Item 1A. Risk Factors
Investing in our securities involves a number of significant risks. In addition to the other information contained in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, you should consider carefully the following information before making an investment in our securities. The risks set out below are not the only risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or not presently deemed material by us might also impair our operations and performance. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In such case, our NAV, the trading price of our common stock and the value of our other securities could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.
SUMMARY OF RISK FACTORS
The following is a summary of the principal risk factors associated with an investment in our securities. Further details regarding each risk included in the below summary list can be found further below.
Risks Related to Our Business and Structure
• Because our Investment Portfolio is recorded at fair value, there is and will continue to be uncertainty as to the value of our portfolio investments.
• Our financial condition and results of operations depends on our ability to effectively manage and deploy capital.
• We are subject to risks associated with the interest rate environment and changes in interest rates will affect our cost of capital, net investment income and the value of our investments.
• We face increasing competition for investment opportunities.
• We are dependent upon our key investment personnel for our future success.
• Our success depends on our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel in a competitive environment.
• Our business model depends to a significant extent upon strong referral relationships.
Risks Related to Our Investments
• The types of portfolio companies in which we invest involve significant risks and we could lose all or part of our investment.
• Economic recessions or downturns could impair our portfolio companies’ performance and certain material defaults by our portfolio companies could harm our operating results.
• Rising credit spreads could affect the value of our investments, and rising interest rates make it more difficult for portfolio companies to make periodic payments on their loans.
• Inflation could adversely affect the business, results of operations and financial condition of our portfolio companies.
• Changes to U.S. tariff, trade and economic policies may have a negative effect on our portfolio companies and, in turn, harm us.
• We may be exposed to higher risks with respect to our investments that include original issue discount or PIK interest.
• The lack of liquidity in our investments may adversely affect our business.
• We generally will not control our portfolio companies.
• Certain material defaults by our portfolio companies could harm our operating results.
• Any unrealized depreciation that we experience in our Investment Portfolio may be an indication of future realized losses, which could reduce our income and gains available for distribution.
• Prepayments of our debt investments by our portfolio companies could adversely impact our results of operations and reduce our return on equity.
Risks Related to Leverage
• Because we borrow money, the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested in us is magnified and may increase the risk of investing in us.
• Substantially all of our assets are subject to security interests under our senior securities, and if we default on our obligations under our senior securities, we may suffer adverse consequences, including foreclosure on our assets.
• We are subject to risks associated with any revolving credit facility that utilizes a Structured Subsidiary as our interests in any Structured Subsidiary are subordinated and we could be prevented from receiving cash on our equity interests from a Structured Subsidiary.
Risks Related to Our Investment Management Activities
• Our executive officers and employees, through the External Investment Manager, manage other investment funds that operate in the same or a related line of business as we do, and may invest in such funds, which may result in significant conflicts of interest.
• We, through the External Investment Manager, derive revenues from managing third-party funds pursuant to management agreements that may be terminated.
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Risks Related to BDCs
• Operating under the constraints imposed on us as a BDC and RIC may hinder the achievement of our investment objectives.
Risks Related to Our Securities
• Investing in our securities may involve a high degree of risk.
• Shares of closed-end investment companies, including BDCs such as us, may trade at a discount to their NAV per share.
• The market price of our securities may be volatile and fluctuate significantly.
• We may not be able to pay distributions to our stockholders, our distributions may not grow over time and a portion of distributions paid to our stockholders may be a return of capital.
Risks Related to Our SBIC Funds
• We, through the Funds, issue debt securities guaranteed by the SBA and sold in the capital markets. As a result of its guarantee of the debt securities, the SBA has fixed dollar claims on the assets of the Funds that are superior to the claims of our securities holders.
Federal Income Tax Risks
• We will be subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax if we are unable to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code.
• We may have difficulty paying the distributions required to maintain RIC tax treatment under the Code if we recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income.
General Risk Factors
• Events outside of our control, including public health crises, supply chain disruptions and inflation, could negatively affect us and our portfolio companies and the results of our operations.
• Market conditions may materially and adversely affect debt and equity capital markets in the U.S. and abroad, which may have a negative impact on our business and operations.
• The failure in cybersecurity systems, as well as the occurrence of events unanticipated in our disaster recovery systems and management continuity planning could impair our ability to conduct business effectively.
• We are highly dependent on information systems and systems failures could significantly disrupt our business, which may, in turn, negatively affect the market price of our common stock and our ability to pay dividends.
• Failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations and changes in laws or regulations governing our operations may adversely affect our business or cause us to alter our business strategy.
• Uncertainty about presidential administration initiatives could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS AND STRUCTURE
Because our Investment Portfolio is recorded at fair value, there is and will continue to be uncertainty as to the value of our portfolio investments.
Under the 1940 Act, we are required to carry our portfolio investments at market value or, if there is no readily available market value, at fair value as determined by us pursuant to our Valuation Procedures. Typically, there is not a public market for the securities of the privately held companies in which we invest through our LMM and Private Loan investment strategies. As a result, we value these securities quarterly at fair value based on inputs from management and a nationally recognized independent financial advisory services firm (on a rotational basis) pursuant to our Valuation Procedures. See Note B.1. — Summary of Significant Accounting Policies — Valuation of the Investment Portfolio in the notes to the consolidated financial statements included in Item 8. Consolidated Financial Statements and Supplementary Data of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a detailed discussion of our Valuation Procedures.
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The determination of fair value and consequently, the amount of unrealized gains and losses in our Investment Portfolio, are to a certain degree, subjective and dependent on our Valuation Procedures. Certain factors that may be considered in determining the fair value of our investments include external events, such as private mergers, sales and acquisitions involving comparable companies. Because such valuations, and particularly valuations of securities in privately held 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. Due to this uncertainty, our fair value determinations may cause our NAV on a given date to materially understate or overstate the value that we may ultimately realize on one or more of our investments. As a result, investors purchasing our securities based on an overstated NAV would pay a higher price than the value our investments might warrant. Conversely, investors selling our securities during a period in which the NAV understates the value of our investments may receive a lower price for their securities than the value our investments might warrant.
Our financial condition and results of operations depends on our ability to effectively manage and deploy capital.
Our ability to achieve our investment objective of maximizing our Investment Portfolio’s total return by generating current income from our debt investments and current income and capital appreciation from our equity and equity-related investments, including warrants, convertible securities and other rights to acquire equity securities in a portfolio company, depends on our ability to effectively manage and deploy capital, which depends, in turn, on our investment team’s ability to identify, evaluate and monitor, and our ability to finance and invest in, companies that meet our investment criteria.
Accomplishing our investment objective on a cost-effective basis is largely a function of our investment team’s handling of the investment process, its ability to provide competent, attentive and efficient services and our access to investments offering acceptable terms. In addition to monitoring the performance of our existing investments, members of our investment team are also called upon, from time to time, to provide managerial assistance to some of our portfolio companies. These demands on their time may distract them or slow the rate of investment.
Even if we are able to grow and build upon our investment operations, any failure to manage our growth effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. The results of our operations will depend on many factors, including the availability of opportunities for investment, readily accessible short- and long-term funding alternatives in the financial markets and economic conditions. Furthermore, if we cannot successfully operate our business or implement our investment policies and strategies as described herein, our ability to pay dividends could be negatively impacted.
We are subject to risks associated with the interest rate environment and changes in interest rates will affect our cost of capital, net investment income and the value of our investments.
To the extent we borrow money or issue debt securities or preferred stock to make investments, our net investment income will depend, in part, upon the difference between the rate at which we borrow funds or pay interest or dividends on such debt securities or preferred stock and the rate at which we invest these funds. In addition, many of our debt investments and borrowings have floating interest rates that reset on a periodic basis, and many of our investments are subject to interest rate floors. As a result, a change in market interest rates could have a material adverse effect on our net investment income. In periods of rising interest rates, our cost of funds will increase because the interest rates on the amounts borrowed under our Credit Facilities (as defined in the Liquidity and Capital Resources section below) are floating, and any new fixed rate debt may be issued at higher coupon rates, which could reduce our net investment income to the extent any debt investments have either fixed interest rates, or in periods when debt investments with floating interest rates are subject to an interest rate floor above then current levels. In periods of declining interest rates, our interest income and our net investment income could be reduced as the interest income earned on our floating rate debt investments declines and any new fixed rate debt may be issued at lower coupon rates. See further discussion and analysis at Item 7A. Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk .
We can use interest rate risk management techniques in an effort to limit our exposure to interest rate fluctuations. Such techniques could include various interest rate hedging activities to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act and applicable commodities laws. These activities could limit our ability to participate in the benefits of lower interest rates with respect to the hedged borrowings. Adverse developments resulting from changes in interest rates or hedging transactions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.
An increase in the market pricing of the spreads charged over index rates on floating rate investments could lead to a decline in the fair value of the debt securities we own, which would adversely affect our NAV. Also, an increase in interest rates available to investors could make an investment in our common stock less attractive if we are not able to increase our dividends, which could reduce the value of our common stock.
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We face increasing competition for investment opportunities.
