and 20, and the PitchBook PE & VE Fundraising and Capital Overhang Report ( H 20 ) suggests that there is over $ billion of uninvested capital in 2010-YTD Q 20 vintage private equity funds. We believe these refinancings and uninvested capital will provide a steady flow of attractive opportunities for well-positioned lenders with deep and longstanding sponsor and market relationships, particularly for providers of full capital structure financing solutions.
Benefits of Traditional Middle Market Focus. We believe there are significant advantages in our focus on the traditional middle market, a market we categorize to include borrowers with EBITDA in the range of approximately $10 million to $100 million. Traditional middle market companies are generally less levered than companies with EBITDA in excess of $100 million and loans to those borrowers offer more attractive economics in the form of upfront fees, spreads, and prepayment penalties. Senior secured middle market loans typically have strong defensive characteristics: these loans have priority in payment among a portfolio company’s security holders and they carry the least risk among investments in the capital structure; these investments, which are secured by the portfolio company’s assets, typically contain carefully structured covenant packages which allow lenders to take early action in situations where obligors underperform; and these characteristics can provide protection against credit deterioration. Middle market lenders like us are often able to complete more thorough due diligence investigations prior to investment than lenders in the broadly syndicated space.
Carlyle and Our Investment Adviser
Our investment activities are managed by our Investment Adviser. Our Investment Adviser is responsible for sourcing potential investments, conducting research and due diligence on prospective investments and equity sponsors, analyzing investment opportunities, structuring our investments and monitoring our investments on an ongoing basis.
Our Investment Adviser is an affiliate of Carlyle. Carlyle is one of the world’s largest and most diversified multi-product global alternative asset management firms. Carlyle and its affiliates advise an array of specialized investment funds and other investment vehicles that invest across a range of industries, geographies, asset classes and investment strategies. Since its founding in Washington, D.C. in 1987, Carlyle has grown to become a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $ billion in AUM across investment vehicles as of , 20.
Carlyle Global Credit is one of the largest integrated credit platforms in the industry with approximately $ billion in AUM and employees with multiple offices, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, as of , 20 . Carlyle Global Credit’s investment strategies include loans and structured credit, distressed credit, private credit (through CDL) and energy credit. CDL advises four funds, including us, totaling, in the aggregate, approximately $ billion in AUM as of , 20 .
Our Investment Adviser’s seven-person investment committee is responsible for reviewing and approving our investment opportunities. The members of the investment committee have experience investing through different credit cycles. The investment committee is led by Michael A. Hart, Managing Director of Carlyle, Head of CDL, Chairman of our Board of Directors (“Board”) and our Chief Executive Officer and also includes Jeffrey S. Levin, Managing Director of Carlyle and our President. See “Management—Portfolio Management” in the accompanying prospectus for biographical information of members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee.
Our Investment Adviser also serves, and may serve in the future, as investment adviser to other existing and future affiliated BDCs that have investment objectives similar to our investment objectives.
Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest
Our Investment Adviser’s investment team forms the exclusive Carlyle platform for U.S. middle market debt investments. The SEC has granted us exemptive relief that permits us and certain of our affiliates to co-invest in suitable negotiated investments (the “Exemptive Relief”). If Carlyle is presented with investment opportunities that generally fall within our investment objective and other board-established criteria and those of other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements (including other existing and future affiliated BDCs) whether focused on a debt strategy or otherwise, Carlyle allocates such opportunities among us and such other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements in a manner consistent with the Exemptive Relief, our Investment Adviser’s allocation policies and procedures and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures, where applicable, as discussed below. More specifically, investment opportunities in suitable negotiated investments for investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements managed by our Investment Adviser, and other funds, accounts or similar arrangements managed by affiliated investment advisers that seek to co-invest with us or other Carlyle BDCs, are allocated in accordance with the Exemptive Relief. Investment opportunities for all other investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements not managed by our Investment Adviser are allocated in accordance with their respective investment advisers’ and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures. Such policies and procedures may result in certain investment opportunities that are attractive to us being allocated to other funds that are not managed by our Investment Adviser. Carlyle’s, including our Investment Adviser’s, allocation policies and procedures are designed to allocate investment opportunities fairly and equitably among its clients over time, taking into account a variety of factors which may include the sourcing of the transaction, the nature of the investment focus of each such other Carlyle fund, accounts or other similar arrangements, each fund’s, account’s or similar arrangement’s desired level of investment, the relative amounts of capital available for investment, the nature and extent of involvement in the transaction on the part of the respective teams of investment professionals, any requirements contained in the governing agreements of the Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements and other considerations deemed relevant by Carlyle in good faith, including suitability considerations and reputational matters. The application of these considerations may cause differences in the performance of different Carlyle funds, accounts and similar arrangements that have similar strategies. For a further explanation of the allocation of opportunities and other related conflicts and risks, please see “Business—Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest” in the accompanying prospectus.
Because we are a BDC, we are not generally permitted to make loans to companies controlled by Carlyle or other funds managed by Carlyle.
We are also not permitted to make any co-investments with clients of our Investment Adviser or its affiliates (including any fund managed by Carlyle) without complying with our Exemptive Relief, subject to certain exceptions, including with respect to our downstream affiliates. Co-investments made under the Exemptive Relief are subject to compliance with the conditions and other requirements contained in the Exemptive Relief, which could limit our ability to participate in a co-
investment transaction. We may also co-invest with funds managed by Carlyle or any of its downstream affiliates, subject to compliance with applicable law and regulations, existing regulatory guidance, and our Investment Adviser’s and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures.
Operating and Regulatory Structure
We have elected to be treated as a BDC under the Investment Company Act. As a BDC, we are required to comply with certain regulatory requirements and are generally prohibited from acquiring assets other than qualifying assets, unless, after giving effect to any acquisition, at least 70% of our total assets are qualifying assets. Qualifying assets generally include securities of eligible portfolio companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and high quality debt instruments maturing in one year or less from the time of investment. Under the rules of the Investment Company Act, “eligible portfolio companies” include (i) private U.S. operating companies, (ii) public U.S. operating companies whose securities are not listed on a national securities exchange (e.g., the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex Equities and The NASDAQ Global Market) or registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and (iii) public U.S. operating companies having a market capitalization of less than $250 million.
Also, while we may borrow funds to make investments, our ability to use debt is limited in certain significant aspects. In particular, as a BDC, we must have at least 200% asset coverage calculated pursuant to the Investment Company Act in order to incur debt or issue preferred stock (which we refer to collectively as “senior securities”). In effect, we are permitted to borrow one dollar for every dollar we have in assets less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities issued by us, which requires us to finance our investments with at least as much equity as senior securities in the aggregate. Certain of our credit facilities also require that we maintain asset coverage of at least 200%. See “—Use of Leverage” and “Regulation” in the accompanying prospectus.
In addition, as a consequence of our election to be treated as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes, our asset growth is dependent on our ability to raise equity capital through the issuance of common stock. RICs generally must distribute substantially all of their investment company taxable income (as defined under the Code) to stockholders as dividends in order to preserve their status as a RIC and not be subject to additional U.S. federal corporate-level taxes. This requirement, in turn, generally prevents us from using our earnings to support our operations, including making new investments. See “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” in the accompanying prospectus.
Use of Leverage
Leverage increases the potential for gain and loss on amounts invested and, as a result, increases the risks associated with investing in our securities. The costs associated with our borrowings, including any increase in the fees payable to our Investment Adviser, are borne by our stockholders. Any decision on our part to use borrowings depends upon our assessment of the attractiveness of available investment opportunities in relation to the costs and perceived risks of such leverage. Through the SPV, our wholly owned subsidiary, we have a $ million senior secured revolving credit facility with various lenders (as amended, the “SPV Credit Facility”). In addition, we have a $ million senior secured revolving credit facility with various lenders (as amended, the “Credit Facility” and, together with the SPV Credit Facility, the “Facilities”).
On June 26, 2015, through our wholly owned subsidiary, the 2015-1 Issuer, we completed a $400 million term debt securitization (the “2015-1 Debt Securitization”), of which we retained 100% of the preferred interests (the “Preferred Interests”), or approximately $126 million at closing. For more information on our debt, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources” in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Corporate Structure
We were formed in February 2012 as a Maryland corporation structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment company. On May 2, 2013, we elected to be regulated as a BDC and commenced substantial investment operations upon the completion of our initial closing of equity capital commitments. Effective on March 15, 2017, we changed our name from “Carlyle GMS Finance, Inc.” to “TCG BDC, Inc.”
Recent Developments
[Insert description of recent developments at time of offering.]
Corporate Information
Our principal executive offices are located at 520 Madison Ave., 40th Floor, New York, New York 10022 and our telephone number is (212) 813-4900. We maintain a website located at www.tcgbdc.com. Information on our website is not incorporated into or a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.]
SPECIFIC TERMS OF THE PREFERRED STOCK AND THE OFFERING
This prospectus supplement sets forth certain terms of our preferred stock that we are offering pursuant to this prospectus supplement and supplements the accompanying prospectus that is attached to the back of this prospectus supplement. This section outlines the specific legal and financial terms of our preferred stock. You should read this section together with the more general description of our preferred stock in this prospectus supplement under the heading “Description of Preferred Stock” and in the accompanying prospectus under the headings “Description of Capital Stock—Preferred Stock” and “Description of Preferred Stock” before investing in our preferred stock. Capitalized terms used in this prospectus supplement and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the accompanying prospectus.
[Insert material terms of the preferred stock in tabular form to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
SELECTED FINANCIAL AND OTHER INFORMATION
The tables below set forth our selected consolidated historical financial data for the periods indicated. The selected consolidated historical financial data as of and for the years ended December 31, 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 and 20 , have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included in “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of the accompanying prospectus. Interim financial information for the ended , 20 and 20 has been derived from our unaudited interim financial statements. Our unaudited interim financial statements were prepared on a basis consistent with our audited financial statements and, in our opinion, include all adjustments necessary for the fair statement of the results for the periods represented. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of future results. The selected financial data in this section is not intended to replace the financial statements and is qualified in its entirety by the financial statements and related notes included in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
The selected consolidated financial information and other data presented below should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our financial statements and the related notes thereto, which are included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
[Insert Selected Financial and Other Information reflecting most recently filed financials prior to the offering.]
RISK FACTORS
[Insert risk factors applicable to the preferred stock and any additional relevant risk factors not included in the base prospectus to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
USE OF PROCEEDS
We estimate that the net proceeds we will receive from the sale of shares of our preferred stock in this offering will be approximately $ million (or approximately $ million if the underwriters fully exercise their overallotment option), in each case assuming a public offering price of $ per share, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions of $ million (or approximately $ million if the underwriters fully exercise their overallotment option) payable by us and estimated offering expenses of approximately $ million payable by us.
[Describe use of proceeds and include any other relevant information to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
RATIOS OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES AND PREFERRED DIVIDENDS
[Insert information required by Item 503(d) of Regulation S-K at time of offering.]
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with “Selected Financial and Other Information” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. The information in this section contains forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties. Please see “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” in the accompanying prospectus for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with this discussion and analysis. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated by such forward-looking information due to factors discussed under “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” in the accompanying prospectus.
[Insert Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations from most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, as applicable, prior to the offering.]
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED STOCK
This prospectus supplement sets forth certain terms of our preferred stock that we are offering pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. This section outlines the specific legal and financial terms of our preferred stock. You should read this section together with the more general descriptions of our preferred stock in the accompanying prospectus under the headings “Description of Capital Stock—Preferred Stock” and “Description of Preferred Stock” in the accompanying prospectus before investing in our preferred stock. This summary is not necessarily complete and is subject to and entirely qualified by reference to our charter and bylaws.
[Insert material terms of the preferred stock to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth (a) our actual capitalization at , 20 and (b) our pro forma capitalization to reflect the effects of the sale of our preferred stock in this offering (assuming that the underwriters do not exercise their overallotment option) assuming a public offering price of $ per share, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. You should read this table together with “Use of Proceeds” and our most recent balance sheet included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
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| | As of ,20 (unaudited, dollar amounts in thousands) | |
| | Actual | | Pro Forma | |
Cash and cash equivalents | | $ | | | $ | | |
Debt | | | | | |
[List Debt outstanding as of period reported] | | | | | |
Total Debt | | | | | |
Stockholders’ Equity | | | | | |
Common stock, par value $.01 per share, common shares authorized, and common shares issued and outstanding, respectively | | $ | | | $ | | |
Preferred Stock, par value $.01 per share, preferred shares authorized, and preferred shares issued and outstanding, respectively | | | | | | | |
Paid-in capital in excess of par value | | | | | |
Accumulated net investment income (loss) | | | | | |
Accumulated net realized gain (loss) | | | | | |
Accumulated net realized un appreciation (depreciation) | | | | | |
Total stockholders’ equity | | $ | | | $ | | |
Total capitalization | | $ | | | $ | | |
UNDERWRITING
[ ] are acting as representatives of each of the underwriters named below. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in a purchase agreement among us and the underwriters, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters, and each of the underwriters has agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase from us, the number of shares of preferred stock set forth opposite its name below.
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Underwriter | | Number of Shares | |
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Total | | | |
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the purchase agreement, the underwriters have agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase all of the shares sold under the purchase agreement if any of these shares are purchased. If an underwriter defaults, the purchase agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the nondefaulting underwriters may be increased or the purchase agreement may be terminated.
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
The underwriters are offering the shares, subject to prior sale, when, as and if issued to and accepted by them, subject to approval of legal matters by their counsel, including the validity of the shares, and other conditions contained in the purchase agreement, such as the receipt by the underwriters of officer’s certificates and legal opinions. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part.
Commissions and Discounts
The representatives have advised us that the underwriters propose initially to offer the shares to the public at the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement and to dealers at that price less a concession not in excess of $ per share. After the initial offering, the public offering price, concession or any other term of the offering may be changed.
The following table shows the public offering price, underwriting discount and proceeds before expenses to us. [The information assumes either no exercise or full exercise by the underwriters of their overallotment option.]
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| | Per Share | | [Without Option | | With Option] | |
Public offering price | | | | | | | |
Underwriting discount | | | | | | | |
Proceeds to us, before expenses | | | | | | | |
The expenses of the offering, not including the underwriting discount, are estimated at $ and are payable by us.
[Overallotment Option
We have granted an option to the underwriters to purchase up to additional shares of preferred stock at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount. The underwriters may exercise this option for days from the date of this
prospectus supplement solely to cover any overallotments. If the underwriters exercise this option, each will be obligated, subject to conditions contained in the purchase agreement, to purchase a number of additional shares proportionate to that underwriter’s initial amount reflected in the above table.]
[No Sales of Similar Securities
We have agreed, with exceptions, not to sell or transfer any preferred stock for days after the date of this prospectus supplement without first obtaining the written consent of [ ].]
[Listing
The shares of preferred stock are a new issue of securities with no established trading market. We intend to list the shares of preferred stock on . We expect trading in the shares of preferred stock on to begin within days after the original issue date. Currently there is no public market for the shares of preferred stock.
We have been advised by the underwriters that they presently intend to make a market in the shares of preferred stock after completion of the offering as permitted by applicable laws and regulations. The underwriters are not obligated, however, to make a market in the shares of preferred stock and any such market-making may be discontinued at any time in the sole discretion of the underwriters without any notice. Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to the liquidity of, or development of a public trading market for, the shares of preferred stock. If any active public trading market for the shares of preferred stock does not develop, the market price and liquidity of the shares of preferred stock may be adversely affected.]
Price Stabilization, Short Positions and Penalty Bids
Until the distribution of the shares is completed, SEC rules may limit underwriters and selling group members from bidding for and purchasing our preferred stock. However, the representatives may engage in transactions that stabilize the price of the preferred stock, such as bids or purchases to peg, fix or maintain that price.
In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell our preferred stock in the open market. These transactions may include short sales, purchases on the open market to cover positions created by short sales and stabilizing transactions. Short sales involve the sale by the underwriters of a greater number of shares than they are required to purchase in the offering. “Covered” short sales are sales made in an amount not greater than the underwriters’ overallotment option described above. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their overallotment option or purchasing shares in the open market. In determining the source of shares to close out the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of shares available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase shares through the overallotment option. “Naked” short sales are sales in excess of the overallotment option. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing shares in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of our preferred stock in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering. Stabilizing transactions consist of various bids for or purchases of shares of preferred stock made by the underwriters in the open market prior to the completion of the offering.
The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the underwriters a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the representatives have repurchased shares sold by or for the account of such underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.
Similar to other purchase transactions, the underwriters’ purchases to cover the syndicate short sales may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our preferred stock or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our preferred stock. As a result, the price of our preferred stock may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. The underwriters may conduct these transactions on , in the over-the-counter market or otherwise.
Neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our preferred stock. In addition, neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation that the representatives will engage in these transactions or that these transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.
Passive Market Making
In connection with this offering, underwriters and selling group members may engage in passive market making transactions in the preferred stock on in accordance with Rule 103 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act during a period before the commencement of offers or sales of preferred stock and extending through the completion of distribution. A passive market maker must display its bid at a price not in excess of the highest independent bid of that security. However, if all independent bids are lowered below the passive market maker’s bid, that bid must then be lowered when specified purchase limits are exceeded. Passive market making may cause the price of our preferred stock to be higher than the price that otherwise would exist in the open market in the absence of those transactions. The underwriters and dealers are not required to engage in passive market making and may end passive market making activities at any time.
Electronic Offer, Sale and Distribution of Preferred Stock
The underwriters may make prospectuses available in electronic (PDF) format. A prospectus in electronic (PDF) format may be made available on a web site maintained by the underwriters, and the underwriters may distribute such prospectuses electronically. The underwriters may allocate a limited principal amount of the preferred stock for sale to their online brokerage customers.
Other Relationships
The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include sales and trading, commercial and investment banking, advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, market making, brokerage and other financial and non-financial activities and services. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, a variety of these services to the issuer and to persons and entities with relationships with us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.
In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates, officers, directors and employees may purchase, sell or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps and other financial instruments for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and trading activities may involve or relate to assets, securities or instruments of us (directly, as collateral securing other obligations or otherwise) or persons and entities with relationships with us.
After the date of this prospectus supplement, the underwriters and their affiliates may from time to time obtain information regarding specific portfolio companies or us that may not be available to the general public. Any such information is obtained by the underwriters and their affiliates in the ordinary course of its business and not in connection with the offering of the preferred stock. In addition, after the offering period for the sale of our preferred stock, the underwriters or their affiliates may develop analyses or opinions related to us or persons or entities with relationships with us and buy or sell interests in one or more of our portfolio companies on behalf of their proprietary or client accounts and may engage in competitive activities. There is no obligation on behalf of these parties to disclose their respective analyses, opinions or purchase and sale activities regarding any portfolio company or regarding us to holders of our preferred stock or any other persons.
We may purchase securities of third parties from the underwriters or their affiliates after the offering. However, we have not entered into any agreement or arrangement regarding the acquisition of any such securities, and we may not purchase any such securities. We would only purchase any such securities if—among other things—we identified securities that satisfied our investment needs and completed our due diligence review of such securities.
[Describe any other specific transactions and compensation related thereto to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
[Describe if underwriters receiving proceeds of offering, if required by FINRA.]
[Insert principal business addresses of underwriters.]
[Insert applicable legends for jurisdictions in which offers and sales may be made.]
LEGAL MATTERS
Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be passed upon for the Company by Proskauer Rose LLP, Los Angeles, California, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, New York, New York and Venable LLP, Baltimore, Maryland. Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be passed upon for the underwriters by [ ].
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
[Insert financial statements and notes thereto from most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, as applicable, prior to the offering.]
Shares
Series [ ] Preferred Stock
Liquidation Preference $ Per Share
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
[Underwriters]
, 20
Exhibit
Exhibit 99.3
The information in this prospectus supplement is not complete and may be changed. [A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission.] This prospectus supplement is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject to Completion
Preliminary Prospectus Supplement dated , 20
[FORM OF PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH FUTURE DEBT SECURITIES OFFERINGS](*)
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To Prospectus dated , 20 )
$
% [Insert ranking/conversion information] Notes due
We are offering $ in aggregate principal amount of % [Insert ranking/conversion information] notes due , which we refer to as the Notes. [Insert relevant information regarding interest payments, redemption, etc.]
We are an externally managed specialty finance company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. We seek to achieve this investment objective by investing primarily in first lien senior secured loans and second lien senior secured loans.
As of , 20 , our investment portfolio consisted of investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million.
We are managed by Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C., an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. provides the administrative services necessary for us to operate. Both Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C. and Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. are wholly owned subsidiaries of Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C., a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group L.P. The Carlyle Group L.P. is a global alternative asset manager with approximately $ billion of assets under management as of , 20 .
Investing in the Notes involves risks that are described in the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page S-[ ] of this prospectus supplement and page [ ] of the accompanying prospectus, including the risk of leverage.
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain important information you should know before investing in the Notes. Please read this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus before you invest and keep each for future reference. Information required to be included in a Statement of Additional Information may be found in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We also file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information about us with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). You may obtain this information or make noteholder inquiries by written or oral request and free of charge by contacting us by mail at our principal executive offices located at 520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor, New York, NY 10022, on our website at www.tcgbdc.com, or by calling us at (212) 813-4900. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference
into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, and you should not consider that information to be a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. The SEC also maintains a website at http://www.sec.gov that contains this information.
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| | Per Note | | Total | |
Public offering price | | | % | $ | | |
Underwriting discount (sales load) | | | % | $ | | |
Proceeds to us, before expenses(1) | | | % | $ | | |
(1) Before deducting expenses payable by us related to this offering, estimated at $ .
The public offering price set forth above does not include accrued interest, if any. Interest on the Notes will accrue from and must be paid by the purchaser if the Notes are delivered after .
[The underwriters may also purchase up to an additional $ total aggregate principal amount of Notes offered hereby within days of the date of this prospectus supplement to cover overallotments, if any. If the underwriters exercise this option in full, the total public offering price will be $ , the total underwriting discount (sales load) paid by us will be $ , and total proceeds, before expenses, will be $ .]
THE NOTES ARE NOT DEPOSITS OR OTHER OBLIGATIONS OF A BANK AND ARE NOT INSURED BY THE FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION OR ANY OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCY.
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Delivery of the Notes in book-entry form only through The Depository Trust Company will be made on or about , 20 .
The date of this prospectus supplement is , 20 .
(*) In addition to the sections outlined in this form of prospectus supplement, each prospectus supplement actually used in connection with an offering conducted pursuant to the registration statement to which this form of prospectus supplement is attached will be updated to include such other information as may then be required to be disclosed therein pursuant to applicable law or regulation as in effect as of the date of each such prospectus supplement, including, without limitation, information particular to the terms of each security offered thereby and any related risk factors or tax considerations pertaining thereto. The terms of the Notes or the provisions of the indenture governing the Notes may differ from the information provided in this form prospectus supplement. This form of prospectus supplement is intended only to provide an approximation of the nature and type of disclosure that may appear in any actual prospectus supplement used for the purposes of offering securities pursuant to the registration statement to which this form of prospectus supplement is attached, and, accordingly, the terms and description of the retail notes for which this form of prospectus supplement is to be used may differ from the information provided in this form of prospectus supplement. This form of prospectus supplement is not intended to and does not contain all of the information that would appear is any such actual prospectus supplement, and should not be used or relied upon in connection with any offer or sale of securities.
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized any other person to provide you with different information or to make any representations not contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, as applicable. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.
Prospectus Supplement
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Forward-Looking Statements | S-[ ] |
The Company | S-[ ] |
Specific Terms of the Notes and the Offering | S-[ ] |
Risk Factors | S-[ ] |
Selected Financial and Other Information | S-[ ] |
Use of Proceeds | S-[ ] |
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations | S-[ ] |
Ratios of Earnings to Fixed Charges | S-[ ] |
Capitalization | S-[ ] |
Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations | S-[ ] |
Underwriting | S-[ ] |
Legal Matters | S-[ ] |
Financial Statements | S-[ ] |
Prospectus
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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[Insert table of contents from base prospectus.] | |
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,” “should,” “may,” “plans,” “continue,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “would,” “could,” “targets,” “projects,” “outlook,” “potential,” “predicts” and variations of these words and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements include these words. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss our plans, strategies, prospects and expectations concerning our business, operating results, financial condition and other similar matters. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. Our forward-looking statements include information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus regarding general domestic and global economic conditions, our future financing plans, our ability to operate as a BDC and the expected performance of, and the yield on, our portfolio companies. There may be events in the future, however, that we are not able to predict accurately or control. The factors listed under “Risk Factors” in the accompanying prospectus, as well as any cautionary language in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. Before you invest in our securities, you should be aware that the occurrence of the events described in these risk factors and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial position. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which we make it. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Under Sections 27A(b)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E(b)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 do not apply to statements made in connection with any offering of securities pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or in a beneficial ownership report we file under the Exchange Act.
The following factors are among those that may cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements:
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• | our, or our portfolio companies’, future business, operations, operating results or prospects; |
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• | the return or impact of current and future investments; |
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• | the impact of any protracted decline in the liquidity of credit markets on our business; |
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• | the impact of fluctuations in interest rates on our business; |
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• | currency fluctuations could adversely affect the results of our investments in foreign companies, particularly to the extent that we receive payments denominated in foreign currency rather than U.S. dollars; |
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• | our future operating results; |
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• | the impact of changes in laws, policies or regulations (including the interpretation thereof) affecting our operations or the operations of our portfolio companies; |
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• | the valuation of our investments in portfolio companies, particularly those having no liquid trading market; |
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• | our ability to recover unrealized losses; |
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• | market conditions and our ability to access alternative debt markets and additional debt and equity capital; |
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• | our contractual arrangements and relationships with third parties; |
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• | the general economy and its impact on the industries in which we invest; |
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• | the financial condition of and ability of our current and prospective portfolio companies to achieve their objectives; |
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• | competition with other entities and our affiliates for investment opportunities; |
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• | the speculative and illiquid nature of our investments; |
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• | the use of borrowed money to finance a portion of our investments; |
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• | our expected financings and investments; |
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• | the adequacy of our cash resources and working capital; |
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• | the loss of key personnel; |
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• | the costs associated with being a publicly traded company; |
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• | the timing, form and amount of any dividend distributions; |
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• | the timing of cash flows, if any, from the operations of our portfolio companies; |
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• | the ability to consummate acquisitions; |
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• | the ability of our Investment Adviser to locate suitable investments for us and to monitor and administer our investments; |
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• | the ability of The Carlyle Group Employee Co., L.L.C. and CELF Advisors LLP to attract and retain highly talented professionals that can provide services to our Investment Adviser and Administrator; |
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• | our ability to maintain our status as a BDC; and |
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• | our intent to satisfy the requirements of a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Code. |
Our actual results and condition could differ materially from those implied or expressed in the forward-looking statements for any reason, including the factors set forth in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
THE COMPANY
This summary highlights some of the information contained elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. This summary is not complete and may not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in the securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. You should review the more detailed information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, especially the information set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Unless indicated otherwise in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, or the context suggests otherwise:
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• | the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “TCG BDC” and “Company” refer to TCG BDC, Inc., a Maryland corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries; |
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• | the term “SPV” refers to TCG BDC SPV LLC, our wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary; |
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• | the term “2015-1 Issuer” refers to Carlyle GMS Finance MM CLO 2015-1 LLC, our wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary; |
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• | the term “Carlyle” refers to The Carlyle Group L.P. (NASDAQ: CG) and its affiliates and consolidated subsidiaries (other than portfolio companies of its affiliated funds); |
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• | the term “Carlyle” refers to The Carlyle Group L.P. (NASDAQ: CG) and its affiliates and consolidated subsidiaries (other than portfolio companies of its affiliated funds);
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• | the terms “CGCA” and “Administrator” refer to Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C., our administrator, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of Carlyle; |
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• | the terms “CGCIM” and “Investment Adviser” refer to Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C., our investment adviser, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of Carlyle; and |
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• | the term “Credit Fund” refers to Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, an unconsolidated limited liability company, in which we own a 50% economic interest and co-manage with Credit Partners USA LLC, and its wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary.
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We have elected to be regulated as a business development company, or a “BDC,” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Investment Company Act”). In addition, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we have elected to be treated as a regulated investment company, or RIC, under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (together, with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Code”).
[TCG BDC, Inc.
We are an externally managed specialty finance company focused on lending to middle market companies. We are managed by our Investment Adviser, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carlyle. Since we commenced investment operations in May 2013 through , 20 , we have invested approximately $ billion in aggregate principal amount of debt and equity investments prior to any subsequent exits or repayments. Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), which we believe is a useful proxy for cash flow. We seek to achieve our investment objective primarily through direct originations of secured debt, including first lien senior secured loans (which may include stand-alone first lien loans, first lien/last out loans and “unitranche” loans) and second lien senior secured loans (collectively, “Middle Market Senior Loans”),
with the balance of our assets invested in higher yielding investments (which may include unsecured debt, mezzanine debt and investments in equities).
We generate revenues primarily in the form of interest income from the investments we hold. In addition, we generate income from dividends on direct equity investments, capital gains on the sales of loans and debt and equity securities and various loan origination and other fees.
In conducting our investment activities, we believe that we benefit from the significant scale and resources of Carlyle, including our Investment Adviser and its affiliates. We have operated our business as a BDC since we began our investment activities in May 2013.
Investment Strategy
Our Investment Adviser is served by an origination, capital markets, underwriting and portfolio management team comprised of experienced investment professionals in the CDL platform, which is Carlyle’s direct lending business unit that operates within the broader Carlyle Global Credit platform (which in turn operates within Carlyle’s CGC segment). Our investment approach is focused on long-term credit performance and principal preservation. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team utilizes a rigorous, systematic, and consistent investment process, refined over Carlyle’s -year history investing in private markets across multiple cycles, designed to achieve enhanced risk-adjusted returns.
Origination Strategy
Our Investment Adviser has built a strong direct origination platform with coverage of over private equity firms and over lending institutions. Our Investment Adviser’s origination team sources approximately opportunities per year for us with an ultimate investment rate by us of less than % annually. The scale of our Investment Adviser’s origination platform allows us to maximize access to investment opportunities and enhance overall investment selectivity. We further seek to reduce risk by partnering with experienced sponsors with strong track records. We believe lending to companies owned by leading private equity firms (versus non-sponsored companies) has several important and potentially defensive characteristics. Sponsor involvement provides for:
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• | maximization of investment opportunities as approximately % of middle market loan volume is sponsor backed as of , 20 , according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Middle Market Fact Sheet; |
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• | validation of enterprise value; |
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• | support, as needed, in strategy, operations and governance of portfolio companies; and |
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• | the potential for additional capital commitment by sponsor if company requires financial support. |
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Investment Approach and Risk Monitoring of Investments
Our Investment Adviser utilizes a rigorous, systematic and consistent due diligence underwriting process to evaluate all investment opportunities. Our Investment Adviser’s investment teams primarily consist of origination professionals, research analysts and underwriters. An investment team works on a particular transaction from initial screening through closing, and the same team continues to monitor the credit for the life cycle of the investment.
During the investment process, the investment team works closely with the private equity sponsor in all aspects of due diligence, including onsite meetings, due diligence calls, and review of third party diligence reports. Our Investment Adviser also conducts an independent evaluation of the business, utilizing both internal and external sources. A key differentiator is our Investment Adviser’s integrated credit platform and collaborative efforts that leverage Carlyle’s broader resources, which include access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge.
Diversification of our portfolio is a key tenet of our risk management strategy, including diversification by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. Additionally, we view proactive portfolio monitoring as a vital part of the investment process. Our Investment Adviser utilizes a proprietary credit surveillance report and software system, an
objective rules-based Internal Risk Rating system and proprietary valuation model to assess risk in the portfolio. In addition to monthly portfolio reviews, our Investment Adviser compiles a quarterly risk report that examines, among other metrics, migration in portfolio and loan level investment mix, industry diversification, Internal Risk Ratings, revenue, EBITDA, and leverage. Our Investment Adviser supplements these policies with additional analyses and projections, including stress scenarios, to assess the potential exposure of our portfolio to variable macroeconomic factors and market conditions.
Strategic Relationships
We have established two highly differentiated strategic relationships that expand our product offering and increase our scale, enhancing our investment opportunities and optimizing selectivity rates, as we determine which credits provide the best risk adjusted returns for our stockholders. In early 2015, our Investment Adviser developed a key strategic relationship with Madison Capital Funding LLC (“Madison Capital”), a prominent non-bank finance company that is a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company, which has allowed us to offer various lending solutions to potential borrowers and has increased our coverage of U.S. middle market private equity firms. Additionally, in early 2016, we agreed to co-invest with Credit Partners USA LLC (“Credit Partners”), a wholly owned subsidiary of a large Canadian pension fund, to form Credit Fund, a joint venture primarily focused on investing in first lien loans to middle market companies. We and Credit Partners each have 50% economic ownership of Credit Fund and have commitments to fund, from time to time, capital of up to $400 million each. See “—Competitive Strengths—Strategic Relationships” in the accompanying prospectus.
Investment Portfolio
As of , 20 , we had investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million. During the ended , 20 , we invested approximately $ billion in new investments. During the same period, we had approximately $ million in exits and repayments resulting in net portfolio increase of approximately $ million.
As of , 20 , our portfolio was invested across industries. As of , 20 , no single portfolio company (excluding Credit Fund) represented more than % of our investments at fair value and no single industry represented more than % of our investments at fair value. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of our investments were in U.S. domestic companies. As of such date, the weighted average remaining term of our debt investments was approximately years. Based on fair value as of , 20 , our portfolio consisted of approximately % in secured debt (% in first lien debt (including % in first lien/last out loans) and % in second lien debt), % in Credit Fund, % in structured finance obligations and % in equity investments. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a fixed interest rate and approximately % of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate, which primarily are subject to interest rate floors.
As of , 20 , the weighted average yield of our first lien debt (including first lien/last out loans) was % and % based on the amortized cost and fair value, respectively. During that same period, the weighted average yield on our second lien debt was % and % based on the amortized cost and fair value, respectively.
We invest primarily in loans to middle market companies whose debt, if rated, is rated below investment grade, and, if not rated, would likely be rated below investment grade if it were rated (that is, below BBB- or Baa3, which is often referred to as “junk”). Exposure to below investment grade instruments involves certain risks, including speculation with respect to the borrower’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal.
As of , 20 , we and Credit Partners had each contributed $ million and $ million, respectively, to Credit Fund. As of , 20 , Credit Fund’s portfolio was invested in companies across industries. As of , 20 , Credit Fund had investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of Credit Fund’s investments were in U.S. domestic companies, and % was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate with an interest rate floor.
Competitive Strengths
Market Leading Direct Origination Platform. We have access to CDL’s strong direct origination platform, with coverage of over private equity firms and over lending institutions. We take a regional approach to client coverage with offices in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The origination team is highly experienced, and maintains deep relationships with a broad network of financial sponsors, commercial and investment banks, and finance companies, which are expected to continue to generate a significant amount of investment opportunities.
Scaled Investment Platform and Capabilities. CDL is an established, scaled investment platform with the ability to invest across the entire capital structure. CDL’s broad capabilities and ability to offer a full financing solution give us access to a wide funnel of opportunities, allow us to select high quality credits, construct the optimal financing package as it relates to price and terms, assert greater control over documentation, and generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders. We believe CDL’s hold sizes are among the largest in the middle market, which we believe results in the ability to generate premium economics, as sponsors are willing to pay higher spreads for financing certainty. CDL’s large hold sizes and strategic relationships enable us to provide certainty with regards to spreads, fees, structure and covenants. Furthermore, the breadth of CDL’s debt offerings also allows us to deploy capital at a measured pace across credit cycles and construct a portfolio that will perform in a broad range of economic conditions.
One Carlyle Capabilities Leading to Superior Credit Performance. We benefit from our Investment Adviser’s utilization of the broader resources of Carlyle, which includes access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge from almost three decades of private market investing. Our underwriting process leverages Carlyle’s investment professionals across multiple alternative investment asset classes, operating executives, information obtained through direct ownership of over companies and lending relationships with over companies, credit industry research analysts, and in-house government affairs and economic research teams. Our systematic and consistent approach is augmented by industry expertise and tenured underwriting professionals who both lead our Investment Adviser’s investment team and serve on our Investment Adviser’s investment committee. Strong credit underwriting has been a key component of our investing process, where our Investment Adviser seeks to select borrowers whose businesses are expected to generate substantial cash flows, to have leading management teams, stable operating histories, high barriers to entry and meaningful equity value, and to retain significant value.
Experienced Investment Team. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team comprises investment professionals in CDL who have extensive middle market lending experience. The investment team consists of dedicated investment professionals. The seven members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee have an average of years of industry experience. We believe the breadth and depth of the investment team in sourcing, structuring, executing, and monitoring a broad range of private investments provides us with a significant competitive advantage in building a high quality portfolio of investments.
Carefully Constructed Portfolio of Diversified Senior Secured, Floating Rate Loans. Our portfolio has been defensively constructed, exhibits strong credit quality, generates stable risk-adjusted returns and allows us to generate meaningful investment income, and consequently dividend income, for our stockholders. We have invested approximately $ billion since our inception in directly originated middle market loans. Our portfolio is highly diversified by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. As of , 20 , we had a portfolio of investments in portfolio companies across industries and unique sponsors. As of , 20 , approximately % of our debt investments bore interest at floating rates, subject to interest rate floors, and % of our portfolio was invested in first lien debt investments (including % first lien/last out loans).
Strategic Relationships. Our strategic relationships enhance our ability to provide full financing solutions to our borrowers, which results in our being able to generate optimal economics, significant access to diligence and control over documentation terms. Additionally, these relationships further strengthen our origination platform and ability to develop creative financing solutions to invest through the capital structure based on where we believe the best risk-adjusted return opportunities reside. Our Investment Adviser’s strategic relationship with Madison Capital, a leading middle market senior lender with approximately $ billion of assets under management (“AUM”) as of , 20, allows us to offer a full unitranche financing solution. This product provides middle market companies with certainty for financing without syndication risk and generates attractive risk-adjusted returns on these investments for our stockholders. Madison Capital provides the first lien/first out portion of the unitranche loan, which allows us to provide the first lien/last out portion. Collectively, we and Madison Capital have provided over $ billion (before any repayments or exits) of unitranche loans to middle market companies. The relationship has been extremely successful, and we frequently invest alongside Madison Capital on a variety of investment opportunities (in addition to unitranche loans).
Separately, Credit Fund, our strategic joint venture with a large Canadian pension fund, primarily invests in first lien loans of middle market companies. Since its inception and through , 20 , Credit Fund has provided $ million (before any repayments or exits) of senior secured loans. This joint venture provides us with an enhanced first lien loan product for certain transactions, thus further increasing our deal flow, and results in an increased number of borrowers in our portfolio, which provides strategic benefits as we build incumbent positions for future growth and investment opportunity.
Market Opportunity
We believe the middle market lending environment provides attractive investment opportunities as a result of a combination of the following factors:
Favorable Market Environment. We believe the middle market remains one of the most attractive investment areas due to its large size, superior value relative to the broadly syndicated loan market, and supply-demand imbalance that continues to favor non-bank lenders. We believe market yields remain attractive and leverage levels at middle market companies are stable, creating a favorable investment environment.
Large and Growing U.S. Middle Market. The U.S. middle market is the largest market by many measures, which is expected to enable us to invest selectively as approximately % of middle market loan volume is sponsor-backed. According to S&P Capital IQ, as of , 20 , there are over U.S. middle market companies generating between $20 million and $1 billion in annual revenue, compared with approximately companies with revenue greater than $1 billion. We believe these middle market companies, both sponsored and non-sponsored, represent a significant growth segment of the U.S. economy and often require substantial capital investments to grow.
Leverage, Pricing and Risk. According to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Quarterly Leveraged Lending Review (Q 20 ), middle market companies are less levered, have larger equity contributions, experience lower rates of default, and achieve higher recoveries versus large cap broadly syndicated loans. Middle market loans also tend to achieve more attractive pricing and structures, including documentation, covenants and information/governance, than broadly syndicated loans. Over the year period from 20 to 20, middle market loans have exhibited an approximate basis points spread premium over broadly syndicated loans according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Leveraged Loan Index.
Market Environment Favors Non-Traditional Lenders. Traditional middle market lenders, such as commercial and regional banks and commercial finance companies, have contracted their origination and lending activities and are focusing on more liquid asset classes or have exited the business. At the same time, institutional investors have sought to invest in larger, more liquid offerings, limiting the ability of middle market companies to raise debt capital through public capital markets. This has resulted in other capital providers, such as specialty finance companies, structured-credit vehicles such as collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), BDCs, and private investment funds, actively investing in the middle market. We believe the aforementioned changes and restrictions have created a large and growing market opportunity for alternative lenders such as us.
Favorable Capital Markets Trends. Current and future demand for middle market financings, driven by private equity investment and upcoming maturities are expected to provide us with ample deal flow. Current data from the Thompson Reuters LPC Middle Market Weekly Report ( , 20 ) suggests that approximately $ billion of upcoming loan maturities for middle market companies are due between 20 and 20, and the PitchBook PE & VE Fundraising and Capital Overhang Report ( H 20 ) suggests that there is over $ billion of uninvested capital in 2010-YTD Q 20 vintage private equity funds. We believe these refinancings and uninvested capital will provide a steady flow of attractive opportunities for well-positioned lenders with deep and longstanding sponsor and market relationships, particularly for providers of full capital structure financing solutions.
Benefits of Traditional Middle Market Focus. We believe there are significant advantages in our focus on the traditional middle market, a market we categorize to include borrowers with EBITDA in the range of approximately $10 million to $100 million. Traditional middle market companies are generally less levered than companies with EBITDA in excess of $100 million and loans to those borrowers offer more attractive economics in the form of upfront fees, spreads, and prepayment penalties. Senior secured middle market loans typically have strong defensive characteristics: these loans have priority in payment among a portfolio company’s security holders and they carry the least risk among investments in the capital structure; these investments, which are secured by the portfolio company’s assets, typically contain carefully structured covenant packages which allow lenders to take early action in situations where obligors underperform; and these characteristics can provide protection against credit deterioration. Middle market lenders like us are often able to complete more thorough due diligence investigations prior to investment than lenders in the broadly syndicated space.
Carlyle and Our Investment Adviser
Our investment activities are managed by our Investment Adviser. Our Investment Adviser is responsible for sourcing potential investments, conducting research and due diligence on prospective investments and equity sponsors, analyzing investment opportunities, structuring our investments and monitoring our investments on an ongoing basis.
Our Investment Adviser is an affiliate of Carlyle. Carlyle is one of the world’s largest and most diversified multi-product global alternative asset management firms. Carlyle and its affiliates advise an array of specialized investment funds and other investment vehicles that invest across a range of industries, geographies, asset classes and investment strategies. Since its founding in Washington, D.C. in 1987, Carlyle has grown to become a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $ billion in AUM across investment vehicles as of , 20.
Carlyle Global Credit is one of the largest integrated credit platforms in the industry with approximately $ billion in AUM and employees with multiple offices, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, as of , 20 . Carlyle Global Credit’s investment strategies include loans and structured credit, distressed credit, private credit (through CDL) and energy credit. CDL advises four funds, including us, totaling, in the aggregate, approximately $ billion in AUM as of , 20 .
Our Investment Adviser’s seven-person investment committee is responsible for reviewing and approving our investment opportunities. The members of the investment committee have experience investing through different credit cycles. The investment committee is led by Michael A. Hart, Managing Director of Carlyle, Head of CDL, Chairman of our Board of Directors (“Board”) and our Chief Executive Officer and also includes Jeffrey S. Levin, Managing Director of Carlyle and our President. See “Management—Portfolio Management” in the accompanying prospectus for biographical information of members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee.
Our Investment Adviser also serves, and may serve in the future, as investment adviser to other existing and future affiliated BDCs that have investment objectives similar to our investment objectives.
Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest
Our Investment Adviser’s investment team forms the exclusive Carlyle platform for U.S. middle market debt investments. The SEC has granted us exemptive relief that permits us and certain of our affiliates to co-invest in suitable negotiated investments (the “Exemptive Relief”). If Carlyle is presented with investment opportunities that generally fall within our investment objective and other board-established criteria and those of other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements (including other existing and future affiliated BDCs) whether focused on a debt strategy or otherwise, Carlyle allocates such opportunities among us and such other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements in a manner consistent with the Exemptive Relief, our Investment Adviser’s allocation policies and procedures and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures, where applicable, as discussed below. More specifically, investment opportunities in suitable negotiated investments for investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements managed by our Investment Adviser, and other funds, accounts or similar arrangements managed by affiliated investment advisers that seek to co-invest with us or other Carlyle BDCs, are allocated in accordance with the Exemptive Relief. Investment opportunities for all other investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements not managed by our Investment Adviser are allocated in accordance with their respective investment advisers’ and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures. Such policies and procedures may result in certain investment opportunities that are attractive to us being allocated to other funds that are not managed by our Investment Adviser. Carlyle’s, including our Investment Adviser’s, allocation policies and procedures are designed to allocate investment opportunities fairly and equitably among its clients over time, taking into account a variety of factors which may include the sourcing of the transaction, the nature of the investment focus of each such other Carlyle fund, accounts or other similar arrangements, each fund’s, account’s or similar arrangement’s desired level of investment, the relative amounts of capital available for investment, the nature and extent of involvement in the transaction on the part of the respective teams of investment professionals, any requirements contained in the governing agreements of the Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements and other considerations deemed relevant by Carlyle in good faith, including suitability considerations and reputational matters. The application of these considerations may cause differences in the performance of different Carlyle funds, accounts and similar arrangements that have similar strategies. For a further explanation of the allocation of opportunities and other related conflicts and risks, please see “Business—Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest” in the accompanying prospectus.
Because we are a BDC, we are not generally permitted to make loans to companies controlled by Carlyle or other funds managed by Carlyle.
We are also not permitted to make any co-investments with clients of our Investment Adviser or its affiliates (including any fund managed by Carlyle) without complying with our Exemptive Relief, subject to certain exceptions, including with respect to our downstream affiliates. Co-investments made under the Exemptive Relief are subject to compliance with the conditions and other requirements contained in the Exemptive Relief, which could limit our ability to participate in a co-investment transaction. We may also co-invest with funds managed by Carlyle or any of its downstream affiliates, subject to compliance with applicable law and regulations, existing regulatory guidance, and our Investment Adviser’s and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures.
Operating and Regulatory Structure
We have elected to be treated as a BDC under the Investment Company Act. As a BDC, we are required to comply with certain regulatory requirements and are generally prohibited from acquiring assets other than qualifying assets, unless, after giving effect to any acquisition, at least 70% of our total assets are qualifying assets. Qualifying assets generally include securities of eligible portfolio companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and high quality debt instruments maturing in one year or less from the time of investment. Under the rules of the Investment Company Act, “eligible portfolio companies” include (i) private U.S. operating companies, (ii) public U.S. operating companies whose securities are not listed on a national securities exchange (e.g., the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex Equities and The NASDAQ Global Market) or registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and (iii) public U.S. operating companies having a market capitalization of less than $250 million.
Also, while we may borrow funds to make investments, our ability to use debt is limited in certain significant aspects. In particular, as a BDC, we must have at least 200% asset coverage calculated pursuant to the Investment Company Act in order to incur debt or issue preferred stock (which we refer to collectively as “senior securities”). In effect, we are permitted to borrow one dollar for every dollar we have in assets less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities issued by us, which requires us to finance our investments with at least as much equity as senior securities in the aggregate. Certain of our credit facilities also require that we maintain asset coverage of at least 200%. See “—Use of Leverage” and “Regulation” in the accompanying prospectus.
In addition, as a consequence of our election to be treated as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes, our asset growth is dependent on our ability to raise equity capital through the issuance of common stock. RICs generally must distribute substantially all of their investment company taxable income (as defined under the Code) to stockholders as dividends in order to preserve their status as a RIC and not be subject to additional U.S. federal corporate-level taxes. This requirement, in turn, generally prevents us from using our earnings to support our operations, including making new investments. See “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” in the accompanying prospectus.
Use of Leverage
Leverage increases the potential for gain and loss on amounts invested and, as a result, increases the risks associated with investing in our securities. The costs associated with our borrowings, including any increase in the fees payable to our Investment Adviser, are borne by our stockholders. Any decision on our part to use borrowings depends upon our assessment of the attractiveness of available investment opportunities in relation to the costs and perceived risks of such leverage. Through the SPV, our wholly owned subsidiary, we have a $ million senior secured revolving credit facility with various lenders (as amended, the “SPV Credit Facility”). In addition, we have a $ million senior secured revolving credit facility with various lenders (as amended, the “Credit Facility” and, together with the SPV Credit Facility, the “Facilities”).
On June 26, 2015, through our wholly owned subsidiary, the 2015-1 Issuer, we completed a $400 million term debt securitization (the “2015-1 Debt Securitization”), of which we retained 100% of the preferred interests (the “Preferred Interests”), or approximately $126 million at closing. For more information on our debt, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources” in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Corporate Structure
We were formed in February 2012 as a Maryland corporation structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment company. On May 2, 2013, we elected to be regulated as a BDC and commenced substantial investment operations upon the completion of our initial closing of equity capital commitments. Effective on March 15, 2017, we changed our name from “Carlyle GMS Finance, Inc.” to “TCG BDC, Inc.”
Recent Developments
[Insert description of recent developments at time of offering.]
Corporate Information
Our principal executive offices are located at 520 Madison Ave., 40th Floor, New York, New York 10022 and our telephone number is (212) 813-4900. We maintain a website located at www.tcgbdc.com. Information on our website is not incorporated into or a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.]
SPECIFIC TERMS OF THE NOTES AND THE OFFERING
This prospectus supplement sets forth certain terms of the Notes that we are offering pursuant to this prospectus supplement and supplements the accompanying prospectus that is attached to the back of this prospectus supplement. This section outlines the specific legal and financial terms of the Notes. You should read this section together with the more general description of the Notes in the accompanying prospectus under the heading “Description of Debt Securities” before investing in the Notes. Capitalized terms used in this prospectus supplement and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the accompanying prospectus or in the indenture governing the Notes.
[Insert material terms of the Notes in tabular form to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
RISK FACTORS
[Insert risk factors applicable to the Notes and any additional relevant risk factors not included in the base prospectus to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
SELECTED FINANCIAL AND OTHER INFORMATION
The tables below set forth our selected consolidated historical financial data for the periods indicated. The selected consolidated historical financial data as of and for the years ended December 31, 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 and 20 , have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included in “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of the accompanying prospectus. Interim financial information for the ended , 20 and 20 has been derived from our unaudited interim financial statements. Our unaudited interim financial statements were prepared on a basis consistent with our audited financial statements and, in our opinion, include all adjustments necessary for the fair statement of the results for the periods represented. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of future results. The selected financial data in this section is not intended to replace the financial statements and is qualified in its entirety by the financial statements and related notes included in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
The selected consolidated financial information and other data presented below should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our financial statements and the related notes thereto, which are included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
[Insert Selected Financial and Other Information reflecting most recently filed financials prior to the offering.]
USE OF PROCEEDS
We estimate that the net proceeds we will receive from the sale of $ million aggregate principal amount of Notes in this offering will be approximately $ million (or approximately $ million if the underwriters fully exercise their overallotment option), in each case assuming a public offering price of % of par, after deducting the underwriting discount of $ million (or approximately $ million if the underwriters fully exercise their overallotment option) payable by us and estimated offering expenses of approximately $ million payable by us.
[Describe use of proceeds and include any other relevant information to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with “Selected Financial and Other Information” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. The information in this section contains forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties. Please see “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” in the accompanying prospectus for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with this discussion and analysis. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated by such forward-looking information due to factors discussed under “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” in the accompanying prospectus.
[Insert Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations from most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, as applicable, prior to the offering.]
RATIOS OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES
For the ended , 20 and the years ended December 31, 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 and 20 , the ratios of earnings to fixed charges of the Company, computed as set forth below, were as follows:
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| | For the Ended , 20 | | For the Year Ended December 31, 20 | | For the Year Ended December 31, 20 | | For the Year Ended December 31, 20 | | For the Year Ended December 31, 20 | | For the Year Ended December 31, 20 | |
Earnings to Fixed Charges(1) | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
For purposes of computing the ratios of earnings to fixed charges, earnings represent net increase in stockholders’ equity resulting from operations plus (or minus) income tax expense (benefit) including excise tax expense plus fixed charges. Fixed charges include interest and credit facility fees expense and amortization of debt issuance costs.
(1) Earnings include net realized and unrealized gains or losses and the capital gains incentive fee expense accrued in accordance with GAAP. Net realized and unrealized gains or losses and the capital gains incentive fee expense accrued in accordance with GAAP can vary substantially from period to period.
CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth our actual capitalization at , 20 . You should read this table together with “Use of Proceeds” and our most recent balance sheet included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
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Cash and cash equivalents | | $ | | | |
Debt | | | | |
[List Debt outstanding as of period reported] | | | | |
Total Debt | | | | |
Stockholders’ Equity | | | | |
Common stock, par value $.01 per share, common shares authorized, and common shares issued and outstanding, respectively | | $ | | | |
Paid-in capital in excess of par value | | | | |
Accumulated net investment income (loss) | | | | |
Accumulated net realized gain (loss) | | | | |
Accumulated net realized un appreciation (depreciation) | | | | |
Total stockholders’ equity | | $ | | | |
Total capitalization | | $ | | | |
CERTAIN MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
[Insert disclosure regarding federal income tax consequences of an investment in the Notes to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
UNDERWRITING
[ ] are acting as representatives of each of the underwriters named below. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in a purchase agreement among us and the underwriters, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters, and each of the underwriters has agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase from us, the aggregate principal amount of Notes set forth opposite its name below.
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Total | | | |
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the purchase agreement, the underwriters have agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase all of the Notes sold under the purchase agreement if any of these Notes are purchased. If an underwriter defaults, the purchase agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the nondefaulting underwriters may be increased or the purchase agreement may be terminated.
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
The underwriters are offering the Notes, subject to prior sale, when, as and if issued to and accepted by them, subject to approval of legal matters by their counsel, including the validity of the Notes, and other conditions contained in the purchase agreement, such as the receipt by the underwriters of officer’s certificates and legal opinions. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part.
Discounts
An underwriting discount of % per Note will be paid by us. [This underwriting discount will also apply to any Notes purchased pursuant to the overallotment option.]
The following table shows the total underwriting discounts that we are to pay to the underwriters in connection with this offering. [The information assumes either no exercise or full exercise by the underwriters of their overallotment option.]
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Public offering price | | | | | | | |
Underwriting discount | | | | | | | |
Proceeds to us, before expenses | | | | | | | |
[The underwriters propose to offer some of the Notes to the public at the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement and may offer the Notes to certain other Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) members at the public offering price less a concession not in excess of % of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes. The underwriters may allow, and the dealers may reallow, a discount not in excess of % of the aggregate principal
amount of the Notes. After the initial offering of the Notes to the public, the public offering price and such concessions may be changed. No such change shall change the amount of proceeds to be received by us as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement.]
The expenses of the offering, not including the underwriting discount, are estimated at $ and are payable by us.
[Overallotment Option
We have granted an option to the underwriters to purchase up to an additional $ aggregate principal amount of the Notes offered hereby at the public offering price within days from the date of this prospectus supplement solely to cover any overallotments. If the underwriters exercise this option, each will be obligated, subject to conditions contained in the purchase agreement, to purchase a number of additional Notes proportionate to that underwriter’s initial principal amount reflected in the above table.]
[No Sales of Similar Securities
Subject to certain exceptions, we have agreed not to directly or indirectly, offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, grant any option for the sale of or otherwise transfer or dispose of any debt securities issued or guaranteed by us or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for debt securities issued or guaranteed by us or file any registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to any of the foregoing for a period of days after the date of this prospectus supplement without first obtaining the written consent of [ ]. This consent may be given at any time without public notice.]
[Listing
The Notes are a new issue of securities with no established trading market. We intend to list the Notes on . We expect trading in the Notes on to begin within days after the original issue date. Currently there is no public market for the Notes.
We have been advised by the underwriters that they presently intend to make a market in the Notes after completion of the offering as permitted by applicable laws and regulations. The underwriters are not obligated, however, to make a market in the Notes and any such market-making may be discontinued at any time in the sole discretion of the underwriters without any notice. Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to the liquidity of, or development of a public trading market for, the Notes. If an active public trading market for the Notes does not develop, the market price and liquidity of the Notes may be adversely affected.]
Price Stabilization, Short Positions and Penalty Bids
In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell Notes in the open market. These transactions may include overallotment, covering transactions and stabilizing transactions. Overallotment involves sales of securities in excess of the aggregate principal amount of securities to be purchased by the underwriters in the offering, which creates a short position for the underwriters. Covering transactions involve purchases of the securities in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover short positions. Stabilizing transactions consist of certain bids or purchases of securities made for the purpose of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the securities while the offering is in progress.
The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the underwriters a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the representatives have repurchased Notes sold by or for the account of such underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.
Any of these activities may cause the price of the Notes to be higher than the price that otherwise would exist in the open market in the absence of such transactions. These transactions may be effected in the over-the-counter market or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time without any notice relating thereto.
Neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of the Notes. In addition, neither we nor any of the
underwriters make any representation that the representatives will engage in these transactions or that these transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.
Electronic Offer, Sale and Distribution of Notes
The underwriters may make prospectuses available in electronic (PDF) format. A prospectus in electronic (PDF) format may be made available on a web site maintained by the underwriters, and the underwriters may distribute such prospectuses electronically. The underwriters may allocate a limited principal amount of the Notes for sale to their online brokerage customers.
Other Relationships
The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include sales and trading, commercial and investment banking, advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, market making, brokerage and other financial and non-financial activities and services. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, a variety of these services to the issuer and to persons and entities with relationships with us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.
In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates, officers, directors and employees may purchase, sell or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps and other financial instruments for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and trading activities may involve or relate to assets, securities or instruments of us (directly, as collateral securing other obligations or otherwise) or persons and entities with relationships with us.
After the date of this prospectus supplement, the underwriters and their affiliates may from time to time obtain information regarding specific portfolio companies or us that may not be available to the general public. Any such information is obtained by the underwriters and their affiliates in the ordinary course of their business and not in connection with the offering of the Notes. In addition, after the offering period for the sale of our Notes, the underwriters or their affiliates may develop analyses or opinions related to us or persons or entities with relationships with us and buy or sell interests in one or more of our portfolio companies on behalf of their proprietary or client accounts and may engage in competitive activities. There is no obligation on behalf of these parties to disclose their respective analyses, opinions or purchase and sale activities regarding any portfolio company or regarding us to our noteholders or any other persons.
We may purchase securities of third parties from the underwriters or their affiliates after the offering. However, we have not entered into any agreement or arrangement regarding the acquisition of any such securities, and we may not purchase any such securities. We would only purchase any such securities if—among other things—we identified securities that satisfied our investment needs and completed our due diligence review of such securities.
If any of the underwriters or their affiliates has a lending relationship with us, certain of those underwriters or their affiliates routinely hedge or may hedge their credit exposure to us consistent with their customary risk management policies. Typically, these underwriters and their affiliates would hedge such exposure by entering into transactions which consist of either the purchase of credit default swaps or the creation of short positions in our securities, including potentially the Notes. Any such credit default swaps or short positions could adversely affect future trading prices of the Notes.
[Describe any other specific transactions and compensation related thereto to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
[Describe if underwriters receiving proceeds of offering, if required by FINRA.]
[Insert principal business addresses of underwriters.]
[Insert applicable legends for jurisdictions in which offers and sales may be made.]
LEGAL MATTERS
Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be passed upon for the Company by Proskauer Rose LLP, Los Angeles, California, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, New York, New York and Venable LLP, Baltimore, Maryland. Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be passed upon for the underwriters by [ ].
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
[Insert financial statements and notes thereto from most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, as applicable, prior to the offering.]
$
% [Insert ranking/conversion information] Notes due
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
[Underwriters]
, 20
Exhibit
Exhibit 99.4
The information in this prospectus supplement is not complete and may be changed. [A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission.] This prospectus supplement is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject to Completion
Preliminary Prospectus Supplement dated , 20
[FORM OF PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH FUTURE RIGHTS OFFERINGS](*)
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To Prospectus dated , 20 )
Up to Shares of
Common Stock
Issuable Upon
Exercise of Rights
We are issuing [transferable/non-transferable] rights to our stockholders of record, or record date stockholders, as of 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on , 20 , or the record date. The rights entitle holders of rights, or rights holders, to subscribe for an aggregate of up to shares of our common stock. Record date stockholders will receive one right for each shares of common stock owned on the record date. The rights entitle the holder to purchase one new share of common stock for every right held, which we refer to as the basic subscription right[, and record date stockholders who fully exercise their rights will be entitled to subscribe, subject to certain limitations and pro rata allocation, for additional shares that remain unsubscribed as a result of any unexercised rights.][ In addition, any non-record date stockholder who exercises rights will be entitled to subscribe, subject to certain limitations and pro rata allocation, for any remaining shares that are not otherwise subscribed for by record date stockholders.]
We are an externally managed specialty finance company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. We seek to achieve this investment objective by investing primarily in first lien senior secured loans and second lien senior secured loans.
As of , 20 , our investment portfolio consisted of investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million.
We are managed by Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C., an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. provides the administrative services necessary for us to operate. Both Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C. and Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. are wholly owned subsidiaries of Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C., a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group L.P. The Carlyle Group L.P. is a global alternative asset manager with approximately $ billion of assets under management as of , 20 .
Our common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CGBD.” [The rights are transferable and will be listed on under the symbol “ .”] On , 20 , the last reported sales price of our common stock on The
NASDAQ Global Select Market was $ per share. The net asset value (“NAV”) per share of our common stock at , 20 (the last date prior to the date of this prospectus supplement on which we determined NAV) was $ .
The subscription price per share will be [describe means of computing subscription price]. Because the subscription price will be determined on the expiration date, stockholders who elect to exercise their rights will not know the subscription price per share at the time they exercise such rights. The rights will expire if they are not exercised by 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on , 20 , the expiration date of this offering, unless extended. We, in our sole discretion, may extend the period for exercising the rights. You will have no right to rescind your subscription after receipt of your payment of the estimated subscription price or a notice of guaranteed delivery except as described in this prospectus supplement or accompanying prospectus.
This offering will dilute the ownership interest and voting power of the common stock owned by stockholders who do not fully exercise their subscription rights. Stockholders who do not fully exercise their subscription rights should expect, upon completion of the offering, to own a smaller proportional interest in us than before the offering. Further, if the net proceeds per share from the offering are at a discount to our NAV per share, this offering will reduce our NAV per share.
Investing in our common stock involves risks that are described in the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page S-[ ] of this prospectus supplement and page [ ] of the accompanying prospectus, including the risk of leverage.
Shares of closed-end investment companies, including BDCs, that are listed on an exchange frequently trade at a discount to their NAV per share. If our shares trade at a discount to our NAV per share, it may increase the risk of loss for purchasers in any offerings pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain important information you should know before investing in our securities. Please read this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus before you invest and keep each for future reference. Information required to be included in a Statement of Additional Information may be found in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We also file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information about us with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). You may obtain this information or make stockholder inquiries by written or oral request and free of charge by contacting us by mail at our principal executive offices located at 520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor, New York, NY 10022, on our website at www.tcgbdc.com, or by calling us at (212) 813-4900. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, and you should not consider that information to be a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. The SEC also maintains a website at http://www.sec.gov that contains this information.
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Estimated subscription price(1) | | $ | | $ | |
Underwriting discount (sales load)(2) | | $ | | $ | |
Proceeds to us, before expenses(3) | | $ | | $ | |
(1) Estimated on the basis of [describe means of computing subscription price].
(2) In connection with this offering,[ ], the dealer managers for this offering, will receive a fee for financial advisory, marketing and soliciting services equal to % of the estimated subscription price per share for each share issued pursuant to the exercise of rights. We have also agreed to reimburse the dealer managers an aggregate of up to $ for their expenses incurred in connection with the offering.
(3) Before deducting expenses payable by us related to this offering, estimated at $ , including an aggregate of up to $ to be paid to the dealer managers for their expenses incurred in connection with this offering.
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The date of this prospectus supplement is , 20 .
