UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

☒

ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

​

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018

☐

TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE
SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934

​

For the transition period from             to              

Commission File No. 814-00735

KCAP Financial, Inc.

(Exact name of Registrant as specified in its charter)

295 Madison Avenue, 6th Floor
New York, New York 10017
(Address of principal executive offices)

(212) 455-8300
(Registrant’s telephone number, including area code)

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Act. Yes ☐ No ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days: Yes ☒ No ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files). Yes ☐ No ☐

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K (§229.405 of this chapter) is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company or an emerging growth company. See definitions of  “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “non-accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act (Check one):

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 7(a)(2)(B) of the Securities Act. ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes ☐ No ☒

The aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common stock held by non-affiliates of the registrant as of June 29, 2018 was approximately $111,573,936 based upon a closing price of  $3.25 reported for such date by The NASDAQ Global Select Market. Common shares held by each executive officer and director and by each person who owns 5% or more of the outstanding common shares have been excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily a conclusive determination for other purposes.

The number of outstanding shares of common stock of the registrant as of February 22, 2019 was 37,340,843.

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

Portions of the registrant’s definitive proxy statement for the 2019 annual meeting of stockholders to be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission within 120 days following the end of the registrant’s fiscal year-end are incorporated by reference into Part III of this report.

NOTE ABOUT REFERENCES TO KCAP FINANCIAL, INC.

In this Annual Report on Form 10-K (this “Annual Report”), the “Company”, “KCAP”, “we”, “us” and “our” refer to KCAP Financial, Inc. and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, KCAP Funding I LLC, Kohlberg Capital Funding I LLC, KCAP Senior Funding I, LLC and KCAP Senior Funding I Holdings, LLC, unless the context otherwise requires.

NOTE ABOUT TRADEMARKS

KCAP Financial, Inc., our logo and other trademarks of KCAP Financial, Inc. are the property of KCAP Financial, Inc. All other trademarks or trade names referred to in this Annual Report are the property of their respective owners.

NOTE ABOUT FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report includes forward-looking statements. The matters discussed in this Annual Report, as well as in future oral and written statements by management of KCAP Financial, Inc., that are forward-looking statements are based on current management expectations that involve substantial risks and uncertainties which could cause actual results to differ materially from the results expressed in, or implied by, these forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements relate to future events or our future financial performance. We generally identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expects,” “plans,” “anticipates,” “could,” “intends,” “target,” “projects,” “contemplates,” “believes,” “estimates,” “predicts,” “potential” or “continue” or the negative of these terms or other similar words, although not all forward-looking statements include these words. Important assumptions include our ability to originate new investments, achieve certain margins and levels of profitability, the availability of additional capital, and the ability to maintain certain debt to asset ratios. In light of these and other uncertainties, the inclusion of a projection or forward-looking statement in this Annual Report should not be regarded as a representation by us that our plans or objectives will be achieved. The forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report include statements as to:

•

our future operating results;

​

•

our business prospects and the prospects of our existing and prospective portfolio companies;

​

•

the return or impact of current and future investments;

​

•

our contractual arrangements and other relationships with third parties;

​

•

the dependence of our future success on the general economy and its impact on the industries in which we invest;

​

•

the financial condition and ability of our existing and prospective portfolio companies to achieve their objectives;

​

•

our expected financings and investments;

​

•

our regulatory structure and tax treatment;

​

•

our ability to operate as a business development company and a regulated investment company, including the impact of changes in laws or regulations governing our operations or the operations of our portfolio companies;

​

•

the adequacy of our cash resources and working capital;

​

•

the timing of cash flows, if any, from the operations of our portfolio companies;

​

•

the impact of a protracted decline in the liquidity of credit markets on our business;

​

•

the impact of fluctuations in interest rates on our business;

​

•

the valuation of our investments in portfolio companies, particularly those having no liquid trading market;

​

•

our ability to recover unrealized losses;

​

•

market conditions and our ability to access additional capital; and

​

•

the timing, form and amount of any dividend distributions.

​

For a discussion of factors that could cause our actual results to differ from forward-looking statements contained in this Annual Report, please see the discussion under “Risk Factors” in Item 1A. You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements made in this Annual Report relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. We undertake no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this Annual Report unless required by law.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

i

CAUTIONARY STATEMENT CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This Annual Report on Form 10-K contains forward-looking statements regarding the plans and objectives of management for future operations. Any such forward-looking statements may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by any forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements, which involve assumptions and describe our future plans, strategies and expectations, are generally identifiable by use of the words “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “estimate,” “believe,” “intend” or “project” or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements are based on assumptions that may be incorrect, and we cannot assure you that the projections included in these forward-looking statements will come to pass. Our actual results could differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors, including the factors discussed in Item 1A entitled “Risk Factors” in Part I of this Annual Report on Form 10-K and elsewhere in this Annual Report on Form 10-K. Other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include changes in the economy and future changes in laws or regulations and conditions in our operating areas.

We have based the forward-looking statements included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K on information available to us on the date of this Annual Report on Form 10-K, and we assume no obligation to update any such forward-looking statements, unless we are required to do so by applicable law. However, you are advised to refer to any additional disclosures that we may make directly to you or through reports that we in the future may file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), including subsequent annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K.

ii

PART I

Item 1.

Business

​

Except as otherwise indicated, the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” the “Company” and “KCAP” refer to KCAP Financial, Inc.

GENERAL

We are an internally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment company that is regulated as business development company (“BDC”), under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”). The Company was formed in August 2006 under our former name, Kohlberg Capital Corporation, and completed our initial public offering in December 2006.

The Company originates, structures, and invests in senior secured term loans and mezzanine debt primarily in privately-held middle market companies (the “Debt Securities Portfolio”). In addition, from time to time the Company may invest in the equity securities of privately held middle market companies.

On November 8, 2018, we entered into an agreement with LibreMax Intermediate Holdings, LP (“LibreMax”) under which our wholly-owned subsidiary Commodore Holdings, LLC (“Commodore”) agreed to sell Katonah Debt Advisors, L.L.C. (“Katonah Debt Advisors”), Trimaran Advisors, L.L.C. (“Trimaran Advisors”), and Trimaran Advisors Management, L.L.C. (“Trimaran Advisors Management” and, together with Katonah Debt Advisors and Trimaran Advisors, the “Disposed Manager Affiliates”) to LibreMax for a cash purchase price of approximately $37.9 million (the “LibreMax Transaction”). In connection with the closing of the LibreMax Transaction on December 31, 2018, Commodore sold the Disposed Manager Affiliates, which manage collateralized loan obligation funds (“CLO Funds”), to LibreMax for a cash purchase price of approximately $37.9 million.

As of December 31, 2018, our remaining asset management subsidiaries (the “Asset Manager Affiliates”) were comprised of Commodore, Katonah Management Holdings, LLC, Katonah X Management LLC (“Katonah X Management”), Katonah 2007-1 Management, LLC (“Katonah 2007-I Management”) and KCAP Management, LLC. Commodore, Katonah X Management and Katonah 2007-1 Management have no operations and are expected to be liquidated in the normal course.

On December 14, 2018, we entered into a stock purchase and transaction agreement (the “Externalization Agreement”) with BC Partners Advisors L.P. (“BCP”), an affiliate of BC Partners LLP (“BC Partners”), pursuant to which our management function would be externalized (the “Externalization”) and Sierra Crest Investment Management LLC, an affiliate of BC Partners (the “Adviser”) would be appointed as our investment adviser, subject to our stockholders’ approval of the proposed investment advisory agreement between us and the Adviser (the “Advisory Agreement”). At a special meeting of our stockholders (the “Special Meeting”) held on February 19, 2019, our stockholders approved the Advisory Agreement. As described further below, under “The Externalization Agreement,” if the transactions contemplated by the Externalization Agreement are completed, upon closing of the Externalization (the “Closing”), we will commence operations as an externally managed BDC managed by the Adviser.

The Company has also invested in debt and subordinated securities issued by CLO Funds (the “CLO Fund Securities”). Our investments in CLO Fund Securities are primarily managed by our formerly wholly-owned asset management subsidiaries, Trimaran Advisors and Trimaran Advisors Management, but from time-to-time the Company has made investments in CLO Fund Securities managed by other asset managers. The CLO Funds typically invest in broadly syndicated loans, high-yield bonds and other credit instruments.

Our investments in CLO Fund Securities, which are primarily made up of minority investments in the subordinated securities or preferred stock of CLO Funds managed by the Disposed Manager Affiliates, are anticipated to provide the Company with recurring cash distributions.

The Company may also invest in other investments such as loans to smaller private companies, publicly-traded companies, high-yield bonds, joint ventures, managed funds, partnerships, and distressed debt securities. The Company may also receive warrants or options to purchase common stock in connection with our debt investments.

1

In our Debt Securities Portfolio, our investment objective is to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation from the investments in senior secured term loans, mezzanine debt and selected equity investments in privately-held middle market companies. We define the middle market as comprising companies with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) of  $10 million to $50 million and/or total debt of  $25 million to $150 million. We primarily invest in first and second lien term loans which, because of their priority in a company’s capital structure, we expect will have lower default rates and higher rates of recovery of principal if there is a default and which we expect will create a stable stream of interest income. The investments in our Debt Securities Portfolio are all or predominantly below investment grade, and have speculative characteristics with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal.

Because we are internally managed by our executive officers under the supervision of our Board of Directors, we incur the operating costs associated with employing investment and portfolio management professionals.

As a BDC, we are required to comply with regulatory requirements, including limitations on our use of debt. We are permitted to, and expect to continue to, finance our investments through borrowings. However, as a BDC, we are only generally allowed to borrow amounts such that our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, equals at least 200% (or the 150% asset coverage ratio effective as of March 29, 2019) after such borrowing. The 1940 Act also generally prohibits us from declaring any cash dividend or distribution on any class of our capital stock if our asset coverage is below 200% (or the 150% asset coverage ratio effective as of March 29, 2019) at the time of the declaration of the dividend or distribution.

On March 29, 2018, the Company’s Board of Directors, including a “required majority” (as such term is defined in Section 57(o) of the 1940 Act) of the Board, approved the modified asset coverage requirements set forth in Section 61(a)(2) of the 1940 Act, as amended by the Small Business Credit Availability Act (“SBCA”). As a result, the Company’s asset coverage requirement for senior securities will be changed from 200% to 150%, effective as of March 29, 2019. However, despite the SBCA, we will continue to be prohibited by the indentures governing our 6.125% Notes (as defined and discussed in Note 6- “Borrowings” below) from making distributions on our common stock if our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, falls below 200%. In any such event, we would be prohibited from making distributions required in order to maintain our status as a regulated investment company (“RIC”).

Subject to market conditions, we intend to grow our portfolio of assets by raising additional capital, including through the prudent use of leverage available to us. Because we also recognize the need to have funds available for operating our business and to make investments, we seek to have adequate liquidity at all times to cover normal cyclical swings in funding availability and to allow us to meet abnormal and unexpected funding requirements. As a result, we may hold varying amounts of cash and other short-term investments from time-to-time for liquidity purposes.

We have elected to be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a RIC under the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) and intend to operate in a manner to maintain our RIC status. Accordingly, we generally will not pay corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes on any net ordinary tax-basis taxable income or capital gains that we timely distribute to our shareholders as dividends. To maintain our RIC tax treatment, we must meet the specified source-of-income and asset diversification requirements and distribute to our stockholders annually at least 90% of our net ordinary tax-basis taxable income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized net long-term capital losses, if any, for each year.

We employ an experienced team of seven investment professionals and 13 total staff members. Dayl W. Pearson, our President and Chief Executive Officer, and one of our directors, has been in the financial services industry for more than 40 years. During the past 27 years, Mr. Pearson has focused almost exclusively on the middle market and has originated, structured and underwritten over $7 billion of debt and equity securities. R. Jon Corless, our Chief Investment Officer with primary responsibility for the Debt Securities Portfolio, has managed investment portfolios in excess of  $4 billion at several institutions and has been responsible for managing portfolios of leveraged loans, high-yield bonds, mezzanine securities and middle market loans. Edward U. Gilpin, our Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer, has been in financial services for over 35 years, with significant experience in overseeing the financial operations and reporting for asset management businesses.

2

Under the investment company rules and regulations pursuant to Article 6 of Regulation S-X and the Financial Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”), Financial Services — Investment Companies (“ASC 946”), we are precluded from consolidating portfolio company investments, including those in which we have a controlling interest, unless the portfolio company is another investment company. An exception to this general principle in ASC 946 occurs if we own a controlled operating company that provides all or substantially all of its services directly to us, or to an investment company of ours. Other than KCAP Funding I LLC, Kohlberg Capital Funding I LLC, KCAP Senior Funding I Holdings LLC and KCAP Senior Funding I LLC, none of the investments made by us qualify for this exception. Therefore, our portfolio investments, including our investments in the Asset Manager Affiliates and the Joint Venture (as defined below), are carried on the balance sheet at fair value with any adjustments to fair value recognized as “Net Change in Unrealized Appreciation (Depreciation)” in our statement of operations until the investment is exited, at which point any gain or loss on exit is reclassified and recognized as a “Net Realized Gain (Loss) from Investments.”

Our common stock is traded on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “KCAP.” The net asset value per share of our common stock at December 31, 2018 was $4.23. On December 31, 2018, the last reported sale price of a share of our common stock on The NASDAQ Global Select Market was $3.46. In addition, our 6.125% notes due 2022 (“6.125% Notes Due 2022”) are traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “KCAPL.” As of December 31, 2018, the last reported price of our 6.125% Notes Due 2022, which have a par value of  $25.00, was $24.74.

Our Corporate Information

Our principal executive offices are located at 295 Madison Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, New York 10017, and our telephone number is (212) 455-8300. We maintain a website on the Internet at http://www.kcapfinancial.com. The information contained in our website is not incorporated by reference into this Annual Report. We file with or submit to the SEC periodic and current reports, proxy statements and other information meeting the informational requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”). We make copies of these filings available on the Investor Relations-SEC Filings section of our website free of charge as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file the information with, or furnish it to, the SEC. The SEC maintains an Internet site at http://www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information filed electronically by us with the SEC. Copies of these reports, proxy and information statements and other information may also be obtained by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov

Investment Portfolio

Our investment portfolio generates investment income, which is generally used to pay principal and interest on our borrowings, operating expenses, and to fund our distributions to our stockholders. Our investment portfolio consists primarily of our Debt Securities Portfolio and investments in CLO Fund Securities.

Debt Securities Portfolio.   We target privately-held middle market companies that have strong historical cash flows, experienced management teams and identifiable and defendable market positions in industries with positive dynamics. We generally target companies that generate positive cash flows because we look to cash flows as the primary source for servicing debt.

We employ a disciplined approach in the selection and monitoring of our investments. Generally, we target investments that will generate a current return through interest income to provide for stability in our shareholder distributions and place less reliance on realized capital gains from our investments. Our investment philosophy is focused on preserving capital with an appropriate return profile relative to risk. Our investment due diligence and selection generally focuses on an underlying issuer’s net cash flow after capital expenditures to service its debt rather than on multiples of net income, valuations or other broad benchmarks which frequently miss the nuances of an issuer’s business and prospective financial performance. We also generally avoid concentrations in any one industry or issuer. We manage risk by following our internal credit policies and procedures.

When we extend senior and junior secured term loans, we will generally take a security interest in the available assets of the portfolio company, including the equity interests of its subsidiaries, which we expect

3

to help mitigate the risk that we will not be repaid. Nonetheless, there is a possibility that our lien could be subordinated to claims of other creditors. Structurally, mezzanine debt ranks subordinate in priority of payment to senior term loans and is often unsecured. Relative to equity, mezzanine debt ranks senior to common and preferred equity in a borrower’s capital structure. Typically, mezzanine debt has elements of both debt and equity instruments, offering the fixed returns in the form of interest payments associated with a loan, while providing an opportunity to participate in the capital appreciation of a borrower, if any, through an equity interest that is typically in the form of equity purchased at the time the mezzanine loan is originated or warrants to purchase equity at a future date at a fixed cost. Mezzanine debt generally earns a higher return than senior secured debt due to its higher risk profile and usually less restrictive covenants. The warrants associated with mezzanine debt are typically detachable, which allows lenders to receive repayment of their principal on an agreed amortization schedule while retaining an equity interest in the borrower. Mezzanine debt also may include a “put” feature, which permits the holder to sell its equity interest back to the borrower at a price determined through an agreed formula.

Below are summary attributes for our Debt Securities Portfolio as of and for the year ended December 31, 2018:

•

represented approximately 54% of total investment portfolio;

​

•

contained credit instruments issued by corporate borrowers;

​

•

primarily comprised of senior secured and junior secured loans (52% and 48% of Debt Securities Portfolio, respectively);

​

•

spread across 21 different industries and 51 different entities;

​

•

average par balance per investment of approximately $2.8 million;

​

•

five investments were on non-accrual status; and

​

•

the weighted average contractual interest rate on our loans and debt securities was approximately 10.0%, and the weighted average contractual interest rate on our loans and debt securities, adjusted for non-accrual investments, was approximately 9.1%.

​

Our Debt Securities Portfolio investments generally average between $1 million to $20 million, although particular investments may be larger or smaller. The size of individual investments will vary according to their priority in a company’s capital structure, with larger investments in more secure positions in an effort to maximize capital preservation. The size of our investments and maturity dates may vary as follows:

•

senior secured term loans from $2 to $20 million maturing in five to seven years;

​

•

second lien term loans from $5 to $15 million maturing in six to eight years;

​

•

senior unsecured loans from $5 to $23 million maturing in six to eight years;

​

•

mezzanine loans from $5 to $15 million maturing in seven to ten years; and

​

•

equity investments from $1 to $5 million.

​

Investment in the Joint Venture.   During the third quarter of 2017, the Company and Freedom 3 Opportunities LLC (“Freedom 3 Opportunities”), an affiliate of Freedom 3 Capital LLC, entered into an agreement to create KCAP Freedom 3 LLC (the “Joint Venture”). The Company and Freedom 3 Opportunities contributed approximately $37 million and $25 million, respectively, in assets to the Joint Venture, which in turn used the assets to capitalize a new fund, KCAP F3C Senior Funding, L.L.C. (the “Fund”) managed by KCAP Management, LLC, one of the Asset Manager Affiliates. In addition, the Fund used cash on hand and borrowings under a credit facility to purchase approximately $184 million of primarily middle-market loans from the Company and the Company used the proceeds from such sale to redeem approximately $147 million in debt issued by KCAP Senior Funding I, LLC (“KCAP Senior Funding”). The Fund invests primarily in middle-market loans and the Joint Venture partners may source middle-market loans from time-to-time for the Fund.

4

During the fourth quarter of 2017, the Fund was refinanced through the issuance of senior and subordinated notes. The Joint Venture purchased 100% of the subordinated notes issued by the Fund. In connection with the refinancing, the Joint Venture made a cash distribution to the Company of approximately $12.6 million. Approximately $11.2 million of this distribution was a reduction in the cost basis of the Company’s investment in the Joint Venture. The final determination of the tax attributes of distributions from the Joint Venture is made on an annual (full calendar year) basis at the end of the year, therefore, any estimate of tax attributes of distributions made on an interim basis may not be representative of the actual tax attributes of distributions for the full year.

The Company owns a 60% equity investment in the Joint Venture. The Joint Venture is structured as an unconsolidated Delaware limited liability company. All portfolio and other material decisions regarding the Joint Venture must be submitted to its board of managers, which is comprised of four members, two of whom were selected by the Company and two of whom were selected by Freedom 3 Opportunities, and must be approved by at least one member appointed by the Company and one appointed by Freedom 3 Opportunities. In addition, certain matters may be approved by the Joint Venture’s investment committee, which is comprised of one member appointed by the Company and one member appointed by Freedom 3 Opportunities.