We compete for investments with other investment funds (including private equity funds, debt funds, mezzanine funds, collateralized loan obligation funds, or CLOs, BDCs and SBICs), as well as traditional financial services companies such as commercial banks and other sources of funding. Many of our 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 capital and access to funding sources that are not available to us. In addition, some of our competitors may have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments than we have. These characteristics could allow our competitors to consider a wider variety of investments, establish more relationships and offer better pricing and more flexible structuring than we are able to do. We may lose investment opportunities if we do not match our competitors’ pricing, terms and structure. If we are forced to match our competitors’ pricing, terms and structure, we may not be able to achieve acceptable returns on our investments or may bear substantial risk of capital . A significant part of our competitive stems from the fact that the market for investments in LMM companies is underserved by traditional commercial banks and other financing sources. A significant increase in the number and/or the size of our competitors in this target market could us to accept less investment terms. Furthermore, many of our competitors are not subject to the regulatory restrictions that the 1940 Act imposes on BDCs such as us.
We are dependent upon our key investment personnel for our future success.
We depend on the members of our investment team, particularly Dwayne L. Hyzak, David L. Magdol, Jesse E. Morris, Nicholas T. Meserve and our other Managing Directors, for the identification, review, final selection, structuring, closing and monitoring of our investments. These employees have significant investment expertise and relationships that we rely on to implement our business plan. Although we have entered into non-compete arrangements with all of our executive officers and other key employees, we cannot guarantee that any employees will remain employed with us. If we lose the services of the individuals mentioned above, we may not be able to operate our business as we expect, and our ability to compete could be harmed, which could cause our operating results to suffer.
Our success depends on our ability to attract and retain qualified personnel in a competitive environment.
Our success will require that we attract and retain new investment and administrative personnel in a competitive market. Our ability to attract and retain personnel with the requisite credentials, experience and skills depends on several factors including, but not limited to, our ability to offer competitive wages, benefits and professional growth opportunities. Many of the entities, including investment funds (such as private equity funds, debt funds and mezzanine funds) and traditional financial services companies, with which we compete for experienced personnel have greater resources than we have.
The competitive environment for qualified personnel may require us to take certain measures to ensure that we are able to attract and retain experienced personnel. Such measures may include increasing the attractiveness of our overall compensation packages, altering the structure of our compensation packages through the use of additional forms of compensation, or other steps. The inability to attract and retain experienced personnel would have a material adverse effect on our business.
Our business model depends to a significant extent upon strong referral relationships.
We expect that members of our management team will maintain their relationships with intermediaries, private equity fund sponsors, financial institutions, investment bankers, commercial bankers, financial advisors, attorneys, accountants, consultants and other individuals within our network, and we will rely to a significant extent upon these relationships to provide us with potential investment opportunities. If our management team fails to maintain its existing relationships or develop new relationships with sources of investment opportunities, we will not be able to grow our Investment Portfolio. In addition, individuals with whom members of our management team have relationships are not obligated to provide us with investment opportunities, and, therefore, there is no assurance that such relationships will generate investment opportunities for us.
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Our Board of Directors may change our investment objective, operating policies, investment criteria and strategies without prior notice or stockholder approval, the effects of which may be adverse.
Our Board of Directors has the authority, except as otherwise provided in the 1940 Act, to modify or waive our investment objective, current operating policies, investment criteria and strategies without prior notice and without stockholder approval. However, absent stockholder approval, we may not change the nature of our business so as to cease to be regulated or withdraw our election as a BDC. We cannot predict the effect any changes to our investment objective, current operating policies, investment criteria and strategies would have on our business, NAV, operating results and value of our stock. However, the effects might be material and adverse, which could negatively affect our business and impair our ability to pay interest and principal payments to holders of our debt instruments and to make distributions to our stockholders and cause our investors to lose all or part of their investment in us.
We are a non-diversified investment company within the meaning of the 1940 Act, and therefore we are not limited with respect to the proportion of our assets that may be invested in securities of a single issuer.
We are classified as a non-diversified investment company within the meaning of the 1940 Act, which means that we are not limited by the 1940 Act with respect to the proportion of our assets that we may invest in securities of a single issuer. Under the 1940 Act, a “diversified” investment company is required to invest at least 75% of the value of its total assets in cash and cash items, government securities, securities of other investment companies and other securities limited in respect of any one issuer to an amount not greater than 5% of the value of the total assets of such company and no more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer. As a non-diversified investment company, we are not subject to this requirement. To the extent that we assume large positions in the securities of a small number of issuers, our NAV may fluctuate to a greater extent than that of a diversified investment company as a result of changes in the financial condition or the market’s assessment of the issuer. We may also be more susceptible to any single economic or regulatory occurrence than a diversified investment company. Beyond our RIC asset diversification requirements and any requirements under our financing arrangements, we do not have fixed guidelines for diversification, and our investments could be concentrated in relatively few portfolio companies. See Risk Factors — Federal Income Tax Risks — We will be subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax if we are to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. Although we have historically operated as a non-diversified investment company within the meaning of the 1940 Act, our Investment Portfolio may, from time to time, be comprised of assets that could permit us to qualify as a “diversified” investment company under the 1940 Act. To the extent that we operate as a non-diversified investment company, we may be subject to risk.
We and our portfolio companies may maintain cash balances at financial institutions that exceed federally insured limits and may otherwise be materially affected by adverse developments affecting the financial services industry, such as actual events or concerns involving liquidity, defaults or non-performance by financial institutions or transactional counterparties.
Cash held by us and by our portfolio companies in non-interest-bearing and interest-bearing operating accounts may exceed the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance limits. If such banking institutions were to fail, we or our portfolio companies could lose all or a portion of those amounts held in excess of such insurance limitations. In addition, actual events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect financial institutions, transactional counterparties or other companies in the financial services industry or the financial services industry generally, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds or other similar risks, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems, which could adversely affect our and our portfolio companies’ business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.
Although we assess our portfolio companies’ banking relationships as we believe necessary or appropriate, our and our portfolio companies’ access to funding sources and other credit arrangements in amounts adequate to finance or capitalize our respective current and projected future business operations could be significantly impaired by factors that affect us or our portfolio companies, the financial institutions with which we or our portfolio companies have arrangements directly or the financial services industry or economy in general. These factors could include, among others, events such as liquidity constraints or failures, the ability to perform obligations under various types of financial, credit or liquidity agreements or arrangements, disruptions or instability in the financial services industry or financial markets or concerns or negative expectations about the prospects for companies in the financial services industry. These factors could involve financial institutions or financial services industry companies with which we or our portfolio companies have financial or business relationships, but could also include factors involving financial markets or the financial services industry generally.
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In addition, investor concerns regarding the U.S. or international financial systems could result in less favorable commercial financing terms, including higher interest rates or costs and tighter financial and operating covenants or systemic limitations on access to credit and liquidity sources, thereby making it more difficult for us or our portfolio companies to acquire financing on acceptable terms or at all.
We are subject to risks related to corporate social responsibility.
Our business faces public scrutiny related to environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) activities. We risk damage to our brand and reputation if we fail to act responsibly in a number of areas, such as environmental stewardship, support for local communities, corporate governance and transparency and considering ESG factors in our investment processes. Adverse incidents with respect to ESG activities could impact the value of our brand, the cost of our operations and relationships with investors, all of which could adversely affect our business and results of operations. Additionally, new regulatory initiatives related to ESG could adversely affect our business.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR INVESTMENTS
The types of portfolio companies in which we invest involve significant risks and we could lose all or part of our investment.
Investing in the types of companies that comprise our portfolio companies exposes us to a number of significant risks. Among other things, these companies:
• may have limited financial resources and may be unable to meet their obligations under their debt instruments 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 any guarantees from subsidiaries or affiliates of our portfolio companies that we may have obtained in connection with our investment, as well as a corresponding decrease in the value of our investments;
• may have shorter operating histories, narrower product lines, smaller market shares and/or significant customer concentrations than larger businesses, which tend to render them more vulnerable to competitors’ actions and market conditions, as well as general economic downturns;
• are more likely to depend on the management talents and efforts of a small group of persons; therefore, the death, disability, resignation, termination or significant under-performance of one or more of these persons could have a material adverse impact on our portfolio company and, in turn, on us;
• 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; and
• generally have less publicly available information about their businesses, operations and financial condition. We are required to rely on the ability of our management team and investment professionals to obtain adequate information to evaluate the potential returns from investing in these companies. If we are unable to uncover all material information about these companies, we may not make a fully informed investment decision, and may lose all or part of our investment.
In addition, certain of our officers and directors may serve as directors on the boards of our portfolio companies. To the extent that litigation arises out of our investments in these companies, our officers and directors may be named as defendants in such litigation, which could result in an expenditure of funds (through our indemnification of such officers and directors) and the diversion of management time and resources.
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Economic recessions or downturns could impair our portfolio companies’ performance and certain material defaults by our portfolio companies could harm our operating results.
Many of our portfolio companies are susceptible to economic slowdowns or recessions and could be unable to repay our loans during these periods. Therefore, the number of non-performing assets are likely to increase and the value of our Investment Portfolio is likely to decrease during these periods. Adverse economic conditions could decrease the value of collateral securing any of the loans we make to our portfolio companies and the value of any equity investments we make in our portfolio companies. A severe recession could further decrease the value of such collateral and result in losses of value in our Investment Portfolio and a decrease in our revenues, net income, assets and net worth. Economic slowdowns or recessions could lead to financial losses in our Investment Portfolio and a decrease in revenues, net income and assets. Unfavorable economic conditions also could increase our funding costs, limit our access to the capital markets or result in a decision by lenders not to extend credit to us. These events could prevent us from maintaining or increasing the level of our investments and our operating results.
