Palmer Square Capital BDC Inc. 10-K

Item 1. Business Overview We are a financial services company that primarily lends to and invests in corporate debt securities of companies, including small to large private U.S. companies. We were organized as a Maryland corporation on August 26, 2019 and are structured as an externally managed, non-diversified closed-end management investment company. We have elected to be regulated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). Beginning with our taxable year ended December 31, 2020, we have elected to be treated as a regulated investment company (a “RIC”) under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and we expect to qualify as a RIC annually. On January 22, 2024, we completed our initial public offering (the “IPO”) issuing 5,450,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001, at a public offering price of $16.45 per share. Our common stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PSBD” on January 18, 2024. We are externally managed by the Investment Advisor, an investment adviser that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (the “Advisers Act”), pursuant to an amended and restated investment advisory agreement between us and the Investment Advisor (the “Advisory Agreement”). Subject to the supervision of our Board of Directors (the “Board”), a majority of which is made up of directors that are not “interested persons” as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act (the “Independent Directors”), our Investment Advisor manages our day-to-day operations and provides us with investment advisory and management services and certain administrative services. The Investment Advisor, in its capacity as Administrator, provides the administrative services necessary for us to operate pursuant to an administration agreement between us and the Administrator (the “Administration Agreement”). Our Investment Advisor is a majority-owned subsidiary of PSCM, which is a privately-held firm specializing in global alternative (non-traditional) investments with a total return orientation. Our investment objective is to maximize total return, comprised of current income and capital appreciation. Our current investment focus is guided by two strategies that facilitate our investment opportunities and core competencies: (1) investing in corporate debt securities and, to a lesser extent, (2) investing in collateralized loan obligation (“CLO”) structured credit funds that typically own corporate debt securities, including the equity and junior debt tranches of CLOs. To a limited extent, we may enter into derivatives transactions, which may utilize instruments such as forward contracts, currency options and interest rate swaps, caps, collars and floors to seek to hedge against fluctuations in the relative values of our portfolio positions from changes in currency exchange rates and market interest rates or to earn income and enhance our total returns. We may also receive warrants or other rights to acquire equity or similar securities or otherwise purchase such securities in connection with making a debt investment in a company. We will continue to evaluate other investment strategies in the ordinary course of business with no specific top-down allocation to any single investment strategy. We have two wholly-owned subsidiaries, Palmer Square BDC Funding I LLC (“PS BDC Funding”) and Palmer Square BDC Funding II LLC (“PS BDC Funding II”), that were established in connection with our obtaining credit facilities from third party lenders. The accounts of these subsidiaries are consolidated in the Company’s financial statements. We “look through” such subsidiaries to determine our compliance with the provisions of the 1940 Act, including provisions governing capital structure and leverage, and such subsidiaries comply with such provisions on an aggregate basis with us (Section 18 of the 1940 Act). Our Portfolio As of December 31, 2023, we had 227 debt and equity investments in 191 portfolio companies and we had total assets of approximately $1.0 billion. 1 Listed below are our top ten portfolio companies and industries (excluding short-term investments) represented as a percentage of total assets as of December 31, 2023: Portfolio Company 2023 Idera, Inc. 1.3 % Aptean Inc 1.2 % Vision Solutions, Inc. 1.2 % Minotaur Acquisition, Inc. 1.1 % Gainwell Acquisition Corp. 1.0 % Infinite Bidco, LLC 1.0 % Acrisure, LLC 1.0 % Delta Topco, Inc. 0.9 % Barracuda Networks, Inc. 0.9 % Ivanti Software, Inc. 0.9 % Industry 2023 Software 13.9 % Healthcare Providers and Services 9.2 % Professional Services 7.1 % IT Services 6.6 % Insurance 5.8 % Diversified Financial Services 4.2 % Hotels, Restaurants and Leisure 4.1 % Media 3.7 % Independent Power and Renewable Electricity Producers 3.4 % Chemicals 2.9 % Listed below are our top ten portfolio companies and industries (excluding short-term investments) represented as a percentage of total assets as of December 31, 2022: Portfolio Company 2022 Idera, Inc. 1.3 % Peraton Corp. 1.2 % Inmar, Inc. 1.1 % Minotaur Acquisition, Inc. 1.1 % Vision Solutions, Inc. 1.0 % Acrisure, LLC 1.0 % Barracuda Networks, Inc. 0.9 % Moneygram International, Inc. 0.9 % Micro Holding Corp. 0.9 % Wilsonart LLC 0.9 % Industry 2022 Software 12.3 % Healthcare Providers and Services 9.4 % IT Services 8.0 % Professional Services 5.7 % Insurance 5.6 % Hotels, Restaurants and Leisure 3.7 % Building Products 3.6 % Chemicals 3.1 % Media 3.1 % Independent Power and Renewable Electricity Producers 2.7 % 2 The Investment Advisor The Investment Advisor serves as our investment adviser pursuant to the Advisory Agreement and manages our day-to-day operations and provides us with investment advisory and management services and certain administrative services. The investment team (the “Investment Team”) of our Investment Advisor is responsible for identifying investment opportunities, conducting research and due diligence on prospective investments, structuring our investments and monitoring and servicing our investments. As of December 31, 2023, the Investment Team was comprised of 28 investment professionals, all of whom dedicate a substantial portion of their time to the Company. In addition, the team has eight dedicated operations professionals. The Investment Advisor believes that it has experienced support personnel, including individuals with expertise in risk management, legal, accounting, tax, information technology and compliance, among others. The Investment Team employs a blend of top-down and granular, bottom-up fundamental credit analysis. The senior members of the Investment Team have been actively involved in the alternative credit investing market for an average of 22 years and have built strong relationships with private equity sponsors, banks and financial intermediaries. The Investment Advisor has an investment committee (the “Investment Committee”) comprised of four members that is responsible for approving all of our investments and is responsible for the day-to-day management of the portfolio. See “ Item 1. Business—Investment Committee ” below for a discussion of the Investment Committee. The Investment Advisor has entered into a Resource Sharing Agreement (the “Resource Sharing Agreement”) with PSCM, pursuant to which PSCM provides the Investment Advisor with access to the resources of PSCM, including the Investment Team, so as to enable the Investment Advisor to fulfill its obligations under the Advisory Agreement. Through the Resource Sharing Agreement, the Investment Advisor capitalizes on the significant deal origination, credit underwriting, due diligence, investment structuring, execution, portfolio management and monitoring experience of PSCM’s investment professionals. Palmer Square Capital Management PSCM is a Delaware limited liability company formed in 2009 and had approximately $29.5 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2023 with approximately $3.4 billion in assets under management in opportunistic strategies (which includes the Company), approximately $3.4 billion in assets under management in income/short duration strategies and approximately $22.7 billion in assets under management in private credit/structured credit issuance strategies. PSCM and its affiliates, including the Investment Advisor, manage portfolios of both corporate credit and structured credit as well as diverse strategies designed with the intent to achieve high risk-adjusted returns over market cycles. We believe PSCM’s experience in analyzing companies and investment structures provides a sustainable competitive advantage over other firms. PSCM is 100% management owned and is led by Christopher D. Long and Angie K. Long. The firm is an SEC registered investment adviser. 3 Investment Advisory Agreement Subject to the overall supervision of our Board and in accordance with the 1940 Act, the Investment Advisor manages our day-to-day operations and provides investment advisory services to us. Under the terms of the Advisory Agreement, our Investment Advisor: ● determines the composition of our portfolio, the nature and timing of the changes to our portfolio and the manner of implementing such changes; ● identifies, evaluates and negotiates the structure of the investments we make; ● performs due diligence on prospective portfolio companies; ● executes, closes, services and monitors the investments we make; ● determines the securities and other assets that we purchase, retain or sell; and ● provides us with such other investment advisory, research and related services as we may, from time to time, reasonably require for the investment of our funds. Pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, we pay the Investment Advisor a fee for its investment advisory and management services consisting of two components—a base management fee and, subsequent to the IPO, an incentive fee (the “Income Incentive Fee”). The cost of both the base management fee and, subsequent to the IPO, the Income Incentive Fee, is ultimately borne by our stockholders. Base Management Fee In return for providing management services to the Company, the Company pays the Investment Advisor a base management fee. Upon completion of the IPO, the base management fee is calculated and paid quarterly at an annual rate of 1.75% of the average value of the weighted average (based on the number of shares outstanding each day in the quarter) of the Company’s total net assets at the end of the two most recently completed calendar quarters. The base management fee for any partial quarter will be pro-rated based on the number of days actually elapsed in that quarter relative to the total number of days in such quarter. Prior to the IPO, the base management fee was 2.00% of the average value of the weighted average (based on the number of shares outstanding each day in the quarter) of the Company’s total net assets at the end of the two most recently completed calendar quarters. The Investment Advisor, however, during any period prior to the IPO, agreed to waive its right to receive management fees in excess of an annual rate of 1.75% of the average value of the weighted average total net assets at the end of each of the Company’s two most recently completed calendar quarters. The Investment Advisor will not be permitted to recoup any base management fees waived for any period of time prior to the IPO. 4 Incentive Fee Pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Investment Advisor is not entitled to an incentive fee prior to the IPO because the Advisory Agreement provides that no incentive fee is payable prior to the IPO. Effective upon completion of the IPO, the Investment Advisor is entitled to the Income Incentive Fee based on the Company’s pre-incentive fee net investment income for the then most recently completed calendar quarter, as adjusted downward (but not upward) if over the most recently completed and eleven preceding calendar quarters since the IPO (or if shorter, the number of calendar quarters since the IPO) (each such period is referred to herein as the “Trailing Twelve Quarters”) aggregate net realized losses on the Company’s investments exceed the Company’s aggregate net investment income over the same period, excluding the most recently completed quarter, as described in more detail below. In this regard, if the Company’s net realized losses over the Trailing Twelve Quarters since the IPO (or if shorter, the number of calendar quarters since the IPO) are greater than the Company’s net investment income over the same period, excluding the most recently completed quarter, then the pre-incentive fee net income used in the calculation of the Income Incentive Fee would be subject to a downward adjustment. The amount of the adjustment would be equal to the amount by which such net realized losses exceed such net investment income. On the other hand, if the Company’s net investment income over the Trailing Twelve Quarters since the IPO (or if shorter, the number of calendar quarters since the IPO) is equal to or greater than the Company’s net realized losses over the same period, excluding the most recently completed quarter, then no adjustment to pre-incentive fee net investment income would be made. The Income Incentive Fee will be calculated and payable quarterly in arrears commencing with the first calendar quarter following the IPO. The Company will pay the Investment Advisor an Income Incentive Fee with respect to its “adjusted net investment income” in each calendar quarter as follows: ● no Income Incentive Fee in any calendar quarter in which the Company’s “adjusted net investment income” does not exceed an amount equal to a “hurdle rate” of 1.5% per quarter (6% annualized) of the Company’s total net assets at the end of that quarter (the “Hurdle Amount”); ● 100% of the Company’s “adjusted net investment income” with respect to that portion of such “adjusted net investment income,” if any, that exceeds the Hurdle Amount but is less than or equal to an amount (the “Catch-Up Amount”) determined on a quarterly basis by multiplying 1.6875% by the Company’s total net asset value for the immediately preceding calendar quarter. The Catch-Up Amount is intended to provide the Investment Advisor with an incentive fee of 12.5% on all of the Company’s “adjusted net investment income” when the Company’s “adjusted net investment income” reaches the Catch-Up Amount in any calendar quarter; and ● for any calendar quarter in which the Company’s “adjusted net investment income” exceeds the Catch-Up Amount, the Income Incentive Fee shall equal 12.5% of the amount of the Company’s “adjusted net investment income” for the calendar quarter. “Adjusted net investment income” means the Company’s “pre-incentive fee net investment income” during the then most recently completed calendar quarter minus the difference, if positive, between (i) the Company’s “net realized losses” over the then Trailing Twelve Quarters (or if shorter, the number of calendar quarters that have occurred since the IPO) and (ii) the Company’s “net investment income” over the Trailing Twelve Quarters (excluding the then most recently completed calendar quarter). No adjustment (downward or upward) will be made to “pre-incentive fee net investment income” if the difference between clause (i) minus clause (ii) is zero or negative. “Pre-incentive fee net investment income” means interest income, dividend income and any other income (including any other fees such as commitment, origination, structuring, diligence and consulting fees or other fees that the Company receives from portfolio companies but excluding fees for providing managerial assistance) accrued during the calendar quarter, minus operating expenses for the quarter (including the base management fee, any expenses payable under the Administration Agreement, and any interest expense and dividends paid on any outstanding preferred stock, but excluding the Income Incentive Fee). “Pre-incentive fee net investment income” includes, in the case of investments with a deferred interest feature such as market discount, original issue discount (“OID”), debt instruments with payment-in-kind (“PIK”) interest, preferred stock with PIK dividends and zero-coupon securities, accrued income that the Company has not yet received in cash. 5 “Net realized losses” in respect of a particular period means the difference, if positive, between (i) the aggregate realized capital losses on the Company’s investments in such period and (ii) the aggregate realized capital gains on the Company’s investments in such period. As noted above, “net realized losses” will not by itself