The Company has determined that the Joint Venture is an investment company under ASC 946, however, in accordance with such guidance; the Company will generally not consolidate its investment in a company other than a wholly owned investment company subsidiary or a controlled operating company whose business consists of providing services to the Company. The Company does not consolidate its interest in the Joint Venture because the Company does not control the Joint Venture due to allocation of the voting rights among the Joint Venture partners.

CLO Fund Securities.   Our investments in CLO Fund Securities are primarily made up of minority investments in the subordinated securities or preferred stock of CLO Funds managed by the Disposed Manager Affiliates.

Below are summary attributes for our CLO Fund Securities, as of and for the year-ended December 31, 2018, unless otherwise specified:

•

CLO Fund Securities represented approximately 16% of total investment portfolio at December 31, 2018;

​

•

90% of CLO Fund Securities Portfolio represented investments in subordinated securities or equity securities issued by CLO Funds and 10% of CLO Fund Securities Portfolio was a rated note;

​

•

all CLO Funds invested primarily in credit instruments issued by corporate borrowers;

​

•

U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) basis investment income of  $6.4 million; cash distributions received of approximately $19.5 million (approximately $3.5 million taxable distributable income, $16.0 million tax return of capital to KCAP).

​

Asset Manager Affiliates.   As of December 31, 2018, our Asset Manager Affiliates were valued at approximately $3.5 million. As discussed above, in connection with the LibreMax Transaction, on December 31, 2018, our wholly-owned subsidiary Commodore Holdings, LLC sold the Disposed Manager Affiliates, which represented substantially all of our investment in the Asset Manager Affiliates, to LibreMax. Commodore Holdings, LLC received cash proceeds of  $37.9 million from the sale and distributed $33.8 million in cash to the Company. All of this cash distribution was recorded as a return of capital, and no realized gain or loss was recognized on this transaction. As of December 31, 2017, our Asset Manager Affiliates had approximately $3.0 billion of par value of assets under management on which they earned management fees, and were valued at approximately $38.8 million.

The Disposed Manager Affiliates manage CLO Funds that invest in broadly syndicated loans, high yield bonds and other credit instruments. The CLO Funds managed by the Disposed Manager Affiliates consist primarily of credit instruments issued by corporations. Accordingly, certain CLO Fund investments were reclassified from CLO Funds managed by our affiliates to CLO Funds managed by unaffiliated third-parties on December 31, 2018.

5

Below are summary attributes for our Asset Manager Affiliates, as of and for the year ended December 31, 2018:

•

the fair value at December 31, 2018 of approximately $3.5 million represented approximately 1% of total investment portfolio;

​

•

for the year ended December 31, 2018, we received cash distributions of approximately $36.0 million, of which $34.8 million was a return of capital.

​

Revolving Credit Facility

On March 1, 2018, KCAP Funding I, LLC (“Funding”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, entered into a senior secured revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”) with certain institutional lenders, State Bank and Trust Company, as the administrative agent, lead arranger and bookrunner, CIBC Bank USA, as documentation agent and the Company, as the servicer.

The maximum commitment amount of the Revolving Credit Facility is $50 million, subject to availability under the borrowing base. Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility bear interest at a rate per annum equal to (i) in the case of LIBOR rate loans, an adjusted LIBOR rate for the applicable interest period plus 3.25% or (ii) in the case of base rate loans, the prime rate plus 3.25%. Funding will pay a fee on any undrawn amounts of 0.375% per annum; provided that if 50% or less of the Revolving Credit Facility is drawn, the fee will be 0.50% per annum.

The Company intends to use the proceeds from borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility for general corporate purposes, including to acquire certain qualifying loans, and such other uses as permitted under the Loan and Security Agreement (the “Revolving Credit Agreement”).

The maturity date is the earlier of: (a) March 1, 2022 and (b) the date upon which all loans shall become due and payable in full, whether by acceleration or otherwise, as a result of a default by the Company, as defined in the Revolving Credit Facility.

Borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility are repayable by the Company at any time.

The Revolving Credit Facility is secured by all of the assets held by Funding, and the Company has pledged its interests in Funding as collateral to State Bank and Trust Company, as the administrative agent, to secure the obligations of Funding under the Revolving Credit Facility. The Revolving Credit Agreement includes customary affirmative and negative covenants, including certain limitations on the incurrence of additional indebtedness and liens, as well as usual and customary events of default for revolving credit facilities of this nature. At December 31, 2018, Funding was in compliance with all of its debt covenants.

As of December 31, 2018, $26.4 million principal amount of borrowings was outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility.

Structure and Process

Structure

We are an internally managed BDC with 13 full-time employees. The following are our key functional teams that execute our business strategy:

•

Our BDC investment team consists of seven professionals who originate, structure, and invest in senior secured term loans, mezzanine debt and selected equity securities primarily in privately-held middle market companies as well as CLO Funds, joint ventures, managed funds, partnerships and distressed debt securities. The Company may also receive warrants or options to purchase common stock in connection with our debt investments.

​

•

The remainder of the employees include senior management, operations, financial accounting, compliance and human resource personnel.

​

6

Process

The Company will review potential investment opportunities and conduct due diligence that typically includes a review of historical and prospective financial information, participation in a presentation held by the prospective portfolio company’s management and/or the transaction sponsor, a review of the prospective portfolio company’s product or service, an analysis and understanding of the drivers of the particular industry in which the prospective portfolio company operates, and an assessment of the debt service capabilities of the prospective portfolio company under a variety of assumed forecast scenarios.

Due to our ability to source transactions through multiple channels, we expect to continue to maintain a pipeline of opportunities to allow comparative risk return analysis and selectivity. By focusing on the drivers of revenue and cash flow, we develop our own underwriting cases, and multiple stress and event specific case scenarios for each company analyzed.

We focus on lending and investing opportunities in:

•

companies with EBITDA of  $10 to $50 million;

​

•

companies with financing needs of  $25 to $150 million;

​

•

companies purchased by well-regarded private equity sponsors;

​

•

non-sponsored companies with successful management and systems;

​

•

high-yield bonds and broadly syndicated loans to larger companies on a selective basis; and

​

•

equity co-investment in companies where we see substantial opportunity for capital appreciation.

​

We source investment opportunities from:

•

private equity sponsors;

​

•

regional investment banks for non-sponsored companies;

​

•

other middle market lenders with whom we can participate in loans; and

​

In our experience, good credit judgment is based on a thorough understanding of both the qualitative and quantitative factors that determine a company’s performance. Our analysis begins with an understanding of the fundamentals of the industry in which a company operates, including the current economic environment and the outlook for the industry. We also focus on the company’s relative position within the industry and its historical ability to weather economic cycles. Other key qualitative factors include the experience and depth of the management team and the financial sponsor, if any.

Only after we have a comprehensive understanding of the qualitative factors do we focus on quantitative metrics. We believe that with the context provided by the qualitative analysis, we can gain a better understanding of a company’s financial performance. We analyze a potential portfolio company’s sales growth and margins in the context of its competition as well as its ability to manage its working capital requirements and its ability to generate consistent cash flow. Based upon this historical analysis, we develop a set of projections which represents a reasonable underwriting case of most likely outcomes for the company over the period of our investment. We also look at potential downside cases to determine a company’s ability to service its debt in a stressed credit environment.

Elements of the qualitative analysis we use in evaluating investment opportunities include the following:

•

industry fundamentals;

​

•

competitive position and market share;

​

•

past ability to work through historical down-cycles;

​

•

quality of financial and technology infrastructure;

​

•

sourcing risks and opportunities;

​

•

labor and union strategy;

​

7

•

technology risk;

​

•

diversity of customer base and product lines;

​

•

quality of financial sponsor (if applicable); and

​

•

acquisition and integration history.

​

Elements of the quantitative analysis we use in evaluating investment opportunities include the following:

•

income statement analysis of growth and margin trends;

​

•

cash flow analysis of capital expenditures and free cash flow;

​

•

financial ratio and market share standing among comparable companies;

​

•

financial projections: underwriting versus stress case;

​

•

event specific credit modeling;

​

•

credit profile trend;

​

•

future capital expenditure needs and asset sale plans;

​

•

downside protection to limit losses in an event of default;

​

•

risk adjusted returns and relative value analysis; and

​

•

enterprise and asset valuations.

​

The origination, structuring and credit approval processes are fully integrated. Our credit team is directly involved in all due diligence and analysis prior to the formal credit approval process by the Investment Committee.

Investment Committee

The Investment Committee consists of the Chairman of the Board of Directors, the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Investment Officer, and an additional member of the Board of Directors. The Investment Committee serves to provide investment consistency and adherence to our core investment philosophy and policies.

Upon completion of the due diligence investigation, the underwriting team of investment professionals/analysts will prepare a credit underwriting memorandum that will summarize the contemplated transaction, present the investment highlights, analyze the risk in the transaction and mitigating factors to those risks, analyze the prospective portfolio’s historical financial statements, financial projections, industry and management team, and will then present this memorandum with its recommendations to the Investment Committee for review and approval.

The approval of a majority of the Investment Committee is required for all investments of less than $15 million, and the unanimous approval of the Investment Committee is required for investments of $15 million or greater.

Monitoring

Our management team has significant experience monitoring credit portfolios. Along with origination and credit analysis, portfolio management is one of the key elements of our business. Most of our investments will not be liquid and, therefore, we must prepare to act quickly if potential issues arise so that we can work closely with management and the private equity sponsor, if applicable, of the portfolio company to take any necessary remedial action. In addition, most of our senior management team, has substantial workout and restructuring experience.

8

In order to assist us in detecting issues with our Debt Securities Portfolio companies as early as possible, we perform a financial analysis at least quarterly on each portfolio company. This analysis typically includes:

•

A summary of the portfolio company’s current total credit exposure as well as the KCAP portion of this exposure.

​

•

A summary and update of the portfolio company’s financial condition and performance, including but not limited to, performance versus plan, deterioration/improvement in market position, or industry fundamentals, management changes or additions, and ongoing business strategy.

​

•

Reaffirmation of, or proposal to change, the risk rating of the underlying investment.

​

•

A summary of the portfolio company’s financial covenant results vis a vis financial covenant levels established in the credit agreement.

​

Watch list credits are followed closely and discussed periodically with the Chief Investment Officer, as appropriate.

The Externalization Agreement

At a meeting of our Board of Directors held on December 12, 2018, the Board, including all of its independent directors, unanimously voted to approve the Advisory Agreement, contingent upon entering into the Externalization Agreement, obtaining Company stockholder approval of the Advisory Agreement, and closing of the transactions contemplated by the Externalization Agreement, and determined that the Advisory Agreement is in the best interests of us and our stockholders. At the Special Meeting held on February 19, 2019, our stockholders approved the Advisory Agreement. If the transactions contemplated by the Externalization Agreement are completed, upon the Closing, we will commence operations as an externally managed BDC managed by the Adviser.

Pursuant to the Externalization Agreement with BCP, the Adviser will become our investment adviser in exchange for a cash payment from BCP, or its affiliate, of  $25 million, or approximately $0.67 per share of our common stock, directly to our stockholders. In addition, following the Closing, the Adviser (or its affiliate) will use up to $10 million of the incentive fee actually paid to the Adviser prior to the second anniversary of the Closing date to buy newly issued shares of our common stock at the most recently determined net asset value per share of our common stock at the time of such purchase. For the period of one year from the first day of the first quarter following the quarter in which the Advisory Agreement becomes effective, the Adviser will permanently forego up to the full amount of the incentive fees earned by the Adviser without recourse against or reimbursement by the Company, to the extent necessary in order to achieve aggregate net investment income per common share of the Company for such one-year period to be at least equal to $0.40 per share, subject to certain adjustments. BCP and the Adviser’s total financial commitment to the transactions contemplated by the Externalization Agreement is $35.0 million.

The Company anticipates that the Closing will occur at the end of the quarter ending March 31, 2019, but the Company will issue a press release announcing the record date and payment date of the stockholding payment.

About the Adviser

At the Closing, the Adviser, an affiliate of BC Partners, will become the investment adviser of the Company. LibreMax intends to own a portion of the Adviser. Subject to the overall supervision of the Board, the Adviser will be responsible for managing the Company’s business and activities, including sourcing investment opportunities, conducting research, performing diligence on potential investments, structuring the Company’s investments, and monitoring the Company’s portfolio companies on an ongoing basis through a team of investment professionals.

BC Partners is a leading buyout firm with a 30-year history investing across Europe and North America which had assets under management of over $24 billion as of December 19, 2018. The assets under management for BCP are based on actively managed commitments of its managed funds and

9

relevant vehicles formed for the purpose of co-investing alongside such funds. BCP operates a private equity investment platform (“BCP PE”) and a credit investment platform (“BCP Credit”) as fully integrated businesses. The investment activity of the Company will take place primarily within the BCP Credit platform. Integration with the broader BCP platform allows BCP Credit to leverage a team of approximately 60 investment professionals across its private equity platform including an eight-member operations team. The BCP Credit Investment Team (the “Investment Team”) is led by Ted Goldthorpe who sits on both the BCP Credit and BCP PE investment committees. An affiliate of the Adviser currently manages a private BDC, BC Partners Lending Corporation, and a private fund in the BCP Credit platform. BCP intends to offer employment to certain Company employees, including but not limited to, the Company’s executive officers.

The Adviser will seek to invest on behalf of the Company in performing, well-established middle market businesses that operate across a wide range of industries (i.e., no concentration in any one industry). The Adviser will employ fundamental credit analysis, targeting investments in businesses with relatively low levels of cyclicality and operating risk. The holding size of each position will generally be dependent upon a number of factors including total facility size, pricing and structure, and the number of other lenders in the facility. The Adviser has experience managing levered vehicles, both public and private, and will seek to enhance the Company’s returns through the use of leverage with a prudent approach that prioritizes capital preservation. The Adviser believes this strategy and approach offers attractive risk/return with lower volatility given the potential for fewer defaults and greater resilience through market cycles.

Advisory Agreement

Pursuant to the terms of the Advisory Agreement, the Company will pay the Adviser (i) a base management fee (the “Base Management Fee”) and (ii) an incentive fee (the “Incentive Fee”). For the period from the date of the Advisory Agreement (the “Effective Date”) through the end of the first calendar quarter after the Effective Date, the Base Management Fee will be calculated at an annual rate of 1.50% of the Company’s gross assets, excluding cash and cash equivalents, but including assets purchased with borrowed amounts, as of the end of such calendar quarter. Subsequently, the Base Management Fee will be 1.50% of the Company’s average gross assets, excluding cash and cash equivalents, but including assets purchased with borrowed amounts, at the end of the two most recently completed calendar quarters; provided, however, that the Base Management Fee will be 1.00% of the Company’s average gross assets, excluding cash and cash equivalents, but including assets purchased with borrowed amounts, that exceed the product of  (i) 200% and (ii) the value of the Company’s net asset value at the end of the most recently completed calendar quarter. The Incentive Fee will consist of two parts: (1) a portion based on the Company’s pre-incentive fee net investment income (the “Income-Based Fee”) and (2) a portion based on the net capital gains received on the Company’s portfolio of securities on a cumulative basis for each calendar year, net of all realized capital losses and all unrealized capital depreciation on a cumulative basis, in each case calculated from the Effective Date, less the aggregate amount of any previously paid capital gains Incentive Fee (the “Capital Gains Fee”). The Income-Based Fee will be 17.50% of pre-incentive fee net investment income with a 7.00% hurdle rate. The Capital Gains Fee will be 17.50%. For more information regarding the terms of the fee structure under the Advisory Agreement, please see our definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC on January 15, 2019.

DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE

We determine the net asset value per share of our common stock quarterly. The net asset value per share is equal to the value of our total assets minus liabilities and any preferred stock outstanding divided by the total number of shares of common stock outstanding.

10

Our net asset value per share was $4.23 and $4.87 as of December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, respectively. Since we report our assets at fair value for each reporting period, net asset value also represents the amount of stockholders’ equity per share for the reporting period. Our net asset value is comprised mostly of investment assets less debt and other liabilities:

(1)

Our balance sheet at fair value and resultant net asset value are calculated on a basis consistent with GAAP. Our per share presentation of such amounts (other than net asset value per share) is an internally derived non-GAAP performance measure calculated by dividing the applicable balance sheet amount by outstanding shares. We believe that the per share amounts for such balance sheet items are helpful in analyzing our balance sheet both quantitatively and qualitatively.

​

(2)

Includes money market accounts and U.S. Treasury Bills.

​

(3)

Consists of cash held for interest and principal payments on the revolving credit facility of KCAP Funding I, LLC, our wholly owned subsidiary.

​

Valuation

As a BDC, we invest primarily in illiquid securities, including loans to and warrants of private companies and interests in other illiquid securities, such as interests in CLO Fund Securities, joint ventures, partnerships and distressed debt securities. These portfolio investments may be subject to restrictions on resale and will generally have no established trading market. As a result, our Board of Directors determines in good faith the fair value of our portfolio investments pursuant to a valuation policy developed in accordance with the Financial Accounting Standards Board Accounting Standards Codification 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (“ASC 820: Fair Value”), and a valuation process approved by our Board of Directors and in accordance with the 1940 Act. Our valuation policy is intended to provide a consistent basis for determining the fair value of the portfolio. Our Board of Directors is ultimately and solely responsible for making a good faith determination of the fair value of portfolio investments on a quarterly basis. The Company uses an independent valuation firm to provide third party valuation consulting services to the Company and the Board of Directors. For additional information concerning valuation, see “Item 7: Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations – Valuation of Portfolio Investments”; and Notes 2 and 4 to the financial statements.

11

Competition

Our primary competitors also provide financing to prospective portfolio companies. These include commercial banks, specialty finance companies, hedge funds, structured investment funds, other BDCs and investment banks. Our competitors may have a lower cost of funds, and many have access to funding sources that are not available to us. Many of these entities have greater managerial resources than we have, and the 1940 Act imposes certain regulatory restrictions on us as a BDC to which many of our competitors are not subject. For additional information concerning the competitive risks we face, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business and Structure — We operate in a highly competitive market for investment opportunities.”

Employees

As of December 31, 2018, we had 13 employees, including an experienced team of seven investment professionals.

REGULATION

The following discussion is a general summary of some of the material prohibitions and restrictions governing BDCs generally. It does not purport to be a complete description of all the laws and regulations affecting BDCs.

A BDC is a unique kind of investment company that primarily focuses on investing in or lending to private or relatively small publicly traded companies and making managerial assistance available to them. The 1940 Act contains prohibitions and restrictions relating to transactions between BDCs and their directors and officers and certain other related persons and requires that a majority of the directors be persons other than “interested persons,” as that term is defined in the 1940 Act. We have implemented certain procedures to ensure that we do not engage in any prohibited transactions with any persons affiliated with us.

In addition, the 1940 Act provides that we may not change the nature of our business so as to cease to be, or to withdraw our election as, a BDC unless approved by a majority of our outstanding voting securities. A majority of the outstanding voting securities of a company is defined under the 1940 Act as the lesser of  (i) 67% or more of such company’s shares present at a meeting or represented by proxy if more than 50% of the outstanding shares of such company are present or represented by proxy or (ii) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of such company.

Qualifying Assets

Under the 1940 Act, a BDC may not acquire any asset other than assets of the type listed in Section 55(a) of the 1940 Act, or “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 of an “eligible portfolio company” purchased in transactions not involving any public offering. An “eligible portfolio company” is defined in the 1940 Act as any issuer which:

​

(a)

is organized under the laws of, and has its principal place of business in, the United States;

​

(b)

is not an investment company (other than a small business investment company wholly-owned by the BDC) or a company that would be an investment company but for certain exclusions under the 1940 Act; and

​

(c)

satisfies any of the following:

​

(i)

does not have any class of securities listed on a national securities exchange (or, if it has a class of securities listed on a national securities exchange, has an aggregate market value of outstanding voting and non-voting common equity of less than $250 million);

​

(ii)

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;

​

12

(iii)

is a small and solvent company having total assets of not more than $4 million and capital and surplus of not less than $2 million; or

​

(iv)

does not have outstanding any class of securities with respect to which a broker or dealer may extend margin credit.