Any deterioration of general economic conditions could lead to significant declines in corporate earnings or loan performance, and the ability of corporate borrowers to service their debt, any of which could trigger a period of global economic slowdown, and have an adverse impact on our performance and financial results, and the value and the liquidity of our investments. In an economic downturn, we could have non-performing assets or an increase in non-performing assets, and we would anticipate that the value of our Investment Portfolio would decrease during these periods. Failure to satisfy financial or operating covenants imposed by lenders, including us, to a portfolio company could lead to defaults and, potentially, acceleration of payments on such loans and foreclosure on the assets representing collateral for the portfolio company’s obligations. Cross default provisions under other agreements could be triggered and thus limit the portfolio company’s ability to satisfy its obligations under any debt that we hold and affect the value of any securities we own. We would expect to incur expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery upon or to negotiate new terms with a portfolio company following or in anticipation of a .
Rising credit spreads could affect the value of our investments, and rising interest rates make it more difficult for portfolio companies to make periodic payments on their loans.
Some of our portfolio investments are debt securities that bear interest at variable rates and may be negatively affected by changes in market interest rates. Rising interest rates make it more difficult for borrowers to repay debt, which could increase the risk of payment defaults and cause the portfolio companies to defer or cancel needed investment. Any failure of one or more portfolio companies to repay or refinance its debt at or prior to maturity or the inability of one or more portfolio companies to make ongoing payments following an increase in contractual interest rates could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. The value of our securities could also be reduced from an increase in market credit spreads as rates available to investors could make an investment in our securities less attractive than alternative investments.
Conversely, decreases in market interest rates could negatively impact the interest income from our variable rate debt investments while the interest we pay on our fixed rate debt securities does not change. A decrease in market interest rates may also have an adverse impact on our returns by requiring us to accept lower yields on our debt investments and by increasing the risk that our portfolio companies will prepay our debt investments, resulting in the need to redeploy capital at potentially lower rates.
Inflation could adversely affect the business, results of operations and financial condition of our portfolio companies.
Certain of our portfolio companies are in industries that could be impacted by inflation. If such portfolio companies are unable to pass any increases in their costs of operations along to their customers, it could adversely affect their operating results and impact their ability to pay dividends on our equity investments and/or interest and principal on our loans, particularly if interest rates rise in response to inflation. In addition, any projected future decreases in our portfolio companies’ operating results due to inflation could adversely impact the fair value of those investments. Any decreases in the fair value of our investments could result in future realized or unrealized losses and therefore reduce our net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations.
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Changes to U.S. tariff, trade and economic policies may have a negative effect on our portfolio companies and, in turn, harm us.
The U.S. has enacted, and subsequently rescinded and/or temporarily suspended, significant tariffs against certain countries, prompting reciprocal tariffs against the U.S. Additionally, the current U.S. presidential administration and the U.S. Congress have directed various federal agencies to further evaluate other key aspects of U.S. trade and economic policies, including changes to domestic fiscal policies aimed at reducing U.S. federal expenditures, and there has been ongoing discussion and commentary regarding further potential significant changes to such tariff, trade and economic policies. These developments, and the perception that further material changes may occur or continue to occur, have contributed to volatility in global financial markets and may have a material adverse effect on global economic conditions. This may significantly reduce global trade, affect the ability of businesses to procure new or extend existing government contracts and have other negative impacts on U.S. businesses. Any of these factors could depress economic activity and may restrict our portfolio companies’ access to suppliers or customers and have a material adverse effect on their business, financial condition and results of operations, which in turn would impact us.
We may be exposed to higher risks with respect to our investments that include original issue discount or PIK interest.
Our investments may include original issue discount and contractual PIK interest, which represents contractual interest added to a loan balance and due at the end of such loan’s term. To the extent original issue discount or PIK interest constitute a portion of our income, we are exposed to typical risks associated with such income being required to be included in taxable and accounting income prior to receipt of cash, including the following:
• original issue discount and PIK instruments may have higher yields, which reflect the payment deferral and credit risk associated with these instruments;
• cash distributions paid to investors representing original issue discount income may be effectively paid from offering proceeds or borrowings during any given period; thus, although the source for the cash used to pay a distribution of original issue discount income may come from the cash invested by investors, or our borrowings, the 1940 Act does not require that investors be given notice of this fact;
• original issue discount and PIK instruments may have unreliable valuations because their continuing accruals require continuing judgments about the collectability of the deferred payments and the value of the collateral; and
• original issue discount and PIK instruments may represent a higher credit risk than coupon loans; even if the conditions for income accrual under U.S. GAAP are satisfied, a borrower could still default when actual payment is due upon the maturity of such loan.
The lack of liquidity in our investments may adversely affect our business.
We generally invest in companies whose securities are not publicly traded and whose securities will be subject to legal and other restrictions on resale or will otherwise be less liquid than publicly traded securities. The illiquidity of these investments may make it difficult for us to sell these investments when desired. In addition, if we are required to liquidate all or a portion of our Investment Portfolio quickly, we may realize significantly less than the value at which we had previously recorded these investments. As a result, we do not expect to achieve liquidity in our investments in the near-term. The illiquidity of most of our investments may make it difficult for us to dispose of them at a favorable price and, as a result, we may suffer losses.
We generally will not control our portfolio companies.
We do not, and do not expect to, control the decision making in many of our portfolio companies, even though we may have board representation or board observation rights, and our debt agreements may contain certain restrictive covenants. As a result, we are subject to the risk that a portfolio company in which we invest will make business decisions with which we disagree and the management of such company will take risks or otherwise act in ways that do not serve our interests as debt investors or minority equity holders. Due to the lack of liquidity for our investments in non-traded companies, we may not be able to dispose of our interests in our portfolio companies as readily as we would like or at an appropriate valuation. As a result, a portfolio company may make decisions that would decrease the value of our Investment Portfolio holdings.
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Certain material d efaults by our portfolio companies could harm our operating results.
A portfolio company’s failure to satisfy financial or operating covenants imposed by us or other lenders could lead to non-payment of interest and other defaults and, potentially, termination of its loans and foreclosure on its secured assets, which could trigger cross-defaults under other agreements and jeopardize a portfolio company’s ability to meet its obligations under the debt or equity securities that we hold. We may incur expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery upon default or to negotiate new terms, which may include the waiver of certain financial covenants, with a defaulting portfolio company.
Any unrealized depreciation that we experience in our Investment Portfolio may be an indication of future realized losses, which could reduce our income and gains available for distribution.
As a BDC, we are required to carry our investments at market value or, if no market value is ascertainable, at the fair value as determined in accordance with our Valuation Procedures. Decreases in the market values or fair values of our investments will be recorded as unrealized depreciation. Any unrealized depreciation in our Investment Portfolio could be an indication of a portfolio company’s inability to meet its repayment obligations to us with respect to affected loans or a potential impairment of the value of affected equity investments.
This could result in realized losses in the future and ultimately in reductions of our income and gains available for distribution in future periods.
Prepayments of our debt investments by our portfolio companies could adversely impact our results of operations and reduce our return on equity.
We are subject to the risk that the investments we make in our portfolio companies may be repaid prior to maturity. When this occurs, we will generally repay debt under our Credit Facilities or reinvest proceeds in temporary investments, pending their future investment in new portfolio companies. These temporary investments will typically have substantially lower yields than the debt being prepaid and we could experience significant delays in reinvesting these amounts. Any future investment in a new portfolio company may also be at lower yields than the debt that was repaid. As a result, our results of operations could be materially adversely affected if one or more of our portfolio companies elect to prepay amounts owed to us. Additionally, prepayments could negatively impact our return on equity, which could result in a decline in the market price of our securities.
We may not have the funds or ability to make additional investments in our portfolio companies.
We may not have the funds or ability to make additional investments in our portfolio companies. After our initial investment in a portfolio company, we may be called upon from time to time to provide additional funds to such company or have the opportunity to increase our investment through the extension of additional loans, the exercise of a warrant to purchase equity securities, or the funding of additional equity investments. There is no assurance that we will make, or will have sufficient funds to make, follow-on investments. Any decisions not to make a follow-on investment or any inability on our part to make such an investment may have a negative impact on a portfolio company in need of such an investment, may result in a missed opportunity for us to increase our participation in a successful operation, may reduce our ability to protect an existing investment or may reduce the expected yield on the investment.
There may be circumstances where our debt investments could be subordinated to claims of other creditors or we could be subject to lender liability claims.
Our portfolio companies may have, or may be permitted to incur, other debt that ranks equally with, or senior to, the debt in which we invest. By their terms, such debt instruments may entitle the holders to receive payment of interest or principal on or before the dates on which we are entitled to receive payments with respect to the debt instruments 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. After repaying such senior creditors, such portfolio company may not have any remaining assets to use for repaying its obligation to us. In the case of debt ranking equally with debt instruments 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.
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Even if our investment is structured as a senior-secured loan, principles of equitable subordination, as defined by existing case law, could lead a bankruptcy court to subordinate all or a portion of our claim to that of other creditors and transfer any lien securing such subordinated claim to the bankruptcy estate. The principles of equitable subordination defined by case law have generally indicated that a claim may be subordinated only if its holder is guilty of misconduct or where the senior loan is re-characterized as an equity investment and the senior lender has actually provided significant managerial assistance to the bankrupt debtor. We may also be subject to lender liability claims for actions taken by us with respect to a borrower’s business or instances where we exercise control over the borrower. It is possible that we could become subject to a lender liability claim, including as a result of actions taken in rendering significant managerial assistance or actions to compel and collect payments from the borrower outside the ordinary course of business.