cause an upward adjustment to adjusted net investment income. “Net investment income” in respect of the particular period means interest income, dividend income and any other income (including any other fees such as commitment, origination, structuring, diligence and consulting fees or other fees that the Company receives from portfolio companies but excluding fees for providing managerial assistance) accrued during the particular period, minus operating expenses for the particular period (including the base management fee, the Income Incentive Fee, any expenses payable under the Administration Agreement, and any interest expense and dividends paid on any outstanding preferred stock). “Net investment income” includes, in the case of investments with a deferred interest feature such as market discount, OID, debt instruments with PIK interest, preferred stock with PIK dividends and zero-coupon securities, accrued income that the Company has not yet received in cash. The Income Incentive Fee amount, or the calculations pertaining thereto, as appropriate, will be pro-rated for any period less than a full calendar quarter. Effective upon completion of the IPO, the Investment Advisor has also agreed to use the most recently completed and three preceding calendar quarters (each such period is referred to herein as the “Trailing Four Quarters”) in addition to the Trailing Twelve Quarters to compute the incentive fee payable to it by the Company. In conjunction therewith, the Investment Advisor has agreed to calculate the incentive fee based on the Trailing Twelve Quarters and the Trailing Four Quarters and in the event that any Trailing Four Quarter period calculation produces a lower incentive fee as compared to the applicable Trailing Twelve Quarter period calculation for any quarterly period, then the Trailing Four Quarter Period will be used in connection with the calculation of the incentive fee payable to the Investment Advisor by the Company for such quarter. The following is a graphical representation of the calculation of the Income Incentive Fee based on “adjusted net investment income” that is now in place subsequent to the IPO: Example 1—Income Incentive Fee: Assumptions ● Hurdle rate (1) = 1.5% ● Base management fee (2) = 0.4375% ● Other expenses (legal, accounting, custodian, transfer agent, etc.) (3) = 0.20% 6 Alternative 1 - The Company is below the hurdle Additional Assumptions ● Investment income (including interest, dividends, fees, etc.) = 1.20% ● Pre-incentive fee net investment income (investment income — (base management fee + other expenses)) = 0.5625% ● Net realized losses (realized capital losses — realized capital gains) = 0.00% (4) ● Adjusted net investment income (pre-incentive fee net investment income — ([ if positive ] (net realized losses - net investment income))) = 0.5625% (5) Adjusted net investment income does not exceed the hurdle rate, therefore there is no Income Incentive Fee. Alternative 2 - The Company exceeds the hurdle Additional Assumptions ● Investment income (including interest, dividends, fees, etc.) = 2.30% ● Pre-incentive fee net investment income (investment income — (base management fee + other expenses)) = 1.6625% ● Net realized losses (realized capital losses — realized capital gains) = 0.00% (4) ● Adjusted net investment income (pre-incentive fee net investment income — ([ if positive ] (net realized losses - net investment income))) = 1.6625% (5) Adjusted net investment income exceeds hurdle rate, therefore there is an Income Incentive Fee. Income Incentive Fee = 100% × “Catch-Up” + the greater of 0% AND (12.5% × (adjusted net investment income — 1.6875%) = (100% × (1.6625% - 1.5000%)) + 0% = 100% × 0.1625% = 0.1625% (1) Represents a quarter of the 6.0% annualized hurdle rate. (2) Represents a quarter of the 1.75% annualized base management fee. (3) Excludes offering expenses. (4) The calculation of “realized capital losses” and “realized capital gains” are amounts over the twelve calendar quarters immediately preceding the payment date. (5) If the amount of net realized losses over the Trailing Twelve Quarters preceding the payment date (or, alternatively, the Trailing Four Quarters preceding the payment date) exceeds the amount of net investment income over the same period, excluding the most recently completed quarter, then the amount of adjusted net investment income is reduced by that amount. Otherwise, the amount of adjusted net investment income is not changed. 7 Alternative 3 - The Company exceeds the catch-up Additional Assumptions ● Investment income (including interest, dividends, fees, etc.) = 2.70% ● Pre-incentive fee net investment income (investment income - (base management fee + other expenses)) = 2.0625% ● Net realized losses (realized capital losses — realized capital gains) = 0.00% (4) ● Adjusted net investment income (pre-incentive fee net investment income — ([ if positive ] (net realized losses - net investment income))) = 2.0625% (5) Adjusted net investment income exceeds hurdle rate, therefore there is an Income Incentive Fee. Income Incentive Fee = 100% × “Catch-Up” + the greater of 0% AND (12.5% × (adjusted net investment income — 1.6875%) = (100% × (1.6875% - 1.5000%)) + (12.5% × (2.0625% - 1.6875%)) = 0.1875% + (12.5% × 0.3750%) = 0.1875% + 0.0469% = 0.2344% Alternative 4 - The Company does not exceed the hurdle due to net realized losses Additional Assumptions ● Investment income (including interest, dividends, fees, etc.) = 2.30% ● Pre-incentive fee net investment income (investment income — (base management fee + other expenses)) = 1.6625% ● Net realized losses (realized capital losses — realized capital gains) = 9.00% (4) ● Adjusted net investment income (pre-incentive fee net investment income — ([ if positive ] (net realized losses - net investment income))) (5)(6) = 1.6625% - (9.00% - 8.00%) = 1.6625% - 1.00% = 0.6625% Adjusted net investment income does not exceed the hurdle rate, therefore there is no Income Incentive Fee. (4) The calculation of “realized capital losses” and “realized capital gains” are amounts over the twelve calendar quarters immediately preceding the payment date. (5) If the amount of net realized losses over the Trailing Twelve Quarters preceding the payment date (or, alternatively, the Trailing Four Quarters preceding the payment date) exceeds the amount of net investment income over the same period, excluding the most recently completed quarter, then the amount of adjusted net investment income is reduced by that amount. Otherwise, the amount of adjusted net investment income is not changed. (6) The example assumes 8.00% net investment income over the twelve calendar quarters preceding the most recently completed quarter. 8 Payment of Our Expenses All professionals of the Investment Advisor, when and to the extent engaged in providing investment advisory and management services to us, and the compensation and routine overhead expenses of personnel allocable to these services to us, are provided and paid for by the Investment Advisor and not by us. We bear all other out-of-pocket costs and expenses of our operations and transactions. Duration and Termination The Advisory Agreement was approved by the Board on November 13, 2019 for an initial two-year term. Unless terminated earlier as described below, the Advisory Agreement will remain in effect from year to year if approved annually by our Board or by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of our outstanding voting securities, and, in either case, if also approved by a majority of our Independent Directors. At a meeting held on March 10, 2022, our Board approved an amended and restated Advisory Agreement, to be effective upon completion of the IPO. Our Board most recently determined to re-approve the Advisory Agreement for an additional one-year term ending January 13, 2025 at a meeting held on November 9, 2023. The Advisory Agreement automatically terminates in the event of its assignment, as defined in the 1940 Act, by the Investment Advisor and may be terminated by either party without penalty upon not less than 60 days’ written notice to the other. The holders of a majority of our outstanding voting securities may also terminate the Advisory Agreement without penalty upon 60 days’ written notice. The Advisory Agreement provides that, absent criminal conduct, willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of the reckless disregard of its duties and obligations under the Advisory Agreement, the Investment Advisor and its professionals and any other person or entity affiliated with it are entitled to indemnification from us for any damages, liabilities, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and amounts reasonably paid in settlement) arising from the rendering of our Investment Advisor’s services under the Advisory Agreement or otherwise as our investment adviser. Administration Agreement The Investment Advisor, in its capacity as Administrator, provides the administrative services necessary for us to operate pursuant to an administration agreement between us and the Administrator (the “Administration Agreement”). Pursuant to the Administration Agreement, the Administrator furnishes office facilities and equipment and provides clerical, bookkeeping, compliance, recordkeeping and other administrative services at such facilities. Under the Administration Agreement, the Administrator performs, or oversees the performance of, required administrative services, which include being responsible for the financial and other records that the Company is required to maintain and preparing reports to stockholders and reports and other materials filed with the SEC. In addition, the Administrator assists the Company in determining and publishing the Company’s net asset value, overseeing the preparation and filing of tax returns and the printing and dissemination of reports and other materials to stockholders, and generally overseeing the payment of expenses and the performance of administrative and professional services rendered to the Company by others. Under the Administration Agreement, the Administrator also provides managerial assistance on the Company’s behalf to those portfolio companies that have accepted the offer to provide such assistance. Under the Administration Agreement, the Company reimburses the Administrator based upon its allocable portion of the Administrator’s overhead (including rent) in performing its obligations under the Administration Agreement, including rent, the fees and expenses associated with performing compliance functions and the Company’s allocable portion of the cost of its officers (including the Company’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer), and any of their respective staff who provide services to the Company, operations staff who provide services to the Company, and internal audit staff, if any, to the extent internal audit performs a role in the Company’s Sarbanes-Oxley internal control assessment. In addition, if requested to provide managerial assistance to portfolio companies, the Administrator is reimbursed based on the services provided. The Administration Agreement has an initial term of two years and may be renewed with the approval of the Board. Our Board most recently determined to re-approve the Administration Agreement for an additional one-year term ending January 13, 2025 at a meeting held on November 9, 2023. The Administration Agreement may be terminated by either party without penalty upon 60 days’ written notice to the other party. To the extent that the Administrator outsources any of its functions, the Company pays the fees associated with such functions on a direct basis without any incremental profit to the Administrator. 9 In addition, the Administrator has also entered into an agreement (the “Sub-Administration Agreement”) to delegate certain administrative functions to U.S. Bancorp Fund Services, LLC (the “Sub-Administrator”). The Company has also engaged Equiniti Trust Company, LLC or its affiliates (“Equiniti”) directly to serve as transfer agent, registrar and dividend disbursing agent and engaged U.S. Bank or its affiliates directly to serve as custodian. Prior to the Company’s engagement of Equiniti upon the closing of the IPO, U.S. Bank served as the Company’s transfer agent, distribution paying agent and registrar. Market Opportunity The Investment Team believes that existing market conditions, including those set forth below, have combined to create an attractive investment environment for us: Large Addressable Market Opportunity . Macro volatility resulting from geopolitical tensions, inflationary pressures and rising interest rates has led to increased opportunities in the secondary loan market, in addition to presenting higher yielding opportunities in the private credit markets. As of the date of this report, we believe the pipeline for the primary loan market is building as debt capital markets have become more active in the past few months. In addition, we also believe demand for floating rate loans has remained strong due to the meaningful increase in yields. Risk Adjusted Returns . Broadly-syndicated fixed and floating rate loans and corporate debt provides an opportunity set that the Investment Team believes offers an attractive, risk-adjusted return, including through NAV growth from current porfolio market price improvement and total return opportunities for broadly syndicated loans. Specifically, the Investment Team believes it can mitigate risk and achieve our investment objective by: (i) seeking the best relative value, which may equate to buying new loans or other corporate debt issuances at a discount or purchasing in the secondary market, and (ii) seeking to buy loans or other corporate debt issuances that the Investment Team believes have strong fundamentals and low default risk and are capable of withstanding significant downward pricing pressure. Expansion of Corporate Debt Market . The corporate debt market segment on which the Investment Team focuses is industry diverse and large, and includes small to large U.S. companies. In addition, we believe that private equity sponsors have a large pool of uninvested private equity capital. The Investment Team believes private equity firms are poised to deploy meaningful amounts of capital, thus creating ongoing investment opportunities for private lenders such as us. Regulatory Environment and Opportunity for Alternative Lenders . Traditional banks have reduced their lending activities to smaller private companies in recent years and bank stakeholders, including shareholders, lenders and regulators, continue to exert pressure to contain the amount of these types of assets held on bank balance sheets. Examples of this include continued investor focus on the amount of assets whose fair value cannot be determined by using observable measures, or “Level 3 assets,” held on bank balance sheets. As a result, of decreased lending by banks to smaller private companies, the Investment Team believes there are increased opportunities for alternative lenders such as us. CLO Equity and Debt . The Investment Team believes that CLO equity and debt has been a tremendous source of returns for investors historically and has the potential to offer investors high cash on cash returns with low credit risk and low correlation to traditional assets classes. Because CLO securities are floating rate instruments designed to mitigate interest rate sensitivity, investors may not directly suffer the same adverse effects that other asset classes may experience due to rising interest rates. The Investment Team has a strong track record of investing in CLO equity and debt, and believes CLO investments continue to offer attractive relative value. Financing Arrangements Bank of America Credit Facility On February 18, 2020, the Company, through a special purpose wholly-owned subsidiary, PS BDC Funding (together with the Company, the “Borrowers”) entered into a Credit Agreement (the “Credit Agreement”) with certain financial institutions as lenders (“Lenders”), Bank of America, N.A. as the administrative agent (“BofA N.A.”) and BofA Securities, Inc. (“BofA Securities”), as Lead Arranger and Sole Book Manager, pursuant to which the Lenders agreed to provide the Company with a revolving line of credit (the “BoA Credit Facility”). 