​

•

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 and is in bankruptcy and subject to reorganization;

​

•

Securities received in exchange for or distributed on or with respect to securities described above, or pursuant to the conversion of warrants or rights relating to such securities; and

​

•

Cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities or high-quality debt securities maturing in one year or less from the time of investment.

​

Significant Managerial Assistance

A BDC must be organized and have its principal place of business in the United States and must be operated for the purpose of making investments in the types of securities described above. In addition, BDCs must generally offer to make available to such issuer of the securities (other than small and solvent companies described above) significant managerial assistance; except that, where we purchase such securities in conjunction with one or more other persons acting together, one of the other persons is the group may make available such managerial assistance. Making available significant managerial assistance means, among other things, any arrangement whereby the BDC, through its directors, officers or employees, offers to provide, and, if accepted, does so provide, guidance and counsel concerning the management, operations or business objectives and policies of a portfolio company through monitoring of portfolio company operations, selective participation in board and management meetings, consulting with and advising a portfolio company’s officers or other organizational or financial guidance.

Temporary Investments

Pending investment in other types of  “Qualifying Assets,” as described above, our investments may consist of cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities or high quality debt securities maturing in one year or less from the time of investment, which we refer to, collectively, as temporary investments, so that at least 70% of our assets are “Qualifying Assets.” Typically, we invest in U.S. treasury bills or in repurchase agreements, provided that such agreements are fully collateralized by cash or securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies. A repurchase agreement involves the purchase by an investor, such as us, of a specified security and the simultaneous agreement by the seller to repurchase it at an agreed upon future date and at a price which is greater than the purchase price by an amount that reflects an agreed-upon interest rate. There is no percentage restriction on the proportion of our assets that may be invested in such repurchase agreements. However, if more than 25% of our total assets constitute repurchase agreements that are treated, under applicable tax rules, as being issued by a single counterparty, we would not meet the diversification tests imposed on us by the Code to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Thus, we do not intend to enter into repurchase agreements treated as issued, under applicable tax rules, by a single counterparty in excess of this limit. We monitor the creditworthiness of the counterparties with which we enter into repurchase agreement transactions.

Indebtedness; Coverage Ratio

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 200% (or 150% effective as of March 29, 2019) immediately after each such issuance. In addition, with respect to certain types of senior securities, we must make provisions to prohibit any dividend distribution to our stockholders or the repurchase of certain of our securities, unless we meet the applicable asset coverage ratios at the time of the dividend distribution or repurchase. As noted above, on March 29, 2018, our Board of Directors, including a “required majority” (as such term is defined in Section 57(o) of the 1940 Act) of the Board, approved the modified asset coverage requirements set forth in Section 61(a)(2) of the 1940 Act,

13

as amended by the SBCA. As a result, our asset coverage requirement for senior securities will be changed from 200% to 150%, effective as of March 29, 2019. However, despite the SBCA, we will continue to be prohibited by the indentures governing our 6.125% Notes (as defined and discussed in Note 6 —  “Borrowings” below) from making distributions on our common stock if our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, falls below 200%. We may also borrow amounts up to 5% of the value of our total assets for temporary purposes. For a discussion of the risks associated with the resulting leverage, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business and Structure —  We borrow money, which magnifies the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested and may increase the risk of investing in us.” As of December 31, 2018, our asset coverage ratio was 249%, above the minimum required asset coverage level of 200%.

Common Stock

We are not generally able to issue and sell our common stock at a price below net asset value per share. We may, however, sell our common stock, at a price below the current net asset value of the common stock if our Board of Directors determines that such sale is in our best interests and that of our stockholders, and our stockholders approve such sale. In any such case, the price at which our common stock is to be issued and sold may not be less than a price which, in the determination of our Board of Directors, closely approximates the market value of such common stock (less any distributing commission or discount). We may also make rights offerings to our stockholders at prices per share less than the net asset value per share, subject to applicable requirements of the 1940 Act. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors — Risks Relating to Our Business and Structure — Regulations governing our operation as a BDC affect our ability to, and the way in which we, raise additional capital.”

Code of Ethics

We adopted and maintain a code of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act that establishes procedures for personal investments and restricts certain personal securities transactions. Personnel subject to the code may invest in securities for their personal investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by us, so long as such investments are made in accordance with the code’s requirements. A copy of the code of ethics is available on the Corporate Governance section of the Company’s website at http://www.kcapfinancial.com. Our code of ethics is available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. Copies may be obtained by electronic request to publicinfo@sec.gov

Privacy Principles

We are committed to maintaining the privacy of our stockholders and safeguarding their non-public personal information. The following information is provided to help you understand what personal information we collect, how we protect that information and why, in certain cases, we may share information with select other parties.

Generally, we do not receive any non-public personal information relating to our stockholders, although some non-public personal information of our stockholders may become available to us. We do not disclose any non-public personal information about our stockholders or former stockholders to anyone, except as is necessary to service stockholder accounts, such as to a transfer agent, or as otherwise permitted by law.

We restrict access to non-public personal information about our stockholders to our employees with a legitimate business need for the information. We maintain safeguards designed to protect the non-public personal information of our stockholders.

Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures

Although the securities we hold are not typically voting securities, some of our investments could entitle us to voting rights. If this were to occur we would vote our portfolio securities in the best interest of our stockholders and we would review on a case-by-case basis each proposal submitted to a stockholder vote to determine its impact on the portfolio securities held by us. Although we would generally vote against proposals that we believe may have a negative impact on our portfolio securities, we may vote for such a proposal if we were to believe there exists a compelling long-term reason to do so.

14

Our voting decisions would be made by our Investment Committee. To ensure that our vote would not the product of a conflict of interest, we would require that (1) anyone involved in the decision making process disclose to our 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 vote; and (2) employees involved in the decision making process or vote administration are prohibited from revealing how we intend to vote on a proposal to reduce any attempted influence from interested parties.

Other

We are subject to examination by the SEC for compliance with the 1940 Act.

We are required to provide and maintain a bond issued by a reputable fidelity insurance company to protect us against larceny and embezzlement. Furthermore, as a BDC, we are prohibited from indemnifying any director or officer against any liability to 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 adopt and implement written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violation of the federal securities laws and to review these policies and procedures annually for their adequacy and the effectiveness of their implementation. We have a designated Chief Compliance Officer who is responsible for administering these policies and procedures.

TAXATION AS A REGULATED INVESTMENT COMPANY

We have elected to be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a Regulated Investment Company (“RIC”) under subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and intend to operate in a manner to maintain our RIC tax treatment. As a RIC, we generally will not have to pay corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes on any ordinary income or capital gains that we timely distribute to our stockholders as dividends. To qualify as a RIC, we must, among other things, meet certain source-of-income and asset diversification requirements (as described below). In addition, we must distribute to our stockholders, for each taxable year, at least 90% of our “investment company taxable income,” which is generally our net ordinary taxable income plus the excess of our realized net short-term capital gains over our realized net long-term capital losses (the “Annual Distribution Requirement”).

Taxation as a RIC

For any taxable year in which we qualify as a RIC and satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, we generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of our investment company taxable income and net capital gain, defined as net long-term capital gains in excess of net short-term capital losses, we distribute to stockholders. We will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the regular corporate rates on any net ordinary income or net capital gain not distributed (or deemed distributed) to our stockholders.

We will be subject to a 4% nondeductible U.S. federal excise tax on our undistributed income unless we distribute in a timely manner an amount at least equal to the sum of  (a) 98% of our net ordinary income for each calendar year, (b) 98.2% of our capital gain net income for the one-year period ending October 31 in that calendar year and (c) any income or gains realized, but not distributed, in the preceding year and on which we paid no U.S. federal income tax (the “Excise Tax Avoidance Requirement”). For this purpose, however, any net ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by us that is subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax for the tax year ending in that calendar year will be considered to have been distributed by year end (or earlier if estimated taxes are paid). Although we generally endeavor to make sufficient distributions each taxable year to satisfy the Excise Tax Avoidance Requirement, we may incur a U.S. federal excise tax.

To qualify as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we must, among other things:

•

qualify to be regulated as a business development company 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, or other

​

15

income derived with respect to our business of investing in such stock or securities, and net income derived from interests in “qualified publicly traded partnerships” (which generally are partnerships that are traded on an established securities market or tradable on a secondary market, other than partnerships that derive 90% of their income from interest, dividends and other permitted RIC income) (the “90% Income Test”); and

•

diversify our holdings so that at the end of each quarter of the taxable year:

​

◦

at least 50% of the value of our assets consists of cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs, and other securities if such other securities of any one issuer do not represent more than 5% of the value of our assets or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer; and

​

◦

no more than 25% of the value of our assets is invested in the securities, other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs, of one issuer or of two or more issuers that are controlled, as determined under applicable 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”).

​

If we do not satisfy the requirements of the Diversification Tests as of the end of any quarter, we will not lose our status as RIC provided that (i) we satisfied the requirements in a prior quarter and (ii) our failure to satisfy the requirements in the current quarter is not due in whole or in part to an acquisition of any security or other property.

We may invest in partnerships, including qualified publicly traded partnerships, which may result in our being subject to state, local or foreign income, franchise or withholding liabilities.

We may be required to recognize taxable income in circumstances in which we do not receive 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 payment-in-kind (“PIK”) interest or, in certain cases, with increasing interest rates or 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. Because any original issue discount 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 in order to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, even though we will not have received any corresponding cash amount. If we are not able to obtain sufficient cash from other sources to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, we may fail to qualify as a RIC and become subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes on all of our taxable income without the benefit of the dividends-paid deduction.

Although we do not presently expect to do so, we are authorized to borrow funds and to sell assets in order (i) to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement and to otherwise eliminate our liability for U.S. federal income and excise taxes and (ii) to satisfy the Diversification Tests. However, under the 1940 Act, we are not permitted to borrow additional funds or to make distributions to our stockholders while our debt obligations and other senior securities are outstanding unless a certain “asset coverage” test is met. See “Regulation — Indebtedness; Coverage Ratio.” Moreover, our ability to dispose of assets to meet the Annual Distribution Requirement, the Excise Tax Avoidance Requirement or the Diversification Tests may be limited by (a) the illiquid nature of our portfolio and/or (b) other requirements relating to our qualification as a RIC. If we dispose of assets in order to meet the Annual Distribution Requirement, the Excise Tax Avoidance Requirement, or the Diversification Tests, we may make such dispositions at times that, from an investment standpoint, are not advantageous.

Certain of our investment practices may be subject to special and complex U.S. federal income tax provisions that may, among other things, (a) treat dividends that would otherwise constitute qualified dividend income as non-qualified dividend income, (b) treat dividends that would otherwise be eligible for the corporate dividends received deduction as ineligible for such treatment, (c) disallow, suspend or otherwise limit the allowance of certain losses or deductions, (d) convert lower-taxed long-term capital gain into higher-taxed short-term capital gain or ordinary income, (e) convert an ordinary loss or a deduction into a capital loss (the deductibility of which is more limited), (f) cause us to recognize income or gain

16

without a corresponding receipt of cash, (g) adversely affect the time as to when a purchase or sale of stock or securities is deemed to occur, (h) adversely alter the characterization of certain complex financial transactions and (i) 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 disqualification 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 capital gain or loss generally will be long- term or short-term, depending on how long we held a particular warrant.

Some of the income and fees that we may recognize will not satisfy the 90% Income Test. In order to ensure that such income and fees do not disqualify us as a RIC for a failure to satisfy the 90% Income Test, we may hold assets that generate such income and provide services that generate such fees indirectly through one or more entities treated as corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Such corporations will be required to pay corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes on their earnings, which ultimately will reduce our return on such income and fees.

Failure to Qualify as a Regulated Investment Company

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 made would be taxable to our stockholders as ordinary dividend income that, subject to certain limitations, may be eligible for the 20.0% maximum rate to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits. Subject to certain limitations under the Code, corporate distributees would be eligible for the dividends-received deduction. Distributions in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits would be treated first as a return of capital to the extent of the stockholder’s tax basis, and any remaining distributions would be treated as a capital gain. If we fail to qualify as a RIC for a period greater than two taxable years, to qualify as a RIC in a subsequent year we may be subject to regular corporate tax on any net built-in gains with respect to certain of our assets (i.e., the excess of the aggregate gains, including items of income, over aggregate losses that would have been realized with respect to such assets if we had been liquidated) that we elect to recognize on requalification or when recognized over the next five years.

DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT PLAN

We have adopted a dividend reinvestment plan that provides for reinvestment of our distributions on behalf of our stockholders, unless a stockholder elects to receive cash as provided below. As a result, if our Board of Directors authorizes, and we declare, a cash distribution, then our stockholders who have not “opted out” of our dividend reinvestment plan will have their cash distributions automatically reinvested in additional shares of our common stock, rather than receiving the cash.

No action is required on the part of a registered stockholder to have such shareholder’s cash distribution reinvested in shares of our common stock. A registered stockholder may elect to receive an entire distribution in cash by notifying American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, the plan administrator and our transfer agent and registrar, in writing so that such notice is received by the plan administrator no later than the record date for distributions to stockholders. The plan administrator will set up an account for shares acquired through the plan for each stockholder who has not elected to receive distributions in cash and hold such shares in non-certificated form. Upon request by a stockholder participating in the plan, received in writing not less than ten days prior to the record date, the plan administrator will, instead of crediting shares to the participant’s account, issue a certificate registered in the participant’s name for the number of whole shares of our common stock and a check for any fractional share.

Those stockholders whose shares are held by a broker or other financial intermediary may receive distributions in cash by notifying their broker or other financial intermediary of their election.

We intend to use primarily newly issued shares to implement the plan, whether our shares are trading at a premium or at a discount to net asset value. However, we reserve the right to purchase shares in the open market in connection with our implementation of the plan. The number of shares to be issued to a stockholder is determined by dividing the total dollar amount of the dividend payable to such stockholder

17

by the market price per share of our common stock at the close of regular trading on The NASDAQ Global Select Market on the dividend payment date. Market price per share on that date will be the closing price for such shares on The NASDAQ Global Select Market or, if no sale is reported for such day, at the average of their reported bid and asked prices. Shares purchased in open market transactions by the plan administrator of the dividend reinvestment plan will be allocated to a stockholder based upon the average purchase price, excluding any brokerage charges or other charges, of all shares of common stock purchased with respect to the distribution.

There are no brokerage charges or other charges to stockholders who participate in the plan. The plan administrator’s fees under the plan are paid by us. If a participant elects by written notice to the plan administrator to have the plan administrator sell part or all of the shares held by the plan administrator in the participant’s account and remit the proceeds to the participant, the plan administrator is authorized to deduct a $15.00 transaction fee plus a $0.10 per share brokerage commission from the proceeds.

If your distributions are reinvested, you will be required to pay tax on the distributions in the same manner as if the distributions were received in cash. The taxation of distributions will not be affected by the form in which you receive them.

Participants may terminate their accounts under the plan by notifying the plan administrator via its website at www.amstock.com, by filling out the transaction request form located at bottom of their statement and sending it to the plan administrator at the address set forth below or by calling the plan administrator at 1-866-668-8564.

The plan may be terminated by us upon notice in writing mailed to each participant at least 30 days prior to any record date for the payment of any dividend by us. All correspondence concerning the plan should be directed to, and additional information about the plan may be obtained from, the plan administrator by mail at American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, Attn. Dividend Reinvestment Department, P.O. Box 922, Wall Street Station, New York, NY 10269-0560 or by telephone at 1-866-668-8564.

18

Item 1A.

Risk Factors

​

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk. In addition to the other information contained in this annual report on Form 10-K, the following information should be carefully considered before making an investment in our securities. The risks set out below are not the only risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not presently known to us or not presently deemed material by us might also impair our operations and performance. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially and adversely affected. In such case, our net asset value and the trading price of our securities could decline, and you may lose part or all of your investment.

Risks Related to Economic Conditions

Economic recessions or downturns may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations, and could impair the ability of our portfolio companies to repay loans.

Economic recessions or downturns may result in a prolonged period of market illiquidity which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Unfavorable economic conditions also could increase our funding costs, limit our access to the capital markets or result in a decision by lenders not to extend credit to us. These events could limit our investment originations, limit our ability to grow and negatively impact our operating results.

In the event of economic recessions and downturns, the financial results of middle-market companies, like those in which we invest, will likely experience deterioration, which could ultimately lead to difficulty in meeting debt service requirements and an increase in defaults. Additionally, the end markets for certain of our portfolio companies’ products and services would likely experience negative financial trends. The performances of certain of our portfolio companies have been, and may continue to be, negatively impacted by these economic or other conditions, which may ultimately result in our receipt of a reduced level of interest income from our portfolio companies and/or losses or charge offs related to our investments, and, in turn, may adversely affect distributable income. Further, adverse economic conditions may decrease the value of collateral securing some of our loans and the value of our equity investments. As a result, we may need to modify the payment terms of our investments, including changes in payment-in-kind interest provisions and/or cash interest rates. These factors may result in our receipt of a reduced level of interest income from our portfolio companies and/or losses or charge offs related to our investments, and, in turn, may adversely affect distributable income and have a material adverse effect on our results of operations.

Capital markets may experience periods of disruption and instability and we cannot predict when these conditions will occur. Such market conditions could materially and adversely affect debt and equity capital markets in the United States and abroad, which could have a negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

From time-to-time, capital markets may experience periods of disruption and instability. For example, from 2008 to 2009, the global capital markets were unstable as evidenced by the lack of liquidity in the debt capital markets, significant write-offs in the financial services sector, the re-pricing of credit risk in the broadly syndicated credit market and the failure of major financial institutions. Despite actions of the U.S. federal government and various foreign governments, these events contributed to worsening general economic conditions that materially and adversely impacted the broader financial and credit markets and reduced the availability of debt and equity capital for the market as a whole and financial services firms in particular. There have been more recent periods of volatility and there can be no assurance that adverse market conditions will not repeat themselves in the future. If similar adverse and volatile market conditions repeat in the future, we and other companies in the financial services sector may have to access, if available, alternative markets for debt and equity capital in order to grow.

Moreover, the re-appearance of market conditions similar to those experienced from 2008 through 2009 for any substantial length of time or worsened market conditions, including as a result of U.S. government shutdowns or the perceived creditworthiness of the United States, could make it difficult for us to borrow money or to extend the maturity of or refinance any indebtedness we may have under similar terms and any failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business. Unfavorable economic conditions, including future recessions, also could increase our funding costs, limit our access to the capital

19

markets or result in a decision by lenders not to extend credit to us. We may in the future have difficulty accessing debt and equity capital on attractive terms, or at all, and a severe disruption and instability in the global financial markets or deteriorations in credit and financing conditions may cause us to reduce the volume of loans we originate and/or fund, adversely affect the value of our portfolio investments or otherwise have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

The United Kingdom referendum decision to leave the European Union may create significant risks and uncertainty for global markets and our investments.

The decision made in the United Kingdom referendum in June 2016 to leave the European Union has led to volatility in global financial markets, and in particular in the markets of the United Kingdom and across Europe, and may also lead to weakening in consumer, corporate and financial confidence in the United Kingdom and Europe. As of February 2019, the process for the United Kingdom to exit the European Union, and the longer term economic, legal, political and social framework to be put in place between the United Kingdom and the European Union remain unclear and may to lead to ongoing political and economic uncertainty and periods of exacerbated volatility in both the United Kingdom and in wider European markets for some time. In particular, the decision made in the United Kingdom referendum may lead to a call for similar referenda in other European jurisdictions which may cause increased economic volatility and uncertainty in the European and global markets. This volatility and uncertainty may have an adverse effect on the economy generally and on the ability of us and our portfolio companies to execute our respective strategies and to receive attractive returns.