(*) In addition to the sections outlined in this form of prospectus supplement, each prospectus supplement actually used in connection with an offering conducted pursuant to the registration statement to which this form of prospectus supplement is attached will be updated to include such other information as may then be required to be disclosed therein pursuant to applicable law or regulation as in effect as of the date of each such prospectus supplement, including, without limitation, information particular to the terms of each security offered thereby and any related risk factors or tax considerations pertaining thereto. The terms of the rights may differ from the information provided in this form prospectus supplement. This form of prospectus supplement is intended only to provide an approximation of the nature and type of disclosure that may appear in any actual prospectus supplement used for the purposes of offering securities pursuant to the registration statement to which this form of prospectus supplement is attached, and, accordingly, the terms and description of the rights for which this form of prospectus supplement is to be used may differ from the information provided in this form of prospectus supplement. This form of prospectus supplement is not intended to and does not contain all of the information that would appear is any such actual prospectus supplement, and should not be used or relied upon in connection with any offer or sale of securities.
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We have not, and the dealer managers have not, authorized any other person to provide you with different information or to make any representations not contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the dealer managers are not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, as applicable. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.
Prospectus Supplement
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Forward-Looking Statements | S-[ ] |
The Company | S-[ ] |
Fees and Expenses | S-[ ] |
Risk Factors | S-[ ] |
Selected Financial and Other Information | S-[ ] |
The Rights Offering | S-[ ] |
Use of Proceeds | S-[ ] |
Price Range of Common Stock and Distributions | S-[ ] |
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations | S-[ ] |
Capitalization | S-[ ] |
Dilution | S-[ ] |
Legal Matters | S-[ ] |
Financial Statements | S-[ ] |
Prospectus
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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[Insert table of contents from base prospectus.] | |
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,” “should,” “may,” “plans,” “continue,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “would,” “could,” “targets,” “projects,” “outlook,” “potential,” “predicts” and variations of these words and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements include these words. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss our plans, strategies, prospects and expectations concerning our business, operating results, financial condition and other similar matters. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. Our forward-looking statements include information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus regarding general domestic and global economic conditions, our future financing plans, our ability to operate as a BDC and the expected performance of, and the yield on, our portfolio companies. There may be events in the future, however, that we are not able to predict accurately or control. The factors listed under “Risk Factors” in the accompanying prospectus, as well as any cautionary language in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. Before you invest in our securities, you should be aware that the occurrence of the events described in these risk factors and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial position. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which we make it. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Under Sections 27A(b)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E(b)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 do not apply to statements made in connection with any offering of securities pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or in a beneficial ownership report we file under the Exchange Act.
The following factors are among those that may cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements:
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• | our, or our portfolio companies’, future business, operations, operating results or prospects; |
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• | the return or impact of current and future investments; |
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• | the impact of any protracted decline in the liquidity of credit markets on our business; |
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• | the impact of fluctuations in interest rates on our business; |
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• | currency fluctuations could adversely affect the results of our investments in foreign companies, particularly to the extent that we receive payments denominated in foreign currency rather than U.S. dollars; |
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• | our future operating results; |
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• | the impact of changes in laws, policies or regulations (including the interpretation thereof) affecting our operations or the operations of our portfolio companies; |
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• | the valuation of our investments in portfolio companies, particularly those having no liquid trading market; |
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• | our ability to recover unrealized losses; |
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• | market conditions and our ability to access alternative debt markets and additional debt and equity capital; |
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• | our contractual arrangements and relationships with third parties; |
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• | the general economy and its impact on the industries in which we invest; |
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• | the financial condition of and ability of our current and prospective portfolio companies to achieve their objectives; |
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• | competition with other entities and our affiliates for investment opportunities; |
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• | the speculative and illiquid nature of our investments; |
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• | the use of borrowed money to finance a portion of our investments; |
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• | our expected financings and investments; |
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• | the adequacy of our cash resources and working capital; |
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• | the loss of key personnel; |
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• | the costs associated with being a publicly traded company; |
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• | the timing, form and amount of any dividend distributions; |
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• | the timing of cash flows, if any, from the operations of our portfolio companies; |
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• | the ability to consummate acquisitions; |
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• | the ability of our Investment Adviser to locate suitable investments for us and to monitor and administer our investments; |
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• | the ability of The Carlyle Group Employee Co., L.L.C. and CELF Advisors LLP to attract and retain highly talented professionals that can provide services to our Investment Adviser and Administrator; |
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• | our ability to maintain our status as a BDC; and |
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• | our intent to satisfy the requirements of a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Code. |
Our actual results and condition could differ materially from those implied or expressed in the forward-looking statements for any reason, including the factors set forth in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
THE COMPANY
This summary highlights some of the information contained elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. This summary is not complete and may not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in the securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. You should review the more detailed information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, especially the information set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Unless indicated otherwise in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, or the context suggests otherwise:
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• | the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “TCG BDC” and “Company” refer to TCG BDC, Inc., a Maryland corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries; |
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• | the term “SPV” refers to TCG BDC SPV LLC, our wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary; |
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• | the term “2015-1 Issuer” refers to Carlyle GMS Finance MM CLO 2015-1 LLC, our wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary; |
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• | the term “Carlyle” refers to The Carlyle Group L.P. (NASDAQ: CG) and its affiliates and consolidated subsidiaries (other than portfolio companies of its affiliated funds); |
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• | the term “CDL” refers to the Carlyle Direct Lending platform, which is Carlyle’s direct lending business unit that operates within the broader Carlyle Global Credit (“CGC”) segment;
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• | the terms “CGCA” and “Administrator” refer to Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C., our administrator, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of Carlyle; |
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• | the terms “CGCIM” and “Investment Adviser” refer to Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C., our investment adviser, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of Carlyle; and |
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• | the term “Credit Fund” refers to Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, an unconsolidated limited liability company, in which we own a 50% economic interest and co-manage with Credit Partners USA LLC, and its wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary.
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We have elected to be regulated as a business development company, or a “BDC,” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Investment Company Act”). In addition, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we have elected to be treated as a regulated investment company, or RIC, under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (together, with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Code”).
[TCG BDC, Inc.
We are an externally managed specialty finance company focused on lending to middle market companies. We are managed by our Investment Adviser, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carlyle. Since we commenced investment operations in May 2013 through , 20 , we have invested approximately $ billion in aggregate principal amount of debt and equity investments prior to any subsequent exits or repayments. Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), which we believe is a useful proxy for cash flow. We seek to achieve our investment objective primarily through direct originations of secured debt, including first lien senior secured loans (which may include stand-alone first lien loans, first lien/last out loans and “unitranche” loans) and second lien senior secured loans (collectively, “Middle Market Senior Loans”),
with the balance of our assets invested in higher yielding investments (which may include unsecured debt, mezzanine debt and investments in equities).
We generate revenues primarily in the form of interest income from the investments we hold. In addition, we generate income from dividends on direct equity investments, capital gains on the sales of loans and debt and equity securities and various loan origination and other fees.
In conducting our investment activities, we believe that we benefit from the significant scale and resources of Carlyle, including our Investment Adviser and its affiliates. We have operated our business as a BDC since we began our investment activities in May 2013.
Investment Strategy
Our Investment Adviser is served by an origination, capital markets, underwriting and portfolio management team comprised of experienced investment professionals in the CDL platform, which is Carlyle’s direct lending business unit that operates within the broader Carlyle Global Credit platform (which in turn operates within Carlyle’s CGC segment). Our investment approach is focused on long-term credit performance and principal preservation. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team utilizes a rigorous, systematic, and consistent investment process, refined over Carlyle’s -year history investing in private markets across multiple cycles, designed to achieve enhanced risk-adjusted returns.
Origination Strategy
Our Investment Adviser has built a strong direct origination platform with coverage of over private equity firms and over lending institutions. Our Investment Adviser’s origination team sources approximately opportunities per year for us with an ultimate investment rate by us of less than % annually. The scale of our Investment Adviser’s origination platform allows us to maximize access to investment opportunities and enhance overall investment selectivity. We further seek to reduce risk by partnering with experienced sponsors with strong track records. We believe lending to companies owned by leading private equity firms (versus non-sponsored companies) has several important and potentially defensive characteristics. Sponsor involvement provides for:
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• | maximization of investment opportunities as approximately % of middle market loan volume is sponsor backed as of , 20 , according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Middle Market Fact Sheet; |
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• | validation of enterprise value; |
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• | support, as needed, in strategy, operations and governance of portfolio companies; and |
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• | the potential for additional capital commitment by sponsor if company requires financial support. |
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Investment Approach and Risk Monitoring of Investments
Our Investment Adviser utilizes a rigorous, systematic and consistent due diligence underwriting process to evaluate all investment opportunities. Our Investment Adviser’s investment teams primarily consist of origination professionals, research analysts and underwriters. An investment team works on a particular transaction from initial screening through closing, and the same team continues to monitor the credit for the life cycle of the investment.
During the investment process, the investment team works closely with the private equity sponsor in all aspects of due diligence, including onsite meetings, due diligence calls, and review of third party diligence reports. Our Investment Adviser also conducts an independent evaluation of the business, utilizing both internal and external sources. A key differentiator is our Investment Adviser’s integrated credit platform and collaborative efforts that leverage Carlyle’s broader resources, which include access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge.
Diversification of our portfolio is a key tenet of our risk management strategy, including diversification by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. Additionally, we view proactive portfolio monitoring as a vital part of the investment process. Our Investment Adviser utilizes a proprietary credit surveillance report and software system, an
objective rules-based Internal Risk Rating system and proprietary valuation model to assess risk in the portfolio. In addition to monthly portfolio reviews, our Investment Adviser compiles a quarterly risk report that examines, among other metrics, migration in portfolio and loan level investment mix, industry diversification, Internal Risk Ratings, revenue, EBITDA, and leverage. Our Investment Adviser supplements these policies with additional analyses and projections, including stress scenarios, to assess the potential exposure of our portfolio to variable macroeconomic factors and market conditions.
Strategic Relationships
We have established two highly differentiated strategic relationships that expand our product offering and increase our scale, enhancing our investment opportunities and optimizing selectivity rates, as we determine which credits provide the best risk adjusted returns for our stockholders. In early 2015, our Investment Adviser developed a key strategic relationship with Madison Capital Funding LLC (“Madison Capital”), a prominent non-bank finance company that is a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company, which has allowed us to offer various lending solutions to potential borrowers and has increased our coverage of U.S. middle market private equity firms. Additionally, in early 2016, we agreed to co-invest with Credit Partners USA LLC (“Credit Partners”), a wholly owned subsidiary of a large Canadian pension fund, to form Credit Fund, a joint venture primarily focused on investing in first lien loans to middle market companies. We and Credit Partners each have 50% economic ownership of Credit Fund and have commitments to fund, from time to time, capital of up to $400 million each. See “—Competitive Strengths—Strategic Relationships” in the accompanying prospectus.
Investment Portfolio
As of , 20 , we had investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million. During the ended , 20 , we invested approximately $ billion in new investments. During the same period, we had approximately $ million in exits and repayments resulting in net portfolio increase of approximately $ million.
As of , 20 , our portfolio was invested across industries. As of , 20 , no single portfolio company (excluding Credit Fund) represented more than % of our investments at fair value and no single industry represented more than % of our investments at fair value. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of our investments were in U.S. domestic companies. As of such date, the weighted average remaining term of our debt investments was approximately years. Based on fair value as of , 20 , our portfolio consisted of approximately % in secured debt (% in first lien debt (including % in first lien/last out loans) and % in second lien debt), % in Credit Fund, % in structured finance obligations and % in equity investments. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a fixed interest rate and approximately % of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate, which primarily are subject to interest rate floors.
As of , 20 , the weighted average yield of our first lien debt (including first lien/last out loans) was % and % based on the amortized cost and fair value, respectively. During that same period, the weighted average yield on our second lien debt was % and % based on the amortized cost and fair value, respectively.
We invest primarily in loans to middle market companies whose debt, if rated, is rated below investment grade, and, if not rated, would likely be rated below investment grade if it were rated (that is, below BBB- or Baa3, which is often referred to as “junk”). Exposure to below investment grade instruments involves certain risks, including speculation with respect to the borrower’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal.
As of , 20 , we and Credit Partners had each contributed $ million and $ million, respectively, to Credit Fund. As of , 20 , Credit Fund’s portfolio was invested in companies across industries. As of , 20 , Credit Fund had investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of Credit Fund’s investments were in U.S. domestic companies, and % was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate with an interest rate floor.
Competitive Strengths
Market Leading Direct Origination Platform. We have access to CDL’s strong direct origination platform, with coverage of over private equity firms and over lending institutions. We take a regional approach to client coverage with offices in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The origination team is highly experienced, and maintains deep relationships with a broad network of financial sponsors, commercial and investment banks, and finance companies, which are expected to continue to generate a significant amount of investment opportunities.
Scaled Investment Platform and Capabilities. CDL is an established, scaled investment platform with the ability to invest across the entire capital structure. CDL’s broad capabilities and ability to offer a full financing solution give us access to a wide funnel of opportunities, allow us to select high quality credits, construct the optimal financing package as it relates to price and terms, assert greater control over documentation, and generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders. We believe CDL’s hold sizes are among the largest in the middle market, which we believe results in the ability to generate premium economics, as sponsors are willing to pay higher spreads for financing certainty. CDL’s large hold sizes and strategic relationships enable us to provide certainty with regards to spreads, fees, structure and covenants. Furthermore, the breadth of CDL’s debt offerings also allows us to deploy capital at a measured pace across credit cycles and construct a portfolio that will perform in a broad range of economic conditions.
One Carlyle Capabilities Leading to Superior Credit Performance. We benefit from our Investment Adviser’s utilization of the broader resources of Carlyle, which includes access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge from almost three decades of private market investing. Our underwriting process leverages Carlyle’s investment professionals across multiple alternative investment asset classes, operating executives, information obtained through direct ownership of over companies and lending relationships with over companies, credit industry research analysts, and in-house government affairs and economic research teams. Our systematic and consistent approach is augmented by industry expertise and tenured underwriting professionals who both lead our Investment Adviser’s investment team and serve on our Investment Adviser’s investment committee. Strong credit underwriting has been a key component of our investing process, where our Investment Adviser seeks to select borrowers whose businesses are expected to generate substantial cash flows, to have leading management teams, stable operating histories, high barriers to entry and meaningful equity value, and to retain significant value.
Experienced Investment Team. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team comprises investment professionals in CDL who have extensive middle market lending experience. The investment team consists of dedicated investment professionals. The seven members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee have an average of years of industry experience. We believe the breadth and depth of the investment team in sourcing, structuring, executing, and monitoring a broad range of private investments provides us with a significant competitive advantage in building a high quality portfolio of investments.
Carefully Constructed Portfolio of Diversified Senior Secured, Floating Rate Loans. Our portfolio has been defensively constructed, exhibits strong credit quality, generates stable risk-adjusted returns and allows us to generate meaningful investment income, and consequently dividend income, for our stockholders. We have invested approximately $ billion since our inception in directly originated middle market loans. Our portfolio is highly diversified by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. As of , 20 , we had a portfolio of investments in portfolio companies across industries and unique sponsors. As of , 20 , approximately % of our debt investments bore interest at floating rates, subject to interest rate floors, and % of our portfolio was invested in first lien debt investments (including % first lien/last out loans).
Strategic Relationships. Our strategic relationships enhance our ability to provide full financing solutions to our borrowers, which results in our being able to generate optimal economics, significant access to diligence and control over documentation terms. Additionally, these relationships further strengthen our origination platform and ability to develop creative financing solutions to invest through the capital structure based on where we believe the best risk-adjusted return opportunities reside. Our Investment Adviser’s strategic relationship with Madison Capital, a leading middle market senior lender with approximately $ billion of assets under management (“AUM”) as of , 20, allows us to offer a full unitranche financing solution. This product provides middle market companies with certainty for financing without syndication risk and generates attractive risk-adjusted returns on these investments for our stockholders. Madison Capital provides the first lien/first out portion of the unitranche loan, which allows us to provide the first lien/last out portion. Collectively, we and Madison Capital have provided over $ billion (before any repayments or exits) of unitranche loans to middle market companies. The relationship has been extremely successful, and we frequently invest alongside Madison Capital on a variety of investment opportunities (in addition to unitranche loans).
Separately, Credit Fund, our strategic joint venture with a large Canadian pension fund, primarily invests in first lien loans of middle market companies. Since its inception and through , 20 , Credit Fund has provided $ million (before any repayments or exits) of senior secured loans. This joint venture provides us with an enhanced first lien loan product for certain transactions, thus further increasing our deal flow, and results in an increased number of borrowers in our portfolio, which provides strategic benefits as we build incumbent positions for future growth and investment opportunity.
Market Opportunity
We believe the middle market lending environment provides attractive investment opportunities as a result of a combination of the following factors:
Favorable Market Environment. We believe the middle market remains one of the most attractive investment areas due to its large size, superior value relative to the broadly syndicated loan market, and supply-demand imbalance that continues to favor non-bank lenders. We believe market yields remain attractive and leverage levels at middle market companies are stable, creating a favorable investment environment.
Large and Growing U.S. Middle Market. The U.S. middle market is the largest market by many measures, which is expected to enable us to invest selectively as approximately % of middle market loan volume is sponsor-backed. According to S&P Capital IQ, as of , 20 , there are over U.S. middle market companies generating between $20 million and $1 billion in annual revenue, compared with approximately companies with revenue greater than $1 billion. We believe these middle market companies, both sponsored and non-sponsored, represent a significant growth segment of the U.S. economy and often require substantial capital investments to grow.
Leverage, Pricing and Risk. According to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Quarterly Leveraged Lending Review (Q 20 ), middle market companies are less levered, have larger equity contributions, experience lower rates of default, and achieve higher recoveries versus large cap broadly syndicated loans. Middle market loans also tend to achieve more attractive pricing and structures, including documentation, covenants and information/governance, than broadly syndicated loans. Over the year period from 20 to 20, middle market loans have exhibited an approximate basis points spread premium over broadly syndicated loans according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Leveraged Loan Index.
Market Environment Favors Non-Traditional Lenders. Traditional middle market lenders, such as commercial and regional banks and commercial finance companies, have contracted their origination and lending activities and are focusing on more liquid asset classes or have exited the business. At the same time, institutional investors have sought to invest in larger, more liquid offerings, limiting the ability of middle market companies to raise debt capital through public capital markets. This has resulted in other capital providers, such as specialty finance companies, structured-credit vehicles such as collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), BDCs, and private investment funds, actively investing in the middle market. We believe the aforementioned changes and restrictions have created a large and growing market opportunity for alternative lenders such as us.
Favorable Capital Markets Trends. Current and future demand for middle market financings, driven by private equity investment and upcoming maturities are expected to provide us with ample deal flow. Current data from the Thompson Reuters LPC Middle Market Weekly Report ( , 20 ) suggests that approximately $ billion of upcoming loan maturities for middle market companies are due between 20 and 20, and the PitchBook PE & VE Fundraising and Capital Overhang Report ( H 20 ) suggests that there is over $ billion of uninvested capital in 2010-YTD Q 20 vintage private equity funds. We believe these refinancings and uninvested capital will provide a steady flow of attractive opportunities for well-positioned lenders with deep and longstanding sponsor and market relationships, particularly for providers of full capital structure financing solutions.
Benefits of Traditional Middle Market Focus. We believe there are significant advantages in our focus on the traditional middle market, a market we categorize to include borrowers with EBITDA in the range of approximately $10 million to $100 million. Traditional middle market companies are generally less levered than companies with EBITDA in excess of $100 million and loans to those borrowers offer more attractive economics in the form of upfront fees, spreads, and prepayment penalties. Senior secured middle market loans typically have strong defensive characteristics: these loans have priority in payment among a portfolio company’s security holders and they carry the least risk among investments in the capital structure; these investments, which are secured by the portfolio company’s assets, typically contain carefully structured covenant packages which allow lenders to take early action in situations where obligors underperform; and these characteristics can provide protection against credit deterioration. Middle market lenders like us are often able to complete more thorough due diligence investigations prior to investment than lenders in the broadly syndicated space.
Carlyle and Our Investment Adviser
Our investment activities are managed by our Investment Adviser. Our Investment Adviser is responsible for sourcing potential investments, conducting research and due diligence on prospective investments and equity sponsors, analyzing investment opportunities, structuring our investments and monitoring our investments on an ongoing basis.
Our Investment Adviser is an affiliate of Carlyle. Carlyle is one of the world’s largest and most diversified multi-product global alternative asset management firms. Carlyle and its affiliates advise an array of specialized investment funds and other investment vehicles that invest across a range of industries, geographies, asset classes and investment strategies. Since its founding in Washington, D.C. in 1987, Carlyle has grown to become a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $ billion in AUM across investment vehicles as of , 20.
Carlyle Global Credit is one of the largest integrated credit platforms in the industry with approximately $ billion in AUM and employees with multiple offices, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, as of , 20 . Carlyle Global Credit’s investment strategies include loans and structured credit, distressed credit, private credit (through CDL) and energy credit. CDL advises four funds, including us, totaling, in the aggregate, approximately $ billion in AUM as of , 20 .
Our Investment Adviser’s seven-person investment committee is responsible for reviewing and approving our investment opportunities. The members of the investment committee have experience investing through different credit cycles. The investment committee is led by Michael A. Hart, Managing Director of Carlyle, Head of CDL, Chairman of our Board of Directors (“Board”) and our Chief Executive Officer and also includes Jeffrey S. Levin, Managing Director of Carlyle and our President. See “Management—Portfolio Management” in the accompanying prospectus for biographical information of members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee.
Our Investment Adviser also serves, and may serve in the future, as investment adviser to other existing and future affiliated BDCs that have investment objectives similar to our investment objectives.
Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest
Our Investment Adviser’s investment team forms the exclusive Carlyle platform for U.S. middle market debt investments. The SEC has granted us exemptive relief that permits us and certain of our affiliates to co-invest in suitable negotiated investments (the “Exemptive Relief”). If Carlyle is presented with investment opportunities that generally fall within our investment objective and other board-established criteria and those of other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements (including other existing and future affiliated BDCs) whether focused on a debt strategy or otherwise, Carlyle allocates such opportunities among us and such other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements in a manner consistent with the Exemptive Relief, our Investment Adviser’s allocation policies and procedures and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures, where applicable, as discussed below. More specifically, investment opportunities in suitable negotiated investments for investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements managed by our Investment Adviser, and other funds, accounts or similar arrangements managed by affiliated investment advisers that seek to co-invest with us or other Carlyle BDCs, are allocated in accordance with the Exemptive Relief. Investment opportunities for all other investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements not managed by our Investment Adviser are allocated in accordance with their respective investment advisers’ and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures. Such policies and procedures may result in certain investment opportunities that are attractive to us being allocated to other funds that are not managed by our Investment Adviser. Carlyle’s, including our Investment Adviser’s, allocation policies and procedures are designed to allocate investment opportunities fairly and equitably among its clients over time, taking into account a variety of factors which may include the sourcing of the transaction, the nature of the investment focus of each such other Carlyle fund, accounts or other similar arrangements, each fund’s, account’s or similar arrangement’s desired level of investment, the relative amounts of capital available for investment, the nature and extent of involvement in the transaction on the part of the respective teams of investment professionals, any requirements contained in the governing agreements of the Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements and other considerations deemed relevant by Carlyle in good faith, including suitability considerations and reputational matters. The application of these considerations may cause differences in the performance of different Carlyle funds, accounts and similar arrangements that have similar strategies. For a further explanation of the allocation of opportunities and other related conflicts and risks, please see “Business—Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest” in the accompanying prospectus.
Because we are a BDC, we are not generally permitted to make loans to companies controlled by Carlyle or other funds managed by Carlyle.
We are also not permitted to make any co-investments with clients of our Investment Adviser or its affiliates (including any fund managed by Carlyle) without complying with our Exemptive Relief, subject to certain exceptions, including with respect to our downstream affiliates. Co-investments made under the Exemptive Relief are subject to compliance with the conditions and other requirements contained in the Exemptive Relief, which could limit our ability to participate in a co-investment transaction. We may also co-invest with funds managed by Carlyle or any of its downstream affiliates, subject to compliance with applicable law and regulations, existing regulatory guidance, and our Investment Adviser’s and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures.
Operating and Regulatory Structure
We have elected to be treated as a BDC under the Investment Company Act. As a BDC, we are required to comply with certain regulatory requirements and are generally prohibited from acquiring assets other than qualifying assets, unless, after giving effect to any acquisition, at least 70% of our total assets are qualifying assets. Qualifying assets generally include securities of eligible portfolio companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and high quality debt instruments maturing in one year or less from the time of investment. Under the rules of the Investment Company Act, “eligible portfolio companies” include (i) private U.S. operating companies, (ii) public U.S. operating companies whose securities are not listed on a national securities exchange (e.g., the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex Equities and The NASDAQ Global Market) or registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and (iii) public U.S. operating companies having a market capitalization of less than $250 million.
Also, while we may borrow funds to make investments, our ability to use debt is limited in certain significant aspects. In particular, as a BDC, we must have at least 200% asset coverage calculated pursuant to the Investment Company Act in order to incur debt or issue preferred stock (which we refer to collectively as “senior securities”). In effect, we are permitted to borrow one dollar for every dollar we have in assets less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities issued by us, which requires us to finance our investments with at least as much equity as senior securities in the aggregate. Certain of our credit facilities also require that we maintain asset coverage of at least 200%. See “—Use of Leverage” and “Regulation” in the accompanying prospectus.
In addition, as a consequence of our election to be treated as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes, our asset growth is dependent on our ability to raise equity capital through the issuance of common stock. RICs generally must distribute substantially all of their investment company taxable income (as defined under the Code) to stockholders as dividends in order to preserve their status as a RIC and not be subject to additional U.S. federal corporate-level taxes. This requirement, in turn, generally prevents us from using our earnings to support our operations, including making new investments. See “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” in the accompanying prospectus.
Use of Leverage
Leverage increases the potential for gain and loss on amounts invested and, as a result, increases the risks associated with investing in our securities. The costs associated with our borrowings, including any increase in the fees payable to our Investment Adviser, are borne by our stockholders. Any decision on our part to use borrowings depends upon our assessment of the attractiveness of available investment opportunities in relation to the costs and perceived risks of such leverage. Through the SPV, our wholly owned subsidiary, we have a $ million senior secured revolving credit facility with various lenders (as amended, the “SPV Credit Facility”). In addition, we have a $ million senior secured revolving credit facility with various lenders (as amended, the “Credit Facility” and, together with the SPV Credit Facility, the “Facilities”).
On June 26, 2015, through our wholly owned subsidiary, the 2015-1 Issuer, we completed a $400 million term debt securitization (the “2015-1 Debt Securitization”), of which we retained 100% of the preferred interests (the “Preferred Interests”), or approximately $126 million at closing. For more information on our debt, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources” in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Corporate Structure
We were formed in February 2012 as a Maryland corporation structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment company. On May 2, 2013, we elected to be regulated as a BDC and commenced substantial
investment operations upon the completion of our initial closing of equity capital commitments. Effective on March 15, 2017, we changed our name from “Carlyle GMS Finance, Inc.” to “TCG BDC, Inc.”
Recent Developments
[Insert description of recent developments at time of offering.]
Corporate Information
Our principal executive offices are located at 520 Madison Ave., 40th Floor, New York, New York 10022 and our telephone number is (212) 813-4900. We maintain a website located at www.tcgbdc.com. Information on our website is not incorporated into or a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.]
FEES AND EXPENSES
The following table is intended to assist you in understanding the costs and expenses that an investor in our common stock will bear, directly or indirectly, based on the assumptions set forth below. We caution you that some of the percentages indicated in the table below are estimates and may vary. The following table should not be considered a representation of our future expenses. Actual expenses may be greater or less than shown. The expenses shown in the table under “estimated annual expenses” are based on estimated amounts for our current fiscal year. Except where the context suggests otherwise, whenever this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus contains a reference to fees or expenses paid by “us,” the “Company” or says that “we” will pay fees or expenses, stockholders will indirectly bear these fees or expenses as our investors.
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Stockholder transaction expenses (as a percentage of offering price): | | | |
Sales load | | | %(1) |
Offering expenses | | | %(2) |
Dividend reinvestment plan expenses | | None | (3) |
Total stockholder transaction expenses paid | | | % |
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Annual expenses (as a percentage of net assets attributable to common stock)(4): | | | |
Base management fee payable under the Investment Advisory Agreement | | | %(5) |
Incentive fee payable under the Investment Advisory Agreement ( % of pre-incentive fee net investment income and capital gains) | | | %(6) |
Interest payments on borrowed funds | | | %(7) |
Other expenses | | | %(8)(10)
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Acquired fund fees and expenses | | | %(9) |
Total annual expenses | | | %(10) |
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(1) | The dealer manager fee with respect to the shares sold in this offering, which is a one-time fee, is the only sales load paid in connection with this offering. |
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(2) | Amount reflects estimated offering expenses of approximately $ and based on the shares offered in this offering. |
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(3) | The expenses of the dividend reinvestment plan are included in “Other expenses.” For additional information, see “Dividend Reinvestment Plan” in the accompanying prospectus. |
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(4) | The “net assets attributable to common stock” used to calculate percentages in this table is our net assets of $ billion as of , 20 . |
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(5) | The base management fee under the Investment Advisory Agreement is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears at an annual rate of 1.50% of our average gross assets, including assets acquired through the incurrence of debt, excluding cash and cash equivalents and adjusted for share issuances or repurchases. For purposes of the table above, the percentage reflected is calculated based on our average net assets (rather than our average gross assets) for the same period. The base management fee is payable quarterly in arrears. See “Management—Investment Advisory Agreement” in the accompanying prospectus. |
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(6) | We may have capital gains and net investment income that could result in the payment of an incentive fee to the Investment Adviser in the twelve months after the date of this prospectus supplement. The incentive fee payable in the example below is estimated based on annualizing our actual results for the ended , 20 as if they had occurred following our initial public offering, and assumes that the incentive fee is % for all relevant periods. However, the incentive fee payable to the Investment Adviser is based on our performance and will not be paid unless we achieve certain goals. |
The incentive fee has two parts. The first part is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears based on our pre-incentive fee net investment income for the immediately preceding calendar quarter. The second part is determined and payable in arrears as of the end of each calendar year (or upon termination of the Investment Advisory Agreement, as of the termination date) in an amount equal to % of our realized capital gains, if any, on a cumulative basis from inception through the end of each calendar year, computed net of all realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation on a cumulative basis, less the aggregate amount of any previously paid capital gain incentive fees.
See “Management—Investment Advisory and Management Agreement” in the accompanying prospectus
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(7) | Interest payments on borrowed funds is estimated based on annualizing our interest expense for the ended , 20 under our secured borrowings and the notes offered in the Debt Securitization (the “2015-1 Notes”) excluding fees (such as fees on undrawn amounts and amortization of upfront fees). This estimated item is based on the assumption that our borrowings and interest costs after an offering will remain similar to those prior to such offering. We may borrow additional funds from time to time to make investments to the extent we determine that the economic situation is conducive to doing so. Our stockholders indirectly bear the costs of borrowings under any debt instruments we may enter into. |
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(8) | Includes our estimated overhead expenses, such as payments under the Administration Agreement for certain expenses incurred by the Investment Adviser. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Administration Agreement” and “—Sub-Administration Agreements” in the accompanying prospectus. The expenses in this table are based on our actual other expenses for the ended , 20. |
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(9) | Our stockholders indirectly bear the expenses of underlying funds or other investment vehicles in which we invest that (1) are investment companies or (2) would be investment companies under Section 3(a) of the Investment Company Act but for the exceptions to that definition provided for in Sections 3(c)(1) and 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act. This amount includes the estimated annual fees and expenses of Credit Fund, which was our only acquired fund as of , 20 . |
Example
The following example demonstrates the projected dollar amount of total cumulative expenses over various periods with respect to a hypothetical investment in our common stock. In calculating the following expense amounts, we have assumed we would have no additional leverage and that our annual operating expenses would remain at the levels set forth in the table above. The incentive fee payable in the example below assumes that the incentive fee is % for all relevant periods. Transaction expenses are included in the following example.
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| | 1 year | | 3 years | | 5 years | | 10 years | |
You would pay the following expenses on a $1,000 common stock investment, assuming a 5% annual return (none of which is subject to the incentive fee based on capital gains)(1) | | $ | | $ | | $ | | $ | |
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(1) | Assumes that we will not realize any capital gains computed net of all realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation. |
The foregoing table is to assist you in understanding the various costs and expenses that an investor in our common stock will bear directly or indirectly. While the example assumes, as required by the SEC, a 5% annual return, our performance will vary and may result in a return greater or less than 5%. The income portion of the incentive fee under the Investment Advisory Agreement, which, assuming a 5% annual return, would either not be payable or have an immaterial impact on the expense amounts shown above, is not included in the example. If we achieve sufficient returns on our investments, including through net realized capital gains, to trigger an incentive fee of a material amount, our expenses, and returns to our investors, would be higher. In addition, while the example assumes reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at NAV, under certain circumstances, reinvestment of dividends and other distributions under our dividend reinvestment plan may occur at a price per share that differs from NAV. See “Dividend Reinvestment Plan” in the accompanying prospectus for additional information regarding our dividend reinvestment plan.
This example and the expenses in the table above should not be considered a representation of our future expenses, and actual expenses (including the cost of debt, if any, and other expenses) may be greater or less than those shown.
RISK FACTORS
RISKS RELATING TO THE OFFERING
The market price of our common stock may decline following the offering and our shares of common stock may trade at discounts from NAV.
Shares of closed-end investment companies frequently trade at a market price that is less than the NAV that is attributable to those shares. This characteristic of closed-end investment companies is separate and distinct from the risk that our NAV per share may decline. It is not possible to predict whether any shares of common stock or rights will trade at, above, or below NAV. The risk of loss associated with this characteristic of closed-end investment companies may be greater for investors expecting to sell shares of common stock purchased in the offering soon after the offering.
There is no established trading market for the rights, which could make it more difficult for you to sell rights and could adversely affect their price.
There can be no assurances that an active public market for the rights will develop as a result of the offering of the rights by any selling holder or that, if such a market develops, it will be maintained. [The rights will be listed on under the symbol “ .”] Future trading prices of the rights will depend on many factors, including our operating results, the market for similar securities, the performance of our common stock (including the requirement that we suspend the offering under certain circumstances) and our ability to terminate the offering of the rights if the subscription price is less than [ ]% of the NAV attributable to a share of common stock disclosed in the most recent periodic report we filed with the SEC.
We may terminate the rights offering at any time prior to delivery of the shares of our common stock offered hereby, and neither we nor the subscription agent will have any obligation to you except to return your subscription payments, without interest.
We may, in our sole discretion, terminate the rights offering at any time prior to delivery of the shares of our common stock offered hereby, if the subscription price is less than [ ]% of the NAV attributable to a share of common stock disclosed in the most recent periodic report we filed with the SEC. If the rights offering is terminated, all rights will expire without value and the subscription agent will return as soon as practicable all exercise payments, without interest. [No amounts paid to acquire rights on [insert name of any applicable exchange on which rights are listed] or otherwise will be returned.]
Your interest in us may be diluted if you do not fully exercise your subscription rights. In addition, if the subscription price is less than our NAV per share, then you would experience an immediate dilution of the aggregate NAV of your shares.
Stockholders who do not fully exercise their subscription rights should expect that they will, at the completion of the offering, own a smaller proportional interest in us than would otherwise be the case if they fully exercised their rights. We cannot state precisely the amount of any such dilution in share ownership because we do not know at this time what proportion of the shares will be purchased as a result of the offering.
In addition, if the subscription price is less than our NAV per share, then our stockholders would experience an immediate dilution of the aggregate NAV of their shares as a result of the offering. The amount of any decrease in NAV is not predictable because it is not known at this time what the subscription price and NAV per share will be on the expiration date of the offering or what proportion of the shares will be purchased as a result of the offering. Such dilution could be substantial.
[The fact that the rights are transferable may reduce the effects of any dilution as a result of the offering. Rights holders can transfer or sell their rights. The cash received from the sale of rights is partial compensation for any possible dilution. There can be no assurances, however, that a market for the rights will develop or the rights will have any value in that market.]
[Insert any other risk factors applicable to the Rights and any additional relevant risk factors not included in the base prospectus to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
SELECTED FINANCIAL AND OTHER INFORMATION
The tables below set forth our selected consolidated historical financial data for the periods indicated. The selected consolidated historical financial data as of and for the years ended December 31, 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 and 20 , have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included in “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of the accompanying prospectus. Interim financial information for the ended , 20 and 20 has been derived from our unaudited interim financial statements. Our unaudited interim financial statements were prepared on a basis consistent with our audited financial statements and, in our opinion, include all adjustments necessary for the fair statement of the results for the periods represented. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of future results. The selected financial data in this section is not intended to replace the financial statements and is qualified in its entirety by the financial statements and related notes included in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
The selected consolidated financial information and other data presented below should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our financial statements and the related notes thereto, which are included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
[Insert Selected Financial and Other Information reflecting most recently filed financials prior to the offering.]
THE RIGHTS OFFERING
PURPOSE OF THE OFFERING
Our Board has determined in good faith that the offering would result in a net benefit to the existing stockholders because [describe reasons]. The offering gives existing stockholders the right to purchase additional shares at a price that is expected to be below the then-current trading price without paying any commission or sales charges (although, if you exercise your rights through a financial institution, you will be responsible for paying any fees that such institution may charge). In connection with the approval of the offering, our Board considered, among other things, the following factors:
[Describe factors]
TERMS OF THE OFFERING
We are issuing to record date stockholders [transferable/non-transferable] rights to subscribe for an aggregate of up to shares of our common stock. Each record date stockholder is being issued one transferable right for each shares of our common stock owned on the record date. The rights entitle each holder to acquire at the subscription price one share of our common stock for every right held, which we refer to as the basic subscription. Rights may be exercised at any time during the subscription period, which commences on , 20 , the record date, and ends at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on , 20 , the expiration date, which may be extended by us in our sole discretion.
[The rights will be evidenced by subscription certificates that will be mailed to stockholders, except as discussed below under “—Foreign Stockholders.” We will not issue fractional rights.]
[The rights are transferable and will be listed on under the symbol “ .”] Rights holders who are not record date stockholders may purchase shares as described above, which we refer to as the basic subscription[, and may be entitled to subscribe for shares pursuant to the over-subscription privilege (as described below)]. Non-record date rights holders who purchase shares in the basic subscription[ or pursuant to the over-subscription privilege], together with record date stockholders who purchase shares, are hereinafter referred to as participating rights holders.
[Shares for which there is no subscription during the basic subscription will be offered, by means of the over-subscription privilege, first to record date stockholders who fully exercise the rights issued to them pursuant to the offering and who wish to acquire more than the number of shares they are entitled to purchase pursuant to the exercise of their rights. In addition, any non-record date rights holder who exercises rights is entitled to subscribe for remaining shares that are not otherwise subscribed for by record date stockholders. Shares acquired pursuant to the over-subscription privilege are subject to certain limitations and pro rata allocations. See “—Over-Subscription Privilege” below.]
For purposes of determining the number of shares a record date stockholder may acquire pursuant to the offering, broker-dealers, trust companies, banks or others whose shares are held of record by Cede & Co. (“Cede”) or by any other depository or nominee will be deemed to be the holders of the rights that are issued to Cede or the other depository or nominee on their behalf.
[There is no minimum number of rights that must be exercised in order for the offering to close.]
[OVER-SUBSCRIPTION PRIVILEGE
Shares not subscribed for by rights holders, which we refer to as remaining shares, will be offered, by means of the over-subscription privilege, first to record date stockholders who have fully exercised the rights issued to them and who wish to acquire more than the number of shares they are entitled to purchase pursuant to the basic subscription. Rights holders should indicate on the subscription certificate that they submit with respect to the exercise of the rights issued to them how many additional shares they are willing to acquire pursuant to the over-subscription privilege. If there are sufficient remaining shares, all record date stockholders’ over-subscription requests will be honored in full. If record date stockholder requests for shares pursuant to the over-subscription privilege exceed the remaining shares available, the available remaining shares will be allocated pro-rata among record date stockholders who over-subscribe based on the number of shares held on the record date. The percentage of remaining shares each over-subscribing stockholder may acquire will be rounded down to result in delivery of whole shares. The allocation process may involve a series of allocations to assure that the total number of
remaining shares available for over-subscriptions is distributed on a pro-rata basis. The formula to be used in allocating the remaining shares is as follows:
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Stockholder’s Record Date Position | | | | |
Total Record Date Position of All Over-Subscribers | | × | | Remaining Shares |
Any rights holder other than a record date stockholder who exercises rights is entitled to subscribe for remaining shares that are not otherwise over-subscribed for by record date stockholders. These non-record date rights holders should indicate, in the subscription certificate submitted with respect to the exercise of any rights, how many shares they are willing to acquire pursuant to the over-subscription privilege. There can be no assurance that non-record date rights holders will receive shares pursuant to the over-subscription privilege.
If sufficient remaining shares are available after the over-subscription privileges for the record date stockholders have been allotted, then all over-subscriptions by non-record date rights holders will be honored in full. If the remaining shares are insufficient to permit such allocation, the remaining shares will be allocated pro-rata among the non-record date rights holders who wish to exercise their over-subscription privilege, based on the number of rights held by such rights holders on the expiration date; provided, however, that if this pro-rata allocation results in any holder being allocated a greater number of shares than the holder subscribed for pursuant to the exercise of the over-subscription privilege, then such holder will be allocated only such number of shares pursuant to the over-subscription privilege as such holder subscribed for. The formula to be used in allocating the shares available to non-record date rights holders exercising their over-subscription privilege is as follows:
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Non-Record Date Rights Holder’s Rights Ownership as of the Expiration Date | | × | | Shares Available for Non- Record Date Rights Holders Exercising Their Over-Subscription Privilege |
Total Rights Ownership as of the Expiration Date of Non-Record Date Rights Holders Exercising Their Over-Subscription Privilege | |
Banks, brokers, trustees and other nominee holders of rights will be required to certify to the subscription agent, before any over-subscription privilege may be exercised with respect to any particular beneficial owner, as to the aggregate number of rights exercised pursuant to the basic subscription and the number of shares subscribed for pursuant to the over-subscription privilege by such beneficial owner.
[We will not offer or sell in connection with the offering any shares that are not subscribed for pursuant to the basic subscription or the over-subscription privilege.]
THE SUBSCRIPTION PRICE
The subscription price for the shares to be issued pursuant to the offering will be [describe means of computing subscription price]. Because the subscription price will be determined on the expiration date, rights holders will not know the subscription price at the time of exercise and will be required initially to pay for both the shares subscribed for pursuant to their basic subscription rights[ and, if eligible, any additional shares subscribed for pursuant to the over-subscription privilege,] at the estimated subscription price of $ per share. Rights holders who exercise their rights will have no right to rescind a purchase after receipt of their completed subscription certificates together with payment for shares or a notice of guaranteed delivery by the subscription agent.
EXPIRATION OF THE OFFERING
The offering will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on , 20 , unless extended by us in our sole discretion. The rights will expire on the expiration date of the offering and may not be exercised thereafter.
Any extension of the offering will be followed as promptly as practicable by announcement thereof, and in no event later than 9:00 a.m., New York City time, on the next business day following the previously scheduled expiration date.
Without limiting the manner in which we may choose to make such announcement, we will not, unless otherwise required by law, have any obligation to publish, advertise or otherwise communicate any such announcement other than by issuing a press release or such other means of announcement as we deem appropriate.
AMENDMENTS AND WAIVERS; TERMINATION
We reserve the right to amend the terms and conditions of the offering, whether the amended terms are more or less favorable to you. We will comply with all applicable laws, including the federal securities laws, in connection with any such amendment.
We will decide all questions as to the validity, form and eligibility (including times of receipt, beneficial ownership and compliance with other procedural matters) in our sole discretion, and our determination shall be final and binding. The acceptance of subscription certificates and the subscription price also will be determined by us. Alternative, conditional or contingent subscriptions will not be accepted. We reserve the right to reject any exercise if such exercise is not in accordance with the terms of the offering or not in proper form or if the acceptance thereof or the issuance of shares of our common stock thereto could be deemed unlawful. We, in our sole discretion, may waive any defect or irregularity, or permit a defect or irregularity to be corrected within such time as we may determine, or reject the purported exercise of any right. Subscriptions will not be deemed to have been received or accepted until all irregularities have been waived or cured within such time as we determine in our sole discretion. We will not be under any duty to give notification of any defect or irregularity in connection with the submission of subscription certificates or incur any liability for failure to give such notification.
We may, in our sole discretion, terminate the rights offering at any time prior to delivery of the shares of our common stock offered hereby if the subscription price is less than [ ]% of the NAV attributable to a share of common stock disclosed in the most recent periodic report we filed with the SEC by giving oral or written notice thereof to the subscription agent and making a public announcement thereof. If the offering is terminated, all rights will expire without value and we will promptly arrange for the refund, without interest, of all funds received from holders of rights. All monies received by the subscription agent in connection with the offering will be held by the subscription agent, on our behalf, in a segregated interest-bearing account at a negotiated rate. All such interest shall be payable to us even if we determine to terminate the offering and return your subscription payment. [In addition, no amounts paid to acquire rights on [insert name of any applicable exchange on which rights are listed] or otherwise will be returned.]
DILUTIVE EFFECTS
Any stockholder who chooses not to participate in the offering should expect to own a smaller interest in us upon completion of the offering. The offering will dilute the ownership interest and voting power of stockholders who do not fully exercise their basic subscription rights. The amount of dilution that a stockholder will experience could be substantial. Further, because the net proceeds per share from the offering may be lower than our NAV per share, the offering may reduce our NAV per share. The amount of dilution that a stockholder will experience could be substantial.
Shares of closed-end investment companies have in the past frequently traded at discounts to their NAVs. This characteristic of closed-end investment companies is separate and distinct from the risk that our NAV per share may decline. We cannot predict whether our shares will trade above, at or below our NAV.
[The transferable feature of the rights will afford non-participating stockholders the potential of receiving cash payment upon the sale of rights, receipt of which may be viewed as partial compensation for the dilution of their interests.]
NOTICE OF NAV DECLINE
[If, subsequent to the effective date of this prospectus, our NAV declines more than 10% from our NAV as of that date, as required by the SEC’s registration form, we will suspend the offering until we amend this prospectus. In such event, the expiration date would be extended and we would notify record date stockholders of the decline and permit participating rights holders to cancel their exercise of rights.]
INFORMATION AGENT
[ ] will act as the information agent in connection with the offering. The information agent will receive for its services a fee estimated to be approximately $ plus reimbursement of all out-of-pocket expenses related to the offering. [ ] can be contacted at the below address:
[Information Agent Address]
SUBSCRIPTION AGENT
[ ] will act as the subscription agent in connection with the offering. The subscription agent will receive for its administrative, processing, invoicing and other services a fee estimated to be approximately $ , plus reimbursement of all out-of-pocket expenses related to the offering.
Completed subscription certificates must be sent together with full payment of the subscription price for all shares subscribed for in the basic subscription[ and pursuant to the over-subscription privilege] to the subscription agent by one of the methods described below. Alternatively, an Eligible Guarantor Institution, as that term is defined in Rule 17Ad-15 under the Exchange Act, may send notices of guaranteed delivery by facsimile to which must be received by the subscription agent at or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the expiration date of the offering. Facsimiles should be confirmed by telephone at . We will accept only properly completed and duly executed subscription certificates actually received at any of the addresses listed below, at or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the expiration date of the offering or by the close of business on the third business day after the expiration date of the offering following timely receipt of a notice of guaranteed delivery. See “—Payment for Shares” below. In this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, close of business means 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the relevant date.
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Subscription Certificate Delivery Method | | Address/Number |
By Notice of Guaranteed Delivery: | | Contact an Eligible Guarantor Institution, which may include a commercial bank or trust company, a member firm of a domestic stock exchange or a savings bank or credit union, to notify us of your intent to exercise the rights. |
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By First Class Mail Only: | | [ ] |
(No Overnight/Express Mail) | | CGBD Rights Offering [Subscription Agent Address] |
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By Overnight Delivery: | | [ ] |
| | CGBD Rights Offering [Subscription Agent Address] |
Delivery to an address other than one of the addresses listed above will not constitute valid delivery.
Any questions or requests for assistance concerning the method of subscribing for shares or for additional copies of this prospectus or subscription certificates or notices of guaranteed delivery may be directed to the information agent at its telephone number and address listed below:
[Information Agent Address and Telephone Number]
Stockholders may also contact their broker-dealers or nominees for information with respect to the offering.
METHODS FOR EXERCISING RIGHTS
Rights are evidenced by subscription certificates that, except as described below under “—Foreign Stockholders,” will be mailed to record date stockholders or, if a record date stockholder’s shares are held by Cede or any other depository or nominee on their behalf, to Cede or such depository or nominee. Rights may be exercised by completing and signing the subscription certificate that accompanies this prospectus and mailing it in the envelope provided, or otherwise delivering the completed and duly executed subscription certificate to the subscription agent, together with payment in full for all shares subscribed for in the basic subscription and pursuant to the over-subscription privilege at the estimated subscription price by the expiration date of the offering. Rights may also be exercised by contacting your broker, trustee or other nominee, who can arrange, on your behalf, to guarantee delivery of payment and delivery of a properly completed and duly executed subscription certificate pursuant to a notice of guaranteed delivery by the close of business on the third business day after the expiration date. A fee may be charged for this service. Completed subscription certificates and related payments must be received by the subscription agent at or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on or before the expiration date (unless payment is effected by means of a notice of guaranteed delivery as described below under “—Payment for Shares”) at the offices of the subscription agent at one of the addresses set forth above.
[Exercise of the Over-Subscription Privilege
Record date stockholders who fully exercise all rights issued to them and rights holders other than record date stockholders, may both participate in the over-subscription privilege by indicating on their subscription certificate the number of shares they are willing to acquire. If sufficient remaining shares are available after the initial subscription, all over-subscriptions will be honored in full; otherwise remaining shares will be allocated first to record date stockholders and then (if any remaining shares are still available) to non-record date rights holders, and the number of remaining shares issued to some or all exercising rights holders participating in the over-subscription privilege may be reduced as described under “—Over-Subscription Privilege” above.]
Record Date Stockholders Whose Shares are Held by a Nominee
Record date stockholders whose shares are held by a nominee, such as a bank, broker-dealer or trustee, must contact that nominee to exercise their rights. In that case, the nominee will complete the subscription certificate on behalf of the record date stockholder and arrange for proper payment by one of the methods set forth under “—Payment for Shares” below.
Nominees
Nominees, such as brokers, trustees or depositories for securities, who hold shares for the account of others should notify the respective beneficial owners of the shares as soon as possible to ascertain the beneficial owners’ intentions and to obtain instructions with respect to the rights. If the beneficial owner so instructs, the nominee should complete the subscription certificate and submit it to the subscription agent with the proper payment as described under “—Payment for Shares” below.
All questions as to the validity, form, eligibility (including times of receipt and matters pertaining to beneficial ownership) and the acceptance of subscription forms and the subscription price will be determined by us, which determinations will be final and binding. No alternative, conditional or contingent subscriptions will be accepted. We reserve the right to reject any exercise if such exercise is not in accordance with the terms of the offering or not in proper form or if the acceptance thereof or the issuance of shares of our common stock thereto could be deemed unlawful.
FOREIGN STOCKHOLDERS
Stockholders whose record addresses are outside the United States (for these purposes, the United States includes its territories and possessions and the District of Columbia) will receive written notice of the rights offering; however, subscription certificates will not be mailed to such stockholders. The subscription agent will hold the rights to which those subscription certificates relate for these stockholders’ accounts until instructions are received to exercise the rights and such stockholders establish to the satisfaction of the subscription agent that they are permitted to exercise their subscription rights under applicable law. In addition, such stockholders must take all other steps that are necessary to exercise their subscription rights on or prior to the date required for participation in the rights offering. If no instructions have been received by 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on , 20 , three business days prior to the expiration date (or, if the offering is extended, on or
before three business days prior to the extended expiration date), the subscription agent will transfer the rights of these stockholders to the dealer managers, who will either purchase the rights or use their best efforts to sell them. The net proceeds, if any, from the sale of those rights will be remitted to these stockholders. If those rights are not purchased or sold prior to the expiration of the rights offering, they will expire.
PAYMENT FOR SHARES
Participating rights holders may choose between the following methods of payment:
(1) A participating rights holder may send the subscription certificate together with payment for the shares acquired in the basic subscription[ and any additional shares subscribed for pursuant to the over-subscription privilege] to the subscription agent based on the estimated subscription price of $ . To be accepted, the payment, together with a properly completed and executed subscription certificate, must be received by the subscription agent at one of the subscription agent’s offices set forth above, at or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the expiration date.
(2) A participating rights holder may request an Eligible Guarantor Institution as that term is defined in Rule 17Ad-15 under the Exchange Act, as amended, to send a notice of guaranteed delivery by facsimile or otherwise guaranteeing delivery of (i) payment of the full estimated subscription price of $ per share for the shares subscribed for in the basic subscription[ and any additional shares subscribed for pursuant to the over-subscription privilege] and (ii) a properly completed and duly executed subscription certificate. The subscription agent will not honor a notice of guaranteed delivery unless a properly completed and duly executed subscription certificate and full payment for the shares is received by the subscription agent at or prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on , 20 (or, if the offering is extended, by the close of business three business days after the extended expiration date).
Participating rights holders will have no right to rescind their subscription after receipt of their payment for shares or a notice of guaranteed delivery by the subscription agent, except as provided above under “—Notice of NAV Decline.”
All payments by a participating rights holder must be in U.S. dollars by money order or check or bank draft drawn on a bank or branch located in the United States and payable to . The subscription agent will hold all funds received by it pending distribution to us after consummation of the rights offering. If the offering is terminated, we will promptly arrange for the refund, without interest, of all funds received from holders of rights.
The method of delivery of subscription certificates and payment of the subscription price to us will be at the election and risk of the participating rights holders, but if sent by mail it is recommended that such certificates and payments be sent by registered mail, properly insured, with return receipt requested, and that a sufficient number of days be allowed to ensure delivery to the subscription agent and clearance of payment prior to 5:00 p.m., New York City time, on the expiration date or the date guaranteed payments are due under a notice of guaranteed delivery (as applicable). Because uncertified personal checks may take at least five business days to clear, you are strongly urged to pay, or arrange for payment, by means of certified or cashier’s check or money order.
On a date within business days following the expiration date, the subscription agent will send to each participating rights holder (or, if rights are held by Cede or any other depository or nominee, to Cede or such other depository or nominee) a confirmation showing (i) the number of shares purchased pursuant to the basic subscription; [(ii) the number of shares, if any, acquired pursuant to the over-subscription privilege; ](iii) the per share and total purchase price for such shares; and (iv) any additional amount payable to us by the participating rights holder or any excess to be refunded by us to the participating rights holder, in each case based on the subscription price as determined on the expiration date. If any participating rights holder, if eligible, exercises his or her right to acquire shares pursuant to the over-subscription privilege, any excess payment which would otherwise be refunded to him or her will be applied by us toward payment for shares acquired pursuant to the exercise of the over-subscription privilege. Any additional payment required from a participating rights holder must be received by the subscription agent within ten business days after the confirmation date. Any excess payment to be refunded by us to a participating rights holder will be mailed by the subscription agent to the rights holder as promptly as practicable. No interest will be paid on any amounts refunded.
Whichever of the two methods described above is used, issuance of the shares purchased is subject to collection of checks and actual payment. If a participating rights holder who subscribes for shares pursuant to the basic subscription or over-subscription privilege does not make payment of any amounts due by the expiration date, the date guaranteed payments are due under a notice of guaranteed delivery or within ten business days of the confirmation date, as applicable, the subscription agent reserves the right to take any or all of the following actions: (i) find other participating rights holders who wish to subscribe for such subscribed and unpaid for shares; (ii) apply any payment actually received by it from the participating rights holder toward the purchase of the greatest whole number of shares which could be acquired by such participating rights holder upon exercise of the basic subscription and/or the over-subscription privilege; and/or (iii) exercise any and all other rights or remedies to which it may be entitled, including, without limitation, the right to set off against payments actually received by it with respect to such subscribed for shares.
We will decide all questions as to the validity, form and eligibility (including times of receipt, beneficial ownership and compliance with other procedural matters) in our sole discretion, and our determination shall be final and binding. We, in our sole discretion, may waive any defect or irregularity, or permit a defect or irregularity to be corrected within such time as we may determine, or reject the purported exercise of any right. Subscriptions will not be deemed to have been received or accepted until all irregularities have been waived or cured within such time as we determine in our sole discretion. We will not be under any duty to give notification of any defect or irregularity in connection with the submission of subscription certificates or incur any liability for failure to give such notification.
[SALE OF RIGHTS
The Rights are Transferable until the Trading Day Immediately Preceding the Expiration Date
[The rights will be listed on under the symbol “ .” While we and the dealer managers will use our and their best efforts to ensure that an adequate trading market for the rights will exist, no assurance can be given that a market for the rights will develop. Trading in the rights on is expected to be conducted beginning on or about , 20 . The rights are transferable and are expected to continue trading until and including , 20 (or if the offering is extended, until the trading day immediately prior to the extended expiration date). Rights holders are encouraged to contact their broker-dealer, bank, trustee or other nominees for more information about trading of the rights.]
Sales through the Subscription Agent and the Dealer Managers
Stockholders who do not wish to exercise any or all of their rights may instruct the subscription agent to sell any rights they do not intend to exercise themselves through or to a dealer manager. Subscription certificates representing the rights to be sold through or to a dealer manager must be received by the subscription agent on or before , 20 (or if the offering is extended, until two business days prior to the extended expiration date). Upon the timely receipt by the subscription agent of appropriate instructions to sell rights, the subscription agent will ask the dealer managers either to purchase or to use their best efforts to complete the sale and the subscription agent will remit the proceeds of the sale to the selling stockholders. If the rights can be sold, sales of such rights will be deemed to have been effected at the weighted-average price received by the selling dealer manager on the day such rights are sold. The sale price of any rights sold to the dealer managers will be based upon the then current market price for the rights. The dealer managers will also attempt to sell all rights which remain unclaimed as a result of subscription certificates being returned by the postal authorities to the subscription agent as undeliverable as of the business day prior to the expiration date of the offering. The subscription agent will hold the proceeds from those sales for the benefit of such non-claiming stockholders until such proceeds are either claimed or revert to the state pursuant to applicable state law. There can be no assurance that the dealer managers will purchase or be able to complete the sale of any such rights, and neither we nor the dealer managers have guaranteed any minimum sales price for the rights. If a stockholder does not utilize the services of the subscription agent and chooses to use another broker-dealer or other financial institution to sell rights, then the other broker-dealer or financial institution may charge a fee to sell the rights.
Other Transfers
The rights evidenced by a subscription certificate may be transferred in whole by endorsing the subscription certificate for transfer in accordance with the accompanying instructions. A portion of the rights evidenced by a single subscription certificate may be transferred by delivering to the subscription agent a subscription certificate properly endorsed for transfer, with instructions to register such portion of the rights evidenced thereby in the name of the transferee and to issue a new subscription certificate to the transferee evidencing such transferred rights. In such event, a new subscription certificate evidencing the balance of the rights, if any, will be issued to the stockholder or, if the stockholder so instructs, to an
additional transferee. The signature on the subscription certificate must correspond to the name as written upon the face of the subscription certificate, without alteration or enlargement, or any change. A signature guarantee must be provided by an Eligible Guarantor Institution as that term is defined in Rule 17Ad-15 under the Exchange Act, subject to the standards and procedures adopted by us.
Stockholders wishing to transfer all or a portion of their rights should allow at least five business days prior to the expiration date of the offering for (i) the transfer instructions to be received and processed by the subscription agent; (ii) a new subscription certificate to be issued and transmitted to the transferee or transferees with respect to transferred rights, and to the transferor with respect to retained rights, if any; and (iii) the rights evidenced by such new subscription certificate to be exercised or sold by the recipients thereof. Neither we nor the subscription agent nor the dealer managers shall have any liability to a transferee or transferor of rights if subscription certificates are not received in time for exercise prior to the expiration date of the offering or sale prior to the day immediately preceding the expiration date of the offering (or, if the offering is extended, the extended expiration date).
Except for the fees charged by the subscription agent, information agent and dealer managers, which will be paid by us, all commissions, fees and other expenses (including brokerage commissions and transfer taxes) incurred or charged in connection with the purchase, sale or exercise of rights will be for the account of the transferor of the rights, and none of those commissions, fees or expenses will be paid by us, the subscription agent, information agent or the dealer managers.
We anticipate that the rights will be eligible for transfer through, and that the exercise of the basic subscription and the over-subscription privilege may be effected through, the facilities of the Depository Trust Company or DTC.]
DELIVERY OF STOCK CERTIFICATES
Stock certificates will not be issued for shares of our common stock offered in the offering. Stockholders who are record owners will have the shares they acquire credited to their account with our transfer agent. All future dividends paid on such shares will be reinvested into additional shares or paid in cash if you have made such an election in connection with our dividend reinvestment plan. Stockholders whose common stock are held by a nominee will have the shares they acquire credited to the account of such nominee holder.
MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS OF THE OFFERING
[Insert disclosure regarding material U.S. federal income tax considerations of the offering to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
ERISA CONSIDERATIONS
Stockholders who are employee benefit plans subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, which we refer to as ERISA (including corporate savings and 401(k) plans), Keogh or H.R. 10 plans of self-employed individuals and individual retirement accounts should be aware that additional contributions of cash to a retirement plan (other than rollover contributions or trustee-to-trustee transfers from other retirement plans) in order to exercise rights would be treated as contributions to the retirement plan and, when taken together with contributions previously made, may result in, among other things, excise taxes for excess or nondeductible contributions. In the case of retirement plans qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code and certain other retirement plans, additional cash contributions could cause the maximum contribution limitations of Section 415 of the Code or other qualification rules to be violated. It may also be a reportable distribution and there may be other adverse tax and ERISA consequences if rights are sold or transferred by a retirement plan.
Retirement plans and other tax exempt entities, including governmental plans, should also be aware that if they borrow in order to finance their exercise of rights, they may become subject to the tax on unrelated business taxable income under Section 511 of the Code. If any portion of an individual retirement account is used as security for a loan, the portion so used is also treated as distributed to the IRA depositor.
ERISA contains fiduciary responsibility requirements, and ERISA and the Code contain prohibited transaction rules that may impact the exercise of rights. Due to the complexity of these rules and the penalties for noncompliance, retirement plans should consult with their counsel and other advisers regarding the consequences of their exercise of rights under ERISA and the Code.
DISTRIBUTION ARRANGEMENTS
[ ], each a broker-dealer and member of FINRA, will act as dealer managers for the offering. Under the terms and subject to the conditions contained in the dealer manager agreement, the dealer managers will provide financial advisory and marketing services in connection with the offering and will solicit the acquisition and/or exercise of rights by stockholders and others[ and participation in the over-subscription privilege]. The dealer managers may use this prospectus for any or all of such activities. The offering is not contingent upon any number of rights being exercised. We have agreed to pay the dealer managers a fee for their financial advisory, marketing and soliciting services equal to % of the aggregate subscription price for shares issued pursuant to the offering. The dealer managers will reallow to other broker-dealers that have executed and delivered a soliciting dealer agreement and have solicited the exercise of rights, solicitation fees equal to % of the subscription price per share for each share issued pursuant to the exercise of rights[and the over-subscription privilege] as a result of their soliciting efforts.
In addition, we have agreed to reimburse the dealer managers an aggregate amount up to $ for their expenses incurred in connection with the offering. We have agreed to indemnify the dealer managers and the soliciting dealers for, or contribute to losses arising out of, certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act. The dealer manager agreement also provides that the dealer managers will not be subject to any liability to us in rendering the services contemplated by the dealer manager agreement except for any act of bad faith, willful misfeasance or gross negligence of such dealer manager or reckless disregard by such dealer manager of its obligations and duties under the dealer manager agreement.
[Insert principal business addresses of dealer managers.]
We have agreed, with certain exceptions, with the dealer managers that, for a period of days following the date of this prospectus, we will not offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of our common stock or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of our common stock, or file any registration statement with respect thereto without the prior written consent of [ ]. In addition, our executive officers, directors, the Investment Adviser and certain of its affiliates have agreed, with certain exceptions, with the dealer managers that, for a period of days following the date of this prospectus, that they will not offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell or otherwise dispose of, directly or indirectly, any shares of our common stock or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for shares of our common stock without the prior written consent of [ ]. However, those dealer managers may, in their sole discretion and at any time without notice, release all or any portion of the securities subject to these agreements.
The dealer managers and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include sales and trading, commercial and investment banking, advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, market making, brokerage and other financial and non-financial activities and services. Certain of the dealer managers and their respective affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, a variety of these services to the issuer and to persons and entities with relationships with us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.