10 Under the BoA Credit Facility, which matures on February 18, 2025, the Lenders have agreed to extend credit to PS BDC Funding in an aggregate amount up to the Commitment (as defined in the Credit Agreement) amount. The Commitment amount for the BoA Credit Facility is currently $725 million. The Borrowers’ ability to draw under the BoA Credit Facility is scheduled to terminate on February 11, 2025. All amounts outstanding under the BoA Credit Facility are required to be repaid by February 18, 2025. The loans under the BoA Credit Facility may be base rate loans or Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) loans. The base rate loans will bear interest at the base rate plus 1.40%, and the SOFR loans will bear interest at 1-month SOFR plus 1.40% or 3-month SOFR plus 1.45%. The “base rate” will be equal to the highest of (a) the federal funds rate plus 0.50%, (b) the prime rate, and (c) 1-month or 3-month SOFR plus 0.10%. The Credit Agreement includes fallback language in the event that SOFR becomes unavailable. Interest pursuant to base rate loans is payable quarterly in arrears, and interest pursuant to SOFR loans is payable either quarterly or monthly, as specified by the Borrowers in a loan notice pertaining thereto. The Credit Agreement requires the payment of a commitment fee of 0.50% for unused Commitments until the four-month anniversary of the Second Amendment to the Credit Agreement. Thereafter, the commitment fee is 0.50% on unused Commitments up to 30% of the BoA Credit Facility, and 1.30% on unused Commitments in excess of 30% of the BoA Credit Facility. Such fee is payable quarterly in arrears. The advance rate for PS BDC Funding’s Eligible Collateral Assets ranges from 40% for Second Lien Bank Loans to 70% for First Lien Bank Loans that are B Assets to 100% for Cash (excluding Excluded Amounts) (as each such term is defined in the Credit Agreement). PS BDC Funding has pledged all of its assets to BofA N.A., in its capacity as Administrative Agent, to secure its obligations under the BoA Credit Facility. Both the Company and PS BDC Funding have made customary representations and warranties and are required to comply with various covenants, reporting requirements, and other customary requirements for similar credit facilities. Borrowing under the BoA Credit Facility is subject to the leverage restrictions contained in the 1940 Act and PS BDC Funding complies with 1940 Act provisions relating to affiliated transactions and custody (Section 17, as modified by Section 57, of the 1940 Act). The custodian of the assets pledged to BofA N.A. pursuant to the BoA Credit Facility is U.S. Bank National Administration. The obligations under the Credit Agreement may be accelerated upon the occurrence of an event of default under the Credit Agreement, including in the event of a change of control of PS BDC Funding or if the Investment Advisor ceases to serve as investment adviser to the Company. As of December 31, 2023, we had approximately $504.0 million principal outstanding and $221.0 million of available Commitments under the BoA Credit Facility, and PS BDC Funding was in compliance with the applicable covenants in the BoA Credit Facility on such date. Wells Fargo Credit Facility On December 18, 2020, the Company, through a special purpose wholly-owned subsidiary, PS BDC Funding II (together with the Company, the “WF Borrowers”) entered into a Loan and Security Agreement (the “Loan Agreement”) with certain financial institutions as lenders (“WF Lenders”), Wells Fargo Bank, National Association as the administrative agent (“WFB”) and U.S. Bank National Association (“U.S. Bank”), as Collateral Agent and Custodian, pursuant to which the WF Lenders agreed to provide the Company with a line of credit (the “WF Credit Facility”). On December 18, 2023, the Company entered into an amendment to the WF Credit Facility (the “WF Credit Facility Fourth Amendment”) that amends the WF Credit Facility to, among other things: (i) increase the amount available for borrowing under the WF Credit Facility from $150,000,000 to $175,000,000, (ii) extend the facility maturity date from December 18, 2025 to December 18, 2028 and (iii) extend the reinvestment period from December 18, 2023 to December 18, 2026 (subject to other provisions of the WF Credit Facility). 11 The loans under the WF Credit Facility may be Broadly Syndicated Loans or Middle Market Loans and will bear interest at Daily Simple SOFR, or base rate (to the extent Daily Simple SOFR is unavailable), plus 2.50%, with an interest rate floor of 0.0%. The “base rate” will be equal to the highest of (a) the federal funds rate plus 0.50% and (b) the prime rate. The Loan Agreement includes fallback language in the event that Daily Simple SOFR becomes unavailable. Interest is payable quarterly, as determined by the WFB as the administrative agent. Following an amendment to the WF Credit Facility on October 13, 2021, the Loan Agreement requires the payment of a non-usage fee of (x) during the first thirteen months following the closing of the WF Credit Facility, 0.50% multiplied by daily unused Facility Amounts, (y) between thirteen and sixteen months following the closing of the WF Credit Facility, 0.50% multiplied by the lesser of (1) daily unused Facility Amounts and (2) 50% of the Facility Amount plus 2.00% multiplied by the greater of (i) the difference between the daily unused Facility Amount and 50% of the Facility Amount and (ii) zero, and, (z) thereafter, 0.50% multiplied by the lesser of (1) daily unused Facility Amounts and (2) 20% of the Facility Amount plus 2.00% multiplied by the greater of (i) the difference between the daily unused Facility Amount and 20% of the Facility Amount and (ii) zero. Such fee is payable quarterly in arrears. The WF Credit Facility includes the option to downsize the facility by paying a Commitment Reduction Fee. The Fee is equal to 2.00% of the facility reduction amount prior to the one-year anniversary of the WF Credit Facility Fourth Amendment, and 1.00% thereafter. The applicable percentage for the advance rate on PS BDC Funding II’s Eligible Loans ranges from 67.5% for Middle Market Loans to 70% for Broadly Syndicated Loans (as each such term is defined in the Loan Agreement). PS BDC Funding II has pledged all of its assets to U.S. Bank, in its capacity as Collateral Agent, to secure its obligations under the WF Credit Facility and U.S. Bank acts as the custodian of such assets. Both the Company and PS BDC Funding II have made customary representations and warranties and are required to comply with various covenants, reporting requirements, and other customary requirements for similar credit facilities. Borrowing under the WF Credit Facility is subject to the leverage restrictions contained in the 1940 Act and PS BDC Funding II complies with 1940 Act provisions relating to affiliated transactions and custody (Section 17, as modified by Section 57, of the 1940 Act). The obligations under the Loan Agreement may be accelerated upon the occurrence of an event of default under the Loan Agreement, including in the event of a change of control of PS BDC Funding II, if the Investment Advisor ceases to serve as investment adviser to the Company, or if PSCM or its affiliates cease to directly or indirectly own a majority of the membership interests of the Investment Advisor. As of December 31, 2023, we had $136.3 million principal outstanding and $38.7 million of available Commitments under the WF Credit Facility, and PS BDC Funding II was in compliance with the applicable covenants in the WF Credit Facility on such date. Investment Criteria for Evaluating Investment Opportunities The Company’s investment objective is to maximize total return, comprised of current income and capital appreciation. However, no assurance can be given that the Company’s investment objective will be achieved, and investment results may vary substantially on a monthly, quarterly and annual basis. The Investment Advisor seeks to achieve the Company’s investment objective by primarily investing in first and second lien secured loans of small to large private U.S. companies, and to a lesser extent CLO structured credit funds that typically own senior secured bank loans of public and private companies. The Company seeks to invest in credit and other assets that the Investment Advisor believes have strong structural protections, limited downside, and low long-term beta, or volatility, in comparison to systemic risk within the broader credit and equity markets. First and second lien secured loans generally are senior debt instruments that rank ahead of unsecured debt of a given portfolio company. These loans also have the benefit of security interests on the assets of the portfolio company, which may rank ahead of or be junior to other security interests. A significant portion of the loans in which the Company may invest or obtain exposure to through its investments in structured securities may be deemed “Covenant-Lite Loans,” which means the loans contain fewer or no maintenance covenants than other loans 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. See “ Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Related to our Investments—Covenant-Lite Loans ” below. 12 We seek to maximize returns and minimize risk for our investors by applying detailed, fundamental credit analysis to make and monitor our portfolio investments. While the structure of our investments may vary, the Company can invest in senior secured debt, senior unsecured debt, subordinated secured debt, subordinated unsecured debt, convertible debt, convertible preferred equity, preferred equity, common equity, warrants and other instruments, many of which generate current yield. Structurally, CLOs are entities that are formed to hold a portfolio of senior secured loans made to companies whose debt is generally rated below investment grade or, in limited circumstances, unrated. The senior secured loans within a CLO are limited to senior secured loans which meet specified credit and diversity criteria and are subject to concentration limitations in order to create an investment portfolio that is diverse by senior secured loan, borrower, and industry, with limitations on the number of non-U.S. borrowers. As of the date of this report, the Investment Advisor believes that the Company’s investment strategies are positioned to continue to benefit investors for the following three reasons: attractive yields, with a bias for high quality, short duration and liquid credits; the ability to rotate investments to take advantage of dislocations as they arise; and balance fundamentals and default risk with valuation. In addition, to a lesser extent, portfolio investments may also include, but are not limited to, corporate structured credit, cash and synthetic CLOs, including the equity and junior debt tranches of CLOs, collateralized debt obligations (each, a “CDO”), swaps, asset backed securities, corporate bonds of large U.S. and non-U.S. companies, corporate bank loans, preferred stock, municipal bonds or loans and convertible securities. While not our primary investment objective, our investments may include other equity investments, such as warrants, options to buy a minority interest in a portfolio company, or contractual payment rights or rights to receive a proportional interest in the operating cash flow or net income of such company. When determined by the Investment Advisor to be in our best interest, we may acquire a controlling interest in a portfolio company. We do not intend to create or acquire primary control of any entity which engages in investment activities in securities or other assets other than entities wholly owned by the Company. Any warrants we receive with our debt securities may require only a nominal cost to exercise, and thus, as a portfolio company appreciates in value, we may achieve additional investment return from this equity interest. Our Investment Advisor may sell all or a portion of a position of the Company’s portfolio holdings when, in its opinion, one or more of the following occurs, among other reasons: (1) the deterioration of an issuer’s fundamentals; (2) changes in business strategy or key personnel; (3) rating agency downgrades or a decline in credit quality metrics; or (4) the Investment Advisor finds more attractive investment opportunities for the Company. The Investment Advisor has the ability to invest in both illiquid and less liquid securities. The Investment Advisor may employ leverage, including through borrowing funds or issuing senior securities, and use derivatives, both for hedging purposes and to earn income and enhance total returns. The Investment Advisor may employ techniques to hedge investment risk, including without limitation, the use of forward contracts, currency options and interest rate swaps, caps, collars and floors. The Investment Advisor may use derivatives to earn income and enhance total returns by investing in derivatives securities and monitoring such investments to ensure that each holding is maintaining its investment potential. Investment Approach We seek to achieve our investment objective by applying rigorous credit analysis and asset-based and cash-flow based lending techniques to make and monitor our investments. We are routinely pursuing multiple investment opportunities, including primary purchases of newly issued securities and secondary purchases of securities on the open market. The Investment Advisor employs a blend of top-down and granular, bottom-up fundamental credit analysis. The top-down approach has three components: (1) macro analysis whereby the Investment Team undertakes frequent dialogues among its team members regarding macro items including the economic outlook, financial and credit markets, new and secondary issues, regulatory changes, M&A environment, and valuation levels; (2) cross-asset relative value analysis which consists of the Investment Team analyzing various asset classes across the credit spectrum for strong relative value opportunities (e.g., analysis of valuation metrics across loans, bonds, convertibles, CLOs and mortgage credits to identify and monitor optimal risk / reward opportunities); and (3) active monitoring by the Investment Team of the major sectors within corporate credit, such as software and technology, healthcare and business services. With regard to the bottom-up analysis, the Investment Team undertakes frequent dialogue discussing key analyses including items such as determining an issuer’s ability to service debt, measuring past performance and understanding the approach of the management team and their ability to meet goals, deal structure model analysis, document analysis and other financial modeling and scenario testing. Finally, the bottom-up analysis includes trade specific analysis. For example, within the credit spectrum, the team also seeks to evaluate many trade specifics including liquidity, position size, upside/downside, and relative versus absolute value. 