Terrorist attacks, acts of war or natural disasters may affect any market for our common stock, impact the businesses in which we invest and harm our business, operating results and financial condition.

Terrorist attacks, acts of war or natural disasters may disrupt our operations, as well as the operations of the businesses in which we invest. Such acts have created, and continue to create, economic and political uncertainties and have contributed to global economic instability. Further terrorist activities, military or security operations, or natural disasters could further weaken the domestic/global economies and create additional uncertainties, which may negatively impact the businesses in which we invest directly or indirectly and, in turn, could have a material adverse impact on our business, operating results and financial condition. Losses from terrorist attacks and natural disasters are generally uninsurable.

Risks Related to Our Business and Structure

Ineffective internal controls could impact our business and operating results.

Our internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements because of its inherent limitations, including the possibility of human error, the circumvention or overriding of controls, or fraud. Even effective internal controls can provide only reasonable assurance with respect to the preparation and fair presentation of financial statements. If we fail to maintain the adequacy of our internal controls, including any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or if we experience difficulties in their implementation, our business and operating results could be harmed and we could fail to meet our financial reporting obligations.

We are dependent upon our senior management for our future success, and if we are unable to hire and retain qualified personnel or if we lose any member of our senior management team, our ability to achieve our investment objectives could be significantly harmed.

We depend on the members of our senior management as well as other key personnel for the identification, final selection, structuring, closing and monitoring of our investments. These employees have critical industry experience and relationships that we rely on to implement our business plan. Our future success depends on the continued service of our senior management team. The departure of any of the members of our senior management or a significant number of our senior personnel could have a material adverse effect on our ability to achieve our investment objective. As a result, we may not be able to operate our business as we expect, and our ability to compete could be harmed, which could cause our operating results to suffer.

20

We operate in a highly competitive market for investment opportunities.

A large number of entities compete with us to make the types of investments that we make. We compete with other BDCs, as well as a number of investment funds, investment banks and other sources of financing, including traditional financial services companies, such as commercial banks and finance companies. Many of our competitors are substantially larger and have considerably greater financial, marketing and other resources than we do. For example, some competitors may have a lower cost of funds and access to funding sources that are not available to us. This may enable some of our competitors to make commercial loans with interest rates that are lower than the rates we typically offer. We may lose prospective portfolio investments if we do not match our competitors’ pricing, terms and structure. If we do match our competitors’ pricing, terms or structure, we may experience decreased net interest income. 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, establish more relationships and build their market shares. Furthermore, many of our potential competitors are not subject to the regulatory restrictions that the 1940 Act imposes on us as a BDC. As a result of this competition, there can be no assurance that we will be able to identify and take advantage of attractive investment opportunities or that we will be able to fully invest our available capital. If we are not able to compete effectively, our business and financial condition and results of operations will be adversely affected.

If we are unable to source investments effectively, we may be unable to achieve our investment objectives and provide returns to stockholders.

Our ability to achieve our investment objective depends on our senior management team’s ability to identify, evaluate and invest in suitable companies that meet our investment criteria. Accomplishing this result on a cost-effective basis is largely a function of our marketing capabilities, our management of the investment process, our ability to provide efficient services and our access to financing sources on acceptable terms. In addition to monitoring the performance of our existing investments, members of our management team may also be called upon to focus their attention on other aspects of our business, including strategic opportunities available to us from time-to-time. These demands on their time may distract them or slow the rate of investment. To grow, we need to continue to hire, train, supervise and manage new employees and to implement computer and other systems capable of effectively accommodating our growth. However, we cannot provide assurance that any such employees will contribute to the success of our business or that we will implement such systems effectively. Failure to source investments effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our business model depends to a significant extent upon strong referral relationships, and our inability to maintain or develop these relationships, as well as the failure of these relationships to generate investment opportunities, could adversely affect our business.

We expect that members of our senior management team will maintain their relationships with intermediaries, financial institutions, investment bankers, commercial bankers, financial advisors, attorneys, accountants, consultants and other individuals within their networks, and we will rely to a significant extent upon these relationships to provide us with potential investment opportunities. If our senior management team fails to maintain its existing relationships or develop new relationships with sources of investment opportunities, we will not be able to grow our investment portfolio. In addition, individuals with whom members of our senior management team have relationships are not obligated to provide us with investment opportunities, and, therefore, there is no assurance that such relationships will generate investment opportunities for us.

We may have difficulty paying distributions required to maintain our RIC status if we recognize income before or without receiving cash equal to such income.

In accordance with the Code, we include in income certain amounts that we have not yet received in cash, such as contracted non-cash PIK interest, which represents contractual interest added to the loan balance and due at the end of the loan term. The increases in loan balances as a result of contracted non-cash PIK arrangements are included in income for the period in which such non-cash PIK interest was received, which is often in advance of receiving cash payment, and are separately identified on our

21

statements of cash flows. We also may be required to include in income certain other amounts that we will not receive in cash. Any warrants that we receive in connection with our debt investments generally are valued as part of the negotiation process with the particular portfolio company. As a result, a portion of the aggregate purchase price for the debt investments and warrants is allocated to the warrants that we receive. This generally results in the associated debt investment having “original issue discount” for tax purposes, which we must recognize as ordinary income as it accrues. This increases the amounts we are required to distribute to maintain our qualification for tax treatment as a RIC. Because such original issue discount income might exceed the amount of cash received in a given year with respect to such investment, we might need to obtain cash from other sources to satisfy such distribution requirements. Other features of the debt instruments that we hold may also cause such instruments to generate original issue discount.

Since, in certain cases, we may recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income, we may have difficulty meeting the annual distribution requirement necessary to maintain RIC tax treatment under the Code. Accordingly, we may have to sell some of our investments at times and/or at prices we would not consider advantageous, raise additional debt or equity capital or forgo new investment opportunities for this purpose. If we are not able to obtain cash from other sources, we may fail to qualify for RIC tax treatment and thus become subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax. For additional discussion regarding the tax implications of a RIC, see “Business — Regulation — Taxation as a Regulated Investment Company.”

Any unrealized losses we experience on our loan portfolio may be an indication of future realized losses, which could reduce our resources available to make distributions.

As a BDC, we are required to carry our investments at market value or, if no market value is ascertainable, at the fair value as determined in good faith by our Board of Directors pursuant to a valuation methodology approved by our Board of Directors. Decreases in the market values or fair values of our investments will be recorded as unrealized losses. An unrealized loss in our loan portfolio could be an indication of a portfolio company’s inability to meet its repayment obligations with respect to the affected loans. This could result in realized losses in the future and ultimately in reductions of our resources available to pay dividends or interest and principal on our securities and could cause you to lose all or part of your investment.

We may experience fluctuations in our quarterly and annual operating results and credit spreads.

We could experience fluctuations in our quarterly and annual operating results due to a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control, including our ability to make investments in companies that meet our investment criteria, the interest rate payable on the debt securities we acquire (which could stem from the general level of interest rates, credit spreads, or both), the default rate on such securities, prepayment upon the triggering of covenants in our middle market loans as well as our CLO Funds, our level of expenses, variations in and timing of the recognition of realized and unrealized gains or losses, the degree to which we encounter competition in our markets and general economic conditions. As a result of these factors, results for any period should not be relied upon as being indicative of performance in future periods.

We are exposed to risks associated with changes in interest rates and spreads.

Changes in interest rates may have a substantial negative impact on our investments, the value of our securities and our rate of return on invested capital. A reduction in the interest spreads on new investments could also have an adverse impact on our net interest income. An increase in interest rates could decrease the value of any investments we hold which earn fixed interest rates, including mezzanine securities and high-yield bonds, and also could increase our interest expense, thereby decreasing our net income. An increase in interest rates due to an increase in credit spreads, regardless of general interest rate fluctuations, could also negatively impact the value of any investments we hold in our portfolio.

In addition, an increase in interest rates available to investors could make an investment in our securities less attractive than alternative investments, a situation which could reduce the value of our securities. Conversely, a decrease in interest rates may have an adverse impact on our returns by requiring us

22

to seek lower yields on our debt investments and by increasing the risk that our portfolio companies will prepay our debt investments, resulting in the need to redeploy capital at potentially lower rates. A decrease in market interest rates may also adversely impact our returns on idle funds, which would reduce our net investment income.

The interest rates of our term loans to our portfolio companies that extend beyond 2021 might be subject to change based on recent regulatory changes.

LIBOR, the London interbank offered rate, is the basic rate of interest used in lending between banks on the London interbank market and is widely used as a reference for setting the interest rate on loans globally. We typically use LIBOR as a reference rate in term loans we extend to portfolio companies such that the interest due to us pursuant to a term loan extended to a partner company is calculated using LIBOR. Some of our term loan agreements with partner companies contain a stated minimum value for LIBOR.

On July 27, 2017, the United Kingdom’s Financial Conduct Authority, which regulates LIBOR, announced the desire to phase out LIBOR by the end of 2021. The U.S. Federal Reserve, in conjunction with the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, a steering committee comprised of large U.S. financial institutions, is considering replacing U.S.-dollar LIBOR with the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (“SOFR”) a new index calculated by short-term repurchase agreements, backed by Treasury securities. Although there have been a few issuances utilizing SOFR or the Sterling Over Night Index Average, an alternative reference rate that is based on transactions, it is unknown whether these alternative reference rates will attain market acceptance as replacements for LIBOR.

If LIBOR ceases to exist, we may need to renegotiate any credit agreements extending beyond 2021 with our prospective portfolio companies that utilize LIBOR as a factor in determining the interest rate. There is currently no definitive information regarding the future utilization of LIBOR or of any particular replacement rate. As such, the potential effect of any such event on our cost of capital and net investment income cannot yet be determined.

We borrow money, which magnifies the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested and may increase the risk of investing in us.

Borrowings, also known as leverage, magnify the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested and, therefore, increase the risks associated with investing in us. We have issued senior securities, and in the future may borrow from, or issue additional senior securities (such as preferred or convertible securities or debt securities) to, banks and other lenders and investors. Subject to prevailing market conditions, we intend to grow our portfolio of assets by raising additional capital, including through the prudent use of leverage available to us. Lenders and holders of such senior securities would have fixed dollar claims on our assets that are superior to the claims of our common stockholders. Leverage is generally considered a speculative investment technique. Any increase in our income in excess of interest payable on our outstanding indebtedness would cause our net income to increase more than it would have had we not incurred leverage, while any decrease in our income would cause net income to decline more sharply than it would have had we not incurred leverage. Such a decline could negatively affect our ability to make distributions to our stockholders and service our debt obligations. In addition, our common stockholders will bear the burden of any increase in our expenses as a result of leverage. There can be no assurance that our leveraging strategy will be successful.

Our outstanding indebtedness imposes, and additional debt we may incur in the future will likely impose, financial and operating covenants that restrict our business activities, including limitations that could hinder our ability to finance additional loans and investments or to make the distributions required to maintain our status as a RIC. A failure to add new debt facilities or issue additional debt securities or other evidences of indebtedness in lieu of or in addition to existing indebtedness could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our indebtedness could adversely affect our financial health and our ability to respond to changes in our business.

With certain limited exceptions, we are only allowed to borrow amounts or issue senior securities such that our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, is at least 200% immediately after such borrowing or

23

issuance. The amount of leverage that we employ in the future will depend on our management’s and our Board of Directors’ assessment of market and other factors at the time of any proposed borrowing. There is no assurance that a leveraging strategy will be successful. As a result of the level of our leverage:

•

our exposure to risk of loss is greater if we incur debt or issue senior securities to finance investments because a decrease in the value of our investments has a greater negative impact on our equity returns and, therefore, the value of our business if we did not use leverage;

​

•

the decrease in our asset coverage ratio resulting from increased leverage and the covenants contained in documents governing our indebtedness (which may impose asset coverage or investment portfolio composition requirements that are more stringent than those imposed by the 1940 Act) limit our flexibility in planning for, or reacting to, changes in our business and industry, as a result of which we could be required to liquidate investments at an inopportune time;

​

•

we are required to dedicate a portion of our cash flow to interest payments, limiting the availability of cash for dividends and other purposes; and

​

•

our ability to obtain additional financing in the future may be impaired.

​

We cannot be sure that our leverage will not have a material adverse effect on us. In addition, we cannot be sure that additional financing will be available when required or, if available, will be on terms satisfactory to us. Further, even if we are able to obtain additional financing, we may be required to use some or all of the proceeds thereof to repay our outstanding indebtedness.

We may default under the Revolving Credit Facility or any future borrowing facility we enter into or be unable to amend, repay or refinance any such facility on commercially reasonable terms, or at all, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In the event we default under the Revolving Credit Facility or any other future borrowing facility, our business could be adversely affected as we may be forced to sell a portion of our investments quickly and prematurely at prices that may be disadvantageous to us in order to meet our outstanding payment obligations and/or support working capital requirements under the Revolving Credit Facility or such future borrowing facility, any of which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows. In addition, following any such default, the agent for the lenders under the Revolving Credit Facility or such future borrowing facility could assume control of the disposition of any or all of our assets, including the selection of such assets to be disposed and the timing of such disposition, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

Provisions in the Revolving Credit Facility or any other future borrowing facility may limit our discretion in operating our business.

The Revolving Credit Facility is, and any future borrowing facility may be, backed by all or a portion of our loans and securities on which the lenders will or, in the case of a future facility, may have a security interest. We may pledge up to 100% of our assets and may grant a security interest in all of our assets under the terms of any debt instrument we enter into with lenders. We expect that any security interests we grant will be set forth in a pledge and security agreement and evidenced by the filing of financing statements by the agent for the lenders. In addition, we expect that the custodian for our securities serving as collateral for such loan would include in its electronic systems notices indicating the existence of such security interests and, following notice of occurrence of an event of default, if any, and during its continuance, will only accept transfer instructions with respect to any such securities from the lender or its designee. If we were to default under the terms of any debt instrument, the agent for the applicable lenders would be able to assume control of the timing of disposition of any or all of our assets securing such debt, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and cash flows.

In addition, any security interests as well as negative covenants under the Revolving Credit Facility or any other borrowing facility may limit our ability to create liens on assets to secure additional debt and may make it difficult for us to restructure or refinance indebtedness at or prior to maturity or obtain additional debt or equity financing. In addition, if our borrowing base under the Revolving Credit Facility or any

24

other borrowing facility were to decrease, we would be required to secure additional assets in an amount equal to any borrowing base deficiency. In the event that all of our assets are secured at the time of such a borrowing base deficiency, we could be required to repay advances under the Revolving Credit Facility or any other borrowing facility or make deposits to a collection account, either of which could have a material adverse impact on our ability to fund future investments and to make stockholder distributions.

In addition, under the Revolving Credit Facility or any future borrowing facility we will be subject to limitations as to how borrowed funds may be used, which may include restrictions on geographic and industry concentrations, loan size, payment frequency and status, average life, collateral interests and investment ratings, as well as regulatory restrictions on leverage, which may affect the amount of funding that may be obtained. There may also be certain requirements relating to portfolio performance, including required minimum portfolio yield and limitations on delinquencies and charge-offs, a violation of which could limit further advances and, in some cases, result in an event of default. An event of default under the Revolving Credit Facility or any other borrowing facility could result in an accelerated maturity date for all amounts outstanding thereunder, which could have a material adverse effect on our business and financial condition. This could reduce our revenues and, by delaying any cash payment allowed to us under the Revolving Credit Facility or any other borrowing facility until the lenders have been paid in full, reduce our liquidity and cash flow and impair our ability to grow our business and maintain our qualification as a RIC.

Because we intend to continue to distribute substantially all of our income and net realized capital gains to our stockholders, we will need additional capital to finance our growth.

In order to continue to qualify as a RIC, to avoid payment of excise taxes and to minimize or avoid payment of U.S. federal income taxes, we intend to continue to distribute to our stockholders substantially all of our net ordinary income and realized net capital gains except for certain net long-term capital gains (which we may retain, pay applicable U.S. federal income taxes with respect thereto, and elect to treat as deemed distributions to our stockholders). As a BDC, in order to incur new debt, we are generally required to meet a coverage ratio of total assets to total senior securities, which includes all of our borrowings and any preferred stock we may issue in the future, of at least 200%, as measured immediately after issuance of such security. This requirement limits the amount that we may borrow. Because we will continue to need capital to grow our loan and investment portfolio, this limitation may prevent us from incurring debt and require us to issue additional equity at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so. We cannot assure you that debt and equity financing will be available to us on favorable terms, or at all, and debt financings may be restricted by the terms of such borrowings. Also, as a business development company, we generally are not permitted to issue equity securities priced below net asset value without stockholder approval. If additional funds are not available to us, we could be forced to curtail or cease new lending and investment activities.

The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act could have a negative effect on us, our subsidiaries, our portfolio companies and the holders of our securities.

Legislative or other actions relating to taxes could have a negative effect on the Company. The rules dealing with U.S. federal income taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the IRS and the U.S. Treasury Department. On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act” into law. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act makes significant changes to the United States income tax rules applicable to both individuals and entities, including corporations. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act includes, among other things, significant changes to the taxation of business entities, the deductibility of interest expense, and the tax treatment of capital investment. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act is complex, and we cannot predict with certainty the impact its enactment will have on us, our subsidiaries, our portfolio companies and the holders of our securities.

25

We may from time to time expand our business through acquisitions, which could disrupt our business and harm our financial condition.

We may pursue potential acquisitions of, and investments in, businesses complementary to our business and from time to time engage in discussions regarding such possible acquisitions. Such acquisition and any other acquisitions we may undertake involve a number of risks, including:

•

failure of the acquired businesses to achieve the results we expect;

​

•

substantial cash expenditures;

​

•

diversion of capital and management attention from operational matters;

​

•

our inability to retain key personnel of the acquired businesses

​

•

incurrence of debt and contingent liabilities and risks associated with unanticipated events or liabilities; and

​

•

the potential disruption and strain on our existing business and resources that could result from our planned growth and continuing integration of our acquisitions.

​

If we fail to properly evaluate acquisitions or investments, we may not achieve the anticipated benefits of such acquisitions, we may incur costs in excess of what we anticipate, and management resources and attention may be diverted from other necessary or valuable activities. Any acquisition may not result in short-term or long-term benefits to us. If we are unable to integrate or successfully manage any business that we acquire, we may not realize anticipated cost savings, improved efficiencies or revenue growth, which may result in reduced profitability or operating losses.

We may invest through joint ventures, partnerships or other special purpose vehicles and our investments through these vehicles may entail greater risks, or risks that we otherwise would not incur, if we otherwise made such investments directly.

We may make indirect investments in portfolio companies through joint ventures, partnerships or other special purpose vehicles (“Investment Vehicles”). In general, the risks associated with indirect investments in portfolio companies through a joint venture, partnership or other special purpose vehicle are similar to those associated with a direct investment in a portfolio company. While we intend to analyze the credit and business of a potential portfolio company in determining whether or not to make an investment in an Investment Vehicle, we will nonetheless be exposed to the creditworthiness of the Investment Vehicle. In the event of a bankruptcy proceeding against the portfolio company, the assets of the portfolio company may be used to satisfy its obligations prior to the satisfaction of our investment in the Investment Vehicle (i.e., our investment in the Investment Vehicle could be structurally subordinated to the other obligations of the portfolio company). In addition, if we are to invest in an Investment Vehicle, we may be required to rely on our partners in the Investment Vehicle when making decisions regarding the Investment Vehicle’s investments, accordingly, the value of the investment could be adversely affected if our interests diverge from those of our partners in the Investment Vehicle.

Our Board of Directors may change our investment objective, operating policies and strategies without prior notice or stockholder approval.

