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As filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on October 23, 2017

Securities Act File No. 333-220385

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

Form N-2

(check appropriate box or boxes)

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933     ☒

☒ Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1

☐ Post-Effective Amendment No.

Capital Southwest Corporation

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

5400 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway, Suite 1300

Dallas, TX 75240

(214) 238-5700

(Address and telephone number, including area code, of principal executive offices)

Michael S. Sarner

Chief Financial Officer, Secretary and Treasurer

Capital Southwest Corporation

5400 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway, Suite 1300

Dallas, TX 75240

(Name and address of agent for service)

COPIES TO:

James E. O’Bannon

David A. Kern

Jones Day

2727 North Harwood Street

Dallas, Texas 75201

(214) 220-3939

Approximate date of proposed public offering: From time to time after the effective date of this Registration Statement.

If any securities being registered on this form will be offered on a delayed or continuous basis in reliance on Rule 415 under the Securities Act of 1933, other than securities offered in connection with a dividend reinvestment plan, check the following box.  ☒

It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box):  ☐ when declared effective pursuant to section 8(c).

The Registrant hereby amends this Registration Statement on such date or dates as may be necessary to delay its effective date until the Registrant shall file a further amendment which specifically states that this Registration Statement shall thereafter become effective in accordance with Section 8(a) of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or until this Registration Statement shall become effective on such date as the Securities and Exchange Commission, acting pursuant to said Section 8(a), may determine.

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The information in this prospectus is not complete and may be changed. We may not sell these securities until the registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission is effective. This prospectus is not an offer to sell these securities and is not soliciting an offer to buy these securities in any state where the offer or sale is not permitted.

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED OCTOBER 23, 2017

PROSPECTUS

$500,000,000

Common Stock

Debt Securities

We may offer, from time to time in one or more offerings, up to $500,000,000 of our common stock or debt securities, which we refer to, collectively, as the “securities.” Our securities may be offered at prices and on terms to be disclosed in one or more supplements to this prospectus. The offering price per share of our common stock, less any underwriting commissions or discounts, will not be less than the net asset value, or NAV, per share of our common stock at the time of the offering, except (1) with the approval of our common stockholders or (2) under such other circumstances as the Securities and Exchange Commission may permit. We did not seek stockholder approval to issue common stock at a price below NAV per share at our 2017 annual meeting of stockholders. We do not anticipate seeking such approval in the future. However, in the event we change our position, we will seek approval of our common stockholders. Sales of common stock at prices below NAV per share would dilute the interests of existing stockholders, reducing our NAV per share and may lower the market price of our common stock. Moreover, sales of common stock below NAV may have a negative impact on total returns and could have a negative impact on the market price of shares of our common stock. See “Sales of Common Stock Below Net Asset Value.”

Shares of closed-end investment companies frequently trade at a discount to NAV. This risk is separate and distinct from the risk that our NAV per share may decline. We cannot predict whether our common stock will trade above, at or below NAV. You should read this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement carefully before you invest in our common stock.

Our securities may be offered directly to one or more purchasers through agents designated from time to time, or to or through underwriters or dealers. The prospectus supplement relating to the offering will identify any agents or underwriters involved in the sale of our securities, and will disclose any applicable purchase price, fee, commission or discount arrangement between us and our agents or underwriters or among our underwriters or the basis upon which such amount may be calculated. See “Plan of Distribution.” We may not sell any of our securities through agents, underwriters or dealers without delivering a prospectus supplement describing the method and terms of the offering of such securities, which must be provided to each purchaser at, or prior to, the earlier of delivery of a confirmation of sale or delivery of the securities.

We are an internally managed investment company that specializes in providing customized debt and equity financing to lower middle market, or LMM, companies and debt capital to upper middle market, or UMM, companies. Our LMM companies generally have annual earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, between $3.0 million and $15.0 million, and our LMM investments generally range from $5.0 million to $20.0 million. Our UMM investments generally include syndicated first and second lien loans in companies with annual EBITDA generally greater than $50.0 million, and our UMM investments typically range from $5.0 million to 10.0 million.