In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the dealer managers and their respective affiliates, officers, directors and employees may purchase, sell or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps and other financial instruments for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and trading activities may involve or relate to assets, securities or instruments of us (directly, as collateral securing other obligations or otherwise) or persons and entities with relationships with us.
After the date of this prospectus supplement, the dealer managers and their affiliates may from time to time obtain information regarding specific portfolio companies or us that may not be available to the general public. Any such information is obtained by the dealer managers and their affiliates in the ordinary course of its business and not in connection with the offering. In addition, after the expiration of the offering, the dealer managers or their affiliates may develop analyses or opinions related to us or persons or entities with relationships with us and buy or sell interests in one or more of our portfolio companies on behalf of their proprietary or client accounts and may engage in competitive activities. There is no obligation on behalf of these parties to disclose their respective analyses, opinions or purchase and sale activities regarding any portfolio company or regarding us to our rightsholders or any other persons.
We may purchase securities of third parties from the dealer managers or their affiliates after the offering. However, we have not entered into any agreement or arrangement regarding the acquisition of any such securities, and we may not purchase any such securities. We would only purchase any such securities if—among other things—we identified securities that satisfied our investment needs and completed our due diligence review of such securities.
Prior to the expiration of the offering, the dealer managers may independently offer for sale shares, including shares acquired through purchasing and exercising the rights, at prices they set. The dealer managers may realize profits or losses independent of any fees described in this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus.
[Describe any other specific transactions and compensation related thereto to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
[Describe if dealer managers receiving proceeds of offering, if required by FINRA.]
USE OF PROCEEDS
Assuming shares of our common stock are sold at an estimated subscription price of $ per share, the net proceeds from this offering will be approximately $ million, after deducting dealer manager fees and other expenses related to the offering payable by us. There can be no assurance that all of the rights will be exercised in full, and the subscription price will not be determined until the close of business on the expiration date.
[Describe use of proceeds and include any other relevant information to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
PRICE RANGE OF COMMON STOCK AND DISTRIBUTIONS
Our common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CGBD.” Our common stock has historically traded at prices both above and below our NAV per share. It is not possible to predict whether our common stock will trade at, above or below NAV. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Offerings Pursuant to this Prospectus—Our shares of common stock have traded at a discount from NAV and may do so again, which could limit our ability to raise additional equity capital” in the accompanying prospectus.
The following table sets forth, for each fiscal quarter for the fiscal years ended December 31, 20 , 20 and 20 , the NAV per share of our common stock, the range of high and low closing sales prices of our common stock, the closing sales price as a premium (discount) to NAV and the dividends or distributions declared by us. On , 20 , the last reported closing sales price of our common stock on The NASDAQ Global Select Market was $ per share, which represented a [premium][discount] of approximately % to the NAV per share reported by us as of , 20 .
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| | | | Price Range | | High Sales Price Premium (Discount) to NAV | | Low Sales Price Premium (Discount) to NAV | | Cash Dividend Per | |
| | NAV(1) | | High | | Low | | (2) | | (2) | | Share(3) | |
Year ended December 31, 20 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
First Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Second Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Third Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Fourth Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Year ended December 31, 20 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
First Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Second Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Third Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Fourth Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Year ending December 31, 20 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
[First Quarter] | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
[Second Quarter] | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
[Third Quarter] | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
[Fourth Quarter] | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
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(1) | NAV per share is determined as of the last day in the relevant quarter and therefore may not reflect the NAV per share on the date of the high and low closing sales prices. The NAVs shown are based on outstanding shares at the end of the relevant quarter. |
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(2) | Calculated as the respective high or low closing sales price less NAV, divided by NAV (in each case, as of the applicable quarter). |
(3) Represents the dividend or distribution declared in the relevant quarter.
To the extent that we have taxable income available, we intend to distribute quarterly dividends to our stockholders. The amount of our dividends, if any, will be determined by our Board. Any dividends to our stockholders will be declared out of assets legally available for distribution. We anticipate that our distributions will generally be paid from taxable earnings, including interest and capital gains generated by our investment portfolio, and any other income, including any other fees (other than fees for providing managerial assistance), such as commitment, origination, structuring, diligence and consulting fees or other fees, that we receive from portfolio companies. However, if we do not generate sufficient taxable earnings during a year, all or part of a distribution may constitute a return of capital. The specific tax characteristics of our dividends and other distributions will be reported to stockholders after the end of each calendar year. See “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” in the accompanying prospectus for further information regarding the tax treatment of our distributions and the tax consequences of our retention of net capital gains.
The following table summarizes our dividends or distributions declared for the fiscal years ended December 31, 20 , 20 and 20 :
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Date Declared | | | Record Date | | Payment Date | | Amount | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
Total declared for 20 | | | | | | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
Total declared for 20 | | | | | | | $ | | |
[ , 20 | ] | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
[ , 20 | ] | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
[ , 20 | ] | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
[ , 20 | ] | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
Total declared for 20 | | | | | | | $ | | |
We have elected to be treated, and intend to continue to qualify annually, as a RIC. To maintain our qualification as a RIC, we must, among other things, fulfill the Annual Distribution Requirement, the 90% Gross Income Test and the Diversification Tests (each defined term, defined and more fully explained in “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company” in the accompanying prospectus). In order to avoid certain excise taxes imposed on RICs, we intend to distribute during each calendar year an amount in accordance with the Excise Tax Distribution
Requirements, as defined and discussed further in “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company” in the accompanying prospectus.
In addition, although we currently intend to distribute realized net capital gains (i.e., net long term capital gains in excess of short term capital losses), if any, at least annually, we may in the future decide to retain such capital gains for investment, pay U.S. federal income tax on such amounts at regular corporate tax rates, and elect to treat such gains as deemed distributions to stockholders. As a BDC, we must have at least 200% asset coverage calculated pursuant to the Investment Company Act immediately after each time we issue senior securities. Certain of our credit facilities also require that we maintain asset coverage of at least 200%. As of , 20 , our asset coverage calculated in accordance with the Investment Company Act was %. We can offer no assurance that we will achieve results that will permit the payment of any cash distributions and, to the extent that we issue senior securities, we will be prohibited from making distributions if doing so causes us to fail to maintain the asset coverage ratios stipulated by the Investment Company Act or if distributions are limited by the terms of any of our borrowings. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Offerings Pursuant to this Prospectus—There is a risk that our stockholders may not receive distributions or that our distributions may not grow over time and a portion of our distributions to you may be a return of capital for U.S. federal income tax purposes” in the accompanying prospectus.
Unless you elect to receive your distributions in cash, we intend to make distributions in additional shares of our common stock under our dividend reinvestment plan. Stockholders who “opt out” of our dividend reinvestment plan receive cash distributions. See “Dividend Reinvestment Plan” in the accompanying prospectus. We can offer no assurance that we will achieve results that will permit the payment of any cash distributions and, if we issue senior securities, we will be prohibited from making distributions if doing so causes us to fail to maintain the asset coverage ratios stipulated by the Investment Company Act or if distributions are limited by the terms of any of our borrowings.
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with “Selected Financial and Other Information” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. The information in this section contains forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties. Please see “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” in the accompanying prospectus for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with this discussion and analysis. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated by such forward-looking information due to factors discussed under “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” in the accompanying prospectus.
[Insert Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations from most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, as applicable, prior to the offering.]
CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth (a) our actual capitalization at , 20 and (b) our pro forma capitalization to reflect the effects of the sale of our common stock in this offering assuming all rights are exercised at the estimated subscription price of $ per share, after deducting dealer manager fees and other expenses related to this offering payable by us. You should read this table together with “Use of Proceeds” and our most recent balance sheet included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
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| | As of ,20 (unaudited, dollar amounts in thousands) | |
| | Actual | | Pro Forma | |
Cash and cash equivalents | | $ | | | $ | | |
Debt | | | | | |
[List Debt outstanding as of period reported] | | | | | |
Total Debt | | | | | |
Stockholders’ Equity | | | | | |
Common stock, par value $.01 per share, common shares authorized, and common shares issued and outstanding, respectively | | $ | | | $ | | |
Paid-in capital in excess of par value | | | | | |
Accumulated net investment income (loss) | | | | | |
Accumulated net realized gain (loss) | | | | | |
Accumulated net realized un appreciation (depreciation) | | | | | |
Total stockholders’ equity | | $ | | | $ | | |
Total capitalization | | $ | | | $ | | |
DILUTION
As of , 20 , our NAV was $ million, or approximately $ per share. After giving effect to the sale of shares of our common stock in this offering, assuming all rights are exercised at the estimated subscription price of $ per share, after deducting dealer manager fees and other expenses related to this offering payable by us, our pro forma NAV would have been approximately $ million, or approximately $ per share, representing an immediate dilution of approximately $ per share to our existing stockholders.
The following table illustrates the dilutive effects of this offering on a per share basis, assuming all rights are exercised at the estimated subscription price of $ per share, after deducting dealer manager fees and other expenses related to this offering payable by us:
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| | As of , 20 | |
| | Actual | | Pro Forma | |
NAV per common share | | $ | | $ | |
| | Months Ended , 20 | |
| | Actual | | Pro Forma | |
Net increase in assets resulting from net investment income per common share | | $ | (1) | $ | (2) |
Net decrease in net assets resulting from operations per common share | | $ | (1) | $ | (2) |
Distributions per common share | | $ | | $ | (3) |
(1) Basic and diluted, weighted average number of shares outstanding is .
(2) Assumes that on , 20 , the beginning of the indicated period, (i) all rights were exercised at the estimated subscription price of $ per share and (ii) shares of our common stock were issued upon the exercise of such rights.
(3) Assumes actual cash distributions divided by adjusted shares, including shares issued upon exercise of rights.
LEGAL MATTERS
Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be passed upon for the Company by Proskauer Rose LLP, Los Angeles, California, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, New York, New York and Venable LLP, Baltimore, Maryland. Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be passed upon for the dealer managers by [ ].
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
[Insert financial statements and notes thereto from most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, as applicable, prior to the offering.]
Up to Shares of Common Stock
Issuable Upon Exercise of Rights to Subscribe for Such Shares
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
[Dealer Managers]
, 20
Exhibit
Exhibit 99.5
The information in this prospectus supplement is not complete and may be changed. [A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission.] This prospectus supplement is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject to Completion
Preliminary Prospectus Supplement dated , 20
[FORM OF PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH FUTURE WARRANT OFFERINGS](*)
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To Prospectus dated , 20 )
Warrants to Purchase Up to [Type of Security]
We are offering for sale warrants to purchase up to [type of security]. Each warrant entitles the holder to purchase [type of security].
The exercise price will be $ per warrant. The warrants will be exercisable beginning on , 20 , and will expire on , 20 , or earlier upon redemption.
We are an externally managed specialty finance company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. We seek to achieve this investment objective by investing primarily in first lien senior secured loans and second lien senior secured loans.
As of , 20 , our investment portfolio consisted of investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million.
We are managed by Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C., an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. provides the administrative services necessary for us to operate. Both Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C. and Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. are wholly owned subsidiaries of Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C., a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group L.P. The Carlyle Group L.P. is a global alternative asset manager with approximately $ billion of assets under management as of , 20 .
[Our common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CGBD.” On , 20 , the last reported sales price of our common stock on The NASDAQ Global Select Market was $ per share. The net asset value (“NAV”) per share of our common stock at , 20 (the last date prior to the date of this prospectus supplement on which we determined NAV) was $ .]
Investing in our warrants involves risks that are described in the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page S-[ ] of this prospective supplement and page [ ] of the accompanying prospectus, including the risk of leverage.
Shares of closed-end investment companies, including BDCs, that are listed on an exchange frequently trade at a discount to their NAV per share. If our shares trade at a discount to our NAV per share, it may increase the risk of loss for purchasers in any offerings pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain important information you should know before investing in our warrants. Please read this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus before you invest and keep each for future reference. Information required to be included in a Statement of Additional Information may be found in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We also file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information about us with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) You may obtain this information or make warrantholder inquiries by written or oral request and free of charge by contacting us by mail at our principal executive offices located at 520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor, New York, NY 10022, on our website at www.tcgbdc.com, or by calling us at (212) 813-4900. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, and you should not consider that information to be a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. The SEC also maintains a website at http://www.sec.gov that contains this information.
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| | Per Share | | Total |
Public offering price | | $ | | | $ | |
Underwriting discount (sales load) | | $ | | | $ | |
Proceeds to us, before expenses(1) | | $ | | | $ | |
(1) Before deducting expenses payable by us related to this offering, estimated at $ .
[The underwriters may also purchase up to an additional warrants from us at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount, within days of the date of this prospectus supplement to cover overallotments, if any. If the underwriters exercise this option in full, the total public offering price will be $ , the total underwriting discount (sales load) paid by us will be $ , and total proceeds, before expenses, will be $ .]
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The warrants will be ready for delivery on or about , 20 .
The date of this prospectus supplement is , 20 .
(*) In addition to the sections outlined in this form of prospectus supplement, each prospectus supplement actually used in connection with an offering conducted pursuant to the registration statement to which this form of prospectus supplement is attached will be updated to include such other information as may then be required to be disclosed therein pursuant to applicable law or regulation as in effect as of the date of each such prospectus supplement, including, without limitation, information particular to the terms of each security offered thereby and any related risk factors or tax considerations pertaining thereto. The terms of the warrants may differ from the information provided in this form prospectus supplement. This form of prospectus supplement is intended only to provide an approximation of the nature and type of disclosure that may appear in any actual prospectus supplement used for the purposes of offering securities pursuant to the registration statement to which this form of prospectus supplement is attached and, accordingly, the terms and description of the warrants
for which this form of prospectus supplement is to be used may differ from the information provided in this form of prospectus supplement. This form of prospectus supplement is not intended to and does not contain all of the information that would appear is any such actual prospectus supplement, and should not be used or relied upon in connection with any offer or sale of securities.
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized any other person to provide you with different information or to make any representations not contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, as applicable. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.
Prospectus Supplement
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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| Page |
Forward-Looking Statements | S-[ ] |
The Company | S-[ ] |
Specific Terms of Our Warrants and the Offering | S-[ ] |
Risk Factors | S-[ ] |
Fees and Expenses | S-[ ] |
Selected Financial and Other Information | S-[ ] |
Use of Proceeds | S-[ ] |
Description of Warrants | S-[ ] |
Price Range of Common Stock and Distributions | S-[ ] |
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations | S-[ ] |
Capitalization | S-[ ] |
Underwriting | S-[ ] |
Legal Matters | S-[ ] |
Financial Statements | S-[ ] |
Prospectus
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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[Insert table of contents from base prospectus.] | |
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,” “should,” “may,” “plans,” “continue,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “would,” “could,” “targets,” “projects,” “outlook,” “potential,” “predicts” and variations of these words and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements include these words. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss our plans, strategies, prospects and expectations concerning our business, operating results, financial condition and other similar matters. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. Our forward-looking statements include information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus regarding general domestic and global economic conditions, our future financing plans, our ability to operate as a BDC and the expected performance of, and the yield on, our portfolio companies. There may be events in the future, however, that we are not able to predict accurately or control. The factors listed under “Risk Factors” in the accompanying prospectus, as well as any cautionary language in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. Before you invest in our securities, you should be aware that the occurrence of the events described in these risk factors and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial position. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which we make it. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Under Sections 27A(b)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E(b)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 do not apply to statements made in connection with any offering of securities pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or in a beneficial ownership report we file under the Exchange Act.
The following factors are among those that may cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements:
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• | our, or our portfolio companies’, future business, operations, operating results or prospects; |
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• | the return or impact of current and future investments; |
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• | the impact of any protracted decline in the liquidity of credit markets on our business; |
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• | the impact of fluctuations in interest rates on our business; |
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• | currency fluctuations could adversely affect the results of our investments in foreign companies, particularly to the extent that we receive payments denominated in foreign currency rather than U.S. dollars; |
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• | our future operating results; |
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• | the impact of changes in laws, policies or regulations (including the interpretation thereof) affecting our operations or the operations of our portfolio companies; |
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• | the valuation of our investments in portfolio companies, particularly those having no liquid trading market; |
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• | our ability to recover unrealized losses; |
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• | market conditions and our ability to access alternative debt markets and additional debt and equity capital; |
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• | our contractual arrangements and relationships with third parties; |
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• | the general economy and its impact on the industries in which we invest; |
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• | the financial condition of and ability of our current and prospective portfolio companies to achieve their objectives; |
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• | competition with other entities and our affiliates for investment opportunities; |
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• | the speculative and illiquid nature of our investments; |
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• | the use of borrowed money to finance a portion of our investments; |
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• | our expected financings and investments; |
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• | the adequacy of our cash resources and working capital; |
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• | the loss of key personnel; |
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• | the costs associated with being a publicly traded company; |
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• | the timing, form and amount of any dividend distributions; |
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• | the timing of cash flows, if any, from the operations of our portfolio companies; |
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• | the ability to consummate acquisitions; |
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• | the ability of our Investment Adviser to locate suitable investments for us and to monitor and administer our investments; |
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• | the ability of The Carlyle Group Employee Co., L.L.C. and CELF Advisors LLP to attract and retain highly talented professionals that can provide services to our Investment Adviser and Administrator; |
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• | our ability to maintain our status as a BDC; and |
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• | our intent to satisfy the requirements of a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Code. |
Our actual results and condition could differ materially from those implied or expressed in the forward-looking statements for any reason, including the factors set forth in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
THE COMPANY
This summary highlights some of the information contained elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. This summary is not complete and may not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in the securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. You should review the more detailed information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, especially the information set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Unless indicated otherwise in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, or the context suggests otherwise:
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• | the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “TCG BDC” and “Company” refer to TCG BDC, Inc., a Maryland corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries; |
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• | the term “SPV” refers to TCG BDC SPV LLC, our wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary; |
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• | the term “2015-1 Issuer” refers to Carlyle GMS Finance MM CLO 2015-1 LLC, our wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary; |
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• | the term “Carlyle” refers to The Carlyle Group L.P. (NASDAQ: CG) and its affiliates and consolidated subsidiaries (other than portfolio companies of its affiliated funds); |
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• | the term “CDL” refers to the Carlyle Direct Lending platform, which is Carlyle’s direct lending business unit that operates within the broader Carlyle Global Credit (“CGC”) segment; |
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• | the terms “CGCA” and “Administrator” refer to Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C., our administrator, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of Carlyle; |
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• | the terms “CGCIM” and “Investment Adviser” refer to Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C., our investment adviser, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of Carlyle; and |
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• | the term “Credit Fund” refers to Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, an unconsolidated limited liability company, in which we own a 50% economic interest and co-manage with Credit Partners USA LLC, and its wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary.
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We have elected to be regulated as a business development company, or a “BDC,” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Investment Company Act”). In addition, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we have elected to be treated as a regulated investment company, or RIC, under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (together, with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Code”).
[TCG BDC, Inc.
We are an externally managed specialty finance company focused on lending to middle market companies. We are managed by our Investment Adviser, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carlyle. Since we commenced investment operations in May 2013 through , 20 , we have invested approximately $ billion in aggregate principal amount of debt and equity investments prior to any subsequent exits or repayments. Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), which we believe is a useful proxy for cash flow. We seek to achieve our investment objective primarily through direct originations of secured debt, including first lien senior secured loans (which may include stand-alone first lien loans, first lien/last out loans and “unitranche” loans) and second lien senior secured loans (collectively, “Middle Market Senior Loans”),
with the balance of our assets invested in higher yielding investments (which may include unsecured debt, mezzanine debt and investments in equities).
We generate revenues primarily in the form of interest income from the investments we hold. In addition, we generate income from dividends on direct equity investments, capital gains on the sales of loans and debt and equity securities and various loan origination and other fees.
In conducting our investment activities, we believe that we benefit from the significant scale and resources of Carlyle, including our Investment Adviser and its affiliates. We have operated our business as a BDC since we began our investment activities in May 2013.
Investment Strategy
Our Investment Adviser is served by an origination, capital markets, underwriting and portfolio management team comprised of experienced investment professionals in the CDL platform, which is Carlyle’s direct lending business unit that operates within the broader Carlyle Global Credit platform (which in turn operates within Carlyle’s CGC segment). Our investment approach is focused on long-term credit performance and principal preservation. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team utilizes a rigorous, systematic, and consistent investment process, refined over Carlyle’s -year history investing in private markets across multiple cycles, designed to achieve enhanced risk-adjusted returns.
Origination Strategy
Our Investment Adviser has built a strong direct origination platform with coverage of over private equity firms and over lending institutions. Our Investment Adviser’s origination team sources approximately opportunities per year for us with an ultimate investment rate by us of less than % annually. The scale of our Investment Adviser’s origination platform allows us to maximize access to investment opportunities and enhance overall investment selectivity. We further seek to reduce risk by partnering with experienced sponsors with strong track records. We believe lending to companies owned by leading private equity firms (versus non-sponsored companies) has several important and potentially defensive characteristics. Sponsor involvement provides for:
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• | maximization of investment opportunities as approximately % of middle market loan volume is sponsor backed as of , 20 , according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Middle Market Fact Sheet; |
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• | validation of enterprise value; |
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• | support, as needed, in strategy, operations and governance of portfolio companies; and |
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• | the potential for additional capital commitment by sponsor if company requires financial support. |
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Investment Approach and Risk Monitoring of Investments
Our Investment Adviser utilizes a rigorous, systematic and consistent due diligence underwriting process to evaluate all investment opportunities. Our Investment Adviser’s investment teams primarily consist of origination professionals, research analysts and underwriters. An investment team works on a particular transaction from initial screening through closing, and the same team continues to monitor the credit for the life cycle of the investment.
During the investment process, the investment team works closely with the private equity sponsor in all aspects of due diligence, including onsite meetings, due diligence calls, and review of third party diligence reports. Our Investment Adviser also conducts an independent evaluation of the business, utilizing both internal and external sources. A key differentiator is our Investment Adviser’s integrated credit platform and collaborative efforts that leverage Carlyle’s broader resources, which include access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge.
Diversification of our portfolio is a key tenet of our risk management strategy, including diversification by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. Additionally, we view proactive portfolio monitoring as a vital part of the investment process. Our Investment Adviser utilizes a proprietary credit surveillance report and software system, an
objective rules-based Internal Risk Rating system and proprietary valuation model to assess risk in the portfolio. In addition to monthly portfolio reviews, our Investment Adviser compiles a quarterly risk report that examines, among other metrics, migration in portfolio and loan level investment mix, industry diversification, Internal Risk Ratings, revenue, EBITDA, and leverage. Our Investment Adviser supplements these policies with additional analyses and projections, including stress scenarios, to assess the potential exposure of our portfolio to variable macroeconomic factors and market conditions.
Strategic Relationships
We have established two highly differentiated strategic relationships that expand our product offering and increase our scale, enhancing our investment opportunities and optimizing selectivity rates, as we determine which credits provide the best risk adjusted returns for our stockholders. In early 2015, our Investment Adviser developed a key strategic relationship with Madison Capital Funding LLC (“Madison Capital”), a prominent non-bank finance company that is a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company, which has allowed us to offer various lending solutions to potential borrowers and has increased our coverage of U.S. middle market private equity firms. Additionally, in early 2016, we agreed to co-invest with Credit Partners USA LLC (“Credit Partners”), a wholly owned subsidiary of a large Canadian pension fund, to form Credit Fund, a joint venture primarily focused on investing in first lien loans to middle market companies. We and Credit Partners each have 50% economic ownership of Credit Fund and have commitments to fund, from time to time, capital of up to $400 million each. See “—Competitive Strengths—Strategic Relationships” in the accompanying prospectus.
Investment Portfolio
As of , 20 , we had investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million. During the ended , 20 , we invested approximately $ billion in new investments. During the same period, we had approximately $ million in exits and repayments resulting in net portfolio increase of approximately $ million.
As of , 20 , our portfolio was invested across industries. As of , 20 , no single portfolio company (excluding Credit Fund) represented more than % of our investments at fair value and no single industry represented more than % of our investments at fair value. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of our investments were in U.S. domestic companies. As of such date, the weighted average remaining term of our debt investments was approximately years. Based on fair value as of , 20 , our portfolio consisted of approximately % in secured debt (% in first lien debt (including % in first lien/last out loans) and % in second lien debt), % in Credit Fund, % in structured finance obligations and % in equity investments. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a fixed interest rate and approximately % of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate, which primarily are subject to interest rate floors.
As of , 20 , the weighted average yield of our first lien debt (including first lien/last out loans) was % and % based on the amortized cost and fair value, respectively. During that same period, the weighted average yield on our second lien debt was % and % based on the amortized cost and fair value, respectively.
We invest primarily in loans to middle market companies whose debt, if rated, is rated below investment grade, and, if not rated, would likely be rated below investment grade if it were rated (that is, below BBB- or Baa3, which is often referred to as “junk”). Exposure to below investment grade instruments involves certain risks, including speculation with respect to the borrower’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal.
As of , 20 , we and Credit Partners had each contributed $ million and $ million, respectively, to Credit Fund. As of , 20 , Credit Fund’s portfolio was invested in companies across industries. As of , 20 , Credit Fund had investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of Credit Fund’s investments were in U.S. domestic companies, and % was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate with an interest rate floor.
Competitive Strengths
Market Leading Direct Origination Platform. We have access to CDL’s strong direct origination platform, with coverage of over private equity firms and over lending institutions. We take a regional approach to client coverage with offices in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The origination team is highly experienced, and maintains deep relationships with a broad network of financial sponsors, commercial and investment banks, and finance companies, which are expected to continue to generate a significant amount of investment opportunities.
Scaled Investment Platform and Capabilities. CDL is an established, scaled investment platform with the ability to invest across the entire capital structure. CDL’s broad capabilities and ability to offer a full financing solution give us access to a wide funnel of opportunities, allow us to select high quality credits, construct the optimal financing package as it relates to price and terms, assert greater control over documentation, and generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders. We believe CDL’s hold sizes are among the largest in the middle market, which we believe results in the ability to generate premium economics, as sponsors are willing to pay higher spreads for financing certainty. CDL’s large hold sizes and strategic relationships enable us to provide certainty with regards to spreads, fees, structure and covenants. Furthermore, the breadth of CDL’s debt offerings also allows us to deploy capital at a measured pace across credit cycles and construct a portfolio that will perform in a broad range of economic conditions.
One Carlyle Capabilities Leading to Superior Credit Performance. We benefit from our Investment Adviser’s utilization of the broader resources of Carlyle, which includes access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge from almost three decades of private market investing. Our underwriting process leverages Carlyle’s investment professionals across multiple alternative investment asset classes, operating executives, information obtained through direct ownership of over companies and lending relationships with over companies, credit industry research analysts, and in-house government affairs and economic research teams. Our systematic and consistent approach is augmented by industry expertise and tenured underwriting professionals who both lead our Investment Adviser’s investment team and serve on our Investment Adviser’s investment committee. Strong credit underwriting has been a key component of our investing process, where our Investment Adviser seeks to select borrowers whose businesses are expected to generate substantial cash flows, to have leading management teams, stable operating histories, high barriers to entry and meaningful equity value, and to retain significant value.
Experienced Investment Team. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team comprises investment professionals in CDL who have extensive middle market lending experience. The investment team consists of dedicated investment professionals. The seven members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee have an average of years of industry experience. We believe the breadth and depth of the investment team in sourcing, structuring, executing, and monitoring a broad range of private investments provides us with a significant competitive advantage in building a high quality portfolio of investments.
Carefully Constructed Portfolio of Diversified Senior Secured, Floating Rate Loans. Our portfolio has been defensively constructed, exhibits strong credit quality, generates stable risk-adjusted returns and allows us to generate meaningful investment income, and consequently dividend income, for our stockholders. We have invested approximately $ billion since our inception in directly originated middle market loans. Our portfolio is highly diversified by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. As of , 20 , we had a portfolio of investments in portfolio companies across industries and unique sponsors. As of , 20 , approximately % of our debt investments bore interest at floating rates, subject to interest rate floors, and % of our portfolio was invested in first lien debt investments (including % first lien/last out loans).
Strategic Relationships. Our strategic relationships enhance our ability to provide full financing solutions to our borrowers, which results in our being able to generate optimal economics, significant access to diligence and control over documentation terms. Additionally, these relationships further strengthen our origination platform and ability to develop creative financing solutions to invest through the capital structure based on where we believe the best risk-adjusted return opportunities reside. Our Investment Adviser’s strategic relationship with Madison Capital, a leading middle market senior lender with approximately $ billion of assets under management (“AUM”) as of , 20, allows us to offer a full unitranche financing solution. This product provides middle market companies with certainty for financing without syndication risk and generates attractive risk-adjusted returns on these investments for our stockholders. Madison Capital provides the first lien/first out portion of the unitranche loan, which allows us to provide the first lien/last out portion. Collectively, we and Madison Capital have provided over $ billion (before any repayments or exits) of unitranche loans to middle market companies. The relationship has been extremely successful, and we frequently invest alongside Madison Capital on a variety of investment opportunities (in addition to unitranche loans).
Separately, Credit Fund, our strategic joint venture with a large Canadian pension fund, primarily invests in first lien loans of middle market companies. Since its inception and through , 20 , Credit Fund has provided $ million (before any repayments or exits) of senior secured loans. This joint venture provides us with an enhanced first lien loan product for certain transactions, thus further increasing our deal flow, and results in an increased number of borrowers in our portfolio, which provides strategic benefits as we build incumbent positions for future growth and investment opportunity.
Market Opportunity
We believe the middle market lending environment provides attractive investment opportunities as a result of a combination of the following factors:
Favorable Market Environment. We believe the middle market remains one of the most attractive investment areas due to its large size, superior value relative to the broadly syndicated loan market, and supply-demand imbalance that continues to favor non-bank lenders. We believe market yields remain attractive and leverage levels at middle market companies are stable, creating a favorable investment environment.
Large and Growing U.S. Middle Market. The U.S. middle market is the largest market by many measures, which is expected to enable us to invest selectively as approximately % of middle market loan volume is sponsor-backed. According to S&P Capital IQ, as of , 20 , there are over U.S. middle market companies generating between $20 million and $1 billion in annual revenue, compared with approximately companies with revenue greater than $1 billion. We believe these middle market companies, both sponsored and non-sponsored, represent a significant growth segment of the U.S. economy and often require substantial capital investments to grow.
Leverage, Pricing and Risk. According to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Quarterly Leveraged Lending Review (Q 20 ), middle market companies are less levered, have larger equity contributions, experience lower rates of default, and achieve higher recoveries versus large cap broadly syndicated loans. Middle market loans also tend to achieve more attractive pricing and structures, including documentation, covenants and information/governance, than broadly syndicated loans. Over the year period from 20 to 20, middle market loans have exhibited an approximate basis points spread premium over broadly syndicated loans according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Leveraged Loan Index.
Market Environment Favors Non-Traditional Lenders. Traditional middle market lenders, such as commercial and regional banks and commercial finance companies, have contracted their origination and lending activities and are focusing on more liquid asset classes or have exited the business. At the same time, institutional investors have sought to invest in larger, more liquid offerings, limiting the ability of middle market companies to raise debt capital through public capital markets. This has resulted in other capital providers, such as specialty finance companies, structured-credit vehicles such as collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), BDCs, and private investment funds, actively investing in the middle market. We believe the aforementioned changes and restrictions have created a large and growing market opportunity for alternative lenders such as us.
Favorable Capital Markets Trends. Current and future demand for middle market financings, driven by private equity investment and upcoming maturities are expected to provide us with ample deal flow. Current data from the Thompson Reuters LPC Middle Market Weekly Report ( , 20 ) suggests that approximately $ billion of upcoming loan maturities for middle market companies are due between 20 and 20, and the PitchBook PE & VE Fundraising and Capital Overhang Report ( H 20 ) suggests that there is over $ billion of uninvested capital in 2010-YTD Q 20 vintage private equity funds. We believe these refinancings and uninvested capital will provide a steady flow of attractive opportunities for well-positioned lenders with deep and longstanding sponsor and market relationships, particularly for providers of full capital structure financing solutions.
Benefits of Traditional Middle Market Focus. We believe there are significant advantages in our focus on the traditional middle market, a market we categorize to include borrowers with EBITDA in the range of approximately $10 million to $100 million. Traditional middle market companies are generally less levered than companies with EBITDA in excess of $100 million and loans to those borrowers offer more attractive economics in the form of upfront fees, spreads, and prepayment penalties. Senior secured middle market loans typically have strong defensive characteristics: these loans have priority in payment among a portfolio company’s security holders and they carry the least risk among investments in the capital structure; these investments, which are secured by the portfolio company’s assets, typically contain carefully structured covenant packages which allow lenders to take early action in situations where obligors underperform; and these characteristics can provide protection against credit deterioration. Middle market lenders like us are often able to complete more thorough due diligence investigations prior to investment than lenders in the broadly syndicated space.
Carlyle and Our Investment Adviser
Our investment activities are managed by our Investment Adviser. Our Investment Adviser is responsible for sourcing potential investments, conducting research and due diligence on prospective investments and equity sponsors, analyzing investment opportunities, structuring our investments and monitoring our investments on an ongoing basis.
Our Investment Adviser is an affiliate of Carlyle. Carlyle is one of the world’s largest and most diversified multi-product global alternative asset management firms. Carlyle and its affiliates advise an array of specialized investment funds and other investment vehicles that invest across a range of industries, geographies, asset classes and investment strategies. Since its founding in Washington, D.C. in 1987, Carlyle has grown to become a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $ billion in AUM across investment vehicles as of , 20.
Carlyle Global Credit is one of the largest integrated credit platforms in the industry with approximately $ billion in AUM and employees with multiple offices, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, as of , 20 . Carlyle Global Credit’s investment strategies include loans and structured credit, distressed credit, private credit (through CDL) and energy credit. CDL advises four funds, including us, totaling, in the aggregate, approximately $ billion in AUM as of , 20 .
Our Investment Adviser’s seven-person investment committee is responsible for reviewing and approving our investment opportunities. The members of the investment committee have experience investing through different credit cycles. The investment committee is led by Michael A. Hart, Managing Director of Carlyle, Head of CDL, Chairman of our Board of Directors (“Board”) and our Chief Executive Officer and also includes Jeffrey S. Levin, Managing Director of Carlyle and our President. See “Management—Portfolio Management” in the accompanying prospectus for biographical information of members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee.
Our Investment Adviser also serves, and may serve in the future, as investment adviser to other existing and future affiliated BDCs that have investment objectives similar to our investment objectives.
Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest
Our Investment Adviser’s investment team forms the exclusive Carlyle platform for U.S. middle market debt investments. The SEC has granted us exemptive relief that permits us and certain of our affiliates to co-invest in suitable negotiated investments (the “Exemptive Relief”). If Carlyle is presented with investment opportunities that generally fall within our investment objective and other board-established criteria and those of other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements (including other existing and future affiliated BDCs) whether focused on a debt strategy or otherwise, Carlyle allocates such opportunities among us and such other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements in a manner consistent with the Exemptive Relief, our Investment Adviser’s allocation policies and procedures and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures, where applicable, as discussed below. More specifically, investment opportunities in suitable negotiated investments for investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements managed by our Investment Adviser, and other funds, accounts or similar arrangements managed by affiliated investment advisers that seek to co-invest with us or other Carlyle BDCs, are allocated in accordance with the Exemptive Relief. Investment opportunities for all other investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements not managed by our Investment Adviser are allocated in accordance with their respective investment advisers’ and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures. Such policies and procedures may result in certain investment opportunities that are attractive to us being allocated to other funds that are not managed by our Investment Adviser. Carlyle’s, including our Investment Adviser’s, allocation policies and procedures are designed to allocate investment opportunities fairly and equitably among its clients over time, taking into account a variety of factors which may include the sourcing of the transaction, the nature of the investment focus of each such other Carlyle fund, accounts or other similar arrangements, each fund’s, account’s or similar arrangement’s desired level of investment, the relative amounts of capital available for investment, the nature and extent of involvement in the transaction on the part of the respective teams of investment professionals, any requirements contained in the governing agreements of the Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements and other considerations deemed relevant by Carlyle in good faith, including suitability considerations and reputational matters. The application of these considerations may cause differences in the performance of different Carlyle funds, accounts and similar arrangements that have similar strategies. For a further explanation of the allocation of opportunities and other related conflicts and risks, please see “Business—Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest” in the accompanying prospectus.
Because we are a BDC, we are not generally permitted to make loans to companies controlled by Carlyle or other funds managed by Carlyle.
We are also not permitted to make any co-investments with clients of our Investment Adviser or its affiliates (including any fund managed by Carlyle) without complying with our Exemptive Relief, subject to certain exceptions, including with respect to our downstream affiliates. Co-investments made under the Exemptive Relief are subject to compliance with the conditions and other requirements contained in the Exemptive Relief, which could limit our ability to participate in a co-investment transaction. We may also co-invest with funds managed by Carlyle or any of its downstream affiliates, subject to compliance with applicable law and regulations, existing regulatory guidance, and our Investment Adviser’s and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures.
Operating and Regulatory Structure
We have elected to be treated as a BDC under the Investment Company Act. As a BDC, we are required to comply with certain regulatory requirements and are generally prohibited from acquiring assets other than qualifying assets, unless, after giving effect to any acquisition, at least 70% of our total assets are qualifying assets. Qualifying assets generally include securities of eligible portfolio companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and high quality debt instruments maturing in one year or less from the time of investment. Under the rules of the Investment Company Act, “eligible portfolio companies” include (i) private U.S. operating companies, (ii) public U.S. operating companies whose securities are not listed on a national securities exchange (e.g., the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex Equities and The NASDAQ Global Market) or registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and (iii) public U.S. operating companies having a market capitalization of less than $250 million.
Also, while we may borrow funds to make investments, our ability to use debt is limited in certain significant aspects. In particular, as a BDC, we must have at least 200% asset coverage calculated pursuant to the Investment Company Act in order to incur debt or issue preferred stock (which we refer to collectively as “senior securities”). In effect, we are permitted to borrow one dollar for every dollar we have in assets less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities issued by us, which requires us to finance our investments with at least as much equity as senior securities in the aggregate. Certain of our credit facilities also require that we maintain asset coverage of at least 200%. See “—Use of Leverage” and “Regulation” in the accompanying prospectus.
In addition, as a consequence of our election to be treated as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes, our asset growth is dependent on our ability to raise equity capital through the issuance of common stock. RICs generally must distribute substantially all of their investment company taxable income (as defined under the Code) to stockholders as dividends in order to preserve their status as a RIC and not be subject to additional U.S. federal corporate-level taxes. This requirement, in turn, generally prevents us from using our earnings to support our operations, including making new investments. See “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” in the accompanying prospectus.
Use of Leverage
Leverage increases the potential for gain and loss on amounts invested and, as a result, increases the risks associated with investing in our securities. The costs associated with our borrowings, including any increase in the fees payable to our Investment Adviser, are borne by our stockholders. Any decision on our part to use borrowings depends upon our assessment of the attractiveness of available investment opportunities in relation to the costs and perceived risks of such leverage. Through the SPV, our wholly owned subsidiary, we have a $ million senior secured revolving credit facility with various lenders (as amended, the “SPV Credit Facility”). In addition, we have a $ million senior secured revolving credit facility with various lenders (as amended, the “Credit Facility” and, together with the SPV Credit Facility, the “Facilities”).
On June 26, 2015, through our wholly owned subsidiary, the 2015-1 Issuer, we completed a $400 million term debt securitization (the “2015-1 Debt Securitization”), of which we retained 100% of the preferred interests (the “Preferred Interests”), or approximately $126 million at closing. For more information on our debt, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources” in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Corporate Structure
We were formed in February 2012 as a Maryland corporation structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment company. On May 2, 2013, we elected to be regulated as a BDC and commenced substantial
investment operations upon the completion of our initial closing of equity capital commitments. Effective on March 15, 2017, we changed our name from “Carlyle GMS Finance, Inc.” to “TCG BDC, Inc.”
Recent Developments
[Insert description of recent developments at time of offering.]
Corporate Information
Our principal executive offices are located at 520 Madison Ave., 40th Floor, New York, New York 10022 and our telephone number is (212) 813-4900. We maintain a website located at www.tcgbdc.com. Information on our website is not incorporated into or a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.]
SPECIFIC TERMS OF OUR WARRANTS AND THE OFFERING
This prospectus supplement sets forth certain terms of our warrants that we are offering pursuant to this prospectus supplement and supplements the accompanying prospectus that is attached to the back of this prospectus supplement. This section outlines the specific legal and financial terms of our warrants. You should read this section together with the more general description of our warrants in this prospectus supplement under the heading “Description of Warrants” and in the accompanying prospectus under the heading “Description of Warrants” before investing in our warrants. Capitalized terms used in this prospectus supplement and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the accompanying prospectus.
[Insert material terms of our warrants in tabular form to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
RISK FACTORS
[If you exercise your warrants, you may be unable to sell any [type of security] you purchase at a profit.
The public trading market price of our [type of security] may decline after you elect to exercise your warrants. If that occurs, you will have committed to buy [type of security] at a price above the prevailing market price and you will have an immediate unrealized loss. Moreover, we cannot assure you that following the exercise of warrants you will be able to sell your [type of security] at a price equal to or greater than the exercise price.
The exercise price is not necessarily an indication of our value.
The exercise price of the warrants does not necessarily bear any relationship to any established criteria for valuation of business development companies. You should not consider the exercise price an indication of our value or any assurance of future value. After the date of this prospectus supplement, our [type of security] may trade at prices above or below the subscription price.]
[Insert any additional relevant risk factors not included in the base prospectus to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
[FEES AND EXPENSES(*)
The following table is intended to assist you in understanding the costs and expenses that an investor in our common stock will bear, directly or indirectly, based on the assumptions set forth below. We caution you that some of the percentages indicated in the table below are estimates and may vary. The following table should not be considered a representation of our future expenses. Actual expenses may be greater or less than shown. The expenses shown in the table under “estimated annual expenses” are based on estimated amounts for our current fiscal year. Except where the context suggests otherwise, whenever this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus contains a reference to fees or expenses paid by “us,” the “Company” or says that “we” will pay fees or expenses, stockholders will indirectly bear these fees or expenses as our investors.
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Stockholder transaction expenses (as a percentage of offering price): | | | |
Sales load | | | %(1) |
Offering expenses | | | %(2) |
Dividend reinvestment plan expenses | | None | (3) |
Total stockholder transaction expenses paid | | | % |
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Annual expenses (as a percentage of net assets attributable to common stock)(4): | | | |
Base management fee payable under the Investment Advisory Agreement | | | %(5) |
Incentive fee payable under the Investment Advisory Agreement ( % of pre-incentive fee net investment income and capital gains) | | | %(6) |
Interest payments on borrowed funds | | | %(7) |
Other expenses | | | %(8)(10) |
Acquired fund fees and expenses | | | %(9) |
Total annual expenses | | | %(10) |
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(1) | The underwriting discounts and commissions with respect to the shares sold in this offering, which is a one-time fee, is the only sales load paid in connection with this offering. |
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(2) | Amount reflects estimated offering expenses of approximately $ and based on the shares offered in this offering (assuming that the underwriters do not exercise their overallotment option). |
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(3) | The expenses of the dividend reinvestment plan are included in “Other expenses.” For additional information, see “Dividend Reinvestment Plan” in the accompanying prospectus. |
(*) Include this section if warrants are for the purchase of common stock.
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(4) | The “net assets attributable to common stock” used to calculate percentages in this table is our net assets of $ billion as of , 20 . |
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(5) | The base management fee under the Investment Advisory Agreement is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears at an annual rate of 1.50% of our average gross assets, including assets acquired through the incurrence of debt, excluding cash and cash equivalents and adjusted for share issuances or repurchases. For purposes of the table above, the percentage reflected is calculated based on our average net assets (rather than our average gross assets) for the same period. The base management fee is payable quarterly in arrears. See “Management—Investment Advisory Agreement” in the accompanying prospectus. |
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(6) We may have capital gains and net investment income that could result in the payment of an incentive fee to the Investment Adviser in the twelve months after the date of this prospectus supplement. The incentive fee payable in the example below is estimated based on annualizing our actual results for the ended , 20 as if they had occurred following our initial public offering, and assumes that the incentive fee is % for all relevant periods. However, the incentive fee payable to the Investment Adviser is based on our performance and will not be paid unless we achieve certain goals. |
The incentive fee has two parts. The first part is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears based on our pre-incentive fee net investment income for the immediately preceding calendar quarter. The second part is determined and payable in arrears as of the end of each calendar year (or upon termination of the Investment Advisory Agreement, as of the termination date) in an amount equal to % of our realized capital gains, if any, on a cumulative basis from inception through the end of each calendar year, computed net of all realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation on a cumulative basis, less the aggregate amount of any previously paid capital gain incentive fees.
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| See “Management—Investment Advisory and Management Agreement” in the accompanying prospectus. |
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(7) | Interest payments on borrowed funds is estimated based on annualizing our interest expense for the ended , 20 under our secured borrowings and the notes offered in the Debt Securitization (the “2015-1 Notes”) excluding fees (such as fees on undrawn amounts and amortization of upfront fees). This estimated item is based on the assumption that our borrowings and interest costs after an offering will remain similar to those prior to such offering. We may borrow additional funds from time to time to make investments to the extent we determine that the economic situation is conducive to doing so. Our stockholders indirectly bear the costs of borrowings under any debt instruments we may enter into. |
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(8) | Includes our estimated overhead expenses, such as payments under the Administration Agreement for certain expenses incurred by the Investment Adviser. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Administration Agreement” and “—Sub-Administration Agreements” in the accompanying prospectus. The expenses in this table are based on our actual other expenses for the ended , 20 . |
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(9) | Our stockholders indirectly bear the expenses of underlying funds or other investment vehicles in which we invest that (1) are investment companies or (2) would be investment companies under Section 3(a) of the Investment Company Act but for the exceptions to that definition provided for in Sections 3(c)(1) and 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act. This amount includes the estimated annual fees and expenses of Credit Fund, which was our only acquired fund as of , 20 . |
Example
The following example demonstrates the projected dollar amount of total cumulative expenses over various periods with respect to a hypothetical investment in our common stock. In calculating the following expense amounts, we have assumed we would have no additional leverage and that our annual operating expenses would remain at the levels set forth in the table above. The incentive fee payable in the example below assumes that the incentive fee is % for all relevant periods. Transaction expenses are included in the following example.
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| | 1 year | | 3 years | | 5 years | | 10 years | |
You would pay the following expenses on a $1,000 common stock investment, assuming a 5% annual return (none of which is subject to the incentive fee based on capital gains)(1) | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | |
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(1) Assumes that we will not realize any capital gains computed net of all realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation.
The foregoing table is to assist you in understanding the various costs and expenses that an investor in our common stock will bear directly or indirectly. While the example assumes, as required by the SEC, a 5% annual return, our performance will vary and may result in a return greater or less than 5%. The income portion of the incentive fee under the Investment Advisory Agreement, which, assuming a 5% annual return, would either not be payable or have an immaterial impact on the expense amounts shown above, is not included in the example. If we achieve sufficient returns on our investments, including through net realized capital gains, to trigger an incentive fee of a material amount, our expenses, and returns to our investors, would be higher. In addition, while the example assumes reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at NAV, under certain circumstances, reinvestment of dividends and other distributions under our dividend reinvestment plan may occur at a price per share that differs from NAV. See “Dividend Reinvestment Plan” in the accompanying prospectus for additional information regarding our dividend reinvestment plan.
This example and the expenses in the table above should not be considered a representation of our future expenses, and actual expenses (including the cost of debt, if any, and other expenses) may be greater or less than those shown.]
SELECTED FINANCIAL AND OTHER INFORMATION
The tables below set forth our selected consolidated historical financial data for the periods indicated. The selected consolidated historical financial data as of and for the years ended December 31, 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 and 20 , have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included in “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of the accompanying prospectus. Interim financial information for the ended , 20 and 20 has been derived from our unaudited interim financial statements. Our unaudited interim financial statements were prepared on a basis consistent with our audited financial statements and, in our opinion, include all adjustments necessary for the fair statement of the results for the periods represented. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of future results. The selected financial data in this section is not intended to replace the financial statements and is qualified in its entirety by the financial statements and related notes included in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
The selected consolidated financial information and other data presented below should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our financial statements and the related notes thereto, which are included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
[Insert Selected Financial and Other Information reflecting most recently filed financials prior to the offering.]
USE OF PROCEEDS
We estimate that the net proceeds we will receive from the sale of warrants in this offering will be approximately $ million (or approximately $ million if the underwriters fully exercise their overallotment option), in each case assuming a public offering price of $ per warrant, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions of $ million (or approximately $ million if the underwriters fully exercise their overallotment option) payable by us and estimated offering expenses of approximately $ million payable by us.
[Describe use of proceeds and include any other relevant information to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
DESCRIPTION OF WARRANTS
This prospectus supplement sets forth certain terms of our warrants that we are offering pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. This section outlines the specific legal and financial terms of our warrants. You should read this section together with the more general description of our warrants in the accompanying prospectus under the heading “Description of Warrants” before investing in our warrants. This summary is not necessarily complete and is subject to and entirely qualified by reference to [insert relevant documents].
[Insert material terms of our warrants to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
[PRICE RANGE OF COMMON STOCK AND DISTRIBUTIONS(*)
Our common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CGBD.” Our common stock has historically traded at prices both above and below our NAV per share. It is not possible to predict whether our common stock will trade at, above or below NAV. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Offerings Pursuant to this Prospectus—Our shares of common stock have traded at a discount from NAV and may do so again, which could limit our ability to raise additional equity capital” in the accompanying prospectus.
The following table sets forth, for each fiscal quarter for the fiscal years ended December 31, 20 , 20 and 20 , the NAV per share of our common stock, the range of high and low closing sales prices of our common stock, the closing sales price as a premium (discount) to NAV and the dividends or distributions declared by us. On , 20 , the last reported closing sales price of our common stock on The NASDAQ Global Select Market was $ per share, which represented a [premium][discount] of approximately % to the NAV per share reported by us as of , 20 .
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| | | | Price Range | | High Sales Price Premium (Discount) to NAV | | Low Sales Price Premium (Discount) to NAV | | Cash Dividend Per | |
| | NAV(1) | | High | | Low | | (2) | | (2) | | Share(3) | |
Year ended December 31, 20 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
First Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Second Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Third Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Fourth Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Year ended December 31, 20 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
First Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Second Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Third Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Fourth Quarter | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
Year ending December 31, 20 | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
[First Quarter] | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
[Second Quarter] | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
[Third Quarter] | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
[Fourth Quarter] | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | | % | | % | $ | | |
(*) Include this section if warrants are for the purchase of common stock.
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(1) | NAV per share is determined as of the last day in the relevant quarter and therefore may not reflect the NAV per share on the date of the high and low closing sales prices. The NAVs shown are based on outstanding shares at the end of the relevant quarter. |
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(2) | Calculated as the respective high or low closing sales price less NAV, divided by NAV (in each case, as of the applicable quarter). |
(3) Represents the dividend or distribution declared in the relevant quarter.
To the extent that we have taxable income available, we intend to distribute quarterly dividends to our stockholders. The amount of our dividends, if any, will be determined by our Board. Any dividends to our stockholders will be declared out of assets legally available for distribution. We anticipate that our distributions will generally be paid from taxable earnings, including interest and capital gains generated by our investment portfolio, and any other income, including any other fees (other than fees for providing managerial assistance), such as commitment, origination, structuring, diligence and consulting fees or other fees, that we receive from portfolio companies. However, if we do not generate sufficient taxable earnings during a year, all or part of a distribution may constitute a return of capital. The specific tax characteristics of our dividends and other distributions will be reported to stockholders after the end of each calendar year. See “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” in the accompanying prospectus for further information regarding the tax treatment of our distributions and the tax consequences of our retention of net capital gains.
The following table summarizes our dividends or distributions declared for the fiscal years ended December 31, 20 , 20 and 20 :
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Date Declared | | | Record Date | | Payment Date | | Amount | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
Total declared for 20 | | | | | | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
, 20 | | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
Total declared for 20 | | | | | | | $ | | |
[ , 20 | ] | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
[ , 20 | ] | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
[ , 20 | ] | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
[ , 20 | ] | | , 20 | | , 20 | | $ | | |
Total declared for 20 | | | | | | | $ | | |
We have elected to be treated, and intend to continue to qualify annually, as a RIC. To maintain our qualification as a RIC, we must, among other things, fulfill the Annual Distribution Requirement, the 90% Gross Income Test and the Diversification Tests (each defined term, defined and more fully explained in “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company” in the accompanying prospectus). In order to avoid certain excise taxes imposed on RICs, we intend to distribute during each calendar year an amount in accordance with the Excise Tax Distribution Requirements, as defined and discussed further in “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations—Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company” in the accompanying prospectus.
In addition, although we currently intend to distribute realized net capital gains (i.e., net long term capital gains in excess of short term capital losses), if any, at least annually, we may in the future decide to retain such capital gains for investment, pay U.S. federal income tax on such amounts at regular corporate tax rates, and elect to treat such gains as deemed distributions to stockholders. As a BDC, we must have at least 200% asset coverage calculated pursuant to the Investment Company Act immediately after each time we issue senior securities. Certain of our credit facilities also require that we maintain asset coverage of at least 200%. As of , 20 , our asset coverage calculated in accordance with the Investment Company Act was %. We can offer no assurance that we will achieve results that will permit the payment of any cash distributions and, to the extent that we issue senior securities, we will be prohibited from making distributions if doing so causes us to fail to maintain the asset coverage ratios stipulated by the Investment Company Act or if distributions are limited by the terms of any of our borrowings. See “Risk Factors—Risks Related to Offerings Pursuant to this Prospectus—There is a risk that our stockholders may not receive distributions or that our distributions may not grow over time and a portion of our distributions to you may be a return of capital for U.S. federal income tax purposes” in the accompanying prospectus.
Unless you elect to receive your distributions in cash, we intend to make distributions in additional shares of our common stock under our dividend reinvestment plan. Stockholders who “opt out” of our dividend reinvestment plan receive cash distributions. See “Dividend Reinvestment Plan” in the accompanying prospectus. We can offer no assurance that we will achieve results that will permit the payment of any cash distributions and, if we issue senior securities, we will be prohibited from making distributions if doing so causes us to fail to maintain the asset coverage ratios stipulated by the Investment Company Act or if distributions are limited by the terms of any of our borrowings.]
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with “Selected Financial and Other Information” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. The information in this section contains forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties. Please see “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” in the accompanying prospectus for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with this discussion and analysis. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated by such forward-looking information due to factors discussed under “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” in the accompanying prospectus.
[Insert Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations from most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, as applicable, prior to the offering.]
CAPITALIZATION(*)
The following table sets forth (a) our actual capitalization at , 20 and (b) our pro forma capitalization to reflect the effects of the sale of our warrants in this offering (assuming that the underwriters do not exercise their overallotment option) assuming a public offering price of $ per warrant, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. You should read this table together with “Use of Proceeds” and our most recent balance sheet included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
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| | As of ,20 (unaudited, dollar amounts in thousands) | |
| | Actual | | Pro Forma | |
Cash and cash equivalents | | $ | | | $ | | |
Debt | | | | | |
[List Debt outstanding as of period reported] | | | | | |
Total Debt | | | | | |
Stockholders’ Equity | | | | | |
Common stock, par value $.01 per share, common shares authorized, and common shares issued and outstanding, respectively | | $ | | | $ | | |
Paid-in capital in excess of par value | | | | | |
Accumulated net investment income (loss) | | | | | |
Accumulated net realized gain (loss) | | | | | |
Accumulated net realized un appreciation (depreciation) | | | | | |
Total stockholders’ equity | | $ | | | $ | | |
Total capitalization | | $ | | | $ | | |
(*) Add to Capitalization table the securities underlying the warrants, if applicable.
UNDERWRITING
[ ] are acting as representatives of each of the underwriters named below. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in a purchase agreement among us and the underwriters, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters, and each of the underwriters has agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase from us, the number of warrants set forth opposite its name below.
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Underwriter | | Number of Warrants | |
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Total | | | |
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the purchase agreement, the underwriters have agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase all of the warrants sold under the purchase agreement if any of these warrants are purchased. If an underwriter defaults, the purchase agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the nondefaulting underwriters may be increased or the purchase agreement may be terminated.
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
The underwriters are offering the warrants, subject to prior sale, when, as and if issued to and accepted by them, subject to approval of legal matters by their counsel, including the validity of the warrants, and other conditions contained in the purchase agreement, such as the receipt by the underwriters of officer’s certificates and legal opinions. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part.
Commissions and Discounts
The representatives have advised us that the underwriters propose initially to offer the warrants to the public at the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement and to dealers at that price less a concession not in excess of $ per warrant. After the initial offering, the public offering price, concession or any other term of the offering may be changed.
The following table shows the public offering price, underwriting discount and proceeds before expenses to us. [The information assumes either no exercise or full exercise by the underwriters of their overallotment option.]
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| | Per Warrant | | [Without Option | | With Option] | |
Public offering price | | | | | | | |
Underwriting discount | | | | | | | |
Proceeds to us, before expenses | | | | | | | |
The expenses of the offering, not including the underwriting discount, are estimated at $ and are payable by us.
[Overallotment Option
We have granted an option to the underwriters to purchase up to additional warrants at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount. The underwriters may exercise this option for days from the date of this prospectus supplement solely to cover any overallotments. If the underwriters exercise this option, each will be obligated, subject to conditions contained in the purchase agreement, to purchase a number of additional warrants proportionate to that underwriter’s initial amount reflected in the above table.]
[No Sales of Similar Securities
We have agreed, with exceptions, not to sell or transfer any warrants or [type of security] for days after the date of this prospectus supplement without first obtaining the written consent of [ ].]
[NASDAQ Global Select Market Listing
[Our [type of security] is listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “CGBD.”]
[Our warrants are a new issue of securities with no established trading market. We intend to list our warrants on . We expect trading in our warrants on to begin within days after the original issue date. Currently there is no public market for our warrants.
We have been advised by the underwriters that they presently intend to make a market in our warrants after completion of the offering as permitted by applicable laws and regulations. The underwriters are not obligated, however, to make a market in our warrants and any such market making may be discontinued at any time in the sole discretion of the underwriters without any notice. Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to the liquidity of, or development of a public trading market for, our warrants. If any active public trading market for our warrants does not develop, the market price and liquidity of our warrants may be adversely affected.]]
Price Stabilization, Short Positions and Penalty Bids
Until the distribution of the warrants is completed, SEC rules may limit underwriters and selling group members from bidding for and purchasing our warrants or [type of security]. However, the representatives may engage in transactions that stabilize the price of the warrants, such as bids or purchases to peg, fix or maintain that price.
In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell our warrants in the open market. These transactions may include short sales, purchases on the open market to cover positions created by short sales and stabilizing transactions. Short sales involve the sale by the underwriters of a greater number of warrants than they are required to purchase in the offering. “Covered” short sales are sales made in an amount not greater than the underwriters’ overallotment option described above. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their overallotment option or purchasing warrants in the open market. In determining the source of warrants to close out the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of warrants available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase warrants through the overallotment option. “Naked” short sales are sales in excess of the overallotment option. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing warrants in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of our warrants in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering. Stabilizing transactions consist of various bids for or purchases of warrants made by the underwriters in the open market prior to the completion of the offering.
The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the underwriters a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the representatives have repurchased shares sold by or for the account of such underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.
Similar to other purchase transactions, the underwriters’ purchases to cover the syndicate short sales may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our warrants or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our warrants. As a result, the price of our warrants may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. The underwriters may conduct these transactions on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, in the over-the-counter market or otherwise.
Neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our warrants. In addition, neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation that the representatives will engage in these transactions or that these transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.
Passive Market Making
In connection with this offering, underwriters and selling group members may engage in passive market making transactions in the warrants on the NASDAQ Global Select Market in accordance with Rule 103 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act during a period before the commencement of offers or sales of warrants and extending through the completion of distribution. A passive market maker must display its bid at a price not in excess of the highest independent bid of that security. However, if all independent bids are lowered below the passive market maker’s bid, that bid must then be lowered when specified purchase limits are exceeded. Passive market making may cause the price of our warrants to be higher than the price that otherwise would exist in the open market in the absence of those transactions. The underwriters and dealers are not required to engage in passive market making and may end passive market making activities at any time.
Electronic Offer, Sale and Distribution of Warrants
The underwriters may make prospectuses available in electronic (PDF) format. A prospectus in electronic (PDF) format may be made available on a web site maintained by the underwriters, and the underwriters may distribute such prospectuses electronically. The underwriters may allocate a limited principal amount of the warrants for sale to their online brokerage customers.
Other Relationships
The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include sales and trading, commercial and investment banking, advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, market making, brokerage and other financial and non-financial activities and services. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, a variety of these services to the issuer and to persons and entities with relationships with us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.
In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates, officers, directors and employees may purchase, sell or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps and other financial instruments for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and trading activities may involve or relate to assets, securities or instruments of us (directly, as collateral securing other obligations or otherwise) or persons and entities with relationships with us.
After the date of this prospectus supplement, the underwriters and their affiliates may from time to time obtain information regarding specific portfolio companies or us that may not be available to the general public. Any such information is obtained by the underwriters and their affiliates in the ordinary course of their business and not in connection with the offering of the warrants. In addition, after the offering period for the sale of our warrants, the underwriters or their affiliates may develop analyses or opinions related to us or persons or entities with relationships with us and buy or sell interests in one or more of our portfolio companies on behalf of their proprietary or client accounts and may engage in competitive activities. There is no obligation on behalf of these parties to disclose their respective analyses, opinions or purchase and sale activities regarding any portfolio company or regarding us to our warrantholders or any other persons.
We may purchase securities of third parties from the underwriters or their affiliates after the offering. However, we have not entered into any agreement or arrangement regarding the acquisition of any such securities, and we may not purchase any such securities. We would only purchase any such securities if—among other things—we identified securities that satisfied our investment needs and completed our due diligence review of such securities.
[Describe any other specific transactions and compensation related thereto to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
[Describe if underwriters receiving proceeds of offering, if required by FINRA.]
[Insert principal business addresses of underwriters.]
[Insert applicable legends for jurisdictions in which offers and sales may be made.]
LEGAL MATTERS
Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be passed upon for the Company by Proskauer Rose LLP, Los Angeles, California, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, New York, New York and Venable LLP, Baltimore, Maryland. Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be passed upon for the underwriters by [ ].
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
[Insert financial statements and notes thereto from most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, as applicable, prior to the offering.]
Warrants to Purchase Up to [Type of Security]
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
[Underwriters]
, 20
Exhibit
Exhibit 99.6
The information in this prospectus supplement is not complete and may be changed. [A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission.] This prospectus supplement is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject to Completion
Preliminary Prospectus Supplement dated , 20
[FORM OF PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH FUTURE UNIT OFFERINGS](*)
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To Prospectus dated , 20 )
[ ]% [Title to be Specified] Units
We are offering for sale our [ ]% [title to be specified] units (the “Units”). Each Unit has a stated amount of $ . [Insert information regarding securities comprising unit to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation].
We are an externally managed specialty finance company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. We seek to achieve this investment objective by investing primarily in first lien senior secured loans and second lien senior secured loans.
As of , 20 , our investment portfolio consisted of investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million.
We are managed by Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C., an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. provides the administrative services necessary for us to operate. Both Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C. and Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. are wholly owned subsidiaries of Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C., a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group L.P. The Carlyle Group L.P. is a global alternative asset manager with approximately $ billion of assets under management as of , 20 .
Investing in the Units involves risks that are described in the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page [ ] of this prospectus supplement and on page [ ] of the accompanying prospectus[, including the risk of leverage].
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain important information you should know before investing in the Units. Please read this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus before you invest and keep each for future reference. Information required to be included in a Statement of Additional Information may be found in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We also file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information about us with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). You may obtain this information or make stockholder inquiries by written or oral request and free of charge by contacting us by mail at our principal executive offices located at 520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor, New York, NY 10022, on our website at www.tcgbdc.com, or by calling us at (212) 813-4900. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, and you should not consider that information to be a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. The SEC also maintains a website at http://www.sec.gov that contains this information.
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| | Per Unit | | Total | |
Public offering price | | $ | | | $ | | |
Underwriting discount (sales load) | | $ | | | $ | | |
Proceeds to us, before expenses(1) | | $ | | | $ | | |
(1) Before deducting expenses payable by us related to this offering, estimated at $ , which represents approximately $ per Unit.
[The underwriters may also purchase up to an additional Units from us at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount, within days of the date of this prospectus supplement to cover overallotments, if any. If the underwriters exercise this option in full, the total public offering price will be $ , the total underwriting discount (sales load) paid by us will be $ , and total proceeds, before expenses, will be $ .]