Our Board of Directors has the authority to modify or waive certain of our operating policies and strategies without prior notice and without stockholder approval. However, absent stockholder approval, we may not change the nature of our business so as to cease to be, or withdraw our election as, a BDC. We cannot predict the effect any changes to our current operating policies and strategies would have on our business and operating results. Nevertheless, the effects may adversely affect our business and they could negatively impact our ability to pay you dividends and could cause you to lose all or part of your investment in our securities.

Our Board of Directors has approved our ability to incur additional leverage as permitted by recent legislation.

The 1940 Act generally prohibits us from incurring indebtedness unless immediately after such borrowing we have an asset coverage for total borrowings of at least 200% (i.e., the amount of debt may not exceed 50% of the value of our assets). However, the recently enacted SBCA, discussed above, has modified

26

the 1940 Act by allowing a BDC to increase the maximum amount of leverage it may incur from an asset coverage ratio of 200% to an asset coverage ratio of 150%, if certain requirements are met. In other words, prior to the enactment of the SBCA, a BDC could borrow $1 for investment purposes for every $1 of investor equity. Now, for those BDCs that satisfy the SBCA’s approval and disclosure requirements, the BDC can borrow $2 for investment purposes for every $1 of investor equity. Under the SBCA, we are allowed to increase our leverage capacity if shareholders representing at least a majority of the votes cast, when quorum is met, approve a proposal to do so. If we receive shareholder approval, we would be allowed to increase our leverage capacity on the first day after such approval. Alternatively, the SBCA allows the “required majority” of our independent directors, as defined in Section 57(o) of the 1940 Act, to approve an increase in our leverage capacity, and such approval would become effective after one year. In either case, we would be required to make certain disclosures on our website and in SEC filings regarding, among other things, the receipt of approval to increase our leverage, our leverage capacity and usage, and risks related to leverage.

In accordance with the SBCA, on March 29, 2018, our board of directors, including a “required majority” approved the modified asset coverage requirements set forth in Section 61(a)(2) of the 1940 Act. As a result, our asset coverage requirements for senior securities will change from 200% to 150%, effective March 29, 2019. However, despite the SBCA, we will continue to be prohibited by the indentures governing our 6.125% Notes from making distributions on our common stock if our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, falls below 200%. In any such event, we would be prohibited from making distributions required in order to maintain our status as a RIC.

Leverage magnifies the potential for loss on investments in our indebtedness and on invested equity capital. As we use leverage to partially finance our investments, you will experience increased risks of investing in our securities. If the value of our assets increases, then leveraging would cause the net asset value attributable to our common stock to increase more sharply than it would have had we not leveraged. Conversely, if the value of our assets decreases, leveraging would cause net asset value to decline more sharply than it otherwise would have had we not leveraged our business. Similarly, any increase in our income in excess of interest payable on the borrowed funds would cause our net investment income to increase more than it would without the leverage, while any decrease in our income would cause net investment income to decline more sharply than it would have had we not borrowed. Such a decline could negatively affect our ability to pay common stock dividends, scheduled debt payments or other payments related to our securities. Leverage is generally considered a speculative investment technique.

Our businesses may be adversely affected by litigation and regulatory proceedings.

From time to time, we may be subject to legal actions as well as various regulatory, governmental and law enforcement inquiries, investigations and subpoenas. In any such claims or actions, demands for substantial monetary damages may be asserted against us and may result in financial liability or an adverse effect on our reputation among investors. We may be unable to accurately estimate our exposure to litigation risk when we record balance sheet reserves for probable loss contingencies. As a result, any reserves we establish to cover any settlements or judgments may not be sufficient to cover our actual financial exposure, which may have a material impact on our results of operations or financial condition. In regulatory enforcement matters, claims for disgorgement, the imposition of penalties and the imposition of other remedial sanctions are possible.

Regulations governing our operation as a BDC affect our ability to, and the way in which we, raise additional capital.

Our business requires a substantial amount of additional capital. We may acquire additional capital from the issuance of senior securities or other indebtedness, the issuance of additional shares of our common stock or from securitization transactions. However, we may not be able to raise additional capital in the future on favorable terms or at all. We may issue debt securities or preferred securities, which we refer to collectively as “senior securities,” and we may borrow money from banks or other financial institutions, up to the maximum amount permitted by the 1940 Act. The 1940 Act permits us to issue senior securities or incur indebtedness only in amounts such that our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, equals at least 200% immediately after such issuance or incurrence. With respect to certain types of senior securities,

27

we must make provisions to prohibit any dividend distribution to our stockholders or the repurchase of certain of our securities, unless we meet the applicable asset coverage ratios at the time of the dividend distribution or repurchase. If the value of our assets declines, we may be unable to satisfy the asset coverage test. Furthermore, any amounts that we use to service our indebtedness would not be available for distributions to our common stockholders.

All of the costs of offering and servicing such debt or preferred stock (if issued by us in the future), including interest or preferential dividend payments thereon, will be borne by our common stockholders. The interests of the holders of any debt or preferred stock we may issue will not necessarily be aligned with the interests of our common stockholders. In particular, the rights of holders of our debt or preferred stock to receive interest, dividends or principal repayment will be senior to those of our common stockholders. Also, in the event we issue preferred stock, the holders of such preferred stock will have the ability to elect two members of our board of directors. In addition, we may grant a lender a security interest in a significant portion or all of our assets, even if the total amount we may borrow from such lender is less than the amount of such lender’s security interest in our assets.

We are not generally able to issue and sell our common stock at a price below net asset value per share. We may, however, sell our common stock at a price below the then-current net asset value of our common stock if our board of directors determines that such sale is in the best interests of KCAP and its stockholders, and our stockholders approve, giving us the authority to do so. Although we currently do not have such authorization, we previously sought and received such authorization from our stockholders in the past and may seek such authorization in the future. In any such case, the price at which our securities are to be issued and sold may not be less than a price which, in the determination of our board of directors, closely approximates the market value of such securities (less any distributing commission or discount). We are also generally prohibited under the 1940 Act from issuing securities convertible into voting securities without obtaining the approval of our existing stockholders. Sales of common stock at prices below net asset value per share dilute the interests of existing stockholders, have the effect of reducing our net asset value per share and may reduce our market price per share. In addition to issuing securities to raise capital as described above; we may securitize a portion of the loans generate cash for funding new investments. If we are unable to successfully securitize our loan portfolio our ability to grow our business and fully execute our business strategy and our earnings (if any) may be adversely affected. Moreover, even successful securitization of our loan portfolio might expose us to losses, as the residual loans in which we do not sell interests tend to be those that are riskier and more apt to generate losses.

The application of the risk retention rules under Section 941 of the Dodd-Frank Act to CLOs may have broader effects on the CLO and loan markets in general, potentially resulting in fewer or less desirable investment opportunities for us.

Section 941 of the Dodd-Frank Act added a provision to the Exchange Act requiring the seller, sponsor or securitizer of a securitization vehicle to retain no less than five percent of the credit risk in assets it sells into a securitization and prohibiting such securitizer from directly or indirectly hedging or otherwise transferring the retained credit risk. The responsible federal agencies adopted final rules implementing these restrictions on October 22, 2014. The U.S. risk retention rules became effective with respect to CLOs two years after publication in the Federal Register. Under the final rules, the asset manager of a CLO is considered the sponsor of a securitization vehicle and is required to retain five percent of the credit risk in the CLO, which may be retained horizontally in the equity tranche of the CLO or vertically as a five percent interest in each tranche of the securities issued by the CLO.

On February 9, 2018, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia (the “D.C. Circuit Court”) ruled in favor of an appeal brought by the Loan Syndications and Trading Association (the “LSTA”) against the SEC and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (the “Applicable Governmental Agencies”) that managers of so-called “open market CLOs” are not “securitizers” under Section 941 of the Dodd-Frank Act and, therefore, are not subject to the requirements of the U.S. risk retention rules (the “Appellate Court Ruling”). The LSTA was appealing from a judgment entered by the United States District Court for the District of Columbia (the “D.C. District Court”), which granted summary judgment in favor of the SEC and Federal Reserve and against the LSTA with respect to its challenges.

28

On April 5, 2018, the D.C. District Court entered an order implementing the Appellate Court Ruling and thereby vacated the U.S. risk retention rules insofar as they apply to CLO managers of  “open market CLOs.” In addition, the Applicable Governmental Agencies did not request that the case be heard by the United States Supreme Court. Since the Applicable Governmental Agencies have not successfully challenged the Appellate Court Ruling and the D.C. District Court has issued the above described order implementing the Appellate Court Ruling, collateral managers of open market CLOs are no longer required to comply with the U.S. risk retention rules at this time. As such, it is possible that some collateral managers of open market CLOs will decide to dispose of the notes constituting the “eligible vertical interest” or “eligible horizontal interest” they were previously required to retain, or decide to take other action with respect to such notes that is not otherwise permitted by the U.S. risk retention rules. As a result of this decision, certain CLO managers of  “open market CLOs” will no longer be required to comply with the U.S. risk retention rules solely because of their roles as managers of  “open market CLOs”, and there may be no “sponsor” of such securitization transactions and no party may be required to acquire and retain an economic interest in the credit risk of the securitized assets of such transactions.

There can be no assurance or representation that any of the transactions, structures or arrangements currently under consideration by or currently used by CLO market participants will comply with the U.S. risk retention rules to the extent such rules are reinstated or otherwise become applicable to open market CLOs. The ultimate impact of the U.S. risk retention rules on the loan securitization market and the leveraged loan market generally remains uncertain, and any negative impact on secondary market liquidity for securities comprising a CLO may be experienced due to the effects of the U.S. risk retention rules on market expectations or uncertainty, the relative appeal of other investments not impacted by the U.S. risk retention rules and other factors.

If we do not invest a sufficient portion of our assets in Qualifying Assets, we could be precluded from investing according to our current business strategy.

As a BDC, we may not acquire any assets other than Qualifying Assets for purposes of the 1940 Act unless, at the time of and after giving effect to such acquisition, at least 70% of our total assets are “qualifying assets”. See “Item 1: Business — Regulation”.

We believe that most of the senior loans and mezzanine investments that we acquire constitute “qualifying assets.” However, investments in the securities of CLO Funds generally do not constitute “qualifying assets,” and we may invest in other assets that are not “qualifying assets.” If we do not invest a sufficient portion of our assets in “qualifying assets,” we may be precluded from investing in what we believe are attractive investments, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Similarly, these rules could prevent us from making follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies (which could result in the dilution of our position).

Our ability to enter into transactions with our affiliates is restricted.

We are prohibited under the 1940 Act from participating in certain transactions with certain of our affiliates without the prior approval of the members of our independent directors and, in some cases, the SEC. Any person that owns, directly or indirectly, 5% or more of our outstanding voting securities is our affiliate for purposes of the 1940 Act and we are generally prohibited from buying or selling any securities (other than our securities) from or to such affiliate, absent the prior approval of our independent directors. The 1940 Act also prohibits certain “joint” transactions with certain of our affiliates, which could include investments in the same portfolio company (whether at the same or different times), without prior approval of our independent directors and, in some cases, the SEC. If a person acquires more than 25% of our voting securities, we will be prohibited from buying or selling any security (other than any security of which we are the issuer) from or to such person or certain of that person’s affiliates, or entering into prohibited joint transactions with such person, absent the prior approval of the SEC. Similar restrictions limit our ability to transact business with our officers or directors or their affiliates.

A failure on our part to maintain our status as a BDC would significantly reduce our operating flexibility.

If we fail to maintain our status as a BDC, we might be regulated as a closed-end investment company that is required to register under the 1940 Act, which would subject us to additional regulatory restrictions and significantly decrease our operating flexibility. In addition, any such failure could cause an event of

29

default under our outstanding indebtedness, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our business and operations could be negatively affected if we become subject to any securities litigation or stockholder activism, which could cause us to incur significant expense, hinder execution of investment strategy and impact our stock price.

In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class-action litigation has often been brought against that company. Stockholder activism, which could take many forms or arise in a variety of situations, has been increasing in the BDC space recently. While we are currently not subject to any securities litigation or stockholder activism, we may in the future become the target of securities litigation or stockholder activism. Securities litigation and stockholder activism, including potential proxy contests, could result in substantial costs and divert management’s and our board of directors’ attention and resources from our business. Additionally, such securities litigation and stockholder activism could give rise to perceived uncertainties as to our future, adversely affect our relationships with service providers and make it more difficult to attract and retain qualified personnel. Also, we may be required to incur significant legal fees and other expenses related to any securities litigation and activist stockholder matters. Further, our stock price could be subject to significant fluctuation or otherwise be adversely affected by the events, risks and uncertainties of any securities litigation and stockholder activism.

We will be subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes if we are unable to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code.

To maintain RIC tax treatment under the Code, we must meet the following annual distribution, income source and asset diversification requirements:

•

The annual distribution requirement for a RIC will be satisfied if we distribute to our stockholders on an annual basis at least 90% of our net ordinary income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized net long-term capital losses, if any. Because we use debt financing, we are subject to certain asset coverage ratio requirements under the 1940 Act and are (and may in the future become) subject to certain financial covenants under loan, indenture and credit agreements that could, under certain circumstances, restrict us from making distributions necessary to satisfy the distribution requirement. If we are unable to obtain cash from other sources, we could fail to qualify for RIC tax treatment and thus become subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes.

​

•

The source income requirement will be satisfied if we obtain at least 90% of our income for each year from dividends, interest, gains from the sale of stock or securities or similar sources.

​

•

The asset diversification requirement will be satisfied if we meet certain asset diversification requirements at the end of each quarter of our taxable year. To satisfy this requirement, at least 50% of the value of our assets must consist of cash, cash equivalents, U.S. Government securities, securities of other RICs, and other acceptable securities; and no more than 25% of the value of our assets can be invested in the securities, other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs, of one issuer, of two or more issuers that are controlled, as determined under applicable Code rules, by us and that are engaged in the same or similar or related trades or businesses or of certain “qualified publicly traded partnerships.” If we do not satisfy the diversification requirements as of the end of any quarter, we will not lose our status as RIC provided that (i) we satisfied the requirements in a prior quarter and (ii) our failure to satisfy the requirements in the current quarter is not due in whole or in part to an acquisition of any security or other property.

​

Failure to meet these requirements may result in our having to dispose of certain investments quickly in order to prevent the loss of RIC status. Because most of our investments will be in private companies, and therefore will be illiquid, any such dispositions could be made at disadvantageous prices and could result in substantial losses. Moreover, if we fail to maintain RIC tax treatment for any reason and are

30

subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes, the resulting taxes could substantially reduce our net assets, the amount of income available for distribution and the amount of our distributions. Such a failure would have a material adverse effect on us and on our stockholders.

Proposed regulations may impact our ability to qualify as a RIC if we do not receive timely distributions from our CLO investments.

We may be required to include in our income our proportionate share of the income of certain CLO investments to the extent that such CLOs are PFICs for which we have made a qualifying electing fund (“QEF”) election or are CFCs. To qualify as a RIC, we must, among other thing, derive in each taxable year at least 90% of our gross income from certain sources specified in the Code (the “90% Income Test”). Although the Code generally provides that the income inclusions from a QEF or a CFC will be “good income” for purposes of this 90% Income Test to the extent that the QEF or the CFC distribute such income to us in the same taxable year to which the income is included in our income, the Code does not specifically provide whether these income inclusions would be “good income” for this 90% Income Test if we do not receive distributions from the QEF or CFC during such taxable year. The IRS has issued a series of private rulings in which it has concluded that all income inclusions from a QEF or a CFC included in a RIC’s gross income would constitute “good income” for purposes of the 90% Income Test. Such rulings are not binding on the IRS except with respect to the taxpayers to whom such rulings were issued. Nonetheless, under current law, we believe that the income inclusions from a CLO that is a QEF or a CFC would be “good income” for purposes of the 90% Income Test. Recently, the IRS and U.S. Treasury Department issued proposed regulations that provide that the income inclusions from a QEF or a CFC would not be good income for purposes of the 90% Income Test unless we receive a cash distribution from such entity in the same year attributable to the included income. If such income were not considered “good income” for purposes of the 90% Income Test, we may fail to qualify as a RIC.

Risks Associated with Our Information Technology Systems

We rely on various information technology systems to manage our operations. Information technology systems are subject to numerous risks including unanticipated operating problems, system failures, rapid technological change, failure of the systems that operate as anticipated, reliance on third party computer hardware, software and IT service providers, computer viruses, telecommunication failures, data breaches, denial of service attacks, spamming, phishing attacks, computer hackers and other similar disruptions, any of which could materially adversely impact our consolidated financial condition and results of operations. Additional risks include, but are not limited to, the following:

Disruptions in current systems or difficulties in integrating new systems.

We regularly maintain, upgrade, enhance or replace our information technology systems to support our business strategies and provide business continuity. Replacing legacy systems with successor systems, making changes to existing systems or acquiring new systems with new functionality have inherent risks including disruptions, delays, or difficulties that may impair the effectiveness of our information technology systems.

Internal and external cyber threats, as well as other disasters, could impair our ability to conduct business effectively.

The occurrence of a disaster, such as a cyber-attack against us or against a third-party that has access to our data or networks, a natural catastrophe, an industrial accident, failure of our disaster recovery systems, or consequential employee error, could have an adverse effect on our ability to communicate or conduct business, negatively impacting our operations and financial condition. This adverse effect can become particularly acute if those events affect our electronic data processing, transmission, storage, and retrieval systems, or impact the availability, integrity, or confidentiality of our data.

We depend heavily upon computer systems to perform necessary business functions. Despite our implementation of a variety of security measures, our computer systems, networks, and data, like those of other companies, could be subject to cyber-attacks and unauthorized access, use, alteration, or destruction, such as from physical and electronic break-ins or unauthorized tampering. Like other companies, we may

31

experience threats to our data and systems, including malware and computer virus attacks, unauthorized access, system failures and disruptions. If one or more of these events occurs, it could potentially jeopardize the confidential, proprietary, and other information processed, stored in, and transmitted through our computer systems and networks. Such an attack could cause interruptions or malfunctions in our operations, which could result in financial losses, litigation, regulatory penalties, client dissatisfaction or loss, reputational damage, and increased costs associated with mitigation of damages and remediation.

Third parties with which we do business may also be sources of cybersecurity or other technological risk. We outsource certain functions and these relationships allow for the storage and processing of our information, as well as client, counterparty, employee, and borrower information. While we engage in actions to reduce our exposure resulting from outsourcing, ongoing threats may result in unauthorized access, loss, exposure, destruction, or other cybersecurity incident that affects our data, resulting in increased costs and other consequences as described above.

Risks Related to Our Investments

Our investments may be risky, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

We invest primarily in senior secured term loans, mezzanine debt, selected equity investments issued by middle market companies, CLO Funds and our Asset Manager Affiliates. The investments in our Debt Securities Portfolio are all or predominantly below investment grade, may be highly leveraged, and therefore have speculative characteristics with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal. Defaults by portfolio companies may harm our operating results.

Secured Loans.   When we extend secured term loans, we generally take a security interest (either as a first lien position or as a second lien position) in the available assets of these portfolio companies, including the equity interests of their subsidiaries, which we expect to assist in mitigating the risk that we will not be repaid. However, there is a risk that the collateral securing our loans may decrease in value over time, may be difficult to sell in a timely manner, may be difficult to appraise and may fluctuate in value based upon the success of the business and market conditions, including as a result of the inability of the portfolio company to raise additional capital, and, in some circumstances, our lien could be subordinated to claims of other creditors. In addition, deterioration in a portfolio company’s financial condition and prospects, including its inability to raise additional capital, may be accompanied by deterioration in the value of the collateral for the loan. Consequently, the fact that a loan is secured does not guarantee that we will receive principal and interest payments according to the loan’s terms, or at all, or that we will be able to collect on the loan should we be forced to exercise our remedies.