Our principal investment objective is to produce attractive risk-adjusted returns by generating current income from our debt investments and capital appreciation from our equity and equity related investments.

We are an internally managed, closed-end, non-diversified management investment company that has elected to be treated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market, or Nasdaq, under the symbol “CSWC.” On October 20, 2017, the last reported sale price of our common stock on the Nasdaq was $17.06 per share, and the NAV per share of our common stock on June 30, 2017 (the last date prior to the date of this prospectus on which we determined our NAV per share) was $17.96.

Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk, and should be considered highly speculative. See “ Risk Factors ” beginning on page 12 to read about factors you should consider, including the risk of leverage and dilution, before investing in our securities.

This prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement contain important information about us that a prospective investor should know before investing in our securities. Please read this prospectus and the accompanying prospectus supplement before investing and keep them for future reference. We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information with the Securities and Exchange Commission. This information is available free of charge by contacting us at 5400 Lyndon B. Johnson Freeway, Suite 1300, Dallas, Texas 75240 or by telephone at (214) 238-5700 or on our website at www.capitalsouthwest.com. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and you should not consider that information to be part of this prospectus. The Securities and Exchange Commission also maintains a website at www.sec.gov that contains such information.

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any state securities commission, nor any other regulatory body, has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

The date of this prospectus is                     , 2017

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, using the “shelf” registration process. Under the shelf registration process, we may offer, from time to time, up to $500,000,000 of our securities on terms to be determined at the time of the offering. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities that we may offer. Each time we use this prospectus to offer securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. The prospectus supplement may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. To the extent required by law, we will amend or supplement the information contained in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement to reflect any material changes to such information subsequent to the date of the prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement and prior to the completion of any offering pursuant to the prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement. Please carefully read this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement together with the additional information described under “Available Information” and “Risk Factors” before you make an investment decision.

No dealer, salesperson or other person is authorized to give any information or to represent anything not contained in this prospectus or any accompanying supplement to this prospectus. You must not rely on any unauthorized information or representations not contained in this prospectus or any accompanying prospectus supplement as if we had authorized it. This prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement do not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of any offer to buy any security other than the registered securities to which they relate, nor do they constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in any jurisdiction to any person to whom it is unlawful to make such an offer or solicitation in such jurisdiction. The information contained in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement is accurate as of the dates on their covers.

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R ISK FACTORS

Investing in our securities involves a number of significant risks. In addition to the other information contained in this prospectus and any accompanying prospectus supplement, you should consider carefully the following information before making an investment in our securities. The risks and uncertainties described below could materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations. Risks and uncertainties not presently known to us, or not presently deemed material by us, may also impair our operations and performance. If any of the following risks, or risks not presently known to us, actually occur, the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS AND STRUCTURE

Our financial condition and results of operations will depend on our ability to effectively allocate and manage capital.

Our ability to achieve our investment objective of maximizing risk-adjusted returns to shareholders depends on our ability to effectively allocate and manage capital. Capital allocation depends, in part, upon our investment team’s ability to identify, evaluate, invest in and monitor companies that meet our investment criteria.

Accomplishing our investment objectives is largely a function of our investment team’s management of the investment process and our access to investments offering attractive risk adjusted returns. In addition, members of our investment team are called upon, from time to time, to provide managerial assistance to some of our portfolio companies.

The results of our operations depend on many factors, including the availability of opportunities for investment, readily accessible short and long-term funding alternatives in the financial markets and economic conditions. Our ability to make new investments at attractive relative valuations is also a function of our marketing and our management of the investment process. If we fail to invest our capital effectively, our return on equity may be negatively impacted, which could have a material adverse effect on the price of the shares of our common stock.

Any unrealized losses we experience may be an indication of future realized losses, which could reduce our income 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 could be an indication of a portfolio company’s inability to meet its repayment obligations or generate cash flow. This could result in realized losses in the future and ultimately in reductions of our income available to pay dividends or interest and principal on our securities and could have a material adverse effect on your investment.