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
The Units will be ready for delivery [in book-entry form through The Depository Trust Company] on or about , 20 .
The date of this prospectus supplement is , 20 .
(*) In addition to the sections outlined in this form of prospectus supplement, each prospectus supplement actually used in connection with an offering conducted pursuant to the registration statement to which this form of prospectus supplement is attached will be updated to include such other information as may then be required to be disclosed therein pursuant to applicable law or regulation as in effect as of the date of each such prospectus supplement, including, without limitation, information particular to the terms of each security offered thereby and any related risk factors or tax considerations pertaining thereto. The terms of the Units may differ from the information provided in this form prospectus supplement. This form of prospectus supplement is intended only to provide an approximation of the nature and type of disclosure that may appear in any actual prospectus supplement used for the purposes of offering securities pursuant to the registration statement to which this form of prospectus supplement is attached, and, accordingly, the terms and description of the Units for which this form of prospectus supplement is to be used may differ from the information provided in this form of prospectus supplement. This form of prospectus supplement is not intended to and does not contain all of the information that would appear is any such actual prospectus supplement, and should not be used or relied upon in connection with any offer or sale of securities.
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized any other person to provide you with different information or to make any representations not contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, as applicable. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.
Prospectus Supplement
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Forward-Looking Statements | | S-[ ] |
The Company | | S-[ ] |
Specific Terms of the Units and the Offering | | S-[ ] |
Risk Factors | | S-[ ] |
Fees and Expenses | | S-[ ] |
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Selected Financial and Other Information | | S-[ ] |
Use of Proceeds | | S-[ ] |
Description of Units | | S-[ ] |
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations | | S-[ ] |
United States Federal Income Tax Consequences | | S-[ ] |
Capitalization | | S-[ ] |
Underwriting | | S-[ ] |
Legal Matters | | S-[ ] |
Financial Statements | | S-[ ] |
Prospectus
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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[Insert table of contents from base prospectus.] | | |
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,” “should,” “may,” “plans,” “continue,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “would,” “could,” “targets,” “projects,” “outlook,” “potential,” “predicts” and variations of these words and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements include these words. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss our plans, strategies, prospects and expectations concerning our business, operating results, financial condition and other similar matters. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. Our forward-looking statements include information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus regarding general domestic and global economic conditions, our future financing plans, our ability to operate as a BDC and the expected performance of, and the yield on, our portfolio companies. There may be events in the future, however, that we are not able to predict accurately or control. The factors listed under “Risk Factors” in the accompanying prospectus, as well as any cautionary language in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. Before you invest in our securities, you should be aware that the occurrence of the events described in these risk factors and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial position. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which we make it. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Under Sections 27A(b)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E(b)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 do not apply to statements made in connection with any offering of securities pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or in a beneficial ownership report we file under the Exchange Act.
The following factors are among those that may cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements:
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• | our, or our portfolio companies’, future business, operations, operating results or prospects; |
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• | the return or impact of current and future investments; |
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• | the impact of any protracted decline in the liquidity of credit markets on our business; |
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• | the impact of fluctuations in interest rates on our business; |
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• | currency fluctuations could adversely affect the results of our investments in foreign companies, particularly to the extent that we receive payments denominated in foreign currency rather than U.S. dollars; |
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• | our future operating results; |
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• | the impact of changes in laws, policies or regulations (including the interpretation thereof) affecting our operations or the operations of our portfolio companies; |
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• | the valuation of our investments in portfolio companies, particularly those having no liquid trading market; |
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• | our ability to recover unrealized losses; |
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• | market conditions and our ability to access alternative debt markets and additional debt and equity capital; |
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• | our contractual arrangements and relationships with third parties; |
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• | the general economy and its impact on the industries in which we invest; |
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• | the financial condition of and ability of our current and prospective portfolio companies to achieve their objectives; |
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• | competition with other entities and our affiliates for investment opportunities; |
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• | the speculative and illiquid nature of our investments; |
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• | the use of borrowed money to finance a portion of our investments; |
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• | our expected financings and investments; |
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• | the adequacy of our cash resources and working capital; |
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• | the loss of key personnel; |
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• | the costs associated with being a publicly traded company; |
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• | the timing, form and amount of any dividend distributions; |
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• | the timing of cash flows, if any, from the operations of our portfolio companies; |
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• | the ability to consummate acquisitions; |
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• | the ability of our Investment Adviser to locate suitable investments for us and to monitor and administer our investments; |
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• | the ability of The Carlyle Group Employee Co., L.L.C. and CELF Advisors LLP to attract and retain highly talented professionals that can provide services to our Investment Adviser and Administrator; |
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• | our ability to maintain our status as a BDC; and |
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• | our intent to satisfy the requirements of a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Code. |
Our actual results and condition could differ materially from those implied or expressed in the forward-looking statements for any reason, including the factors set forth in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
THE COMPANY
This summary highlights some of the information contained elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. This summary is not complete and may not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in the securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. You should review the more detailed information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, especially the information set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Unless indicated otherwise in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, or the context suggests otherwise:
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• | the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “TCG BDC” and “Company” refer to TCG BDC, Inc., a Maryland corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries; |
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• | the term “SPV” refers to TCG BDC SPV LLC, our wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary; |
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• | the term “2015-1 Issuer” refers to Carlyle GMS Finance MM CLO 2015-1 LLC, our wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary; |
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• | the term “Carlyle” refers to The Carlyle Group L.P. (NASDAQ: CG) and its affiliates and consolidated subsidiaries (other than portfolio companies of its affiliated funds); |
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• | the term “CDL” refers to the Carlyle Direct Lending platform, which is Carlyle’s direct lending business unit that operates within the broader Carlyle Global Credit (“CGC”) segment; |
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• | the terms “CGCA” and “Administrator” refer to Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C., our administrator, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of Carlyle; |
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• | the terms “CGCIM” and “Investment Adviser” refer to Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C., our investment adviser, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of Carlyle; and |
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• | the term “Credit Fund” refers to Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, an unconsolidated limited liability company, in which we own a 50% economic interest and co-manage with Credit Partners USA LLC, and its wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary.
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We have elected to be regulated as a business development company, or a “BDC,” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Investment Company Act”). In addition, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we have elected to be treated as a regulated investment company, or RIC, under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (together, with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Code”).
[TCG BDC, Inc.
We are an externally managed specialty finance company focused on lending to middle market companies. We are managed by our Investment Adviser, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carlyle. Since we commenced investment operations in May 2013 through , 20 , we have invested approximately $ billion in aggregate principal amount of debt and equity investments prior to any subsequent exits or repayments. Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), which we believe is a useful proxy for cash flow. We seek to achieve our investment objective primarily through direct originations of secured debt, including first lien senior secured loans (which may include stand-alone first lien loans, first lien/last out loans and “unitranche” loans) and second lien senior secured loans (collectively, “Middle Market Senior Loans”),
with the balance of our assets invested in higher yielding investments (which may include unsecured debt, mezzanine debt and investments in equities).
We generate revenues primarily in the form of interest income from the investments we hold. In addition, we generate income from dividends on direct equity investments, capital gains on the sales of loans and debt and equity securities and various loan origination and other fees.
In conducting our investment activities, we believe that we benefit from the significant scale and resources of Carlyle, including our Investment Adviser and its affiliates. We have operated our business as a BDC since we began our investment activities in May 2013.
Investment Strategy
Our Investment Adviser is served by an origination, capital markets, underwriting and portfolio management team comprised of experienced investment professionals in the CDL platform, which is Carlyle’s direct lending business unit that operates within the broader Carlyle Global Credit platform (which in turn operates within Carlyle’s CGC segment). Our investment approach is focused on long-term credit performance and principal preservation. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team utilizes a rigorous, systematic, and consistent investment process, refined over Carlyle’s -year history investing in private markets across multiple cycles, designed to achieve enhanced risk-adjusted returns.
Origination Strategy
Our Investment Adviser has built a strong direct origination platform with coverage of over private equity firms and over lending institutions. Our Investment Adviser’s origination team sources approximately opportunities per year for us with an ultimate investment rate by us of less than % annually. The scale of our Investment Adviser’s origination platform allows us to maximize access to investment opportunities and enhance overall investment selectivity. We further seek to reduce risk by partnering with experienced sponsors with strong track records. We believe lending to companies owned by leading private equity firms (versus non-sponsored companies) has several important and potentially defensive characteristics. Sponsor involvement provides for:
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• | maximization of investment opportunities as approximately % of middle market loan volume is sponsor backed as of , 20 , according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Middle Market Fact Sheet; |
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• | validation of enterprise value; |
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• | support, as needed, in strategy, operations and governance of portfolio companies; and |
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• | the potential for additional capital commitment by sponsor if company requires financial support. |
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Investment Approach and Risk Monitoring of Investments
Our Investment Adviser utilizes a rigorous, systematic and consistent due diligence underwriting process to evaluate all investment opportunities. Our Investment Adviser’s investment teams primarily consist of origination professionals, research analysts and underwriters. An investment team works on a particular transaction from initial screening through closing, and the same team continues to monitor the credit for the life cycle of the investment.
During the investment process, the investment team works closely with the private equity sponsor in all aspects of due diligence, including onsite meetings, due diligence calls, and review of third party diligence reports. Our Investment Adviser also conducts an independent evaluation of the business, utilizing both internal and external sources. A key differentiator is our Investment Adviser’s integrated credit platform and collaborative efforts that leverage Carlyle’s broader resources, which include access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge.
Diversification of our portfolio is a key tenet of our risk management strategy, including diversification by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. Additionally, we view proactive portfolio monitoring as a vital part of the investment process. Our Investment Adviser utilizes a proprietary credit surveillance report and software system, an
objective rules-based Internal Risk Rating system and proprietary valuation model to assess risk in the portfolio. In addition to monthly portfolio reviews, our Investment Adviser compiles a quarterly risk report that examines, among other metrics, migration in portfolio and loan level investment mix, industry diversification, Internal Risk Ratings, revenue, EBITDA, and leverage. Our Investment Adviser supplements these policies with additional analyses and projections, including stress scenarios, to assess the potential exposure of our portfolio to variable macroeconomic factors and market conditions.
Strategic Relationships
We have established two highly differentiated strategic relationships that expand our product offering and increase our scale, enhancing our investment opportunities and optimizing selectivity rates, as we determine which credits provide the best risk adjusted returns for our stockholders. In early 2015, our Investment Adviser developed a key strategic relationship with Madison Capital Funding LLC (“Madison Capital”), a prominent non-bank finance company that is a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company, which has allowed us to offer various lending solutions to potential borrowers and has increased our coverage of U.S. middle market private equity firms. Additionally, in early 2016, we agreed to co-invest with Credit Partners USA LLC (“Credit Partners”), a wholly owned subsidiary of a large Canadian pension fund, to form Credit Fund, a joint venture primarily focused on investing in first lien loans to middle market companies. We and Credit Partners each have 50% economic ownership of Credit Fund and have commitments to fund, from time to time, capital of up to $400 million each. See “—Competitive Strengths—Strategic Relationships” in the accompanying prospectus.
Investment Portfolio
As of , 20 , we had investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million. During the ended , 20 , we invested approximately $ billion in new investments. During the same period, we had approximately $ million in exits and repayments resulting in net portfolio increase of approximately $ million.
As of , 20 , our portfolio was invested across industries. As of , 20 , no single portfolio company (excluding Credit Fund) represented more than % of our investments at fair value and no single industry represented more than % of our investments at fair value. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of our investments were in U.S. domestic companies. As of such date, the weighted average remaining term of our debt investments was approximately years. Based on fair value as of , 20 , our portfolio consisted of approximately % in secured debt (% in first lien debt (including % in first lien/last out loans) and % in second lien debt), % in Credit Fund, % in structured finance obligations and % in equity investments. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a fixed interest rate and approximately % of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate, which primarily are subject to interest rate floors.
As of , 20 , the weighted average yield of our first lien debt (including first lien/last out loans) was % and % based on the amortized cost and fair value, respectively. During that same period, the weighted average yield on our second lien debt was % and % based on the amortized cost and fair value, respectively.
We invest primarily in loans to middle market companies whose debt, if rated, is rated below investment grade, and, if not rated, would likely be rated below investment grade if it were rated (that is, below BBB- or Baa3, which is often referred to as “junk”). Exposure to below investment grade instruments involves certain risks, including speculation with respect to the borrower’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal.
As of , 20 , we and Credit Partners had each contributed $ million and $ million, respectively, to Credit Fund. As of , 20 , Credit Fund’s portfolio was invested in companies across industries. As of , 20 , Credit Fund had investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of Credit Fund’s investments were in U.S. domestic companies, and % was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate with an interest rate floor.
Competitive Strengths
Market Leading Direct Origination Platform. We have access to CDL’s strong direct origination platform, with coverage of over private equity firms and over lending institutions. We take a regional approach to client coverage with offices in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The origination team is highly experienced, and maintains deep relationships with a broad network of financial sponsors, commercial and investment banks, and finance companies, which are expected to continue to generate a significant amount of investment opportunities.
Scaled Investment Platform and Capabilities. CDL is an established, scaled investment platform with the ability to invest across the entire capital structure. CDL’s broad capabilities and ability to offer a full financing solution give us access to a wide funnel of opportunities, allow us to select high quality credits, construct the optimal financing package as it relates to price and terms, assert greater control over documentation, and generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders. We believe CDL’s hold sizes are among the largest in the middle market, which we believe results in the ability to generate premium economics, as sponsors are willing to pay higher spreads for financing certainty. CDL’s large hold sizes and strategic relationships enable us to provide certainty with regards to spreads, fees, structure and covenants. Furthermore, the breadth of CDL’s debt offerings also allows us to deploy capital at a measured pace across credit cycles and construct a portfolio that will perform in a broad range of economic conditions.
One Carlyle Capabilities Leading to Superior Credit Performance. We benefit from our Investment Adviser’s utilization of the broader resources of Carlyle, which includes access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge from almost three decades of private market investing. Our underwriting process leverages Carlyle’s investment professionals across multiple alternative investment asset classes, operating executives, information obtained through direct ownership of over companies and lending relationships with over companies, credit industry research analysts, and in-house government affairs and economic research teams. Our systematic and consistent approach is augmented by industry expertise and tenured underwriting professionals who both lead our Investment Adviser’s investment team and serve on our Investment Adviser’s investment committee. Strong credit underwriting has been a key component of our investing process, where our Investment Adviser seeks to select borrowers whose businesses are expected to generate substantial cash flows, to have leading management teams, stable operating histories, high barriers to entry and meaningful equity value, and to retain significant value.
Experienced Investment Team. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team comprises investment professionals in CDL who have extensive middle market lending experience. The investment team consists of dedicated investment professionals. The seven members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee have an average of years of industry experience. We believe the breadth and depth of the investment team in sourcing, structuring, executing, and monitoring a broad range of private investments provides us with a significant competitive advantage in building a high quality portfolio of investments.
Carefully Constructed Portfolio of Diversified Senior Secured, Floating Rate Loans. Our portfolio has been defensively constructed, exhibits strong credit quality, generates stable risk-adjusted returns and allows us to generate meaningful investment income, and consequently dividend income, for our stockholders. We have invested approximately $ billion since our inception in directly originated middle market loans. Our portfolio is highly diversified by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. As of , 20 , we had a portfolio of investments in portfolio companies across industries and unique sponsors. As of , 20 , approximately % of our debt investments bore interest at floating rates, subject to interest rate floors, and % of our portfolio was invested in first lien debt investments (including % first lien/last out loans).
Strategic Relationships. Our strategic relationships enhance our ability to provide full financing solutions to our borrowers, which results in our being able to generate optimal economics, significant access to diligence and control over documentation terms. Additionally, these relationships further strengthen our origination platform and ability to develop creative financing solutions to invest through the capital structure based on where we believe the best risk-adjusted return opportunities reside. Our Investment Adviser’s strategic relationship with Madison Capital, a leading middle market senior lender with approximately $ billion of assets under management (“AUM”) as of , 20, allows us to offer a full unitranche financing solution. This product provides middle market companies with certainty for financing without syndication risk and generates attractive risk-adjusted returns on these investments for our stockholders. Madison Capital provides the first lien/first out portion of the unitranche loan, which allows us to provide the first lien/last out portion. Collectively, we and Madison Capital have provided over $ billion (before any repayments or exits) of unitranche loans to middle market companies. The relationship has been extremely successful, and we frequently invest alongside Madison Capital on a variety of investment opportunities (in addition to unitranche loans).
Separately, Credit Fund, our strategic joint venture with a large Canadian pension fund, primarily invests in first lien loans of middle market companies. Since its inception and through , 20 , Credit Fund has provided $ million (before any repayments or exits) of senior secured loans. This joint venture provides us with an enhanced first lien loan product for certain transactions, thus further increasing our deal flow, and results in an increased number of borrowers in our portfolio, which provides strategic benefits as we build incumbent positions for future growth and investment opportunity.
Market Opportunity
We believe the middle market lending environment provides attractive investment opportunities as a result of a combination of the following factors:
Favorable Market Environment. We believe the middle market remains one of the most attractive investment areas due to its large size, superior value relative to the broadly syndicated loan market, and supply-demand imbalance that continues to favor non-bank lenders. We believe market yields remain attractive and leverage levels at middle market companies are stable, creating a favorable investment environment.
Large and Growing U.S. Middle Market. The U.S. middle market is the largest market by many measures, which is expected to enable us to invest selectively as approximately % of middle market loan volume is sponsor-backed. According to S&P Capital IQ, as of , 20 , there are over U.S. middle market companies generating between $20 million and $1 billion in annual revenue, compared with approximately companies with revenue greater than $1 billion. We believe these middle market companies, both sponsored and non-sponsored, represent a significant growth segment of the U.S. economy and often require substantial capital investments to grow.
Leverage, Pricing and Risk. According to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Quarterly Leveraged Lending Review (Q 20 ), middle market companies are less levered, have larger equity contributions, experience lower rates of default, and achieve higher recoveries versus large cap broadly syndicated loans. Middle market loans also tend to achieve more attractive pricing and structures, including documentation, covenants and information/governance, than broadly syndicated loans. Over the year period from 20 to 20, middle market loans have exhibited an approximate basis points spread premium over broadly syndicated loans according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Leveraged Loan Index.
Market Environment Favors Non-Traditional Lenders. Traditional middle market lenders, such as commercial and regional banks and commercial finance companies, have contracted their origination and lending activities and are focusing on more liquid asset classes or have exited the business. At the same time, institutional investors have sought to invest in larger, more liquid offerings, limiting the ability of middle market companies to raise debt capital through public capital markets. This has resulted in other capital providers, such as specialty finance companies, structured-credit vehicles such as collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), BDCs, and private investment funds, actively investing in the middle market. We believe the aforementioned changes and restrictions have created a large and growing market opportunity for alternative lenders such as us.
Favorable Capital Markets Trends. Current and future demand for middle market financings, driven by private equity investment and upcoming maturities are expected to provide us with ample deal flow. Current data from the Thompson Reuters LPC Middle Market Weekly Report ( , 20 ) suggests that approximately $ billion of upcoming loan maturities for middle market companies are due between 20 and 20, and the PitchBook PE & VE Fundraising and Capital Overhang Report ( H 20 ) suggests that there is over $ billion of uninvested capital in 2010-YTD Q 20 vintage private equity funds. We believe these refinancings and uninvested capital will provide a steady flow of attractive opportunities for well-positioned lenders with deep and longstanding sponsor and market relationships, particularly for providers of full capital structure financing solutions.
Benefits of Traditional Middle Market Focus. We believe there are significant advantages in our focus on the traditional middle market, a market we categorize to include borrowers with EBITDA in the range of approximately $10 million to $100 million. Traditional middle market companies are generally less levered than companies with EBITDA in excess of $100 million and loans to those borrowers offer more attractive economics in the form of upfront fees, spreads, and prepayment penalties. Senior secured middle market loans typically have strong defensive characteristics: these loans have priority in payment among a portfolio company’s security holders and they carry the least risk among investments in the capital structure; these investments, which are secured by the portfolio company’s assets, typically contain carefully structured covenant packages which allow lenders to take early action in situations where obligors underperform; and these characteristics can provide protection against credit deterioration. Middle market lenders like us are often able to complete more thorough due diligence investigations prior to investment than lenders in the broadly syndicated space.
Carlyle and Our Investment Adviser
Our investment activities are managed by our Investment Adviser. Our Investment Adviser is responsible for sourcing potential investments, conducting research and due diligence on prospective investments and equity sponsors, analyzing investment opportunities, structuring our investments and monitoring our investments on an ongoing basis.
Our Investment Adviser is an affiliate of Carlyle. Carlyle is one of the world’s largest and most diversified multi-product global alternative asset management firms. Carlyle and its affiliates advise an array of specialized investment funds and other investment vehicles that invest across a range of industries, geographies, asset classes and investment strategies. Since its founding in Washington, D.C. in 1987, Carlyle has grown to become a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $ billion in AUM across investment vehicles as of , 20.
Carlyle Global Credit is one of the largest integrated credit platforms in the industry with approximately $ billion in AUM and employees with multiple offices, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, as of , 20 . Carlyle Global Credit’s investment strategies include loans and structured credit, distressed credit, private credit (through CDL) and energy credit. CDL advises four funds, including us, totaling, in the aggregate, approximately $ billion in AUM as of , 20 .
Our Investment Adviser’s seven-person investment committee is responsible for reviewing and approving our investment opportunities. The members of the investment committee have experience investing through different credit cycles. The investment committee is led by Michael A. Hart, Managing Director of Carlyle, Head of CDL, Chairman of our Board of Directors (“Board”) and our Chief Executive Officer and also includes Jeffrey S. Levin, Managing Director of Carlyle and our President. See “Management—Portfolio Management” in the accompanying prospectus for biographical information of members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee.
Our Investment Adviser also serves, and may serve in the future, as investment adviser to other existing and future affiliated BDCs that have investment objectives similar to our investment objectives.
Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest
Our Investment Adviser’s investment team forms the exclusive Carlyle platform for U.S. middle market debt investments. The SEC has granted us exemptive relief that permits us and certain of our affiliates to co-invest in suitable negotiated investments (the “Exemptive Relief”). If Carlyle is presented with investment opportunities that generally fall within our investment objective and other board-established criteria and those of other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements (including other existing and future affiliated BDCs) whether focused on a debt strategy or otherwise, Carlyle allocates such opportunities among us and such other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements in a manner consistent with the Exemptive Relief, our Investment Adviser’s allocation policies and procedures and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures, where applicable, as discussed below. More specifically, investment opportunities in suitable negotiated investments for investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements managed by our Investment Adviser, and other funds, accounts or similar arrangements managed by affiliated investment advisers that seek to co-invest with us or other Carlyle BDCs, are allocated in accordance with the Exemptive Relief. Investment opportunities for all other investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements not managed by our Investment Adviser are allocated in accordance with their respective investment advisers’ and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures. Such policies and procedures may result in certain investment opportunities that are attractive to us being allocated to other funds that are not managed by our Investment Adviser. Carlyle’s, including our Investment Adviser’s, allocation policies and procedures are designed to allocate investment opportunities fairly and equitably among its clients over time, taking into account a variety of factors which may include the sourcing of the transaction, the nature of the investment focus of each such other Carlyle fund, accounts or other similar arrangements, each fund’s, account’s or similar arrangement’s desired level of investment, the relative amounts of capital available for investment, the nature and extent of involvement in the transaction on the part of the respective teams of investment professionals, any requirements contained in the governing agreements of the Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements and other considerations deemed relevant by Carlyle in good faith, including suitability considerations and reputational matters. The application of these considerations may cause differences in the performance of different Carlyle funds, accounts and similar arrangements that have similar strategies. For a further explanation of the allocation of opportunities and other related conflicts and risks, please see “Business—Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest” in the accompanying prospectus.
Because we are a BDC, we are not generally permitted to make loans to companies controlled by Carlyle or other funds managed by Carlyle.
We are also not permitted to make any co-investments with clients of our Investment Adviser or its affiliates (including any fund managed by Carlyle) without complying with our Exemptive Relief, subject to certain exceptions, including with respect to our downstream affiliates. Co-investments made under the Exemptive Relief are subject to compliance with the conditions and other requirements contained in the Exemptive Relief, which could limit our ability to participate in a co-investment transaction. We may also co-invest with funds managed by Carlyle or any of its downstream affiliates, subject to compliance with applicable law and regulations, existing regulatory guidance, and our Investment Adviser’s and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures.
Operating and Regulatory Structure
We have elected to be treated as a BDC under the Investment Company Act. As a BDC, we are required to comply with certain regulatory requirements and are generally prohibited from acquiring assets other than qualifying assets, unless, after giving effect to any acquisition, at least 70% of our total assets are qualifying assets. Qualifying assets generally include securities of eligible portfolio companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and high quality debt instruments maturing in one year or less from the time of investment. Under the rules of the Investment Company Act, “eligible portfolio companies” include (i) private U.S. operating companies, (ii) public U.S. operating companies whose securities are not listed on a national securities exchange (e.g., the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex Equities and The NASDAQ Global Market) or registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and (iii) public U.S. operating companies having a market capitalization of less than $250 million.
Also, while we may borrow funds to make investments, our ability to use debt is limited in certain significant aspects. In particular, as a BDC, we must have at least 200% asset coverage calculated pursuant to the Investment Company Act in order to incur debt or issue preferred stock (which we refer to collectively as “senior securities”). In effect, we are permitted to borrow one dollar for every dollar we have in assets less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities issued by us, which requires us to finance our investments with at least as much equity as senior securities in the aggregate. Certain of our credit facilities also require that we maintain asset coverage of at least 200%. See “—Use of Leverage” and “Regulation” in the accompanying prospectus.
In addition, as a consequence of our election to be treated as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes, our asset growth is dependent on our ability to raise equity capital through the issuance of common stock. RICs generally must distribute substantially all of their investment company taxable income (as defined under the Code) to stockholders as dividends in order to preserve their status as a RIC and not be subject to additional U.S. federal corporate-level taxes. This requirement, in turn, generally prevents us from using our earnings to support our operations, including making new investments. See “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” in the accompanying prospectus.
Use of Leverage
Leverage increases the potential for gain and loss on amounts invested and, as a result, increases the risks associated with investing in our securities. The costs associated with our borrowings, including any increase in the fees payable to our Investment Adviser, are borne by our stockholders. Any decision on our part to use borrowings depends upon our assessment of the attractiveness of available investment opportunities in relation to the costs and perceived risks of such leverage. Through the SPV, our wholly owned subsidiary, we have a $ million senior secured revolving credit facility with various lenders (as amended, the “SPV Credit Facility”). In addition, we have a $ million senior secured revolving credit facility with various lenders (as amended, the “Credit Facility” and, together with the SPV Credit Facility, the “Facilities”).
On June 26, 2015, through our wholly owned subsidiary, the 2015-1 Issuer, we completed a $400 million term debt securitization (the “2015-1 Debt Securitization”), of which we retained 100% of the preferred interests (the “Preferred Interests”), or approximately $126 million at closing. For more information on our debt, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources” in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Corporate Structure
We were formed in February 2012 as a Maryland corporation structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment company. On May 2, 2013, we elected to be regulated as a BDC and commenced substantial investment operations upon the completion of our initial closing of equity capital commitments. Effective on March 15, 2017, we changed our name from “Carlyle GMS Finance, Inc.” to “TCG BDC, Inc.”
Recent Developments
[Insert description of recent developments at time of offering.]
Corporate Information
Our principal executive offices are located at 520 Madison Ave., 40th Floor, New York, New York 10022 and our telephone number is (212) 813-4900. We maintain a website located at www.tcgbdc.com. Information on our website is not incorporated into or a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.]
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SPECIFIC TERMS OF THE UNITS AND THE OFFERING
This prospectus supplement sets forth certain terms of the Units that we are offering pursuant to this prospectus supplement and supplements the accompanying prospectus that is attached to the back of this prospectus supplement. This section outlines the specific legal and financial terms of the Units. You should read this section together with the more general description of the Units in this prospectus supplement under the heading “Description of Units” and in the accompanying prospectus under the heading “Description of Units” before investing in the Units. Capitalized terms used in this prospectus supplement and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the accompanying prospectus.
[Insert material terms of the Units in tabular form to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
RISK FACTORS
[Insert risk factors applicable to the Units and any additional relevant risk factors not included in the base prospectus to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
[FEES AND EXPENSES(*)
The following table is intended to assist you in understanding the costs and expenses that an investor in our common stock will bear, directly or indirectly, based on the assumptions set forth below. We caution you that some of the percentages indicated in the table below are estimates and may vary. The following table should not be considered a representation of our future expenses. Actual expenses may be greater or less than shown. The expenses shown in the table under “estimated annual expenses” are based on estimated amounts for our current fiscal year. Except where the context suggests otherwise, whenever this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus contains a reference to fees or expenses paid by “us,” the “Company” or says that “we” will pay fees or expenses, stockholders will indirectly bear these fees or expenses as our investors.
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Stockholder transaction expenses (as a percentage of offering price): | | | |
Sales load | | | %(1) |
Offering expenses | | | %(2) |
Dividend reinvestment plan expenses | | None | (3) |
Total stockholder transaction expenses paid | | | % |
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Annual expenses (as a percentage of net assets attributable to common stock)(4): | | | |
Base management fee payable under the Investment Advisory Agreement | | | %(5) |
Incentive fee payable under the Investment Advisory Agreement ( % of pre-incentive fee net investment income and capital gains) | | | %(6) |
Interest payments on borrowed funds | | | %(7) |
Other expenses | | | %(8)(10) |
Acquired fund fees and expenses | | | %(9) |
Total annual expenses | | | %(10) |
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(1) | The underwriting discounts and commissions with respect to the shares sold in this offering, which is a one-time fee, is the only sales load paid in connection with this offering. |
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(2) | Amount reflects estimated offering expenses of approximately $ and based on the shares offered in this offering (assuming that the underwriters do not exercise their overallotment option). |
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(3) | The expenses of the dividend reinvestment plan are included in “Other expenses.” For additional information, see “Dividend Reinvestment Plan” in the accompanying prospectus. |
(*) Include this section if units are for the purchase of common stock.
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(4) | The “net assets attributable to common stock” used to calculate percentages in this table is our net assets of $ billion as of , 20 . |
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(5) | The base management fee under the Investment Advisory Agreement is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears at an annual rate of 1.50% of our average gross assets, including assets acquired through the incurrence of debt, excluding cash and cash equivalents and adjusted for share issuances or repurchases. For purposes of the table above, the percentage reflected is calculated based on our average net assets (rather than our average gross assets) for the same period. The base management fee is payable quarterly in arrears. See “Management—Investment Advisory Agreement” in the accompanying prospectus. |
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(6) | We may have capital gains and net investment income that could result in the payment of an incentive fee to the Investment Adviser in the twelve months after the date of this prospectus supplement. The incentive fee payable in the example below is estimated based on annualizing our actual results for the ended , 20 as if they had occurred following our initial public offering, and assumes that the incentive fee is % for all relevant periods. However, the incentive fee payable to the Investment Adviser is based on our performance and will not be paid unless we achieve certain goals. |
The incentive fee has two parts. The first part is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears based on our pre-incentive fee net investment income for the immediately preceding calendar quarter. The second part is determined and payable in arrears as of the end of each calendar year (or upon termination of the Investment Advisory Agreement, as of the termination date) in an amount equal to % of our realized capital gains, if any, on a cumulative basis from inception through the end of each calendar year, computed net of all realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation on a cumulative basis, less the aggregate amount of any previously paid capital gain incentive fees.
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| See “Management—Investment Advisory and Management Agreement” in the accompanying prospectus. |
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(7) | Interest payments on borrowed funds is estimated based on annualizing our interest expense for the ended , 20 under our secured borrowings and the notes offered in the Debt Securitization (the “2015-1 Notes”) excluding fees (such as fees on undrawn amounts and amortization of upfront fees). This estimated item is based on the assumption that our borrowings and interest costs after an offering will remain similar to those prior to such offering. We may borrow additional funds from time to time to make investments to the extent we determine that the economic situation is conducive to doing so. Our stockholders indirectly bear the costs of borrowings under any debt instruments we may enter into. |
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(8) | Includes our estimated overhead expenses, such as payments under the Administration Agreement for certain expenses incurred by the Investment Adviser. See “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions—Administration Agreement” and “—Sub-Administration Agreements” in the accompanying prospectus. The expenses in this table are based on our actual other expenses for the ended , 20 . |
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(9) | Our stockholders indirectly bear the expenses of underlying funds or other investment vehicles in which we invest that (1) are investment companies or (2) would be investment companies under Section 3(a) of the Investment Company Act but for the exceptions to that definition provided for in Sections 3(c)(1) and 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act. This amount includes the estimated annual fees and expenses of Credit Fund, which was our only acquired fund as of , 20 . |
Example
The following example demonstrates the projected dollar amount of total cumulative expenses over various periods with respect to a hypothetical investment in our common stock. In calculating the following expense amounts, we have assumed we would have no additional leverage and that our annual operating expenses would remain at the levels set forth in the table above. The incentive fee payable in the example below assumes that the incentive fee is % for all relevant periods. Transaction expenses are included in the following example.
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| | 1 year | | 3 years | | 5 years | | 10 years | |
You would pay the following expenses on a $1,000 common stock investment, assuming a 5% annual return (none of which is subject to the incentive fee based on capital gains)(1) | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | | $ | | |
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(1) Assumes that we will not realize any capital gains computed net of all realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation.
The foregoing table is to assist you in understanding the various costs and expenses that an investor in our common stock will bear directly or indirectly. While the example assumes, as required by the SEC, a 5% annual return, our performance will vary and may result in a return greater or less than 5%. The income portion of the incentive fee under the Investment Advisory Agreement, which, assuming a 5% annual return, would either not be payable or have an immaterial impact on the expense amounts shown above, is not included in the example. If we achieve sufficient returns on our investments, including through net realized capital gains, to trigger an incentive fee of a material amount, our expenses, and returns to our investors, would be higher. In addition, while the example assumes reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at NAV, under certain circumstances, reinvestment of dividends and other distributions under our dividend reinvestment plan may occur at a price per share that differs from NAV. See “Dividend Reinvestment Plan” in the accompanying prospectus for additional information regarding our dividend reinvestment plan.
This example and the expenses in the table above should not be considered a representation of our future expenses, and actual expenses (including the cost of debt, if any, and other expenses) may be greater or less than those shown.]
SELECTED FINANCIAL AND OTHER INFORMATION
The tables below set forth our selected consolidated historical financial data for the periods indicated. The selected consolidated historical financial data as of and for the years ended December 31, 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 and 20 , have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included in “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of the accompanying prospectus. Interim financial information for the ended , 20 and 20 has been derived from our unaudited interim financial statements. Our unaudited interim financial statements were prepared on a basis consistent with our audited financial statements and, in our opinion, include all adjustments necessary for the fair statement of the results for the periods represented. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of future results. The selected financial data in this section is not intended to replace the financial statements and is qualified in its entirety by the financial statements and related notes included in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
The selected consolidated financial information and other data presented below should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our financial statements and the related notes thereto, which are included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
[Insert Selected Financial and Other Information reflecting most recently filed financials prior to the offering.]
USE OF PROCEEDS
We estimate that the net proceeds we will receive from the sale of Units in this offering will be approximately $ million (or approximately $ million if the underwriters fully exercise their overallotment option), in each case assuming a public offering price of $ per Unit, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions of $ million (or approximately $ million if the underwriters fully exercise their overallotment option) payable by us and estimated offering expenses of approximately $ million payable by us.
[Describe use of proceeds and include any other relevant information to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
DESCRIPTION OF UNITS
This prospectus supplement sets forth certain terms of the Units that we are offering pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. This section outlines the specific legal and financial terms of the Units. You should read this section together with the more general description of the Units in the accompanying prospectus under the heading “Description of Units” before investing in the Units. This summary is not necessarily complete and is subject to and entirely qualified by reference to [insert relevant documents].
[Insert material terms of the Units to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with “Selected Financial and Other Information” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. The information in this section contains forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties. Please see “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” in the accompanying prospectus for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with this discussion and analysis. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated by such forward-looking information due to factors discussed under “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” in the accompanying prospectus.
[Insert Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations from most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, as applicable, prior to the offering.]
UNITED STATES FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES
[Insert disclosure regarding federal income tax consequences of an investment in the Units to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
CAPITALIZATION(*)
The following table sets forth (a) our actual capitalization at , 20 and (b) our pro forma capitalization to reflect the effects of the sale of the Units in this offering (assuming that the underwriters do not exercise their overallotment option) assuming a public offering price of $ per Unit, after deducting the underwriting discounts and commissions and estimated offering expenses payable by us. You should read this table together with “Use of Proceeds” and our most recent balance sheet included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
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| | As of ,20 (unaudited, dollar amounts in thousands) | |
| | Actual | | Pro Forma | |
Cash and cash equivalents | | $ | | | $ | | |
Debt | | | | | |
[List Debt outstanding as of period reported] | | | | | |
Total Debt | | | | | |
Stockholders’ Equity | | | | | |
Common stock, par value $.01 per share, common shares authorized, and common shares issued and outstanding, respectively | | $ | | | $ | | |
Paid-in capital in excess of par value | | | | | |
Accumulated net investment income (loss) | | | | | |
Accumulated net realized gain (loss) | | | | | |
Accumulated net realized un appreciation (depreciation) | | | | | |
Total stockholders’ equity | | $ | | | $ | | |
Total capitalization | | $ | | | $ | | |
(*) Add to Capitalization table securities comprising the Unit.
UNDERWRITING
[ ] are acting as representatives of each of the underwriters named below. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in a purchase agreement among us and the underwriters, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters, and each of the underwriters has agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase from us, the number of Units set forth opposite its name below.
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Underwriter | | Number of Units | |
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Total | | | |
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the purchase agreement, the underwriters have agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase all of the Units sold under the purchase agreement if any of these Units are purchased. If an underwriter defaults, the purchase agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the nondefaulting underwriters may be increased or the purchase agreement may be terminated.
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
The underwriters are offering the Units, subject to prior sale, when, as and if issued to and accepted by them, subject to approval of legal matters by their counsel, including the validity of the Units, and other conditions contained in the purchase agreement, such as the receipt by the underwriters of officer’s certificates and legal opinions. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part.
Commissions and Discounts
The representatives have advised us that the underwriters propose initially to offer the Units to the public at the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement and to dealers at that price less a concession not in excess of $ per Unit. After the initial offering, the public offering price, concession or any other term of the offering may be changed.
The following table shows the public offering price, underwriting discount and proceeds before expenses to us. [The information assumes either no exercise or full exercise by the underwriters of their overallotment option.]
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| | Per Unit | | [Without Option | | With Option] | |
Public offering price | | | | | | | |
Underwriting discount | | | | | | | |
Proceeds to us, before expenses | | | | | | | |
The expenses of the offering, not including the underwriting discount, are estimated at $ and are payable by us.
[Overallotment Option
We have granted an option to the underwriters to purchase up to additional Units at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount. The underwriters may exercise this option for days from the date of this prospectus supplement solely to cover any overallotments. If the underwriters exercise this option, each will be obligated, subject to conditions
contained in the purchase agreement, to purchase a number of additional Units proportionate to that underwriter’s initial amount reflected in the above table.]
[No Sales of Similar Securities
Subject to certain exceptions, we have agreed not to directly or indirectly, offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, grant any option for the sale of, or otherwise transfer or dispose of any [insert securities comprising the Units] or file any registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to any of the foregoing for a period of days after the date of this prospectus supplement without first obtaining the written consent of [ ]. This consent may be given at any time without public notice.]
[Listing
The Units are a new issue of securities with no established trading market. We intend to list the Units on the , under the symbol “ .” If the application is approved, we expect trading in the Units on , to begin within days after the original issue date. Currently there is no public market for the Units.
We have been advised by the underwriters that they presently intend to make a market in the Units after completion of the offering as permitted by applicable laws and regulations. The underwriters are not obligated, however, to make a market in the Units and any such market-making may be discontinued at any time in the sole discretion of the underwriters without any notice. Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to the liquidity of, or development of a public trading market for, the Units. If any active public trading market for the Units does not develop, the market price and liquidity of the Units may be adversely affected.]
Price Stabilization, Short Positions and Penalty Bids
Until the distribution of the Units is completed, SEC rules may limit underwriters and selling group members from bidding for and purchasing our Units. However, the representatives may engage in transactions that stabilize the price of the Units, such as bids or purchases to peg, fix or maintain that price.
In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell our Units in the open market. These transactions may include short sales, purchases on the open market to cover positions created by short sales and stabilizing transactions. Short sales involve the sale by the underwriters of a greater number of Units than they are required to purchase in the offering. “Covered” short sales are sales made in an amount not greater than the underwriters’ overallotment option described above. The underwriters may close out any covered short position by either exercising their overallotment option or purchasing Units in the open market. In determining the source of Units to close out the covered short position, the underwriters will consider, among other things, the price of Units available for purchase in the open market as compared to the price at which they may purchase Units through the overallotment option. “Naked” short sales are sales in excess of the overallotment option. The underwriters must close out any naked short position by purchasing Units in the open market. A naked short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of our Units in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering. Stabilizing transactions consist of various bids for or purchases of Units made by the underwriters in the open market prior to the completion of the offering.
The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the underwriters a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the representatives have repurchased shares sold by or for the account of such underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.
Similar to other purchase transactions, the underwriters’ purchases to cover the syndicate short sales may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of our Units or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of our Units. As a result, the price of our Units may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market. The underwriters may conduct these transactions on , in the over-the-counter market or otherwise.
Neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of our Units. In addition, neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation that the representatives will engage in these transactions or that these transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.
Passive Market Making
In connection with this offering, underwriters and selling group members may engage in passive market making transactions in the Units on , in accordance with Rule 103 of Regulation M under the Exchange Act during a period before the commencement of offers or sales of Units and extending through the completion of distribution. A passive market maker must display its bid at a price not in excess of the highest independent bid of that security. However, if all independent bids are lowered below the passive market maker’s bid, that bid must then be lowered when specified purchase limits are exceeded. Passive market making may cause the price of our Units to be higher than the price that otherwise would exist in the open market in the absence of those transactions. The underwriters and dealers are not required to engage in passive market making and may end passive market making activities at any time.
Electronic Offer, Sale and Distribution of Units
The underwriters may make prospectuses available in electronic (PDF) format. A prospectus in electronic (PDF) format may be made available on a web site maintained by the underwriters, and the underwriters may distribute such prospectuses electronically. The underwriters may allocate a limited principal amount of the Units for sale to their online brokerage customers.
Other Relationships
The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include sales and trading, commercial and investment banking, advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, market making, brokerage and other financial and non-financial activities and services. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, a variety of these services to the issuer and to persons and entities with relationships with us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.
In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates, officers, directors and employees may purchase, sell or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps and other financial instruments for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and trading activities may involve or relate to assets, securities or instruments of us (directly, as collateral securing other obligations or otherwise) or persons and entities with relationships with us.
After the date of this prospectus supplement, the underwriters and their affiliates may from time to time obtain information regarding specific portfolio companies or us that may not be available to the general public. Any such information is obtained by the underwriters and their affiliates in the ordinary course of their business and not in connection with the offering of the Units. In addition, after the offering period for the sale of the Units, the underwriters or their affiliates may develop analyses or opinions related to us or persons or entities with relationships with us and buy or sell interests in one or more of our portfolio companies on behalf of their proprietary or client accounts and may engage in competitive activities. There is no obligation on behalf of these parties to disclose their respective analyses, opinions or purchase and sale activities regarding any portfolio company or regarding us to our unitholders or any other persons.
We may purchase securities of third parties from the underwriters or their affiliates after the offering. However, we have not entered into any agreement or arrangement regarding the acquisition of any such securities, and we may not purchase any such securities. We would only purchase any such securities if—among other things—we identified securities that satisfied our investment needs and completed our due diligence review of such securities.
[Describe any other specific transactions and compensation related thereto to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
[Describe if underwriters receiving proceeds of offering, if required by FINRA.]
[Insert principal business addresses of underwriters.]
[Insert applicable legends for jurisdictions in which offers and sales may be made.]
LEGAL MATTERS
Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be passed upon for the Company by Proskauer Rose LLP, Los Angeles, California, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, New York, New York and Venable LLP, Baltimore, Maryland. Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be passed upon for the underwriters by [ ].
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
[Insert financial statements and notes thereto from most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, as applicable, prior to the offering.]
[ ]% [Title to be Specified] Units
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
[Underwriters]
, 20
Exhibit
Exhibit 99.7
The information in this prospectus supplement is not complete and may be changed. [A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission.] This prospectus supplement is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject to Completion
Preliminary Prospectus Supplement dated , 20
[FORM OF PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH FUTURE RETAIL NOTES OFFERINGS](*)
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To Prospectus dated , 20 )
$
% [Insert ranking/conversion information] Notes due
We are offering $ in aggregate principal amount of % [insert ranking/conversion information] notes due , which we refer to as the Notes. The Notes will mature on . We will pay interest on the Notes on and of each year, beginning . We may redeem the Notes in whole or in part at any time or from time to time at the redemption price discussed under the caption “Specific Terms of the Notes and the Offering—Optional Redemption” in this prospectus supplement. The Notes will be issued in minimum denominations of $ and integral multiples of $ in excess thereof.
The Notes will be our direct senior unsecured obligations and rank pari passu, or equally, with all outstanding and future unsecured unsubordinated indebtedness issued by TCG BDC, Inc.
We intend to apply to list the Notes on [insert name of exchange]. If the application is approved, we expect trading in the Notes on [insert name of exchange] to begin within days of the date the Notes are first issued. The Notes are expected to trade “flat.” This means that purchasers will not pay, and sellers will not receive, any accrued and unpaid interest on the Notes that is not included in the trading price. Currently, there is no public market for the Notes.
We are an externally managed specialty finance company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. We seek to achieve this investment objective by investing primarily in first lien senior secured loans and second lien senior secured loans.
As of , 20 , our investment portfolio consisted of investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million.
We are managed by Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C., an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. provides the administrative services necessary for us to operate. Both Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C. and Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. are wholly owned subsidiaries of Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C., a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group L.P. The Carlyle Group L.P. is a global alternative asset manager with approximately $ billion of assets under management as of , 20 .
Investing in the Notes involves risks that are described in the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page S-[ ] of this prospectus supplement and page [ ] of the accompanying prospectus, including the risk of leverage.
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain important information you should know before investing in the Notes. Please read this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus before you invest and keep each for future reference. Information required to be included in a Statement of Additional Information may be found in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We also file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information about us with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). You may obtain this information or make noteholder inquiries by written or oral request and free of charge by contacting us by mail at our principal executive offices located at 520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor, New York, NY 10022, on our website at www.tcgbdc.com, or by calling us at (212) 813-4900. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, and you should not consider that information to be a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. The SEC also maintains a website at http://www.sec.gov that contains this information.
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| | Per Note | | Total | |
Public offering price | | $ | | | $ | | |
Underwriting discount (sales load) | | $ | | | $ | | |
Proceeds to us, before expenses(1) | | $ | | | $ | | |
(1) Before deducting expenses payable by us related to this offering, estimated at $ .
The public offering price set forth above does not include accrued interest, if any. Interest on the Notes will accrue from and must be paid by the purchaser if the Notes are delivered after .
[The underwriters may also purchase up to an additional $ total aggregate principal amount of Notes offered hereby within days of the date of this prospectus supplement to cover overallotments, if any. If the underwriters exercise this option in full, the total public offering price will be $ , the total underwriting discount (sales load) paid by us will be $ , and total proceeds, before expenses, will be $ .]
THE NOTES ARE NOT DEPOSITS OR OTHER OBLIGATIONS OF A BANK AND ARE NOT INSURED BY THE FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION OR ANY OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCY.
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Delivery of the Notes in book-entry form only through The Depository Trust Company will be made on or about , 20 .
The date of this prospectus supplement is , 20 .
(*) In addition to the sections outlined in this form of prospectus supplement, each prospectus supplement actually used in connection with an offering conducted pursuant to the registration statement to which this form of prospectus supplement is attached will be updated to include such other information as may then be required to be disclosed therein pursuant to applicable law or regulation as in effect as of the date of each such prospectus supplement, including, without limitation, information particular to the terms of each security offered thereby and any related risk factors or tax considerations pertaining thereto. The terms of the Notes or the provisions of the indenture governing the Notes may differ from the information provided in this form prospectus supplement. This form of prospectus supplement is intended only to provide an approximation of the nature and type of disclosure that may appear in any actual prospectus supplement used for the purposes
of offering securities pursuant to the registration statement to which this form of prospectus supplement is attached and, accordingly, the terms and description of the retail notes for which this form of prospectus supplement is to be used may differ from the information provided in this form of prospectus supplement. This form of prospectus supplement is not intended to and does not contain all of the information that would appear is any such actual prospectus supplement, and should not be used or relied upon in connection with any offer or sale of securities.
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized any other person to provide you with different information or to make any representations not contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, as applicable. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.
Prospectus Supplement
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Specific Terms of the Notes and the Offering | S-[ ] |
Forward-Looking Statements | S-[ ] |
The Company | S-[ ] |
Risk Factors | S-[ ] |
Selected Financial and Other Information | S-[ ] |
Use of Proceeds | S-[ ] |
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations | S-[ ] |
Ratios of Earnings to Fixed Charges | S-[ ] |
Capitalization | S-[ ] |
Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations | S-[ ] |
Underwriting | S-[ ] |
Legal Matters | S-[ ] |
Financial Statements | S-[ ] |
Prospectus
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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[Insert table of contents from base prospectus.] | |
SPECIFIC TERMS OF THE NOTES AND THE OFFERING
This prospectus supplement sets forth certain terms of the Notes that we are offering pursuant to this prospectus supplement and supplements the accompanying prospectus that is attached to the back of this prospectus supplement. This section outlines the specific legal and financial terms of the Notes. You should read this section together with the more general description of the Notes in the accompanying prospectus under the heading “Description of Debt Securities” before investing in the Notes. Capitalized terms used in this prospectus supplement and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the accompanying prospectus or in the indenture governing the Notes.
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Issuer | | TCG BDC, Inc. |
Title of the Securities | | % [insert ranking/conversion information] Notes due |
Initial Aggregate Principal Amount Being Offered | | $ |
Overallotment Option | | The underwriters may also purchase from us up to an additional $ aggregate principal amount of Notes to cover overallotments, if any, within days of the date of this prospectus supplement. |
Initial Public Offering Price | | % of the aggregate principal amount of Notes |
Principal Payable at Maturity | | % of the aggregate principal amount of Notes; the principal amount of each Note will be payable on its stated maturity date at the office of the Paying Agent, Registrar and Transfer Agent for the Notes or at such other office in New York City as we may designate. |
Type of Note | | [Fixed/Floating] rate note |
Listing | | We intend to apply to list the Notes on [insert name of exchange], and we expect trading in the Notes to begin within days of the date the Notes are first issued. |
Interest Rate | | % |
Day Count Basis | | 360-day year of twelve 30-day months |
Date Notes Are First Issued | | , 20 |
Stated Maturity Date | | , 20 |
Date Interest Starts Accruing | | , 20 |
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Interest Payment Dates | | and , commencing , 20 . If an interest payment date falls on a non-business day, the applicable interest payment will be made on the next business day and no additional interest will accrue as a result of such delayed payment. |
Interest Periods | | The initial interest period will be the period from and including , 20 , to, but excluding, the initial interest payment date of , 20 , and the subsequent interest periods will be the periods from and including an interest payment date to, but excluding, the next interest payment date or the stated maturity date, as the case may be. |
Regular Record Dates for Interest | | Every , , , and , commencing , 20 |
Specified Currency | | U.S. Dollars |
Place of Payment | | New York City |
Ranking of Notes | | The Notes will be our direct [un]secured obligations and will rank: • pari passu, or equally, with our other outstanding and future senior unsecured indebtedness, including [ ]; • senior to any of our future indebtedness that expressly provides it is subordinated, or junior, to the Notes; • effectively subordinated, or junior, to all of our existing and future secured indebtedness (including indebtedness that is initially unsecured in respect of which we subsequently grant security), to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness, including without limitation, [ ]; and • structurally subordinated, or junior, to all existing and future indebtedness and other obligations of any of our subsidiaries, or financing vehicles, if any, including without limitation, [ ]. |
Denominations | | We will issue the Notes in denominations of $ and integral multiples of $ in excess thereof. |
Business Day | | Each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday that is not a day on which banking institutions in New York City are authorized or required by law or executive order to close. |
Optional Redemption | | The Notes may be redeemed in whole or in part at any time or from time to time at our option on or after , 20 , upon not less than days nor more than days written notice by mail prior to the date fixed for redemption thereof, at a redemption price of $ per Note plus accrued and unpaid interest payments otherwise payable for the then-current quarterly interest period accrued to the date fixed for redemption. You may be prevented from exchanging or transferring the Notes when they are subject to redemption. In case any Notes are to be redeemed in part only, the redemption notice will provide that, once you return such Notes to us, you will receive, without a charge, a new Note or Notes of authorized denominations representing the principal amount of your remaining unredeemed Notes. |
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| | Any exercise of our option to redeem the Notes will be done in compliance with the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules, regulations and interpretations promulgated thereunder (collectively, the “Investment Company Act”), to the extent applicable. If we redeem only some of the Notes, the Trustee will determine the method for selection of the particular Notes to be redeemed, in accordance with the Investment Company Act to the extent applicable. Unless we default in payment of the redemption price, on and after the date of redemption, interest will cease to accrue on the Notes called for redemption. |
Sinking Fund | | The Notes will not be subject to any sinking fund. A sinking fund is a reserve fund accumulated over a period of time for the retirement of debt. |
Repayment at Option of Holders Defeasance
Covenant Defeasance | | Holders will not have the option to have the Notes repaid prior to the stated maturity date. The Notes are subject to defeasance by us, which means that, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including depositing in trust for the benefit of the holders of the Notes a combination of money and U.S. government or U.S. government agency notes or bonds that will generate enough cash to make interest, principal and any other payments on the Notes on their various due dates, we can legally release ourselves from all payment and other obligations on the Notes. The Notes are subject to covenant defeasance by us, which means that, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including depositing in trust for the benefit of the holders of the Notes a combination of money and U.S. government or U.S. government agency notes or bonds that will generate enough cash to make interest, principal and any other payments on the Notes on their various due dates, we will be released from some of the restrictive covenants in the indenture. |
Form of Notes | | The Notes will be represented by global securities that will be deposited and registered in the name of The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee. This means that, except in limited circumstances, you will not receive certificates for the Notes. Beneficial interests in the Notes will be represented through book-entry accounts of financial institutions acting on behalf of beneficial owners as direct and indirect participants in DTC. Investors may elect to hold interests in the Notes through either DTC, if they are a participant, or indirectly through organizations that are participants in DTC. |
Trustee, Paying Agent, Registrar and Transfer Agent | | [ ] |
Other Covenants | | In addition to the covenants described in the accompanying prospectus, the following covenants shall apply to the Notes: |
| | • We agree that for the period of time during which the Notes are outstanding, we will not violate, whether or not we are subject to, Section 18(a)(1)(A) as modified by Section 61(a)(1) of the Investment Company Act or any successor provisions. |
| | • If, at any time, we are not subject to the reporting requirements of Sections 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) to file any periodic reports with the SEC, we agree to furnish to holders of the Notes and the trustee, for the period of time during which the Notes are outstanding, our audited annual consolidated financial statements, within 90 days of our fiscal year end, and unaudited interim consolidated financial statements, within 45 days of our fiscal quarter end (other than our fourth fiscal quarter). All such financial statements will be prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with applicable United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”). |
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Modifications to Events of Default | | The following event of default, as described in the prospectus attached to this prospectus supplement: • We do not pay the principal of, or any premium on, a debt security of the series on its due date, and do not cure this default within 5 days. with respect to the Notes has been revised to read as follows: • We do not pay the principal of, or any premium on, any Note on its due date. |
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Global Clearance and Settlement Procedures | | Interests in the Notes will trade in DTC’s Same Day Funds Settlement System, and any permitted secondary market trading activity in such Notes will, therefore, be required by DTC to be settled in immediately available funds. None of the Company, the trustee or the paying agent will have any responsibility for the performance by DTC or its participants or indirect participants of their respective obligations under the rules and procedures governing their operations. |
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,” “should,” “may,” “plans,” “continue,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “would,” “could,” “targets,” “projects,” “outlook,” “potential,” “predicts” and variations of these words and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements include these words. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss our plans, strategies, prospects and expectations concerning our business, operating results, financial condition and other similar matters. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. Our forward-looking statements include information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus regarding general domestic and global economic conditions, our future financing plans, our ability to operate as a BDC and the expected performance of, and the yield on, our portfolio companies. There may be events in the future, however, that we are not able to predict accurately or control. The factors listed under “Risk Factors” in the accompanying prospectus, as well as any cautionary language in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. Before you invest in our securities, you should be aware that the occurrence of the events described in these risk factors and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial position. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which we make it. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Under Sections 27A(b)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E(b)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 do not apply to statements made in connection with any offering of securities pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or in a beneficial ownership report we file under the Exchange Act.
The following factors are among those that may cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements:
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• | our, or our portfolio companies’, future business, operations, operating results or prospects; |
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• | the return or impact of current and future investments; |
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• | the impact of any protracted decline in the liquidity of credit markets on our business; |
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• | the impact of fluctuations in interest rates on our business; |
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• | currency fluctuations could adversely affect the results of our investments in foreign companies, particularly to the extent that we receive payments denominated in foreign currency rather than U.S. dollars; |
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• | our future operating results; |
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• | the impact of changes in laws, policies or regulations (including the interpretation thereof) affecting our operations or the operations of our portfolio companies; |
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• | the valuation of our investments in portfolio companies, particularly those having no liquid trading market; |
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• | our ability to recover unrealized losses; |
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• | market conditions and our ability to access alternative debt markets and additional debt and equity capital; |
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• | our contractual arrangements and relationships with third parties; |
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• | the general economy and its impact on the industries in which we invest; |
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• | the financial condition of and ability of our current and prospective portfolio companies to achieve their objectives; |
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• | competition with other entities and our affiliates for investment opportunities; |
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• | the speculative and illiquid nature of our investments; |
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• | the use of borrowed money to finance a portion of our investments; |
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• | our expected financings and investments; |
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• | the adequacy of our cash resources and working capital; |
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• | the loss of key personnel; |
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• | the costs associated with being a publicly traded company; |
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• | the timing, form and amount of any dividend distributions; |
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• | the timing of cash flows, if any, from the operations of our portfolio companies; |
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• | the ability to consummate acquisitions; |
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• | the ability of our Investment Adviser to locate suitable investments for us and to monitor and administer our investments; |
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• | the ability of The Carlyle Group Employee Co., L.L.C. and CELF Advisors LLP to attract and retain highly talented professionals that can provide services to our Investment Adviser and Administrator; |
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• | our ability to maintain our status as a BDC; and |
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• | our intent to satisfy the requirements of a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Code. |
Our actual results and condition could differ materially from those implied or expressed in the forward-looking statements for any reason, including the factors set forth in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
THE COMPANY
This summary highlights some of the information contained elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. This summary is not complete and may not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in the securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. You should review the more detailed information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, especially the information set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Unless indicated otherwise in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, or the context suggests otherwise:
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• | the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “TCG BDC” and “Company” refer to TCG BDC, Inc., a Maryland corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries; |
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• | the term “SPV” refers to TCG BDC SPV LLC, our wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary; |
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• | the term “2015-1 Issuer” refers to Carlyle GMS Finance MM CLO 2015-1 LLC, our wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary; |
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• | the term “Carlyle” refers to The Carlyle Group L.P. (NASDAQ: CG) and its affiliates and consolidated subsidiaries (other than portfolio companies of its affiliated funds); |
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• | the term “CDL” refers to the Carlyle Direct Lending platform, which is Carlyle’s direct lending business unit that operates within the broader Carlyle Global Credit (“CGC”) segment; |
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• | the terms “CGCA” and “Administrator” refer to Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C., our administrator, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of Carlyle; |
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• | the terms “CGCIM” and “Investment Adviser” refer to Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C., our investment adviser, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of Carlyle; and |
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• | the term “Credit Fund” refers to Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, an unconsolidated limited liability company, in which we own a 50% economic interest and co-manage with Credit Partners USA LLC, and its wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary.
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We have elected to be regulated as a business development company, or a “BDC,” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Investment Company Act”). In addition, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we have elected to be treated as a regulated investment company, or RIC, under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (together, with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Code”).
[TCG BDC, Inc.
We are an externally managed specialty finance company focused on lending to middle market companies. We are managed by our Investment Adviser, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carlyle. Since we commenced investment operations in May 2013 through , 20 , we have invested approximately $ billion in aggregate principal amount of debt and equity investments prior to any subsequent exits or repayments. Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), which we believe is a useful proxy for cash flow. We seek to achieve our investment objective primarily through direct originations of secured debt, including first lien senior secured loans (which may include stand-alone first lien loans, first lien/last out loans and “unitranche” loans) and second lien senior secured loans (collectively, “Middle Market Senior Loans”),
with the balance of our assets invested in higher yielding investments (which may include unsecured debt, mezzanine debt and investments in equities).
We generate revenues primarily in the form of interest income from the investments we hold. In addition, we generate income from dividends on direct equity investments, capital gains on the sales of loans and debt and equity securities and various loan origination and other fees.
In conducting our investment activities, we believe that we benefit from the significant scale and resources of Carlyle, including our Investment Adviser and its affiliates. We have operated our business as a BDC since we began our investment activities in May 2013.
Investment Strategy
Our Investment Adviser is served by an origination, capital markets, underwriting and portfolio management team comprised of experienced investment professionals in the CDL platform, which is Carlyle’s direct lending business unit that operates within the broader Carlyle Global Credit platform (which in turn operates within Carlyle’s CGC segment). Our investment approach is focused on long-term credit performance and principal preservation. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team utilizes a rigorous, systematic, and consistent investment process, refined over Carlyle’s -year history investing in private markets across multiple cycles, designed to achieve enhanced risk-adjusted returns.
Origination Strategy
Our Investment Adviser has built a strong direct origination platform with coverage of over private equity firms and over lending institutions. Our Investment Adviser’s origination team sources approximately opportunities per year for us with an ultimate investment rate by us of less than % annually. The scale of our Investment Adviser’s origination platform allows us to maximize access to investment opportunities and enhance overall investment selectivity. We further seek to reduce risk by partnering with experienced sponsors with strong track records. We believe lending to companies owned by leading private equity firms (versus non-sponsored companies) has several important and potentially defensive characteristics. Sponsor involvement provides for:
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• | maximization of investment opportunities as approximately % of middle market loan volume is sponsor backed as of , 20 , according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Middle Market Fact Sheet; |
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• | validation of enterprise value; |
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• | support, as needed, in strategy, operations and governance of portfolio companies; and |
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• | the potential for additional capital commitment by sponsor if company requires financial support. |
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Investment Approach and Risk Monitoring of Investments
Our Investment Adviser utilizes a rigorous, systematic and consistent due diligence underwriting process to evaluate all investment opportunities. Our Investment Adviser’s investment teams primarily consist of origination professionals, research analysts and underwriters. An investment team works on a particular transaction from initial screening through closing, and the same team continues to monitor the credit for the life cycle of the investment.
During the investment process, the investment team works closely with the private equity sponsor in all aspects of due diligence, including onsite meetings, due diligence calls, and review of third party diligence reports. Our Investment Adviser also conducts an independent evaluation of the business, utilizing both internal and external sources. A key differentiator is our Investment Adviser’s integrated credit platform and collaborative efforts that leverage Carlyle’s broader resources, which include access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge.
Diversification of our portfolio is a key tenet of our risk management strategy, including diversification by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. Additionally, we view proactive portfolio monitoring as a vital part of the investment process. Our Investment Adviser utilizes a proprietary credit surveillance report and software system, an
objective rules-based Internal Risk Rating system and proprietary valuation model to assess risk in the portfolio. In addition to monthly portfolio reviews, our Investment Adviser compiles a quarterly risk report that examines, among other metrics, migration in portfolio and loan level investment mix, industry diversification, Internal Risk Ratings, revenue, EBITDA, and leverage. Our Investment Adviser supplements these policies with additional analyses and projections, including stress scenarios, to assess the potential exposure of our portfolio to variable macroeconomic factors and market conditions.