Mezzanine Debt.   Our mezzanine debt investments generally are subordinated to senior loans and generally are unsecured. This may result in an above average amount of risk and volatility or loss of principal.

These investments may entail additional risks that could adversely affect our investment returns. To the extent interest payments associated with such debt are deferred, such debt is subject to greater fluctuations in value based on changes in interest rates and such debt could subject us to phantom income. Since we generally do not receive any cash prior to maturity of the debt, the investment is of greater risk.

Equity Investments.   We have made and expect to make selected equity investments in the middle market companies. In addition, when we invest in senior secured loans or mezzanine debt, we may acquire warrants in the equity of the portfolio company. Our goal is ultimately to dispose of such equity interests and realize gains upon our disposition of such interests. However, the equity interests we receive may not appreciate in value and, in fact, may decline in value. Accordingly, we may not be able to realize gains from our equity interests, and any gains that we do realize on the disposition of any equity interests may not be sufficient to offset any other losses we experience.

Risks Associated with Middle Market Companies.   Investments in middle market companies also involve a number of significant risks, including:

•

limited financial resources and inability to meet their obligations, which may be accompanied by a deterioration in the value of any collateral and a reduction in the likelihood of our realizing the value of any guarantees we may have obtained in connection with our investment;

​

32

•

shorter operating histories, narrower product lines and smaller market shares than larger businesses, which tend to render them more vulnerable to competitors’ actions and market conditions, as well as general economic downturns;

​

•

dependence on management talents and efforts of a small group of persons; therefore, the death, disability, resignation or termination of one or more of these persons could have a material adverse impact on our portfolio company and, in turn, on us;

​

•

less predictable operating results, being parties to litigation from time to time, engaging in rapidly changing businesses with products subject to a substantial risk of obsolescence and requiring substantial additional capital expenditures to support their operations, finance expansion or maintain their competitive position;

​

•

difficulty accessing the capital markets to meet future capital needs; and

​

•

generally less publicly available information about their businesses, operations and financial condition.

​

CLO Fund Investments.   Investments in CLO Funds also involve a number of significant risks, including:

•

CLOs typically are comprised of a portfolio of senior secured loans; payments on CLO investments are and will be payable solely from the cash-flows from such senior secured loans;

​

•

CLO investments are exposed to leveraged credit risk;

​

•

CLO Funds are highly leveraged;

​

•

there is the potential for interruption and deferral of cash-flow from CLO investments;

​

•

interest rates paid by corporate borrowers are subject to volatility;

​

•

the inability of a CLO collateral manager to reinvest the proceeds of the prepayment of senior secured loans may adversely affect us;

​

•

our CLO investments are subject to prepayments and calls, increasing re-investment risk;

​

•

we have limited control of the administration and amendment of any CLO in which we invest;

​

•

senior secured loans of CLOs may be sold and replaced resulting in a loss to us;

​

•

our financial results may be affected adversely if one or more of our significant equity or junior debt investments in a CLO vehicle defaults on its payment obligations or fails to perform as we expect; and

​

•

non-investment grade debt involves a greater risk of default and higher price volatility than investment grade debt.

​

Our portfolio investments for which there is no readily available market, including our investment in our Asset Manager Affiliates, our Joint Venture and our investments in CLO Funds, are recorded at fair value as determined in good faith by our Board of Directors. As a result, there is uncertainty as to the value of these investments.

Our investments consist primarily of securities issued by privately-held companies, the fair value of which is not readily determinable. In addition, we are not permitted to maintain a general reserve for anticipated loan losses. Instead, we are required by the 1940 Act to specifically value each investment and record an unrealized gain or loss for any asset that we believe has increased or decreased in value. We value these securities at fair value as determined in good faith by our Board of Directors pursuant to a valuation methodology approved by our Board of Directors. These valuations are initially prepared by our management and reviewed by our Valuation Committee, which uses its best judgment in arriving at the fair value of these securities. However, the Board of Directors retains ultimate authority to determine the appropriate valuation for each investment.

33

The Company has engaged an independent valuation firm to provide third party valuation consulting services to the Company’s Board of Directors. Each quarter, the independent valuation firm performs third party valuations on the Company’s material investments in illiquid securities, such that they are reviewed at least once during a trailing 12 month period. These third party valuation estimates are one of the relevant data points in the Board of Director’s determination of fair value. The Board of Directors intends to continue to engage an independent valuation firm in the future to provide certain valuation services, including the review of certain portfolio assets, as part of the quarterly and annual year-end valuation process. In addition to such third-party input, the types of factors that may be considered in valuing our investments include the nature and realizable value of any collateral, the portfolio company’s ability to make payments and its earnings, the markets in which the portfolio company does business, comparison to publicly-traded companies, discounted cash flow and other relevant factors. Our investment in our Asset Manager Affiliates is carried at fair value, which is determined after taking into consideration a percentage of assets under management and a discounted cash flow model incorporating different levels of discount rates depending on the hierarchy of fees earned (including the likelihood of realization of senior, subordinate and incentive fees) and prospective modeled performance. Such valuation includes an analysis of comparable asset management companies. In addition, our investment in our Joint Venture is carried at fair value, which is determined based on the fair value of the investments held by the Joint Venture. Because such valuations, and particularly valuations of private investments and private companies, are inherently uncertain and may be based on estimates, our determinations of fair value may differ materially from the values that would be assessed if a ready market for these securities existed. Our net asset value could be adversely affected if our determinations regarding the fair value of our illiquid investments were materially higher than the values that we ultimately realize upon the disposal of such securities.

We are a non-diversified investment company within the meaning of the 1940 Act, and therefore we may invest a significant portion of our assets in a relatively small number of issuers, which subjects us to a risk of significant loss if any of these issuers defaults on its obligations under any of its debt instruments or as a result of a downturn in the particular industry.

We are classified as a non-diversified investment company within the meaning of the 1940 Act, and therefore we may invest a significant portion of our assets in a relatively small number of issuers in a limited number of industries. Beyond the asset diversification requirements associated with our qualification as a RIC, we do not have fixed guidelines for diversification, and while we are not targeting any specific industries, relatively few industries may become significantly represented among our investments. To the extent that we assume large positions in the securities of a small number of issuers, our net asset value may fluctuate to a greater extent than that of a diversified investment company as a result of changes in the financial condition or the market’s assessment of the issuer, changes in fair value over time or a downturn in any particular industry. We may also be more susceptible to any single economic or regulatory occurrence than a diversified investment company.

Defaults by our portfolio companies could harm our operating results.

A portfolio company’s failure to satisfy financial or operating covenants imposed by us or other debt holders could lead to defaults and, potentially, acceleration of the time when the loans are due and foreclosure on its secured assets. Such events could trigger cross-defaults under other agreements and jeopardize a portfolio company’s ability to meet its obligations under the debt that we hold and the value of any equity securities we own. We may incur expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery upon default or to negotiate new terms with a defaulting portfolio company.

When we are a debt or minority equity investor in a portfolio company, which generally is the case, we may not be in a position to control the entity, and its management may make decisions that could decrease the value of our investment.

Most of our investments are either debt or minority equity investments in our portfolio companies. Therefore, we are subject to the risk that a portfolio company may make business decisions with which we disagree, and the stockholders and management of such company may take risks or otherwise act in ways that do not serve our interests. As a result, a portfolio company may make decisions that could decrease the value of our portfolio holdings. In addition, we generally are not in a position to control any portfolio company by investing in its debt securities.

34

We may have limited access to information about privately held companies in which we invest.

We invest primarily in privately-held companies. Generally, little public information exists about these companies, and we are required to rely on the ability of our investment professionals to obtain adequate information to evaluate the potential returns from investing in these companies. These companies and their financial information are not subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and other rules that govern public companies. If we are unable to uncover all material information about these companies, we may not make a fully informed investment decision, and we may lose money on our investment.

Prepayments of our debt investments by our portfolio companies could negatively impact our operating results.

We are subject to the risk that the investments we make in our portfolio companies may be repaid prior to maturity. When this occurs, we generally reinvest these proceeds in temporary investments, pending their future investment in new portfolio companies. These temporary investments typically have substantially lower yields than the debt being prepaid and we could experience significant delays in reinvesting these amounts. Any future investment in a new portfolio company may also be at lower yields than the debt that was repaid. Consequently, our results of operations could be materially adversely affected if one or more of our portfolio companies elects to prepay amounts owed to us. Additionally, prepayments could negatively impact our return on equity, which could result in a decline in the market price of our common stock.

We may be unable to invest the net proceeds raised from offerings and repayments from investments on acceptable terms, which would harm our financial condition and operating results.

Until we identify new investment opportunities, we intend to either invest the net proceeds of future offerings and repayments from investments in interest-bearing deposits or other short-term instruments or use the net proceeds from such offerings to reduce then-outstanding debt obligations. We cannot assure you that we will be able to find enough appropriate investments that meet our investment criteria or that any investment we complete using the proceeds from an offering will produce a sufficient return.

Our portfolio companies may incur debt that ranks equal with, or senior to, our investments in such companies.

We invest primarily in debt securities issued by our portfolio companies. In some cases portfolio companies are permitted to have other debt that ranks equal with, or senior to, the debt securities in which we invest. By their terms, such debt instruments may provide that the holders thereof are entitled to receive payment of interest or principal on or before the dates on which we are entitled to receive payments in respect of the debt securities in which we invest. Also, in the event of insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of a portfolio company, holders of debt instruments ranking senior to our investment in that portfolio company would typically be entitled to receive payment in full before we receive any distribution in respect of our investment. After repaying such senior creditors, such portfolio company may not have any remaining assets to use for repaying its obligation to us. In the case of debt ranking equal with debt securities in which we invest, we would have to share on an equal basis any distributions with other creditors holding such debt in the event of an insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of a portfolio company.

Second priority liens on collateral securing loans that we make to our portfolio companies may be subject to control by senior creditors with first priority liens. If there is a default, the value of the collateral may not be sufficient to repay in full both the first priority creditors and us.

Certain loans that we make are secured by a second priority security interest in the same collateral pledged by a portfolio company to secure senior debt owed by the portfolio company to other traditional lenders. Often the senior lender has procured covenants from the portfolio company prohibiting the incurrence of additional secured debt, without the senior lender’s consent. Prior to, and as a condition of, permitting the portfolio company to borrow money from us secured by the same collateral pledged to the senior lender, the senior lender will require assurances that it will control the disposition of any collateral in the event of bankruptcy or other default. In many such cases, the senior lender will require us to enter into an “intercreditor agreement” prior to permitting the portfolio company to borrow from us. Typically, the intercreditor agreements we are requested to execute expressly subordinate our debt instruments to those held by the senior lender and further provide that the senior lender shall control: (1) the commencement of

35

foreclosure or other proceedings to liquidate and collect on the collateral; (2) the nature, timing and conduct of foreclosure or other collection proceedings; (3) the amendment of any collateral document; (4) the release of the security interests in respect of any collateral; and (5) the waiver of defaults under any security agreement. Because of the control we may cede to senior lenders under intercreditor agreements we may enter, we may be unable to realize the proceeds of any collateral securing some of our loans.

There may be circumstances where our debt investments could be subordinated to claims of other creditors or we could be subject to lender liability claims.

Even though we may have structured certain of our investments as senior loans, if one of our portfolio companies were to go bankrupt, depending on the facts and circumstances, including the size of our investment and the extent to which we actually provided managerial assistance to that portfolio company, a bankruptcy court might recharacterize our debt investment and subordinate all or a portion of our claim to that of other creditors. In addition, lenders can be subject to lender liability claims for actions taken by them where they become too involved in the borrower’s business or exercise control over the borrower. It is possible that we could become subject to a lender’s liability claim, including as a result of actions taken in rendering significant managerial assistance.

Our investments in equity securities involve a substantial degree of risk.

We purchase common stock and other equity securities, including warrants. Although equity securities have historically generated higher average total returns than fixed-income securities over the long term, equity securities have also experienced significantly more volatility in those returns. The equity securities we acquire may fail to appreciate and may decline in value or become worthless, and our ability to recover our investment depends on our portfolio company’s success. Investments in equity securities involve a number of significant risks, including the risk of further dilution as a result of additional issuances, inability to access additional capital and failure to pay current distributions. Investments in preferred securities involve special risks, such as the risk of deferred distributions, credit risk, illiquidity and limited voting rights.

The lack of liquidity in our investments may adversely affect our business.

We may invest in securities issued by private companies. These securities may be subject to legal and other restrictions on resale or otherwise be less liquid than publicly-traded securities. The illiquidity of these investments may make it difficult for us to sell these investments when desired. In addition, if we are required to liquidate all or a portion of our portfolio quickly, we may realize significantly less than the value at which we had previously recorded these investments. Our investments are usually subject to contractual or legal restrictions on resale or are otherwise illiquid because there is usually no established trading market for such investments. The illiquidity of most of our investments may make it difficult for us to dispose of them at a favorable price, and, as a result, we may suffer losses.

Our investments in foreign securities may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.

Our investment strategy contemplates that a portion of our investments may be in securities of foreign companies. Investing in foreign companies may expose us to additional risks not typically associated with investing in U.S. companies. These risks include changes in exchange control regulations, political and social instability, expropriation, imposition of foreign taxes, less liquid markets and less available information than is generally the case in the United States, higher transaction costs, less government supervision of exchanges, brokers and issuers, less developed bankruptcy laws, difficulty in enforcing contractual obligations, lack of uniform accounting and auditing standards and greater price volatility.

Although it is anticipated that most of our investments will be denominated in U.S. dollars, our investments that are denominated in a foreign currency will be subject to the risk that the value of a particular currency may change in relation to the U.S. dollar. Among the factors that may affect currency values are trade balances, the level of short-term interest rates, differences in relative values of similar assets in different currencies, long-term opportunities for investment and capital appreciation and political developments.

36

The disposition of our investments may result in contingent liabilities.

We currently expect that a significant portion of our investments will involve lending directly to private companies. In connection with the disposition of an investment in private securities, we may be required to make representations about the business and financial affairs of the portfolio company typical of those made in connection with the sale of a business. We may also be required to indemnify the purchasers of such investment to the extent that any such representations turn out to be inaccurate or with respect to certain potential liabilities. These arrangements may result in contingent liabilities that ultimately yield funding obligations that must be satisfied through our return of certain distributions previously made to us.

We may not receive any return on our investment in the CLO Funds in which we have invested.

As of December 31, 2018, we had $45.0 million at fair value invested in the subordinated securities, preferred shares, or other securities issued by the CLO Funds managed by certain third party asset managers. Subordinated securities are the most junior class of securities issued by the CLO Funds and are subordinated in priority of payment to every other class of securities issued by these CLO Funds. Therefore, they only receive cash distributions if the CLO Funds have made all cash interest payments to all other debt securities issued by the CLO Fund. The subordinated securities are also unsecured and rank behind all of the secured creditors, known or unknown, of the CLO Fund, including the holders of the senior securities issued by the CLO Fund. Consequently, to the extent that the value of a CLO Fund’s loan investments has been reduced as a result of conditions in the credit markets, or as a result of defaulted loans or individual fund assets, the value of the subordinated securities at their redemption could be reduced.

Risks Related to Our Common Stock

We may not be able to pay distributions to our stockholders, our distributions may not grow over time, and a portion of distributions paid to our stockholders may be a return of capital.

We intend to continue to make distributions on a quarterly basis to our stockholders out of assets legally available for distribution. We may not be able to achieve investment results that will allow us to make a specified level of cash distributions or year-to-year increases in cash distributions. Our ability to pay distributions might be adversely affected by, among other things, the impact of one or more of the risk factors described herein. In addition, the inability to satisfy the asset coverage test applicable to us as a BDC could limit our ability to pay distributions. In addition, due to the asset coverage test applicable to us as a BDC and covenants that we agreed to in connection with the issuance of the 6.125% Notes Due 2022 (together, the “Notes”) we are limited in our ability to make distributions in certain circumstances. In this regard, we agreed in connection with our issuance of the Notes that for the period of time during which the Notes are outstanding, we will not violate (regardless of whether we are subject to) Section 18(a)(1)(B) as modified by Section 61(a)(1) of the 1940 Act. These provisions generally prohibit us from declaring any cash dividend or distribution upon our common stock, or purchasing any such common stock if our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, is below 200% at the time of the declaration of the dividend or distribution or the purchase and after deducting the amount of such dividend, distribution or purchase. Further, if we invest a greater amount of assets in equity securities that do not pay current dividends, it could reduce the amount available for distribution.

All distributions will be paid at the discretion of our Board of Directors and will depend on our earnings, our financial condition, maintenance of our RIC status, compliance with applicable BDC regulations and such other factors as our Board of Directors may deem relevant from time to time. We cannot assure you that we will pay distributions to our stockholders in the future.

When we make quarterly distributions, we will be required to determine the extent to which such distributions are paid out of current or accumulated earnings, recognized capital gains or capital. To the extent there is a return of capital, investors will be required to reduce their basis in our stock for U.S. federal income tax purposes, which may result in higher tax liability when the shares are sold, even if they have not increased in value or have lost value. Our distributions have over the last several years included a significant return of capital component. For more information about our distributions over the last several years that have included a return of capital component, see Note 7 — “Distributable Taxable Income” to our consolidated financial statements included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

37

Investing in shares of our common stock may involve an above average degree of risk.

The investments we make in accordance with our investment objective may result in a higher amount of risk, volatility or loss of principal than alternative investment options. Our investments in portfolio companies may be highly speculative, and therefore, an investment in our common stock may not be suitable for investors with lower risk tolerance.

Shares of closed-end investment companies, including BDCs, frequently trade at a discount to their net asset value, and we cannot assure you that the market price of our common stock will not decline below the net asset value of the stock.

We cannot predict the price at which our common stock will trade. Shares of closed-end investment companies frequently trade at a discount to their net asset value and our stock may also be discounted in the market. This characteristic of closed-end investment companies is separate and distinct from the risk that our net asset value per share may decline. We cannot predict whether shares of our common stock will trade above, at or below our net asset value. The risk of loss associated with this characteristic of closed-end investment companies may be greater for investors expecting to sell shares of common stock soon after the purchase of such shares of common stock. In addition, if our common stock trades below its net asset value, we will generally not be able to issue additional shares of our common stock at its market price without first obtaining the approval of our stockholders and our independent directors.

Our share price may be volatile and may fluctuate substantially.

The market price and liquidity of the market for shares of our common stock may be significantly affected by numerous factors, some of which are beyond our control and may not be directly related to our operating performance. These factors include:

•

price and volume fluctuations in the overall stock market from time to time;

​

•

significant volatility in the market price and trading volume of securities of BDCs or other companies in our sector, which are not necessarily related to the operating performance of these companies or to us;

​

•

our inability to deploy or invest our capital;

​

•

fluctuations in interest rates;

​

•

any shortfall in revenue or net income or any increase in losses from levels expected by investors or securities analysts;

​

•

operating performance of companies comparable to us;

​

•

changes in regulatory policies or tax rules, particularly with respect to RICs or BDCs;

​

•

inability to maintain our qualification as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes;

​

•

changes in earnings or variations in operating results;

​

•

changes in the value of our portfolio;

​

•

general economic conditions and trends; and

​

•

departure of key personnel.

​

Certain provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law and our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could deter takeover attempts and have an adverse impact on the price of our common stock.

The Delaware General Corporation Law, our certificate of incorporation and our bylaws contain provisions that may have the effect of discouraging a third party from making an acquisition proposal for us. These anti-takeover provisions may inhibit a change in control in circumstances that could give the holders of our common stock the opportunity to realize a premium over the market price of our common stock.

38

Risks Related to Our Notes

Our Notes are unsecured and therefore are effectively subordinated to any secured indebtedness we have currently incurred or may incur in the future.