We may not realize gains from our equity investments.
Certain investments that we have made in the past and may make in the future include warrants or other equity securities. Investments in equity securities involve a number of significant risks, including the risk of further dilution as a result of additional issuances, inability to access additional capital and failure to pay current distributions. Investments in preferred securities involve special risks, such as the risk of deferred distributions, credit risk, illiquidity and limited voting rights. In addition, we may from time to time make non-control equity investments in portfolio companies. Our goal is ultimately to realize gains upon our disposition of such equity interests. However, these equity interests may not appreciate in value and, in fact, may decline in value. Accordingly, 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. We also may be unable to realize any value if a portfolio company does not have a liquidity event, such as a sale of the business, recapitalization or public offering, which would allow us to sell the underlying equity interests. We often seek puts or similar rights to give us the right to sell our equity securities back to the portfolio company issuer; however, we may be to exercise these put rights for the consideration provided in our investment documents if the issuer is in financial .
We may be subject to risks associated with “covenant-lite” loans.
Some of the loans in which we invest may be “covenant-lite” loans, which means the loans contain fewer maintenance covenants than other loans (in some cases, none) and do not include terms which allow the lender to monitor the performance of the borrower and declare a default if certain criteria are breached. Generally, “covenant-lite” loans provide borrower companies more freedom to negatively impact lenders because their covenants are incurrence-based, which means they are only tested and can only be breached following an affirmative action of the borrower, rather than by a deterioration in the borrower’s financial condition. To the extent we invest in covenant-lite loans, we may have fewer rights against a borrower and may have a greater risk of loss on such investments as compared to investments in loans with finance maintenance covenants.
Our investments in foreign securities may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.
Our investment strategy contemplates potential investments in debt securities of foreign companies. Investing in foreign companies may expose us to additional risks not typically associated with investing in securities of U.S. companies. These risks include changes in exchange control regulations, political and social instability, expropriation, imposition of foreign taxes, less liquid markets and less available information than is generally the case in the U.S., higher transaction costs, less government supervision of exchanges, brokers and issuers, less developed bankruptcy laws, difficulty in enforcing contractual obligations, lack of uniform accounting and auditing standards and greater price volatility.
Although most of our investments will be U.S. dollar denominated, any investments denominated in a foreign currency will be subject to the risk that the value of a particular currency will change in relation to one or more other currencies. Among the factors that may affect currency values are trade balances, the level of short-term interest rates, differences in relative values of similar assets in different currencies, long-term opportunities for investment and capital appreciation and political developments.
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RISKS RELATED TO LEVERAGE
Because we borrow money, the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested in us is magnified and may increase the risk of investing in us.
Borrowings, also known as leverage, magnify the potential for loss on investments in our indebtedness and gain or loss on investments in our equity capital. As we use leverage to partially finance our investments, you will experience increased risks of investing in our securities. Accordingly, any event that adversely affects the value of an investment would be magnified to the extent we use leverage. Such events could result in a substantial loss to us, which would be greater than if leverage had not been used. In addition, our investment objectives are dependent on the continued availability of leverage at attractive relative interest rates.
We may also borrow from banks and other lenders and may issue debt securities or enter into other types of borrowing arrangements in the future. Lenders of these senior securities will have fixed dollar claims on our assets that are superior to the claims of our common stockholders, and we would expect such lenders to seek recovery against our assets in the event of a default. We have the ability to pledge up to 100% of our assets and can grant a security interest in all of our assets under the terms of any debt instruments we could enter into with lenders. The terms of our existing indebtedness require us to comply with certain financial and operational covenants, and we expect similar covenants in future debt instruments. Failure to comply with such covenants could result in a default under the applicable credit facility or debt instrument if we are unable to obtain a waiver from the applicable lender or holder, and such lender or holder could accelerate repayment under such indebtedness and negatively affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, under the terms of any credit facility or other debt instrument we enter into, in the event of a , we are likely to be required by the terms of such facility or instrument to use the net proceeds of any investments that we sell to repay a portion of the amount borrowed under such facility or instrument before applying such net proceeds to any other uses. See Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Liquidity and Capital Resources — Capital Resources for a discussion regarding our outstanding indebtedness.
If the value of our assets decreases, leveraging would cause NAV to decline more sharply than it otherwise would have had we not leveraged our business. Similarly, any decrease in our income would cause net investment income to decline more sharply than it would have had we not leveraged our business. Such a decline could negatively affect our ability to pay common stock dividends, scheduled debt payments or other payments related to our securities.
Illustration: The following table illustrates the effect of leverage on returns from an investment in our common stock assuming various annual returns, net of expenses. The calculations in the table below are hypothetical and actual returns may be higher or lower than those appearing below.
Assumed Return on our Investment Portfolio (net of expenses)
Corresponding Net Return to Common Stockholder (1)(2)
(1) Assumes, as of December 31, 2025, $5,681.7 million in total assets, $2,468.0 million in debt outstanding, $2,993.9 million in net assets, and a weighted-average interest rate of 5.3 %. Actual interest payments may be different.
(2) In order for us to cover our annual interest payments on indebtedness, we must achieve annual returns on our December 31, 2025 total assets of at least 2.4 %.
Our ability to achieve our investment objective may depend in part on our ability to access additional leverage on favorable terms and there can be no assurance that such additional leverage can in fact be achieved. If we are unable to obtain leverage or if the interest rates of such leverage are not attractive, we could experience diminished returns. The number of leverage providers and the total amount of financing available could decrease or remain static.
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Substantially all of our assets are subject to security interests under our senior securities, and if we default on our obligations under our senior securities, we may suffer adverse consequences, including foreclosure on our assets.
Substantially all of our assets are currently pledged as collateral under our secured debt obligations. If we default on our obligations under our secured debt obligations, our lenders may have the right to foreclose upon and sell, or otherwise transfer, the collateral subject to their security interests or their superior claim. In such event, we may be forced to sell our investments to raise funds to repay our outstanding borrowings in order to avoid foreclosure and these forced sales may be at times and at prices we would not consider advantageous. Moreover, such deleveraging of our company could significantly impair our ability to effectively operate our business in the manner in which we have historically operated. As a result, we could be forced to curtail or cease new investment activities and lower or eliminate the dividends that we have historically paid to our stockholders. In addition, if the lenders exercise their right to sell the assets pledged under our secured debt obligations, such sales may be completed at sale prices, thereby or potentially eliminating the amount of cash available to us after repayment of the amounts of outstanding borrowings.
If our operating performance declines and we are not able to generate sufficient cash flow to service our debt obligations, we may in the future need to refinance or restructure our debt, sell assets, reduce or delay capital investments, seek to raise additional capital or seek to obtain waivers from the required lenders under our debt obligations to avoid being in default. If we are unable to implement one or more of these alternatives, we may not be able to meet our payment obligations under our debt obligations. If we breach our covenants under our debt obligations and seek a waiver, we may not be able to obtain a waiver from the required lenders or debt holders. If this occurs, we would be in default under our debt obligations, the lenders or debt holders could exercise their rights as described above, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or . If we are to repay debt, lenders having secured obligations could proceed the collateral securing the debt. Because certain of our debt obligations have customary cross- provisions, if the indebtedness under our debt obligations is accelerated, we may be to repay or finance the amounts due.
We are subject to risks associated with any revolving credit facility that utilizes a Structured Subsidiary as our interests in any Structured Subsidiary are subordinated and we could be prevented from receiving cash on our equity interests from a Structured Subsidiary.
We own directly or indirectly 100% of the equity interests in MSCC Funding I, LLC (“MSCC Funding”), a special purpose Structured Subsidiary utilized in our SPV Facility (as defined below). We consolidate the financial statements of MSCC Funding in our consolidated financial statements and treat the indebtedness under the SPV Facility as our leverage. Our interest in MSCC Funding is subordinated in priority of payment to every other obligation of MSCC Funding and is subject to certain payment restrictions set forth in the SPV Facility.
We receive cash from MSCC Funding only to the extent that we receive distributions on our equity interests therein. MSCC Funding can make distributions on its equity interests only to the extent permitted by the payment priority provisions of the SPV Facility. The SPV Facility generally provides that payments on the respective interests cannot be made on any payment date unless all amounts owing to the lenders and other secured parties are paid in full. In addition, if MSCC Funding does not meet the leverage and borrowing base limitations, covenants, reporting and other requirements set forth in the credit agreement governing the SPV Facility, a default could occur. In the event of a default under the SPV Facility credit agreement, cash could be diverted from us to pay the applicable lenders and other secured parties. In the event that we fail to receive cash from MSCC Funding, we could be unable to make distributions to our stockholders in amounts sufficient to maintain our status as a RIC, or at all. We also could be forced to sell investments in portfolio companies at less than their fair value in order to continue making such distributions. We cannot you that distributions on the assets held by MSCC Funding will be sufficient to make any distributions to us or that such distributions will meet our expectations.
Our equity interest in MSCC Funding ranks behind all of the secured and unsecured creditors, known or unknown, including the lenders in the SPV Facility. Consequently, to the extent that the value of MSCC Funding’s portfolio of loan investments has been reduced as a result of conditions in the credit markets, defaulted loans, capital gains and losses on the underlying assets, prepayment or changes in interest rates, the returns on our investments in MSCC Funding could be reduced. Accordingly, our investments in MSCC Funding could be subject to up to 100% loss.