Strategic Relationships
We have established two highly differentiated strategic relationships that expand our product offering and increase our scale, enhancing our investment opportunities and optimizing selectivity rates, as we determine which credits provide the best risk adjusted returns for our stockholders. In early 2015, our Investment Adviser developed a key strategic relationship with Madison Capital Funding LLC (“Madison Capital”), a prominent non-bank finance company that is a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company, which has allowed us to offer various lending solutions to potential borrowers and has increased our coverage of U.S. middle market private equity firms. Additionally, in early 2016, we agreed to co-invest with Credit Partners USA LLC (“Credit Partners”), a wholly owned subsidiary of a large Canadian pension fund, to form Credit Fund, a joint venture primarily focused on investing in first lien loans to middle market companies. We and Credit Partners each have 50% economic ownership of Credit Fund and have commitments to fund, from time to time, capital of up to $400 million each. See “—Competitive Strengths—Strategic Relationships” in the accompanying prospectus.
Investment Portfolio
As of , 20 , we had investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million. During the ended , 20 , we invested approximately $ billion in new investments. During the same period, we had approximately $ million in exits and repayments resulting in net portfolio increase of approximately $ million.
As of , 20 , our portfolio was invested across industries. As of , 20 , no single portfolio company (excluding Credit Fund) represented more than % of our investments at fair value and no single industry represented more than % of our investments at fair value. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of our investments were in U.S. domestic companies. As of such date, the weighted average remaining term of our debt investments was approximately years. Based on fair value as of , 20 , our portfolio consisted of approximately % in secured debt (% in first lien debt (including % in first lien/last out loans) and % in second lien debt), % in Credit Fund, % in structured finance obligations and % in equity investments. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a fixed interest rate and approximately % of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate, which primarily are subject to interest rate floors.
As of , 20 , the weighted average yield of our first lien debt (including first lien/last out loans) was % and % based on the amortized cost and fair value, respectively. During that same period, the weighted average yield on our second lien debt was % and % based on the amortized cost and fair value, respectively.
We invest primarily in loans to middle market companies whose debt, if rated, is rated below investment grade, and, if not rated, would likely be rated below investment grade if it were rated (that is, below BBB- or Baa3, which is often referred to as “junk”). Exposure to below investment grade instruments involves certain risks, including speculation with respect to the borrower’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal.
As of , 20 , we and Credit Partners had each contributed $ million and $ million, respectively, to Credit Fund. As of , 20 , Credit Fund’s portfolio was invested in companies across industries. As of , 20 , Credit Fund had investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of Credit Fund’s investments were in U.S. domestic companies, and % was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate with an interest rate floor.
Competitive Strengths
Market Leading Direct Origination Platform. We have access to CDL’s strong direct origination platform, with coverage of over private equity firms and over lending institutions. We take a regional approach to client coverage with offices in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The origination team is highly experienced, and maintains deep relationships with a broad network of financial sponsors, commercial and investment banks, and finance companies, which are expected to continue to generate a significant amount of investment opportunities.
Scaled Investment Platform and Capabilities. CDL is an established, scaled investment platform with the ability to invest across the entire capital structure. CDL’s broad capabilities and ability to offer a full financing solution give us access to a wide funnel of opportunities, allow us to select high quality credits, construct the optimal financing package as it relates to price and terms, assert greater control over documentation, and generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders. We believe CDL’s hold sizes are among the largest in the middle market, which we believe results in the ability to generate premium economics, as sponsors are willing to pay higher spreads for financing certainty. CDL’s large hold sizes and strategic relationships enable us to provide certainty with regards to spreads, fees, structure and covenants. Furthermore, the breadth of CDL’s debt offerings also allows us to deploy capital at a measured pace across credit cycles and construct a portfolio that will perform in a broad range of economic conditions.
One Carlyle Capabilities Leading to Superior Credit Performance. We benefit from our Investment Adviser’s utilization of the broader resources of Carlyle, which includes access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge from almost three decades of private market investing. Our underwriting process leverages Carlyle’s investment professionals across multiple alternative investment asset classes, operating executives, information obtained through direct ownership of over companies and lending relationships with over companies, credit industry research analysts, and in-house government affairs and economic research teams. Our systematic and consistent approach is augmented by industry expertise and tenured underwriting professionals who both lead our Investment Adviser’s investment team and serve on our Investment Adviser’s investment committee. Strong credit underwriting has been a key component of our investing process, where our Investment Adviser seeks to select borrowers whose businesses are expected to generate substantial cash flows, to have leading management teams, stable operating histories, high barriers to entry and meaningful equity value, and to retain significant value.
Experienced Investment Team. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team comprises investment professionals in CDL who have extensive middle market lending experience. The investment team consists of dedicated investment professionals. The seven members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee have an average of years of industry experience. We believe the breadth and depth of the investment team in sourcing, structuring, executing, and monitoring a broad range of private investments provides us with a significant competitive advantage in building a high quality portfolio of investments.
Carefully Constructed Portfolio of Diversified Senior Secured, Floating Rate Loans. Our portfolio has been defensively constructed, exhibits strong credit quality, generates stable risk-adjusted returns and allows us to generate meaningful investment income, and consequently dividend income, for our stockholders. We have invested approximately $ billion since our inception in directly originated middle market loans. Our portfolio is highly diversified by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. As of , 20 , we had a portfolio of investments in portfolio companies across industries and unique sponsors. As of , 20 , approximately % of our debt investments bore interest at floating rates, subject to interest rate floors, and % of our portfolio was invested in first lien debt investments (including % first lien/last out loans).
Strategic Relationships. Our strategic relationships enhance our ability to provide full financing solutions to our borrowers, which results in our being able to generate optimal economics, significant access to diligence and control over documentation terms. Additionally, these relationships further strengthen our origination platform and ability to develop creative financing solutions to invest through the capital structure based on where we believe the best risk-adjusted return opportunities reside. Our Investment Adviser’s strategic relationship with Madison Capital, a leading middle market senior lender with approximately $ billion of assets under management (“AUM”) as of , 20, allows us to offer a full unitranche financing solution. This product provides middle market companies with certainty for financing without syndication risk and generates attractive risk-adjusted returns on these investments for our stockholders. Madison Capital provides the first lien/first out portion of the unitranche loan, which allows us to provide the first lien/last out portion. Collectively, we and Madison Capital have provided over $ billion (before any repayments or exits) of unitranche loans to middle market companies. The relationship has been extremely successful, and we frequently invest alongside Madison Capital on a variety of investment opportunities (in addition to unitranche loans).
Separately, Credit Fund, our strategic joint venture with a large Canadian pension fund, primarily invests in first lien loans of middle market companies. Since its inception and through , 20 , Credit Fund has provided $ million (before any repayments or exits) of senior secured loans. This joint venture provides us with an enhanced first lien loan product for certain transactions, thus further increasing our deal flow, and results in an increased number of borrowers in our portfolio, which provides strategic benefits as we build incumbent positions for future growth and investment opportunity.
Market Opportunity
We believe the middle market lending environment provides attractive investment opportunities as a result of a combination of the following factors:
Favorable Market Environment. We believe the middle market remains one of the most attractive investment areas due to its large size, superior value relative to the broadly syndicated loan market, and supply-demand imbalance that continues to favor non-bank lenders. We believe market yields remain attractive and leverage levels at middle market companies are stable, creating a favorable investment environment.
Large and Growing U.S. Middle Market. The U.S. middle market is the largest market by many measures, which is expected to enable us to invest selectively as approximately % of middle market loan volume is sponsor-backed. According to S&P Capital IQ, as of , 20 , there are over U.S. middle market companies generating between $20 million and $1 billion in annual revenue, compared with approximately companies with revenue greater than $1 billion. We believe these middle market companies, both sponsored and non-sponsored, represent a significant growth segment of the U.S. economy and often require substantial capital investments to grow.
Leverage, Pricing and Risk. According to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Quarterly Leveraged Lending Review (Q 20 ), middle market companies are less levered, have larger equity contributions, experience lower rates of default, and achieve higher recoveries versus large cap broadly syndicated loans. Middle market loans also tend to achieve more attractive pricing and structures, including documentation, covenants and information/governance, than broadly syndicated loans. Over the year period from 20 to 20, middle market loans have exhibited an approximate basis points spread premium over broadly syndicated loans according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Leveraged Loan Index.
Market Environment Favors Non-Traditional Lenders. Traditional middle market lenders, such as commercial and regional banks and commercial finance companies, have contracted their origination and lending activities and are focusing on more liquid asset classes or have exited the business. At the same time, institutional investors have sought to invest in larger, more liquid offerings, limiting the ability of middle market companies to raise debt capital through public capital markets. This has resulted in other capital providers, such as specialty finance companies, structured-credit vehicles such as collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), BDCs, and private investment funds, actively investing in the middle market. We believe the aforementioned changes and restrictions have created a large and growing market opportunity for alternative lenders such as us.
Favorable Capital Markets Trends. Current and future demand for middle market financings, driven by private equity investment and upcoming maturities are expected to provide us with ample deal flow. Current data from the Thompson Reuters LPC Middle Market Weekly Report ( , 20 ) suggests that approximately $ billion of upcoming loan maturities for middle market companies are due between 20 and 20, and the PitchBook PE & VE Fundraising and Capital Overhang Report ( H 20 ) suggests that there is over $ billion of uninvested capital in 2010-YTD Q 20 vintage private equity funds. We believe these refinancings and uninvested capital will provide a steady flow of attractive opportunities for well-positioned lenders with deep and longstanding sponsor and market relationships, particularly for providers of full capital structure financing solutions.
Benefits of Traditional Middle Market Focus. We believe there are significant advantages in our focus on the traditional middle market, a market we categorize to include borrowers with EBITDA in the range of approximately $10 million to $100 million. Traditional middle market companies are generally less levered than companies with EBITDA in excess of $100 million and loans to those borrowers offer more attractive economics in the form of upfront fees, spreads, and prepayment penalties. Senior secured middle market loans typically have strong defensive characteristics: these loans have priority in payment among a portfolio company’s security holders and they carry the least risk among investments in the capital structure; these investments, which are secured by the portfolio company’s assets, typically contain carefully structured covenant packages which allow lenders to take early action in situations where obligors underperform; and these characteristics can provide protection against credit deterioration. Middle market lenders like us are often able to complete more thorough due diligence investigations prior to investment than lenders in the broadly syndicated space.
Carlyle and Our Investment Adviser
Our investment activities are managed by our Investment Adviser. Our Investment Adviser is responsible for sourcing potential investments, conducting research and due diligence on prospective investments and equity sponsors, analyzing investment opportunities, structuring our investments and monitoring our investments on an ongoing basis.
Our Investment Adviser is an affiliate of Carlyle. Carlyle is one of the world’s largest and most diversified multi-product global alternative asset management firms. Carlyle and its affiliates advise an array of specialized investment funds and other investment vehicles that invest across a range of industries, geographies, asset classes and investment strategies. Since its founding in Washington, D.C. in 1987, Carlyle has grown to become a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $ billion in AUM across investment vehicles as of , 20.
Carlyle Global Credit is one of the largest integrated credit platforms in the industry with approximately $ billion in AUM and employees with multiple offices, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, as of , 20 . Carlyle Global Credit’s investment strategies include loans and structured credit, distressed credit, private credit (through CDL) and energy credit. CDL advises four funds, including us, totaling, in the aggregate, approximately $ billion in AUM as of , 20 .
Our Investment Adviser’s seven-person investment committee is responsible for reviewing and approving our investment opportunities. The members of the investment committee have experience investing through different credit cycles. The investment committee is led by Michael A. Hart, Managing Director of Carlyle, Head of CDL, Chairman of our Board of Directors (“Board”) and our Chief Executive Officer and also includes Jeffrey S. Levin, Managing Director of Carlyle and our President. See “Management—Portfolio Management” in the accompanying prospectus for biographical information of members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee.
Our Investment Adviser also serves, and may serve in the future, as investment adviser to other existing and future affiliated BDCs that have investment objectives similar to our investment objectives.
Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest
Our Investment Adviser’s investment team forms the exclusive Carlyle platform for U.S. middle market debt investments. The SEC has granted us exemptive relief that permits us and certain of our affiliates to co-invest in suitable negotiated investments (the “Exemptive Relief”). If Carlyle is presented with investment opportunities that generally fall within our investment objective and other board-established criteria and those of other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements (including other existing and future affiliated BDCs) whether focused on a debt strategy or otherwise, Carlyle allocates such opportunities among us and such other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements in a manner consistent with the Exemptive Relief, our Investment Adviser’s allocation policies and procedures and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures, where applicable, as discussed below. More specifically, investment opportunities in suitable negotiated investments for investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements managed by our Investment Adviser, and other funds, accounts or similar arrangements managed by affiliated investment advisers that seek to co-invest with us or other Carlyle BDCs, are allocated in accordance with the Exemptive Relief. Investment opportunities for all other investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements not managed by our Investment Adviser are allocated in accordance with their respective investment advisers’ and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures. Such policies and procedures may result in certain investment opportunities that are attractive to us being allocated to other funds that are not managed by our Investment Adviser. Carlyle’s, including our Investment Adviser’s, allocation policies and procedures are designed to allocate investment opportunities fairly and equitably among its clients over time, taking into account a variety of factors which may include the sourcing of the transaction, the nature of the investment focus of each such other Carlyle fund, accounts or other similar arrangements, each fund’s, account’s or similar arrangement’s desired level of investment, the relative amounts of capital available for investment, the nature and extent of involvement in the transaction on the part of the respective teams of investment professionals, any requirements contained in the governing agreements of the Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements and other considerations deemed relevant by Carlyle in good faith, including suitability considerations and reputational matters. The application of these considerations may cause differences in the performance of different Carlyle funds, accounts and similar arrangements that have similar strategies. For a further explanation of the allocation of opportunities and other related conflicts and risks, please see “Business—Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest” in the accompanying prospectus.
Because we are a BDC, we are not generally permitted to make loans to companies controlled by Carlyle or other funds managed by Carlyle.
We are also not permitted to make any co-investments with clients of our Investment Adviser or its affiliates (including any fund managed by Carlyle) without complying with our Exemptive Relief, subject to certain exceptions, including with respect to our downstream affiliates. Co-investments made under the Exemptive Relief are subject to compliance with the conditions and other requirements contained in the Exemptive Relief, which could limit our ability to participate in a co-
investment transaction. We may also co-invest with funds managed by Carlyle or any of its downstream affiliates, subject to compliance with applicable law and regulations, existing regulatory guidance, and our Investment Adviser’s and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures.
Operating and Regulatory Structure
We have elected to be treated as a BDC under the Investment Company Act. As a BDC, we are required to comply with certain regulatory requirements and are generally prohibited from acquiring assets other than qualifying assets, unless, after giving effect to any acquisition, at least 70% of our total assets are qualifying assets. Qualifying assets generally include securities of eligible portfolio companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and high quality debt instruments maturing in one year or less from the time of investment. Under the rules of the Investment Company Act, “eligible portfolio companies” include (i) private U.S. operating companies, (ii) public U.S. operating companies whose securities are not listed on a national securities exchange (e.g., the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex Equities and The NASDAQ Global Market) or registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and (iii) public U.S. operating companies having a market capitalization of less than $250 million.
Also, while we may borrow funds to make investments, our ability to use debt is limited in certain significant aspects. In particular, as a BDC, we must have at least 200% asset coverage calculated pursuant to the Investment Company Act in order to incur debt or issue preferred stock (which we refer to collectively as “senior securities”). In effect, we are permitted to borrow one dollar for every dollar we have in assets less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities issued by us, which requires us to finance our investments with at least as much equity as senior securities in the aggregate. Certain of our credit facilities also require that we maintain asset coverage of at least 200%. See “—Use of Leverage” and “Regulation” in the accompanying prospectus.
In addition, as a consequence of our election to be treated as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes, our asset growth is dependent on our ability to raise equity capital through the issuance of common stock. RICs generally must distribute substantially all of their investment company taxable income (as defined under the Code) to stockholders as dividends in order to preserve their status as a RIC and not be subject to additional U.S. federal corporate-level taxes. This requirement, in turn, generally prevents us from using our earnings to support our operations, including making new investments. See “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” in the accompanying prospectus.
Use of Leverage
Leverage increases the potential for gain and loss on amounts invested and, as a result, increases the risks associated with investing in our securities. The costs associated with our borrowings, including any increase in the fees payable to our Investment Adviser, are borne by our stockholders. Any decision on our part to use borrowings depends upon our assessment of the attractiveness of available investment opportunities in relation to the costs and perceived risks of such leverage. Through the SPV, our wholly owned subsidiary, we have a $ million senior secured revolving credit facility with various lenders (as amended, the “SPV Credit Facility”). In addition, we have a $ million senior secured revolving credit facility with various lenders (as amended, the “Credit Facility” and, together with the SPV Credit Facility, the “Facilities”).
On June 26, 2015, through our wholly owned subsidiary, the 2015-1 Issuer, we completed a $400 million term debt securitization (the “2015-1 Debt Securitization”), of which we retained 100% of the preferred interests (the “Preferred Interests”), or approximately $126 million at closing. For more information on our debt, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources” in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Corporate Structure
We were formed in February 2012 as a Maryland corporation structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment company. On May 2, 2013, we elected to be regulated as a BDC and commenced substantial investment operations upon the completion of our initial closing of equity capital commitments. Effective on March 15, 2017, we changed our name from “Carlyle GMS Finance, Inc.” to “TCG BDC, Inc.”
Recent Developments
[Insert description of recent developments at time of offering.]
Corporate Information
Our principal executive offices are located at 520 Madison Ave., 40th Floor, New York, New York 10022 and our telephone number is (212) 813-4900. We maintain a website located at www.tcgbdc.com. Information on our website is not incorporated into or a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.]
RISK FACTORS
You should carefully consider the risk factors described below and under the caption “Risk Factors” In the accompanying prospectus, together with all of the other information included in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto, before you decide whether to make an investment in our securities. Potential investors should be aware that an investment in the Company involves a high degree of risk. There can be no assurance that the Company’s investment objective will be achieved or that an investor will receive a return of its capital. In addition, there will be occasions when the Investment Adviser and its affiliates may encounter potential conflicts of interest in connection with the Company. The risks set out below are not the only risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and/or operating results. The following considerations, together with all of the other information included in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto, should be carefully evaluated before making an investment in the Company. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results could be materially and adversely affected. In such case, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.
The Notes will be unsecured and therefore will be effectively subordinated to any secured indebtedness we have currently incurred or may incur in the future.
The Notes will not be secured by any of our assets or any of the assets of our subsidiaries. As a result, the Notes are effectively subordinated, or junior, to any secured indebtedness we or our subsidiaries have currently incurred and may incur in the future (or any indebtedness that is initially unsecured to which we subsequently grant security) to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness. In any liquidation, dissolution, bankruptcy or other similar proceeding, the holders of any of our existing or future secured indebtedness and the secured indebtedness of our subsidiaries may assert rights against the assets pledged to secure that indebtedness in order to receive full payment of their indebtedness before the assets may be used to pay other creditors, including the holders of the Notes. As of , 20 , we had $ aggregate principal amount of outstanding indebtedness under [ ].
The Notes will be structurally subordinated to the indebtedness and other liabilities of our subsidiaries.
The Notes are obligations exclusively of TCG BDC, Inc. and not of any of our subsidiaries. None of our subsidiaries is a guarantor of the Notes and the Notes are not required to be guaranteed by any subsidiaries we may acquire or create in the future. A significant portion of the indebtedness required to be consolidated on our balance sheet is held through subsidiary financing vehicles and secured by certain assets of such subsidiaries.
Except to the extent we are a creditor with recognized claims against our subsidiaries, all claims of creditors (including trade creditors) and holders of preferred stock, if any, of our subsidiaries will have priority over our equity interests in such subsidiaries (and therefore the claims of our creditors, including holders of the Notes) with respect to the assets of such subsidiaries. Even if we are recognized as a creditor of one or more of our subsidiaries, our claims would still be effectively subordinated to any security interests in the assets of any such subsidiary and to any indebtedness or other liabilities of any such subsidiary senior to our claims. Consequently, the Notes will be structurally subordinated to all indebtedness and other liabilities (including trade payables) of any of our subsidiaries and any subsidiaries that we may in the future acquire or establish as financing vehicles or otherwise. As of , 20 , we had $ aggregate principal amount of outstanding indebtedness under the [ ]. All of such indebtedness would be structurally senior to the Notes. In addition, our subsidiaries may incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future, all of which would be structurally senior to the Notes.
The indenture under which the Notes will be issued will contain limited protection for holders of the Notes.
The indenture under which the Notes will be issued offers limited protection to holders of the Notes. The terms of the indenture and the Notes do not restrict our or any of our subsidiaries’ ability to engage in, or otherwise be a party to, a variety of corporate transactions, circumstances or events that could have an adverse impact on your investment in the Notes. In particular, the terms of the indenture and the Notes will not place any restrictions on our or our subsidiaries’ ability to:
• [issue securities or otherwise incur additional indebtedness or other obligations, including (1) any indebtedness or other obligations that would be equal in right of payment to the Notes, (2) any indebtedness or other obligations that would be secured and therefore rank effectively senior in right of payment to the Notes to the extent of the values of
the assets securing such debt, (3) indebtedness of ours that is guaranteed by one or more of our subsidiaries and which therefore is structurally senior to the Notes and (4) securities, indebtedness or obligations issued or incurred by our subsidiaries that would be senior to our equity interests in our subsidiaries and therefore rank structurally senior to the Notes with respect to the assets of our subsidiaries, in each case other than an incurrence of indebtedness or other obligation that would cause a violation of Section 18(a)(1)(A) as modified by Section 61(a)(1) of the Investment Company Act or any successor provisions;
• pay dividends on, or purchase or redeem or make any payments in respect of, capital stock or other securities ranking junior in right of payment to the Notes;
• sell assets (other than certain limited restrictions on our ability to consolidate, merge or sell all or substantially all of our assets);
• create liens (including liens on the shares of our subsidiaries) or enter into sale and leaseback transactions;
• enter into transactions with affiliates;
• make investments; or
• create restrictions on the payment of dividends or other amounts to us from our subsidiaries.]
In addition, the indenture will not require us to offer to purchase the Notes in connection with a change of control or any other event.
Furthermore, the terms of the indenture and the Notes do not protect holders of the Notes in the event that we experience changes (including significant adverse changes) in our financial condition, results of operations or credit ratings, as they do not require that we or our subsidiaries adhere to any financial tests or ratios or specified levels of net worth, revenues, income, cash flow, or liquidity.
Our ability to recapitalize, incur additional debt and take a number of other actions that are not limited by the terms of the Notes may have important consequences for you as a holder of the Notes, including making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to the Notes or negatively affecting the trading value of the Notes.
Certain of our current debt instruments include more protections for their holders than the indenture and the Notes. In addition, other debt we issue or incur in the future could contain more protections for its holders than the indenture and the Notes, including additional covenants and events of default. The issuance or incurrence of any such debt with incremental protections could affect the market for and trading levels and prices of the Notes.
An active trading market for the Notes may not develop, which could limit the market price of the Notes or your ability to sell them. If a rating agency assigns the Notes a non-investment grade rating, the Notes may be subject to greater price volatility than similar securities without such a rating.
The Notes are a new issue of debt securities for which there currently is no trading market. We intend to apply to list the Notes on [insert name of exchange]. If the application is approved, we expect trading in the Notes on , to begin within days of the date they are first issued. Although we expect the Notes to be listed on [insert name of exchange], we cannot provide any assurances that an active trading market will develop for the Notes or that you will be able to sell your Notes. If the Notes are traded after their initial issuance, they may trade at a discount from their initial offering price depending on prevailing interest rates, the market for similar securities, our credit ratings, general economic conditions, our financial condition, performance and prospects and other factors. If a rating agency assigns the Notes a non-investment grade rating, the Notes may be subject to greater price volatility than securities of similar maturity without such a non-investment grade rating. The underwriters have advised us that they intend to make a market in the Notes, but they are not obligated to do so. The underwriters may discontinue any market-making in the Notes at any time at their sole discretion. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that a liquid trading market will develop for the Notes, that you will be able to sell your Notes at a particular time or that the price you receive when you sell will be favorable. To the extent an active trading market does not develop, the liquidity and trading price for the Notes may be harmed. Accordingly, you may be required to bear the financial risk of an investment in the Notes for an indefinite period of time.
[Update for any other risk factors applicable to the Notes and any additional relevant risk factors not included in the base prospectus to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
SELECTED FINANCIAL AND OTHER INFORMATION
The tables below set forth our selected consolidated historical financial data for the periods indicated. The selected consolidated historical financial data as of and for the years ended December 31, 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 and 20 , have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included in “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of the accompanying prospectus. Interim financial information for the ended , 20 and 20 has been derived from our unaudited interim financial statements. Our unaudited interim financial statements were prepared on a basis consistent with our audited financial statements and, in our opinion, include all adjustments necessary for the fair statement of the results for the periods represented. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of future results. The selected financial data in this section is not intended to replace the financial statements and is qualified in its entirety by the financial statements and related notes included in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
The selected consolidated financial information and other data presented below should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our financial statements and the related notes thereto, which are included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
[Insert Selected Financial and Other Information reflecting most recently filed financials prior to the offering.]
USE OF PROCEEDS
We estimate that the net proceeds we will receive from the sale of $ million aggregate principal amount of Notes in this offering will be approximately $ million (or approximately $ million if the underwriters fully exercise their overallotment option), in each case assuming a public offering price of % of par, after deducting the underwriting discount of $ million (or approximately $ million if the underwriters fully exercise their overallotment option) payable by us and estimated offering expenses of approximately $ million payable by us.
[Describe use of proceeds and include any other relevant information to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with “Selected Financial and Other Information” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. The information in this section contains forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties. Please see “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” in the accompanying prospectus for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with this discussion and analysis. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated by such forward-looking information due to factors discussed under “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” in the accompanying prospectus.
[Insert Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations from most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, as applicable, prior to the offering.]
RATIOS OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES
For the ended , 20 and the years ended December 31, 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 and 20 , the ratios of earnings to fixed charges of the Company, computed as set forth below, were as follows:
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| | For the Ended , 20 | | For the Year Ended December 31, 20 | | For the Year Ended December 31, 20 | | For the Year Ended December 31, 20 | | For the Year Ended December 31, 20 | | For the Year Ended December 31, 20 | |
Earnings to Fixed Charges(1) | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
For purposes of computing the ratios of earnings to fixed charges, earnings represent net increase in stockholders’ equity resulting from operations plus (or minus) income tax expense (benefit) including excise tax expense plus fixed charges. Fixed charges include interest and credit facility fees expense and amortization of debt issuance costs.
(1) Earnings include net realized and unrealized gains or losses and the capital gains incentive fee expense accrued in accordance with GAAP. Net realized and unrealized gains or losses and the capital gains incentive fee expense accrued in accordance with GAAP can vary substantially from period to period.
CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth our actual capitalization at , 20 . You should read this table together with “Use of Proceeds” and our most recent balance sheet included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
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| | As of ,20 (unaudited, dollar amounts in thousands) | | | |
| | Actual | | |
Cash and cash equivalents | | $ | | | |
Debt | | | | |
[List Debt outstanding as of period reported] | | | | |
Total Debt | | | | |
Stockholders’ Equity | | | | |
Common stock, par value $.01 per share, common shares authorized, and common shares issued and outstanding, respectively | | $ | | | |
Paid-in capital in excess of par value | | | | |
Accumulated net investment income (loss) | | | | |
Accumulated net realized gain (loss) | | | | |
Accumulated net realized un appreciation (depreciation) | | | | |
Total stockholders’ equity | | $ | | | |
Total capitalization | | $ | | | |
CERTAIN MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
[Insert disclosure regarding federal income tax consequences of an investment in the Notes to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
UNDERWRITING
[ ] are acting as representatives of each of the underwriters named below. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in a purchase agreement among us and the underwriters, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters, and each of the underwriters has agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase from us, the aggregate principal amount of Notes set forth opposite its name below.
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Total | | | |
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the purchase agreement, the underwriters have agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase all of the Notes sold under the purchase agreement if any of these Notes are purchased. If an underwriter defaults, the purchase agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the nondefaulting underwriters may be increased or the purchase agreement may be terminated.
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
The underwriters are offering the Notes, subject to prior sale, when, as and if issued to and accepted by them, subject to approval of legal matters by their counsel, including the validity of the Notes, and other conditions contained in the purchase agreement, such as the receipt by the underwriters of officer’s certificates and legal opinions. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part.
Discounts
An underwriting discount of % per Note will be paid by us.
The following table shows the total underwriting discounts that we are to pay to the underwriters in connection with this offering. The information assumes either no exercise or full exercise by the underwriters of their overallotment option.
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| | Per Note | | [Without Option | | With Option] | |
Public offering price | | | | | | | |
Underwriting discount | | | | | | | |
Proceeds to us, before expenses | | | | | | | |
[The underwriters propose to offer some of the Notes to the public at the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement and may offer the Notes to certain other Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) members at the public offering price less a concession not in excess of % of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes. The underwriters may allow, and the dealers may reallow, a discount not in excess of % of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes. After the initial offering of the Notes to the public, the public offering price and such concessions may be changed. No such change shall change the amount of proceeds to be received by us as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement.]
The expenses of the offering, not including the underwriting discount, are estimated at $ and are payable by us.
[Overallotment Option
We have granted an option to the underwriters to purchase up to an additional $ aggregate principal amount of the Notes offered hereby at the public offering price, less the underwriting discount, within days from the date of this prospectus supplement solely to cover any overallotments. If the underwriters exercise this option, each will be obligated, subject to conditions contained in the purchase agreement, to purchase a number of additional Notes proportionate to that underwriter’s initial principal amount reflected in the above table.]
[No Sales of Similar Securities
Subject to certain exceptions, we have agreed not to directly or indirectly, offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, grant any option for the sale of, or otherwise transfer or dispose of any debt securities issued or guaranteed by us or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for debt securities issued or guaranteed by us or file any registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to any of the foregoing for a period of days after the date of this prospectus supplement without first obtaining the written consent of [ ]. This consent may be given at any time without public notice.]
Listing
The Notes are a new issue of securities with no established trading market. We intend to apply to list the Notes on , under the symbol “ .” If the application is approved, we expect trading in the Notes on to begin within days after the original issue date. Currently there is no public market for the Notes.
We have been advised by the underwriters that they presently intend to make a market in the Notes after completion of the offering as permitted by applicable laws and regulations. The underwriters are not obligated, however, to make a market in the Notes and any such market-making may be discontinued at any time in the sole discretion of the underwriters without any notice. Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to the liquidity of, or development of a public trading market for, the Notes. If an active public trading market for the Notes does not develop, the market price and liquidity of the Notes may be adversely affected.
Price Stabilization, Short Positions and Penalty Bids
In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell Notes in the open market. These transactions may include overallotment, covering transactions and stabilizing transactions. Overallotment involves sales of securities in excess of the aggregate principal amount of securities to be purchased by the underwriters in the offering, which creates a short position for the underwriters. Covering transactions involve purchases of the securities in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover short positions. Stabilizing transactions consist of certain bids or purchases of securities made for the purpose of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the securities while the offering is in progress.
The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the underwriters a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the representatives have repurchased Notes sold by or for the account of such underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.
Any of these activities may cause the price of the Notes to be higher than the price that otherwise would exist in the open market in the absence of such transactions. These transactions may be effected in the over-the-counter market or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time without any notice relating thereto.
Neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of the Notes. In addition, neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation that the representatives will engage in these transactions or that these transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.
Electronic Offer, Sale and Distribution of Notes
The underwriters may make prospectuses available in electronic (PDF) format. A prospectus in electronic (PDF) format may be made available on a web site maintained by the underwriters, and the underwriters may distribute such prospectuses electronically. The underwriters may allocate a limited principal amount of the Notes for sale to their online brokerage customers.
Other Relationships
The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include sales and trading, commercial and investment banking, advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, market making, brokerage and other financial and non-financial activities and services. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, a variety of these services to the issuer and to persons and entities with relationships with us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.
In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates, officers, directors and employees may purchase, sell or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps and other financial instruments for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and trading activities may involve or relate to assets, securities or instruments of us (directly, as collateral securing other obligations or otherwise) or persons and entities with relationships with us.
After the date of this prospectus supplement, the underwriters and their affiliates may from time to time obtain information regarding specific portfolio companies or us that may not be available to the general public. Any such information is obtained by the underwriters and their affiliates in the ordinary course of its business and not in connection with the offering of the Notes. In addition, after the offering period for the sale of our Notes, the underwriters or their affiliates may develop analyses or opinions related to us or persons or entities with relationships with us and buy or sell interests in one or more of our portfolio companies on behalf of their proprietary or client accounts and may engage in competitive activities. There is no obligation on behalf of these parties to disclose their respective analyses, opinions or purchase and sale activities regarding any portfolio company or regarding us to our noteholders or any other persons.
We may purchase securities of third parties from the underwriters or their affiliates after the offering. However, we have not entered into any agreement or arrangement regarding the acquisition of any such securities, and we may not purchase any such securities. We would only purchase any such securities if—among other things—we identified securities that satisfied our investment needs and completed our due diligence review of such securities.
If any of the underwriters or their affiliates has a lending relationship with us, certain of those underwriters or their affiliates routinely hedge or may hedge their credit exposure to us consistent with their customary risk management policies. Typically, these underwriters and their affiliates would hedge such exposure by entering into transactions which consist of either the purchase of credit default swaps or the creation of short positions in our securities, including potentially the Notes. Any such credit default swaps or short positions could adversely affect future trading prices of the Notes.
[Describe any other specific transactions and compensation related thereto to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
[Describe if underwriters receiving proceeds of offering, if required by FINRA.]
[Insert principal business addresses of underwriters.]
[Insert applicable legends for jurisdictions in which offers and sales may be made.]
LEGAL MATTERS
Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be passed upon for the Company by Proskauer Rose LLP, Los Angeles, California, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, New York, New York and Venable LLP, Baltimore, Maryland. Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be passed upon for the underwriters by [ ].
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
[Insert financial statements and notes thereto from most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, as applicable, prior to the offering.]
% Notes due
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
[Underwriters]
, 20
Exhibit
Exhibit 99.8
The information in this prospectus supplement is not complete and may be changed. [A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission.] This prospectus supplement is not an offer to sell these securities and it is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.
Subject to Completion
Preliminary Prospectus Supplement dated , 20
[FORM OF PRELIMINARY PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT TO BE USED IN CONJUNCTION WITH FUTURE INSTITUTIONAL NOTES OFFERINGS](*)
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
(To Prospectus dated , 20 )
$
% [Insert ranking/conversion information] Notes due
We are offering $ in aggregate principal amount of % [Insert ranking/conversion information] notes due , which we refer to as the Notes. The Notes will mature on . We will pay interest on the Notes on and of each year, beginning . We may redeem the Notes in whole or in part at any time or from time to time at the redemption price discussed under the caption “Description of Notes—Optional Redemption” in this prospectus supplement. In addition, holders of the Notes can require us to repurchase the Notes at % of their principal amount upon the occurrence of a Change of Control Repurchase Event (as defined herein). The Notes will be issued in minimum denominations of $ and integral multiples of $ in excess thereof.
The Notes will be our direct senior unsecured obligations and rank pari passu, or equally, with all outstanding and future unsecured unsubordinated indebtedness issued by TCG BDC, Inc.
We are an externally managed specialty finance company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. We seek to achieve this investment objective by investing primarily in first lien senior secured loans and second lien senior secured loans.
As of , 20 , our investment portfolio consisted of investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million.
We are managed by Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C., an investment adviser registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. provides the administrative services necessary for us to operate. Both Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C. and Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C. are wholly owned subsidiaries of Carlyle Investment Management L.L.C., a subsidiary of The Carlyle Group L.P. The Carlyle Group L.P. is a global alternative asset manager with approximately $ billion of assets under management as of , 20 .
Investing in the Notes involves risks that are described in the “Risk Factors” section beginning on page S-[ ] of this prospectus supplement and page [ ] of the accompanying prospectus, including the risk of leverage.
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain important information you should know before investing in the Notes. Please read this prospectus supplement and accompanying prospectus before you invest and keep each for future reference. Information required to be included in a Statement of Additional Information may be found in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We also file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information about us with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). You may obtain this information or make noteholder inquiries by written or oral request and free of charge by contacting us by mail at our principal executive offices located at 520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor, New York, NY 10022, on our website at www.tcgbdc.com, or by calling us at (212) 813-4900. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, and you should not consider that information to be a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. The SEC also maintains a website at http://www.sec.gov that contains this information.
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| | Per Note | | Total | |
Public offering price | | $ | | | $ | | |
Underwriting discount (sales load) | | $ | | | $ | | |
Proceeds to us, before expenses(1) | | $ | | | $ | | |
(1) Before deducting expenses payable by us related to this offering, estimated at $ .
The public offering price set forth above does not include accrued interest, if any. Interest on the Notes will accrue from and must be paid by the purchaser if the Notes are delivered after .
THE NOTES ARE NOT DEPOSITS OR OTHER OBLIGATIONS OF A BANK AND ARE NOT INSURED BY THE FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION OR ANY OTHER GOVERNMENT AGENCY.
Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
Delivery of the Notes in book-entry form only through The Depository Trust Company will be made on or about , 20 .
The date of this prospectus supplement is , 20 .
(*) In addition to the sections outlined in this form of prospectus supplement, each prospectus supplement actually used in connection with an offering conducted pursuant to the registration statement to which this form of prospectus supplement is attached will be updated to include such other information as may then be required to be disclosed therein pursuant to applicable law or regulation as in effect as of the date of each such prospectus supplement, including, without limitation, information particular to the terms of each security offered thereby and any related risk factors or tax considerations pertaining thereto. The terms of the Notes or the provisions of the indenture governing the Notes may differ from the information provided in this form of prospectus supplement. This form of prospectus supplement is intended only to provide an approximation of the nature and type of disclosure that may appear in any actual prospectus supplement used for the purposes of offering securities pursuant to the registration statement to which this form of prospectus supplement is attached and, accordingly, the terms and description of the institutional notes for which this form of prospectus supplement is to be used may differ from the information provided in this form of prospectus supplement. This form of prospectus supplement is
not intended to and does not contain all of the information that would appear is any such actual prospectus supplement, and should not be used or relied upon in connection with any offer or sale of securities.
You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. We have not, and the underwriters have not, authorized any other person to provide you with different information or to make any representations not contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is accurate only as of the date on the front cover of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, as applicable. Our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects may have changed since that date.
Prospectus Supplement
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Forward-Looking Statements | S-[ ] |
The Company | S-[ ] |
Specific Terms of the Notes and the Offering | S-[ ] |
Risk Factors | S-[ ] |
Selected Financial and Other Information | S-[ ] |
Use of Proceeds | S-[ ] |
Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations | S-[ ] |
Ratios of Earnings to Fixed Charges | S-[ ] |
Capitalization | S-[ ] |
Description of Notes | S-[ ] |
Certain Material U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations | S-[ ] |
Underwriting | S-[ ] |
Legal Matters | S-[ ] |
Financial Statements | S-[ ] |
Prospectus
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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[Insert table of contents from base prospectus.] | |
FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS
This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “anticipates,” “believes,” “expects,” “intends,” “will,” “should,” “may,” “plans,” “continue,” “believes,” “seeks,” “estimates,” “would,” “could,” “targets,” “projects,” “outlook,” “potential,” “predicts” and variations of these words and similar expressions to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements include these words. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss our plans, strategies, prospects and expectations concerning our business, operating results, financial condition and other similar matters. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. Our forward-looking statements include information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus regarding general domestic and global economic conditions, our future financing plans, our ability to operate as a BDC and the expected performance of, and the yield on, our portfolio companies. There may be events in the future, however, that we are not able to predict accurately or control. The factors listed under “Risk Factors” in the accompanying prospectus, as well as any cautionary language in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. Before you invest in our securities, you should be aware that the occurrence of the events described in these risk factors and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operation and financial position. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date on which we make it. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. Under Sections 27A(b)(2) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and Section 21E(b)(2) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 do not apply to statements made in connection with any offering of securities pursuant to this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or in a beneficial ownership report we file under the Exchange Act.
The following factors are among those that may cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements:
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• | our, or our portfolio companies’, future business, operations, operating results or prospects; |
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• | the return or impact of current and future investments; |
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• | the impact of any protracted decline in the liquidity of credit markets on our business; |
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• | the impact of fluctuations in interest rates on our business; |
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• | currency fluctuations could adversely affect the results of our investments in foreign companies, particularly to the extent that we receive payments denominated in foreign currency rather than U.S. dollars; |
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• | our future operating results; |
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• | the impact of changes in laws, policies or regulations (including the interpretation thereof) affecting our operations or the operations of our portfolio companies; |
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• | the valuation of our investments in portfolio companies, particularly those having no liquid trading market; |
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• | our ability to recover unrealized losses; |
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• | market conditions and our ability to access alternative debt markets and additional debt and equity capital; |
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• | our contractual arrangements and relationships with third parties; |
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• | the general economy and its impact on the industries in which we invest; |
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• | the financial condition of and ability of our current and prospective portfolio companies to achieve their objectives; |
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• | competition with other entities and our affiliates for investment opportunities; |
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• | the speculative and illiquid nature of our investments; |
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• | the use of borrowed money to finance a portion of our investments; |
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• | our expected financings and investments; |
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• | the adequacy of our cash resources and working capital; |
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• | the loss of key personnel; |
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• | the costs associated with being a publicly traded company; |
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• | the timing, form and amount of any dividend distributions; |
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• | the timing of cash flows, if any, from the operations of our portfolio companies; |
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• | the ability to consummate acquisitions; |
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• | the ability of our Investment Adviser to locate suitable investments for us and to monitor and administer our investments; |
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• | the ability of The Carlyle Group Employee Co., L.L.C. and CELF Advisors LLP to attract and retain highly talented professionals that can provide services to our Investment Adviser and Administrator; |
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• | our ability to maintain our status as a BDC; and |
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• | our intent to satisfy the requirements of a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Code. |
Our actual results and condition could differ materially from those implied or expressed in the forward-looking statements for any reason, including the factors set forth in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
THE COMPANY
This summary highlights some of the information contained elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. This summary is not complete and may not contain all of the information that you should consider before investing in the securities offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. You should review the more detailed information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, especially the information set forth under the heading “Risk Factors” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes thereto included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Unless indicated otherwise in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, or the context suggests otherwise:
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• | the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” “TCG BDC” and “Company” refer to TCG BDC, Inc., a Maryland corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries; |
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• | the term “SPV” refers to TCG BDC SPV LLC, our wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary; |
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• | the term “2015-1 Issuer” refers to Carlyle GMS Finance MM CLO 2015-1 LLC, our wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary; |
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• | the term “Carlyle” refers to The Carlyle Group L.P. (NASDAQ: CG) and its affiliates and consolidated subsidiaries (other than portfolio companies of its affiliated funds); |
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• | the term “CDL” refers to the Carlyle Direct Lending platform, which is Carlyle’s direct lending business unit that operates within the broader Carlyle Global Credit (“CGC”) segment; |
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• | the terms “CGCA” and “Administrator” refer to Carlyle Global Credit Administration L.L.C., our administrator, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of Carlyle; |
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• | the terms “CGCIM” and “Investment Adviser” refer to Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C., our investment adviser, a wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary of Carlyle; and |
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• | the term “Credit Fund” refers to Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, an unconsolidated limited liability company, in which we own a 50% economic interest and co-manage with Credit Partners USA LLC, and its wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary.
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We have elected to be regulated as a business development company, or a “BDC,” under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (together with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Investment Company Act”). In addition, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we have elected to be treated as a regulated investment company, or RIC, under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (together, with the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, the “Code”).
[TCG BDC, Inc.
We are an externally managed specialty finance company focused on lending to middle market companies. We are managed by our Investment Adviser, a wholly owned subsidiary of Carlyle. Since we commenced investment operations in May 2013 through , 20 , we have invested approximately $ billion in aggregate principal amount of debt and equity investments prior to any subsequent exits or repayments. Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation primarily through debt investments in U.S. middle market companies, which we define as companies with approximately $10 million to $100 million of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”), which we believe is a useful proxy for cash flow. We seek to achieve our investment objective primarily through direct originations of secured debt, including first lien senior secured loans (which may include stand-alone first lien loans, first lien/last out loans and “unitranche” loans) and second lien senior secured loans (collectively, “Middle Market Senior Loans”),
with the balance of our assets invested in higher yielding investments (which may include unsecured debt, mezzanine debt and investments in equities).
We generate revenues primarily in the form of interest income from the investments we hold. In addition, we generate income from dividends on direct equity investments, capital gains on the sales of loans and debt and equity securities and various loan origination and other fees.
In conducting our investment activities, we believe that we benefit from the significant scale and resources of Carlyle, including our Investment Adviser and its affiliates. We have operated our business as a BDC since we began our investment activities in May 2013.
Investment Strategy
Our Investment Adviser is served by an origination, capital markets, underwriting and portfolio management team comprised of experienced investment professionals in the CDL platform, which is Carlyle’s direct lending business unit that operates within the broader Carlyle Global Credit platform (which in turn operates within Carlyle’s CGC segment). Our investment approach is focused on long-term credit performance and principal preservation. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team utilizes a rigorous, systematic, and consistent investment process, refined over Carlyle’s -year history investing in private markets across multiple cycles, designed to achieve enhanced risk-adjusted returns.
Origination Strategy
Our Investment Adviser has built a strong direct origination platform with coverage of over private equity firms and over lending institutions. Our Investment Adviser’s origination team sources approximately opportunities per year for us with an ultimate investment rate by us of less than % annually. The scale of our Investment Adviser’s origination platform allows us to maximize access to investment opportunities and enhance overall investment selectivity. We further seek to reduce risk by partnering with experienced sponsors with strong track records. We believe lending to companies owned by leading private equity firms (versus non-sponsored companies) has several important and potentially defensive characteristics. Sponsor involvement provides for:
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• | maximization of investment opportunities as approximately % of middle market loan volume is sponsor backed as of , 20 , according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Middle Market Fact Sheet; |
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• | validation of enterprise value; |
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• | support, as needed, in strategy, operations and governance of portfolio companies; and |
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• | the potential for additional capital commitment by sponsor if company requires financial support. |
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Investment Approach and Risk Monitoring of Investments
Our Investment Adviser utilizes a rigorous, systematic and consistent due diligence underwriting process to evaluate all investment opportunities. Our Investment Adviser’s investment teams primarily consist of origination professionals, research analysts and underwriters. An investment team works on a particular transaction from initial screening through closing, and the same team continues to monitor the credit for the life cycle of the investment.
During the investment process, the investment team works closely with the private equity sponsor in all aspects of due diligence, including onsite meetings, due diligence calls, and review of third party diligence reports. Our Investment Adviser also conducts an independent evaluation of the business, utilizing both internal and external sources. A key differentiator is our Investment Adviser’s integrated credit platform and collaborative efforts that leverage Carlyle’s broader resources, which include access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge.
Diversification of our portfolio is a key tenet of our risk management strategy, including diversification by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. Additionally, we view proactive portfolio monitoring as a vital part of the investment process. Our Investment Adviser utilizes a proprietary credit surveillance report and software system, an
objective rules-based Internal Risk Rating system and proprietary valuation model to assess risk in the portfolio. In addition to monthly portfolio reviews, our Investment Adviser compiles a quarterly risk report that examines, among other metrics, migration in portfolio and loan level investment mix, industry diversification, Internal Risk Ratings, revenue, EBITDA, and leverage. Our Investment Adviser supplements these policies with additional analyses and projections, including stress scenarios, to assess the potential exposure of our portfolio to variable macroeconomic factors and market conditions.
Strategic Relationships
We have established two highly differentiated strategic relationships that expand our product offering and increase our scale, enhancing our investment opportunities and optimizing selectivity rates, as we determine which credits provide the best risk adjusted returns for our stockholders. In early 2015, our Investment Adviser developed a key strategic relationship with Madison Capital Funding LLC (“Madison Capital”), a prominent non-bank finance company that is a subsidiary of New York Life Insurance Company, which has allowed us to offer various lending solutions to potential borrowers and has increased our coverage of U.S. middle market private equity firms. Additionally, in early 2016, we agreed to co-invest with Credit Partners USA LLC (“Credit Partners”), a wholly owned subsidiary of a large Canadian pension fund, to form Credit Fund, a joint venture primarily focused on investing in first lien loans to middle market companies. We and Credit Partners each have 50% economic ownership of Credit Fund and have commitments to fund, from time to time, capital of up to $400 million each. See “—Competitive Strengths—Strategic Relationships” in the accompanying prospectus.
Investment Portfolio
As of , 20 , we had investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million. During the ended , 20 , we invested approximately $ billion in new investments. During the same period, we had approximately $ million in exits and repayments resulting in net portfolio increase of approximately $ million.
As of , 20 , our portfolio was invested across industries. As of , 20 , no single portfolio company (excluding Credit Fund) represented more than % of our investments at fair value and no single industry represented more than % of our investments at fair value. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of our investments were in U.S. domestic companies. As of such date, the weighted average remaining term of our debt investments was approximately years. Based on fair value as of , 20 , our portfolio consisted of approximately % in secured debt (% in first lien debt (including % in first lien/last out loans) and % in second lien debt), % in Credit Fund, % in structured finance obligations and % in equity investments. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a fixed interest rate and approximately % of our debt portfolio was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate, which primarily are subject to interest rate floors.
As of , 20 , the weighted average yield of our first lien debt (including first lien/last out loans) was % and % based on the amortized cost and fair value, respectively. During that same period, the weighted average yield on our second lien debt was % and % based on the amortized cost and fair value, respectively.
We invest primarily in loans to middle market companies whose debt, if rated, is rated below investment grade, and, if not rated, would likely be rated below investment grade if it were rated (that is, below BBB- or Baa3, which is often referred to as “junk”). Exposure to below investment grade instruments involves certain risks, including speculation with respect to the borrower’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal.
As of , 20 , we and Credit Partners had each contributed $ million and $ million, respectively, to Credit Fund. As of , 20 , Credit Fund’s portfolio was invested in companies across industries. As of , 20 , Credit Fund had investments in portfolio companies with an aggregate fair value of $ million. Based on fair value as of , 20 , approximately % of Credit Fund’s investments were in U.S. domestic companies, and % was invested in debt bearing a floating interest rate with an interest rate floor.
Competitive Strengths
Market Leading Direct Origination Platform. We have access to CDL’s strong direct origination platform, with coverage of over private equity firms and over lending institutions. We take a regional approach to client coverage with offices in New York City, Chicago and Los Angeles. The origination team is highly experienced, and maintains deep relationships with a broad network of financial sponsors, commercial and investment banks, and finance companies, which are expected to continue to generate a significant amount of investment opportunities.
Scaled Investment Platform and Capabilities. CDL is an established, scaled investment platform with the ability to invest across the entire capital structure. CDL’s broad capabilities and ability to offer a full financing solution give us access to a wide funnel of opportunities, allow us to select high quality credits, construct the optimal financing package as it relates to price and terms, assert greater control over documentation, and generate attractive risk-adjusted returns for our stockholders. We believe CDL’s hold sizes are among the largest in the middle market, which we believe results in the ability to generate premium economics, as sponsors are willing to pay higher spreads for financing certainty. CDL’s large hold sizes and strategic relationships enable us to provide certainty with regards to spreads, fees, structure and covenants. Furthermore, the breadth of CDL’s debt offerings also allows us to deploy capital at a measured pace across credit cycles and construct a portfolio that will perform in a broad range of economic conditions.
One Carlyle Capabilities Leading to Superior Credit Performance. We benefit from our Investment Adviser’s utilization of the broader resources of Carlyle, which includes access to Carlyle’s relationships and institutional knowledge from almost three decades of private market investing. Our underwriting process leverages Carlyle’s investment professionals across multiple alternative investment asset classes, operating executives, information obtained through direct ownership of over companies and lending relationships with over companies, credit industry research analysts, and in-house government affairs and economic research teams. Our systematic and consistent approach is augmented by industry expertise and tenured underwriting professionals who both lead our Investment Adviser’s investment team and serve on our Investment Adviser’s investment committee. Strong credit underwriting has been a key component of our investing process, where our Investment Adviser seeks to select borrowers whose businesses are expected to generate substantial cash flows, to have leading management teams, stable operating histories, high barriers to entry and meaningful equity value, and to retain significant value.
Experienced Investment Team. Our Investment Adviser’s investment team comprises investment professionals in CDL who have extensive middle market lending experience. The investment team consists of dedicated investment professionals. The seven members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee have an average of years of industry experience. We believe the breadth and depth of the investment team in sourcing, structuring, executing, and monitoring a broad range of private investments provides us with a significant competitive advantage in building a high quality portfolio of investments.
Carefully Constructed Portfolio of Diversified Senior Secured, Floating Rate Loans. Our portfolio has been defensively constructed, exhibits strong credit quality, generates stable risk-adjusted returns and allows us to generate meaningful investment income, and consequently dividend income, for our stockholders. We have invested approximately $ billion since our inception in directly originated middle market loans. Our portfolio is highly diversified by borrower, industry sector, sponsor relationships and other metrics. As of , 20 , we had a portfolio of investments in portfolio companies across industries and unique sponsors. As of , 20 , approximately % of our debt investments bore interest at floating rates, subject to interest rate floors, and % of our portfolio was invested in first lien debt investments (including % first lien/last out loans).
Strategic Relationships. Our strategic relationships enhance our ability to provide full financing solutions to our borrowers, which results in our being able to generate optimal economics, significant access to diligence and control over documentation terms. Additionally, these relationships further strengthen our origination platform and ability to develop creative financing solutions to invest through the capital structure based on where we believe the best risk-adjusted return opportunities reside. Our Investment Adviser’s strategic relationship with Madison Capital, a leading middle market senior lender with approximately $ billion of assets under management (“AUM”) as of , 20, allows us to offer a full unitranche financing solution. This product provides middle market companies with certainty for financing without syndication risk and generates attractive risk-adjusted returns on these investments for our stockholders. Madison Capital provides the first lien/first out portion of the unitranche loan, which allows us to provide the first lien/last out portion. Collectively, we and Madison Capital have provided over $ billion (before any repayments or exits) of unitranche loans to middle market companies. The relationship has been extremely successful, and we frequently invest alongside Madison Capital on a variety of investment opportunities (in addition to unitranche loans).
Separately, Credit Fund, our strategic joint venture with a large Canadian pension fund, primarily invests in first lien loans of middle market companies. Since its inception and through , 20 , Credit Fund has provided $ million (before any repayments or exits) of senior secured loans. This joint venture provides us with an enhanced first lien loan product for certain transactions, thus further increasing our deal flow, and results in an increased number of borrowers in our portfolio, which provides strategic benefits as we build incumbent positions for future growth and investment opportunity.
Market Opportunity
We believe the middle market lending environment provides attractive investment opportunities as a result of a combination of the following factors:
Favorable Market Environment. We believe the middle market remains one of the most attractive investment areas due to its large size, superior value relative to the broadly syndicated loan market, and supply-demand imbalance that continues to favor non-bank lenders. We believe market yields remain attractive and leverage levels at middle market companies are stable, creating a favorable investment environment.
Large and Growing U.S. Middle Market. The U.S. middle market is the largest market by many measures, which is expected to enable us to invest selectively as approximately % of middle market loan volume is sponsor-backed. According to S&P Capital IQ, as of , 20 , there are over U.S. middle market companies generating between $20 million and $1 billion in annual revenue, compared with approximately companies with revenue greater than $1 billion. We believe these middle market companies, both sponsored and non-sponsored, represent a significant growth segment of the U.S. economy and often require substantial capital investments to grow.
Leverage, Pricing and Risk. According to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Quarterly Leveraged Lending Review (Q 20 ), middle market companies are less levered, have larger equity contributions, experience lower rates of default, and achieve higher recoveries versus large cap broadly syndicated loans. Middle market loans also tend to achieve more attractive pricing and structures, including documentation, covenants and information/governance, than broadly syndicated loans. Over the year period from 20 to 20, middle market loans have exhibited an approximate basis points spread premium over broadly syndicated loans according to the S&P Global Market Intelligence LCD Leveraged Loan Index.
Market Environment Favors Non-Traditional Lenders. Traditional middle market lenders, such as commercial and regional banks and commercial finance companies, have contracted their origination and lending activities and are focusing on more liquid asset classes or have exited the business. At the same time, institutional investors have sought to invest in larger, more liquid offerings, limiting the ability of middle market companies to raise debt capital through public capital markets. This has resulted in other capital providers, such as specialty finance companies, structured-credit vehicles such as collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), BDCs, and private investment funds, actively investing in the middle market. We believe the aforementioned changes and restrictions have created a large and growing market opportunity for alternative lenders such as us.
Favorable Capital Markets Trends. Current and future demand for middle market financings, driven by private equity investment and upcoming maturities are expected to provide us with ample deal flow. Current data from the Thompson Reuters LPC Middle Market Weekly Report ( , 20 ) suggests that approximately $ billion of upcoming loan maturities for middle market companies are due between 20 and 20, and the PitchBook PE & VE Fundraising and Capital Overhang Report ( H 20 ) suggests that there is over $ billion of uninvested capital in 2010-YTD Q 20 vintage private equity funds. We believe these refinancings and uninvested capital will provide a steady flow of attractive opportunities for well-positioned lenders with deep and longstanding sponsor and market relationships, particularly for providers of full capital structure financing solutions.
Benefits of Traditional Middle Market Focus. We believe there are significant advantages in our focus on the traditional middle market, a market we categorize to include borrowers with EBITDA in the range of approximately $10 million to $100 million. Traditional middle market companies are generally less levered than companies with EBITDA in excess of $100 million and loans to those borrowers offer more attractive economics in the form of upfront fees, spreads, and prepayment penalties. Senior secured middle market loans typically have strong defensive characteristics: these loans have priority in payment among a portfolio company’s security holders and they carry the least risk among investments in the capital structure; these investments, which are secured by the portfolio company’s assets, typically contain carefully structured covenant packages which allow lenders to take early action in situations where obligors underperform; and these characteristics can provide protection against credit deterioration. Middle market lenders like us are often able to complete more thorough due diligence investigations prior to investment than lenders in the broadly syndicated space.
Carlyle and Our Investment Adviser
Our investment activities are managed by our Investment Adviser. Our Investment Adviser is responsible for sourcing potential investments, conducting research and due diligence on prospective investments and equity sponsors, analyzing investment opportunities, structuring our investments and monitoring our investments on an ongoing basis.
Our Investment Adviser is an affiliate of Carlyle. Carlyle is one of the world’s largest and most diversified multi-product global alternative asset management firms. Carlyle and its affiliates advise an array of specialized investment funds and other investment vehicles that invest across a range of industries, geographies, asset classes and investment strategies. Since its founding in Washington, D.C. in 1987, Carlyle has grown to become a leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $ billion in AUM across investment vehicles as of , 20.
Carlyle Global Credit is one of the largest integrated credit platforms in the industry with approximately $ billion in AUM and employees with multiple offices, including New York, Chicago and Los Angeles, as of , 20 . Carlyle Global Credit’s investment strategies include loans and structured credit, distressed credit, private credit (through CDL) and energy credit. CDL advises four funds, including us, totaling, in the aggregate, approximately $ billion in AUM as of , 20 .
Our Investment Adviser’s seven-person investment committee is responsible for reviewing and approving our investment opportunities. The members of the investment committee have experience investing through different credit cycles. The investment committee is led by Michael A. Hart, Managing Director of Carlyle, Head of CDL, Chairman of our Board of Directors (“Board”) and our Chief Executive Officer and also includes Jeffrey S. Levin, Managing Director of Carlyle and our President. See “Management—Portfolio Management” in the accompanying prospectus for biographical information of members of our Investment Adviser’s investment committee.
Our Investment Adviser also serves, and may serve in the future, as investment adviser to other existing and future affiliated BDCs that have investment objectives similar to our investment objectives.
Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest
Our Investment Adviser’s investment team forms the exclusive Carlyle platform for U.S. middle market debt investments. The SEC has granted us exemptive relief that permits us and certain of our affiliates to co-invest in suitable negotiated investments (the “Exemptive Relief”). If Carlyle is presented with investment opportunities that generally fall within our investment objective and other board-established criteria and those of other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements (including other existing and future affiliated BDCs) whether focused on a debt strategy or otherwise, Carlyle allocates such opportunities among us and such other Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements in a manner consistent with the Exemptive Relief, our Investment Adviser’s allocation policies and procedures and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures, where applicable, as discussed below. More specifically, investment opportunities in suitable negotiated investments for investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements managed by our Investment Adviser, and other funds, accounts or similar arrangements managed by affiliated investment advisers that seek to co-invest with us or other Carlyle BDCs, are allocated in accordance with the Exemptive Relief. Investment opportunities for all other investment funds, accounts and other similar arrangements not managed by our Investment Adviser are allocated in accordance with their respective investment advisers’ and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures. Such policies and procedures may result in certain investment opportunities that are attractive to us being allocated to other funds that are not managed by our Investment Adviser. Carlyle’s, including our Investment Adviser’s, allocation policies and procedures are designed to allocate investment opportunities fairly and equitably among its clients over time, taking into account a variety of factors which may include the sourcing of the transaction, the nature of the investment focus of each such other Carlyle fund, accounts or other similar arrangements, each fund’s, account’s or similar arrangement’s desired level of investment, the relative amounts of capital available for investment, the nature and extent of involvement in the transaction on the part of the respective teams of investment professionals, any requirements contained in the governing agreements of the Carlyle funds, accounts or other similar arrangements and other considerations deemed relevant by Carlyle in good faith, including suitability considerations and reputational matters. The application of these considerations may cause differences in the performance of different Carlyle funds, accounts and similar arrangements that have similar strategies. For a further explanation of the allocation of opportunities and other related conflicts and risks, please see “Business—Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Potential Conflicts of Interest” in the accompanying prospectus.
Because we are a BDC, we are not generally permitted to make loans to companies controlled by Carlyle or other funds managed by Carlyle.
We are also not permitted to make any co-investments with clients of our Investment Adviser or its affiliates (including any fund managed by Carlyle) without complying with our Exemptive Relief, subject to certain exceptions, including with respect to our downstream affiliates. Co-investments made under the Exemptive Relief are subject to compliance with the conditions and other requirements contained in the Exemptive Relief, which could limit our ability to participate in a co-investment transaction. We may also co-invest with funds managed by Carlyle or any of its downstream affiliates, subject to compliance with applicable law and regulations, existing regulatory guidance, and our Investment Adviser’s and Carlyle’s other allocation policies and procedures.
Operating and Regulatory Structure
We have elected to be treated as a BDC under the Investment Company Act. As a BDC, we are required to comply with certain regulatory requirements and are generally prohibited from acquiring assets other than qualifying assets, unless, after giving effect to any acquisition, at least 70% of our total assets are qualifying assets. Qualifying assets generally include securities of eligible portfolio companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and high quality debt instruments maturing in one year or less from the time of investment. Under the rules of the Investment Company Act, “eligible portfolio companies” include (i) private U.S. operating companies, (ii) public U.S. operating companies whose securities are not listed on a national securities exchange (e.g., the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex Equities and The NASDAQ Global Market) or registered under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) and (iii) public U.S. operating companies having a market capitalization of less than $250 million.
Also, while we may borrow funds to make investments, our ability to use debt is limited in certain significant aspects. In particular, as a BDC, we must have at least 200% asset coverage calculated pursuant to the Investment Company Act in order to incur debt or issue preferred stock (which we refer to collectively as “senior securities”). In effect, we are permitted to borrow one dollar for every dollar we have in assets less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities issued by us, which requires us to finance our investments with at least as much equity as senior securities in the aggregate. Certain of our credit facilities also require that we maintain asset coverage of at least 200%. See “—Use of Leverage” and “Regulation” in the accompanying prospectus.
In addition, as a consequence of our election to be treated as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes, our asset growth is dependent on our ability to raise equity capital through the issuance of common stock. RICs generally must distribute substantially all of their investment company taxable income (as defined under the Code) to stockholders as dividends in order to preserve their status as a RIC and not be subject to additional U.S. federal corporate-level taxes. This requirement, in turn, generally prevents us from using our earnings to support our operations, including making new investments. See “U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” in the accompanying prospectus.
Use of Leverage
Leverage increases the potential for gain and loss on amounts invested and, as a result, increases the risks associated with investing in our securities. The costs associated with our borrowings, including any increase in the fees payable to our Investment Adviser, are borne by our stockholders. Any decision on our part to use borrowings depends upon our assessment of the attractiveness of available investment opportunities in relation to the costs and perceived risks of such leverage. Through the SPV, our wholly owned subsidiary, we have a $ million senior secured revolving credit facility with various lenders (as amended, the “SPV Credit Facility”). In addition, we have a $ million senior secured revolving credit facility with various lenders (as amended, the “Credit Facility” and, together with the SPV Credit Facility, the “Facilities”).