Our Notes are not secured by any of our assets or any of the assets of our subsidiaries or the Asset Manager Affiliates. As a result, the Notes are effectively subordinated to any secured indebtedness we or they have currently incurred and may incur in the future (or any indebtedness that is initially unsecured to which we subsequently grant security) to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness. In any liquidation, dissolution, bankruptcy or other similar proceeding, the holders of any of our existing or future secured indebtedness and the secured indebtedness of our subsidiaries and the Asset Manager Affiliates may assert rights against the assets pledged to secure that indebtedness in order to receive full payment of their indebtedness before the assets may be used to pay other creditors, including the holders of the Notes.

The Notes are structurally subordinated to the indebtedness and other liabilities of our subsidiaries and portfolio companies with respect to which we hold equity investments.

The Notes are obligations exclusively of KCAP Financial, Inc., and not of any of our subsidiaries or the Asset Manager Affiliates. None of our subsidiaries or the Asset Manager Affiliates are guarantors of the Notes, and the Notes will not be required to be guaranteed by any subsidiary or asset management firm we may acquire or create in the future. Any assets of our subsidiaries and the Asset Manager Affiliates will not be directly available to satisfy the claims of our creditors, including holders of the Notes. Except to the extent we are a creditor with recognized claims against our subsidiaries, all claims of creditors of our subsidiaries will have priority over our equity interests in such entities (and therefore the claims of our creditors, including holders of the Notes) with respect to the assets of such entities. Even if we are recognized as a creditor of one or more of these entities, our claims would still be effectively subordinated to any security interests in the assets of any such entity and to any indebtedness or other liabilities of any such entity senior to our claims. Consequently, the Notes are structurally subordinated to all indebtedness and other liabilities of any of our subsidiaries and portfolio companies with respect to which we hold equity investments, including the Asset Manager Affiliates and any subsidiaries of the Asset Manager Affiliates that we may in the future acquire or establish. These entities may incur substantial indebtedness in the future, all of which would be structurally senior to the Notes.

The indentures under which the Notes are issued contain limited protection for holders of the Notes.

The indentures under which the Notes are issued offer limited protection to holders of the Notes. The terms of the indentures and the Notes do not restrict our or any of our subsidiaries or the Asset Manager Affiliates’ ability to engage in, or otherwise be a party to, a variety of corporate transactions, circumstances or events that could have a material adverse impact on your investment in the Notes. In particular, the terms of the indenture and the Notes do not place any restrictions on our or our subsidiaries or the Asset Manager Affiliates’ ability to:

•

issue securities or otherwise incur additional indebtedness or other obligations, including (1) any indebtedness or other obligations that would be equal in right of payment to the Notes, (2) any indebtedness or other obligations that would be secured and therefore rank effectively senior in right of payment to the Notes to the extent of the values of the assets securing such debt, (3) indebtedness of ours that is guaranteed by one or more of our subsidiaries or the Asset Manager Affiliates and which therefore is structurally senior to the Notes and (4) securities, indebtedness or obligations issued or incurred by our subsidiaries or the Asset Manager Affiliates that would be senior to our equity interests in those entities and therefore rank structurally senior to the Notes with respect to the assets of our subsidiaries and the Asset Manager Affiliates, in each case other than an incurrence of indebtedness or other obligation that would cause a violation of Section 18(a)(1)(A) as modified by Section 61(a)(1) of the 1940 Act or any successor provisions. These provisions generally prohibit us from making additional borrowings, including through the issuance of additional debt or the sale of additional debt securities, unless our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, equals at least 200% after such borrowings;

​

39

•

pay dividends on, or purchase or redeem or make any payments in respect of, capital stock or other securities ranking junior in right of payment to the Notes, including subordinated indebtedness, in each case other than dividends, purchases, redemptions or payments that would cause a violation of Section 18(a)(1)(B) as modified by Section 61(a)(1) of the 1940 Act or any successor provisions. These provisions generally prohibit us from declaring any cash dividend or distribution upon any class of our capital stock, or purchasing any such capital stock if our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, is below 200% at the time of the declaration of the dividend or distribution or the purchase and after deducting the amount of such dividend, distribution or purchase;

​

•

sell assets (other than certain limited restrictions on our ability to consolidate, merge or sell all or substantially all of our assets);

​

•

enter into transactions with affiliates;

​

•

create liens (including liens on the shares of our subsidiaries) or enter into sale and leaseback transactions;

​

•

make investments; or

​

•

create restrictions on the payment of dividends or other amounts to us from our subsidiaries.

​

In addition, the indenture does not require us to offer to purchase the Notes in connection with a change of control or any other event.

Furthermore, the terms of the indentures and the Notes do not protect holders of the Notes in the event that we experience changes (including significant adverse changes) in our financial condition, results of operations or credit ratings, if any, as they do not require that we adhere to any financial tests or ratios or specified levels of net worth, revenues, income, cash flow, or liquidity other than as described above. Any changes to the 200% asset coverage ratio in the 1940 Act could affect the Notes. As discussed above, on March 29, 2018, our Board of Directors, including a “required majority” (as such term is defined in Section 57(o) of the 1940 Act) of the Board, approved the modified asset coverage requirements set forth in Section 61(a)(2) of the 1940 Act, as amended by the SBCA. As a result, our asset coverage requirement for senior securities will be changed from 200% to 150%, effective as of March 29, 2019. However, despite the SBCA, we will continue to be prohibited by the indentures governing our 6.125% Notes from making distributions on our common stock if our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, falls below 200%. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Business and Structure — Our Board of Directors has approved our ability to incur additional leverage as permitted by recent legislation.”

Our ability to recapitalize, incur additional debt and take a number of other actions that are not limited by the terms of the Notes may have important consequences for you as a holder of the Notes, including making it more difficult for us to satisfy our obligations with respect to the Notes or negatively affecting the trading value of the Notes.

Other debt we issue or incur in the future could contain more protections for its holders than the indentures and the Notes, including additional covenants and events of default. The issuance or incurrence of any such debt with incremental protections could affect the market for and trading levels and prices of the Notes.

Even though the 6.125% Notes Due 2022 are listed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, respectively, an active trading market for the Notes may not develop, or if it does develop, it will be sustained, which could limit your ability to sell the Notes or affect the market price of the Notes.

We cannot provide any assurances that an active trading market will develop for the Notes, or that, if it does develop, it will be sustained or that you will be able to sell your Notes. The Notes may trade at a discount from the price paid for the notes depending on prevailing interest rates, the market for similar securities, our credit ratings, if any, general economic conditions, our financial condition, performance and prospects and other factors.

40

Accordingly, we cannot assure you that a liquid trading market will develop for the Notes or that, if an active trading market for the Notes does develop, it will be sustained, that you will be able to sell your Notes at a particular time or that the price you receive when you sell will be favorable. To the extent an active trading market does not develop, the liquidity and trading price for the Notes may be harmed. Accordingly, you may be required to bear the financial risk of an investment in the Notes for an indefinite period of time.

If we default on our obligations to pay our other indebtedness, we may not be able to make payments on the Notes.

Any default under the agreements governing our indebtedness, that is not waived by the required lenders, and the remedies sought by the holders of such indebtedness could make us unable to pay principal, premium, if any, and interest on the Notes and substantially decrease the market value of the Notes. If we are unable to generate sufficient cash flow and are otherwise unable to obtain funds necessary to meet required payments of principal, premium, if any, and interest on our indebtedness, or if we otherwise fail to comply with the various covenants, including financial and operating covenants, in the instruments governing our indebtedness, we could be in default under the terms of the agreements governing such indebtedness. In the event of such default, the holders of such indebtedness could elect to declare all the funds borrowed thereunder to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest, the lender any debt we may incur in the future could elect to terminate its commitment, cease making further loans and institute foreclosure proceedings against our assets, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. If our operating performance declines, we may in the future need to seek to obtain waivers from under any other debt that we may incur in the future to avoid being in default. If we breach our covenants under any debt and seek a waiver, we may not be able to obtain a waiver from the required lenders. If this occurs, we would be in default under any debt, the lender could exercise its rights as described above, and we could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation. If we are unable to repay debt, lenders having secured obligations could proceed against the collateral securing the debt. Because any future debt we issue will likely have customary cross-default provisions, if such other debt is accelerated, we may be unable to repay or finance the amounts due.

Risks Related to the Externalization Agreement

Our executive officers and directors may have interests in the Externalization that are different from, or in addition to, the interests of our stockholders generally.

Members of the Board and our executive officers may have interests in the Externalization that are different from, or are in addition to, the interests of our stockholders generally. Specifically, immediately prior to the Closing, each restricted share of the Company (the “Company Restricted Share”) outstanding and not previously forfeited under the Company’s Equity Incentive Plan or Non-Employee Director Plan shall become fully vested, all restrictions with respect to such Company Restricted Shares shall lapse, and the holders of such Company Restricted Shares shall be entitled to receive a pro rata share of the cash payment of  $25 million, or approximately $0.67 per share of the Company’s common stock (the “Stockholder Payment”), that BCP, or its affiliate, will make directly to the holders of record of the Company’s common stock immediately prior to the Closing.

The failure to complete the Externalization may result in a decrease in the market value of the Company’s common stock.

The Externalization is subject the satisfaction or appropriate waiver of closing conditions. As a result, we cannot assure you that the Externalization will be completed. If the Externalization is not completed for any reason, the market price of the Company’s common stock may decline.

Under certain circumstances, expense reimbursement may be payable by the Company upon termination of the Externalization Agreement.

The Externalization Agreement provides for the payment of expense reimbursement by the Company to BCP of up to $750,000 if  (i) the Externalization Agreement is terminated in connection with an adverse recommendation change by the Board (ii) or in the event the Board accepts a Superior Proposal, as defined in the Externalization Agreement, from a third party.

41

The Externalization Agreement limits the Company’s ability to pursue alternatives to the Externalization.

Under the terms of the Externalization Agreement, we are unable to solicit other acquisition proposals during the pendency thereof. In addition, under the terms of the Externalization Agreement, we are unable to engage in discussions with any party that makes an unsolicited acquisition proposal, unless such proposal (i) provides for the acquisition of 70% or more of the Company’s equity or assets, or assets representing 70% or more of the Company’s revenues for the 12-month period ended as of the most recent quarter end, (ii) provides for the payment of substantially all-cash consideration, (iii) is more favorable to our stockholders, from a financial point of view, than the transactions contemplated by the Externalization and (iv) is reasonably likely to be completed on the terms proposed on a timely basis.

The Externalization is subject to closing conditions that, if not satisfied or appropriately waived, will result in the Externalization not being completed, which may result in material adverse consequences to the Company’s business and operations.

The Externalization is subject to closing conditions that, if not satisfied, will prevent the Externalization from being completed.

The Company will be subject to operational uncertainties and contractual restrictions while the Externalization is pending.

Uncertainty about the effect of the Externalization may have an adverse effect on the Company while the Externalization is pending. These uncertainties may impair the Company’s ability to retain and motivate key personnel until the Externalization is consummated and could cause those that deal with the Company to seek to change their existing relationships with the Company. Retention of certain employees may be challenging during the pendency of the Externalization, as certain employees may experience uncertainty about their future following completion of the Externalization. In addition, the Externalization Agreement imposes limitations on the Company with respect to actions that it might otherwise pursue if the Externalization was not pending, which may result in the Company not pursuing certain business opportunities that may arise prior to the completion of the Externalization.

We have not yet identified the portfolio companies we will invest in after the closing of the Externalization.

The Adviser has not yet identified potential investments for our portfolio that we will acquire after the closing of the Externalization. The Adviser will select our investments and our stockholders will have no input with respect to investment decisions. As a result, we will be subject to all of the business risks and uncertainties associated with the origination of new investments, including the risk that we will not achieve our investment objective and that the value of your investment could decline substantially or become worthless.

After the closing of the Externalization, we will be dependent upon the Adviser for our future success.

After the closing of the Externalization, we will not have any employees. We will depend on the diligence, skill and network of business contacts of the Adviser’s investment professionals to source appropriate investments for us. We will depend on members of the Adviser’s investment team to appropriately analyze our investments and the Adviser’s investment committee to approve and monitor our portfolio investments. The Adviser’s investment committee, together with the other members of its investment team, will evaluate, negotiate, structure, close and monitor our investments. Our future success will depend on the continued availability of the members of the Adviser’s investment committee and the other investment professionals available to the Adviser. We do not have employment agreements with these individuals or other key personnel of the Adviser, and we cannot provide any assurance that unforeseen business, medical, personal or other circumstances would not lead any such individual to terminate his or her relationship with the Adviser. The loss of a material number of senior investment professionals to which the Adviser has access, could have a material adverse effect on our ability to achieve our investment objective as well as on our financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we cannot assure you that the Adviser will remain our investment adviser or that we will continue to have access to the Adviser’s investment professionals or its information and deal flow.

42

The proposed fee structure under the Advisory Agreement may induce the Adviser to pursue speculative investments and incur leverage, which may not be in the best interests of our stockholders.

After the closing of the Externalization, the incentive fees payable by us to the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement may create an incentive for the Adviser to pursue investments on our behalf that are riskier or more speculative than would be the case in the absence of such compensation arrangement. The incentive fees payable to the Adviser are calculated based on a percentage of our return on invested capital. This may encourage the Adviser to use leverage to increase the return on our investments. Under certain circumstances, the use of leverage may increase the likelihood of default, which would impair the value of our common stock. In addition, the Adviser receives the incentive fees based, in part, upon net capital gains realized on our investments. Unlike that portion of incentive fees based on income, there is no hurdle rate applicable to the portion of the incentive fees based on net capital gains. As a result, the Adviser may have a tendency to invest more capital in investments that are likely to result in capital gains as compared to income-producing securities. Such a practice could result in our investing in more speculative securities than would otherwise be the case, which could result in higher investment losses, particularly during economic downturns.

Moreover, because the base management fees payable to the Adviser under the Advisory Agreement will be payable based on our gross assets, excluding cash and cash equivalents but including those assets purchased with borrowed amounts, the Adviser has a financial incentive to incur leverage which may not be consistent with our stockholders’ interests.

The Adviser’s liability will be limited under the Advisory Agreement, and we will be required to indemnify the Adviser against certain liabilities, which may lead the Adviser to act in a riskier manner on our behalf than it would when acting for its own account.

Under the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser will not assume any responsibility to us other than to render the services described in the Advisory Agreement, and it will not be responsible for any action of our Board in declining to follow the Adviser’s advice or recommendations. Pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser and its officers, managers, partners, agents, employees, controlling persons, members and any other person or entity affiliated with the Adviser will not be liable to us for their acts under the Advisory Agreement, absent criminal conduct, willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of their duties or by reason of the reckless disregard of their duties and obligations. We have agreed to indemnify, defend and protect the Adviser and its officers, managers, partners, agents, employees, controlling persons, members and any other person or entity affiliated with the Adviser with respect to all damages, liabilities, costs and expenses arising out of or otherwise based upon the performance of any of the Adviser’s duties or obligations under the Advisory Agreement or otherwise as the Adviser for us, and not arising out of criminal conduct, willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of their duties or by reason of the reckless disregard of their duties and obligations under the Advisory Agreement. These protections may lead the Adviser to act in a riskier manner when acting on our behalf than it would when acting for its own account.

The Adviser will be able to resign upon 60 days’ written notice, and we may not be able to find a suitable replacement within that time, resulting in a disruption in our operations that could adversely affect our financial condition, business and results of operations.

After the consummation of the Externalization, we will be an externally managed BDC pursuant to the Advisory Agreement. Pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Adviser will have the right to resign upon 60 days’ written notice, whether a replacement has been found or not. If the Adviser resigns, it may be difficult to find a replacement with similar expertise and ability to provide the same or equivalent services on acceptable terms within 60 days, or at all. If a replacement is not found quickly, our business, results of operations and financial condition as well as our ability to pay distributions are likely to be adversely affected and the value of our shares may decline. In addition, the coordination of our internal management and investment activities is likely to suffer if we are unable to identify and reach an agreement with a single institution or group of executives having the expertise possessed by the Adviser. Even if a comparable service provider or individuals performing such services are retained, whether internal or external, their integration into our business and lack of familiarity with our investment objective may result in additional costs and time delays that may materially adversely affect our business, results of operations and financial condition.

43

We may not replicate our historical performance, or the historical success of other investment vehicles advised by the Adviser.

We cannot provide any assurance that we will replicate our own historical performance, the historical success of the Adviser or the historical performance of other investment vehicles that the Adviser and its investment team advised in the past. Accordingly, our investment returns could be substantially lower than the returns achieved by the Company in the past or by other clients of the Adviser. We can offer no assurance that the Adviser will be able to continue to implement our investment objective with the same degree of success as it has had in the past.

Item 1B.

Unresolved Staff Comments

​

None.

Item 2.

Properties

​

We do not own any real estate or other real property. We lease our principal headquarters at 295 Madison Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, New York 10017.

Item 3.

Legal Proceedings

​

The Company is not currently a party to any material legal proceedings.

Item 4.

Mine Safety Disclosures

​

Not applicable.

44

Item 5.

Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities

​

PRICE RANGE OF COMMON STOCK

Our common stock is quoted on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “KCAP.” We completed our initial public offering on December 11, 2006 at an initial public offering (“IPO”) price of $15.00 per share. Prior to such date there was no public market for our common stock.

The following table sets forth the range of high and low closing sales prices per share of our common stock as reported on The NASDAQ Global Select Market for each fiscal quarter during the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017.The stock quotations are interdealer quotations and do not include markups, markdowns or commissions and may not necessarily represent actual transactions.

(1)

Net Asset Value (“NAV”) per share is determined as of the last day in the relevant quarter and therefore may not reflect the NAV per share on the date of the high and low closing sales prices.

​

We began paying quarterly distributions in our first full quarter of operations following our IPO. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” and Note 7 — ”Distributable Tax Income” from our Notes to the Financial Statements included herein. The table below provides information relating to distributions we paid in respect of the periods indicated.

Stockholder Distributions

The following table lists the distributions per share declared by us for each fiscal quarter during the years ended December 31, 2018 and 2017.

(1)

Since the record date of this distribution is subsequent to year-end, it is a subsequent year tax event.

​

45

The determination of the tax attributes of our distributions is made annually, based upon our taxable income for the full year and distributions paid for the full year. Ordinary dividend distributions from a RIC do not qualify for the tax rate applicable to “qualified dividend income” from domestic corporations and qualified foreign corporations, except to the extent that the RIC received the income in the form of qualifying dividends from domestic corporations and qualified foreign corporations. For further information about the tax attributes, see Note 7- “Distributable Taxable Income” of our notes to the financial statements, which can be found elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Performance Graph

The following graph compares the return on our common stock with that of the Russell 2000 Index and the Nasdaq Financial 100 Index (IXF), for the period December 11, 2006 (the date of our initial public offering) to December 31, 2018. The graph assumes that, on December 11, 2006, a person invested $100 in each of our common stock, the Russell 2000 Index, and the IFX. The graph measures total shareholder return, which takes into account both changes in stock price and dividends. It assumes that dividends are reinvested.

Shareholder Return Performance Graph
Cumulative Total Return Since Initial Public Offering(1)
(Through December 31, 2018)

(1)

Total return includes reinvestment of distributions through December 31, 2018. The IXF is an index of diversified financial sector stocks and, as such, the Company believes that it is representative of our industry. The Russell 2000 is a broad based equity market index that tracks companies with a market capitalization that the Company believes are comparable to it.

​

HOLDERS

As of December 31, 2018, there were approximately 40 holders of record of our common stock. This number does not include shareholders for whom shares are held in “nominee” or “street name.”

SALES OF UNREGISTERED SECURITIES

During the fiscal year ended December 31, 2018, we issued 64,671 shares of common stock pursuant to a dividend reinvestment plan. This issuance was not subject to the registration requirements of the Securities Act. See Note 9 “Stockholders’ Equity,” of our Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements included herein.