The ability to sell investments held by a Structured Subsidiary is limited.
The credit agreement governing the SPV Facility places significant restrictions on our ability, as servicer, to sell investments. As a result, there could be times or circumstances during which we are unable to sell investments or take other actions that might be in our best interests.
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We may invest in derivatives or other assets that expose us to certain risks, including market risk, liquidity risk and other risks similar to those associated with the use of leverage.
We may invest in derivatives and other assets that are subject to many of the same types of risks related to the use of leverage. Derivative transactions, if any, will generally create leverage for us and involve significant risks. The primary risks related to derivative transactions include counterparty, correlation, liquidity, leverage, volatility, over-the-counter trading, operational and legal risks. In addition, a small investment in derivatives could have a large potential impact on our performance, effecting a form of investment leverage on our Investment Portfolio . In certain types of derivative transactions, we could lose the entire amount of our investment; in other types of derivative transactions the potential loss is theoretically unlimited.
Under SEC Rule 18f-4 under the 1940 Act (“Rule 18f-4”), related to use of derivatives, short sales, reverse repurchase agreements and certain other transactions by BDCs, we are permitted to enter into derivatives and other transactions that create future payment or delivery obligations, including short sales, notwithstanding the senior security provision of the 1940 Act if we comply with certain value-at-risk leverage limits, adopt a derivatives risk management program and implement board oversight and reporting requirements or otherwise comply with a “limited derivatives users” exception. Rule 18f-4 also permits us to enter into reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions notwithstanding the senior security provision of the 1940 Act if we aggregate the amount of indebtedness associated with our reverse repurchase agreements or similar financing transactions with the aggregate amount of any other senior securities representing indebtedness when calculating the asset coverage ratios as discussed herein. In addition, we are permitted to invest in a security on a when-issued or forward-settling basis, or with a non-standard settlement cycle, and the transaction will be deemed not to involve a senior security under the 1940 Act, provided that (i) we intend to physically settle the transaction and (ii) the transaction will settle within 35 days of its trade date (the “Delayed-Settlement Securities Provision”). We may otherwise engage in such transaction as a “derivatives transaction” for purposes of compliance with the rule. Furthermore, we are permitted to enter into an unfunded commitment agreement, and such commitment agreement will not be subject to the asset coverage requirements under the 1940 Act if we reasonably believe, at the time we enter into such agreement, that we will have sufficient cash and cash equivalents to meet our obligations with respect to all such agreements as they come due. We cannot predict the effects of these requirements.
We have adopted updated policies and procedures in compliance with Rule 18f-4. We expect to qualify as a “limited derivatives user.” Future legislation or rules may modify how we treat derivatives and other financial arrangements for purposes of our compliance with the leverage limitations of the 1940 Act, which may be materially adverse to us and our investors.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT ACTIVITIES
Our executive officers and employees, through the External Investment Manager, manage other investment funds that operate in the same or a related line of business as we do, and may invest in such funds, which may result in significant conflicts of interest.
Our executive officers and employees, through the External Investment Manager, manage other investment funds or assets for other clients that operate in the same or a related line of business as we do, and which funds may be invested in by us and/or our executive officers and employees. Accordingly, they may have obligations to, or pecuniary interests in, such other entities, and the fulfillment of such obligations may not be in the best interests of us or our stockholders and may create conflicts of interest.
We have made, and in the future intend to make, co-investments with other clients advised by the External Investment Manager in accordance with the conditions of an exemptive relief order from the SEC permitting such co-investment transactions. As a consequence, it may be more difficult for us to maintain or increase the size of our Investment Portfolio in the future. Although we will endeavor to allocate investment opportunities in a fair and equitable manner, including in accordance with the conditions set forth in the order issued by the SEC when relying on such order, we may face conflicts in allocating investment opportunities between us and the advisory clients of the External Investment Manager. Because the External Investment Manager may receive performance-based fee compensation from its advisory clients, this may provide the Company and the External Investment Manager an incentive to allocate opportunities to advisory clients instead of us. We and the External Investment Manager have adopted policies and procedures pursuant to the order to manage this conflict and ensure that investment opportunities are allocated in a manner that is fair and equitable considering each investor’s interests, including oversight of the co-investment program by the independent members of our and MSC Income’s boards of directors and their required approval of certain co-investment transactions thereunder, to ensure the equitable distribution of investment and, as a result, we may be to participate in certain investments based upon such policies and procedures.
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We, through the External Investment Manager, derive revenues from managing third-party funds pursuant to management agreements that may be terminated.
The External Investment Manager earns management fees based on the assets of the funds or other clients under management and may earn incentive fees, or a carried interest, based on the performance of the funds or accounts managed. The terms of fund investment management agreements generally give the manager of the fund and the fund itself the right to terminate the management agreement in certain circumstances. With respect to funds that are not exempt from regulation under the 1940 Act, each fund’s investment management agreement must be approved annually by (a) such fund’s board of directors or by the vote of a majority of such fund’s stockholders and (b) the majority of the independent members of such fund’s board of directors and, in certain cases, by its stockholders, as required by law. Each fund’s investment management agreement can also be terminated by the majority of such fund’s stockholders. Termination of any such investment management agreements would reduce the fees we earn from the relevant funds or other clients through the External Investment Manager, which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.
RISKS RELATED TO BDCs
Operating under the constraints imposed on us as a BDC and RIC may hinder the achievement of our investment objectives.
The 1940 Act and the Code impose numerous constraints on the operations of BDCs and RICs that do not apply to certain of the other investment vehicles that we may compete with. BDCs are required, for example, to invest at least 70% of their total assets in certain qualifying assets, including U.S. private or thinly traded public companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and other high-quality debt instruments that mature in one year or less from the date of investment. Moreover, qualification for taxation as a RIC requires satisfaction of source-of-income, asset diversification and distribution requirements. Operating under these constraints may hinder our ability to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities and to achieve our investment objective. Any failure to do so could subject us to enforcement action by the SEC, cause us to fail to satisfy the requirements associated with RIC status and subject us to entity-level corporate income taxation, cause us to fail the 70% test described above or otherwise have a material effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
We may be precluded from investing in what we believe are attractive investments if such investments are not qualifying assets for purposes of the 1940 Act. If we do not invest a sufficient portion of our assets in qualifying assets, we will be prohibited from making any additional investment that is not a qualifying asset and could be forced to forgo attractive investment opportunities. Similarly, these rules could prevent us from making follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies (which could result in the dilution of our position).
If we fail to maintain our status as a BDC, we might be regulated as a closed-end investment company that is required to register under the 1940 Act, which would subject us to additional regulatory restrictions and significantly decrease our operating flexibility. In addition, any such failure could cause an event of default under any outstanding indebtedness we might have, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.
Failure to maintain our status as a BDC would reduce our operating flexibility.
If we do not remain a BDC, we might be regulated as a closed-end investment company under the 1940 Act, which would subject us to substantially more regulatory restrictions under the 1940 Act and correspondingly decrease our operating flexibility.
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Regulations governing our operation as a BDC will affect our ability to, and the way in which we, raise additional capital.
Our business will require capital to operate and grow. We may acquire such additional capital from the following sources:
Senior Securities
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. As a result of issuing senior securities, we will be exposed to additional risks, including the following:
• Prior to the approval of our stockholders, under the provisions of the 1940 Act we were permitted, as a BDC, to issue senior securities only in amounts such that our BDC asset coverage ratio, as defined in the 1940 Act, equaled at least 200% immediately after each issuance of senior securities. Following the approval of our stockholders of the reduced asset coverage requirements in Section 61(a)(2) of the 1940 Act and subject to our compliance with certain disclosure requirements, effective as of May 3, 2022, under the provisions of the 1940 Act, we are permitted to issue senior securities in amounts such that our BDC asset coverage ratio, as defined in the 1940 Act, equals at least 150% after each issuance of senior securities. If the value of our assets declines, we may be unable to satisfy this test. If that happens, we will be prohibited from issuing debt securities or preferred stock and/or borrowing money from banks or other financial institutions and may not be permitted to declare a cash dividend or make any cash distribution to stockholders or repurchase shares until such time as we satisfy this test.
• Any amounts that we use to service our debt or make payments on preferred stock will not be available for dividends to our common stockholders.
• It is likely that any senior securities or other indebtedness we issue will be governed by an indenture or other instrument containing covenants restricting our operating flexibility. Additionally, some of these securities or other indebtedness may be rated by rating agencies, and in obtaining a rating for such securities and other indebtedness, we may be required to abide by operating and investment guidelines that further restrict operating and financial flexibility.
• We and, indirectly, our stockholders will bear the cost of issuing and servicing such securities and other indebtedness.
• Preferred stock or any convertible or exchangeable securities that we issue in the future may have rights, preferences and privileges more favorable than those of our common stock, including separate voting rights, and could delay or prevent a transaction or a change in control to the detriment of the holders of our common stock.
• Any unsecured debt issued by us would generally rank (i) pari passu with our current and future unsecured indebtedness and effectively subordinated to all of our existing and future secured indebtedness, to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness, and (ii) structurally subordinated to all existing and future indebtedness and other obligations of any of our subsidiaries.