On June 26, 2015, through our wholly owned subsidiary, the 2015-1 Issuer, we completed a $400 million term debt securitization (the “2015-1 Debt Securitization”), of which we retained 100% of the preferred interests (the “Preferred Interests”), or approximately $126 million at closing. For more information on our debt, see “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources” in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.
Corporate Structure
We were formed in February 2012 as a Maryland corporation structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment company. On May 2, 2013, we elected to be regulated as a BDC and commenced substantial
investment operations upon the completion of our initial closing of equity capital commitments. Effective on March 15, 2017, we changed our name from “Carlyle GMS Finance, Inc.” to “TCG BDC, Inc.”
Recent Developments
[Insert description of recent developments at time of offering.]
Corporate Information
Our principal executive offices are located at 520 Madison Ave., 40th Floor, New York, New York 10022 and our telephone number is (212) 813-4900. We maintain a website located at www.tcgbdc.com. Information on our website is not incorporated into or a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.]
SPECIFIC TERMS OF THE NOTES AND THE OFFERING
This prospectus supplement sets forth certain terms of the Notes that we are offering pursuant to this prospectus supplement and supplements the accompanying prospectus that is attached to the back of this prospectus supplement. This section outlines the specific legal and financial terms of the Notes. You should read this section together with the more general description of the Notes under the heading “Description of Notes” in this prospectus supplement and in the accompanying prospectus under the heading “Description of Debt Securities” before investing in the Notes. Capitalized terms used in this prospectus supplement and not otherwise defined shall have the meanings ascribed to them in the accompanying prospectus or in the indenture governing the Notes.
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Issuer | | TCG BDC, Inc. |
Title of the Securities | | % Notes due |
Initial Aggregate Principal Amount Being Offered | | $ |
Initial Public Offering Price | | % of the aggregate principal amount of Notes |
Interest Rate | | % |
Yield to Maturity | | % |
Trade Date | | , 20 |
Maturity Date | | , 20 |
Interest Payment Dates | | and , commencing , 20 . |
Ranking of Notes | | The Notes will be our general unsecured obligations that rank senior in right of payment to all of our existing and future indebtedness that is expressly subordinated, or junior, in right of payment to the Notes. The Notes will rank pari passu, or equally, in right of payment with all of our existing and future senior liabilities that are not so subordinated, or junior, effectively subordinated, or junior, to any of our secured indebtedness (including unsecured indebtedness that we later secure) to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness, and structurally subordinated, or junior, to all existing and future indebtedness (including trade payables) incurred by our subsidiaries, financing vehicles or similar facilities. |
Denominations | | We will issue the Notes in denominations of $ and integral multiples of $ in excess thereof. |
Optional Redemption | | We may redeem some or all of the Notes at any time, or from time to time, at a redemption price equal to the greater of (1) % of the principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed or (2) the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest (exclusive of accrued and unpaid interest to the date of redemption) on the Notes to be redeemed, discounted to the redemption date on a semi-annual basis (assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) using the applicable Treasury Rate plus basis points, plus, in each case, accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date. |
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Sinking Fund | | The Notes will not be subject to any sinking fund. A sinking fund is a reserve fund accumulated over a period of time for the retirement of debt. |
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Offer to Purchase upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event | | If a Change of Control Repurchase Event occurs prior to maturity, holders will have the right, at their option, to require us to repurchase for cash some or all of the Notes at a repurchase price equal to % of the principal amount of the Notes being repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but not including, the repurchase date. |
Legal Defeasance | | The Notes are subject to legal defeasance by us, which means that, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including depositing in trust for the benefit of the holders of the Notes a combination of money and U.S. government or U.S. government agency notes or bonds that will generate enough cash to make interest, principal and any other payments on the Notes on their various due dates, we can legally release ourselves from all payment and other obligations on the Notes. |
Covenant Defeasance | | The Notes are subject to covenant defeasance by us, which means that, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including depositing in trust for the benefit of the holders of the Notes a combination of money and U.S. government or U.S. government agency notes or bonds that will generate enough cash to make interest, principal and any other payments on the Notes on their various due dates, we will be released from some of the restrictive covenants in the indenture. |
Form of Notes | | The Notes will be represented by global securities that will be deposited and registered in the name of The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee. This means that, except in limited circumstances, you will not receive certificates for the Notes. Beneficial interests in the Notes will be represented through book-entry accounts of financial institutions acting on behalf of beneficial owners as direct and indirect participants in DTC. Investors may elect to hold interests in the Notes through either DTC, if they are a participant, or indirectly through organizations that are participants in DTC. |
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Trustee, Paying Agent, Registrar and Transfer Agent | | [ ] |
Events of Default | | If an event of default (as described herein under “Description of Notes”) on the Notes occurs, the principal amount of the Notes, plus accrued and unpaid interest, may be declared immediately due and payable, subject to conditions set forth in the indenture. These amounts automatically become due and payable in the case of certain types of bankruptcy or insolvency events involving us. |
Other Covenants | | In addition to the covenants described in the accompanying prospectus, the following covenants shall apply to the Notes:
• We agree that for the period of time during which the Notes are outstanding, we will not violate, whether or not we are subject to, Section 18(a)(1)(A) as modified by Section 61(a)(1) of the Investment Company Act or any successor provisions.
• If, at any time, we are not subject to the reporting requirements of Sections 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”) to file any periodic reports with the SEC, we agree to furnish to holders of the Notes and the trustee, for the period of time during which the Notes are outstanding, our audited annual consolidated financial statements, within 90 days of our fiscal year end, and unaudited interim consolidated financial statements, within 45 days of our fiscal quarter end (other than our fourth fiscal quarter). All such financial statements will be prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with applicable United States generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”).
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No Established Trading Market | | The Notes are a new issue of securities with no established trading market. The Notes will not be listed on any securities exchange or quoted on any automated dealer quotation system. Although the underwriters have informed us that they intend to make a market in the Notes, they are not obligated to do so, and may discontinue any such market making at any time without notice. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that a liquid market for the Notes will develop or be maintained. |
Global Clearance and Settlement Procedures | | Interests in the Notes will trade in DTC’s Same Day Funds Settlement System, and any permitted secondary market trading activity in such Notes will, therefore, be required by DTC to be settled in immediately available funds. None of the Company, the trustee or the paying agent will have any responsibility for the performance by DTC or its participants or indirect participants of their respective obligations under the rules and procedures governing their operations. |
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Governing Law | | The Notes and the indenture will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York. |
RISK FACTORS
You should carefully consider the risk factors described below and under the caption “Risk Factors” In the accompanying prospectus, together with all of the other information included in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto, before you decide whether to make an investment in our securities. Potential investors should be aware that an investment in the Company involves a high degree of risk. There can be no assurance that the Company’s investment objective will be achieved or that an investor will receive a return of its capital. In addition, there will be occasions when the Investment Adviser and its affiliates may encounter potential conflicts of interest in connection with the Company. The risks set out below are not the only risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and/or operating results. The following considerations, together with all of the other information included in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus, including our consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto, should be carefully evaluated before making an investment in the Company. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and operating results could be materially and adversely affected. In such case, the trading price of our securities could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.
The Notes will be unsecured and therefore will be effectively subordinated to any secured indebtedness we have currently incurred or may incur in the future.
The Notes will not be secured by any of our assets or any of the assets of our subsidiaries. As a result, the Notes are effectively subordinated, or junior, to any secured indebtedness we or our subsidiaries have currently incurred and may incur in the future (or any indebtedness that is initially unsecured to which we subsequently grant security) to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness. In any liquidation, dissolution, bankruptcy or other similar proceeding, the holders of any of our existing or future secured indebtedness and the secured indebtedness of our subsidiaries may assert rights against the assets pledged to secure that indebtedness in order to receive full payment of their indebtedness before the assets may be used to pay other creditors, including the holders of the Notes. As of , 20 , we had $ aggregate principal amount of outstanding indebtedness under [ ].
The Notes will be structurally subordinated to the indebtedness and other liabilities of our subsidiaries.
The Notes are obligations exclusively of TCG BDC, Inc. and not of any of our subsidiaries. None of our subsidiaries is a guarantor of the Notes and the Notes are not required to be guaranteed by any subsidiaries we may acquire or create in the future. A significant portion of the indebtedness required to be consolidated on our balance sheet is held through subsidiary financing vehicles and secured by certain assets of such subsidiaries.
Except to the extent we are a creditor with recognized claims against our subsidiaries, all claims of creditors (including trade creditors) and holders of preferred stock, if any, of our subsidiaries will have priority over our equity interests in such subsidiaries (and therefore the claims of our creditors, including holders of the Notes) with respect to the assets of such subsidiaries. Even if we are recognized as a creditor of one or more of our subsidiaries, our claims would still be effectively subordinated to any security interests in the assets of any such subsidiary and to any indebtedness or other liabilities of any such subsidiary senior to our claims. Consequently, the Notes will be structurally subordinated to all indebtedness and other liabilities (including trade payables) of any of our subsidiaries and any subsidiaries that we may in the future acquire or establish as financing vehicles or otherwise. As of , 20 , we had $ aggregate principal amount of outstanding indebtedness under the [ ]. All of such indebtedness would be structurally senior to the Notes. In addition, our subsidiaries may incur substantial additional indebtedness in the future, all of which would be structurally senior to the Notes.
The indenture under which the Notes will be issued will contain limited protection for holders of the Notes.
The indenture under which the Notes will be issued offers limited protection to holders of the Notes. The terms of the indenture and the Notes do not restrict our or any of our subsidiaries’ ability to engage in, or otherwise be a party to, a variety of corporate transactions, circumstances or events that could have an adverse impact on your investment in the Notes. In particular, the terms of the indenture and the Notes will not place any restrictions on our or our subsidiaries’ ability to:
• [issue securities or otherwise incur additional indebtedness or other obligations, including (1) any indebtedness or other obligations that would be equal in right of payment to the Notes, (2) any indebtedness or other obligations that would be secured and therefore rank effectively senior in right of payment to the Notes to the extent of the values of
the assets securing such debt, (3) indebtedness of ours that is guaranteed by one or more of our subsidiaries and which therefore is structurally senior to the Notes and (4) securities, indebtedness or obligations issued or incurred by our subsidiaries that would be senior to our equity interests in our subsidiaries and therefore rank structurally senior to the Notes with respect to the assets of our subsidiaries, in each case other than an incurrence of indebtedness or other obligation that would cause a violation of Section 18(a)(1)(A) as modified by Section 61(a)(1) of the Investment Company Act or any successor provisions;
• pay dividends on, or purchase or redeem or make any payments in respect of, capital stock or other securities ranking junior in right of payment to the Notes;
• sell assets (other than certain limited restrictions on our ability to consolidate, merge or sell all or substantially all of our assets);
• create liens (including liens on the shares of our subsidiaries) or enter into sale and leaseback transactions;
• enter into transactions with affiliates;
• make investments; or
• create restrictions on the payment of dividends or other amounts to us from our subsidiaries.]
Furthermore, the terms of the indenture and the Notes do not protect holders of the Notes in the event that we experience changes (including significant adverse changes) in our financial condition, results of operations or credit ratings, as they do not require that we or our subsidiaries adhere to any financial tests or ratios or specified levels of net worth, revenues, income, cash flow, or liquidity.
Our ability to recapitalize, incur additional debt and take a number of other actions that are not limited by the terms of the Notes may have important consequences for you as a holder of the Notes, including making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to the Notes or negatively affecting the trading value of the Notes.
Certain of our current debt instruments include more protections for their holders than the indenture and the Notes. In addition, other debt we issue or incur in the future could contain more protections for its holders than the indenture and the Notes, including additional covenants and events of default. The issuance or incurrence of any such debt with incremental protections could affect the market for and trading levels and prices of the Notes.
We may not be able to repurchase the Notes upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event.
Upon the occurrence of a Change of Control Repurchase Event, as defined in the indenture that governs the Notes, as supplemented, subject to certain conditions, we will be required to offer to repurchase all outstanding Notes at % of their principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest. The source of funds for that purchase of Notes will be our available cash or cash generated from our operations or other potential sources, including borrowings, investment repayments, sales of assets or sales of equity. We cannot assure you that sufficient funds from such sources will be available at the time of any Change of Control Repurchase Event to make required repurchases of Notes tendered. The terms of the Facilities provide that certain change of control events will constitute an event of default thereunder entitling the lenders to accelerate any indebtedness outstanding under the Facilities at that time and to terminate the Facilities. Our future debt instruments also may contain similar restrictions and provisions. If the holders of the Notes exercise their right to require us to repurchase all the Notes upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event, the financial effect of this repurchase could cause a default under our future debt instruments, even if the Change of Control Repurchase Event itself would not cause a default. It is possible that we will not have sufficient funds at the time of the Change of Control Repurchase Event to make the required repurchase of the Notes and/or our other debt. See “Description of Notes—Offer to Repurchase Upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event.”
If an active trading market does not develop for the Notes, you may not be able to resell them.
The Notes are a new issue of debt securities for which there currently is no trading market. We do not intend to apply for listing of the Notes on any securities exchange or for quotation of the Notes on any automated dealer quotation
system. If no active trading market develops, you may not be able to resell your Notes at their fair market value or at all. If the Notes are traded after their initial issuance, they may trade at a discount from their initial offering price depending on prevailing interest rates, the market for similar securities, our credit ratings, general economic conditions, our financial condition, performance and prospects and other factors. The underwriters have advised us that they intend to make a market in the Notes, but they are not obligated to do so. The underwriters may discontinue any market-making in the Notes at any time at their sole discretion. Accordingly, we cannot assure you that a liquid trading market will develop for the Notes, that you will be able to sell your Notes at a particular time or that the price you receive when you sell will be favorable. To the extent an active trading market does not develop, the liquidity and trading price for the Notes may be harmed. Accordingly, you may be required to bear the financial risk of an investment in the Notes for an indefinite period of time.
[Update for any other risk factors applicable to the Notes and any additional relevant risk factors not included in the base prospectus to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
SELECTED FINANCIAL AND OTHER INFORMATION
The tables below set forth our selected consolidated historical financial data for the periods indicated. The selected consolidated historical financial data as of and for the years ended December 31, 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 and 20 , have been derived from our audited consolidated financial statements, which are included in “Financial Statements and Supplementary Data” of the accompanying prospectus. Interim financial information for the ended , 20 and 20 has been derived from our unaudited interim financial statements. Our unaudited interim financial statements were prepared on a basis consistent with our audited financial statements and, in our opinion, include all adjustments necessary for the fair statement of the results for the periods represented. Our historical results are not necessarily indicative of future results. The selected financial data in this section is not intended to replace the financial statements and is qualified in its entirety by the financial statements and related notes included in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
The selected consolidated financial information and other data presented below should be read in conjunction with “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and our financial statements and the related notes thereto, which are included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
[Insert Selected Financial and Other Information reflecting most recently filed financials prior to the offering.]
USE OF PROCEEDS
We estimate that the net proceeds we will receive from the sale of $ million aggregate principal amount of Notes in this offering will be approximately $ million, in each case assuming a public offering price of % of par, after deducting the underwriting discount of $ million payable by us and estimated offering expenses of approximately $ million payable by us.
[Describe use of proceeds and include any other relevant information to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS
The following discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations should be read in conjunction with “Selected Financial and Other Information” and our consolidated financial statements and related notes appearing elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. The information in this section contains forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties. Please see “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” in the accompanying prospectus for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with this discussion and analysis. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated by such forward-looking information due to factors discussed under “Risk Factors” and “Forward-Looking Statements” in the accompanying prospectus.
[Insert Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations from most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, as applicable, prior to the offering.]
RATIOS OF EARNINGS TO FIXED CHARGES
For the ended , 20 and the years ended December 31, 20 , 20 , 20 , 20 and 20 , the ratios of earnings to fixed charges of the Company, computed as set forth below, were as follows:
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| | For the Ended , 20 | | For the Year Ended December 31, 20 | | For the Year Ended December 31, 20 | | For the Year Ended December 31, 20 | | For the Year Ended December 31, 20 | | For the Year Ended December 31, 20 | |
Earnings to Fixed Charges(1) | | | | | | | | | | | | | |
For purposes of computing the ratios of earnings to fixed charges, earnings represent net increase in stockholders’ equity resulting from operations plus (or minus) income tax expense (benefit) including excise tax expense plus fixed charges. Fixed charges include interest and credit facility fees expense and amortization of debt issuance costs.
(1) Earnings include net realized and unrealized gains or losses and the capital gains incentive fee expense accrued in accordance with GAAP. Net realized and unrealized gains or losses and the capital gains incentive fee expense accrued in accordance with GAAP can vary substantially from period to period.
CAPITALIZATION
The following table sets forth our actual capitalization at , 20 . You should read this table together with “Use of Proceeds” and our most recent balance sheet included elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.
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| | As of ,20 (unaudited, dollar amounts in thousands) | | | |
| | Actual | | |
Cash and cash equivalents | | $ | | | |
Debt | | | | |
[List Debt outstanding as of period reported] | | | | |
Total Debt | | | | |
Stockholders’ Equity | | | | |
Common stock, par value $.01 per share, common shares authorized, and common shares issued and outstanding, respectively | | $ | | | |
Paid-in capital in excess of par value | | | | |
Accumulated net investment income (loss) | | | | |
Accumulated net realized gain (loss) | | | | |
Accumulated net realized un appreciation (depreciation) | | | | |
Total stockholders’ equity | | $ | | | |
Total capitalization | | $ | | | |
DESCRIPTION OF NOTES
The following description of the particular terms of the % [Insert ranking/conversion information] Notes due supplements and, to the extent inconsistent with, replaces the description of the general terms and provisions of the debt securities set forth in the accompanying prospectus.
We will issue the Notes under an indenture dated as of , between us and [ ], as trustee (the “trustee”). The terms of the Notes include those expressly set forth in the indenture and those made part of the indenture by reference to the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, or the TIA.
The following description is a summary of the material provisions of the Notes and the indenture and does not purport to be complete. This summary is subject to and is qualified by reference to all the provisions of the Notes and the indenture, including the definitions of certain terms used in the indenture. We urge you to read these documents because they, and not this description, define your rights as a holder of the Notes.
For purposes of this description, references to “we,” “our” and “us” refer only to TCG BDC and not to any of its current or future subsidiaries and references to “subsidiaries” refer only to our consolidated subsidiaries and exclude any investments held by TCG BDC in the ordinary course of business which are not, under GAAP, consolidated on the financial statements of TCG BDC and its subsidiaries.
General
The Notes:
• will be our general unsecured, senior obligations;
• will initially be issued in an aggregate principal amount of $ ;
• will mature on , 20 , unless earlier redeemed or repurchased, as discussed below;
• will bear cash interest from , 20 at an annual rate of % payable on and of each year, beginning on , 20 ;
• will be subject to redemption at our option as described under “—Optional Redemption;”
• will be subject to repurchase by us at the option of the holders following a Change of Control Repurchase Event (as defined below under “—Offer to Repurchase Upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event”), at a repurchase price equal to % of the principal amount of the Notes to be repurchased, plus accrued and unpaid interest to, but excluding, the date of repurchase;
• will be issued in denominations of $ and integral multiples of $ thereof; and
• will be represented by one or more registered Notes in global form, but in certain limited circumstances may be represented by Notes in definitive form. See “—Book-Entry, Settlement and Clearance.”
The indenture does not limit the amount of debt that may be issued by us or our subsidiaries under the indenture or otherwise. The indenture does not contain any financial covenants and does not restrict us from paying dividends or issuing or repurchasing our other securities. Other than restrictions described under “—Offer to Repurchase Upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event” and “—Merger, Consolidation or Sale of Assets” below, the indenture does not contain any covenants or other provisions designed to afford holders of the Notes protection in the event of a highly leveraged transaction involving us or in the event of a decline in our credit rating as the result of a takeover, recapitalization, highly leveraged transaction or similar restructuring involving us that could adversely affect such holders.
We may, without the consent of the holders, issue additional Notes under the indenture with the same terms and with the same CUSIP numbers as the Notes offered hereby in an unlimited aggregate principal amount; provided that such additional Notes must be part of the same issue as the Notes offered hereby for U.S. federal income tax purposes.
We do not intend to list the Notes on any securities exchange or any automated dealer quotation system.
Payments on the Notes; Paying Agent and Registrar; Transfer and Exchange
We will pay the principal of, and interest on, Notes in global form registered in the name of or held by DTC or its nominee in immediately available funds to DTC or its nominee, as the case may be, as the registered holder of such Global Note (as defined below).
Payment of principal of (and premium, if any) and any such interest on the Notes will be made at the corporate trust office of the trustee in such coin or currency of the United States of America as at the time of payment is legal tender for payment of public and private debts; provided, however, that at our option payment of interest may be made by check mailed to the address of the person entitled thereto as such address shall appear in the security register.
A holder of Notes may transfer or exchange Notes at the office of the registrar in accordance with the indenture. The registrar and the trustee may require a holder, among other things, to furnish appropriate endorsements and transfer documents. No service charge will be imposed by us, the trustee or the registrar for any registration of transfer or exchange of Notes, but we may require a holder to pay a sum sufficient to cover any transfer tax or other similar governmental charge required by law or permitted by the indenture.
The registered holder of a Note will be treated as its owner for all purposes.
Interest
The Notes will bear cash interest at a rate of % per year until maturity. Interest on the Notes will accrue from , 20 or from the most recent date on which interest has been paid or duly provided for. Interest will be payable in arrears on and of each year, beginning on , 20 .
Interest will be paid to the person in whose name a Note is registered at 5:00 p.m. New York City time (the “close of business”) on or , as the case may be, immediately preceding the relevant interest payment date (each, a “regular record date”). Interest on the Notes will be computed on the basis of a 360-day year composed of twelve 30-day months.
If any interest payment date, the maturity date or any earlier required repurchase date upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event (defined below) of a Note falls on a day that is not a business day, the required payment will be made on the next succeeding business day and no interest on such payment will accrue in respect of the delay. The term “business day” means, with respect to any Note, any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a day on which banking institutions in New York are authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.
Ranking
The Notes will be our general unsecured obligations that rank senior in right of payment to all of our existing and future indebtedness that is expressly subordinated, or junior, in right of payment to the Notes. The Notes will rank pari passu, or equally, in right of payment with all of our existing and future liabilities that are not so subordinated, or junior. The Notes will effectively rank subordinated, or junior, to any of our secured indebtedness (including unsecured indebtedness that we later secure) to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness. The Notes will rank structurally subordinated, or junior, to all existing and future indebtedness (including trade payables) incurred by our subsidiaries, financing vehicles or similar facilities. In the event of our bankruptcy, liquidation, reorganization or other winding up, our assets that secure secured debt will be available to pay obligations on the Notes only after all indebtedness under such secured debt has been repaid in full from such assets. We advise you that there may not be sufficient assets remaining to pay amounts due on any or all the Notes then outstanding.
As of , 20 , our total consolidated indebtedness was approximately $ aggregate principal amount outstanding, of which approximately $ was secured indebtedness at the TCG BDC level, and of which an aggregate of approximately $ was indebtedness of our subsidiaries. After giving effect to the issuance of the Notes and assuming the proceeds therefrom are used to repay outstanding borrowings under [ ], our total consolidated indebtedness would have been approximately $ aggregate principal amount outstanding as of , 20 . See “Capitalization.”
Optional Redemption
We may redeem some or all of the Notes at any time, or from time to time. If we choose to redeem any Notes prior to maturity, we will pay a redemption price equal to the greater of the following amounts, plus, in each case, accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date:
• % of the principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed, or
• the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest (exclusive of accrued and unpaid interest to the date of redemption) on the Notes to be redeemed, discounted to the redemption date on a semi-annual basis (assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) using the applicable Treasury Rate plus basis points.
If we choose to redeem any Notes, we will deliver a notice of redemption to holders of Notes not less than nor more than days before the redemption date. If we are redeeming less than all of the Notes, the particular Notes to be redeemed will be selected in accordance with the applicable procedures of the trustee and, so long as the Notes are registered to DTC or its nominee, DTC; provided, however, that no such partial redemption shall reduce the portion of the principal amount of a Note not redeemed to less than $ . Unless we default in payment of the redemption price, on and after the redemption date, interest will cease to accrue on the Notes or portions of the Notes called for redemption.
For purposes of calculating the redemption price in connection with the redemption of the Notes, on any redemption date, the following terms have the meanings set forth below:
“Treasury Rate” means, with respect to any redemption date, the rate per annum equal to the semi-annual equivalent yield-to-maturity of the Comparable Treasury Issue (computed as of the third business day immediately preceding the redemption), assuming a price for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed as a percentage of its principal amount) equal to the Comparable Treasury Price for such redemption date. The redemption price and the Treasury Rate will be determined by us.
“Comparable Treasury Issue” means the United States Treasury security selected by the Reference Treasury Dealer as having a maturity comparable to the remaining term of the Notes to be redeemed that would be utilized, at the time of selection and in accordance with customary financing practice, in pricing new issues of corporate debt securities of comparable maturity to the remaining term of the Notes being redeemed.
“Comparable Treasury Price” means (1) the average of the remaining Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations for the redemption date, after excluding the highest and lowest Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, or (2) if the Quotation Agent obtains fewer than four such reference treasury dealer quotations, the average of all such quotations.
“Quotation Agent” means a Reference Treasury Dealer selected by us.
“Reference Treasury Dealer” means each of (1) , (2) and (3) , or their respective affiliates which are primary U.S. government securities dealers and their respective successors; provided, however, that if any of the foregoing or their affiliates shall cease to be a primary U.S. government securities dealer in the United States (a “Primary Treasury Dealer”), we shall select another Primary Treasury Dealer.
“Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations” means, with respect to each Reference Treasury Dealer and any redemption date, the average, as determined by the Quotation Agent, of the bid and asked prices for the Comparable Treasury Issue
(expressed in each case as a percentage of its principal amount) quoted in writing to the Quotation Agent by such Reference Treasury Dealer at 3:30 p.m. New York time on the third business day preceding such redemption date.
All determinations made by any Reference Treasury Dealer, including the Quotation Agent, with respect to determining the redemption price will be final and binding absent manifest error.
Offer to Repurchase Upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event
If a Change of Control Repurchase Event occurs, unless we have exercised our right to redeem the Notes in full, we will make an offer to each holder of Notes to repurchase all or any part (in minimum denominations of $ and integral multiples of $ principal amount) of that holder’s Notes at a repurchase price in cash equal to % of the aggregate principal amount of Notes repurchased plus any accrued and unpaid interest on the Notes repurchased to the date of purchase. Within days following any Change of Control Repurchase Event or, at our option, prior to any Change of Control, but after the public announcement of the Change of Control, we will mail a notice to each holder describing the transaction or transactions that constitute or may constitute the Change of Control Repurchase Event and offering to repurchase Notes on the payment date specified in the notice, which date will be no earlier than days and no later than days from the date such notice is mailed. The notice shall, if mailed prior to the date of consummation of the Change of Control, state that the offer to purchase is conditioned on the Change of Control Repurchase Event occurring on or prior to the payment date specified in the notice. We will comply with the requirements of Rule 14e-1 under the Exchange Act and any other securities laws and regulations thereunder to the extent those laws and regulations are applicable in connection with the repurchase of the Notes as a result of a Change of Control Repurchase Event. To the extent that the provisions of any securities laws or regulations conflict with the Change of Control Repurchase Event provisions of the Notes, we will comply with the applicable securities laws and regulations and will not be deemed to have breached our obligations under the Change of Control Repurchase Event provisions of the Notes by virtue of such conflict.
On the Change of Control Repurchase Event payment date, subject to extension if necessary to comply with the provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder (the “Investment Company Act”), we will, to the extent lawful:
(1) accept for payment all Notes or portions of Notes properly tendered pursuant to our offer;
(2) deposit with the paying agent an amount equal to the aggregate purchase price in respect of all Notes or portions of Notes properly tendered; and
(3) deliver or cause to be delivered to the trustee the Notes properly accepted, together with an officers’ certificate stating the aggregate principal amount of Notes being purchased by us.
The paying agent will promptly remit to each holder of Notes properly tendered the purchase price for the Notes, and the trustee will promptly authenticate and mail (or cause to be transferred by book-entry) to each holder a new Note equal in principal amount to any unpurchased portion of any Notes returned to us; provided that each new Note will be in a minimum principal amount of $ or an integral multiple of $ in excess thereof.
We will not be required to make an offer to repurchase the Notes upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event if a third party makes an offer in the manner, at the times and otherwise in compliance with the requirements for an offer made by us and such third party purchases all Notes properly tendered and not withdrawn under its offer.
The source of funds that will be required to repurchase Notes in the event of a Change of Control Repurchase Event will be our available cash or cash generated from our operations or other potential sources, including funds provided by a purchaser in the Change of Control transaction, borrowings, sales of assets or sales of equity. We cannot assure you that sufficient funds from such sources will be available at the time of any Change of Control Repurchase Event to make required repurchases of Notes tendered. The terms of our Facilities provide that certain change of control events will constitute an event of default thereunder entitling the lenders to accelerate any indebtedness outstanding under the Facilities at that time and to terminate the Facilities. In addition, the indentures governing our Convertible Unsecured Notes contain a provision that would require us to offer to purchase the Convertible Unsecured Notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change. A failure to purchase any tendered Convertible Unsecured Notes would constitute an event of default under the indentures for
the Convertible Unsecured Notes, as applicable, which would, in turn, constitute a default under the Facilities and the indenture governing the Notes. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources” for a general discussion of our indebtedness. Our future debt instruments may contain similar restrictions and provisions. If the holders of the Notes exercise their right to require us to repurchase Notes upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event, the financial effect of this repurchase could cause a default under our future debt instruments, even if the Change of Control Repurchase Event itself would not cause a default. It is possible that we will not have sufficient funds at the time of the Change of Control Repurchase Event to make the required repurchase of the Notes and/or our other debt. See “Risk Factors—We may not be able to repurchase the Notes upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event.”
The definition of “Change of Control” includes a phrase relating to the direct or indirect sale, transfer, conveyance or other disposition of “all or substantially all” of our properties or assets and those of our subsidiaries taken as a whole. Although there is a limited body of case law interpreting the phrase “substantially all,” there is no precise, established definition of the phrase under applicable law. Accordingly, the ability of a holder of Notes to require us to repurchase the Notes as a result of a sale, transfer, conveyance or other disposition of less than all of our assets and the assets of our subsidiaries taken as a whole to another person or group may be uncertain.
For purposes of the Notes:
“Below Investment Grade Rating Event” means the Notes are downgraded below Investment Grade by both Rating Agencies on any date from the date of the public notice of an arrangement that results in a Change of Control until the end of the 60-day period following public notice of the occurrence of a Change of Control (which period shall be extended so long as the rating of the Notes is under publicly announced consideration for possible downgrade by either of the Rating Agencies); provided that a Below Investment Grade Rating Event otherwise arising by virtue of a particular reduction in rating shall not be deemed to have occurred in respect of a particular Change of Control (and thus shall not be deemed a Below Investment Grade Rating Event for purposes of the definition of Change of Control Repurchase Event hereunder) if the Rating Agencies making the reduction in rating to which this definition would otherwise apply do not announce or publicly confirm or inform the trustee in writing at its request that the reduction was the result, in whole or in part, of any event or circumstance comprised of or arising as a result of, or in respect of, the applicable Change of Control (whether or not the applicable Change of Control shall have occurred at the time of the Below Investment Grade Rating Event).
“Change of Control” means the occurrence of any of the following:
(1) the direct or indirect sale, lease, transfer, conveyance or other disposition (other than by way of merger or consolidation) in one or a series of related transactions, of all or substantially all of the assets of TCG BDC and its Controlled Subsidiaries taken as a whole to any “person” or “group” (as those terms are used in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), other than to any Permitted Holders; provided that, for the avoidance of doubt, a pledge of assets pursuant to any secured debt instrument of TCG BDC or its Controlled Subsidiaries shall not be deemed to be any such sale, lease, transfer, conveyance or disposition;
(2) the consummation of any transaction (including, without limitation, any merger or consolidation) the result of which is that any “person” or “group” (as those terms are used in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act) (other than any Permitted Holders) becomes the “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 under the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, of more than 50% of the outstanding Voting Stock of TCG BDC, measured by voting power rather than number of shares; or
(3) the approval by TCG BDC’s stockholders of any plan or proposal relating to the liquidation or dissolution of TCG BDC.
“Change of Control Repurchase Event” means the occurrence of a Change of Control and a Below Investment Grade Rating Event.
“Controlled Subsidiary” means any subsidiary of TCG BDC, 50% or more of the outstanding equity interests of which are owned by TCG BDC and its direct or indirect subsidiaries and of which TCG BDC possesses, directly or indirectly,
the power to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies, whether through the ownership of voting equity interests, by agreement or otherwise.
[“Fitch” means Fitch, Inc., also known as Fitch Ratings, or any successor thereto.]
“Investment Grade” means a rating of BBB- or better by [Fitch] (or its equivalent under any successor rating categories of [Fitch]) and BBB- or better by [S&P] (or its equivalent under any successor rating categories of [S&P]) (or, in each case, if such Rating Agency ceases to rate the Notes for reasons outside of our control, the equivalent investment grade credit rating from any Rating Agency selected by us as a replacement Rating Agency).
“Permitted Holders” means (i) us, (ii) one or more of our Controlled Subsidiaries and (iii) Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C. or any affiliate of Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C. that is organized under the laws of a jurisdiction located in the United States of America and in the business of managing or advising clients.
“Rating Agency” means:
(1) each of [Fitch] and [S&P]; and
(2) if either of [Fitch] or [S&P] ceases to rate the Notes or fails to make a rating of the Notes publicly available for reasons outside of our control, a “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” as defined in Section (3)(a)(62) of the Exchange Act selected by us as a replacement agency for [Fitch] or [S&P], or both, as the case may be.
[“S&P” means Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, a division of McGraw-Hill, Inc., or any successor thereto.]
“Voting Stock” as applied to stock of any person, means shares, interests, participations or other equivalents in the equity interest (however designated) in such person having ordinary voting power for the election of a majority of the directors (or the equivalent) of such person, other than shares, interests, participations or other equivalents having such power only by reason of the occurrence of a contingency.
Covenants
In addition to the covenants described in the base indenture, the following covenants shall apply to the Notes. To the extent of any conflict or inconsistency between the base indenture and the following covenants, the following covenants shall govern:
Merger, Consolidation or Sale of Assets
The indenture will provide that we will not merge or consolidate with or into any other person (other than a merger of a wholly owned subsidiary into us), or sell, transfer, lease, convey or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all our property (provided that, for the avoidance of doubt, a pledge of assets pursuant to any secured debt instrument of TCG BDC or its Controlled Subsidiaries shall not be deemed to be any such sale, transfer, lease, conveyance or disposition) in any one transaction or series of related transactions unless:
• we are the surviving person (the “Surviving Person”) or the Surviving Person (if other than us) formed by such merger or consolidation or to which such sale, transfer, lease, conveyance or disposition is made shall be a corporation or limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the United States of America or any state or territory thereof;
• the Surviving Person (if other than us) expressly assumes, by supplemental indenture in form reasonably satisfactory to the trustee, executed and delivered to the trustee by such Surviving Person, the due and punctual payment of the principal of, and premium, if any, and interest on, all the Notes outstanding, and the due and punctual performance and observance of all the covenants and conditions of the indenture to be performed by us;
• immediately before and immediately after giving effect to such transaction or series of related transactions, no default or event of default shall have occurred and be continuing; and
• we shall deliver, or cause to be delivered, to the trustee, an officers’ certificate and an opinion of counsel, each stating that such transaction and the supplemental indenture, if any, in respect thereto, comply with this covenant and that all conditions precedent in the indenture relating to such transaction have been complied with.
For the purposes of this covenant, the sale, transfer, lease, conveyance or other disposition of all the property of one or more of our subsidiaries, which property, if held by us instead of such subsidiaries, would constitute all or substantially all of our property on a consolidated basis, shall be deemed to be the transfer of all or substantially all of our property.
Although there is a limited body of case law interpreting the phrase “substantially all”, there is no precise established definition of the phrase under applicable law. Accordingly, in certain circumstances there may be a degree of uncertainty as to whether a particular transaction would involve “all or substantially all” of the properties or assets of a person. As a result, it may be unclear as to whether the merger, consolidation or sale of assets covenant would apply to a particular transaction as described above absent a decision by a court of competent jurisdiction. Although these types of transactions are permitted under the indenture, certain of the foregoing transactions could constitute a Change of Control that results in a Change of Control Repurchase Event permitting each holder to require us to repurchase the Notes of such holder as described above.
An assumption by any person of obligations under the Notes and the indenture might be deemed for U.S. federal income tax purposes to be an exchange of the Notes for new Notes by the holders thereof, resulting in recognition of gain or loss for such purposes and possibly other adverse tax consequences to the holders. Holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of such an assumption.
Other Covenants
• We agree that for the period of time during which the Notes are outstanding, we will not violate, whether or not we are subject to, Section 18(a)(1)(A) as modified by Section 61(a)(1) of the Investment Company Act or any successor provisions.
• If, at any time, we are not subject to the reporting requirements of Sections 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act to file any periodic reports with the SEC, we agree to furnish to holders of the Notes and the trustee, for the period of time during which the Notes are outstanding, our audited annual consolidated financial statements, within 90 days of our fiscal year end, and unaudited interim consolidated financial statements, within 45 days of our fiscal quarter end (other than our fourth fiscal quarter). All such financial statements will be prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with GAAP, as applicable.
Events of Default
Each of the following is an event of default:
(1) default in the payment of any interest upon any Note when due and payable and the default continues for a period of days;
(2) default in the payment of the principal of (or premium, if any, on) any Note when it becomes due and payable at its maturity including upon any redemption date or required repurchase date;
(3) our failure for consecutive days after written notice from the trustee or the holders of at least % in principal amount of the Notes then outstanding has been received to comply with any of our other agreements contained in the Notes or indenture;
(4) default by us or any of our significant subsidiaries, as defined in Article 1, Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X under the Exchange Act (but excluding any subsidiary which is (a) a non-recourse or limited recourse subsidiary, (b) a bankruptcy remote special purpose vehicle or (c) is not consolidated with TCG BDC for purposes of GAAP), with respect to any mortgage, agreement or other instrument under which there may be outstanding, or by which there may be secured or evidenced, any indebtedness for money borrowed in excess of $ million in the aggregate of us and/or any such subsidiary, whether such indebtedness now exists or shall hereafter be created (i) resulting in such indebtedness becoming or being declared due and payable or (ii) constituting a failure to pay the principal or interest of any such debt when due and payable at its stated maturity, upon required repurchase, upon declaration of acceleration or otherwise, unless, in either case, such indebtedness is discharged, or such acceleration is rescinded, stayed or annulled, within a period of calendar days after written notice of such failure is given to us by the trustee or to us and the trustee by the holders of at least % in aggregate principal amount of the Notes then outstanding;
(5) Pursuant to Section 18(a)(1)(c)(ii) and Section 61 of the Investment Company Act, on the last business day of each of 24 consecutive calendar months, any class of securities shall have an asset coverage (as such term is used in the Investment Company Act) of less than 100%; or
(6) certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency, or reorganization involving us occur and remain undischarged or unstayed for a period of days.
If an event of default occurs and is continuing, then and in every such case (other than an event of default specified in item (6) above) the trustee or the holders of at least % in principal amount of the outstanding Notes may declare the entire principal amount of Notes to be due and immediately payable, by a notice in writing to us (and to the trustee if given by the holders), and upon any such declaration such principal or specified portion thereof shall become immediately due and payable. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of the events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization described in item (6) above, 100% of the principal of and accrued and unpaid interest on the Notes will automatically become due and payable.
At any time after a declaration of acceleration with respect to the Notes has been made and before a judgment or decree for payment of the money due has been obtained by the trustee, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Notes, by written notice to us and the trustee, may rescind and annul such declaration and its consequences if (i) we have paid or deposited with the trustee a sum sufficient to pay all overdue installments of interest, if any, on all outstanding Notes, the principal of (and premium, if any, on) all outstanding Notes that have become due otherwise than by such declaration of acceleration and interest thereon at the rate or rates borne by or provided for in such Notes, to the extent that payment of such interest is lawful interest upon overdue installments of interest at the rate or rates borne by or provided for in such Notes, and all sums paid or advanced by the trustee and the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the trustee, its agents and counsel, and (ii) all events of default with respect to the Notes, other than the nonpayment of the principal of (or premium, if any, on) or interest on such Notes that have become due solely by such declaration of acceleration, have been cured or waived. No such rescission will affect any subsequent default or impair any right consequent thereon.
No holder of Notes will have any right to institute any proceeding, judicial or otherwise, with respect to the indenture, or for the appointment of a receiver or trustee, or for any other remedy under the indenture, unless
(i) such holder has previously given written notice to the trustee of a continuing event of default with respect to the Notes,
(ii) the holders of not less than % in principal amount of the outstanding Notes shall have made written request to the trustee to institute proceedings in respect of such event of default;
(iii) such holder or holders have offered to the trustee reasonable indemnity against the costs, expenses and liabilities to be incurred in compliance with such request;
(iv) the trustee for days after its receipt of such notice, request and offer of indemnity has failed to institute any such proceeding; and
(v) no direction inconsistent with such written request has been given to the trustee during such 60-day period by the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Notes.
Notwithstanding any other provision in the indenture, the holder of any Note shall have the right, which is absolute and unconditional, to receive payment of the principal of (and premium, if any, on) and interest, if any, on such Note on the stated maturity or maturity expressed in such Note (or, in the case of redemption, on the redemption date or, in the case of repayment at the option of the holders, on the repayment date) and to institute suit for the enforcement of any such payment, and such rights shall not be impaired without the consent of such holder.
The trustee shall be under no obligation to exercise any of the rights or powers vested in it by the indenture at the request or direction of any of the holders of the Notes unless such holders shall have offered to the trustee reasonable security or indemnity against the costs, expenses and liabilities which might be incurred by it in compliance with such request or direction. Subject to the foregoing, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Notes shall have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee with respect to the Notes, provided that (i) such direction shall not be in conflict with any rule of law or with this indenture, (ii) the trustee may take any other action deemed proper by the trustee that is not inconsistent with such direction and (iii) the trustee need not take any action that it determines in good faith may involve it in personal liability or be unjustly prejudicial to the holders of Notes not consenting.
The holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Notes may on behalf of the holders of all of the Notes waive any past default under the indenture with respect to the Notes and its consequences, except a default (i) in the payment of (or premium, if any, on) or interest, if any, on any Note, or (ii) in respect of a covenant or provision of the indenture which cannot be modified or amended without the consent of the holder of each outstanding Note affected. Upon any such waiver, such default shall cease to exist, and any event of default arising therefrom shall be deemed to have been cured, for every purpose, but no such waiver shall extend to any subsequent or other default or event of default or impair any right consequent thereto.
We are required to deliver to the trustee, within days after the end of each fiscal year, an officers’ certificate stating that to the knowledge of the signers whether we are in default in the performance of any of the terms, provisions or conditions of the indenture.
Within days after the occurrence of any default under the indenture with respect to the Notes, the trustee shall transmit notice of such default known to the trustee, unless such default shall have been cured or waived; provided, however, that, except in the case of a default in the payment of the principal of (or premium, if any, on) or interest, if any, on any Note, the trustee shall be protected in withholding such notice if and so long as the board of directors, the executive committee or a trust committee of directors of the trustee in good faith determines that withholding of such notice is in the interest of the holders of the Notes.
Satisfaction and Discharge; Defeasance
We may satisfy and discharge our obligations under the indenture by delivering to the securities registrar for cancellation all outstanding Notes or by depositing with the trustee or delivering to the holders, as applicable, after the Notes have become due and payable, or otherwise, moneys sufficient to pay all of the outstanding Notes and paying all other sums payable under the indenture by us. Such discharge is subject to terms contained in the indenture.
In addition, the Notes are subject to defeasance and covenant defeasance, in each case, in accordance with the terms of the indenture. Defeasance means that, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including depositing in trust for the benefit of the holders of the Notes a combination of money and U.S. government or U.S. government agency notes or bonds that will generate enough cash to make interest, principal and any other payments on the Notes on their various due dates, we can legally release ourselves from all payment and other obligations on the Notes. Covenant defeasance means that, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including depositing in trust for the benefit of the holders of the Notes a combination of money and U.S. government or U.S. government agency notes or bonds that will generate enough cash to
make interest, principal and any other payments on the Notes on their various due dates, we will be released from some of the restrictive covenants in the indenture.
Trustee
[ ] is the trustee, security registrar and paying agent. [ ], in each of its capacities, including without limitation as trustee, security registrar and paying agent, assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the information concerning us or our affiliates or any other party contained in this document or the related documents or for any failure by us or any other party to disclose events that may have occurred and may affect the significance or accuracy of such information, or for any information provided to it by us, including but not limited to settlement amounts and any other information.
We may maintain banking relationships in the ordinary course of business with the trustee and its affiliates.
Governing Law
The indenture provides that it and the Notes shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without regard to principles of conflicts of laws that would cause the application of laws of another jurisdiction.
Book-Entry, Settlement and Clearance
Global Notes
The Notes will be initially issued in the form of one or more registered Notes in global form, without interest coupons (the “Global Notes”). Upon issuance, each of the Global Notes will be deposited with the trustee as custodian for DTC and registered in the name of Cede & Co., as nominee of DTC.
Ownership of beneficial interests in a Global Note will be limited to persons who have accounts with DTC (“DTC participants”) or persons who hold interests through DTC participants. We expect that under procedures established by DTC:
• upon deposit of a Global Note with DTC’s custodian, DTC will credit portions of the principal amount of the Global Note to the accounts of the DTC participants designated by the underwriters; and
• ownership of beneficial interests in a Global Note will be shown on, and transfer of ownership of those interests will be effected only through, records maintained by DTC (with respect to interests of DTC participants) and the records of DTC participants (with respect to other owners of beneficial interests in the Global Note).
Beneficial interests in Global Notes may not be exchanged for Notes in physical, certificated form except in the limited circumstances described below.
Book-Entry Procedures for Global Notes
All interests in the Global Notes will be subject to the operations and procedures of DTC. We provide the following summary of those operations and procedures solely for the convenience of investors. The operations and procedures of DTC are controlled by that settlement system and may be changed at any time. Neither we nor the underwriters are responsible for those operations or procedures.
DTC has advised us that it is:
• a limited purpose trust company organized under the laws of the State of New York;
• a “banking organization” within the meaning of the New York State Banking Law;
• a member of the Federal Reserve System;
• a “clearing corporation” within the meaning of the Uniform Commercial Code; and
• a “clearing agency” registered under Section 17A of the Exchange Act.
DTC was created to hold securities for its participants and to facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions between its participants through electronic book-entry changes to the accounts of its participants. DTC’s participants include securities brokers and dealers, including the underwriters; banks and trust companies; clearing corporations and other organizations. Indirect access to DTC’s system is also available to others such as banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies; these indirect participants clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC participant, either directly or indirectly. Investors who are not DTC participants may beneficially own securities held by or on behalf of DTC only through DTC participants or indirect participants in DTC.
So long as DTC’s nominee is the registered owner of a Global Note, that nominee will be considered the sole owner or holder of the Notes represented by that Global Note for all purposes under the indenture. Except as provided below, owners of beneficial interests in a Global Note:
• will not be entitled to have Notes represented by the Global Note registered in their names;
• will not receive or be entitled to receive physical, certificated Notes; and
• will not be considered the owners or holders of the Notes under the indenture for any purpose, including with respect to the giving of any direction, instruction or approval to the trustee under the indenture.
As a result, each investor who owns a beneficial interest in a Global Note must rely on the procedures of DTC to exercise any rights of a holder of Notes under the indenture (and, if the investor is not a participant or an indirect participant in DTC, on the procedures of the DTC participant through which the investor owns its interest).
Payments of principal and interest with respect to the Notes represented by a Global Note will be made by the trustee to DTC’s nominee as the registered holder of the Global Note. Neither we nor the Trustee will have any responsibility or liability for the payment of amounts to owners of beneficial interests in a Global Note, for any aspect of the records relating to or payments made on account of those interests by DTC, or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records of DTC relating to those interests.
Payments by participants and indirect participants in DTC to the owners of beneficial interests in a Global Note will be governed by standing instructions and customary industry practice and will be the responsibility of those participants or indirect participants and DTC.
Transfers between participants in DTC will be effected under DTC’s procedures and will be settled in same-day funds.
Certificated Notes
Notes in physical, certificated form will be issued and delivered to each person that DTC identifies as a beneficial owner of the related Notes only if:
• DTC notifies us at any time that it is unwilling or unable to continue as depositary for the Global Notes and a successor depositary is not appointed within 90 days;
• DTC ceases to be registered as a clearing agency under the Exchange Act and a successor depositary is not appointed within 90 days; or
• an event of default with respect to the Notes has occurred and is continuing and such beneficial owner requests that its Notes be issued in physical, certificated form.
CERTAIN MATERIAL U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS
[Insert disclosure regarding federal income tax consequences of an investment in the Notes to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
UNDERWRITING
[ ] are acting as representatives of each of the underwriters named below. Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in a purchase agreement among us and the underwriters, we have agreed to sell to the underwriters, and each of the underwriters has agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase from us, the aggregate principal amount of Notes set forth opposite its name below.
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Underwriter | | Principal Amount | |
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Total | | | |
Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the purchase agreement, the underwriters have agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase all of the Notes sold under the purchase agreement if any of these Notes are purchased. If an underwriter defaults, the purchase agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the nondefaulting underwriters may be increased or the purchase agreement may be terminated.
We have agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.
The underwriters are offering the Notes, subject to prior sale, when, as and if issued to and accepted by them, subject to approval of legal matters by their counsel, including the validity of the Notes, and other conditions contained in the purchase agreement, such as the receipt by the underwriters of officer’s certificates and legal opinions. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part.
Discounts
An underwriting discount of % per Note will be paid by us.
The following table shows the total underwriting discounts that we are to pay to the underwriters in connection with this offering.
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| | Per Note | | [Without Option | | With Option] | |
Public offering price | | | | | | | |
Underwriting discount | | | | | | | |
Proceeds to us, before expenses | | | | | | | |
[The underwriters propose to offer some of the Notes to the public at the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement and may offer the Notes to certain other Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) members at the public offering price less a concession not in excess of % of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes. The underwriters may allow, and the dealers may reallow, a discount not in excess of % of the aggregate principal
amount of the Notes. After the initial offering of the Notes to the public, the public offering price and such concessions may be changed. No such change shall change the amount of proceeds to be received by us as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement.]
The expenses of the offering, not including the underwriting discount, are estimated at $ and are payable by us.
[No Sales of Similar Securities
Subject to certain exceptions, we have agreed not to directly or indirectly, offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, grant any option for the sale of, or otherwise transfer or dispose of any debt securities issued or guaranteed by us or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for debt securities issued or guaranteed by us or file any registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to any of the foregoing for a period of days after the date of this prospectus supplement without first obtaining the written consent of [ ]. This consent may be given at any time without public notice.]
Listing
The Notes are a new issue of securities with no established trading market. The Notes will not be listed on any securities exchange or quoted on any automated dealer quotation system.
We have been advised by the underwriters that they presently intend to make a market in the Notes after completion of the offering as permitted by applicable laws and regulations. The underwriters are not obligated, however, to make a market in the Notes and any such market-making may be discontinued at any time in the sole discretion of the underwriters without any notice. Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to the liquidity of, or development of a public trading market for, the Notes. If an active public trading market for the Notes does not develop, the market price and liquidity of the Notes may be adversely affected.
Price Stabilization, Short Positions and Penalty Bids
In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell Notes in the open market. These transactions may include short sales and purchases on the open market to cover positions created by short sales. Short sales involve the sale by the underwriters of a greater principal amount of Notes than they are required to purchase in the offering. The underwriters must close out any short position by purchasing Notes in the open market. A short position is more likely to be created if the underwriters are concerned that there may be downward pressure on the price of the Notes in the open market after pricing that could adversely affect investors who purchase in the offering.
Similar to other purchase transactions, the underwriters’ purchases to cover the syndicate short sales may have the effect of raising or maintaining the market price of the Notes or preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the Notes. As a result, the price of the Notes may be higher than the price that might otherwise exist in the open market.
The underwriters may also impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the underwriters a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the representatives have repurchased Notes sold by or for the account of such underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.
Any of these activities may cause the price of the Notes to be higher than the price that otherwise would exist in the open market in the absence of such transactions. These transactions may be effected in the over-the-counter market or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time without any notice relating thereto.
Neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of the Notes. In addition, neither we nor any of the underwriters make any representation that the representatives will engage in these transactions or that these transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.
Electronic Offer, Sale and Distribution of Notes
The underwriters may make prospectuses available in electronic (PDF) format. A prospectus in electronic (PDF) format may be made available on a web site maintained by the underwriters, and the underwriters may distribute such prospectuses electronically. The underwriters may allocate a limited principal amount of the Notes for sale to their online brokerage customers.
Other Relationships
The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include sales and trading, commercial and investment banking, advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, market making, brokerage and other financial and non-financial activities and services. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, a variety of these services to the issuer and to persons and entities with relationships with us, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses.
In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates, officers, directors and employees may purchase, sell or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps and other financial instruments for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and trading activities may involve or relate to assets, securities or instruments of us (directly, as collateral securing other obligations or otherwise) or persons and entities with relationships with us.
After the date of this prospectus supplement, the underwriters and their affiliates may from time to time obtain information regarding specific portfolio companies or us that may not be available to the general public. Any such information is obtained by the underwriters and their affiliates in the ordinary course of its business and not in connection with the offering of the Notes. In addition, after the offering period for the sale of our Notes, the underwriters or their affiliates may develop analyses or opinions related to us or persons or entities with relationships with us and buy or sell interests in one or more of our portfolio companies on behalf of their proprietary or client accounts and may engage in competitive activities. There is no obligation on behalf of these parties to disclose their respective analyses, opinions or purchase and sale activities regarding any portfolio company or regarding us to our noteholders or any other persons.
We may purchase securities of third parties from the underwriters or their affiliates after the offering. However, we have not entered into any agreement or arrangement regarding the acquisition of any such securities, and we may not purchase any such securities. We would only purchase any such securities if—among other things—we identified securities that satisfied our investment needs and completed our due diligence review of such securities.
If any of the underwriters or their affiliates has a lending relationship with us, certain of those underwriters or their affiliates routinely hedge or may hedge their credit exposure to us consistent with their customary risk management policies. Typically, these underwriters and their affiliates would hedge such exposure by entering into transactions which consist of either the purchase of credit default swaps or the creation of short positions in our securities, including potentially the Notes. Any such credit default swaps or short positions could adversely affect future trading prices of the Notes.
[Describe any other specific transactions and compensation related thereto to the extent required to be disclosed by applicable law or regulation.]
[Describe if underwriters receiving proceeds of offering, if required by FINRA.]
[Insert principal business addresses of underwriters.]
[Insert applicable legends for jurisdictions in which offers and sales may be made.]
LEGAL MATTERS
Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be passed upon for the Company by Proskauer Rose LLP, Los Angeles, California, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, New York, New York and Venable LLP, Baltimore, Maryland. Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be passed upon for the underwriters by [ ].
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
[Insert financial statements and notes thereto from most recently filed Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q or Annual Report on Form 10-K, as applicable, prior to the offering.]
% Notes due
PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT
[Underwriters]
, 20
Exhibit
TCG BDC, INC.
(a Maryland corporation)
[—] Shares of Common Stock
[—] Shares of Preferred Stock
[—] Warrants to Purchase Common Stock or Preferred Stock
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
Dated: [—]
TCG BDC, INC.
(a Maryland corporation)
[—] Shares of Common Stock
[—] Shares of Preferred Stock
[—] Warrants to Purchase Common Stock or Preferred Stock
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
[—]
[—]
[—]
as Representatives of the several Underwriters
Ladies and Gentlemen:
TCG BDC, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), confirms its agreement with [—] and [—] and each of the other underwriters named in Schedule A hereto (collectively, the “Underwriters,” which term shall also include any underwriter substituted as hereinafter provided in Section 10 hereof), for whom [—] and [—] are acting as representatives (in such capacity, the “Representatives”), with respect to (i) the sale by the Company and the purchase by the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of the respective numbers of shares of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share (“Common Stock”), or Preferred Stock, par value $[—] per share (“Preferred Stock”), or both, or Warrants (the “Warrants”) to purchase Common Stock or Preferred Stock, or both, of the Company set forth in Schedule A, and with respect to the grant by the Company to the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of the option described in Section 2(b) hereof to purchase additional Securities (as hereinafter defined) to cover overallotments, if any. The Preferred Stock may be offered in the form of depositary shares (the “Depositary Shares”) represented by depositary receipts (the “Depositary Receipts”). The Warrants will be issued under one or more warrant agreements (the warrant agreement relating to any issue of Warrants to be sold pursuant to this Agreement is referred to herein as the “Warrant Agreement”) between the Company and the Warrant Agent identified in such Warrant Agreement (the “Warrant Agent”). The Common Stock and, if applicable, the Preferred Stock or the Warrants, together, if applicable, with the Depositary Shares and the Depositary Receipts are hereinafter referred to as the “Underwritten Securities”. The aforesaid Underwritten Securities to be purchased by the Underwriters (the “Initial Securities”) and all or any part of the Underwritten Securities subject to the option described in Section 2(b) hereof (the “Option Securities”) are hereinafter called, collectively, the “Securities”; and “Warrant Securities” shall mean the Common Stock or Preferred Stock issuable upon exercise of Warrants. The Common Stock, Preferred Stock and Warrants may be offered either together or separately. Each issue of Preferred Stock may vary, as applicable, as to the specific number of shares, title, issuance price, any redemption or sinking fund requirements, any conversion provisions and any other variable terms as set forth in the applicable articles supplementary relating to such Preferred Stock. Each issue of Warrants may vary, as applicable, as to the title, specific number of shares of Common Stock or Preferred Stock receivable upon exercise, issuance price, exercise dates, exercise conditions and any other variable terms as set forth in the applicable Warrant Agreement relating to such Warrants.
The Company understands that the Underwriters propose to make a public offering of the Securities as soon as the Representatives deem advisable after this Underwriting Agreement (this “Agreement”) has been executed and delivered.
The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a shelf registration statement on Form N‑2 (No. 333-222096) covering the registration of the sale of the Securities and certain of the Company’s other securities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), which registration statement was declared effective on [—] by the Commission. The Company has also filed with the Commission a preliminary prospectus supplement, dated [—], which contains a base prospectus, dated [—] (collectively, the “preliminary prospectus”). Promptly after execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Company will prepare and file a prospectus in accordance with the provisions of Rule 430C (“Rule 430C”) of the rules and regulations of the Commission under the 1933 Act (the “1933 Act Regulations”) and paragraph (h) of Rule 497 (“Rule 497”) of the 1933 Act Regulations. The information included in such prospectus that was omitted from such registration statement at the time it became effective but that is deemed to be part of such registration statement at the time it became effective pursuant to Rule 430C is herein called the “Rule 430C Information.” Such registration statement, including the amendments thereto, the exhibits thereto and any schedules thereto, at the time it became effective, and including the Rule 430C Information, is herein called the “Registration Statement.” Any registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the 1933 Act Regulations is herein called the “Rule 462(b) Registration Statement” and, after such filing, the term “Registration Statement” shall include the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement. The final prospectus in the form filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 497 on or before the second business day after the date hereof (or such earlier time as may be required under the 1933 Act), which will include the base prospectus, dated [—], together with a final prospectus supplement, is herein called the “Prospectus.” For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be deemed to include the copy filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system or any successor system (“EDGAR”).
A Form N-54A Notification of Election to be Subject to Sections 55 through 65 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 filed Pursuant to Section 54(a) of the Investment Company Act (File No. 814-00995) (the “Notification of Election”) was filed with the Commission on May 2, 2013 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and the rules and regulations and any applicable guidance and/or interpretation of the Commission or its staff thereunder (the “1940 Act Regulations”).
The Company has entered into an Amended and Restated Investment Advisory Agreement, dated September 15, 2017 (the “Investment Management Agreement”), with Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C. (f/k/a Carlyle GMS Investment Management L.L.C.) (the “Adviser”), a Delaware limited liability company registered as an investment adviser, under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Advisers Act”).
As used in this Agreement:
“Applicable Time” means [—] [A.M./P.M.], New York City time, on [—] or such other time as agreed by the Company and the Representatives.
“General Disclosure Package” means the preliminary prospectus and the information included on Schedule B hereto.
SECTION 1.Representations and Warranties.
(a) Representations and Warranties by the Company. The Company represents and warrants to each Underwriter as of the date hereof, the Applicable Time, the Closing Time (as defined below) and any Date of Delivery (as defined below), and agrees with each Underwriter, as follows:
(i) Registration Statement and Prospectuses. The Company is eligible to use Form N-2. Each of the Registration Statement and any amendment thereto has become effective under the 1933 Act. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto has been issued under the 1933 Act, no order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus has been issued and no proceedings for any of those purposes have been instituted or are pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, contemplated. The Company has complied with each request (if any) from the Commission for additional information in connection with the Registration Statement.
Each of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it became effective, complied in all material respects with the requirements of the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the 1940 Act and the 1940 Act Regulations. Each preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, at the time each was filed with the Commission, complied in all material respects with the requirements of the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the 1940 Act and the 1940 Act Regulations. Each preliminary prospectus delivered to the Underwriters for use in connection with this offering and the Prospectus was or will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
(ii) Accurate Disclosure. Neither the Registration Statement nor any amendment thereto, at its effective time, at the Closing Time or at any Date of Delivery, contained, contains or will contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, not misleading. As of the Applicable Time, none of the General Disclosure Package, nor any individual preliminary prospectus, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included, includes or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. Neither the Prospectus nor any amendment or supplement thereto, as of their respective date(s), at the time of any filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 497(h), at the Closing Time or at any Date of Delivery, included, includes or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
The representations and warranties in this subsection shall not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein. For purposes of this
Agreement, the only information so furnished shall be [—] (collectively, the “Underwriter Information”).
(iii) Company Not Ineligible Issuer. At the time of filing the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) of the 1933 Act Regulations) of the Securities and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405, without taking account of any determination by the Commission pursuant to Rule 405 that it is not necessary that the Company be considered an ineligible issuer.
(iv) Reserved.
(v) Independent Accountants. The accountants who certified the financial statements and supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are independent public accountants as required by the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
(vi) Financial Statements. The financial statements included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, together with the related schedules and notes, present fairly in all material respects the financial position of the Company and the Subsidiaries (as defined below) at the dates indicated and the results of their operations and the changes in the cash flows for the periods specified; said financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved. The supporting schedules, if any, included in the Registration Statement present fairly in all material respects in accordance with GAAP the information required to be stated therein. The selected financial data and the summary financial information included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus have been derived from the accounting records and other books and records of the Company and the Subsidiaries and present fairly in all material respects the information shown therein. Except as included therein, no historical or pro forma financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus under the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations.
(vii) No Material Adverse Change in Business. Except as otherwise stated therein, since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, (A) there has been no material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and the Subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business (a “Material Adverse Effect”), (B) there have been no transactions entered into by the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, other than those in the ordinary course of business, which are material with respect to the Company and the Subsidiaries considered as one enterprise and (C) there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company on any class of its capital stock.
(viii) Good Standing of the Company. The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Maryland and has corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement and the Investment Management Agreement; and the Company is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure so to qualify or to be in good standing would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(ix) Subsidiaries of the Company; Portfolio Companies. The Company’s only subsidiaries that are consolidated with the Company for financial reporting purposes under GAAP are those listed on Schedule C hereto (each a “Subsidiary” and, collectively, the “Subsidiaries”). Each of the Subsidiaries has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation, limited liability company or limited partnership in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, has power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Prospectus and is duly qualified as a foreign corporation, limited liability company or limited partnership to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect; except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of each such Subsidiary has been duly authorized and validly issued and is fully paid and non-assessable; none of the outstanding shares of capital stock of any of the Subsidiaries was issued in violation of the preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of such Subsidiary. Except for any investments made in the ordinary course of business since the most recent quarter end, the Company does not own, directly or indirectly, any investments or shares of stock or any other equity or long-term debt securities of any corporation or other entity other than (A) the Subsidiaries, (B) Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, an unconsolidated limited liability company in which the Company owns a 50% economic interest and co-manages with Credit Partners USA LLC, and its wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary and (C) those corporations or other entities described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under the caption “Portfolio Companies” (each a “Portfolio Company” and collectively the “Portfolio Companies”). Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company does not control (as such term is defined in Section 2(a)(9) of the 1940 Act), any of the Portfolio Companies or any corporation or other entity in which it invested since the most recent quarter end.