13 We believe our vast experience in analyzing and investing in corporate and structured credit provides us with a strong competitive advantage over other lenders with more limited experience investing in these markets. The Investment Advisor has deep expertise in evaluating, underwriting, monitoring and trading senior secured first lien, second lien term loans and other corporate debt securities. In addition, the Investment Advisor also has deep expertise in evaluating the investment merits and structural considerations of CLO debt and equity investments. Our capital is generally used by our corporate borrowers to finance organic growth, acquisitions, recapitalizations and working capital. Our investment decisions are based on extensive analysis of potential portfolio companies’ business operations supported by an in-depth understanding of the quality of their recurring revenues and cash flow, variability of costs and the inherent value of their assets, including proprietary intangible assets and intellectual property. In making our CLO investments, we consider the indenture structure for that vehicle, its operating characteristics and compliance with its various indenture provisions, the collateral manager and its experience managing CLOs, as well as its corporate loan-based collateral pool. The Investment Advisor believes it can mitigate risk by: (i) seeking the best relative value, which may equate to buying new loans and CLO debt and equity in the primary market at a discount or purchasing in the secondary market, and (ii) seeking to buy loans and CLO debt and equity that the Investment Advisor believes have strong fundamentals and low default risk capable of withstanding significant downward pricing pressure. Investment Process – Senior Secured Loans The Investment Team’s senior secured loan investment strategy has been consistent throughout multiple credit environments and is predicated on the view that a conservative approach to investing in first lien and second lien senior secured loans is the optimal strategy over the course of a credit cycle. Given the idiosyncratic nature of secured loans, our Investment Team focuses on downside protection and overall credit quality when evaluating each and every loan borrower. The Investment Team evaluates many factors during the due diligence phase, including: company-specific risk, industry risk, balance sheet risk, cash flow generation, liquidity of the loan, in addition to other factors. The aggregate output of this information provides a building block for deeper financial analysis, including base-case financial projections, and more importantly, downside-case financial projections. Once the initial research process is completed, the Investment Team makes an informed decision on the quality of a particular loan and whether or not it meets our strict criteria for investment. Corporate credit analysts at the Investment Advisor are each responsible for coverage of specific industries. Our Investment Advisor believes that in order to appropriately analyze and underwrite senior secured loans, each analyst has to be an expert in their respective industry verticals. As a result, the Investment Advisor’s corporate credit analysts average over 12 years of experience in broadly syndicated and small to large company credit. As it relates to the due diligence process, each analyst draws not only on their personal analytical skillset, but also utilize their networks within the industry. This can include calls and visits with existing company management teams, former industry CEOs, industry experts, private equity sponsors and industry investment bankers. The aggregate of this initial information gathering then lays the groundwork for fundamental financial analysis and detailed financial modeling, whereby the credit analyst constructs a base case and downside case set of projections. At the conclusion of the due diligence process, the credit analyst presents a formal investment memorandum to the entire Investment Team, which includes the Investment Committee (which averages over 24 years of credit investing experience) and all industry credit analysts. Our Investment Advisor views this part of our process as unique across credit investment firms but believes that this more fulsome and collaborative process leads to better investment decisions. Ultimately the Investment Committee needs to have a unanimous vote in order to approve any of our investments, working in collaboration with our Chief Investment Officer and the Investment Advisor’s loan portfolio manager to size the position appropriately for the risk. 14 Of equal importance, the monitoring phase of each loan investment is critical to the ultimate success of the loan position. Detailed quarterly writeups and model updates are done for each credit after they report earnings. However, the monitoring process is not just a quarterly event as credit analysts are digesting daily information and news regarding our borrowers, their industries and their competitors. Investment Process – CLO Debt and Equity The Investment Advisor’s CLO debt and equity investment strategy has also been consistent throughout multiple credit environments and is focused on three main areas: structure and documentation of the CLO, the underlying portfolio of the CLO, and the collateral manager of the CLO. The structures of CLOs have become more robust since the pre-financial crisis era, with subordination of each rated tranche essentially improving by one rating category (i.e., a current BBB-rated tranche may have similar credit support from a subordination perspective as a pre-financial crisis A-rated tranche). CLO equity leverage is also lower from the pre-financial crisis era, with the equity tranche now representing approximately 9-10% of current structures versus approximately 7% in pre-crisis structures. The Investment Advisor believes that no two CLO structures are identical, thus it is critical to analyze the nuances of each structure and the underlying documentation. For example, CLOs with higher overcollateralization cushions can help protect CLO equity from future cash diversion in a stressed scenario. From a documentation standpoint, while post-financial crisis documents are more standardized, our Investment Team works to understand the nuances of each CLO, such as optional redemption rights, collateral quality limitations, reinvestment language optionality, and the ability to flush excess par to the equity holders. A second critical aspect of the CLO investment process is the Investment Advisor’s focus on the overall portfolio characteristics and underlying loans within a CLO. From a top-down perspective we focus on the weighted-average rating factor (“WARF”), diversity, spread, loan bid depth, facility size, rating distribution and price distribution of the entire portfolio. For example, two portfolios with a weighted-average price of $98.00 may have very different overall portfolio characteristics, such as a higher concentration in lower-rated loans, which could lead to issues during a downgrade cycle. In addition, given our strong corporate credit investment team, we focus on the individual names of the underlying portfolio, with great focus on any loans we perceive to have heightened credit risk. The collateral manager of the CLO is the third aspect the Investment Advisor spends a significant amount of its due diligence effort analyzing. The Investment Advisor tracks data compiled from third-party sources such as Intex, Moody’s Analytics and Bloomberg, as well as proprietary internal systems to create a detailed analysis of the CLO collateral manager universe. This process leads to rankings of collateral managers based on all of these criteria. In addition to the analytical and statistical process, the Investment Advisor also performs due diligence on collateral managers via in-person meetings and via telephone calls. Our goal is to meet the collateral managers we invest in at least twice per year. Investment Process – ESG Integration We believe that integrating environmental, social and corporate governance (“ESG”) criteria and risk assessment should be an important component of our overall investment philosophy and process. PSCM formed its initial ESG policy statement and integrated an ESG framework into its investment process in 2019 and became a United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment signatory in 2020. It has also formed an ESG Committee which helps to develop and implement its ESG policies. The ESG Committee has developed and maintains a proprietary ESG scoring system. The Investment Team is responsible for utilizing the system to assign a score to each non-investment grade borrower to which the Company is a lender. Each scored non-investment grade borrower is assigned an environmental score, a social score and a governance score, with the scoring based on whether the non-investment grade borrower is determined to be subject to material environmental, social, or governance risks that may negatively impact credit quality and/or valuations and/or whether the non-investment grade borrower is believed to not be sufficiently mitigating such risks. These scores inform our underwriting and monitoring processes, but are not used on a standalone basis to approve or decline an investment. In addition, effective March 1, 2021, we have implemented policies and procedures to screen for Prohibited ESG Securities (as defined below) in our potential investments. Our Investment Committee, together with PSCM’s ESG Committee, is responsible for monitoring our investments to ensure that our ESG guidelines are met. 15 Our ESG guidelines state that we will not directly purchase any “Prohibited ESG Security.” We define a “Prohibited ESG Security” as any debt obligation of, equity interest in, or credit default swap referencing a company where the consolidated group is a group whose Primary Business Activity (as defined below) at the time of purchase is: (i) the speculative extraction of oil and gas (commonly referred to as exploration and production); (ii) the speculative extraction of thermal coal or the generation of electricity using coal; (iii) the production of or trade in Controversial Weapons (as defined below); (iv) the production of or trade in components or services that have been specifically designed or designated for military purposes for the functioning of Controversial Weapons; or (v) the trade in (a) hazardous chemicals, pesticides and wastes, ozone depleting substances, endangered or protected wildlife or wildlife products, of which production or trade is banned by applicable global conventions and agreements; (b) pornography or prostitution; (c) tobacco or tobacco-related products; (d) subprime lending or payday lending activities; or (e) weapons or firearms. We define “Controversial Weapons” as any controversial weapons (such as cluster bombs, anti-personnel mines, chemical or biological weapons) which are prohibited under applicable international treaties or conventions. We define “Primary Business Activity” as, in relation to a consolidated group of companies, for the purposes of determining whether a security is a Prohibited ESG Security, where such group derives more than 50 percent of its revenues for the relevant business, trade or production (as applicable). Following its effectiveness on March 1, 2021, our ESG guidelines are followed by our Investment Committee on a go-forward basis, and certain of our investments held prior to March 1, 2021, including as set forth in the schedule of investments herein or in our prior quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, may not have satisfied our newly adopted ESG guidelines. Our Investment Committee is responsible for the execution and continued progress of integration of ESG criteria into our investment strategy, and will support efforts to collaborate with our investors and others in the investment industry to assess and prioritize the ESG topics that are most relevant to the Company and our investors. Investment Process — Ongoing Portfolio Monitoring The Investment Advisor employs an active relative value scoring system to monitor portfolio investments throughout the life of a loan. Existing positions are assigned a score of 5 to 1 to each position, which is updated on an ongoing basis and the Investment Advisor’s analysts incorporate both a fundamental and relative value view. The scoring system is as follows: 5. Add Now Where Possible/Outperforming or Compelling Relative Value 4. Performing At or Above Plan/Add on Relative Where Applicable 3. Hold/Fair Value 2. Sell Opportunistically/Don’t Add 1. Sell Now Where Possible/Potential for Impairment. Investment Committee The Investment Advisor’s Investment Committee is chaired by Angie K. Long, and the other members of the Investment Committee are Christopher D. Long, Matthew L. Bloomfield and Jeffrey D. Fox. The members of the Investment Committee are jointly responsible for the day to day management of the portfolio, and have equal rights with respect to the management of the portfolio. The extensive experience of the investment professionals serving on our Investment Committee includes expertise in privately originated and publicly traded leveraged credit, stressed and distressed debt, bankruptcy, mergers and acquisitions and private equity. This diverse skill set provides a range of perspectives in the evaluation of each investment opportunity. 16 Competition Our primary competitors in investing in corporate debt and CLO securities include public and private funds, other BDCs, commercial and investment banks, commercial financing companies and, to the extent they provide an alternative form of financing, private equity and hedge funds. Many of our competitors are substantially larger and have considerably greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do. For example, we believe some competitors may have 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, which could allow them to consider a wider variety of investments and establish more relationships than us. Furthermore, many of our competitors are not subject to the regulatory restrictions that the 1940 Act imposes on us as a BDC or to the distribution and other requirements we must satisfy as a RIC. We use the expertise of the investment professionals of PSCM to which we have access pursuant to the Resource Sharing Agreement to assess investment risks and determine appropriate pricing for our investments in portfolio companies. In addition, we seek to use the relationships of the Investment Advisor to enable us to learn about, and compete effectively for, financing opportunities with attractive small to large private companies in the industries in which we seek to invest. For additional information concerning the competitive risks we face, see “ Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to our Business and Structure—We operate in a highly competitive market for investment opportunities, which could reduce returns and result in losses .” Expenses Our primary operating expenses include the payment of fees to the Investment Advisor under the Advisory Agreement, our allocable portion of overhead and rental expenses under the Administration Agreement and other operating costs described below. We bear all other out-of-pocket costs and expenses of our operations and transactions, including: ● interest expense and other costs associated with our indebtedness; ● the cost of calculating our net asset value, including the cost of any third-party valuation services; ● the cost of effecting sales and repurchases of shares of our common stock and other securities; ● fees payable to third parties relating to making investments, including our Investment Advisor’s or its affiliates’ travel expenses, research costs and out-of-pocket fees and expenses associated with performing due diligence and reviews of prospective investments; ● transfer agent and custodial fees; ● operating costs incurred prior to the commencement of our operations; ● out-of-pocket fees and expenses associated with marketing efforts; ● federal and state registration fees and any stock exchange listing fees; ● U.S. federal, state and local taxes; ● Independent Directors’ fees and expenses; ● brokerage commissions and markups; ● fidelity bond, directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and other insurance premiums; ● direct costs, such as printing, mailing, long distance telephone and staff; 17 ● fees and expenses associated with independent audits and outside legal costs; ● costs associated with our reporting and compliance obligations under the 1940 Act and other applicable U.S. federal and state securities laws; and ● other expenses incurred by the Administrator or us in connection with administering our business, including payments under the Administration Agreement that will be based upon our allocable portion (subject to the review and approval of our Board) of overhead, including rental expenses. Implications of Being an Emerging Growth Company We currently are, and expect to remain, an “emerging growth company,” as that term is used in the JOBS Act, until the earliest of: ● up to five years measured from the date of the first sale of common stock pursuant to the registration statement with respect to the IPO; ● the last day of the first fiscal year in which our annual gross revenues are $1.235 billion or more; ● the date on which we have, during the preceding three-year period, issued more than $1.0 billion in non-convertible debt securities; and ● the date that we become a “large-accelerated filer” as defined in Rule 12b-2 under the Exchange Act, which would occur if the market value of our common stock that is held by non-affiliates exceeds $700 million as of June 30th of any year. Under the JOBS Act, we are exempt from the provisions of Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), which would require that our independent registered public accounting firm provide an attestation report on the effectiveness of our internal control over financial reporting. This may increase the risk that material weaknesses or other deficiencies in our internal control over financial reporting go undetected. In addition, as an emerging growth company, we have elected to take advantage of the extended transition period provided in Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act and Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act for complying with new or revised accounting standards. Employees We do not currently have any employees. Each