Additional Common Stock
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, warrants, options or rights to acquire our common stock, at a price below the current NAV per share of the common stock if our Board of Directors determines that such sale is in the best interests of our stockholders, and our stockholders approve such sale. See Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Securities — Stockholders may incur dilution if we sell shares of our common stock in one or more offerings at prices below the then current NAV per share of our common stock or issue securities to subscribe to, convert to or purchase shares of our common stock. for a discussion related to us issuing shares of our common stock below NAV per share. Our stockholders have authorized us to issue warrants, options or rights to subscribe for, convert to, or purchase shares of our common stock at a price per share below the NAV per share, subject to the applicable requirements of the 1940 Act. There is no expiration date on our ability to issue such warrants, options, rights or convertible securities based on this stockholder approval. If we raise additional funds by issuing more common stock or senior securities convertible into, or exchangeable for, our common stock, the percentage ownership of our stockholders at that time would decrease, and they may experience dilution. Moreover, we can offer no assurance that we will be able to issue and sell additional equity securities in the future, on terms or at all.
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RISKS RELATED TO OUR SECURITIES
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 a higher risk of volatility or loss of principal. Our investments in portfolio companies involve higher levels of risk, and therefore, an investment in our securities may not be suitable for someone with lower risk tolerance.
Shares of closed-end investment companies, including BDCs such as us, may trade at a discount to their NAV per share.
Shares of closed-end investment companies, including BDCs such as us, may trade at a discount to NAV per share. This characteristic of closed-end investment companies and BDCs 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 per share. In addition, if our common stock trades below our NAV per share, we will generally not be able to issue additional common stock at the market price unless our stockholders approve such a sale and our Board of Directors makes certain determinations. See Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Securities — Stockholders may incur dilution if we sell shares of our common stock in one or more offerings at prices below the then current NAV per share of our common stock or issue securities to subscribe to, convert to or purchase shares of our common stock. for a discussion related to us issuing shares of our common stock below NAV per share.
The market price of our securities may be volatile and fluctuate significantly.
Fluctuations in the trading prices of our securities may adversely affect the liquidity of the trading market for our securities and, if we seek to raise capital through future securities offerings, our ability to raise such capital. 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:
• 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;
• changes in regulatory policies, accounting pronouncements or tax guidelines;
• the exclusion of BDC common stock from certain market indices, such as what happened with respect to the Russell indices and the Standard and Poor’s indices, could reduce the ability of certain investment funds to own our common stock and limit the number of owners of our common stock and otherwise negatively impact the market price of our common stock;
• inability to obtain any exemptive relief that may be required by us in the future from the SEC;
• loss of our BDC or RIC status or any of the Funds’ status as an SBIC;
• changes in our earnings or variations in our operating results;
• changes in the value of our Investment Portfolio;
• any shortfall in our investment income or net investment income or any increase in losses from levels expected by investors or securities analysts;
• changes to the ratings of our debt securities by rating agencies;
• loss of a major funding source;
• fluctuations in interest rates;
• the operating performance of companies comparable to us;
• departure of our key personnel;
• proposed, or completed, offerings of our securities, including classes other than our common stock;
• global or national credit market changes; and
• general economic trends and other external factors.
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We may not be able to pay distributions to our stockholders, our distributions may not grow over time and a portion of distributions paid to our stockholders may be a return of capital.
We intend to pay distributions 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 pay a specified level of cash distributions, previously projected distributions for future periods, or year-to-year increases in cash distributions. Our ability to pay distributions might be adversely affected by, among other things, the impact of one or more of the risk factors described herein. In addition, the inability to satisfy the asset coverage test applicable to us as a BDC could limit our ability to pay distributions. All distributions will be paid at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on our earnings, our financial condition, maintenance of our RIC status, compliance with applicable BDC regulations, compliance with our debt covenants and such other factors as our Board of Directors may deem relevant from time to time. We cannot assure you that we will pay distributions to our stockholders in the future.
When we make distributions, we will be required to determine the extent to which such distributions are paid out of current or accumulated taxable earnings, recognized capital gains or capital. To the extent there is a return of capital, investors will be required to reduce their basis in our stock for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which may result in higher tax liability when the shares are sold, even if they have not increased in value or have lost value. In addition, any return of capital will be net of any sales load and offering expenses associated with sales of shares of our common stock. In the future, our distributions may include a return of capital.
Stockholders may incur dilution if we sell shares of our common stock in one or more offerings at prices below the then current NAV per share of our common stock or issue securities to subscribe to, convert to or purchase shares of our common stock.
The 1940 Act prohibits us from selling shares of our common stock at a price below the current NAV per share of such stock, with certain exceptions. One such exception is prior stockholder approval of issuances below NAV provided that our Board of Directors makes certain determinations. We did not seek stockholder authorization to sell shares of our common stock below the then current NAV per share of our common stock at our 2025 Annual Meeting of Stockholders, and have not sought such authorization since 2012, because our common stock price per share has generally traded significantly above the NAV per share of our common stock since 2011, except for a brief period during market disruptions related to the COVID-19 pandemic. We may, however, seek such authorization at future annual or special meetings of stockholders. Our stockholders have previously approved a proposal to authorize us to issue securities to subscribe to, convert to, or purchase shares of our common stock in one or more offerings. Any decision to sell shares of our common stock below the then current NAV per share of our common stock or securities to subscribe to, convert to, or purchase shares of our common stock would be subject to the determination by our Board of Directors that such issuance is in our and our stockholders’ best interests.
If we were to sell shares of our common stock below NAV per share, such sales would result in an immediate dilution to the NAV per share. This dilution would occur as a result of the sale of shares at a price below the then current NAV per share of our common stock and a proportionately greater decrease in a stockholder’s interest in our earnings and assets and voting interest in us than the increase in our assets resulting from such issuance. In addition, if we issue securities to subscribe to, convert to or purchase shares of our common stock, the exercise or conversion of such securities would increase the number of outstanding shares of our common stock. Any such exercise would be dilutive on the voting power of existing stockholders and could be dilutive with regard to our dividends and NAV per share, and other economic aspects of our common stock.
Because the number of shares of common stock that could be so issued and the timing of any issuance is not currently known, the actual dilutive effect cannot be predicted; however, the example below illustrates the effect of dilution to existing stockholders resulting from the sale of common stock at prices below the NAV per share.
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Illustration: Example of Dilutive Effect of the Issuance of Shares Below NAV. Assume that Company XYZ has 1,000,000 total shares outstanding, $15,000,000 in total assets and $5,000,000 in total liabilities. The NAV per share of the common stock of Company XYZ is $10.00. The following table illustrates the reduction to NAV and the dilution experienced by Stockholder A following the sale of 40,000 shares of the common stock of Company XYZ at $9.50 per share, a price below its NAV per share.
Prior to Sale
Below NAV
Following Sale
Below NAV
Percentage
Change
Reduction to NAV
Total Shares Outstanding
NAV per share
Dilution to Existing Stockholder
Shares Held by Stockholder A
Percentage Held by Stockholder A
Total Interest of Stockholder A in NAV
(1) Assumes that Stockholder A does not purchase additional shares in the sale of shares below NAV.
Our common stockholders’ interest in us will be diluted if we issue additional shares of common stock, which could reduce the overall value of their investment.
Our investors do not have preemptive rights to purchase any shares of common stock we issue in the future. Our articles of amendment and restatement authorize us to issue up to 150,000,000 shares of common stock. Pursuant to our articles of amendment and restatement, a majority of our entire Board of Directors may amend our articles of amendment and restatement from time to time to increase or decrease the aggregate number of authorized shares of stock or the number of authorized shares of stock of any class or series without stockholder approval. Our Board of Directors may elect to sell additional shares in future public offerings or issue equity interests in private offerings. To the extent we issue additional equity interests, our stockholders’ percentage ownership interest in us will be diluted. In addition, depending upon the terms and pricing of any additional offerings and the value of our investments, stockholders may also experience dilution in the book value and fair value of their shares of common stock.
Provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law and our articles of amendment and restatement and bylaws could deter takeover attempts and have an adverse impact on the price of our common stock.
The Maryland General Corporation Law and our articles of amendment and restatement and bylaws contain provisions that may have the effect of discouraging, delaying or making difficult a change in control of our company or the removal of our incumbent directors. The existence of these provisions, among others, may have a negative impact on the price of our common stock and may discourage third-party bids for ownership of our company. These provisions may prevent any premiums being offered to you for our common stock.
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 1940 Act, preferred stock constitutes a “senior security” for purposes of the asset coverage test.
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 the publicly issued debt securities.
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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.
Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock, or the perception that such sales could occur, could adversely affect the prevailing market prices for our common stock. If these sales occur, it could impair our ability to raise additional capital through the sale of equity securities should we desire to do so. We cannot predict what effect, if any, future sales of securities, or the availability of securities for future sales, will have on the market price of our common stock prevailing from time to time.
RISKS RELATED TO OUR SBIC FUNDS
We, through the Funds, issue debt securities guaranteed by the SBA and sold in the capital markets. As a result of its guarantee of the debt securities, the SBA has fixed dollar claims on the assets of the Funds that are superior to the claims of our securities holders.
We, through the Funds, have outstanding SBIC debentures guaranteed by the SBA. The debentures guaranteed by the SBA have a maturity of ten years from the date of issuance and require semiannual payments of interest. We will need to generate sufficient cash flow to make required interest payments on the debentures. If we are unable to meet the financial obligations under the debentures, the SBA, as a creditor, will have a superior claim to the assets of the Funds over our securities holders in the event we liquidate or the SBA exercises its remedies under such debentures as the result of a default by us.