Our business model depends to a significant extent upon strong referral relationships. 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 management team will maintain their relationships with intermediaries, financial institutions, investment bankers, commercial bankers, financial advisors, attorneys, accountants, consultants and other individuals within our network, and we will rely to a significant extent upon these relationships to provide us with potential investment opportunities. If our management team fails to maintain its existing relationships or develop new relationships with sources of investment opportunities, we will not be able to effectively allocate capital. Individuals with whom members of our management team have relationships are

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not obligated to provide us with investment opportunities, and therefore, there is no assurance that these relationships will generate investment opportunities for us.

In addition to regulatory limitations on our ability to raise capital, our Credit Facility contains various covenants, which, if not complied with, could accelerate our repayment obligations under the Credit Facility, thereby materially and adversely affecting our liquidity, financial condition, results of operations and ability to pay distributions.

We will have a continuing need for capital to finance our investments. We are party to a senior secured credit facility, which we refer to as the Credit Facility, dated as of August 30, 2016, which provides us with a revolving credit line of up to $100.0 million, which has $25.0 million drawn as of June 30, 2017. The Credit Facility contains customary terms and conditions, including, without limitation, affirmative and negative covenants such as information reporting requirements, minimum consolidated net worth, minimum consolidated interest coverage ratio, minimum regulatory asset coverage, and maintenance of RIC tax treatment and BDC status. The Credit Facility also contains customary events of default with customary cure and notice provisions, including, without limitation, nonpayment, misrepresentation of representations and warranties in a material respect, breach of covenants, bankruptcy, and change of control. The Credit Facility permits us to fund additional loans and investments as long as we are within the conditions set out in the Credit Facility. Our continued compliance with these covenants depends on many factors, some of which are beyond our control, and there are no assurances that we will continue to comply with these covenants. Our failure to satisfy these covenants could result in foreclosure by our lenders, which would accelerate our repayment obligations under the facility and thereby have a material adverse effect on our business, liquidity, financial condition, results of operations and ability to pay distributions to our stockholders.

All of our assets are subject to security interests under our secured Credit Facility and if we default on our obligations under the Credit Facility, we may suffer adverse consequences, including foreclosure on our assets.

All of our assets are currently pledged as collateral under our Credit Facility. If we default on our obligations under the Credit Facility, the lenders party thereto may have the right to foreclose upon and sell, or otherwise transfer, the collateral subject to their security interests. In such event, we may be forced to sell our investments to raise funds to repay our outstanding borrowings in order to avoid foreclosure and these forced sales may be at times and at prices we would not consider advantageous. Moreover, such deleveraging of our company could significantly impair our ability to effectively operate our business in the manner in which we have historically operated. As a result, we could be forced to curtail or cease new investment activities and lower or eliminate the dividends that we have historically paid to our stockholders. In addition, if the lenders exercise their right to sell the assets pledged under our Credit Facility, such sales may be completed at distressed sale prices, thereby diminishing or potentially eliminating the amount of cash available to us after repayment of the amounts outstanding under the Credit Facility.

Because we borrow money to make investments, the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested in us is magnified and may increase the risk of investing in us.

Borrowings to fund investments, also known as leverage, magnify the potential for loss on investments in our indebtedness and gain or loss on investments in our equity capital. As we use leverage to partially finance our investments, you will experience increased risks of investing in our securities. We may borrow from banks and other lenders, including under our Credit Facility, and may issue debt securities or enter into other types of borrowing arrangements in the future. If the value of our assets decreases, leveraging would cause NAV to decline more sharply than it otherwise would have had we not leveraged our business. Similarly, any decrease in our income would cause net investment income to decline more sharply than it would have had we not leveraged our business. Such a decline could negatively affect our ability to pay common stock dividends, scheduled debt payments or other payments related to our securities. Use of leverage is generally considered a speculative investment technique.