46

DIVIDEND POLICY

We intend to continue to make quarterly distributions to our stockholders. Our quarterly distributions, if any, will be determined by our Board of Directors. To maintain our RIC status, we must timely distribute an amount equal to at least 90% of our tax basis ordinary income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized net long-term capital losses, if any, reduced by deductible expenses, out of the assets legally available for distribution, for each year. To avoid certain excise taxes imposed on RICs, we are generally required to distribute during each calendar year an amount at least equal to the sum of  (1) 98% of our ordinary income for the calendar year, (2) 98.2% of our capital gains in excess of capital losses for the one-year period ending on October 31 of the calendar year and (3) any ordinary income and net capital gains for preceding years that were not distributed during such years and on which we paid no corporate tax. If this requirement is not met, we will be required to pay a nondeductible excise tax equal to 4% of the amount by which the required distribution amount exceeds the actual distribution for the year. The taxable income on which an excise tax is paid is generally carried forward and distributed to stockholders in the next tax year. Depending on the level of taxable income earned in a tax year, we may choose to carry forward taxable income in excess of current year distributions into the next tax year and pay a 4% excise tax on such income, to the extent required.

We cannot assure you that we will achieve results that will permit the payment of any cash distributions and, because we issued public senior securities, we are prohibited from making distributions if doing so causes us to fail to maintain the asset coverage ratio stipulated by the 1940 Act. Similarly, we may be prohibited from making distributions by the terms of any of our other borrowings.

We maintain an “opt out” dividend reinvestment plan for our common stockholders. As a result, if we declare distributions, then stockholders’ cash distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional shares of our common stock, unless they specifically “opt out” of the dividend reinvestment plan so as to receive cash.

EQUITY COMPENSATION PLAN INFORMATION

The following table summarizes certain information regarding the 2017 Equity Incentive Plan (the “Equity Incentive Plan”) and the 2017 Non-Employee Director Plan (the “Non-Employee Director Plan”) as of December 31, 2018:

(1)

The Company’s Equity Incentive Plan and Non-Employee Director Plan.

​

(2)

Subject to the following additional limitations: The aggregate number of shares of restricted stock that may be issued under the Equity Incentive Plan, the Non-Employee Director Plan, and any other Company executive compensation plan, collectively, may not exceed 10% of the outstanding shares of the Company on May 4, 2017, the effective date of the Equity Incentive Plan and the Non-Employee Director Plan, plus 10% of the number of shares of the Company’s common stock issued or delivered by the Company (other than pursuant to compensation plans) during the term of the Equity Incentive Plan and the Non-Employee Director Plan, as applicable. No one person may be granted more than 25% of the shares of restricted stock reserved for issuance under the Equity Incentive Plan or the

​

47

Non-Employee Director Plan. For purposes of calculating compliance with this limit, the Company will count as restricted stock all shares of the Company’s common stock that are issued pursuant to the Non-Employee Director Plan less any shares that are forfeited back to the Company and cancelled as a result of forfeiture restrictions not lapsing. In addition, the amount of voting securities that would result from the exercise of all of the Company’s outstanding warrants, options and rights, together with any restricted stock issued by the Company pursuant to the Equity and Incentive Plan, the Non-Employee Director Plan and any other KCAP Financial compensation plan, will not exceed 25%, at the time of issuance, of the outstanding voting securities of the Company, except that if the amount of voting securities that would result from the exercise of all the Company’s outstanding warrants, options and rights issued to the Company’s directors, officers and employees, together with any restricted stock issued by the Company, would exceed 15% of the outstanding voting securities of the Company, the total amount of voting securities that would result from the exercise of all outstanding warrants, options and rights, together with any restricted stock issued by the Company, at the time of issuance may not exceed 20% of the outstanding voting securities of the Company.

(3)

The shares issuable under the Company’s Equity Incentive Plan may be issued in the form of options, restricted stock or other stock-based awards. The shares issuable under the Company’s Non-Employee Director Plan may currently be issued in the form of restricted stock.

​

Item 6.

Selected Financial Data

​

The following selected consolidated financial data should be read in conjunction with Part II, Item 7, Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations, and Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K. The following selected financial and other data for the years ended December 31, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015 and 2014 is derived from the audited consolidated financial statements for such years, included in Part II, Item 8, Financial Statements and Supplementary Data, of this Annual Report on Form 10-K.

KCAP FINANCIAL, INC.
SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

48

(1)

Does not include investments in time deposits or money markets.

​

(2)

Weighted average interest rate on income producing investments is calculated as the weighted average contractual interest rate on par outstanding balances for investments in loans, bonds, and mezzanine debt in our Debt Securities portfolio.

​

(3)

Weighted average interest rate of income producing investments (adjusted for non-accrual and partial non-accrual) is calculated as the weighted average contractual interest rate on par outstanding balances for investments in loans, bonds, and mezzanine debt in our Debt Securities portfolio, excluding contractual income on non-accrual and partial non-accrual investments.

​

49

Item 7.

Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations

​

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and related notes and other financial information appearing elsewhere in this annual report. In addition to historical information, the following discussion and other parts of this annual report contain forward-looking information that involves risks and uncertainties. Our actual results could differ materially from those anticipated by such forward-looking information due to the factors discussed under “Item 1A. Risk Factors” and “Note About Forward-Looking Statements” appearing elsewhere in this annual report. Except as otherwise indicated, the terms “we,” “us,” “our,” the “Company” and “KCAP” refer to KCAP Financial, Inc.

GENERAL

We are an internally managed, non-diversified closed-end investment company that is regulated as a business development company, (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).

The Company originates, structures, and invests in senior secured term loans and mezzanine debt primarily in privately-held middle market companies (the “Debt Securities Portfolio”). In addition, from time to time the Company may invest in the equity securities of privately held middle market companies.

On November 8, 2018, we entered into an agreement with LibreMax Intermediate Holdings, LP (“LibreMax”) under which our wholly-owned subsidiary Commodore Holdings, LLC (“Commodore”) agreed to sell Katonah Debt Advisors, L.L.C. (“Katonah Debt Advisors”), Trimaran Advisors, L.L.C. (“Trimaran Advisors”), and Trimaran Advisors Management, L.L.C. (“Trimaran Advisors Management” and, together with Katonah Debt Advisors and Trimaran Advisors, the “Disposed Manager Affiliates”) to LibreMax for a cash purchase price of approximately $37.9 million (the “LibreMax Transaction”). In connection with the closing of the LibreMax Transaction on December 31, 2018, Commodore sold the Disposed Manager Affiliates, which manage collateralized loan obligation funds (“CLO Funds”), to LibreMax for a cash purchase price of approximately $37.9 million.

As of December 31, 2018, our remaining asset management subsidiaries (the “Asset Manager Affiliates”) were comprised of Commodore, Katonah Management Holdings, LLC, Katonah X Management LLC (“Katonah X Management”), Katonah 2007-1 Management, LLC (“Katonah 2007-I Management”) and KCAP Management, LLC. Commodore, Katonah X Management and Katonah 2007-1 Management have no operations and are expected to be liquidated in the normal course.

On December 14, 2018, we entered into a stock purchase and transaction agreement (the “Externalization Agreement”) with BC Partners Advisors L.P. (“BCP”), an affiliate of BC Partners LLP (“BC Partners”), pursuant to which our management function would be externalized (the “Externalization”) and Sierra Crest Investment Management LLC, an affiliate of BC Partners (the “Adviser”) would be appointed as our investment adviser, subject to our stockholders’ approval of the proposed investment advisory agreement between us and the Adviser (the “Advisory Agreement”). At a special meeting of our stockholders (the “Special Meeting”) held on February 19, 2019, our stockholders approved the Advisory Agreement. As described further below, under “The Externalization Agreement,” if the transactions contemplated by the Externalization Agreement are completed, upon closing of the Externalization (the “Closing”), we will commence operations as an externally managed BDC managed by the Adviser.

The Company has also invested in debt and subordinated securities issued by CLO Funds (“CLO Fund Securities”). Our investment in CLO Fund Securities are primarily managed by its formerly wholly-owned asset management subsidiaries Trimaran Advisors and Trimaran Advisors Management, L.L.C. From time-to-time the Company has also made investments in CLO Fund Securities managed by other asset managers. The CLO Funds typically invest in broadly syndicated loans, high-yield bonds and other credit instruments.

Our investments in CLO Fund Securities, which are primarily made up of minority investments in the subordinated securities or preferred stock of CLO Funds raised and managed by the Disposed Manager Affiliates, are anticipated to provide the Company with recurring cash distributions.

50

The Company may also invest in other investments such as loans to smaller private companies, publicly-traded companies, high-yield bonds, joint ventures, managed funds, partnerships and distressed debt securities. The Company may also receive warrants or options to purchase common stock in connection with our debt investments.

In our Debt Securities Portfolio, our investment objective is to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation from the investments in senior secured term loans, mezzanine debt and selected equity investments in privately-held middle market companies. We define the middle market as comprising companies with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) of  $10 million to $50 million and/or total debt of  $25 million to $150 million. We primarily invest in first and second lien term loans which, because of their priority in a company’s capital structure, we expect will have lower default rates and higher rates of recovery of principal if there is a default and which we expect will create a stable stream of interest income. The investments in our Debt Securities Portfolio are all or predominantly below investment grade, and have speculative characteristics with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal.

Subject to market conditions, we intend to grow our portfolio of assets by raising additional capital, including through the prudent use of leverage available to us. As a BDC, we are limited in the amount of leverage we can incur under the 1940 Act. We are only allowed to borrow amounts such that our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, equals at least 200% (or the 150% asset coverage ratio effective as of March 29, 2019) after such borrowing.

We have elected to be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a regulated investment company (“RIC”) under the Internal Revenue Code and intend to operate in a manner to maintain our RIC status. As a RIC, we intend to distribute to our stockholders substantially all of our net ordinary taxable income and the excess of realized net short-term capital gains over realized net long-term capital losses, if any, for each year. To qualify as a RIC, we must, among other things, meet certain source-of-income and asset diversification requirements. Pursuant to this election, we generally will not have to pay corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes on any income that we timely distribute to our stockholders.

The Externalization Agreement

At a meeting of our Board of Directors held on December 12, 2018, the Board, including all of its independent directors, unanimously voted to approve the Advisory Agreement, contingent upon entering into the Externalization Agreement, obtaining Company stockholder approval of the Advisory Agreement, and closing of the transactions contemplated by the Externalization Agreement, and determined that the Advisory Agreement is in the best interests of us and our stockholders. At the Special Meeting held on February 19, 2019, our stockholders approved the Advisory Agreement. If the transactions contemplated by the Externalization Agreement are completed, upon the Closing, we will commence operations as an externally managed BDC managed by the Adviser.

Pursuant to the Externalization Agreement with BCP, the Adviser will become our investment adviser in exchange for a cash payment from BCP, or its affiliate, of  $25 million, or approximately $0.67 per share of our common stock, directly to our stockholders. In addition, following the Closing, the Adviser (or its affiliate) will use up to $10 million of the incentive fee actually paid to the Adviser prior to the second anniversary of the Closing date to buy newly issued shares of our common stock at the most recently determined net asset value per share of our common stock at the time of such purchase. For the period of one year from the first day of the first quarter following the quarter in which the Advisory Agreement becomes effective, the Adviser will permanently forego up to the full amount of the incentive fees earned by the Adviser without recourse against or reimbursement by the Company, to the extent necessary in order to achieve aggregate net investment income per common share of the Company for such one-year period to be at least equal to $0.40 per share, subject to certain adjustments. BCP and the Adviser’s total financial commitment to the transactions contemplated by the Externalization Agreement is $35.0 million.

The Company anticipates that the Closing will occur at the end of the quarter ending March 31, 2019, but the Company will issue a press release announcing the record date and payment date of the stockholder payment.

51

About the Adviser

At the Closing, the Adviser, an affiliate of BC Partners, will become the investment adviser of the Company. LibreMax intends to own a portion of the Adviser. Subject to the overall supervision of the Board, the Adviser will be responsible for managing the Company’s business and activities, including sourcing investment opportunities, conducting research, performing diligence on potential investments, structuring the Company’s investments, and monitoring the Company’s portfolio companies on an ongoing basis through a team of investment professionals.

BC Partners is a leading buyout firm with a 30-year history investing across Europe and North America which had assets under management of over $24 billion as of December 19, 2018. The assets under management for BCP are based on actively managed commitments of its managed funds and relevant vehicles formed for the purpose of co-investing alongside such funds. BCP operates a private equity investment platform (“BCP PE”) and a credit investment platform (“BCP Credit”) as fully integrated businesses. The investment activity of the Company will take place primarily within the BCP Credit platform. Integration with the broader BCP platform allows BCP Credit to leverage a team of approximately 60 investment professionals across its private equity platform including an eight-member operations team. The BCP Credit Investment Team (the “Investment Team”) is led by Ted Goldthorpe who sits on both the BCP Credit and BCP PE investment committees. An affiliate of the Adviser currently manages a private BDC, BC Partners Lending Corporation, and a private fund in the BCP Credit platform. BCP intends to offer employment to certain Company employees, including but not limited to, the Company’s executive officers.

The Adviser will seek to invest on behalf of the Company in performing, well-established middle market businesses that operate across a wide range of industries (i.e., no concentration in any one industry). The Adviser will employ fundamental credit analysis, targeting investments in businesses with relatively low levels of cyclicality and operating risk. The holding size of each position will generally be dependent upon a number of factors including total facility size, pricing and structure, and the number of other lenders in the facility. The Adviser has experience managing levered vehicles, both public and private, and will seek to enhance the Company’s returns through the use of leverage with a prudent approach that prioritizes capital preservation. The Adviser believes this strategy and approach offers attractive risk/return with lower volatility given the potential for fewer defaults and greater resilience through market cycles.

Advisory Agreement

Pursuant to the terms of the Advisory Agreement, the Company will pay the Adviser (i) a base management fee (the “Base Management Fee”) and (ii) an incentive fee (the “Incentive Fee”). For the period from the date of the Advisory Agreement (the “Effective Date”) through the end of the first calendar quarter after the Effective Date, the Base Management Fee will be calculated at an annual rate of 1.50% of the Company’s gross assets, excluding cash and cash equivalents, but including assets purchased with borrowed amounts, as of the end of such calendar quarter. Subsequently, the Base Management Fee will be 1.50% of the Company’s average gross assets, excluding cash and cash equivalents, but including assets purchased with borrowed amounts, at the end of the two most recently completed calendar quarters; provided, however, that the Base Management Fee will be 1.00% of the Company’s average gross assets, excluding cash and cash equivalents, but including assets purchased with borrowed amounts, that exceed the product of  (i) 200% and (ii) the value of the Company’s net asset value at the end of the most recently completed calendar quarter. The Incentive Fee will consist of two parts: (1) a portion based on the Company’s pre-incentive fee net investment income (the “Income-Based Fee”) and (2) a portion based on the net capital gains received on the Company’s portfolio of securities on a cumulative basis for each calendar year, net of all realized capital losses and all unrealized capital depreciation on a cumulative basis, in each case calculated from the Effective Date, less the aggregate amount of any previously paid capital gains Incentive Fee (the “Capital Gains Fee”). The Income-Based Fee will be 17.50% of pre-incentive fee net investment income with a 7.00% hurdle rate. The Capital Gains Fee will be 17.50%. For more information regarding the terms of the fee structure under the Advisory Agreement, please see our definitive proxy statement filed with the SEC on January 15, 2019.

52

PORTFOLIO AND INVESTMENT ACTIVITY

Total portfolio investment activity (excluding activity in U.S. treasury bills and money market investments) for the years ended December 31, 2018, December 31, 2017, and December 31, 2016 was as follows:

The level of investment activity for investments funded and principal repayments for our investments can vary substantially from period to period depending on the number and size of investments that we invest in or divest of, and many other factors, including the amount and competition for the debt and equity securities available to middle market companies, the level of merger and acquisition activity for such companies and the general economic environment.

The following table shows the Company’s portfolio by security type at December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017:

(1)

Represents percentage of total portfolio at fair value.

​

53

(2)

Includes money market accounts and U.S. treasury bills.

​

(3)

Represents the equity investment in the Asset Manager Affiliates.

​

The industry related information, based on the fair value of the Company’s investment portfolio as of December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, for our investment portfolio was as follows:

(1)

Calculated as a percentage of total portfolio at fair value.

​

(2)

Represents the equity investment in the Asset Manager Affiliates.

​

54

Debt Securities Portfolio

At December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the weighted average contractual interest rate on our loans and debt securities was approximately 10.0% and 10.1%, respectively. At December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the weighted average contractual interest rate on our loans and debt securities, adjusted for non-accrual and partial non-accrual investments, was approximately 9.1% and 9.6%, respectively.

The investment portfolio (excluding the Company’s investment in Asset Manager Affiliates, CLO Funds, Joint Venture and short-term investments) at December 31, 2018 was spread across 21 different industries and 51 different entities with an average par balance per entity of approximately $2.8 million. As of December 31, 2018, five of our investments were on non-accrual status.

We may invest up to 30% of our investment portfolio in “Non-qualifying” opportunistic investments such as high-yield bonds, debt and equity securities of CLO Funds, foreign investments, joint ventures, managed funds, partnerships and distressed debt or equity securities of large cap public companies. At December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, the total amount of non-qualifying assets to total assets was approximately 28% and 23%, respectively. The majority of non-qualifying assets were foreign investments which were approximately 17% and 16% of the Company’s total assets December 31, 2018 and 2017, respectively (including the Company’s investments in CLO Funds, which are typically domiciled outside the U.S. and represented approximately 16% and 16% of its total assets on such dates, respectively). The investments in our Debt Securities Portfolio are all or predominantly below investment grade, and therefore have speculative characteristics with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal.

Asset Manager Affiliates

The Disposed Manager Affiliates manage CLO Funds that invest in broadly syndicated loans, high yield bonds and other credit instruments. The CLO Funds managed by the Disposed Asset Manager Affiliates consist primarily of credit instruments issued by corporations. In connection with the LibreMax Transaction, on December 31, 2018, our wholly-owned subsidiary Commodore Holdings, LLC sold the Disposed Manager Affiliates, which represented substantially all of our investment in the Asset Manager Affiliates, to LibreMax for a cash purchase price of approximately $37.9 million. Accordingly, certain CLO Fund investments were reclassified from CLO Funds managed by affiliates to CLO funds managed by non-affiliates on December 31, 2018. As of December 31, 2018, our Asset Manager Affiliates had approximately $300 million of par value of assets under management on which they earned management fees, and were valued at approximately $3.5 million. As of December 31, 2017 our Asset Manager Affiliates had approximately $3.0 billion of par value of assets under management on which they earned management fees, and were valued at approximately $38.8 million.

CLO Fund Securities

We have made minority investments in the subordinated securities or preferred stock of CLO Funds managed by the Disposed Manager Affiliates and may selectively invest in securities issued by CLO Funds managed by other asset management companies. As of December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017, we had approximately $44 million and $52 million, respectively invested in CLO Fund Securities, issued primarily by CLO Funds managed by the Disposed Manager Affiliates.

The CLO Funds invest primarily in broadly syndicated non-investment grade loans, high-yield bonds and other credit instruments of corporate issuers. The underlying assets in each of the CLO Fund Securities in which we have an investment are generally diversified secured or unsecured corporate debt.

The structure of CLO Funds, which are highly levered, is extremely complicated. Since we primarily invest in securities representing the residual interests of CLO Funds, our investments are much riskier than the risk profile of the loans by which such CLO Funds are collateralized. Our investments in CLO Funds may be riskier and less transparent to us and our stockholders than direct investments in the underlying loans. The CLO Funds in which we invest have debt that ranks senior to our investment. For a more detailed discussion of the risks related to our investments in CLO Funds, please see “Risk Factors — Risks Related to Our Investments — Our investments may be risky, and you could lose all or part of your investment.”

55

Our CLO Fund Securities as of December 31, 2018 and December 31, 2017 were as follows: