Get Started for Free Contexxia identifies hard-to-find pieces of information in SEC filings. No more highlighters, no more redlining, no more poring over huge documents. Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc. (1572694) 10-Q published on Aug 02, 2018 at 5:03 pm
Regulations governing our operation as a BDC affect our ability to raise additional capital, and the ways in which we can do so. Raising additional capital may expose us to risks, including the typical risks associated with leverage, and may result in dilution to our current stockholders. The Investment Company Act limits our ability to borrow amounts or issue debt securities or preferred stock, which we refer to collectively as senior securities, to amounts such that our asset coverage ratio, as defined under the Investment Company Act, equals at least 150% immediately after such borrowing or issuance if certain requirements are met (except in connection with certain trading practices or investments), rather than 200%, as previously required and as described below. Consequently, if the value of our assets declines, we may be required to sell a portion of our investments and, depending on the nature of our leverage, repay a portion of our indebtedness at a time when this may be disadvantageous to us and, as a result, our stockholders. The recently passed Small Business Credit Availability Act modified the applicable provisions of the Investment Company Act to reduce the required asset coverage ratio applicable to BDCs to 150%, subject to certain approval and disclosure requirements. Under the legislation, BDCs are able to increase their leverage capacity if stockholders approve a proposal to do so. At our 2018 annual meeting of stockholders held on June 15, 2018, our stockholders approved the proposal to apply the modified asset coverage requirements in Section 61(a)(2) of the Investment Company Act to us. As a result of this approval, (1) we are now required to maintain asset coverage for our senior securities of 150% rather than 200% and (2) we and GSAM have reduced the Management Fee from 1.50% (0.375% per quarter) to 1.00% (0.25% per quarter) on the average value of our 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. Considerations and risks related to increased leverage include: (a) the potential for magnified gains and losses on amounts invested, (b) increased debt service costs, (c) the potential for increased Incentive Fees for GSAM and (d) fewer proceeds remaining for distributions for stockholders in the case of a liquidation event. In addition, the Revolving Credit Facility contains a covenant to maintain an asset coverage ratio of at least 200% and we may not be able to amend, or amend on favorable terms, the Revolving Credit Facility to modify this covenant to take advantage of the reduced asset coverage requirement under the Investment Company Act.
We borrow money, which may magnify the potential for gain or loss and may increase the risk of investing in us.
As part of our business strategy, we may borrow from and issue senior debt securities to banks, insurance companies and other lenders or investors. Holders of these senior securities will have fixed-dollar claims on our assets that are superior to the claims of our common stockholders. If the value of our assets decreases, leveraging would cause NAV to decline more sharply than it otherwise would have if we did not employ leverage. Similarly, any decrease in our income would cause net income to decline more sharply than it would have had we not borrowed. Such a decline could negatively affect our ability to make distributions to our common stockholders. In addition, we would have to service any additional debt that we incur, including interest expense on debt and dividends on preferred stock that we may issue, as well as the fees and costs related to the entry into or amendments to debt facilities. These expenses (which may be higher than the expenses on our current borrowings due to the rising interest rate environment) would decrease net investment income, and our ability to pay such expenses will depend largely on our financial performance and will be subject to prevailing economic conditions and competitive pressures. Moreover, leverage will increase the Management Fee payable to our Investment Adviser, which is based on our gross assets, including those assets acquired through the use of leverage but
Even though our stockholders approved the proposal to apply the modified asset coverage requirements to us at our 2018 annual meeting of stockholders that was held on June 15, 2018, a covenant under our existing Revolving Credit Facility may limit our ability to incur additional indebtedness. Currently, our Revolving Credit Facility contains a covenant requiring that we maintain asset coverage of at least 200%. We may not be able to amend our Revolving Credit Facility to change this covenant and if we are successful in amending our Revolving Credit Facility, we will incur costs to do so and the other terms of such amended facility, such as interest rate, may not be as favorable to us as the current terms. An inability on our part to amend the Revolving Credit Facility and access additional leverage could limit our ability to take advantage of the potential benefits related to our ability to incur additional leverage and could decrease our earnings, if any, which would have an adverse effect on our results of operations and the value of our shares of common stock.
In addition, the Incentive Fee payable by us to our Investment Adviser may create an incentive for our Investment Adviser to make investments on our behalf that are risky or more speculative than would be the case in the absence of such a compensation arrangement and also to incur leverage, which will tend to enhance returns where our portfolio has positive returns. Our Investment Adviser receives the Incentive Fee based, in part, upon capital gains realized on our investments. As a result, our Investment Adviser may have an incentive to invest more in companies whose securities are likely to yield 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 cyclical economic downturns.
The Incentive Fee payable by us to our Investment Adviser also may create an incentive for our Investment Adviser to invest on our behalf in instruments that have a deferred interest feature. Under these investments, we accrue the interest over the life of the investment but do not receive the cash income from the investment until the end of the term. Our net investment income used to calculate the income portion of our Incentive Fee, however, includes accrued interest. Thus, a portion of this Incentive Fee is based on income that we have not yet received in cash. This risk could be increased because our Investment Adviser is not obligated to reimburse us for any Incentive Fees received even if we subsequently incur losses or never receive in cash the accrued income (including accrued income with respect to OID, PIK interest and zero coupon securities).