The Funds are licensed by the SBA, and therefore subject to SBIC regulations.
The Funds, our wholly-owned subsidiaries, are licensed to act as SBICs and are regulated by the SBA. The SBA also places certain limitations on the financing terms of investments by SBICs in portfolio companies and prohibits SBICs from providing funds for certain purposes or to businesses in a few prohibited industries. Compliance with SBA requirements may cause the Funds to forego attractive investment opportunities that are not permitted under SBIC regulations.
Further, the SBIC regulations require, among other things, that a licensed SBIC be periodically examined by the SBA and audited by an independent auditor, in each case to determine the SBIC’s compliance with the relevant SBIC regulations. The SBA prohibits, without prior SBA approval, a “change of control” of an SBIC or transfers that would result in any person (or a group of persons acting in concert) owning 10% or more of a class of capital stock of a licensed SBIC. If the Funds fail to comply with applicable SBIC regulations, the SBA could, depending on the severity of the violation, limit or prohibit their use of SBIC debentures, declare outstanding SBIC debentures immediately due and payable, and/or limit them from making new investments. In addition, the SBA can revoke or suspend a license for willful or repeated violation of, or willful or repeated failure to observe, any provision of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder. Such actions by the SBA would, in turn, negatively affect us.
Each of the Funds, as an SBIC, may be unable to make distributions to us that will enable us to meet or maintain RIC status, which could result in the imposition of an entity-level tax.
In order for us to continue to qualify for RIC tax treatment and to minimize corporate-level U.S. federal taxes, we will be required to distribute substantially all of our net ordinary taxable income and net capital gain income, including taxable income from certain of our subsidiaries, which includes the income from the Funds. We will be partially dependent on the Funds for cash distributions to enable us to meet the RIC distribution requirements. The Funds may be limited by SBIC regulations from making certain distributions to us that may be necessary to enable us to maintain our status as a RIC. We may have to request a waiver of the SBA’s restrictions for the Funds to make certain distributions to maintain our eligibility for RIC status. We cannot assure you that the SBA will grant such waiver and if the Funds are unable to obtain a waiver, compliance with the SBIC regulations may result in loss of RIC tax treatment and a consequent imposition of an entity-level tax on us.
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FEDERAL INCOME TAX RISKS
We will be subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax if we are unable to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code.
To maintain RIC tax treatment under the Code, we must meet the following annual distribution, income source and asset diversification requirements:
• The Annual Distribution Requirement for a RIC will be satisfied if we distribute to our stockholders on an annual basis at least 90% of our net ordinary taxable income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized net long-term capital losses, if any. Depending on the level of taxable income earned in a tax year, we may choose to carry forward taxable income in excess of current year distributions into the next tax year and pay a 4% U.S. federal excise tax on such income. Any such carryover taxable income must be distributed through a dividend declared prior to the later of (i) the filing of the final tax return related to the year which generated such taxable income or (ii) the fifteenth day of the ninth month following the close of the year in which such taxable income was generated. For more information regarding tax treatment, see Business — Regulation — Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company. Because we use debt financing, we are subject to certain asset coverage ratio requirements under the 1940 Act and are (and may in the future become) subject to certain financial covenants under loan and credit agreements that could, under certain circumstances, restrict us from making distributions necessary to satisfy the distribution requirement. In addition, because we receive non-cash sources of income such as PIK interest which involves us recognizing taxable income without receiving the cash representing such income, we may have meeting the distribution requirement. If we are to obtain cash from other sources, we could to qualify for RIC tax treatment and thus become subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax.
• The source-of-income requirement will be satisfied if we obtain at least 90% of our gross income for each year from dividends, interest, gains from the sale of stock or securities or similar sources.
• The asset diversification requirement will be satisfied if we meet certain asset diversification requirements at the end of each quarter of our taxable year. To satisfy this requirement, at least 50% of the value of our assets must consist of cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs, and other acceptable securities; and no more than 25% of the value of our assets can be invested in the securities, other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs, (i) of one issuer, (ii) 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 (iii) of certain “qualified publicly traded partnerships.”
Failure to meet these requirements may result in our having to dispose of certain investments quickly in order to prevent the loss of RIC status. Because most of our investments are in privately held companies, and therefore illiquid, any such dispositions could be made at disadvantageous prices and could result in substantial losses. Moreover, if we fail to maintain RIC tax treatment for any reason and are subject to corporate income tax, the resulting corporate taxes could substantially reduce our net assets, the amount of income available for distribution and the amount of our distributions.
We may have difficulty paying the distributions required to maintain RIC tax treatment under the Code if we recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income.
We will include in income certain amounts that we have not yet received in cash, such as: (i) amortization of original issue discount, which may arise if we receive warrants in connection with the origination of a loan such that ascribing a value to the warrants creates original issue discount in the debt instrument, if we invest in a debt investment at a discount to the par value of the debt security or possibly in other circumstances; (ii) contractual PIK interest, which represents contractual interest added to the loan balance and due at the end of the loan term; (iii) contractual preferred dividends, which represents contractual dividends added to the preferred stock and due at the end of the preferred stock term, subject to adequate profitability at the portfolio company; or (iv) amortization of market discount, which is associated with loans purchased in the secondary market at a discount to par value. Such amortization of original issue discounts, increases in loan balances as a result of contractual PIK arrangements, cumulative preferred dividends, or amortization of market discount will be included in income before we receive the corresponding cash payments. We also may be required to include in income certain other amounts before we receive such amounts in cash. Investments structured with these features may represent a higher level of credit risk compared to investments generating income which must be paid in cash on a current basis.
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Since, in certain cases, we may recognize taxable income before or without receiving cash representing such income, we may have difficulty meeting the Annual Distribution Requirement necessary to maintain RIC tax treatment under the Code. Accordingly, we may have to sell some of our investments at times and/or at prices we would not consider advantageous, raise additional debt or equity capital or forgo new investment opportunities for this purpose. If we are not able to obtain cash from other sources, we may fail to qualify for RIC tax treatment and thus become subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax. For additional discussion regarding the tax implications of a RIC, please see Item 1. Business — Regulation — Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company .
We may in the future choose to pay dividends in our own stock, in which case you may be required to pay tax in excess of the cash you receive.
We may distribute taxable dividends that are payable in part in our stock. Under certain applicable provisions of the Code and the Treasury regulations, distributions payable by us in cash or in shares of stock (at the stockholders’ election) would satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement. The IRS has issued guidance providing that a dividend payable in stock or in cash at the election of the stockholders will be treated as a taxable dividend eligible for the dividends paid deduction provided at least 20% of the total distribution is payable in cash and certain other requirements are satisfied. According to this guidance, if too many stockholders elect to receive their distributions in cash, each such stockholder 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. Taxable stockholders receiving such dividends will be required to include the full amount of the dividend as ordinary income (or as long-term capital gain to the extent such dividend is properly reported as a capital gain dividend) to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, a U.S. stockholder may be required to pay tax with respect to such dividends in excess of any cash received. If a U.S. stockholder sells the stock 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 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 stock. In addition, if a significant number of our stockholders determine to sell shares of our stock in order to pay taxes owed on dividends, it may put pressure on the trading price of our stock.
Stockholders may have current tax liability on dividends they elect to reinvest in our common stock but would not receive cash from such dividends to pay such tax liability.
If stockholders participate in our dividend reinvestment plan, they will be deemed to have received, and for federal income tax purposes will be taxed on, the amount reinvested in our common stock to the extent the amount reinvested was not a tax-free return of capital. As a result, unless a stockholder is a tax-exempt entity, it may have to use funds from other sources to pay its tax liability on the value of the dividend that they have elected to have reinvested in our common stock.
Legislative or regulatory tax changes could adversely affect our stockholders.
At any time, the federal income tax laws governing RICs or the administrative interpretations of those laws or regulations may be amended. Any new laws, regulations or interpretations may take effect retroactively and could adversely affect the taxation of us or our stockholders. Therefore, changes in tax laws, regulations or administrative interpretations or any amendments thereto could diminish the value of an investment in our shares or the value or the resale potential of our investments. If we do not comply with applicable laws and regulations, we could lose any licenses that we then hold for the conduct of our business and may be subject to civil fines and criminal penalties.
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GENERAL RISK FACTORS
Events outside of our control, including public health crises, supply chain disruptions and inflation, could negatively affect us and our portfolio companies and the results of our operations.
Periods of market volatility could occur in response to pandemics or other events outside of our control. We and the portfolio companies in which we invest in could be affected by force majeure events (i.e., events beyond the control of the party claiming that the event has occurred, such as acts of God, fire, flood, earthquakes, outbreaks of an infectious disease, pandemic or any other serious public health concern, war, terrorism, labor strikes, major plant breakdowns, pipeline or electricity line ruptures, failure of technology, defective design and construction, accidents, demographic changes, government macroeconomic policies, social instability, etc.). Some force majeure events could adversely affect the ability of a party (including us, a portfolio company or a counterparty to either) to perform its obligations until it is able to remedy the majeure event. In addition, majeure events, such as the cessation of the operation of equipment for repair or upgrade, could similarly lead to the of essential equipment and technologies. These risks could, among other effects, impact the cash flows available from a portfolio company, cause personal or of life, including to an officer, director or a member of our investment team, property, or instigate of service. In addition, the cost to a portfolio company or us of repairing or replacing assets resulting from such majeure event could be considerable.