officer of the Company is an employee of the Investment Advisor or its affiliates. See “ Item 10. Directors, Executive Officers, and Corporate Governance. ” Our day-to-day investment operations are managed by the Investment Advisor. Pursuant to its Resource Sharing Agreement with PSCM, the Investment Advisor has access to the individuals who comprise our Investment Advisor’s Investment Committee and Investment Team. The Investment Advisor may hire additional investment professionals to provide services to us, based upon its needs. See above “ Item 1. Business — The Investment Advisor .” Open Market Share Repurchase Plan Our Board authorized us to repurchase shares of our common stock through an open-market share repurchase program for up to $20 million in the aggregate of shares of our common stock through 12 months from the date of the IPO. Pursuant to such authorization and concurrently with the closing of the IPO, we entered into a share repurchase plan (the “Company Rule 10b5-1 Stock Repurchase Plan”) to acquire up to $15 million in the aggregate of shares of our common stock, in accordance with the guidelines specified in Rule 10b-18 and Rule 10b5-1 of the Exchange Act. 18 The Company Rule 10b5-1 Stock Repurchase Plan is intended to allow us to repurchase shares of our common stock at times when we otherwise might be prevented from doing so under insider trading laws. The Company Rule 10b5-1 Stock Repurchase Plan will require our agent to repurchase shares of common stock on our behalf when the market price per share of our common stock is below the most recently reported NAV per share of our common stock (including any updates, corrections or adjustments publicly announced by us to any previously announced NAV per share). Under the Company Rule 10b5-1 Stock Repurchase Plan, the agent will increase the volume of purchases made as the price of our common stock declines, subject to volume restrictions. The repurchase of shares pursuant to the Company Rule 10b5-1 Stock Repurchase Plan is intended to satisfy the conditions of Rule 10b5-1 and Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act and will otherwise be subject to applicable law, including Regulation M, which may prohibit purchases under certain circumstances. The Company Rule 10b5-1 Stock Repurchase Plan will commence beginning 60 calendar days following the end of the “restricted period” under Regulation M and terminate upon the earliest to occur of (i) 12 months from the date of the Company Rule 10b5-1 Stock Repurchase Plan, (ii) the end of the trading day on which the aggregate purchase price for all shares purchased under the Company Rule 10b5-1 Stock Repurchase Plan equals $15 million and (iii) the occurrence of certain other events described in the Company Rule 10b5-1 Stock Repurchase Plan. The “restricted period” under Regulation M will end upon the closing of the IPO and, therefore, the common stock repurchases/purchases described above shall not begin prior to 60 days after the closing of the IPO. PSCM Rule 10b5-1 Stock Purchase Plan In addition, PSCM will purchase up to $5 million in the aggregate of shares of our common stock in the open market within one year of the date of the IPO if our shares of common stock trade below a specific level of NAV per share following the completion of the IPO. In order to facilitate PSCM’s purchase commitment, concurrently with the closing of the IPO, PSCM entered into a share purchase plan (the “PSCM Rule 10b5-1 Stock Purchase Plan”) to permit the purchase of up to $2.5 million of our shares of common stock. The purchases of shares pursuant to the PSCM Rule 10b5-1 Stock Purchase Plan will be implemented in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 and Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act. The PSCM Rule 10b5-1 Stock Purchase Plan is intended to allow PSCM to purchase shares of our common stock at times when it otherwise might be prevented from doing so under insider trading laws. The PSCM Rule 10b5-1 Stock Purchase Plan will require PSCM’s agent to purchase shares of common stock on PSCM’s behalf when the market price per share of our common stock is trading below the most recently reported NAV per share of our common stock (including any updates, corrections or adjustments publicly announced by us to any previously announced NAV per share). Under the PSCM Rule 10b-1 Stock Purchase Plan, the agent will increase the volume of purchases made as the price of our common stock declines, subject to volume restrictions. The purchase of shares pursuant to the PSCM Rule 10b5-1 Stock Purchase Plan is intended to satisfy the conditions of Rule 10b5-1 and Rule 10b-18 under the Exchange Act, and will otherwise be subject to applicable law, including Regulation M, which may prohibit purchases under certain circumstances. The PSCM Rule 10b5-1 Stock Purchase Plan will commence beginning 60 calendar days following the end of the “restricted period” under Regulation M and terminate upon the earliest to occur of (i) 12 months from the date of the PSCM Rule 10b5-1 Stock Purchase Plan, (ii) the end of the trading day on which the aggregate purchase price for all shares purchased under the PSCM Rule 10b5-1 Stock Purchase Plan equals $2.5 million and (iii) the occurrence of certain other events described in the PSCM Rule 10b5-1 Stock Purchase Plan. The “restricted period” under Regulation M will end upon the closing of the IPO and, therefore, the common stock repurchases/purchases described above shall not begin prior to 60 days after the closing of the IPO. 19 Regulation as a Business Development Company We have elected to be regulated as a BDC under the 1940 Act. A BDC must be organized in the United States for the purpose of investing in or lending to primarily private companies and making significant managerial assistance available to them. We may not change the nature of our business so as to cease to be, or withdraw our election as, a BDC unless authorized by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities, as required by the 1940 Act. A majority of the outstanding voting securities of a company is defined under the 1940 Act as the lesser of: (a) 67% or more of such company’s voting securities present at a meeting if more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of such company are present or represented by proxy, or (b) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of such company. As with other companies regulated by the 1940 Act, a BDC must adhere to certain substantive regulatory requirements. A majority of our directors must be persons who are not interested persons, as that term is defined in the 1940 Act. Additionally, we are required to provide and maintain a bond issued by a reputable fidelity insurance company to protect the BDC. Furthermore, as a BDC, we are prohibited from protecting any director or officer against any liability to us or our stockholders arising from willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of such person’s office. We are required to meet an asset coverage ratio, defined under the 1940 Act as the ratio of our total assets (less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities) to our outstanding senior securities, of at least 150% after each issuance of senior securities. We may also be prohibited under the 1940 Act from knowingly participating in certain transactions with our affiliates without the prior approval of our directors who are not interested persons, as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act, and, in some cases, prior approval by the SEC. As a BDC, we are limited in our ability to invest in any portfolio company in which our Investment Advisor or any of its affiliates currently has an investment or to make any co-investments with our Investment Advisor or its affiliates without an exemptive order from the SEC, subject to certain exceptions. We do not intend to acquire securities issued by any investment company that exceed the limits imposed by the 1940 Act. Under these limits, except for registered money market funds, we generally cannot acquire more than 3% of the voting stock of any investment company, invest more than 5% of the value of our total assets in the securities of one investment company or invest more than 10% of the value of our total assets in the securities of investment companies in the aggregate. The portion of our portfolio invested in securities issued by investment companies ordinarily will subject our stockholders to additional expenses. Our investment portfolio is also subject to diversification requirements by virtue of our qualification as a RIC for U.S. tax purposes and our intention to continue to operate in a manner so as to qualify for the tax treatment applicable to RICs. We will generally not be able to issue and sell our common stock at a price below net asset value per share. We may, however, sell our common stock, or warrants, options or rights to acquire our common stock, at a price below the then-current net asset value of our common stock if our Board determines that such sale is in our best interests and the best interests of our stockholders, and our stockholders approve such sale. We will comply with the conditions set forth in Section 63(2) of the 1940 Act when selling our common stock at a price below net asset value. In addition, we may generally issue new shares of our common stock at a price below net asset value in rights offerings to existing stockholders, in payment of dividends and in certain other limited circumstances. We will be periodically examined by the SEC for compliance with the 1940 Act. 20 Qualifying Assets Under the 1940 Act, a BDC may not acquire any assets other than assets of the type listed in section 55(a) of the 1940 Act, which are referred to as qualifying assets, unless, at the time the acquisition is made, qualifying assets represent at least 70% of the company’s total assets. The principal categories of qualifying assets relevant to our business are the following: ● Securities purchased in transactions not involving any public offering from the issuer of such securities, which issuer (subject to certain limited exceptions) is an eligible portfolio company, or from any person who is, or has been during the preceding 13 months, an affiliated person of an eligible portfolio company, or from any other person, subject to such rules as may be prescribed by the SEC. An eligible portfolio company is defined in the 1940 Act as any issuer which: ● is organized under the laws of, and has its principal place of business in, the United States; ● is not an investment company (other than a small business investment company wholly owned by the Company) or a company that would be an investment company but for certain exclusions under the 1940 Act; and ● satisfies any of the following: ● does not have any class of securities that is traded on a national securities exchange; ● has a class of securities listed on a national securities exchange, but has an aggregate market value of outstanding voting and non- voting common equity of less than $250 million; ● is controlled by a BDC or a group of companies including a BDC and the BDC has an affiliated person who is a director of the eligible portfolio company; or ● is a small and solvent company having total assets of not more than $4.0 million and capital and surplus of not less than $2.0 million. ● Securities of any eligible portfolio company that we control. ● Securities purchased in a private transaction from a U.S. issuer that is not an investment company or from an affiliated person of the issuer, or in transactions incident thereto, if the issuer is in bankruptcy and subject to reorganization or if the issuer, immediately prior to the purchase of its securities was unable to meet its obligations as they came due without material assistance other than conventional lending or financing arrangements. ● Securities of an eligible portfolio company purchased from any person in a private transaction if there is no ready market for such securities and we already own 60% of the outstanding equity of the eligible portfolio company. ● Securities received in exchange for or distributed on or with respect to securities described above, or pursuant to the exercise of warrants or rights relating to such securities. ● Cash, cash equivalents, U.S. Government securities or high-quality debt securities maturing in one year or less from the time of investment. Limitations on Leverage We are required to meet an asset coverage ratio, defined under the 1940 Act as the ratio of our total assets (less all liabilities and indebtedness not represented by senior securities) to our outstanding senior securities, of at least 150% after each issuance of senior securities. 21 Managerial Assistance to Portfolio Companies A BDC must be operated for the purpose of making investments in the types of securities described under “ —Regulation as a Business Development Company—Qualifying Assets ,” above. However, in order to count portfolio securities as qualifying assets for the purpose of the 70% test, the BDC must either control the issuer of the securities or must offer to make available to the issuer of the securities significant managerial assistance. Making available managerial assistance means, among other things, any arrangement whereby the BDC, through its directors, officers or employees, offers to provide, and, if accepted, does in fact provide, significant guidance and counsel concerning the management, operations or business objectives and policies of a portfolio company. Temporary Investments Pending investment in other types of “qualifying assets,” as described above, our investments may consist of cash, cash equivalents, U.S. Government securities or high-quality debt securities maturing in one year or less from the time of investment, which we refer to, collectively, as temporary investments, such that at least 70% of our assets are qualifying assets. Senior Securities We are permitted, under specified conditions, to issue multiple classes of indebtedness and one class of stock senior to our common stock if our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, is at least equal to 150% immediately after each such issuance. In addition, while any senior securities remain outstanding, we must make provisions to prohibit any distribution to our stockholders or the repurchase of such securities or shares unless we meet the applicable asset coverage ratios at the time of the distribution or repurchase. We may also borrow amounts up to 5% of the value of our total assets for temporary or emergency purposes without regard to asset coverage. Code of Ethics We and our Investment Advisor have adopted codes of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act and Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act, respectively, that establish procedures for personal investments and restrict certain transactions by our personnel. The codes of ethics generally do not permit investments by our employees or employees of our Investment Advisor in securities that may be purchased or held by us. We hereby undertake to provide a copy of the codes to any person, without charge, upon request. Requests for a copy of the codes may be made in writing addressed to Palmer Square Capital BDC Inc., Attention: Secretary, 1900 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Suite 315, Mission Woods, Kansas 66205, or by emailing us at: investorrelations@palmersquarecap.com. Compliance Policies and Procedures We and our Investment Advisor have adopted and implemented written policies and procedures reasonably designed to detect and prevent violation of the federal securities laws and are required to review these compliance policies and procedures annually for their adequacy and the effectiveness of their implementation and designate a chief compliance officer to be responsible for administering the policies and procedures. 22 Exchange Act and Sarbanes-Oxley Act Compliance The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 imposes a wide variety of regulatory requirements on certain publicly held companies and their insiders. Assuming certain requirements are met, many of these requirements affect us. For example: ● pursuant to Rule 13a-14 of the Exchange Act, our chief executive officer and chief financial officer are required to certify the accuracy of the consolidated financial statements contained in our periodic reports; ● pursuant to Item 307 of Regulation S-K, our periodic reports must disclose our conclusions about the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures; ● pursuant to Rule 13a-15 of the Exchange Act, subject to certain assumptions, our management is required to prepare an annual report regarding its assessment of our internal control over financial reporting and, depending on our accelerated filer status, this report may be required to be audited by our independent registered public accounting firm; and ● pursuant to Item 308 of Regulation S-K and Rule 13a-15 of the Exchange Act, our periodic reports must disclose whether there were material changes in our internal control over financial reporting or in other factors that could significantly affect these controls subsequent to the date of their evaluation, including any corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires us to review our current policies and procedures to determine whether we comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder. We continue to monitor our compliance with all regulations that are adopted under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and will take actions necessary to ensure that we are in compliance therewith. Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures We have delegated our proxy voting responsibility to our Investment Advisor. The Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures of our Investment Advisor are set forth below. The guidelines are reviewed periodically by our Investment Advisor and our Independent Directors, and, accordingly, are subject to change. An investment adviser registered under the Advisers Act has a fiduciary duty to act solely in the best interests of its clients. As part of this duty, our Investment Advisor recognizes that it must vote client securities in a timely manner free of conflicts of interest and in the best interests of its clients. These policies and procedures for voting proxies for our Investment Advisor’s investment advisory clients are intended to comply with Section 206 of, and Rule 206(4)-6 under, the Advisers Act. Our Investment Advisor intends to vote proxies relating to our securities in the best interest of the Company’s stockholders. It reviews on a case-by-case basis each proposal submitted for a stockholder vote to determine its impact on the portfolio securities held by the Company. Although our Investment Advisor will generally vote against proposals that may have a negative impact on the Company’s portfolio securities, it may vote for such a proposal if there exists compelling long-term reasons to do so. The proxy voting decisions of our Investment Advisor are made by the senior officers who are responsible for monitoring each of the Company’s investments. To ensure that its vote is not the product of a conflict of interest, it will require that: (a) anyone involved in the decision-making process disclose to its chief compliance officer any potential conflict that he or she is aware of and any contact that he or she has had with any interested party regarding a proxy vote; and (b) employees involved in the decision making process or vote administration are prohibited from revealing how our Investment Advisor intends to vote on a proposal in order to reduce any attempted influence from interested parties. You may obtain information without charge about how our Investment Advisor voted proxies by making a written request for proxy voting information to: Palmer Square Capital BDC Inc., 1900 Shawnee Mission Parkway, Suite 315, Mission Woods, Kansas 66205, Attention: Investor Relations. 23 Privacy Principles The Company looks to protect nonpublic personal data. The Company’s privacy policy summarized below is intended to be compliant with the federal and state regulations as applied to the Company. From time to time, nonpublic personal information of our stockholders may be collected as required for legitimate business purposes. The Company may share all of the information that we collect with our Investment Advisor and its affiliates in order to service stockholder accounts or provide stockholders with information about other products and services offered by the Company or the Investment Advisor or its affiliates that may be of interest to them. In addition, the Company may disclose all of the information that it collects about stockholders to certain third parties who are not affiliated with the Company or the Investment Advisor or its affiliates under one or more of the following circumstances: 1. As Authorized — if a stockholder requests or authorizes disclosure of the information. 2. As Required by Law — for example, to cooperate with regulators or law enforcement authorities. 3. As Permitted by Law — for example, sharing information with companies that maintain, process or service Company or stockholder accounts or financial products and services or who effect, administer or enforce Company or stockholder transactions is permitted. Among other activities, the Company and its Investment Advisor and its affiliates may share information with persons acting in a representative or fiduciary capacity on the Company’s or a stockholder’s behalf. The Company believes that sharing of information for these purposes is essential to providing stockholders with necessary or useful services with respect to their accounts. The Company and the Investment Advisor and its affiliates restrict access to nonpublic personal information about stockholders internally to those of their respective employees and agents who need to know the information to enable them to provide services to the stockholders. The Company and the Investment Advisor and its affiliates maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to guard stockholder’s nonpublic personal information. Reporting Obligations We are a reporting company under the Exchange Act and are required to comply with all periodic reporting, proxy solicitation and other applicable requirements under the Exchange Act. We will furnish our stockholders with annual reports containing audited consolidated financial statements, quarterly reports, and such other periodic reports as we determine to be appropriate or as may be required by law. As a BDC, we are required to file quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, annual reports on Form 10-K and current reports on Form 8-K with the SEC. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information filed electronically by us with the SEC which is available on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. 24 Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations The following discussion is a general summary of the material U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to us and to an investment in our shares. This summary does not purport to be a complete description of the income tax considerations applicable to such an investment. For example, we have not described tax consequences that may be relevant to certain types of holders subject to special treatment under U.S. federal income tax laws, including stockholders subject to the alternative minimum tax, tax-exempt organizations, insurance companies, dealers in securities, pension plans and trusts, financial institutions, partnerships and other pass-through entities, U.S. stockholders (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar, persons who mark-to-market our shares and persons who hold our shares as part of a “straddle,” “hedge” or “conversion” transaction. This summary assumes that investors hold our common stock as capital assets (within the meaning of the Code). The discussion is based upon the Code, Treasury regulations, and administrative and judicial interpretations, each as of the date hereof and all of which are subject to change, possibly retroactively, which could affect the continuing validity of this discussion. We have not sought and will not seek any ruling from the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) regarding any matter discussed herein. Tax counsel has not rendered any legal opinion regarding any tax consequences relating to us or our stockholders. This summary does not discuss any aspects of U.S. estate or gift tax or foreign, state or local tax. It does not discuss the special treatment under U.S. federal income tax laws that could result if we invested in tax-exempt securities or certain other investment assets. For purposes of this discussion, a “U.S. stockholder” generally is a beneficial owner of shares of our common stock who is for U.S. federal income tax purposes: ● a citizen or individual resident of the United States; ● a corporation (or other entity taxable as a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes) created or organized in or under the laws of the United States or any political subdivision thereof; ● a trust if (a) a court in the United States has primary supervision over its administration and one or more U.S. persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust, or (b) the trust has a valid election in effect under applicable U.S. Treasury regulations to be treated as a U.S. person for federal income tax purposes; or ● an estate, the income of which is subject to U.S. federal income taxation regardless of its source. A “Non-U.S. stockholder” generally is a beneficial owner of shares of our common stock that is not a U.S. stockholder. If a partnership (including an entity treated as a partnership for U.S. federal income tax purposes) holds shares of our common stock, the tax treatment of a partner in the partnership will generally depend upon the status of the partner and the activities of the partnership. A prospective stockholder that is a partner in a partnership holding shares of our common stock should consult his, her or its tax advisers with respect to the purchase, ownership and disposition of shares of our common stock. Tax matters are complicated and the tax consequences to an investor of an investment in our shares will depend on the facts of the investor’s particular situation. We encourage investors to consult their own tax advisers regarding the specific consequences of such an investment, including tax reporting requirements, the applicability of federal, state, local and foreign tax laws, including the potential application of U.S. withholding taxes, eligibility for the benefits of any applicable tax treaty and the effect of any possible changes in the tax laws. Election to be Taxed as a RIC As a BDC, we have elected, and intend to qualify annually, as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code, beginning with our initial taxable year ended December 31, 2020. As a RIC, we generally will not have to pay corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes on any income that we distribute (or are deemed to distribute) to our stockholders from our earnings and profits. To qualify for and maintain our qualification as a RIC, we must, among other things, meet certain source-of-income and asset diversification requirements (as described below). In addition, to obtain RIC tax treatment, we must timely distribute to our stockholders, for each taxable year, at least 90% of our “investment company taxable income,” which is generally our net ordinary income plus the excess, if any, of realized net short-term capital gains over realized net long-term capital losses (the “Annual Distribution Requirement”). 25 Taxation as a RIC If we: ● qualify as a RIC; and ● satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, then we will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of our investment company taxable income and net capital gain (generally defined as net long-term capital gains in excess of short-term capital losses) we distribute (or are deemed to distribute) to stockholders. We will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at regular corporate rates on any net income or net capital gain not distributed (or deemed distributed) to our stockholders. We will be subject to a nondeductible U.S. federal excise tax of 4% on certain undistributed income unless we distribute in a timely manner an amount at least equal to the sum of (1) 98% of our net ordinary income for each calendar year, (2) 98.2% of our capital gain net income for the one-year period ending October 31 of that calendar year and (3) any income realized, but not distributed, in preceding years and on which we paid no federal income tax (“Excise Tax Distribution Requirement”). To qualify as a RIC for federal income tax purposes, we must, among other things: ● continue to qualify to be treated as a BDC under the 1940 Act at all times during each taxable year; ● derive in each taxable year at least 90% of our gross income from dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities, loans, gains from the sale of stock or other securities, net income from certain “qualified publicly-traded partnerships,” or other income derived with respect to our business of investing in such stock or securities the (“90% Income Test”); and ● diversify our holdings so that at the end of each quarter of the taxable year: (i) at least 50% of the value of our assets consists of cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs, and other securities if such other securities of any one issuer do not represent more than 5% of the value of our assets or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer; and (ii) no more than 25% of the value of our assets is invested in the securities, other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs, of one issuer, of two or more issuers that are controlled, as determined under applicable tax rules, by us and that are engaged in the same or similar or related trades or businesses or in the securities of one or more “qualified publicly-traded partnerships,” (the “Diversification Tests”). To the extent that we invest in entities treated as partnerships for U.S. federal income tax purposes (other than a “qualified publicly traded partnership”), we generally must include the items of gross income derived by the partnerships for purposes of the 90% Income Test, and the income that is derived from a partnership (other than a “qualified publicly traded partnership”) will be treated as qualifying income for purposes of the 90% Income Test only to the extent that such income is attributable to items of income of the partnership which would be qualifying income if realized by us directly. In addition, we generally must take into account our proportionate share of the assets held by partnerships in which we are a partner (other than a “qualified publicly traded partnership”) for purposes of the Diversification Tests. A RIC is limited in its ability to deduct expenses in excess of its investment company taxable income. If our deductible expenses in a given taxable year exceed our investment company taxable income, we may incur a net operating loss for that taxable year. However, a RIC is not permitted to carry forward net operating losses to subsequent taxable years and such net operating losses do not pass through to its stockholders. In addition, deductible expenses can be used only to offset investment company taxable income, not net capital gain. A RIC may not use any net capital losses (that is, the excess of realized capital losses over realized capital gains) to offset its investment company taxable income, but may carry forward such net capital losses, and use them to offset future capital gains, indefinitely. Due to these limits on deductibility of expenses and net capital losses, we may for tax purposes have aggregate taxable income for several taxable years that we are required to distribute and that is taxable to our stockholders even if such taxable income is greater than the net income we actually earn during those taxable years. 26 Certain of our investment practices may be subject to special and complex U.S. federal income tax provisions that may, among other things, (1) treat distributions that would otherwise constitute qualified distribution income as non-qualified distribution income, (2) treat distributions that would otherwise be eligible for the corporate dividends-received deduction as ineligible for such treatment, (3) disallow, suspend or otherwise limit the allowance of certain losses or deductions, (4) convert lower-taxed long-term capital gain into higher-taxed short-term capital gain or ordinary income, (5) convert an ordinary loss or a deduction into a capital loss (the deductibility of which is more limited), (6) cause us to recognize income or gain without a corresponding receipt of cash, (7) adversely affect the time as to when a purchase or sale of shares or securities is deemed to occur, (8) adversely alter the characterization of certain complex financial transactions and (9) produce income that will not be qualifying income for purposes of the 90% Income Test. We intend to monitor our transactions and may make certain tax elections to mitigate the effect of these provisions and prevent our ability to be subject to tax as a RIC. Gain or loss realized by us from warrants acquired by us as well as any loss attributable to the lapse of such warrants generally will be treated as capital gain or loss. Such gain or loss generally will be long-term or short-term, depending on how long we held a particular warrant. For federal income tax purposes, we may be required to recognize taxable income in circumstances in which we do not receive a corresponding payment in cash. For example, if we hold debt obligations that are treated under applicable tax rules as having original issue discount (such as debt instruments with PIK interest or, in certain cases, increasing interest rates or debt instruments that were issued with warrants), we must include in income each year a portion of the original issue discount that accrues over the life of the obligation, regardless of whether cash representing such income is received by us in the same taxable year. We may also have to include in income other amounts that we have not yet received in cash, such as deferred loan origination fees that are paid after origination of the loan or are paid in non-cash compensation such as warrants or stock. We anticipate that a portion of our income may constitute original issue discount or other income required to be included in taxable income prior to receipt of cash. Further, we may elect to amortize market discount and include such amounts in our taxable income in the current year, instead of upon disposition, as an election not to do so may limit our ability to deduct interest expenses for tax purposes, which is subject to other limitations under U.S. federal income tax law. We intend to invest a portion of our net assets in below investment grade instruments (rated lower than “Baa3” by Moody’s Investors Service or lower than “BBB-” by Standard & Poor’s Corporation), which are often referred to as “junk” bonds. Investments in these types of instruments may present special tax issues for us. U.S. federal income tax rules are not entirely clear about issues such as when we may cease to accrue interest, original issue discount or market discount, when and to what extent deductions may be taken for bad debts or worthless instruments, how payments received on obligations in default should be allocated between principal and income and whether exchanges of debt obligations in a bankruptcy or workout context are taxable. We will address these and other issues to the extent necessary to seek to ensure that we distribute sufficient income so that we do not become subject to U.S. federal income or excise tax. Because any original issue discount or other amounts accrued will be included in our investment company taxable income for the year of accrual, we may be required to make a distribution to our stockholders to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, even though we will not have received any corresponding cash amount. As a result, we may have difficulty meeting the Annual Distribution Requirement necessary to qualify for and maintain RIC tax treatment under Subchapter M of the Code. 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 income tax. Although we do not presently expect to do so, we are authorized to borrow funds and to sell assets to satisfy distribution requirements. However, under the 1940 Act, we are not permitted to make distributions to our stockholders while our debt obligations and other senior securities are outstanding unless certain “asset coverage” tests are met. See “ Regulation — Regulation as a Business Development Company — Senior Securities. ” Moreover, our ability to dispose of assets to meet our distribution requirements may be limited by (1) the illiquid nature of our portfolio and/or (2) other requirements relating to our status as a RIC, including the Diversification Tests. If we dispose of assets to meet the Annual Distribution Requirement or the Excise Tax Distribution Requirement, we may make such dispositions at times that, from an investment standpoint, are not advantageous. 27 A portfolio company in which we invest may face financial difficulties that require us to work-out, modify or otherwise restructure its investment in the portfolio company. Any such transaction could, depending upon the specific terms of the transaction, result in unusable capital losses and future non-cash income. Any such transaction could also result in our receiving assets that give rise to income that is not qualifying income for purposes of the 90% Income Test. Our investment in non-U.S. securities may be subject to non-U.S. income, withholding and other taxes. In that case, our yield on those securities would be decreased. Stockholders generally will not be entitled to claim a U.S. foreign tax credit or deduction with respect to non-U.S. taxes paid by the Company. We may invest in stocks of foreign companies that are classified under the Code as passive foreign investment companies (“PFICs”). In general, a foreign company is classified as a PFIC if at least 50% of its assets constitute investment-type assets or 75% or more of its gross income is investment-type income. In general, under the PFIC rules, an “excess distribution” received with respect to PFIC stock is treated as having been realized ratably over the period during which we held the PFIC stock. We will be subject to tax on the portion, if any, of the excess distribution that is allocated to our holding period in prior taxable years (and an interest factor will be added to the tax, as if the tax had actually been payable in such prior taxable years) even though we distribute the corresponding income to stockholders. Excess distributions include any gain from the sale of PFIC stock as well as certain distributions from a PFIC. All excess distributions are taxable as ordinary income. We may be eligible to elect alternative tax treatment with respect to PFIC stock. Under such an election, we generally would be required to include in our gross income its share of the earnings of a PFIC on a current basis, regardless of whether any distributions are received from the PFIC. If this election is made, the special rules, discussed above, relating to the taxation of excess distributions, would not apply. Alternatively, we may be able to elect to mark to market our PFIC stock, resulting in any unrealized gains at year end being treated as though they were realized and reported as ordinary income. Any mark-to-market losses and any loss from an actual disposition of the PFIC’s shares would be deductible as ordinary losses to the extent of any net mark-to-market gains included in income in prior years with respect to stock in the same PFIC. Because the application of the PFIC rules may affect, among other things, the character of gains, the amount of gain or loss and the timing of the recognition of income with respect to PFIC stock, as well as subject us to tax on certain income from PFIC stock, the amount that must be distributed to stockholders, and which will be taxed to stockholders as ordinary income or long-term capital gain, may be increased or decreased substantially as compared to a fund that did not invest in PFIC stock. Under the Code, gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in foreign currency exchange rates that occur between the time we accrue interest income or other receivables or accrues expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time we actually collect such receivables or pays such liabilities generally are treated as ordinary income or ordinary loss. Similarly, on disposition of some investments, including debt securities and certain forward contracts denominated in a foreign currency, gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in the value of foreign currency between the date of acquisition of the security or contract and the date of disposition also are treated as ordinary gain or loss. These gains and losses, referred to under the Code as “section 988” gains and losses, may increase or decrease the amount of our investment company taxable income to be distributed to stockholders as ordinary income. For example, fluctuations in exchange rates may increase the amount of income that we must distribute in order to qualify for treatment as a RIC and to prevent application of an excise tax on undistributed income. Alternatively, fluctuations in exchange rates may decrease or eliminate income available for distribution. If section 988 losses exceed other investment company taxable income during a taxable year, we would not be able to make ordinary distributions, or distributions made before the losses were realized would be re-characterized as a return of capital to stockholders for U.S. federal income tax purposes, rather than as ordinary dividend income, and would reduce each stockholder’s basis in our shares. Distributions from capital gains generally are made after applying any available capital loss carryforwards. Capital loss carryforwards are reduced to the extent they offset current-year net realized capital gains, whether we retain or distribute such gains. If we incur or have incurred capital losses in excess of capital gains (“net capital losses”), those losses will be carried forward to one or more subsequent taxable years; any such carryforward losses will retain their character as short-term or long-term. In the event that we were to experience an ownership change as defined under the Code, our capital loss carryforwards and other favorable tax attributes, if any, may be subject to limitation. In determining our net capital gain, including also in connection with determining the amount available to support a capital gain dividend, our taxable income and our earnings and profits, we generally may elect to treat part or all of any post-October capital loss (defined as any net capital loss attributable to the portion, if any, of the taxable year after October 31 or, if there is no such loss, the net long-term capital loss or net short-term capital loss attributable to any such portion of the taxable year) or late-year ordinary loss (generally, the sum of (i) our net ordinary loss, if any, from the sale, exchange or other taxable disposition of property, attributable to the portion, if any, of the taxable year after October 31, and (ii) our other net ordinary loss, if any, attributable to the portion, if any, of the taxable year after December 31) as if incurred in the succeeding taxable year. 28 Failure to Qualify as a RIC If we were unable to qualify for treatment as a RIC, we would be subject to tax on all of our taxable income at regular corporate rates, regardless of whether we make any distributions to our stockholders. Distributions would not be required, and any distributions would be taxable to our stockholders as ordinary dividend income to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits. Subject to certain limitations in the Code, such distributions may be eligible for the preferential maximum rate applicable to qualified dividend income of individual stockholders to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits. Subject to certain limitations under the Code, corporate distributees may be eligible for a dividends-received deduction. Distributions in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits would be treated first as a return of capital to the extent of the stockholder’s tax basis, and any remaining distributions would be treated as a capital gain. To requalify as a RIC in a subsequent taxable year, we would be required to satisfy the RIC qualification requirements for that year and dispose of any earnings and profits from any year in which we failed to qualify as a RIC. Subject to a limited exception applicable to RICs that qualified as such under the Code for at least one year prior to disqualification and that requalify as a RIC no later than the second year following the nonqualifying year, we would be subject to tax on any unrealized net built-in gains in the assets held by us during the period in which we failed to qualify as a RIC that are recognized within the subsequent 5 years, unless we made a special election to pay corporate-level U.S. federal income tax on such built-in gains at the time of our requalification as a RIC. We may decide to be taxed as a regular corporation even if we would otherwise qualify as a RIC if we determine that treatment as a corporation for a particular year would be in our best interests. The remainder of this discussion assumes that we qualify as a RIC and satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement. Taxation of U.S. Stockholders Distributions by us generally are taxable to U.S. stockholders as ordinary income or capital gains, whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares. Distributions of our “investment company taxable income” (which is, generally, our net ordinary income plus realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized net long-term capital losses) will be taxable as ordinary income to U.S. stockholders to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional common stock. To the extent such distributions paid by us to non-corporate stockholders (including individuals) are attributable to dividends from U.S. corporations and certain qualified foreign corporations, such distributions (“Qualifying Dividends”) may be eligible for a maximum tax rate of 20%, provided that we properly report such distribution as “qualifying dividend income” in a written statement furnished to our stockholders and certain holding period and other requirements are satisfied. In this regard, it is not anticipated that a significant portion of distributions paid by us will be attributable to qualifying dividends; therefore, our distributions generally will not qualify for the preferential maximum rate applicable to Qualifying Dividends. Distributions of our net capital gain (which is generally our realized net long-term capital gains in excess of realized net short-term capital losses) properly reported by us as “capital gain dividends” will be taxable to a U.S. stockholder as long-term capital gains that are currently generally taxable at a maximum rate of 20% in the case of individuals, trusts or estates, regardless of the U.S. stockholder’s holding period for his, her or its common stock and regardless of whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional common stock. Distributions in excess of our earnings and profits first will reduce a U.S. stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in such stockholder’s common stock and, after the adjusted basis is reduced to zero, will constitute capital gains to such U.S. stockholder. Although we currently intend to distribute any long-term capital gain at least annually, we may in the future decide to retain some or all of our long-term capital gain, but report the retained amount as a “deemed distribution.” In that case, among other consequences, we will pay tax on the retained amount, each U.S. stockholder will be required to include his, her or its proportionate share of the deemed distribution in income as if it had been actually distributed to the U.S. stockholder, and the U.S. stockholder will be entitled to claim a credit equal to his, her or its allocable share of the tax paid thereon by us. The amount of the deemed distribution net of such tax will be added to the U.S. stockholder’s tax basis for his, her or its common stock. Since we expect to pay tax on any retained capital gain at our regular corporate tax rate, and since that rate is in excess of the maximum rate currently payable by individuals on net capital gain, the amount of tax that individual stockholders will be treated as having paid and for which they will receive a credit will exceed the tax they owe on the retained net capital gain. Such excess generally may be claimed as a credit against the U.S. stockholder’s other U.S. federal income tax obligations or may be refunded to the extent it exceeds a stockholder’s liability for U.S. federal income tax. A stockholder that is not subject to U.S. federal income tax or otherwise required to file a U.S. federal income tax return would be required to file a U.S. federal income tax return on the appropriate form to claim a refund for the taxes we paid. To utilize the deemed distribution approach, we must provide written notice to our stockholders prior to the expiration of 60 days after the close of the relevant taxable year. We cannot treat any of our investment company taxable income as a “deemed distribution.” For purposes of determining (1) whether the Annual Distribution Requirement is satisfied for any year and (2) the amount of distributions paid for that year, we may, under certain circumstances, elect to treat a distribution that is paid during the following taxable year as if it had been paid during the taxable year in question. If we make such an election, the U.S. stockholder will still be treated as receiving the distribution in the taxable year in which the distribution is made. However, any distribution declared by us in October, November or December of any calendar year, payable to stockholders of record on a specified date in such a month and actually paid during January of the following year, will be treated as if it had been received by our U.S. stockholders on December 31 of the year in which the distribution was declared. 29 If an investor purchases shares of our common stock shortly before the record date of a distribution, the price of the shares will include the value of the distribution and the investor will be subject to tax on the distribution even though economically it may represent a return of his, her or its investment. Certain distributions reported by us as section 163(j) interest dividends may be treated as interest income by shareholders for purposes of the tax rules applicable to interest expense limitations under section 163(j) of the Code. Such treatment by the shareholder is generally subject to holding period requirements and other potential limitations, although the holding period requirements are generally not applicable to dividends declared by money market funds and certain other funds that declare dividends daily and pay such dividends on a monthly or more frequent basis. The amount that we are eligible to report as a section 163(j) dividend for a tax year is generally limited to the excess of our business interest income over the sum of our (i) business interest expense and (ii) other deductions properly allocable to our business interest income. Stockholders generally will recognize taxable gain or loss if the stockholder sells or otherwise disposes of his, her or its shares of our common stock. The amount of gain or loss will be measured by the difference between such stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in the common stock sold and the amount of the proceeds received in exchange. Any gain arising from such sale or disposition generally will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the stockholder has held the shares for more than one year. Otherwise, it will be classified as short-term capital gain or loss. However, any capital loss arising from the sale or disposition of shares of our common stock held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of the amount of capital gain dividends received, or undistributed capital gain deemed received, with respect to such shares. In addition, all or a portion of any loss recognized upon a disposition of shares of our common stock may be disallowed if other shares of our common stock or substantially identical position are purchased or acquired (whether through reinvestment of distributions or otherwise) within 30 days before or after the disposition. In general, individual U.S. stockholders currently are subject to a maximum federal income tax rate of 20% on their net capital gain (i.e., the excess of realized net long-term capital gains over realized net short-term capital losses), including any long-term capital gain derived from an investment in our shares. Such rate is lower than the maximum rate on ordinary income currently payable by individuals. In addition, an additional 3.8% Medicare tax will be imposed on certain net investment income (including ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions received from us and net gains from redemptions or other taxable dispositions of our common stock) of U.S. high-income individuals, and certain estates and trusts. Corporate U.S. stockholders currently are subject to federal income tax on net capital gain at the maximum 21% corporate income tax rate also applied to ordinary income. Non-corporate stockholders with net capital losses for a year (i.e., capital losses in excess of capital gains) generally may deduct up to $3,000 of such losses against their ordinary income each year; any net capital losses of a non-corporate stockholder in excess of $3,000 generally may be carried forward and used in subsequent years as provided in the Code. Corporate stockholders generally may not deduct any net capital losses for a year but may carry back such losses for three years or carry forward such losses for five years. We (or if a U.S. stockholder holds shares through an intermediary, such intermediary) will send to each of our U.S. stockholders, as promptly as possible after the end of each calendar year, a notice detailing, on a per share and per distribution basis, the amounts includible in such U.S. stockholder’s taxable income for such year as ordinary income and as long-term capital gain. In addition, the federal tax status of each year’s distributions generally will be reported to the IRS (including the amount of distributions, if any, eligible for the preferential maximum rate). Distributions paid by us generally will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction. Distributions may also be subject to additional state, local and foreign taxes depending on a U.S. stockholder’s particular situation. We are required to report adjusted cost basis information for covered securities which generally include shares of a RIC acquired after January 1, 2012 to the IRS and to taxpayers. The tax regulations require that we elect a default tax identification methodology to perform the required reporting. We have chosen the first-in-first-out (“FIFO”) method as the default tax lot identification method for our stockholders. This is the method we will use to determine which specific shares are deemed to be sold when a stockholder’s entire position is not sold in a single transaction and is the method in which “covered” share sales will be reported on a stockholder’s Form 1099. However, at the time of purchase or upon the sale of “covered” shares, stockholders may generally choose a different tax lot identification method. Stockholders should consult a tax advisor with regard to their personal circumstances as the Company and its service providers do not provide tax advice. Stockholders should contact their financial intermediaries with respect to reporting of cost basis and available elections for their accounts. 30 Backup Withholding . We may be required to withhold federal income tax (“backup withholding”), currently at a rate of 24%, from all distributions to any non-corporate U.S. stockholder (1) who fails to furnish us with a correct taxpayer identification number or a certificate that such stockholder is exempt from backup withholding or (2) with respect to whom the IRS notifies us that such stockholder has failed to properly report certain interest and dividend income to the IRS and to respond to notices to that effect. An individual’s taxpayer identification number generally is his or her social security number. Any amount withheld under backup withholding is allowed as a credit against the U.S. stockholder’s federal income tax liability, provided that proper information is provided to the IRS. Reportable Transactions Reporting . If a U.S. stockholder recognizes a loss with respect to shares of our common stock of $2 million or more for an individual stockholder or $10 million or more for a corporate stockholder, the stockholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. U.S. stockholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their specific circumstances. U.S. Taxation of Tax-Exempt U.S. Stockholders A U.S. stockholder that is a tax-exempt organization for U.S. federal income tax purposes and therefore generally exempt from U.S. federal income taxation may nevertheless be subject to taxation to the extent that it is considered to derive unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”). The direct conduct by a tax-exempt U.S. stockholder of the activities we propose to conduct could give rise to UBTI. However, a BDC is a corporation for U.S. federal income tax purposes and its business activities generally will not be attributed to its stockholders for purposes of determining their treatment under current law. Therefore, a tax-exempt U.S. stockholder generally should not be subject to U.S. taxation solely as a result of the stockholder’s ownership of our stock and receipt of dividends with respect to such stock. Moreover, under current law, if we incur indebtedness, such indebtedness generally will not be attributed to a tax-exempt U.S. stockholder. Therefore, a tax-exempt U.S. stockholder should not be treated as earning income from “debt- financed property” and dividends we pay should not be treated as “unrelated debt-financed income” solely as a result of indebtedness that we incur. Proposals periodically are made to change the treatment of “blocker” investment vehicles interposed between tax-exempt investors and non- qualifying investments. In the event that any such proposals were to be adopted and applied to BDCs, the treatment of dividends payable to tax- exempt investors could be adversely affected. Taxation of Non-U.S. Stockholders The following discussion applies only to Non-U.S. stockholders. Whether an investment in our shares is appropriate for a Non-U.S. stockholder will depend upon that person’s particular circumstances. An investment in our shares by a Non-U.S. stockholder may have adverse tax consequences. Non-U.S. stockholders should consult their tax advisers before investing in our common stock. Distributions of our investment company taxable income to Non-U.S. stockholders (including interest income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized long-term capital losses, which generally would be free of withholding if paid to Non-U.S. stockholders directly) will be subject to withholding of federal tax at a 30% rate (or lower rate provided by an applicable treaty) to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits unless an applicable exception applies. If the distributions are effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the Non-U.S. stockholder, we will not be required to withhold federal tax if the Non-U.S. stockholder complies with applicable certification and disclosure requirements, although the distributions will be subject to federal income tax at the rates applicable to U.S. persons. (Special certification requirements apply to a Non-U.S. stockholder that is a foreign partnership or a foreign trust, and such entities are urged to consult their own tax advisers.) 31 In addition, with respect to certain distributions made by RICs to Non-U.S. stockholders, no withholding will be required and the distributions generally will not be subject to federal income tax if (i) the distributions are properly designated in a notice timely delivered to our stockholders as “interest-related dividends” or “short-term capital gain dividends,” (ii) the distributions are derived from sources specified in the Code for such dividends and (iii) certain other requirements are satisfied. No assurance can be given as to whether any of our distributions will be reported as eligible for this exemption from withholding tax. Actual or deemed distributions of our net capital gains to a Non-U.S. stockholder, and gains recognized by a Non-U.S. stockholder upon the sale of our common stock, generally will not be subject to federal withholding tax and will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax unless (i) the distributions or gains, as the case may be, are effectively connected with a U.S. trade or business of the Non-U.S. stockholder and, if an income tax treaty applies, are attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the Non-U.S. stockholder in the United States, or such Non-U.S. stockholder in the United States or (ii) in the case of an individual stockholder, the stockholder is present in the United States for a period or periods aggregating 183 days or more during the year of the sale or the receipt of the distributions or gains and certain other conditions are met. If we distribute our net capital gains in the form of deemed rather than actual distributions, a Non-U.S. stockholder will be entitled to a U.S. federal income tax credit or tax refund equal to the stockholder’s allocable share of the tax we pay on the capital gains deemed to have been distributed. To obtain the refund, the Non-U.S. stockholder must obtain a U.S. taxpayer identification number and file a U.S. federal income tax return even if the Non-U.S. stockholder would not otherwise be required to obtain a U.S. taxpayer identification number or file a U.S. federal income tax return. For a corporate Non-U.S. stockholder, distributions (both actual and deemed), and gains realized upon the sale of our common stock that are effectively connected to a U.S. trade or business may, under certain circumstances, be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate (or at a lower rate if provided for by an applicable treaty). Accordingly, investment in the shares may not be appropriate for a Non-U.S. stockholder. Backup Withholding. A Non-U.S. stockholder who is a non-resident alien individual, and who is otherwise subject to U.S. federal withholding tax, may be subject to information reporting and backup withholding of federal income tax on dividends unless the Non-U.S. stockholder provides us or the dividend disbursing agent with an IRS Form W-8BEN (or an acceptable substitute form) or otherwise meets documentary evidence requirements for establishing that it is a Non-U.S. stockholder or otherwise establishes an exemption from backup withholding. Non-U.S. stockholders may also be subject to U.S. estate tax with respect to their investment in our common stock. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act Legislation commonly referred to as the “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act,” or “FATCA,” generally imposes a 30% withholding tax on payments of certain types of income to foreign financial institutions (“FFIs”) unless such FFIs either (i) enter into an agreement with the U.S. Treasury to report certain required information with respect to accounts held by U.S. persons (or held by foreign entities that have U.S. persons as substantial owners) or (ii) reside in a jurisdiction that has entered into an intergovernmental agreement (“IGA”) with the United States to collect and share such information and are in compliance with the terms of such IGA and any enabling legislation or regulations. The types of income subject to the tax include U.S. source interest and dividends. The information required to be reported includes the identity and taxpayer identification number of each account holder that is a U.S. person and transaction activity within the holder’s account. Depending on the status of a Non-U.S. stockholder and the status of the intermediaries through which they hold their shares, Non-U.S. stockholders could be subject to this 30% withholding tax with respect to distributions on their shares. Stockholders may be requested to provide additional information to us to enable us to determine whether withholding is required, such as W-8BEN, W-8BEN-E or other applicable series W-8. Non-U.S. persons should consult their own tax advisers with respect to the U.S. federal income tax and withholding tax, and state, local and foreign tax consequences of an investment in the shares. 32 Legislative or Other Actions Affecting RICs The foregoing discussion is only a summary and is based upon existing federal income tax law. You should recognize that the federal income tax treatment of an investment in us may be modified at any time by legislative, judicial or administrative action. Any such changes may have a retroactive effect with respect to existing transactions and investments and may modify the statements made above. You are urged to consult with your own tax advisor with respect to the impact of recent legislation on your investment in our shares. THE FOREGOING DISCUSSION SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED TO DESCRIBE FULLY THE FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES OF AN INVESTMENT IN US. YOU ARE STRONGLY ADVISED TO CONSULT WITH YOUR TAX ADVISORS WITH RESPECT TO THE FEDERAL, STATE, LOCAL AND FOREIGN INCOME TAX CONSEQUENCES OF AN INVESTMENT IN US.