(x) Capitalization. The authorized, issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are as set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus in the column entitled “Actual” under the caption “Capitalization” (except for subsequent issuances, if any, pursuant to this Agreement, pursuant to any dividend reinvestment plan referred to in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, or pursuant to the exercise of convertible securities or options, if any, referred to in the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus). The outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been duly authorized and
validly issued and are fully paid and non‑assessable. None of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company were issued in violation of the preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company.
(xi) Authorization of Agreements.
(A) This Agreement and the Investment Management Agreement have each been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company. This Agreement and the Investment Management Agreement are each valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, except as the enforcement thereof may be subject to (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws now or thereafter in effect relating to creditors’ rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity and the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought.
(B) If applicable, the Warrant Agreement will have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company prior to the issuance of any applicable Warrants and, when executed and delivered by the Warrant Agent, will constitute a valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as the enforcement thereof may be subject to (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws now or thereafter in effect relating to creditors’ rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity and the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought.
(C) If applicable, the Deposit Agreement (as defined below) will have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company prior to the issuance of any applicable Securities and, when executed by the Depositary (as defined below), and will constitute a valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as the enforcement thereof may be subject to (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws now or thereafter in effect relating to creditors’ rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity and the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought.
(xii) Authorization and Description of Securities.
(A) The Securities being sold pursuant to this Agreement, if applicable, the Warrant Securities issuable upon exercise of the Warrants and, if applicable, the deposit of the Preferred Stock comprising part or all of the Securities by or on behalf of the Company in accordance with the provisions of a deposit agreement (each, a “Deposit Agreement”), among the Company, the financial institution named in the Deposit Agreement (the “Depositary”) and the holders of the Depositary Receipts issued thereunder, have been duly authorized by the Company, and such Securities have been duly authorized for issuance and sale to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement and, if applicable, the Warrant Agreement (or will have been so authorized prior to each issuance of Securities) and, when issued and delivered by the Company pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement and, if applicable, the Warrant Agreement against payment of the consideration set forth in this Agreement and, if applicable, the Warrant Agreement, will be validly issued and fully paid and non-assessable; the Warrant Securities are enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, except as the enforcement thereof may be subject to the effect of (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws now or
thereafter in effect relating to creditors’ rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity and the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought; the Securities being sold pursuant to this Agreement and, if applicable, the Warrant Securities issuable upon exercise of the Warrants and the Depositary Receipts, conform in all material respects to the statements relating thereto contained in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; and the issuance of the Securities is not subject to preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company.
(B) If the Securities are Common Stock or Preferred Stock convertible into Common Stock, the shares of issued and outstanding capital stock have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable and such capital stock conforms in all material respects as to legal matters to the description thereof in the Prospectus.
(C) If applicable, the shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of any issue of the Preferred Stock will have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance upon such conversion by all necessary corporate action and, when issued upon such conversion, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable, and the issuance of such shares upon such conversion will not be subject to preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company.
(D) If applicable, the Warrant Securities issuable upon exercise of the Warrants will have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance upon such exercise by all necessary corporate action and, when issued upon such exercise, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable, and the issuance of such shares upon such exercise will not be subject to preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company.
(E) If applicable, upon execution and delivery thereof pursuant to the terms of the Deposit Agreement, the persons in whose names the Depositary Receipts are registered will be entitled to the rights specified therein and in the Deposit Agreement, except as the enforcement thereof may be subject to the effect of (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws now or thereafter in effect relating to creditors’ rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity and the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought.
(xiii) Registration Rights. Except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there are no persons with registration rights or other similar rights to have any securities of the Company registered for sale pursuant to the Registration Statement or otherwise registered for sale or sold by the Company under the 1933 Act pursuant to this Agreement.
(xiv) Absence of Violations, Defaults and Conflicts. Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is (A) in violation of its charter, bylaws or similar organizational document, each as amended or supplemented as of the date of this Agreement, the Closing Time and any Date of Delivery, as applicable, (B) in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is a party or by which it or any of them may be bound or to which any of the properties or assets of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is subject (collectively, “Agreements and Instruments”), except for such
defaults that would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect, or (C) in violation of any law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any arbitrator, court, governmental body, regulatory body, administrative agency or other authority, body or agency having jurisdiction over the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or any of their respective properties, assets or operations (each, a “Governmental Entity”), except for such violations that would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the Investment Management Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and therein and in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (including the issuance and sale of the Securities and the use of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities as described therein under the caption “Use of Proceeds”) and compliance by the Company with its obligations hereunder and thereunder have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, conflict with or constitute a breach of, or default or Repayment Event (as defined below) under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any properties or assets of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries pursuant to, the Agreements and Instruments (except for such conflicts, breaches, defaults or Repayment Events or liens, charges or encumbrances that would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect), nor will such action result in any violation of the provisions of (a) the charter, bylaws or similar organizational document of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or (b) any law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any Governmental Entity, except, in the case of (b) above, for any violation that would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. As used herein, a “Repayment Event” means any event or condition which gives the holder of any note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Company or any of the Subsidiaries.
(xv) Employees. As of the date hereof, neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries has, and as of the Closing Time neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries will have, any employees.
(xvi) Absence of Proceedings. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there is no action, suit, proceeding or, to the knowledge of the Company, inquiry or investigation before or brought by any Governmental Entity now pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, against or affecting the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, which would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, or which would reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the properties or assets of the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, or the properties or assets of any of the Company’s “Significant Subsidiaries” (as defined in Rule 1-02(w) of Regulation S-X) and their respective subsidiaries taken as a whole, or the consummation of the transactions contemplated in this Agreement, the Deposit Agreement or the Warrant Agreement, if applicable, or the Investment Management Agreement or the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder or thereunder; and the aggregate of all pending legal or governmental proceedings to which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is a party or of which any of their respective properties or assets is the subject which are not described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure
Package and the Prospectus, including ordinary routine litigation incidental to the business, would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xvii) Accuracy of Exhibits. There are no contracts or documents which are required to be described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement which have not been so described and filed as required.
(xviii) Absence of Further Requirements. No filing with, or authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree of, any Governmental Entity is necessary or required for the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, in connection with the offering, issuance or sale of the Securities hereunder or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the Deposit Agreement or the Warrant Agreement, if applicable, or the Investment Management Agreement, except (A) such as have been already obtained or as may be required under the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the 1940 Act, the 1940 Act Regulations, the rules of the Nasdaq Global Select Market, state securities laws or the rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) and (B) where the failure to obtain any such filing, authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(xix) Possession of Licenses and Permits. The Company and the Subsidiaries possess such permits, licenses, approvals, consents and other authorizations (collectively, “Governmental Licenses”) issued by the appropriate Governmental Entities necessary to conduct the business now operated by them, except where the failure so to possess would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and the Subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms and conditions of all Governmental Licenses, except where the failure so to comply would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. All of the Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect, except when the invalidity of such Governmental Licenses or the failure of such Governmental Licenses to be in full force and effect would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any Governmental Licenses which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xx) Title to Property. The Company and the Subsidiaries do not own any real property; and all of the leases and subleases material to the business of the Company and the Subsidiaries, considered as one enterprise, and under which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries holds properties, are in full force and effect, and neither the Company not any such Subsidiary has received any notice of any material claim of any sort that has been asserted by anyone adverse to the rights of the Company or any Subsidiary under any of the leases or subleases mentioned above, or affecting or questioning the rights of the Company or such Subsidiary to the continued possession of the leased or subleased premises under any such lease or sublease.
(xxi) Possession of Intellectual Property. Except as would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and
the Subsidiaries own or possess, or can acquire on reasonable terms, adequate patents, patent rights, licenses, inventions, copyrights, know‑how (including trade secrets and other unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures), trademarks, service marks, trade names or other intellectual property (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) necessary to carry on the business now operated by them, and neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries has received any notice or is otherwise aware of any infringement of or conflict with asserted rights of others with respect to any Intellectual Property or of any facts or circumstances which would render any Intellectual Property invalid or inadequate to protect the interest of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries therein, and which infringement or conflict (if the subject of any unfavorable decision, ruling or finding) or invalidity or inadequacy, singly or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xxii) Accounting Controls. The Company, on a consolidated basis, maintains a system of internal control over financial reporting (as defined under Rule 13a-15(f) and 15d‑15(f) under the rules and regulations of the Commission under the 1934 Act (the “1934 Act Regulations”)) and a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (C) access to the Company’s consolidated assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, since the end of the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there has been (1) no material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (2) no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
(xxiii) Payment of Taxes. All United States federal income tax returns of the Company and the Subsidiaries required by law to have been filed by them (taking into account any applicable extensions) have been filed and all taxes shown by such returns or otherwise assessed, which are due and payable, have been paid, in each case, except assessments against which appeals have been or will be promptly taken and as to which adequate reserves have been provided or insofar as the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. The United States federal income tax returns of the Company through the fiscal year ended December 31, [—] have been filed and no assessment in connection therewith has been made against the Company. The Company and the Subsidiaries have filed all other tax returns that are required to have been filed by them (taking into account any applicable extensions) pursuant to applicable foreign, state, local or other law and has paid all taxes due pursuant to such returns or pursuant to any assessment received by the Company and the Subsidiaries, except for such taxes, if any, as are being contested in good faith and as to which adequate reserves have been established by the Company or, in each case, insofar as the failure to pay such taxes or file such returns would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. The charges, accruals and reserves on the books of the Company in respect of any income and corporation tax liability for any years not finally determined are adequate to
meet any current assessments or re-assessments for additional income tax for any years not finally determined, except to the extent of any inadequacy that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xxiv) Insurance. The Company and the Subsidiaries carry or are entitled to the benefits of insurance, with financially sound and reputable insurers, in such amounts and covering such risks as the Company reasonably believes is prudent, and all such insurance is in full force and effect. The Company has no reason to believe that it or any of the Subsidiaries will not be able (A) to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such policies expire or (B) to obtain comparable coverage from similar institutions as may be necessary or appropriate to conduct its business as now conducted and at a cost that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xxv) Investment Company Act. The Company is not required, and upon the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated and the application of the net proceeds therefrom as described in the Prospectus will not be required, to register as a “management investment company” under the 1940 Act.
(xxvi) Stabilization and Manipulation. The Company has not taken, nor will take, directly or indirectly, without giving effect to any activities by the Underwriters, any action designed, or that would reasonably be expected, to cause or result in, or that constitutes, any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Securities, other than activity permitted pursuant to Rule 10b-18 under the 1934 Act.
(xxvii) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. None of the Company, any of the Subsidiaries, or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer or employee of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or any agent, controlled affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is aware of, has taken or will take any action, directly or indirectly, that would result in a violation by such persons of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “FCPA”), including making use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce corruptly in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay or authorization of the payment of any money, or other property, gift, promise to give, or authorization of the giving of anything of value to any “foreign official” (as such term is defined in the FCPA) or any foreign political party or official thereof or any candidate for foreign political office, in contravention of the FCPA and to the knowledge of the Company, the Company and its Subsidiaries have conducted their businesses in compliance with the FCPA and have instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure, and which are reasonably expected to continue to ensure, continued compliance therewith.
(xxviii) Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company and the Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the applicable money laundering statutes of the jurisdictions in which the Company and the Subsidiaries conduct business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any other relevant laws, rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any Governmental Entity (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”); and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any Governmental Entity involving
the Company or any of the Subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the best knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(xxix) OFAC. None of the Company, any of the Subsidiaries, or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer or employee of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or any agent, controlled affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is an individual or entity (“Person”), or is controlled by a Person that is, (i) currently the subject or target of any sanctions administered or enforced by the United States Government, including the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the United Nations Security Council (“UNSC”), the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury (“HMT”), or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), or (ii) located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is itself the subject of Sanctions; and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the sale of the Securities, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiaries, joint venture partners or other Person, to fund any activities of or business with any Person, or in any country or territory, that, at the time of such funding, is the subject of Sanctions (to the extent that such action would result in the violation by any person (including any person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, adviser, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions) or in any other manner that will result in a violation by any Person (including any Person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions. Since its inception, the Company and the Subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in, and are not now knowingly engaged in, any unauthorized dealings or transactions with any Person that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject or target of Sanctions.
(xxx) Lending Relationship. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company (i) does not have any material lending or other relationship with any bank or lending affiliate of any Underwriter and (ii) does not intend to use any of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities to repay any outstanding debt owed to any affiliate of any Underwriter.
(xxxi) Statistical and Market-Related Data. Any statistical and market-related data included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes to be reliable and accurate and, to the extent required, the Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources.
(xxxii) Related Party Transactions. There are no business relationships or related party transactions involving the Company, any of the Subsidiaries or any other person required to be described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus which have not been described as required.
(xxxiii) Notification of Election. When the Notification of Election was filed with the Commission, it (A) contained all statements required to be stated therein in accordance with, and complied in all material respects with the requirements of, the 1940 Act and (B) did not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(xxxiv) Investment Management Agreement. (A) The terms of the Investment Management Agreement, including compensation terms, comply in all material respects with all applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the 1940 Act Regulations and the Advisers Act and (B) the approvals by the board of directors and the stockholders of the Company of the Investment Management Agreement have been made in accordance with the requirements of Section 15(a) and (c) of the 1940 Act and the 1940 Act Regulations applicable to companies that have elected to be regulated as business development companies under the 1940 Act.
(xxxv) Interested Persons. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (A) no person is serving or acting as an officer, director or investment adviser of the Company, except in accordance with the provisions of the 1940 Act and the Advisers Act, and (B) to the knowledge of the Company, no director of the Company is an “interested person” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Company or an “affiliated person” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any of the Underwriters.
(xxxvi) Business Development Company. (A) The Company has duly elected to be treated by the Commission under the 1940 Act as a business development company, such election is effective and all required action has been taken by the Company under the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act to make the public offering and consummate the sale of the Securities as provided in this Agreement; (B) the provisions of the charter and bylaws of the Company, and the investment objectives, policies and restrictions described in the Prospectus, assuming they are implemented as described, will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the 1940 Act; and (C) the operations of the Company are in compliance in all material respects with the provisions of the 1940 Act and the 1940 Act Regulations applicable to business development companies.
(xxxvii) No Extension of Credit. The Company has not, directly or indirectly, extended credit, agreed to extend credit, arranged to extend credit or renewed any extension of credit, in the form of a personal loan, to or for any director or executive officer of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, or to or for any family member or affiliate of any director or executive officer of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries.
(xxxviii) Regulated Investment Company. The Company has elected to be treated, and has operated, and intends to continue to operate, its business in such a manner as to enable the Company to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). The Company intends to direct the investment of the proceeds of the offering of the Securities in a manner as to comply with the requirements of Subchapter M of the Code.
(b) Representations and Warranties by the Adviser. The Adviser represents to each Underwriter as of the date hereof, the Applicable Time, the Closing Time (as defined below) and any Date of Delivery (as defined below), and agrees with each Underwriter, as follows:
(i) No Material Adverse Change in Business. Except as otherwise stated therein, since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, there has been no material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs, business prospects or regulatory status of the Adviser, whether or not arising in the ordinary
course of business, or on the ability of the Adviser to carry out its obligations under this Agreement or the Investment Management Agreement (collectively, an “Adviser Material Adverse Effect”).
(ii) Good Standing. The Adviser has been duly organized and is validly existing as a limited liability company, in good standing under the laws of its state of organization and has limited liability company power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement; the Adviser has limited liability company power and authority to enter into and perform its obligations under the Investment Management Agreement; and the Adviser is duly qualified as a foreign entity to transact business and is in good standing in each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure so to qualify or to be in good standing would not otherwise reasonably be expected to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect.
(iii) Registration Under Advisers Act. The Adviser is duly registered with the Commission as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act and is not prohibited by the Advisers Act or the 1940 Act from acting under the Investment Management Agreement for the Company as contemplated by the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. There does not exist any proceeding or, to the Adviser’s knowledge, any facts or circumstances the existence of which could lead to any proceeding which might adversely affect the registration of the Adviser with the Commission.
(iv) Absence of Proceedings. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there is no action, suit, proceeding or, to the knowledge of the Adviser, inquiry or investigation before or brought by any arbitrator, court, governmental body, regulatory body, administrative agency or other authority, body or agency having jurisdiction over the Adviser or any of its properties, assets or operations now pending or, to the knowledge of the Adviser, threatened, against or affecting the Adviser, which is required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement (other than as disclosed therein) or which would reasonably be expected to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect, or which would reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect its properties or assets or the consummation of the transactions contemplated in this Agreement or the Investment Management Agreement or the performance by the Adviser of its obligations hereunder or thereunder; and the aggregate of all pending legal or governmental proceedings to which the Adviser is a party or of which any of its properties or assets is the subject which are not described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, including ordinary routine litigation incidental to their business, would not reasonably be expected to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect.
(v) Absence of Violations, Defaults and Conflicts. The Adviser is not (A) in violation of its limited liability company agreement, (B) in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Adviser is a party or by which it may be bound or to which any of its properties or assets is subject (collectively, the “Adviser Agreements and Instruments”), except for such defaults that would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate,
to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect, or (C) in violation of any applicable law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any arbitrator, court, governmental body, regulatory body, administrative agency or other authority, body or agency having jurisdiction over the Adviser or any of its properties, assets or operations, except for such violations that would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the Investment Management Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and therein and in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (including the issuance and sale of the Securities and the use of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities as described therein under the caption “Use of Proceeds”) and compliance by the Adviser with its obligations hereunder and under the Investment Management Agreement do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, conflict with or constitute a breach of, or default under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any properties or assets of the Adviser or pursuant to, the Adviser Agreements and Instruments (except for such conflicts, breaches, defaults, events or conditions giving the holder of any note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Adviser, or liens, charges or encumbrances that would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect), nor will such action result in any violation of the provisions of (a) the limited liability company agreement of the Adviser, or (b) any applicable law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any arbitrator, court, governmental body, regulatory body, administrative agency or other authority, body or agency having jurisdiction over the Adviser or any of its properties, assets or operations except, in the case of (b) above, for any violation that would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect.
(vi) Authorization of Agreements. This Agreement and the Investment Management Agreement have each been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Adviser. This Agreement and the Investment Management Agreement are valid and binding obligations of the Adviser, enforceable against it in accordance with their terms, except as the enforcement thereof may be subject to (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws now or thereafter in effect relating to creditors’ rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity and the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought.
(vii) Absence of Further Requirements. No filing with, or authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree of, any court or governmental authority or agency is necessary or required for the performance by the Adviser of its obligations hereunder, in connection with the offering, issuance or sale of the Securities hereunder or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Investment Management Agreement, except (A) such as have been already obtained or as may be required under the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the 1940 Act, the 1940 Act Regulations, the rules of the Nasdaq Global Select Market, state securities laws or the rules of FINRA and (B) where the failure to obtain any such filing, authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect.
(viii) Description of Adviser. The description of the Adviser contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(ix) Possession of Licenses and Permits. The Adviser possesses such Governmental Licenses issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign regulatory agencies or bodies necessary to conduct the business now operated by it, except where the failure so to possess would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect. The Adviser is in compliance with the terms and conditions of all such Governmental Licenses, except where the failure so to comply would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect. All of the Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect, except when the invalidity of such Governmental Licenses or the failure of such Governmental Licenses to be in full force and effect would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect. The Adviser has not received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such Governmental Licenses which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would reasonably be expected to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect.
(x) Stabilization and Manipulation. The Adviser has not taken, nor will take, directly or indirectly, without giving effect to any activities by the Underwriters, any action designed, or that would reasonably be expected, to cause or result in, or which constitutes, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Securities, other than activity permitted pursuant to Rule 10b-18 under the 1934 Act.
(xi) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. None of the Adviser or, to the knowledge of the Adviser, any director, officer or employee of the Adviser or any agent, controlled affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Adviser is aware of, has taken or will take any action, directly or indirectly, that would result in a violation by such persons of the FCPA, in connection with the business of the Company, including making use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce corruptly in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay or authorization of the payment of any money, or other property, gift, promise to give, or authorization of the giving of anything of value to any “foreign official” (as such term is defined in the FCPA) or any foreign political party or official thereof or any candidate for foreign political office, in contravention of the FCPA and to the knowledge of the Adviser, the Adviser has conducted its business, in relation to the Company, in compliance with the FCPA and has instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure, and which are reasonably expected to continue to ensure, continued compliance therewith.
(xii) Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Adviser are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Money Laundering Laws; and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any arbitrator, court, governmental body, regulatory body, administrative agency or other authority, body or agency having jurisdiction over the Adviser or any of its properties, assets
or operations involving the Adviser with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the best knowledge of the Adviser, threatened.
(xiii) OFAC. None of the Adviser or, to the knowledge of the Adviser, any director, officer or employee of the Adviser or any agent, controlled affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Adviser is a Person, or is controlled by a Person that is, (i) currently the subject or target of Sanctions, or (ii) located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is itself the subject of Sanctions. During the last five years, the Adviser has not knowingly engaged in, and is not now knowingly engaged in, any unauthorized dealings or transactions with any Person that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject or target of Sanctions.
(xiv) Key Employees. The Adviser is not aware that (i) any of the executive officers, key employees or significant group of employees that provide services to the Company pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement plans to terminate employment with the Adviser’s affiliate, The Carlyle Group Employee Co., L.L.C. (“Carlyle Employee Co.”) or (ii) any such executive officer or key employee is subject to any noncompete, nondisclosure, confidentiality, employment, consulting or similar agreement that would be violated by either the Adviser’s present or proposed business activities, except, in each case, as would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect.
(xv) No Labor Disputes. No labor disturbance by or dispute with employees of Carlyle Employee Co. that provide services to the Company pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement exists or, to the knowledge of the Adviser, is contemplated or threatened, and the Adviser is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by, or dispute with, the employees, except in each case as would not reasonably be expected to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect.
(xvi) Accounting Controls. The Adviser maintains a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (A) transactions effectuated by it under the Investment Management Agreement are executed in accordance with its management’s general or specific authorization; (B) access to the Company’s consolidated assets that are in its possession or control is permitted only in accordance with its management’s general or specific authorization; (C) transactions for which it has bookkeeping and record-keeping responsibility under the Investment Management Agreement are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of the Company’s financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for the Company’s assets and (D) the recorded accountability for such assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences.
(xvii) Financial Resources. The Adviser has the financial resources available to it necessary for the performance of its services and obligations as contemplated by the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus and the Investment Management Agreement.
(c) Officer’s Certificates. Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company, any of the Subsidiaries or the Adviser delivered to the Representatives or to counsel for the Underwriters shall be
deemed a representation and warranty by the Company or the Adviser, as applicable, to each Underwriter as to the matters covered thereby.
SECTION 2. Sale and Delivery to Underwriters; Closing.
(a) Initial Securities. On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to sell to each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, and each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase from the Company, at the price per share set forth in Schedule A, that number of Initial Securities set forth in Schedule A opposite the name of such Underwriter, plus any additional number of Initial Securities which such Underwriter may become obligated to purchase pursuant to the provisions of Section 10 hereof, subject, in each case, to such adjustments among the Underwriters as the Representatives in their sole discretion shall make to eliminate any sales or purchases of fractional shares.
(b) Option Securities. In addition, on the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company hereby grants an option to the Underwriters, severally and not jointly, to purchase up to an additional [—] Securities, as may be necessary to cover overallotments made in connection with the offering of the Initial Securities, at the price per share set forth in Schedule A, less an amount per share equal to any dividends or distributions declared by the Company and payable on the Initial Securities but not payable on the Option Securities. The option hereby granted may be exercised for 30 days after the date hereof and may be exercised in whole or in part at any time from time to time upon notice by the Representatives to the Company setting forth the number of Option Securities as to which the several Underwriters are then exercising the option and the time and date of payment and delivery for such Option Securities. Any such time and date of delivery (a “Date of Delivery”) shall be determined by the Representatives, and may be the same date as the Closing Time, but shall not be later than seven full business days after the exercise of said option, nor in any event prior to the Closing Time (unless such time and date are postponed in accordance with Section 10 hereof). If the option is exercised as to all or any portion of the Option Securities, each of the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, will purchase that proportion of the total number of Option Securities then being purchased which the number of Initial Securities set forth in Schedule A opposite the name of such Underwriter bears to the total number of Initial Securities, subject, in each case, to such adjustments as the Representatives in their discretion shall make to eliminate any sales or purchases of fractional shares.
(c) Payment. Payment of the public offering price for the Initial Securities (less the underwriting discount) by the Underwriters to the Company (in the amounts set forth in Schedule A), and delivery of the Initial Securities, shall be made at the offices of [—] or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Representatives and the Company, at [—] [A.M./P.M.] (New York City time) on the third (fourth, if the pricing occurs after 4:30 P.M. (New York City time) on any given day) business day after the date hereof (unless postponed in accordance with the provisions of Section 10), or such other time not later than ten business days after such date as shall be agreed upon by the Representatives and the Company (such time and date of payment and delivery being herein called “Closing Time”).
In addition, in the event that any or all of the Option Securities are purchased by the Underwriters, payment of the public offering price for the Option Securities (less the underwriting discount) by the Underwriters to the Company (in the amounts set forth in Schedule A), and delivery of the Option Securities, shall be made at the above-mentioned offices, or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Representatives and the Company, on each Date of Delivery as specified in the notice from the Representatives to the Company.
Payment of the public offering price (less the underwriting discount) shall be made to the Company by wire transfer of immediately available funds to a bank account designated by the Company against delivery to the Representatives through the facilities of the Depository Trust Company for the respective accounts of the Underwriters of the Securities to be purchased by them. It is understood that each Underwriter has authorized the Representatives, for its account, to accept delivery of, receipt for, and make payment of the purchase price for, the Initial Securities and the Option Securities, if any, which it has agreed to purchase. The Representatives may (but shall not be obligated to) make payment of the purchase price for the Initial Securities or the Option Securities, if any, to be purchased by any Underwriter whose funds have not been received by the Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be, but such payment shall not relieve such Underwriter from its obligations hereunder.
(d) The Initial Securities and the Option Securities, if any, shall be transferred electronically at the Closing Date or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be, in such denominations and registered in such names as the Representatives may request; provided that any such request must be received in writing at least one full business day before the Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be.
SECTION 3. Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants with each Underwriter as follows:
(a) Compliance with Securities Regulations and Commission Requests. The Company, subject to Section 3(b), will comply with the requirements of Rule 415, Rule 430C and Rule 497, and will notify the Representatives immediately, and confirm the notice in writing, (i) when any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement shall become effective or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus shall have been filed, (ii) of the receipt of any comments from the Commission, (iii) of any request by the Commission for any amendment to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus, or for additional information, (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, or of the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceedings for any of such purposes or of any examination pursuant to Section 8(d) or 8(e) of the 1933 Act concerning the Registration Statement and (v) if the Company becomes the subject of a proceeding under Section 8A of the 1933 Act in connection with the offering of the Securities. The Company will effect all filings required under Rule 497(h) within the time period required by Rule 497, and will take such steps as it deems necessary to ascertain promptly whether the form of prospectus transmitted for filing under Rule 497(h) was received for filing by the Commission and, in the event that it was not, it will promptly file such prospectus. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order, prevention or suspension and, if any such order is issued, to obtain the lifting thereof at the earliest possible moment.
(b) Continued Compliance with Securities Laws. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to comply with the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations so as to permit the completion of the distribution of the Securities as contemplated in this Agreement and in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. If at any time when a prospectus relating to the Securities is required by the 1933 Act to be delivered in connection with sales of the Securities, any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which it is necessary, in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters or for the Company, to (i) amend the Registration Statement in order that the Registration Statement will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, (ii) amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus in order that the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, as the case may be, will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order
to make the statements therein not misleading in the light of the circumstances existing at the time it is delivered to a purchaser or (iii) amend the Registration Statement or amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, as the case may be, in order to comply with the requirements of the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations, the Company will promptly (A) give the Representatives notice of such event, (B) prepare any amendment or supplement as may be necessary to correct such statement or omission or to make the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus comply with such requirements and, a reasonable amount of time prior to any proposed filing or use, furnish the Representatives with copies of any such amendment or supplement and (C) file with the Commission any such amendment or supplement; provided that the Company shall not file or use any such amendment or supplement to which the Representatives or counsel for the Underwriters shall reasonably object. The Company will furnish to the Underwriters such number of copies of such amendment or supplement as the Underwriters may reasonably request. The Company has given the Representatives notice of any filings made pursuant to the 1934 Act or 1934 Act Regulations within 48 hours prior to the Applicable Time; the Company will give the Representatives notice of its intention to make any such filing from the Applicable Time to the Closing Time and will furnish the Representatives with copies of any such documents a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing or use, as the case may be, and will not file or use any such document to which the Representatives or counsel for the Underwriters shall reasonably object.
(c) Delivery of Commission Filings. The Company has furnished or, upon written request of the Representatives, will deliver to the Representatives and counsel for the Underwriters, without charge, conformed copies of (i) the Notification of Election and (ii) the Registration Statement, each as originally filed, and of each amendment thereto (including exhibits filed therewith) and conformed copies of all consents and certificates of experts, and will also deliver to the Representatives, without charge, a conformed copy of the Notification of Election and the Registration Statement as originally filed and of each amendment thereto (without exhibits) for each of the Underwriters. The copies of the Notification of Election and Registration Statement and each amendment thereto furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S‑T.
(d) Delivery of Prospectuses. The Company has delivered to each Underwriter, without charge, as many copies of each preliminary prospectus as such Underwriter reasonably requested, and the Company hereby consents to the use of such copies for purposes permitted by the 1933 Act. The Company will furnish to each Underwriter, without charge, during the period when a prospectus relating to the Securities is required to be delivered under the 1933 Act, such number of copies of the Prospectus (as amended or supplemented) as such Underwriter may reasonably request. The Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
(e) Blue Sky Qualifications. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts, in cooperation with the Underwriters, to qualify the Securities for offering and sale under the applicable securities laws of such states and other jurisdictions (domestic or foreign) as the Representatives may designate and to maintain such qualifications in effect so long as reasonably required to complete the distribution of the Securities; provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated to file any general consent to service of process or to qualify as a foreign corporation or as a dealer in securities in any jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified or to subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise so subject.
(f) Rule 158. The Company will make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable an earnings statement that satisfies the provisions of Section 11(a) of the 1933 Act and Rule 158
of the Commission promulgated thereunder covering a period of at least twelve months beginning with the first fiscal quarter of the Company occurring after the “effective date” (as defined in Rule 158) of the Registration Statement; provided that the Company will be deemed to have complied with such request by filing such an earnings statement on EDGAR.
(g) Use of Proceeds. The Company will use the net proceeds received by it from the sale of the Securities in the manner specified in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under “Use of Proceeds.”
(h) [Listing. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to effect and maintain the listing [if applicable, describe Securities] on [describe applicable stock exchange or quotation service].]
(i) Restriction on Sale of Securities. During a period of [—] days from the date of the Prospectus, the Company will not, without the prior written consent of the Representatives, (i) directly or indirectly, offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase or otherwise transfer or dispose of any Securities or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Securities or file any registration statement under the 1933 Act with respect to any of the foregoing (other than a post-effective amendment to the Company’s shelf registration statement on Form N-2 to update the financial information therein) or (ii) enter into any swap or any other agreement or any transaction that transfers, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, the economic consequence of ownership of Securities, whether any such swap or transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Securities or such other securities, in cash or otherwise. The foregoing sentence shall not apply to (A) the Securities to be sold hereunder or (B) any Securities issued pursuant to any dividend reinvestment plan referred to in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(j) Reporting Requirements. The Company, during the period when a Prospectus relating to the Securities is required to be delivered under the 1933 Act, will file all documents required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to the 1934 Act within the time periods required by the 1934 Act and 1934 Act Regulations.
(k) Business Development Company Status. The Company, during the period of at least two years from the effective date of the Company’s Registration Statement, will use its commercially reasonably efforts to maintain its status as a business development company; provided, however, the Company may cease to be, or withdraw its election as, a business development company, with the approval of the board of directors and a vote of stockholders as required by Section 58 of the 1940 Act or any successor provision.
(l) Regulated Investment Company Status. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to maintain its qualification as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Code for each full fiscal year during which it is a business development company under the 1940 Act.
(m) Annual Compliance Reviews. The Company will retain qualified accountants and qualified tax experts to (i) test procedures and conduct annual compliance reviews designed to determine compliance with the regulated investment company provisions of the Code and (ii) otherwise assist the Company in monitoring appropriate accounting systems and procedures designed to determine compliance with the regulated investment company provisions of the Code.
(n) Accounting Controls. The Company will use commercially reasonable efforts to establish and maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s authorization; (B) transactions are recorded as
necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (C) access to the Company’s consolidated assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s authorization; (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; (E) material information relating to the Company and the assets managed by the Adviser is promptly made known to the officers responsible for establishing and maintaining the system of internal accounting controls; and (F) any significant deficiencies or weaknesses in the design or operation of internal accounting controls that could adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial data, and any fraud whether or not material that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in internal controls, are adequately and promptly disclosed to the Company’s independent auditors and the audit committee of the Company’s board of directors.
(o) Disclosure Controls. The Company will use commercially reasonable efforts to establish and employ disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the 1934 Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive officer or officers and principal financial officer or officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding disclosure.
SECTION 4. Payment of Expenses.
(a) Expenses. The Company will pay or cause to be paid all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, including (i) the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement (including financial statements and exhibits) as originally filed and each amendment thereto, (ii) the preparation, printing and delivery to the Underwriters of copies of each preliminary prospectus and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto and any costs associated with electronic delivery of any of the foregoing by the Underwriters to investors, (iii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the certificates for the Securities and any Warrant Securities issuable upon exercise of the Warrants to the Underwriters, including any stock or other transfer taxes and any stamp or other duties payable upon the sale, issuance or delivery of the Securities and any Warrant Securities to the Underwriters, (iv) the fees and disbursements of the Company’s and the Adviser’s counsel, accountants and other advisors, (v) the qualification of the Securities and any Warrant Securities issuable upon exercise of the Warrants under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 3(e) hereof, (vi) the fees and expenses of any transfer agent or registrar for the Securities, (vii) the costs and expenses of the Company relating to investor presentations on any “road show” undertaken in connection with the marketing of the Securities, including without limitation, reasonable and documented expenses associated with the production of road show slides and graphics, fees and expenses of any consultants engaged in connection with the road show presentations, documented travel and lodging expenses of the representatives and officers of the Company and any such consultants, and [—]% of the cost of aircraft and other transportation chartered in connection with the road show, (viii) the filing fees incident to, and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel to the Underwriters in connection with, the review by FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Securities in an amount up to $[—], (ix) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing of the inclusion of the Securities or any Warrant Securities, if applicable, in [describe applicable stock exchange or quotation service] and (x) the costs and expenses (including, without limitation, any damages or other amounts payable in connection with legal or contractual liability) associated with the reforming of any contracts for sale of the Securities made by the Underwriters caused by a breach of the representation contained in the third sentence of Section 1(a)(ii).
(b) Termination of Agreement. If this Agreement is terminated by the Representatives in accordance with the provisions of Section 5 or Section 9(a)(i) or (iii) hereof, the Company shall reimburse the Underwriters for all of their reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses, including the reasonable and documented fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in an amount up to [—].
SECTION 5. Conditions of Underwriters’ Obligations. The obligations of the several Underwriters hereunder are subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company and the Adviser contained herein or in certificates of any officer of the Company, any of the Subsidiaries or the Adviser delivered pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company and the Adviser of their respective covenants and other obligations hereunder, and to the following further conditions:
(a) Effectiveness of Registration Statement; Rule 430C Information. The Registration Statement, including any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, has become effective and, at the Closing Time, no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto has been issued under the 1933 Act, no order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus has been issued and no proceedings for any of those purposes have been instituted or are pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, contemplated; and the Company has complied with each request (if any) from the Commission for additional information in connection with the Registration Statement. A prospectus containing the Rule 430C Information shall have been filed with the Commission in accordance with Rule 497(h) or a post-effective amendment providing such information shall have been filed with, and declared effective by, the Commission in accordance with the requirements of Rule 430C.
(b) Opinions of Counsel for Company. At the Closing Time, the Representatives shall have received the favorable opinions, dated the Closing Time, of Proskauer Rose LLP, counsel for the Company, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, special regulatory counsel for the Company, and Venable LLP, special Maryland counsel for the Company, in each case, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letters for each of the other Underwriters to the effect set forth in Exhibit A-1, Exhibit A-2 and Exhibit A-3 hereto and to such further effect as counsel to the Underwriters may reasonably request. Such counsels may state that insofar as such opinions involve factual matters, they have relied upon certificates of officers of the Company and certificates of public officials.
(c) Opinion of Counsel for Underwriters. At the Closing Time, the Representatives shall have received the favorable opinion, dated the Closing Time, of [—], counsel for the Underwriters, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters with respect to the sale of the Securities and other related matters as the Representatives may require. In giving such opinion such counsel may rely, as to all matters governed by the laws of jurisdictions other than the law of the State of New York, the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware and the federal securities laws of the United States, upon the opinions of counsel satisfactory to the Representatives. Such counsel may also state that, insofar as such opinion involves factual matters, they have relied, to the extent they deem proper, upon certificates of officers and other representatives of the Company and the Subsidiaries and certificates of public officials.
(d) Officers’ Certificates.
(i) At the Closing Time, there shall not have been, since the date hereof or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, any material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and the Subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising
in the ordinary course of business, and the Representatives shall have received a certificate of the chief executive officer or the president of the Company and of the chief financial or chief accounting officer of the Company, dated the Closing Time, to the effect that (A) there has been no such material adverse change, (B) the representations and warranties of the Company in Section 1(a) of this Agreement are true and correct with the same force and effect as though expressly made at and as of the Closing Time, (C) the Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied at or prior to the Closing Time, and (D) no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement under the 1933 Act has been issued, no order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus has been issued and no proceedings for any of those purposes have been instituted or are pending or, to their knowledge, contemplated by the Commission.
(ii) At the Closing Time, there shall not have been, since the date hereof or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Prospectus, an Adviser Material Adverse Effect, and the Representatives shall have received a certificate of the chief executive officer or the president and the chief financial or chief accounting officer of the Adviser, dated the Closing Time, to the effect that (A) there has been no such Adviser Material Adverse Effect, (B) the representations and warranties of the Adviser in Section 1(b) of this Agreement are true and correct with the same force and effect as though expressly made at and as of the Closing Time and (C) the Adviser has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on their part to be performed or satisfied at or prior to the Closing Time.
(e) Accountant’s Comfort Letter. At the time of the execution of this Agreement, the Representatives shall have received from Ernst & Young LLP a letter, dated such date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(f) Bring-down Comfort Letter. At the Closing Time, the Representatives shall have received from Ernst & Young LLP a letter, dated as of the Closing Time, to the effect that they reaffirm the statements made in the letter furnished pursuant to subsection (e) of this Section, except that the specified date referred to shall be a date not more than three business days prior to the Closing Time.
(g) Approval of Listing. At the Closing Time, the [describe applicable stock exchange or quotation service] shall have [completed its review of the [describe applicable form required by exchange] with respect to the [if applicable, describe Securities]] [OR] [approved [if applicable, describe Securities] for inclusion in [describe applicable stock exchange or quotation service], subject only to official notice of issuance].
(h) No Objection. FINRA has confirmed that it has not raised any objection with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of the underwriting terms and arrangements relating to the offering of the Securities.
(i) Lock-up Agreements. At the date of this Agreement, the Representatives shall have received an agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit B hereto signed by the persons listed on Schedule D hereto.
(j) Conditions to Purchase of Option Securities. In the event that the Underwriters exercise their option provided in Section 2(b) hereof to purchase all or any portion of the Option Securities, the
representations and warranties of the Company and the Adviser contained herein and the statements in any certificates furnished by the Company, any of the Subsidiaries and the Adviser hereunder shall be true and correct as of each Date of Delivery and, at the relevant Date of Delivery, the Representatives shall have received:
(i) Officers’ Certificates.
(A) A certificate, dated such Date of Delivery, of the chief executive officer or the president or a vice president of the Company and of the chief financial or chief accounting officer of the Company confirming that the certificate delivered at the Closing Time pursuant to Section 5(d)(i) hereof remains true and correct as of such Date of Delivery.
(B) A certificate, dated such Date of Delivery, of the chief executive officer or the president or a vice president and the chief financial or chief accounting officer of the Adviser confirming that the certificates delivered at the Closing Time pursuant to Section 5(d)(ii) hereof remain true and correct as of such Date of Delivery.
(ii) Opinions of Counsel for Company. If requested by the Representatives, the favorable opinion of Proskauer Rose LLP, counsel for the Company, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, special regulatory counsel for the Company, and Venable LLP, special Maryland counsel for the Company, each in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, dated such Date of Delivery, relating to the Option Securities to be purchased on such Date of Delivery and otherwise to the same effect as the opinions required by Section 5(b) hereof.
(iii) Opinion of Counsel for Underwriters. If requested by the Representatives, the favorable opinion of [—], counsel for the Underwriters, dated such Date of Delivery, relating to the Option Securities to be purchased on such Date of Delivery and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by Section 5(c) hereof.
(iv) Bring-down Comfort Letter. If requested by the Representatives, a letter from Ernst & Young LLP, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives and dated such Date of Delivery, substantially in the same form and substance as the letter furnished to the Representatives pursuant to Section 5(f) hereof, except that the “specified date” in the letter furnished pursuant to this paragraph shall be a date not more than three business days prior to such Date of Delivery.
(k) Additional Documents. At the Closing Time and at each Date of Delivery (if any) counsel for the Underwriters shall have been furnished with such documents and opinions as they may reasonably require for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated, or in order to evidence the accuracy of any of the representations or warranties, or the fulfillment of any of the conditions, herein contained; and all proceedings taken by the Company and the Adviser in connection with the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated shall be satisfactory in form and substance to the Representatives and counsel for the Underwriters.
(l) Termination of Agreement. If any condition specified in this Section shall not have been fulfilled when and as required to be fulfilled, this Agreement, or, in the case of any condition to the purchase of Option Securities on a Date of Delivery which is after the Closing Time, the obligations of the several Underwriters to purchase the relevant Option Securities, may be terminated by the Representatives by notice to the Company at any time at or prior to Closing Time or such Date of Delivery, as the case may be, and such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 4
and except that Sections 1, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15 and 16 survive any such termination and remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 6. Indemnification.
(a) Indemnification of Underwriters by the Company and the Adviser. The Company and the Adviser, severally and not jointly, agree to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its affiliates (as such term is defined in Rule 501(b) under the 1933 Act (each, an “Affiliate”)), its selling agents and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act as follows:
(i) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including any Rule 430C Information, or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading or arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included (A) in any preliminary prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), or (B) in any road show as defined in Rule 433(h) under the 1933 Act (a “road show”), or the omission or alleged omission in any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus, any road show or the General Disclosure Package of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;
(ii) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, to the extent of the aggregate amount paid in settlement of any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or of any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission; provided that (subject to Section 6(d) below) any such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Company;
(iii) against any and all expense whatsoever, as incurred (including the reasonably incurred and documented fees and disbursements of counsel chosen by the Representatives), reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission, to the extent that any such expense is not paid under (i) or (ii) above;
provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, liability, claim, damage or expense to the extent arising out of any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including any Rule 430C Information, any preliminary prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information, and provided, further, that the Adviser’s indemnity agreement shall only apply to statements described in (i) above regarding the Adviser.
(b) Indemnification of Company, Directors, Officers and Adviser. Each Underwriter severally agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, the Adviser, their directors, each of the Company’s officers who signed the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company or the Adviser within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in subsection (a) of this Section, as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements
or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including any Rule 430C Information, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information.
(c) Actions against Parties; Notification. Each indemnified party shall give notice as promptly as reasonably practicable to each indemnifying party of any action commenced against it in respect of which indemnity may be sought hereunder, but failure to so notify an indemnifying party shall not relieve such indemnifying party from any liability hereunder to the extent it is not materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture of substantive rights and defenses) as a result thereof and in any event shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have otherwise than on account of this indemnity agreement. In the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 6(a) above, counsel to the indemnified parties shall be selected by the Representatives, and, in the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 6(b) above, counsel to the indemnified parties shall be selected by the Company. An indemnifying party may participate at its own expense in the defense of any such action; provided, however, that counsel to the indemnifying party shall not (except with the consent of the indemnified party) also be counsel to the indemnified party. In no event shall the indemnifying parties be liable for fees and expenses of more than one counsel (in addition to any local counsel) separate from their own counsel for all indemnified parties in connection with any one action or separate but similar or related actions in the same jurisdiction arising out of the same general allegations or circumstances. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified parties, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever in respect of which indemnification or contribution could be sought under this Section 6 or Section 7 hereof (whether or not the indemnified parties are actual or potential parties thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent (i) includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising out of such litigation, investigation, proceeding or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party.
(d) Settlement without Consent if Failure to Reimburse. If at any time an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel, such indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of the nature contemplated by Section 6(a)(ii) effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 45 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request, (ii) such indemnifying party shall have received notice of the terms of such settlement at least 30 days prior to such settlement being entered into and (iii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed such indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement.
SECTION 7. Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in Section 6 hereof is for any reason unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect of any losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the aggregate amount of such losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by such indemnified party, as incurred, (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company and the Adviser, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company and the Adviser, on the one hand, and of the Underwriters, on the other hand, in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. For the avoidance of doubt, the Adviser’s contribution agreement shall only apply to instances in which the Adviser has an indemnity obligation as described above in Section 6(a).
The relative benefits received by the Company and the Adviser, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, in connection with the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the total net proceeds from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company (and net of the portion of the underwriting discount paid by the Adviser), on the one hand, and the total underwriting discount received by the Underwriters, on the other hand, in each case as set forth on the cover of the Prospectus, bear to the aggregate public offering price of the Securities as set forth on the cover of the Prospectus.
The relative fault of the Company and the Adviser, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any such untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company and the Adviser or by the Underwriters and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.
The Company, the Adviser and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 7 were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this Section 7. The aggregate amount of losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by an indemnified party and referred to above in this Section 7 shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 7, no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the underwriting commissions received by such Underwriter in connection with the Securities underwritten by it and distributed to the public.
No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the 1933 Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.
Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, any indemnification and contribution by the Company shall be subject to the requirements and limitations of Section 17(i) of the 1940 Act and any applicable guidance from the Commission or its staff thereunder.
For purposes of this Section 7, each person, if any, who controls an Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act and each Underwriter’s Affiliates and selling agents shall have the same rights to contribution as such Underwriter, and each director of the Company, each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company or the Adviser within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company or the Adviser, as the case may be. The Underwriters’ respective obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 7 are several in proportion to the number of Initial Securities set forth opposite their respective names in Schedule A hereto and not joint.
SECTION 8. Representations, Warranties and Agreements to Survive. All representations, warranties and agreements contained in this Agreement or in certificates of officers of the Company, any of the Subsidiaries or the Adviser submitted pursuant hereto, shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or its Affiliates or selling agents, any person controlling any Underwriter, its officers or directors or any person controlling the Company and (ii) delivery of and payment for the Securities.
SECTION 9. Termination of Agreement.
(a) Termination. The Representatives may terminate this Agreement, by notice to the Company, at any time at or prior to the Closing Time (i) if there has been, in the judgment of the Representatives, since the time of execution of this Agreement or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, any material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as one enterprise or the Adviser, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, or (ii) if there has occurred any material adverse change in the financial markets in the United States or the international financial markets, any outbreak of hostilities or escalation thereof or other calamity or crisis or any change or development involving a prospective change in national or international political, financial or economic conditions, in each case the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Representatives, impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the completion of the offering or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Securities, or (iii) if trading in any securities of the Company has been suspended or materially limited by the Commission or the [Nasdaq Global Select Market], or (iv) if trading generally on the NYSE MKT or the New York Stock Exchange or in the Nasdaq Global Market has been suspended or materially limited, or minimum or maximum prices for trading have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices have been required, by any of said exchanges or by order of the Commission, FINRA or any other governmental authority, or (v) a material disruption has occurred in commercial banking or securities settlement or clearance services in the United States or with respect to Clearstream or Euroclear systems in Europe, or (vi) if a banking moratorium has been declared by either Federal or New York authorities.
(b) Liabilities. If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Section, such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 4 hereof, and provided further that Sections 1, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15 and 16 shall survive such termination and remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 10. Default by One or More of the Underwriters. If one or more of the Underwriters shall fail at the Closing Time or a Date of Delivery to purchase the Securities which it or they are obligated to purchase under this Agreement (the “Defaulted Securities”), the Representatives shall have the right, within 24 hours thereafter, to make arrangements for one or more of the non‑defaulting Underwriters, or any other underwriters, to purchase all, but not less than all, of the Defaulted Securities in such amounts as may be agreed upon and upon the terms herein set forth; if, however, the Representatives shall not have completed such arrangements within such 24‑hour period, then:
(i) if the number of Defaulted Securities does not exceed 10% of the number of Securities to be purchased on such date, each of the non‑defaulting Underwriters shall be obligated, severally and not jointly, to purchase the full amount thereof in the proportions that their respective underwriting obligations hereunder bear to the underwriting obligations of all non‑defaulting Underwriters, or
(ii) if the number of Defaulted Securities exceeds 10% of the number of Securities to be purchased on such date, this Agreement or, with respect to any Date of Delivery which occurs after the Closing Time, the obligation of the Underwriters to purchase, and the Company to sell, the Option Securities to be purchased and sold on such Date of Delivery shall terminate without liability on the part of any non‑defaulting Underwriter.
No action taken pursuant to this Section shall relieve any defaulting Underwriter from liability in respect of its default.
In the event of any such default which does not result in a termination of this Agreement or, in the case of a Date of Delivery which is after the Closing Time, which does not result in a termination of the obligation of the Underwriters to purchase and the Company to sell the relevant Option Securities, as the case may be, either the (i) Representatives or (ii) the Company shall have the right to postpone Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be, for a period not exceeding seven days in order to effect any required changes in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or in any other documents or arrangements. As used herein, the term “Underwriter” includes any person substituted for an Underwriter under this Section 10.
SECTION 11. Notices. All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed or transmitted by any standard form of telecommunication. Notices to the Underwriters shall be directed to (i) [Lead Bookrunning Representative] at [Address] and (ii) [Underwriters’ Counsel] at [Address]; notices to the Company and the Adviser shall be directed to them at 520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor, New York, New York 10022, Attention: Michael Hart.
SECTION 12. No Advisory or Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (a) the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement, including the determination of the public offering price of the Securities and any related discounts and commissions, is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other hand, (b) in connection with the offering of the Securities and the process leading thereto, each Underwriter is and has been acting solely as a principal and is not the agent or fiduciary of the Company, any of the Subsidiaries or their respective stockholders, creditors, employees or any other party, (c) no Underwriter has assumed or will assume an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the offering of the Securities or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company or any of its subsidiaries on other matters) and no Underwriter has any obligation to the Company with respect to the offering of the Securities except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement, (d) the Underwriters and their respective affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of the Company and (e) the Underwriters have not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the offering of the Securities and the Company has consulted its own respective legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate.
SECTION 13. Parties. This Agreement shall each inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Underwriters and the Company and their respective successors. Nothing expressed or mentioned in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any person, firm or corporation, other than the Underwriters, the Company and the Adviser and their respective successors and the controlling persons and officers and directors referred to in Sections 6 and 7 and their heirs and legal representatives, any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision herein contained. This Agreement and all conditions and provisions hereof are intended to be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Underwriters, the Company and the Adviser and their respective successors, and said controlling persons and officers and directors and their heirs and legal representatives, and for the benefit of no other person, firm or corporation. No purchaser of Securities from any Underwriter shall be deemed to be a successor by reason merely of such purchase.
SECTION 14. Trial by Jury. The Company (on its behalf and, to the extent permitted by applicable law, on behalf of its stockholders and affiliates) and each of the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.
SECTION 15. GOVERNING LAW. THIS AGREEMENT AND ANY CLAIM, CONTROVERSY OR DISPUTE ARISING UNDER OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF, THE STATE OF NEW YORK WITHOUT REGARD TO ITS CHOICE OF LAW PROVISIONS.
SECTION 16. Consent to Jurisdiction; Waiver of Immunity. Any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby shall be instituted in (i) the federal courts of the United States of America located in the City and County of New York, Borough of Manhattan or (ii) the courts of the State of New York located in the City and County of New York, Borough of Manhattan (collectively, the “Specified Courts”), and each party irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction (except for proceedings instituted in regard to the enforcement of a judgment of any such court, as to which such jurisdiction is non-exclusive) of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. Service of any process, summons, notice or document by mail to such party’s address set forth above shall be effective service of process for any suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court. The parties irrevocably and unconditionally waive any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or other proceeding in the Specified Courts and irrevocably and unconditionally waive and agree not to plead or claim in any such court that any such suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum.
SECTION 17. TIME. TIME SHALL BE OF THE ESSENCE OF THIS AGREEMENT. EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE SET FORTH HEREIN, SPECIFIED TIMES OF DAY REFER TO NEW YORK CITY TIME.
SECTION 18. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same Agreement.
SECTION 19. Effect of Headings. The Section headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.
If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return to the Company a counterpart hereof, whereupon this instrument, along with all counterparts, will become a binding agreement among the Underwriters, the Company and the Adviser in accordance with its terms.
Very truly yours,
TCG BDC, INC.
Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C.
CONFIRMED AND ACCEPTED,
as of the date first above written:
[—]
By:
Name:
Title:
[—]
By:
Name:
Title:
For themselves and as Representatives of the other Underwriters named in Schedule A hereto.
SCHEDULE A
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| | | | | | | |
Name of Underwriter | | [Number of Shares of Common Stock]
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| [Number of Shares of Preferred Stock]
| | [Number of Warrants]
| |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | |
SCHEDULE B
Pricing Terms
1. The Company is selling [—][—].
2. The Company has granted an option to the Underwriters, severally and not jointly, to purchase up to an additional [—][—].
3. The public offering price per share for the Securities shall be $[—].
4. The underwriting discount per share for the Securities shall be $[—].
SCHEDULE C
Consolidated Subsidiaries
SCHEDULE D
List of Persons and Entities Subject to Lock-Up
Exhibit
TCG BDC, INC.
(a Maryland corporation)
$[—] Aggregate Principal Amount Debt Securities
[—] Warrants to Purchase Debt Securities
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
Dated: [—]
TCG BDC, INC.
(a Maryland corporation)
$[—] Aggregate Principal Amount Debt Securities
[—] Warrants to Purchase Debt Securities
UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT
[—]
[—]
[—]
as Representatives of the several Underwriters
Ladies and Gentlemen:
TCG BDC, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), confirms its agreement with [—] and [—] and each of the other underwriters named in Schedule A hereto (collectively, the “Underwriters,” which term shall also include any underwriter substituted as hereinafter provided in Section 10 hereof), for whom [—] and [—] are acting as representatives (in such capacity, the “Representatives”), with respect to (i) the sale by the Company and the purchase by the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of $[—] aggregate principal amount of debt securities (the “Debt Securities”) or Warrants (the “Debt Warrants”) to purchase Debt Securities of the Company set forth in Schedule A[, and with respect to the grant by the Company to the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, of the option described in Section 2(b) hereof to purchase additional Securities (as hereinafter defined) to cover overallotments, if any]. The Debt Securities will be issued under an indenture, dated as of [—] (the “Base Indenture”), between the Company and [Name of Trustee for Indenture], as trustee (the “Trustee”), as supplemented by a supplemental indenture, dated as of [—], between the Company and the Trustee (the “Supplemental Indenture” and, together with the Base Indenture, the “Indenture”). The Debt Warrants will be issued under one or more warrant agreements (the warrant agreement relating to any issue of Debt Warrants to be sold pursuant to this Agreement is referred to herein as the “Warrant Agreement”) between the Company and the Warrant Agent identified in such Warrant Agreement (the “Warrant Agent”). The Debt Securities or Debt Warrants or any combination thereof are hereinafter referred to as the “Underwritten Securities”. The aforesaid Underwritten Securities to be purchased by the Underwriters (the “Initial Securities”) [and all or any part of the Underwritten Securities subject to the option described in Section 2(b) hereof (the “Option Securities”)] are hereinafter called, collectively, the “Securities”; and “Warrant Securities” shall mean the Debt Securities issuable upon exercise of Debt Warrants. The Debt Securities and Debt Warrants may be offered either together or separately. Each issue of Debt Securities and Debt Warrants may vary, as applicable, as to aggregate principal amount, maturity date, interest rate or formula and timing of payments thereof, redemption provisions, conversion provisions and sinking fund requirements, if any, and any other variable terms which the Indenture or any Warrant Agreement, as the case may be, contemplates may be set forth in the Debt Securities and Debt Warrants as issued from time to time. Securities issued in book-entry form will be issued to Cede & Co. as nominee of the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) pursuant to a blanket letter of representations, [to be dated on or prior to the Closing Time] (the “DTC Agreement”), between the Company and DTC.
The Company understands that the Underwriters propose to make a public offering of the Securities as soon as the Representatives deem advisable after this Underwriting Agreement (this “Agreement”) has been executed and delivered.
The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) a shelf registration statement on Form N‑2 (No. 333-222096) covering the registration of the sale of the Securities and certain of the Company’s other securities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), which registration statement was declared effective on [—] by the Commission. The Indenture has been qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the “1939 Act”). The Company has also filed with the Commission a preliminary prospectus supplement, dated [—], which contains a base prospectus, dated [—] (collectively, the “preliminary prospectus”). Promptly after execution and delivery of this Agreement, the Company will prepare and file a prospectus in accordance with the provisions of Rule 430C (“Rule 430C”) of the rules and regulations of the Commission under the 1933 Act (the “1933 Act Regulations”) and paragraph (h) of Rule 497 (“Rule 497”) of the 1933 Act Regulations. The information included in such prospectus that was omitted from such registration statement at the time it became effective but that is deemed to be part of such registration statement at the time it became effective pursuant to Rule 430C is herein called the “Rule 430C Information.” Such registration statement, including the amendments thereto, the exhibits thereto and any schedules thereto, at the time it became effective, and including the Rule 430C Information, is herein called the “Registration Statement.” Any registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the 1933 Act Regulations is herein called the “Rule 462(b) Registration Statement” and, after such filing, the term “Registration Statement” shall include the Rule 462(b) Registration Statement. The final prospectus in the form filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 497 on or before the second business day after the date hereof (or such earlier time as may be required under the 1933 Act), which will include the base prospectus, dated [—], together with a final prospectus supplement, is herein called the “Prospectus.” For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be deemed to include the copy filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system or any successor system (“EDGAR”).
A Form N-54A Notification of Election to be Subject to Sections 55 through 65 of the Investment Company Act of 1940 filed Pursuant to Section 54(a) of the Investment Company Act (File No. 814-00995) (the “Notification of Election”) was filed with the Commission on May 2, 2013 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and the rules and regulations and any applicable guidance and/or interpretation of the Commission or its staff thereunder (the “1940 Act Regulations”).
The Company has entered into an Amended and Restated Investment Advisory Agreement, dated September 15, 2017 (the “Investment Management Agreement”), with Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C. (f/k/a Carlyle GMS Investment Management L.L.C.) (the “Adviser”), a Delaware limited liability company registered as an investment adviser, under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (collectively, the “Advisers Act”).
As used in this Agreement:
“Applicable Time” means [—] [A.M./P.M.], New York City time, on [—] or such other time as agreed by the Company and the Representatives.
“General Disclosure Package” means the preliminary prospectus and the information included on Schedule B hereto.
SECTION 1.Representations and Warranties.
(a) Representations and Warranties by the Company. The Company represents and warrants to each Underwriter as of the date hereof, the Applicable Time, the Closing Time (as defined below) and any Date of Delivery (as defined below), and agrees with each Underwriter, as follows:
(i) Registration Statement and Prospectuses. The Company is eligible to use Form N-2. Each of the Registration Statement and any amendment thereto has become effective under the 1933 Act. No stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto has been issued under the 1933 Act, no order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus has been issued and no proceedings for any of those purposes have been instituted or are pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, contemplated. The Company has complied with each request (if any) from the Commission for additional information in connection with the Registration Statement.
Each of the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the time it became effective, complied in all material respects with the requirements of the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the 1940 Act and the 1940 Act Regulations. Each preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus and any amendment or supplement thereto, at the time each was filed with the Commission, complied in all material respects with the requirements of the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the 1940 Act and the 1940 Act Regulations. Each preliminary prospectus delivered to the Underwriters for use in connection with this offering and the Prospectus was or will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
(ii) Accurate Disclosure. Neither the Registration Statement nor any amendment thereto, at its effective time, at the Closing Time or at any Date of Delivery, contained, contains or will contain an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, not misleading. As of the Applicable Time, none of the General Disclosure Package, nor any individual preliminary prospectus, when considered together with the General Disclosure Package, included, includes or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. Neither the Prospectus nor any amendment or supplement thereto, as of their respective date(s), at the time of any filing with the Commission pursuant to Rule 497(h), at the Closing Time or at any Date of Delivery, included, includes or will include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted, omits or will omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
The representations and warranties in this subsection shall not apply to (x) statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by any Underwriter through the Representatives expressly for use therein or (y) the part of the Registration Statement that constitutes the Statement of Eligibility and Qualification
under the 1939 Act (Form T-1) of the Trustee under the Indenture. For purposes of this Agreement, the only information so furnished shall be [—] (collectively, the “Underwriter Information”).
(iii) Company Not Ineligible Issuer. At the time of filing the Registration Statement and any post-effective amendment thereto, at the earliest time thereafter that the Company or another offering participant made a bona fide offer (within the meaning of Rule 164(h)(2) of the 1933 Act Regulations) of the Securities and at the date hereof, the Company was not and is not an “ineligible issuer,” as defined in Rule 405, without taking account of any determination by the Commission pursuant to Rule 405 that it is not necessary that the Company be considered an ineligible issuer.
(iv) Reserved.
(v) Independent Accountants. The accountants who certified the financial statements and supporting schedules included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are independent public accountants as required by the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”) and the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.
(vi) Financial Statements. The financial statements included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, together with the related schedules and notes, present fairly in all material respects the financial position of the Company and the Subsidiaries (as defined below) at the dates indicated and the results of their operations and the changes in the cash flows for the periods specified; said financial statements have been prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) applied on a consistent basis throughout the periods involved. The supporting schedules, if any, included in the Registration Statement present fairly in all material respects in accordance with GAAP the information required to be stated therein. The selected financial data and the summary financial information included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus have been derived from the accounting records and other books and records of the Company and the Subsidiaries and present fairly in all material respects the information shown therein. Except as included therein, no historical or pro forma financial statements or supporting schedules are required to be included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus under the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations.
(vii) No Material Adverse Change in Business. Except as otherwise stated therein, since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, (A) there has been no material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and the Subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business (a “Material Adverse Effect”), (B) there have been no transactions entered into by the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, other than those in the ordinary course of business, which are material with respect to the Company and the Subsidiaries considered as one enterprise and (C) there has been no dividend or distribution of any kind declared, paid or made by the Company on any class of its capital stock.
(viii) Good Standing of the Company. The Company has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Maryland and has corporate power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement, the Investment Management Agreement, the Indenture, the Debt Securities, the Warrant Securities and the DTC Agreement; and the Company is duly qualified as a foreign corporation to transact business and is in good standing in each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure so to qualify or to be in good standing would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(ix) Subsidiaries of the Company; Portfolio Companies. The Company’s only subsidiaries that are consolidated with the Company for financial reporting purposes under GAAP are those listed on Schedule C hereto (each a “Subsidiary” and, collectively, the “Subsidiaries”). Each of the Subsidiaries has been duly organized and is validly existing as a corporation, limited liability company or limited partnership in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction of its organization, has power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Prospectus and is duly qualified as a foreign corporation, limited liability company or limited partnership to transact business and is in good standing in each jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure to be so qualified or in good standing would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect; except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, all of the issued and outstanding capital stock of each such Subsidiary has been duly authorized and validly issued and is fully paid and non-assessable; none of the outstanding shares of capital stock of any of the Subsidiaries was issued in violation of the preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of such Subsidiary. Except for any investments made in the ordinary course of business since the most recent quarter end, the Company does not own, directly or indirectly, any investments or shares of stock or any other equity or long-term debt securities of any corporation or other entity other than (A) the Subsidiaries, (B) Middle Market Credit Fund, LLC, an unconsolidated limited liability company in which the Company owns a 50% economic interest and co-manages with Credit Partners USA LLC, and its wholly owned and consolidated subsidiary and (C) those corporations or other entities described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under the caption “Portfolio Companies” (each a “Portfolio Company” and collectively the “Portfolio Companies”). Except as otherwise disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company does not control (as such term is defined in Section 2(a)(9) of the 1940 Act), any of the Portfolio Companies or any corporation or other entity in which it invested since the most recent quarter end.
(x) Capitalization. The authorized, issued and outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company are as set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus in the column entitled “Actual” under the caption “Capitalization” (except for subsequent issuances, if any, pursuant to any dividend reinvestment plan referred to in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, or pursuant to the exercise of convertible securities or options, if any, referred to in the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus). The outstanding shares of
capital stock of the Company have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and non‑assessable. None of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company were issued in violation of the preemptive or other similar rights of any securityholder of the Company.
(xi) Authorization of Agreements.
(A) This Agreement and the Investment Management Agreement have each been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company. This Agreement and the Investment Management Agreement are each valid and binding obligations of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with their terms, except as the enforcement thereof may be subject to (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws now or thereafter in effect relating to creditors’ rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity and the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought.
(B) The Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and, when executed and delivered by the Trustee will constitute a valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as the enforcement thereof may be subject to (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws now or thereafter in effect relating to creditors’ rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity and the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought.
(C) If applicable, the Supplemental Indenture has been duly authorized by the Company and, at the Closing Time, will be executed and delivered by the Company and, when executed and delivered by the Trustee will constitute a valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as the enforcement thereof may be subject to (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws now or thereafter in effect relating to creditors’ rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity and the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought.
(D) If applicable, the Warrant Agreement will have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company prior to the issuance of any applicable Debt Warrants and, when executed and delivered by the Warrant Agent, will constitute a valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as the enforcement thereof may be subject to (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws now or thereafter in effect relating to creditors’ rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity and the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought.
(E) If applicable, the DTC Agreement will have been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company prior to the issuance of the Securities and will constitute a valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as the enforcement thereof may be subject to (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws now or thereafter in effect relating to creditors’ rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity and the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought.
(xii) Authorization and Description of Securities.
(A) The Securities being sold pursuant to this Agreement and, if applicable, the Warrant Securities issuable upon exercise of the Debt Warrants have been duly authorized for issuance and sale to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement and, if applicable, the Warrant Agreement (or will have been so authorized prior to each issuance of Securities) and, when issued, authenticated and delivered by the Company and authenticated by the Trustee pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement and, if applicable, the Indenture or Warrant Agreement, or both, as the case may be, relating thereto, against payment of the consideration set forth in this Agreement and, if applicable, the Warrant Agreement, will be valid and legally binding obligations of the Company, enforceable in accordance with their terms, except as the enforcement thereof may be subject to the effect of (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws now or thereafter in effect relating to creditors’ rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity and the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought, and will be entitled to the benefits of the Indenture or Warrant Agreement, or both, as the case may be, relating thereto; and the Securities, the Indenture and the Warrant Agreement, if any, conform in all material respects to the statements relating thereto contained in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(B) If applicable, upon issuance and delivery of the Securities in accordance with this Agreement and the Indenture, the Securities will be convertible at the option of the holder thereof into shares of Common Stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company (the “Common Stock”), in accordance with the terms of the Securities and the Indenture, the shares of Common Stock issuable upon conversion of any issue of the Securities will have been duly authorized and reserved for issuance upon such conversion by all necessary corporate action and, when issued and delivered in accordance with the provisions of this Agreement relating thereto, will be validly issued, fully paid and non-assessable.
(xiii) Registration Rights. Except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there are no persons with registration rights or other similar rights to have any securities of the Company registered for sale pursuant to the Registration Statement or otherwise registered for sale or sold by the Company under the 1933 Act pursuant to this Agreement.
(xiv) Absence of Violations, Defaults and Conflicts. Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries is (A) in violation of its charter, bylaws or similar organizational document, each as amended or supplemented as of the date of this Agreement, the Closing Time and any Date of Delivery, as applicable, (B) in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is a party or by which it or any of them may be bound or to which any of the properties or assets of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is subject (collectively, “Agreements and Instruments”), except for such defaults that would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect, or (C) in violation of any law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any arbitrator, court, governmental body, regulatory body, administrative agency or other authority, body or agency having jurisdiction over the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or any of their respective properties, assets or operations (each, a “Governmental Entity”), except for such violations that would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. The execution,
delivery and performance of this Agreement, the Investment Management Agreement, the Indenture (including the Supplemental Indenture), the Securities, the Warrant Agreement, if applicable, the DTC Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and therein and in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (including the issuance and sale of the Securities and the use of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities as described therein under the caption “Use of Proceeds” and, if applicable, the issuance of the shares of Common Stock upon conversion of the Securities) and compliance by the Company with its obligations hereunder and thereunder have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action and do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, conflict with or constitute a breach of, or default or Repayment Event (as defined below) under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any properties or assets of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries pursuant to, the Agreements and Instruments (except for such conflicts, breaches, defaults or Repayment Events or liens, charges or encumbrances that would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect), nor will such action result in any violation of the provisions of (a) the charter, bylaws or similar organizational document of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or (b) any law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any Governmental Entity, except, in the case of (b) above, for any violation that would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. As used herein, a “Repayment Event” means any event or condition which gives the holder of any note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Company or any of the Subsidiaries.
(xv) Employees. As of the date hereof, neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries has, and as of the Closing Time neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries will have, any employees.
(xvi) Absence of Proceedings. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there is no action, suit, proceeding or, to the knowledge of the Company, inquiry or investigation before or brought by any Governmental Entity now pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened, against or affecting the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, which would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect, or which would reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect the properties or assets of the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as a whole, or the properties or assets of any of the Company’s “Significant Subsidiaries” (as defined in Rule 1-02(w) of Regulation S-X) and their respective subsidiaries taken as a whole, or the consummation of the transactions contemplated in this Agreement, the Indenture (including the Supplemental Indenture), the DTC Agreement, the Warrant Agreement, if applicable, or the Investment Management Agreement or the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder or thereunder; and the aggregate of all pending legal or governmental proceedings to which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is a party or of which any of their respective properties or assets is the subject which are not described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, including ordinary routine litigation incidental to the business, would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xvii) Accuracy of Exhibits. There are no contracts or documents which are required to be described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement which have not been so described and filed as required.
(xviii) Absence of Further Requirements. No filing with, or authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree of, any Governmental Entity is necessary or required for the performance by the Company of its obligations hereunder, in connection with the offering, issuance or sale of the Securities hereunder or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the Indenture (including the Supplemental Indenture), the DTC Agreement, the Warrant Agreement, if applicable, or the Investment Management Agreement, except (A) such as have been already obtained or as may be required under the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the 1939 Act, the 1940 Act, the 1940 Act Regulations, the rules of the Nasdaq Global Select Market, state securities laws or the rules of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) and (B) where the failure to obtain any such filing, authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect.
(xix) Possession of Licenses and Permits. The Company and the Subsidiaries possess such permits, licenses, approvals, consents and other authorizations (collectively, “Governmental Licenses”) issued by the appropriate Governmental Entities necessary to conduct the business now operated by them, except where the failure so to possess would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. The Company and the Subsidiaries are in compliance with the terms and conditions of all Governmental Licenses, except where the failure so to comply would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. All of the Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect, except when the invalidity of such Governmental Licenses or the failure of such Governmental Licenses to be in full force and effect would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. Neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries has received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any Governmental Licenses which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xx) Title to Property. The Company and the Subsidiaries do not own any real property; and all of the leases and subleases material to the business of the Company and the Subsidiaries, considered as one enterprise, and under which the Company or any of the Subsidiaries holds properties, are in full force and effect, and neither the Company not any such Subsidiary has received any notice of any material claim of any sort that has been asserted by anyone adverse to the rights of the Company or any Subsidiary under any of the leases or subleases mentioned above, or affecting or questioning the rights of the Company or such Subsidiary to the continued possession of the leased or subleased premises under any such lease or sublease.
(xxi) Possession of Intellectual Property. Except as would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect, the Company and the Subsidiaries own or possess, or can acquire on reasonable terms, adequate patents, patent rights, licenses, inventions, copyrights, know‑how (including trade secrets and other
unpatented and/or unpatentable proprietary or confidential information, systems or procedures), trademarks, service marks, trade names or other intellectual property (collectively, “Intellectual Property”) necessary to carry on the business now operated by them, and neither the Company nor any of the Subsidiaries has received any notice or is otherwise aware of any infringement of or conflict with asserted rights of others with respect to any Intellectual Property or of any facts or circumstances which would render any Intellectual Property invalid or inadequate to protect the interest of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries therein, and which infringement or conflict (if the subject of any unfavorable decision, ruling or finding) or invalidity or inadequacy, singly or in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xxii) Accounting Controls. The Company, on a consolidated basis, maintains a system of internal control over financial reporting (as defined under Rule 13a-15(f) and 15d‑15(f) under the rules and regulations of the Commission under the 1934 Act (the “1934 Act Regulations”)) and a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (C) access to the Company’s consolidated assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. Except as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, since the end of the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there has been (1) no material weakness in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting (whether or not remediated) and (2) no change in the Company’s internal control over financial reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the Company’s internal control over financial reporting.
(xxiii) Payment of Taxes. All United States federal income tax returns of the Company and the Subsidiaries required by law to have been filed by them (taking into account any applicable extensions) have been filed and all taxes shown by such returns or otherwise assessed, which are due and payable, have been paid, in each case, except assessments against which appeals have been or will be promptly taken and as to which adequate reserves have been provided or insofar as the failure to do so would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in a Material Adverse Effect. The United States federal income tax returns of the Company through the fiscal year ended December 31, [—] have been filed and no assessment in connection therewith has been made against the Company. The Company and the Subsidiaries have filed all other tax returns that are required to have been filed by them (taking into account any applicable extensions) pursuant to applicable foreign, state, local or other law and has paid all taxes due pursuant to such returns or pursuant to any assessment received by the Company and the Subsidiaries, except for such taxes, if any, as are being contested in good faith and as to which adequate reserves have been established by the Company or, in each case, insofar as the failure to pay such taxes or file such returns would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect. The charges, accruals and reserves on the books of the Company in respect of any income and corporation tax liability for any years not finally determined are adequate to meet any current assessments or re-assessments for additional income tax for any years not
finally determined, except to the extent of any inadequacy that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xxiv) Insurance. The Company and the Subsidiaries carry or are entitled to the benefits of insurance, with financially sound and reputable insurers, in such amounts and covering such risks as the Company reasonably believes is prudent, and all such insurance is in full force and effect. The Company has no reason to believe that it or any of the Subsidiaries will not be able (A) to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such policies expire or (B) to obtain comparable coverage from similar institutions as may be necessary or appropriate to conduct its business as now conducted and at a cost that would not reasonably be expected to result in a Material Adverse Effect.
(xxv) Investment Company Act. The Company is not required, and upon the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated and the application of the net proceeds therefrom as described in the Prospectus will not be required, to register as a “management investment company” under the 1940 Act.
(xxvi) Stabilization and Manipulation. The Company has not taken, nor will take, directly or indirectly, without giving effect to any activities by the Underwriters, any action designed, or that would reasonably be expected, to cause or result in, or that constitutes, any stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Securities, other than activity permitted pursuant to Rule 10b-18 under the 1934 Act.
(xxvii) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. None of the Company, any of the Subsidiaries, or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer or employee of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or any agent, controlled affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is aware of, has taken or will take any action, directly or indirectly, that would result in a violation by such persons of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, and the rules and regulations thereunder (the “FCPA”), including making use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce corruptly in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay or authorization of the payment of any money, or other property, gift, promise to give, or authorization of the giving of anything of value to any “foreign official” (as such term is defined in the FCPA) or any foreign political party or official thereof or any candidate for foreign political office, in contravention of the FCPA and to the knowledge of the Company, the Company and its Subsidiaries have conducted their businesses in compliance with the FCPA and have instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure, and which are reasonably expected to continue to ensure, continued compliance therewith.
(xxviii) Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Company and the Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the applicable money laundering statutes of the jurisdictions in which the Company and the Subsidiaries conduct business, the rules and regulations thereunder and any other relevant laws, rules, regulations or guidelines, issued, administered or enforced by any Governmental Entity (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”); and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any Governmental Entity involving the Company or any of the Subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the best knowledge of the Company, threatened.
(xxix) OFAC. None of the Company, any of the Subsidiaries, or, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer or employee of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries or any agent, controlled affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries is an individual or entity (“Person”), or is controlled by a Person that is, (i) currently the subject or target of any sanctions administered or enforced by the United States Government, including the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”), the United Nations Security Council (“UNSC”), the European Union, Her Majesty’s Treasury (“HMT”), or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions”), or (ii) located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is itself the subject of Sanctions; and the Company will not directly or indirectly use the proceeds of the sale of the Securities, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiaries, joint venture partners or other Person, to fund any activities of or business with any Person, or in any country or territory, that, at the time of such funding, is the subject of Sanctions (to the extent that such action would result in the violation by any person (including any person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, adviser, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions) or in any other manner that will result in a violation by any Person (including any Person participating in the transaction, whether as underwriter, advisor, investor or otherwise) of Sanctions. Since its inception, the Company and the Subsidiaries have not knowingly engaged in, and are not now knowingly engaged in, any unauthorized dealings or transactions with any Person that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject or target of Sanctions.
(xxx) Lending Relationship. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company (i) does not have any material lending or other relationship with any bank or lending affiliate of any Underwriter and (ii) does not intend to use any of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities to repay any outstanding debt owed to any affiliate of any Underwriter.
(xxxi) Statistical and Market-Related Data. Any statistical and market-related data included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes to be reliable and accurate and, to the extent required, the Company has obtained the written consent to the use of such data from such sources.
(xxxii) Related Party Transactions. There are no business relationships or related party transactions involving the Company, any of the Subsidiaries or any other person required to be described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus which have not been described as required.
(xxxiii) Notification of Election. When the Notification of Election was filed with the Commission, it (A) contained all statements required to be stated therein in accordance with, and complied in all material respects with the requirements of, the 1940 Act and (B) did not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(xxxiv) Investment Management Agreement. (A) The terms of the Investment Management Agreement, including compensation terms, comply in all material respects with all applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the 1940 Act Regulations and the Advisers
Act and (B) the approvals by the board of directors and the stockholders of the Company of the Investment Management Agreement have been made in accordance with the requirements of Section 15(a) and (c) of the 1940 Act and the 1940 Act Regulations applicable to companies that have elected to be regulated as business development companies under the 1940 Act.
(xxxv) Interested Persons. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement and the Prospectus (A) no person is serving or acting as an officer, director or investment adviser of the Company, except in accordance with the provisions of the 1940 Act and the Advisers Act, and (B) to the knowledge of the Company, no director of the Company is an “interested person” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Company or an “affiliated person” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of any of the Underwriters.
(xxxvi) Business Development Company. (A) The Company has duly elected to be treated by the Commission under the 1940 Act as a business development company, such election is effective and all required action has been taken by the Company under the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act to make the public offering and consummate the sale of the Securities as provided in this Agreement; (B) the provisions of the charter and bylaws of the Company, and the investment objectives, policies and restrictions described in the Prospectus, assuming they are implemented as described, will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the 1940 Act; and (C) the operations of the Company are in compliance in all material respects with the provisions of the 1940 Act and the 1940 Act Regulations applicable to business development companies.
(xxxvii) No Extension of Credit. The Company has not, directly or indirectly, extended credit, agreed to extend credit, arranged to extend credit or renewed any extension of credit, in the form of a personal loan, to or for any director or executive officer of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries, or to or for any family member or affiliate of any director or executive officer of the Company or any of the Subsidiaries.
(xxxviii) Regulated Investment Company. The Company has elected to be treated, and has operated, and intends to continue to operate, its business in such a manner as to enable the Company to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). The Company intends to direct the investment of the proceeds of the offering of the Securities in a manner as to comply with the requirements of Subchapter M of the Code.
(b) Representations and Warranties by the Adviser. The Adviser represents to each Underwriter as of the date hereof, the Applicable Time, the Closing Time (as defined below) and any Date of Delivery (as defined below), and agrees with each Underwriter, as follows:
(i) No Material Adverse Change in Business. Except as otherwise stated therein, since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, there has been no material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs, business prospects or regulatory status of the Adviser, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, or on the ability of the Adviser to carry out its obligations under this Agreement or the Investment Management Agreement (collectively, an “Adviser Material Adverse Effect”).
(ii) Good Standing. The Adviser has been duly organized and is validly existing as a limited liability company, in good standing under the laws of its state of organization and has limited liability company power and authority to own, lease and operate its properties and to conduct its business as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus and to enter into and perform its obligations under this Agreement; the Adviser has limited liability company power and authority to enter into and perform its obligations under the Investment Management Agreement; and the Adviser is duly qualified as a foreign entity to transact business and is in good standing in each other jurisdiction in which such qualification is required, whether by reason of the ownership or leasing of property or the conduct of business, except where the failure so to qualify or to be in good standing would not otherwise reasonably be expected to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect.
(iii) Registration Under Advisers Act. The Adviser is duly registered with the Commission as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act and is not prohibited by the Advisers Act or the 1940 Act from acting under the Investment Management Agreement for the Company as contemplated by the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. There does not exist any proceeding or, to the Adviser’s knowledge, any facts or circumstances the existence of which could lead to any proceeding which might adversely affect the registration of the Adviser with the Commission.
(iv) Absence of Proceedings. Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there is no action, suit, proceeding or, to the knowledge of the Adviser, inquiry or investigation before or brought by any arbitrator, court, governmental body, regulatory body, administrative agency or other authority, body or agency having jurisdiction over the Adviser or any of its properties, assets or operations now pending or, to the knowledge of the Adviser, threatened, against or affecting the Adviser, which is required to be disclosed in the Registration Statement (other than as disclosed therein) or which would reasonably be expected to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect, or which would reasonably be expected to materially and adversely affect its properties or assets or the consummation of the transactions contemplated in this Agreement, the Indenture, the Investment Management Agreement or the performance by the Adviser of its obligations hereunder or thereunder; and the aggregate of all pending legal or governmental proceedings to which the Adviser is a party or of which any of its properties or assets is the subject which are not described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, including ordinary routine litigation incidental to their business, would not reasonably be expected to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect.
(v) Absence of Violations, Defaults and Conflicts. The Adviser is not (A) in violation of its limited liability company agreement, (B) in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any contract, indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan or credit agreement, note, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Adviser is a party or by which it may be bound or to which any of its properties or assets is subject (collectively, the “Adviser Agreements and Instruments”), except for such defaults that would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect, or (C) in violation of any applicable law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any arbitrator, court, governmental body, regulatory body, administrative agency or other authority, body or agency having
jurisdiction over the Adviser or any of its properties, assets or operations, except for such violations that would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect. The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement and the Investment Management Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and therein and in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (including the issuance and sale of the Securities and the use of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities as described therein under the caption “Use of Proceeds”) and compliance by the Adviser with its obligations hereunder and under the Investment Management Agreement do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, conflict with or constitute a breach of, or default under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any properties or assets of the Adviser or pursuant to, the Adviser Agreements and Instruments (except for such conflicts, breaches, defaults, events or conditions giving the holder of any note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Adviser, or liens, charges or encumbrances that would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect), nor will such action result in any violation of the provisions of (a) the limited liability company agreement of the Adviser, or (b) any applicable law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any arbitrator, court, governmental body, regulatory body, administrative agency or other authority, body or agency having jurisdiction over the Adviser or any of its properties, assets or operations except, in the case of (b) above, for any violation that would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect.
(vi) Authorization of Agreements. This Agreement and the Investment Management Agreement have each been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Adviser. This Agreement and the Investment Management Agreement are valid and binding obligations of the Adviser, enforceable against it in accordance with their terms, except as the enforcement thereof may be subject to (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws now or thereafter in effect relating to creditors’ rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity and the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought.
(vii) Absence of Further Requirements. No filing with, or authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree of, any court or governmental authority or agency is necessary or required for the performance by the Adviser of its obligations hereunder, in connection with the offering, issuance or sale of the Securities hereunder or the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, the Investment Management Agreement, the Indenture or the DTC Agreement, except (A) such as have been already obtained or as may be required under the 1933 Act, the 1933 Act Regulations, the 1940 Act, the 1940 Act Regulations, the rules of the Nasdaq Global Select Market, state securities laws or the rules of FINRA and (B) where the failure to obtain any such filing, authorization, approval, consent, license, order, registration, qualification or decree would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect.
(viii) Description of Adviser. The description of the Adviser contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus does not contain
any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.
(ix) Possession of Licenses and Permits. The Adviser possesses such Governmental Licenses issued by the appropriate federal, state, local or foreign regulatory agencies or bodies necessary to conduct the business now operated by it, except where the failure so to possess would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect. The Adviser is in compliance with the terms and conditions of all such Governmental Licenses, except where the failure so to comply would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect. All of the Governmental Licenses are valid and in full force and effect, except when the invalidity of such Governmental Licenses or the failure of such Governmental Licenses to be in full force and effect would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect. The Adviser has not received any notice of proceedings relating to the revocation or modification of any such Governmental Licenses which, singly or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would reasonably be expected to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect.
(x) Stabilization and Manipulation. The Adviser has not taken, nor will take, directly or indirectly, without giving effect to any activities by the Underwriters, any action designed, or that would reasonably be expected, to cause or result in, or which constitutes, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of the Securities, other than activity permitted pursuant to Rule 10b-18 under the 1934 Act.
(xi) Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. None of the Adviser or, to the knowledge of the Adviser, any director, officer or employee of the Adviser or any agent, controlled affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Adviser is aware of, has taken or will take any action, directly or indirectly, that would result in a violation by such persons of the FCPA, in connection with the business of the Company, including making use of the mails or any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce corruptly in furtherance of an offer, payment, promise to pay or authorization of the payment of any money, or other property, gift, promise to give, or authorization of the giving of anything of value to any “foreign official” (as such term is defined in the FCPA) or any foreign political party or official thereof or any candidate for foreign political office, in contravention of the FCPA and to the knowledge of the Adviser, the Adviser has conducted its business, in relation to the Company, in compliance with the FCPA and has instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure, and which are reasonably expected to continue to ensure, continued compliance therewith.
(xii) Money Laundering Laws. The operations of the Adviser are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Money Laundering Laws; and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any arbitrator, court, governmental body, regulatory body, administrative agency or other authority, body or agency having jurisdiction over the Adviser or any of its properties, assets or operations involving the Adviser with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the best knowledge of the Adviser, threatened.
(xiii) OFAC. None of the Adviser or, to the knowledge of the Adviser, any director, officer or employee of the Adviser or any agent, controlled affiliate or other person acting on behalf of the Adviser is a Person, or is controlled by a Person that is, (i) currently the subject or target of Sanctions, or (ii) located, organized or resident in a country or territory that is itself the subject of Sanctions. During the last five years, the Adviser has not knowingly engaged in, and is not now knowingly engaged in, any unauthorized dealings or transactions with any Person that at the time of the dealing or transaction is or was the subject or target of Sanctions.
(xiv) Key Employees. The Adviser is not aware that (i) any of the executive officers, key employees or significant group of employees that provide services to the Company pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement plans to terminate employment with the Adviser’s affiliate, The Carlyle Group Employee Co., L.L.C. (“Carlyle Employee Co.”) or (ii) any such executive officer or key employee is subject to any noncompete, nondisclosure, confidentiality, employment, consulting or similar agreement that would be violated by either the Adviser’s present or proposed business activities, except, in each case, as would not reasonably be expected, singly or in the aggregate, to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect.
(xv) No Labor Disputes. No labor disturbance by or dispute with employees of Carlyle Employee Co. that provide services to the Company pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement exists or, to the knowledge of the Adviser, is contemplated or threatened, and the Adviser is not aware of any existing or imminent labor disturbance by, or dispute with, the employees, except in each case as would not reasonably be expected to result in an Adviser Material Adverse Effect.
(xvi) Accounting Controls. The Adviser maintains a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (A) transactions effectuated by it under the Investment Management Agreement are executed in accordance with its management’s general or specific authorization; (B) access to the Company’s consolidated assets that are in its possession or control is permitted only in accordance with its management’s general or specific authorization; (C) transactions for which it has bookkeeping and record-keeping responsibility under the Investment Management Agreement are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of the Company’s financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for the Company’s assets and (D) the recorded accountability for such assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences.
(xvii) Financial Resources. The Adviser has the financial resources available to it necessary for the performance of its services and obligations as contemplated by the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus and the Investment Management Agreement.
(c) Officer’s Certificates. Any certificate signed by any officer of the Company, any of the Subsidiaries or the Adviser delivered to the Representatives or to counsel for the Underwriters shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company or the Adviser, as applicable, to each Underwriter as to the matters covered thereby.
SECTION 2. Sale and Delivery to Underwriters; Closing.
(a) Initial Securities. On the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company agrees to sell to each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, and each Underwriter, severally and not jointly, agrees to purchase from the Company, at the price set forth in Schedule A, that aggregate principal amount of Initial Securities set forth in Schedule A opposite the name of such Underwriter, plus any additional aggregate principal amount of Initial Securities which such Underwriter may become obligated to purchase pursuant to the provisions of Section 10 hereof, subject, in each case, to such adjustments among the Underwriters as the Representatives in their sole discretion shall make to eliminate any sales or purchases of fractional shares.
(b) [Option Securities. In addition, on the basis of the representations and warranties herein contained and subject to the terms and conditions herein set forth, the Company hereby grants an option to the Underwriters, severally and not jointly, to purchase up to an additional $[—] aggregate principal amount of Securities at the price set forth in Schedule A plus accrued interest from the Closing Time to the relevant Date of Delivery. The option hereby granted may be exercised for 30 days after the date hereof and may be exercised in whole or in part at any time from time to time upon notice by the Representatives to the Company setting forth the aggregate principal amount of Option Securities as to which the several Underwriters are then exercising the option and the time and date of payment and delivery for such Option Securities. Any such time and date of delivery (a “Date of Delivery”) shall be determined by the Representatives, and may be the same date as the Closing Time, but shall not be later than seven full business days after the exercise of said option, nor in any event prior to the Closing Time (unless such time and date are postponed in accordance with Section 10 hereof). If the option is exercised as to all or any portion of the Option Securities, each of the Underwriters, acting severally and not jointly, will purchase that proportion of the total aggregate principal amount of Option Securities then being purchased which the aggregate principal amount of Initial Securities set forth in Schedule A opposite the name of such Underwriter bears to the total aggregate principal amount of Initial Securities.]
(c) Payment. Payment of the public offering price for the Initial Securities (less the underwriting discount) by the Underwriters to the Company (in the amounts set forth in Schedule A), and delivery of the Initial Securities, shall be made at the offices of [—] or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Representatives and the Company, at [—] [A.M./P.M.] (New York City time) on the third (fourth, if the pricing occurs after 4:30 P.M. (New York City time) on any given day) business day after the date hereof (unless postponed in accordance with the provisions of Section 10), or such other time not later than ten business days after such date as shall be agreed upon by the Representatives and the Company (such time and date of payment and delivery being herein called “Closing Time”).
[In addition, in the event that any or all of the Option Securities are purchased by the Underwriters, payment of the public offering price for the Option Securities (less the underwriting discount) by the Underwriters to the Company (in the amounts set forth in Schedule A), and delivery of the Option Securities, shall be made at the above-mentioned offices, or at such other place as shall be agreed upon by the Representatives and the Company, on each Date of Delivery as specified in the notice from the Representatives to the Company.]
Payment of the public offering price (less the underwriting discount) shall be made to the Company by wire transfer of immediately available funds to a bank account designated by the Company against delivery to the Representatives through the facilities of DTC for the respective accounts of the Underwriters of the Securities to be purchased by them. It is understood that each Underwriter has authorized the Representatives, for its account, to accept delivery of, receipt for, and make payment of the purchase price for, the Initial
Securities [and the Option Securities, if any], which it has agreed to purchase. The Representatives may (but shall not be obligated to) make payment of the purchase price for the Initial Securities [or the Option Securities, if any,] to be purchased by any Underwriter whose funds have not been received by the Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be, but such payment shall not relieve such Underwriter from its obligations hereunder.
(d) Denominations; Registration. The Initial Securities [and the Option Securities, if any,] shall be transferred electronically at the Closing Date [or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be,] in such denominations and registered in such names as the Representatives may request; provided that any such request must be received in writing at least one full business day before the Closing Time [or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be].
SECTION 3. Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants with each Underwriter as follows:
(a) Compliance with Securities Regulations and Commission Requests. The Company, subject to Section 3(b), will comply with the requirements of Rule 415, Rule 430C and Rule 497, and will notify the Representatives immediately, and confirm the notice in writing, (i) when any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement shall become effective or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus shall have been filed, (ii) of the receipt of any comments from the Commission, (iii) of any request by the Commission for any amendment to the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus, or for additional information, (iv) of the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment or of any order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus, or of the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction, or of the initiation or threatening of any proceedings for any of such purposes or of any examination pursuant to Section 8(d) or 8(e) of the 1933 Act concerning the Registration Statement and (v) if the Company becomes the subject of a proceeding under Section 8A of the 1933 Act in connection with the offering of the Securities. The Company will effect all filings required under Rule 497(h) within the time period required by Rule 497, and will take such steps as it deems necessary to ascertain promptly whether the form of prospectus transmitted for filing under Rule 497(h) was received for filing by the Commission and, in the event that it was not, it will promptly file such prospectus. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to prevent the issuance of any stop order, prevention or suspension and, if any such order is issued, to obtain the lifting thereof at the earliest possible moment.
(b) Continued Compliance with Securities Laws. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to comply with the 1933 Act and the 1933 Act Regulations so as to permit the completion of the distribution of the Securities as contemplated in this Agreement and in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus. If at any time when a prospectus relating to the Securities is required by the 1933 Act to be delivered in connection with sales of the Securities, any event shall occur or condition shall exist as a result of which it is necessary, in the opinion of counsel for the Underwriters or for the Company, to (i) amend the Registration Statement in order that the Registration Statement will not include an untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, (ii) amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus in order that the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, as the case may be, will not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading in the light of the circumstances existing at the time it is delivered to a purchaser or (iii) amend the Registration Statement or amend or supplement the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, as the case may be, in order to comply with the requirements of the 1933 Act or the 1933 Act Regulations, the Company will promptly (A) give the Representatives notice of
such event, (B) prepare any amendment or supplement as may be necessary to correct such statement or omission or to make the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus comply with such requirements and, a reasonable amount of time prior to any proposed filing or use, furnish the Representatives with copies of any such amendment or supplement and (C) file with the Commission any such amendment or supplement; provided that the Company shall not file or use any such amendment or supplement to which the Representatives or counsel for the Underwriters shall reasonably object. The Company will furnish to the Underwriters such number of copies of such amendment or supplement as the Underwriters may reasonably request. The Company has given the Representatives notice of any filings made pursuant to the 1934 Act or 1934 Act Regulations within 48 hours prior to the Applicable Time; the Company will give the Representatives notice of its intention to make any such filing from the Applicable Time to the Closing Time and will furnish the Representatives with copies of any such documents a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing or use, as the case may be, and will not file or use any such document to which the Representatives or counsel for the Underwriters shall reasonably object.
(c) Delivery of Commission Filings. The Company has furnished or, upon written request of the Representatives, will deliver to the Representatives and counsel for the Underwriters, without charge, conformed copies of (i) the Notification of Election and (ii) the Registration Statement, each as originally filed, and of each amendment thereto (including exhibits filed therewith) and conformed copies of all consents and certificates of experts, and will also deliver to the Representatives, without charge, a conformed copy of the Notification of Election and the Registration Statement as originally filed and of each amendment thereto (without exhibits) for each of the Underwriters. The copies of the Notification of Election and Registration Statement and each amendment thereto furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S‑T.
(d) Delivery of Prospectuses. The Company has delivered to each Underwriter, without charge, as many copies of each preliminary prospectus as such Underwriter reasonably requested, and the Company hereby consents to the use of such copies for purposes permitted by the 1933 Act. The Company will furnish to each Underwriter, without charge, during the period when a prospectus relating to the Securities is required to be delivered under the 1933 Act, such number of copies of the Prospectus (as amended or supplemented) as such Underwriter may reasonably request. The Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto furnished to the Underwriters will be identical to the electronically transmitted copies thereof filed with the Commission pursuant to EDGAR, except to the extent permitted by Regulation S-T.
(e) Blue Sky Qualifications. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts, in cooperation with the Underwriters, to qualify the Securities for offering and sale under the applicable securities laws of such states and other jurisdictions (domestic or foreign) as the Representatives may designate and to maintain such qualifications in effect so long as reasonably required to complete the distribution of the Securities; provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated to file any general consent to service of process or to qualify as a foreign corporation or as a dealer in securities in any jurisdiction in which it is not so qualified or to subject itself to taxation in respect of doing business in any jurisdiction in which it is not otherwise so subject.
(f) Rule 158. The Company will make generally available to its securityholders as soon as practicable an earnings statement that satisfies the provisions of Section 11(a) of the 1933 Act and Rule 158 of the Commission promulgated thereunder covering a period of at least twelve months beginning with the first fiscal quarter of the Company occurring after the “effective date” (as defined in Rule 158) of the Registration Statement; provided that the Company will be deemed to have complied with such request by filing such an earnings statement on EDGAR.
(g) DTC. The Company will cooperate with the Representatives and use its commercially reasonable efforts to permit the offered Securities to be eligible for clearance and settlement through the facilities of DTC.
(h) [Reservation of Shares of Common Stock. The Company will, at all times, reserve and keep available, free of preemptive rights, enough shares of Common Stock for the purpose of enabling the Company to satisfy any obligations to issue shares of Common Stock upon conversion of the Securities.]
(i) Use of Proceeds. The Company will use the net proceeds received by it from the sale of the Securities in the manner specified in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under “Use of Proceeds.”
(j) [Listing. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to effect and maintain the listing [if applicable, describe Securities] on [describe applicable exchange or quotation service].]
(k) [Restriction on Sale of Common Stock. During a period of [—] days from the date of the Prospectus, the Company will not, without the prior written consent of the Representatives, (i) directly or indirectly, offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase or otherwise transfer or dispose of any share of Common Stock or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for Common Stock or file any registration statement under the 1933 Act with respect to any of the foregoing (other than a post-effective amendment to the Company’s shelf registration statement on Form N-2 to update the financial information therein) or (ii) enter into any swap or any other agreement or any transaction that transfers, in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, the economic consequence of ownership of Common Stock, whether any such swap or transaction described in clause (i) or (ii) above is to be settled by delivery of Common Stock or such other securities, in cash or otherwise. The foregoing sentence shall not apply to (A) the Securities to be sold hereunder or (B) any shares of Common Stock issued pursuant to any dividend reinvestment plan referred to in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.]
(l) Restriction on Sale of Securities. During a period of [—] days from the date of the Prospectus, the Company will not, without the prior written consent of the Representatives, (i) directly or indirectly, offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, sell any option or contract to purchase, purchase any option or contract to sell, grant any option, right or warrant to purchase or otherwise transfer or dispose of any debt securities issued or guaranteed by the Company or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for debt securities issued or guaranteed by the Company or file any registration statement under the 1933 Act with respect to any of the foregoing. The foregoing sentence shall not apply to (A) the Securities to be sold hereunder or (B) any post-effective amendment to the Registration Statement filed solely to add exhibits to the Registration Statement and which post-effective amendment becomes effective immediately upon filing with the Commission in accordance with Rule 462(d) under the 1933 Act.
(m) Reporting Requirements. The Company, during the period when a Prospectus relating to the Securities is required to be delivered under the 1933 Act, will file all documents required to be filed with the Commission pursuant to the 1934 Act within the time periods required by the 1934 Act and 1934 Act Regulations.
(n) Business Development Company Status. The Company, during the period of at least two years from the effective date of the Company’s Registration Statement, will use its commercially reasonably
efforts to maintain its status as a business development company; provided, however, the Company may cease to be, or withdraw its election as, a business development company, with the approval of the board of directors and a vote of stockholders as required by Section 58 of the 1940 Act or any successor provision.
(o) Regulated Investment Company Status. The Company will use its commercially reasonable efforts to maintain its qualification as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Code for each full fiscal year during which it is a business development company under the 1940 Act.
(p) Annual Compliance Reviews. The Company will retain qualified accountants and qualified tax experts to (i) test procedures and conduct annual compliance reviews designed to determine compliance with the regulated investment company provisions of the Code and (ii) otherwise assist the Company in monitoring appropriate accounting systems and procedures designed to determine compliance with the regulated investment company provisions of the Code.
(q) Accounting Controls. The Company will use commercially reasonable efforts to establish and maintain a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurances that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s authorization; (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with GAAP and to maintain accountability for assets; (C) access to the Company’s consolidated assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s authorization; (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with the existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences; (E) material information relating to the Company and the assets managed by the Adviser is promptly made known to the officers responsible for establishing and maintaining the system of internal accounting controls; and (F) any significant deficiencies or weaknesses in the design or operation of internal accounting controls that could adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial data, and any fraud whether or not material that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in internal controls, are adequately and promptly disclosed to the Company’s independent auditors and the audit committee of the Company’s board of directors.
(r) Disclosure Controls. The Company will use commercially reasonable efforts to establish and employ disclosure controls and procedures that are designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the 1934 Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive officer or officers and principal financial officer or officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding disclosure.
SECTION 4. Payment of Expenses.
(a) Expenses. The Company will pay or cause to be paid all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, including (i) the preparation, printing and filing of the Registration Statement (including financial statements and exhibits) as originally filed and each amendment thereto, (ii) the preparation, printing and delivery to the Underwriters of copies of each preliminary prospectus and the Prospectus and any amendments or supplements thereto and any costs associated with electronic delivery of any of the foregoing by the Underwriters to investors, (iii) the preparation, issuance and delivery of the certificates for the Securities and any Warrant Securities issuable upon exercise of the Debt Warrants to the Underwriters, including any stock or other transfer taxes and any stamp or other duties payable upon the sale, issuance or delivery of the Securities and any Warrant Securities to the Underwriters, (iv) the fees and disbursements of the Company’s and the Adviser’s counsel, accountants and other advisors, (v) the
qualification of the Securities and any Warrant Securities issuable upon exercise of the Debt Warrants under securities laws in accordance with the provisions of Section 3(e) hereof, (vi) the fees and expenses of the trustee with respect to the Securities and any transfer agent or registrar for the Securities, (vii) the costs and expenses of the Company relating to investor presentations on any “road show” undertaken in connection with the marketing of the Securities, including without limitation, reasonable and documented expenses associated with the production of road show slides and graphics, fees and expenses of any consultants engaged in connection with the road show presentations, documented travel and lodging expenses of the representatives and officers of the Company and any such consultants, and [—]% of the cost of aircraft and other transportation chartered in connection with the road show, (viii) the filing fees incident to, and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel to the Underwriters in connection with, the review by FINRA of the terms of the sale of the Securities in an amount up to $[—], (ix) the fees and expenses incurred in connection with the listing of the inclusion of the Securities or any Warrant Securities, if applicable, in [describe applicable exchange or quotation service] and (x) the costs and expenses (including, without limitation, any damages or other amounts payable in connection with legal or contractual liability) associated with the reforming of any contracts for sale of the Securities made by the Underwriters caused by a breach of the representation contained in the third sentence of Section 1(a)(ii).
(b) Termination of Agreement. If this Agreement is terminated by the Representatives in accordance with the provisions of Section 5 or Section 9(a)(i) or (iii) hereof, the Company shall reimburse the Underwriters for all of their reasonable and documented out-of-pocket expenses, including the reasonable and documented fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in an amount up to [—].
SECTION 5. Conditions of Underwriters’ Obligations. The obligations of the several Underwriters hereunder are subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company and the Adviser contained herein or in certificates of any officer of the Company, any of the Subsidiaries or the Adviser delivered pursuant to the provisions hereof, to the performance by the Company and the Adviser of their respective covenants and other obligations hereunder, and to the following further conditions:
(a) Effectiveness of Registration Statement; Rule 430C Information. The Registration Statement, including any Rule 462(b) Registration Statement, has become effective and, at the Closing Time, no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or any post-effective amendment thereto has been issued under the 1933 Act, no order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus has been issued and no proceedings for any of those purposes have been instituted or are pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, contemplated; and the Company has complied with each request (if any) from the Commission for additional information in connection with the Registration Statement. A prospectus containing the Rule 430C Information shall have been filed with the Commission in accordance with Rule 497(h) or a post-effective amendment providing such information shall have been filed with, and declared effective by, the Commission in accordance with the requirements of Rule 430C.
(b) Opinions of Counsel for Company. At the Closing Time, the Representatives shall have received the favorable opinions, dated the Closing Time, of Proskauer Rose LLP, counsel for the Company, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, special regulatory counsel for the Company, and Venable LLP, special Maryland counsel for the Company, in each case, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letters for each of the other Underwriters to the effect set forth in Exhibit A-1, Exhibit A-2 and Exhibit A-3 hereto and to such further effect as counsel to the Underwriters may reasonably request. Such counsels may state that insofar as such opinions involve factual matters, they have relied upon certificates of officers of the Company and certificates of public officials.
(c) Opinion of Counsel for Underwriters. At the Closing Time, the Representatives shall have received the favorable opinion, dated the Closing Time, of [—], counsel for the Underwriters, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters with respect to the sale of the Securities and other related matters as the Representatives may require. In giving such opinion such counsel may rely, as to all matters governed by the laws of jurisdictions other than the law of the State of New York, the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware and the federal securities laws of the United States, upon the opinions of counsel satisfactory to the Representatives. Such counsel may also state that, insofar as such opinion involves factual matters, they have relied, to the extent they deem proper, upon certificates of officers and other representatives of the Company and the Subsidiaries and certificates of public officials.
(d) Officers’ Certificates.
(i) At the Closing Time, there shall not have been, since the date hereof or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, any material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and the Subsidiaries considered as one enterprise, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, and the Representatives shall have received a certificate of the chief executive officer or the president of the Company and of the chief financial or chief accounting officer of the Company, dated the Closing Time, to the effect that (A) there has been no such material adverse change, (B) the representations and warranties of the Company in Section 1(a) of this Agreement are true and correct with the same force and effect as though expressly made at and as of the Closing Time, (C) the Company has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied at or prior to the Closing Time, and (D) no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement under the 1933 Act has been issued, no order preventing or suspending the use of any preliminary prospectus or the Prospectus has been issued and no proceedings for any of those purposes have been instituted or are pending or, to their knowledge, contemplated by the Commission.
(ii) At the Closing Time, there shall not have been, since the date hereof or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Prospectus, an Adviser Material Adverse Effect, and the Representatives shall have received a certificate of the chief executive officer or the president and the chief financial or chief accounting officer of the Adviser, dated the Closing Time, to the effect that (A) there has been no such Adviser Material Adverse Effect, (B) the representations and warranties of the Adviser in Section 1(b) of this Agreement are true and correct with the same force and effect as though expressly made at and as of the Closing Time and (C) the Adviser has complied with all agreements and satisfied all conditions on their part to be performed or satisfied at or prior to the Closing Time.
(e) Accountant’s Comfort Letter. At the time of the execution of this Agreement, the Representatives shall have received from Ernst & Young LLP a letter, dated such date, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives, together with signed or reproduced copies of such letter for each of the other Underwriters containing statements and information of the type ordinarily included in accountants’ “comfort letters” to underwriters with respect to the financial statements and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.
(f) Bring-down Comfort Letter. At the Closing Time, the Representatives shall have received from Ernst & Young LLP a letter, dated as of the Closing Time, to the effect that they reaffirm the statements made in the letter furnished pursuant to subsection (e) of this Section, except that the specified date referred to shall be a date not more than three business days prior to the Closing Time.
(g) Approval of Listing. At the Closing Time, the [describe applicable exchange or quotation service] shall have [completed its review of the [describe applicable form required by exchange] with respect to the [if applicable, describe Securities]] [OR] [approved [if applicable, describe Securities] for inclusion in [describe applicable exchange or quotation service], subject only to official notice of issuance].
(h) No Objection. FINRA has confirmed that it has not raised any objection with respect to the fairness and reasonableness of the underwriting terms and arrangements relating to the offering of the Securities.
(i) Indenture. At or prior to the Closing Time, the Company and the Trustee shall have executed and delivered the Indenture (including the Supplemental Indenture).
(j) [Lock-up Agreements. At the date of this Agreement, the Representatives shall have received an agreement substantially in the form of Exhibit B hereto signed by the persons listed on Schedule D hereto.]
(k) [Ratings. At the Closing Time, the Securities shall be rated at least by and since the execution of this Agreement, there shall not have been any decrease in the rating of any debt or preferred stock of the Company or any Subsidiary by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” (as defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the 1934 Act), or any notice given of any intended or potential decrease in any such rating or of a possible change in any such rating that does not indicate the direction of the possible change, and no such organization shall have publicly announced it has under surveillance or review any such rating.]
(l) [Conditions to Purchase of Option Securities. In the event that the Underwriters exercise their option provided in Section 2(b) hereof to purchase all or any portion of the Option Securities, the representations and warranties of the Company and the Adviser contained herein and the statements in any certificates furnished by the Company, any of the Subsidiaries and the Adviser hereunder shall be true and correct as of each Date of Delivery and, at the relevant Date of Delivery, the Representatives shall have received:
(i) Officers’ Certificates.
(A) A certificate, dated such Date of Delivery, of the chief executive officer or the president or a vice president of the Company and of the chief financial or chief accounting officer of the Company confirming that the certificate delivered at the Closing Time pursuant to Section 5(d)(i) hereof remains true and correct as of such Date of Delivery.
(B) A certificate, dated such Date of Delivery, of the chief executive officer or the president or a vice president and the chief financial or chief accounting officer of the Adviser confirming that the certificates delivered at the Closing Time pursuant to Section 5(d)(ii) hereof remain true and correct as of such Date of Delivery.
(ii) Opinions of Counsel for Company. If requested by the Representatives, the favorable opinion of Proskauer Rose LLP, counsel for the Company, Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, special regulatory counsel for the Company, and Venable LLP, special Maryland counsel for the Company, each in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, dated such Date
of Delivery, relating to the Option Securities to be purchased on such Date of Delivery and otherwise to the same effect as the opinions required by Section 5(b) hereof.
(iii) Opinion of Counsel for Underwriters. If requested by the Representatives, the favorable opinion of [—], counsel for the Underwriters, dated such Date of Delivery, relating to the Option Securities to be purchased on such Date of Delivery and otherwise to the same effect as the opinion required by Section 5(c) hereof.
(iv) Bring-down Comfort Letter. If requested by the Representatives, a letter from Ernst & Young LLP, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives and dated such Date of Delivery, substantially in the same form and substance as the letter furnished to the Representatives pursuant to Section 5(f) hereof, except that the “specified date” in the letter furnished pursuant to this paragraph shall be a date not more than three business days prior to such Date of Delivery.]
(m) Additional Documents. At the Closing Time and at each Date of Delivery (if any) counsel for the Underwriters shall have been furnished with such documents and opinions as they may reasonably require for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated, or in order to evidence the accuracy of any of the representations or warranties, or the fulfillment of any of the conditions, herein contained; and all proceedings taken by the Company and the Adviser in connection with the issuance and sale of the Securities as herein contemplated shall be satisfactory in form and substance to the Representatives and counsel for the Underwriters.
(n) Termination of Agreement. If any condition specified in this Section shall not have been fulfilled when and as required to be fulfilled, this Agreement[, or, in the case of any condition to the purchase of Option Securities on a Date of Delivery which is after the Closing Time, the obligations of the several Underwriters to purchase the relevant Option Securities,] may be terminated by the Representatives by notice to the Company at any time at or prior to Closing Time or such Date of Delivery, as the case may be, and such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 4 and except that Sections 1, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15 and 16 survive any such termination and remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 6. Indemnification.
(a) Indemnification of Underwriters by the Company and the Adviser. The Company and the Adviser, severally and not jointly, agree to indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its affiliates (as such term is defined in Rule 501(b) under the 1933 Act (each, an “Affiliate”)), its selling agents and each person, if any, who controls any Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act as follows:
(i) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including any Rule 430C Information, or the omission or alleged omission therefrom of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading or arising out of any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of a material fact included (A) in any preliminary prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto), or (B) in any road show as defined in Rule 433(h) under the 1933 Act (a “road show”), or the omission or alleged omission in any preliminary prospectus, the Prospectus, any road show or the General Disclosure Package of a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading;
(ii) against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense whatsoever, as incurred, to the extent of the aggregate amount paid in settlement of any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or of any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission; provided that (subject to Section 6(d) below) any such settlement is effected with the written consent of the Company;
(iii) against any and all expense whatsoever, as incurred (including the reasonably incurred and documented fees and disbursements of counsel chosen by the Representatives), reasonably incurred in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission, to the extent that any such expense is not paid under (i) or (ii) above;
provided, however, that this indemnity agreement shall not apply to any loss, liability, claim, damage or expense to the extent arising out of any untrue statement or omission or alleged untrue statement or omission made in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including any Rule 430C Information, any preliminary prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information, and provided, further, that the Adviser’s indemnity agreement shall only apply to statements described in (i) above regarding the Adviser.
(b) Indemnification of Company, Directors, Officers and Adviser. Each Underwriter severally agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the Company, the Adviser, their directors, each of the Company’s officers who signed the Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company or the Adviser within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act against any and all loss, liability, claim, damage and expense described in the indemnity contained in subsection (a) of this Section, as incurred, but only with respect to untrue statements or omissions, or alleged untrue statements or omissions, made in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), including any Rule 430C Information, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus (or any amendment or supplement thereto) in reliance upon and in conformity with the Underwriter Information.
(c) Actions against Parties; Notification. Each indemnified party shall give notice as promptly as reasonably practicable to each indemnifying party of any action commenced against it in respect of which indemnity may be sought hereunder, but failure to so notify an indemnifying party shall not relieve such indemnifying party from any liability hereunder to the extent it is not materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture of substantive rights and defenses) as a result thereof and in any event shall not relieve it from any liability which it may have otherwise than on account of this indemnity agreement. In the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 6(a) above, counsel to the indemnified parties shall be selected by the Representatives, and, in the case of parties indemnified pursuant to Section 6(b) above, counsel to the indemnified parties shall be selected by the Company. An indemnifying party may participate at its own expense in the defense of any such action; provided, however, that counsel to the indemnifying party shall not (except with the consent of the indemnified party) also be counsel to the indemnified party. In no event shall the indemnifying parties be liable for fees and expenses of more than one counsel (in addition to any local counsel) separate from their own counsel for all indemnified parties in connection with any one action or separate but similar or related actions in the same jurisdiction arising out of the same general allegations or circumstances. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified parties, settle or compromise or consent to the entry of any judgment with respect to any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever in respect of which indemnification or contribution could be sought under this Section 6 or Section 7 hereof
(whether or not the indemnified parties are actual or potential parties thereto), unless such settlement, compromise or consent (i) includes an unconditional release of each indemnified party from all liability arising out of such litigation, investigation, proceeding or claim and (ii) does not include a statement as to or an admission of fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of any indemnified party.
(d) Settlement without Consent if Failure to Reimburse. If at any time an indemnified party shall have requested an indemnifying party to reimburse the indemnified party for fees and expenses of counsel, such indemnifying party agrees that it shall be liable for any settlement of the nature contemplated by Section 6(a)(ii) effected without its written consent if (i) such settlement is entered into more than 45 days after receipt by such indemnifying party of the aforesaid request, (ii) such indemnifying party shall have received notice of the terms of such settlement at least 30 days prior to such settlement being entered into and (iii) such indemnifying party shall not have reimbursed such indemnified party in accordance with such request prior to the date of such settlement.
SECTION 7. Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in Section 6 hereof is for any reason unavailable to or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party in respect of any losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses referred to therein, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the aggregate amount of such losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by such indemnified party, as incurred, (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company and the Adviser, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company and the Adviser, on the one hand, and of the Underwriters, on the other hand, in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, liabilities, claims, damages or expenses, as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. For the avoidance of doubt, the Adviser’s contribution agreement shall only apply to instances in which the Adviser has an indemnity obligation as described above in Section 6(a).
The relative benefits received by the Company and the Adviser, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, in connection with the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement shall be deemed to be in the same respective proportions as the total net proceeds from the offering of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement (before deducting expenses) received by the Company (and net of the portion of the underwriting discount paid by the Adviser), on the one hand, and the total underwriting discount received by the Underwriters, on the other hand, in each case as set forth on the cover of the Prospectus, bear to the aggregate public offering price of the Securities as set forth on the cover of the Prospectus.
The relative fault of the Company and the Adviser, on the one hand, and the Underwriters, on the other hand, shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether any such untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company and the Adviser or by the Underwriters and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such statement or omission.
The Company, the Adviser and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 7 were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to above in this Section 7. The aggregate amount of losses, liabilities, claims, damages and expenses incurred by an indemnified party and referred to above in this Section 7 shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in investigating, preparing or defending against any litigation, or any investigation or proceeding by any
governmental agency or body, commenced or threatened, or any claim whatsoever based upon any such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission.
Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 7, no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the underwriting commissions received by such Underwriter in connection with the Securities underwritten by it and distributed to the public.
No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the 1933 Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation.
Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, any indemnification and contribution by the Company shall be subject to the requirements and limitations of Section 17(i) of the 1940 Act and any applicable guidance from the Commission or its staff thereunder.
For purposes of this Section 7, each person, if any, who controls an Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act and each Underwriter’s Affiliates and selling agents shall have the same rights to contribution as such Underwriter, and each director of the Company, each officer of the Company who signed the Registration Statement, and each person, if any, who controls the Company or the Adviser within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act or Section 20 of the 1934 Act shall have the same rights to contribution as the Company or the Adviser, as the case may be. The Underwriters’ respective obligations to contribute pursuant to this Section 7 are several in proportion to the aggregate principal amount of Initial Securities set forth opposite their respective names in Schedule A hereto and not joint.
SECTION 8. Representations, Warranties and Agreements to Survive. All representations, warranties and agreements contained in this Agreement or in certificates of officers of the Company, any of the Subsidiaries or the Adviser submitted pursuant hereto, shall remain operative and in full force and effect regardless of (i) any investigation made by or on behalf of any Underwriter or its Affiliates or selling agents, any person controlling any Underwriter, its officers or directors or any person controlling the Company and (ii) delivery of and payment for the Securities.
SECTION 9. Termination of Agreement.
(a) Termination. The Representatives may terminate this Agreement, by notice to the Company, at any time at or prior to the Closing Time (i) if there has been, in the judgment of the Representatives, since the time of execution of this Agreement or since the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, any material adverse change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business affairs or business prospects of the Company and the Subsidiaries taken as one enterprise or the Adviser, whether or not arising in the ordinary course of business, or (ii) if there has occurred any material adverse change in the financial markets in the United States or the international financial markets, any outbreak of hostilities or escalation thereof or other calamity or crisis or any change or development involving a prospective change in national or international political, financial or economic conditions, in each case the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Representatives, impracticable or inadvisable to proceed with the completion of the offering or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Securities, or (iii) if trading in any securities of the Company has been suspended or materially limited by the Commission or the [Nasdaq Global Select Market], or (iv) if trading generally on the NYSE MKT or the New York Stock Exchange or in the Nasdaq Global Market has been suspended or materially limited, or minimum or maximum prices for trading have been fixed, or maximum ranges for prices have been required, by any of said exchanges or by order of the Commission, FINRA or any other governmental authority, or (v) a material disruption has occurred in commercial banking or securities
settlement or clearance services in the United States or with respect to Clearstream or Euroclear systems in Europe, or (vi) if a banking moratorium has been declared by either Federal or New York authorities.
(b) Liabilities. If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to this Section, such termination shall be without liability of any party to any other party except as provided in Section 4 hereof, and provided further that Sections 1, 6, 7, 8, 14, 15 and 16 shall survive such termination and remain in full force and effect.
SECTION 10. Default by One or More of the Underwriters. If one or more of the Underwriters shall fail at the Closing Time or a Date of Delivery to purchase the Securities which it or they are obligated to purchase under this Agreement (the “Defaulted Securities”), the Representatives shall have the right, within 24 hours thereafter, to make arrangements for one or more of the non‑defaulting Underwriters, or any other underwriters, to purchase all, but not less than all, of the Defaulted Securities in such amounts as may be agreed upon and upon the terms herein set forth; if, however, the Representatives shall not have completed such arrangements within such 24‑hour period, then:
(i) if the aggregate principal amount of Defaulted Securities does not exceed 10% of the aggregate principal amount of Securities to be purchased on such date, each of the non‑defaulting Underwriters shall be obligated, severally and not jointly, to purchase the full amount thereof in the proportions that their respective underwriting obligations hereunder bear to the underwriting obligations of all non‑defaulting Underwriters, or
(ii) if the aggregate principal amount of Defaulted Securities exceeds 10% of the aggregate principal amount of Securities to be purchased on such date, this Agreement [or, with respect to any Date of Delivery which occurs after the Closing Time, the obligation of the Underwriters to purchase, and the Company to sell, the Option Securities to be purchased and sold on such Date of Delivery] shall terminate without liability on the part of any non‑defaulting Underwriter.
As used in this Section only, if the Defaulted Securities include Debt Warrants, the aggregate amount or aggregate principal amount of Securities shall mean the aggregate principal amount of any Securities plus the public offering price of any Debt Warrants included in the relevant Securities.
No action taken pursuant to this Section shall relieve any defaulting Underwriter from liability in respect of its default.
In the event of any such default which does not result in a termination of this Agreement [or, in the case of a Date of Delivery which is after the Closing Time, which does not result in a termination of the obligation of the Underwriters to purchase and the Company to sell the relevant Option Securities, as the case may be,] either the (i) Representatives or (ii) the Company shall have the right to postpone Closing Time or the relevant Date of Delivery, as the case may be, for a period not exceeding seven days in order to effect any required changes in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus or in any other documents or arrangements. As used herein, the term “Underwriter” includes any person substituted for an Underwriter under this Section 10.
SECTION 11. Notices. All notices and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be deemed to have been duly given if mailed or transmitted by any standard form of telecommunication. Notices to the Underwriters shall be directed to (i) [Lead Bookrunning Representative] at [Address] and (ii) [Underwriters’ Counsel] at [Address]; notices to the Company and the Adviser shall be directed to them at 520 Madison Avenue, 40th Floor, New York, New York 10022, Attention: Michael Hart.
SECTION 12. No Advisory or Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that (a) the purchase and sale of the Securities pursuant to this Agreement, including the determination of the public offering price of the Securities and any related discounts and commissions, is an arm’s-length commercial transaction between the Company, on the one hand, and the several Underwriters, on the other hand, (b) in connection with the offering of the Securities and the process leading thereto, each Underwriter is and has been acting solely as a principal and is not the agent or fiduciary of the Company, any of the Subsidiaries or their respective stockholders, creditors, employees or any other party, (c) no Underwriter has assumed or will assume an advisory or fiduciary responsibility in favor of the Company with respect to the offering of the Securities or the process leading thereto (irrespective of whether such Underwriter has advised or is currently advising the Company or any of its subsidiaries on other matters) and no Underwriter has any obligation to the Company with respect to the offering of the Securities except the obligations expressly set forth in this Agreement, (d) the Underwriters and their respective affiliates may be engaged in a broad range of transactions that involve interests that differ from those of the Company and (e) the Underwriters have not provided any legal, accounting, regulatory or tax advice with respect to the offering of the Securities and the Company has consulted its own respective legal, accounting, regulatory and tax advisors to the extent it deemed appropriate.
SECTION 13. Parties. This Agreement shall each inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the Underwriters and the Company and their respective successors. Nothing expressed or mentioned in this Agreement is intended or shall be construed to give any person, firm or corporation, other than the Underwriters, the Company and the Adviser and their respective successors and the controlling persons and officers and directors referred to in Sections 6 and 7 and their heirs and legal representatives, any legal or equitable right, remedy or claim under or in respect of this Agreement or any provision herein contained. This Agreement and all conditions and provisions hereof are intended to be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Underwriters, the Company and the Adviser and their respective successors, and said controlling persons and officers and directors and their heirs and legal representatives, and for the benefit of no other person, firm or corporation. No purchaser of Securities from any Underwriter shall be deemed to be a successor by reason merely of such purchase.
SECTION 14. Trial by Jury. The Company (on its behalf and, to the extent permitted by applicable law, on behalf of its stockholders and affiliates) and each of the Underwriters hereby irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, any and all right to trial by jury in any legal proceeding arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby.
SECTION 15. GOVERNING LAW. THIS AGREEMENT AND ANY CLAIM, CONTROVERSY OR DISPUTE ARISING UNDER OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE GOVERNED BY, AND CONSTRUED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE LAWS OF, THE STATE OF NEW YORK WITHOUT REGARD TO ITS CHOICE OF LAW PROVISIONS.
SECTION 16. Consent to Jurisdiction; Waiver of Immunity. Any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of or based upon this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby shall be instituted in (i) the federal courts of the United States of America located in the City and County of New York, Borough of Manhattan or (ii) the courts of the State of New York located in the City and County of New York, Borough of Manhattan (collectively, the “Specified Courts”), and each party irrevocably submits to the exclusive jurisdiction (except for proceedings instituted in regard to the enforcement of a judgment of any such court, as to which such jurisdiction is non-exclusive) of such courts in any such suit, action or proceeding. Service of any process, summons, notice or document by mail to such party’s address set forth above shall be effective service of process for any suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court. The parties irrevocably and unconditionally waive any objection to the laying of venue of any suit, action or other proceeding in the
Specified Courts and irrevocably and unconditionally waive and agree not to plead or claim in any such court that any such suit, action or other proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum.
SECTION 17. TIME. TIME SHALL BE OF THE ESSENCE OF THIS AGREEMENT. EXCEPT AS OTHERWISE SET FORTH HEREIN, SPECIFIED TIMES OF DAY REFER TO NEW YORK CITY TIME.
SECTION 18. Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all such counterparts shall together constitute one and the same Agreement.
SECTION 19. Effect of Headings. The Section headings herein are for convenience only and shall not affect the construction hereof.
If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please sign and return to the Company a counterpart hereof, whereupon this instrument, along with all counterparts, will become a binding agreement among the Underwriters, the Company and the Adviser in accordance with its terms.
Very truly yours,
TCG BDC, INC.
Carlyle Global Credit Investment Management L.L.C.
CONFIRMED AND ACCEPTED,
as of the date first above written:
[—]
By:
Name:
Title:
[—]
By:
Name:
Title:
For themselves and as Representatives of the other Underwriters named in Schedule A hereto.
SCHEDULE A
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| | | | | | |
Name of Underwriter | | [Aggregate Principal Amount of Debt Securities]
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| | [Number of Warrants]
| |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
| | | | | | |
SCHEDULE B
Pricing Terms
| |
1. | The Company is selling [—][—]. |
| |
2. | The aggregate principal amount of the Securities is $[—]. |
| |
3. | The public offering price for the Securities shall be [—]% of the aggregate principal amount thereof plus accrued interest, if any, from the date of issuance. |
| |
4. | The purchase price for the Securities to be paid by the several Underwriters shall be [—]% of the aggregate principal amount thereof. |
| |
5. | The interest rate is [—]%. |
| |
6. | The interest payment dates are [—]. The record dates are [—]. The first interest payment date will be [—]. |
| |
7. | [The Securities may be redeemed in whole or in part at any time or from time to time on or after , upon not less than 30 nor more than 60 days written notice, at a redemption price of per security plus accrued and unpaid interest.] |
SCHEDULE C
Consolidated Subsidiaries
SCHEDULE D
[List of Persons and Entities Subject to Lock-Up]
Exhibit
Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
We consent to the references to our firm under the captions “Senior Securities” and “Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm” and to the use of our reports dated (i) March 21, 2017, with respect to the consolidated financial statements of TCG BDC, Inc. as of December 31, 2016 and 2015 and for each of the three years in the period ended December 31, 2016, and (ii) March 21, 2017, with respect to the senior securities table as of December 31, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013, included in Pre-Effective Amendment No.1 to
the Registration Statement (Form N-2 No. 333-222096) and related Prospectus of TCG BDC, Inc. for the registration of common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, subscription rights, warrants, and units.
/s/ Ernst & Young LLP
New York, NY
February 9, 2018