It will not be possible to insure against all such events, and insurance proceeds received, if any, could be inadequate to completely or even partially cover any loss of revenues or investments, any increases in operating and maintenance expenses, or any replacements or rehabilitation of property. Certain events causing catastrophic loss could be either uninsurable, or insurable at such high rates as to adversely impact us or our portfolio companies, as applicable. Force majeure events that are incapable of or are too costly to cure could have permanent adverse effects. Certain force majeure events (such as war or an outbreak of an infectious disease) could have a broader negative impact on the world economy and international business activity generally, or in any of the countries in which we invest or our portfolio companies operate specifically. Such majeure events could result in or coincide with: increased in the global securities, derivatives and currency markets; a decrease in the reliability of market prices and in valuing assets; fluctuations in currency exchange rates; increased risk of (by both government and private issuers); further social, economic, and political ; nationalization of private enterprise; governmental involvement in the economy or in social factors that impact the economy; less governmental regulation and supervision of the securities markets and market participants and decreased monitoring of the markets by governments or self-regulatory organizations and reduced enforcement of regulations; on the activities of investors in such markets; controls or restrictions on foreign investment, capital controls and on repatriation of invested capital; to purchase and sell investments or otherwise settle security or derivative transactions (i.e., a market freeze); of currency hedging techniques; substantial, and in some periods extremely high, rates of inflation, which can last many years and have substantial effects on credit and securities markets as well as the economy as a whole; ; and in obtaining and/or enforcing legal judgments.
Market conditions may materially and adversely affect debt and equity capital markets in the U.S. and abroad, which may have a negative impact on our business and operations.
The success of our activities is affected by general economic and market conditions, including, among others, interest rates, availability of credit, inflation rates, economic uncertainty, changes in laws and trade barriers. These factors could affect the level and volatility of securities prices and the liquidity of our investments. Volatility or illiquidity could impair our profitability or result in losses. These factors also could adversely affect the availability or cost of our leverage, which would result in lower returns.
Disruptions in the capital markets could increase the spread between the yields realized on risk-free and higher risk securities, resulting in illiquidity in parts of the capital markets. Such disruptions could adversely affect our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows, and future market disruptions and/or illiquidity could negatively impact us. These unfavorable economic conditions could increase our funding costs and limit our access to the capital markets, and could result in a decision by lenders not to extend credit to us in the future. These events could limit our investments, our ability to grow and could negatively impact our operating results and the fair values of our debt and equity investments.
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The failure in cybersecurity systems, as well as the occurrence of events unanticipated in our disaster recovery systems and management continuity planning could impair our ability to conduct business effectively.
The occurrence of a disaster such as a cyber-attack, a natural catastrophe, an industrial accident, a terrorist attack or war, events unanticipated in our disaster recovery systems, or a support failure from external providers, could have an adverse effect on our ability to conduct business and on our results of operations and financial condition, particularly if those events affect our computer-based data processing, transmission, storage, and retrieval systems or destroy data. If a significant number of our managers were unavailable in the event of a disaster, our ability to effectively conduct our business could be severely compromised.
We depend heavily upon computer systems to perform necessary business functions. Despite our implementation of a variety of security measures, our computer systems could be subject to cyber-attacks and unauthorized access, such as physical and electronic break-ins or unauthorized tampering. Like other companies, we may experience threats to our data and systems, including malware and computer virus attacks, unauthorized access, system failures and disruptions. If one or more of these events occurs, it could potentially jeopardize the confidential, proprietary and other information processed and stored in, and transmitted through, our computer systems and networks, or otherwise cause interruptions or malfunctions in our operations, which could result in damage to our reputation, financial losses, , increased costs, regulatory and/or customer or .
Third parties with which we do business (including, but not limited to, service providers, such as accountants, custodians, transfer agents and administrators, and the issuers of securities in which we invest) may also be sources or targets of cybersecurity or other technological risks. While we engage in actions to reduce our exposure resulting from outsourcing, we cannot control the cybersecurity plans and systems put in place by these third parties and ongoing threats may result in unauthorized access, loss, exposure or destruction of data, or other cybersecurity incidents, with increased costs and other consequences, including those described above. Privacy and information security laws and regulation changes, and compliance with those changes, may also result in cost increases due to system changes and the development of new administrative processes.
We are highly dependent on information systems and systems failures could significantly disrupt our business, which may, in turn, negatively affect the market price of our common stock and our ability to pay dividends.
Our business is highly dependent on our and third parties’ communications and information 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. Our financial, accounting, data processing, backup or other operating systems and facilities may fail to operate properly or become disabled or damaged as a result of a number of factors including events that are wholly or partially beyond our control and adversely affect our business. There could be:
• sudden electrical or telecommunications outages;
• natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes;
• disease pandemics;
• events arising from local or larger scale political or social matters, including terrorist acts; and
• cyber-attacks, including software viruses, ransomware, malware and phishing and vishing schemes.
Failure to comply with applicable laws or regulations and changes in laws or regulations governing our operations may adversely affect our business or cause us to alter our business strategy.
We, the Funds, and our portfolio companies are subject to applicable local, state and federal laws and regulations. Failure to comply with any applicable local, state or federal law or regulation could negatively impact our reputation and our business results. New legislation may also be enacted or new interpretations, rulings or regulations could be adopted, including those governing the types of investments we are permitted to make, any of which could harm us and our stockholders, potentially with retroactive effect. Additionally, any changes to the laws and regulations governing our operations relating to permitted investments may cause us to alter our investment strategy in order to avail ourselves of new or different opportunities. Such changes could result in material differences to the strategies and plans set forth herein and may result in our investment focus shifting from the areas of expertise of our investment team to other types of investments in which our investment team may have less expertise or little or no experience. Thus, any such changes, if they occur, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and the value of your investment.
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Uncertainty about presidential administration initiatives could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.
There is significant uncertainty with respect to legislation, regulation and government policy at the federal level, as well as the state and local levels. Recent events, including the 2024 U.S. presidential election, have created a climate of heightened uncertainty and introduced new and difficult-to-quantify macroeconomic and political risks with potentially far-reaching implications. The presidential administration’s changes to U.S. policy may impact, among other things, the U.S. and global economy, international trade and relations, unemployment, immigration, taxes, healthcare, the U.S. regulatory environment, inflation and other areas. Although we cannot predict the impact, if any, of these changes to our business, they could adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flows. Until we know what policy changes are made and how those changes impact our business and the business of our competitors over the long term, we will not know if, overall, we will benefit from them or be negatively affected by them.
We may experience fluctuations in our operating results.
We could experience fluctuations in our operating results due to a number of factors, including our ability or inability to make investments in companies that meet our investment criteria, the interest rate payable on the debt securities we acquire, the level of portfolio dividend and fee income, the level of our expenses, variations in and the timing of the recognition of realized and unrealized gains or losses, the degree to which we encounter competition in our markets and general economic conditions. As a result of these factors, operating results for any period should not be relied upon as being indicative of performance in future periods.
Technological innovations and industry disruptions may negatively impact us.
Technological innovations have disrupted traditional approaches in multiple industries and can permit younger companies to achieve success and in the process disrupt markets and market practices. We can provide no assurance that new businesses and approaches will not be created that would compete with us and/or our portfolio companies or alter the market practices in which we have been designed to function within and on which we depend on for our investment return. New approaches could damage our investments, disrupt the market in which we operate and subject us to increased competition, which could materially and adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of investments.
We are subject to risks associated with artificial intelligence and machine learning technology.
Artificial intelligence, including machine learning and similar tools and technologies that collect, aggregate, analyze or generate data or other materials, or collectively, AI, and its current and potential future applications including in the private investment and financial industries, as well as the legal and regulatory frameworks within which AI operates, continue to rapidly evolve.
Recent technological advances in AI pose risks to us and our portfolio companies. We and our portfolio companies could also be exposed to the risks of AI if third-party service providers or any counterparties, whether or not known to us, also use AI in their business activities. We and our portfolio companies may not be in a position to control the use of AI technology in third-party products or services.
Use of AI could include the input of confidential information in contravention of applicable policies, contractual or other obligations or restrictions, resulting in such confidential information becoming part accessible by other third-party AI applications and users. While we do not currently use AI to make investment recommendations, the use of AI could also exacerbate or create new and unpredictable risks to our business and the business of our portfolio companies, including by potentially significantly disrupting the markets in which we and our portfolio companies operate or subjecting us and our portfolio companies to increased competition and regulation, which could materially and adversely affect business, financial condition or results of operations of us and our portfolio companies. In addition, the use of AI by bad actors could heighten the sophistication and effectiveness of cyber and security attacks experienced by us or our portfolio companies.
Independent of its context of use, AI technology is generally highly reliant on the collection and analysis of large amounts of data, and it is not possible or practicable to incorporate all relevant data into the model that AI technology utilizes to operate. Certain data in such models will inevitably contain a degree of inaccuracy and error—potentially materially so—and could otherwise be inadequate or flawed, which would be likely to degrade the effectiveness of AI technology. To the extent that we or our portfolio companies are exposed to the risks of AI use, any such inaccuracies or errors could have adverse impacts on us or our investments.
AI technology and its applications, including in the private investment and financial sectors, continue to develop rapidly, and it is impossible to predict the future risks that may arise from such developments.
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