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As of October 6, 2017, we had $56.0 million debt outstanding under our Credit Facility. Borrowings under the Credit Facility bear interest on a per annum basis at a rate equal to the applicable London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, plus 3.25% with no LIBOR floor. We pay unused commitment fees of 0.50% to 1.50% per annum, based on utilization, on the unused lender commitments under the Credit Facility. The Credit Facility is secured by substantially all of our assets. If we are unable to meet the financial obligations under the Credit Facility, the lenders under the Credit Facility may exercise its remedies under the Credit Facility as the result of a default by us.

Illustration. The following table illustrates the effect of leverage on returns from an investment in our common stock assuming various annual returns, net of expenses. The calculations in the table below are hypothetical and actual returns may be higher or lower than those appearing below.

Assumed Return on Our Portfolio ⁽¹⁾

(net of expenses)

Our ability to achieve our investment objective may depend in part on our ability to access additional leverage on favorable terms by borrowing from banks or insurance companies or by issuing debt securities and there can be no assurance that such additional leverage can in fact be achieved.

If we do not invest a sufficient portion of our assets in qualifying assets, we could fail to qualify as a business development company or be precluded from investing according to our current business strategy.

As a BDC, we may not acquire any assets other than “qualifying assets” unless, at the time of and after giving effect to such acquisition, at least 70.0% of our total assets are qualifying assets.

We currently have more than 70.0% of qualifying assets. However, we may be precluded from investing in what we believe are attractive investments if those investments are not qualifying assets for purposes of the 1940 Act. If we do not invest a sufficient portion of our assets in qualifying assets, we could lose our status as a BDC, 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).

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

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We will be subject to corporate-level income tax if we are unable to qualify as a Regulated Investment Company 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:

Failure to meet these requirements may result in us having to dispose of certain unqualified investments quickly in order to prevent the loss of RIC tax treatment. If we fail to maintain RIC tax treatment for any reason and are subject to corporate income tax, the resulting corporate taxes could substantially reduce our net assets, the amount of income available for distribution and the amount of our distributions. In addition, to the extent we had unrealized gains, we would have to establish deferred tax liabilities for taxes, which would reduce our NAV accordingly. In addition, our shareholders would lose the tax credit realized when we, as a RIC, decide to retain the net realized capital gain and make deemed distributions of net realized capital gains, and pay taxes on behalf of our shareholders at the end of the tax year. The loss of this pass-through tax treatment could have a material adverse effect on the total return of an investment in our common stock.

Even if the Company qualifies as a Regulated Investment Company, it may face tax liabilities that reduce its cash flow.

Even if we qualify for taxation as a RIC, it may be subject to certain U.S. federal, state and local taxes on its income and assets. In addition, we may hold some of our assets through our Taxable Subsidiary, which is not consolidated for U.S. federal income tax purposes, or any other taxable subsidiary we may form. Any taxes paid by our subsidiary corporations would decrease the cash available for distribution to our stockholders.

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Our historical financial statements are not necessarily representative of the results we would have achieved as a stand-alone publicly-traded company and therefore may not be indicative of our future performance.

As part of the Share Distribution, we spun off 63.5% of our NAV to shareholders and divested other major investments during the past three years. We emerged from these divestitures and the Share Distribution with a significantly different company profile. Our historical financial statements included elsewhere in this registration statement for historical periods are not necessarily representative of the results we would have achieved as a stand-alone publicly traded company with a smaller market footprint. Accordingly, this data may not be indicative of our future performance, or necessarily reflect what our financial position and results of operations or cash flows would have been, had we operated as a separate, stand-alone publicly-traded entity during all of the periods presented.

Our investment portfolio is and will continue to be recorded at fair value. Our board of directors has final responsibility for overseeing, reviewing and approving, in good faith, our fair value determination. As a result of recording our investments at fair value, there is and will continue to be subjectivity as to the value of our portfolio investments.

Under the 1940 Act, we are required to carry our portfolio investments at market value or, if there is no readily available market value, at fair value as determined by us, with our board of directors having final responsibility for overseeing, reviewing and approving, in good faith, our fair value determination. Typically, there is not a public market for the securities of the privately held companies in which we have invested and will continue to invest. As a result, we value these securities quarterly at fair value based on inputs from management and our investment team, along with the oversight, review and approval of our board of directors.

The determination of fair value and consequently, the amount of unrealized gains and losses in our portfolio, are to a certain degree, subjective and dependent on a valuation process approved by our board of directors. Certain factors that may be considered in determining the fair value of our investments include external events, such as private mergers, sales and acquisitions involving comparable companies. Because of the inherent uncertainty of the valuation of portfolio securities that do not have readily ascertainable market values, our fair value determinations may differ materially from the values a third party would be willing to pay for our securities or the values which would be applicable to unrestricted securities having a public market. Due to this uncertainty, our fair value determinations may cause our NAV on a given date to materially understate or overstate the value that we may ultimately realize on one or more of our investments. As a result, investors purchasing our common stock based on an overstated NAV may pay a higher price than the value of our investments might warrant. Conversely, investors selling shares during a period in which the NAV understates the value of our investments may receive a lower price for their shares than the value of our investments might warrant.

The capital markets may experience periods of disruption and instability. Such market conditions may materially and adversely affect debt and equity capital markets in the United States, which may have a negative impact on our business and operations.

The U.S. capital markets experienced increased volatility and disruption over the past several years, leading to increased investor uncertainty and depressed levels of consumer and commercial spending. Disruptions in the capital markets increased the spread between the yields realized on risk-free and higher risk securities, resulting in illiquidity in parts of the capital markets. We cannot provide any assurance that these conditions will not worsen. If these conditions continue or worsen, the prolonged period of market illiquidity may have an 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.

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In addition, significant changes or volatility in the capital markets may also have a negative effect on the valuations of our investments. While most of our investments are not publicly traded, applicable accounting standards require us to assume as part of our valuation process that our investments are sold in a principal market to market participants (even if we plan on holding an investment through its maturity). Significant changes in the capital markets may also affect the pace of our investment activity and the potential for liquidity events involving our investments. Thus, the illiquidity of our investments may make it difficult for us to sell our investments to access capital if required, and as a result, we could realize significantly less than the value at which we have recorded our investments if we were required to sell them for liquidity purposes. Further, if the price of our common stock continues to trade below our NAV per share, we will be limited in our ability to sell new shares if we do not have stockholder authorization, such authorization we do not anticipate seeking, to sell shares at a price below NAV per share. An inability to raise or access capital could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Changes in the laws or regulations governing our business, or changes in the interpretations thereof, and any failure by us to comply with these laws or regulations, could negatively affect the profitability of our operations.

Changes in the laws or regulations or the interpretations of the laws and regulations that govern BDCs, RICs or non-depository commercial lenders could significantly affect our operations and our cost of doing business. We are subject to U.S. federal, state and local laws and regulations and are subject to judicial and administrative decisions that affect our operations, including our loan originations, maximum interest rates, fees and other charges, disclosures to portfolio companies, the terms of secured transactions, collection and foreclosure procedures and other trade practices. If these laws, regulations or decisions change, or if we expand our business into jurisdictions that have adopted more stringent requirements than those in which we currently conduct business, we may have to incur significant expenses in order to comply or we might have to restrict our operations. In addition, if we do not comply with applicable laws, regulations and decisions, we may lose licenses needed for the conduct of our business and be subject to civil fines and criminal penalties, any of which could have a material adverse effect upon our business, results of operations or financial condition.

We operate in a highly competitive market for investment opportunities.

We compete for attractive investment opportunities with other financial institutions, including BDCs, junior capital lenders, and banks. Some of these competitors are substantially larger and have greater financial, technical and marketing resources, and some are subject to different, and frequently less stringent, regulations. Our competitors may have a lower cost of funds and may have access to funding sources that are not available to us. Furthermore, many of our competitors are not subject to the regulatory restrictions that the 1940 Act imposes on us as a BDC. As a result of this competition, we may not be able to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities from time to time, and there can be no assurance that we will be able to identify and make investments that satisfy our objectives. A significant increase in the number and/or size of our competitors in our target market could force us to accept less attractive investment terms. We cannot assure you that the competitive pressures we face will not have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operation.

Adverse market and economic conditions could cause harm to our operating results.

Past recessions have had a significant negative impact on the operating performance and fair value of our portfolio investments. Many of our portfolio companies could be adversely impacted again by any future economic downturn or recession and may be unable to be sold at a price that would allow us to recover our investment, or may be unable to operate during a recession. Such portfolio company performance could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

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Our success depends on attracting and retaining qualified personnel in a competitive environment.

Sourcing, selection, structuring and closing our investments depends upon the diligence and skill of our management. Our management’s capabilities may significantly impact our results of operations. Our success requires that we retain investment and operations personnel in a competitive environment. Our ability to attract and retain personnel with the requisite credentials, experience and skills depends on several factors, including but not limited to, our ability to offer competitive wages, benefits and professional growth opportunities.

The competitive environment for qualified personnel may require us to take certain measures to ensure that we are able to attract and retain experienced personnel. Such measures may include increasing the attractiveness of our overall compensation packages, altering the structure of our compensation packages through the use of additional forms of compensation or other steps. The inability to attract and retain experienced personnel could potentially have an adverse effect on our business.

In connection with CSWI’s separation from us, CSWI has indemnified us for certain liabilities. However, there can be no assurance that these indemnities will be sufficient to insure us against the full amount of such liabilities or that CSWI’s ability to satisfy its indemnification obligation will not be impaired in the future.

CSWI agreed to indemnify us for certain liabilities, including certain tax liabilities. However, third parties could seek to hold us responsible for any of the liabilities that CSWI has agreed to retain, and there can be no assurance that CSWI will be able to fully satisfy its indemnification obligations. Moreover, even if we ultimately succeed in recovering from CSWI any amounts for which we are held liable, we may be temporarily required to bear these losses while seeking recovery from CSWI.

Potential indemnification liabilities of us to CSWI could materially adversely affect us.

Agreements relating to the Share Distribution between us and CSWI provide for indemnification obligations designed to make us financially responsible for liabilities that may exist relating to or arising out of our business activities, whether incurred prior to or after the Share Distribution.

Potential liabilities may arise due to fraudulent transfer considerations, which would adversely affect our financial condition and our results of operations.

In connection with the Share Distribution, we undertook several corporate restructuring transactions which, along with the Share Distribution, may be subject to U.S. federal and state fraudulent conveyance and transfer laws. If, under these laws, a court were to determine that, at the time of the Share Distribution, any entity involved in these restructuring transactions or the Share Distribution: (1) was insolvent; (2) was rendered insolvent by reason of the Share Distribution; (3) had remaining assets constituting unreasonably small capital; or (4) intended to incur, or believed it would incur, debts beyond its ability to pay these debts as they matured, then the court could void the Share Distribution, in whole or in part, as a fraudulent conveyance or transfer. The court could require us to fund liabilities of the other company for the benefit of creditors.

Previously proposed legislation may allow us to incur additional leverage.

As a BDC, under the 1940 Act we generally are not permitted to incur indebtedness unless immediately after any borrowing we have an asset coverage for total borrowings of at least 200.0% (i.e., the amount of debt may not exceed 50.0% of the value of our assets). Legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, proposed to modify this section of the 1940 Act and increase the amount of debt that BDCs may incur by modifying the asset coverage percentage from 200.0% to 150.0%. If this legislation is passed, we may be able to incur additional indebtedness in the future and, therefore, your risk of an investment in our securities may increase.

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Efforts to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act involve significant expenditures, and non-compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act may adversely affect us.

We are subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and the related rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC. Among other requirements, under Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and rules and regulations of the SEC thereunder, our management is required to report on our internal controls over financial reporting. We are required to review on an annual basis our internal controls over financial reporting, and on a quarterly and annual basis to evaluate and disclose significant changes in our internal controls over financial reporting. We have and expect to continue to incur significant expenses related to compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, which will negatively impact our financial performance and our ability to make distributions. In addition, this process results in a diversion of management’s time and attention. In the event that we are unable to maintain compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and related rules, we may be adversely affected.

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 our independent directors and, in some cases, the SEC. Any person that owns, directly or indirectly, 5.0% or more of our outstanding voting securities is our affiliate for purposes of the 1940 Act, and we generally are prohibited from buying or selling any security from or to an 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 25.0% of our voting securities, we are prohibited from buying or selling any security from or to that person or certain of that person’s affiliates, or entering into prohibited joint transactions with that person, absent the prior approval of the SEC. Similar restrictions limit our ability to transact business with our officers or directors or their affiliates. Regulations governing our operation as a BDC affect our ability to, and the way in which we raise additional capital.

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

Our business will require capital to operate and grow. We may acquire such additional capital from the following sources:

Senior Securities. We may issue debt securities and/or borrow money from banks or other financial institutions, which we refer to collectively as senior securities. As a result of issuing senior securities, we will be exposed to additional risks, including the following:

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Additional Common Stock. The 1940 Act prohibits us from selling shares of our common stock at a price below the current NAV per share of such stock, with certain exceptions. One such exception is prior stockholder approval of issuances below current NAV per share provided that our board of directors makes certain determinations. We did not seek stockholder authorization to sell shares of our common stock below the then current NAV per share of our common stock at our 2017 annual meeting of stockholders. We do not anticipate seeking such authorization in the future. However, in the event we change our position, we will seek the requisite approval of our common stockholders. See “—Stockholders may incur dilution if we sell shares of our common stock in one or more offerings at prices below the then current NAV per share of our common stock or issue securities to subscribe to, convert to or purchase shares of our common stock” for a discussion of the risks related to us issuing shares of our common stock below NAV. If we raise additional funds by issuing more common stock or senior securities convertible into, or exchangeable for, our common stock, the percentage ownership of our stockholders at that time would decrease, and they may experience dilution. Moreover, we can offer no assurance that we will be able to issue and sell additional equity securities in the future, on favorable terms or at all.

Stockholders may incur dilution if we sell shares of our common stock in one or more offerings at prices below the then current NAV per share of our common stock or issue securities to convert to shares of our common stock.

The 1940 Act prohibits us from selling shares of our common stock at a price below the current NAV per share of such stock, with certain exceptions. One such exception is prior stockholder approval of issuances below NAV provided that our board of directors makes certain determinations. We did not seek stockholder authorization to sell shares of our common stock below the then current NAV per share of our common stock at our 2017 annual meeting of stockholders. We do not anticipate seeking such authorization in the future. However, in the event we change our position, we will seek the requisite approval of our common stockholders.

If we were to sell shares of our common stock below NAV per share, such sales would result in an immediate dilution to the NAV per share. This dilution would occur as a result of the sale of shares at a price below the then current NAV per share of our common stock and a proportionately greater decrease in a stockholder’s interest in our earnings and assets and voting interest in us than the increase in our assets resulting from such issuance. Because the number of shares of common stock that could be so issued and the timing of any issuance is not currently known, the actual dilutive effect cannot be predicted. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the example below illustrates the effect of dilution to existing stockholders resulting from the sale of common stock at prices below the NAV of such shares.

In addition, if we issue securities to convert to shares of common stock, the exercise or conversion of such securities would increase the number of outstanding shares of our common stock. Any such exercise would be dilutive on the voting power of existing stockholders, and could be dilutive with regard to dividends and our NAV, and other economic aspects of the common stock.

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Please see “Sales of Common Stock Below Net Asset Value” for a more complete discussion of the potentially dilutive impacts of an offering at a price less than NAV per share.

Illustration: Example of Dilutive Effect of the Issuance of Shares Below Net Asset Value. Assume that Company XYZ has 1,000,000 total shares outstanding, $15,000,000 in total assets and $5,000,000 in total liabilities. The NAV per share of the common stock of Company XYZ is $10.00. The following table illustrates the reduction NAV and the dilution experienced by Stockholder A following the sale of 100,000 shares of the common stock of Company XYZ at $9.00 per share, a price below its NAV per share.

We are highly dependent on information systems and systems failures could significantly disrupt our business, which may, in turn, negatively affect the market price of our common stock and our ability to pay dividends.

Our business is highly dependent on our and third parties’ communications and information systems. Any failure or interruption of those systems, including as a result of the termination of an agreement with any third-party service providers, could cause delays or other problems in our activities. Our financial, accounting, data processing, backup or other operating systems and facilities may fail to operate properly or become disabled or damaged as a result of a number of factors including events that are wholly or partially beyond our control and adversely affect our business. There could be:

If we are unable to maintain the availability of our electronic data systems and safeguard the security of our data, our ability to conduct business may be compromised, which could impair our liquidity, disrupt our business, damage our reputation and cause losses.

Cybersecurity refers to the combination of technologies, processes, and procedures established to protect information technology systems and data from unauthorized access, attack, or damage. We are subject to cybersecurity risks. Information cybersecurity risks have significantly increased in recent years and, while we have not experienced any material losses relating to cyber attacks or other information security breaches, we could suffer such losses in the future. Our computer systems, software and networks may be vulnerable to unauthorized access, computer viruses or other malicious code and other events that could have a security impact. If one or more of such events occur, this potentially could jeopardize confidential and other information, including nonpublic personal information and sensitive business data, processed and stored in, and transmitted through, our computer systems and networks, or otherwise cause interruptions or malfunctions in our operations

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or the operations of our customers or counterparties. This could result in significant losses, reputational damage, litigation, regulatory fines or penalties, or otherwise adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations. Privacy and information security laws and regulation changes, and compliance with those changes, may result in cost increases due to system changes and the development of new administrative processes. In addition, we may be required to expend significant additional resources to modify our protective measures and to investigate and remediate vulnerabilities or other exposures arising from operational and security risks. We currently do not maintain insurance coverage relating to cybersecurity risks, and we may be required to expend significant additional resources to modify our protective measures or to investigate and remediate vulnerabilities or other exposures, and we may be subject to litigation and financial losses that are not fully insured.

Third parties with which we do business may also be sources of cybersecurity or other technological risks. We outsource certain functions, and these relationships allow for the storage and processing of our information, as well as customer, 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 or destruction of data, or other cybersecurity incidents, with increased costs and other consequences, including those described above.

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. These events have created, and continue to create, economic and political uncertainties and have contributed to global economic instability. Future terrorist activities, military or security operations, or natural disasters could further weaken the domestic or global economy. These events could 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 INVESTMENTS

Our investments in portfolio companies involve a number of significant risks:

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In addition, in the course of providing significant managerial assistance to certain of our portfolio companies, certain of our officers and directors may serve as directors on the boards of these companies. To the extent that litigation arises out of our investments in these companies, our officers and directors may be named as defendants in such litigation, which could result in an expenditure of funds for claims in excess of our directors’ and officers’ insurance coverage (through our indemnification of our officers and directors) and the diversion of management’s time and resources.

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

We invest, and will continue to invest, in portfolio companies whose securities are not publicly traded. These securities are generally subject to legal and other restrictions on resale or will otherwise be less liquid than publicly traded securities. As a result, we do not expect to achieve liquidity in our investments in the near-term. 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 and, as a result, we may suffer losses.

Defaults by our portfolio companies could harm our operating results.

Portfolio companies may fail to satisfy financial, operating or other covenants imposed by us or other lenders, which could lead to a default and, potentially, acceleration of its loans and foreclosure on its secured assets. These events could trigger cross-defaults under other agreements and jeopardize the portfolio company’s ability to meet its obligations, including under the debt or equity securities we hold. We may also incur expenses to the extent necessary to recover upon a default or to negotiate new terms with the defaulting portfolio company.

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

We may 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.

We may not realize gains from our equity investments.

Certain investments that we have made in the past and may make in the future include warrants or other equity securities. Investments in equity securities involve a number of significant risks, including the risk of further dilution as a result of additional issuances, inability to access additional capital and failure to pay current distributions. Investments in preferred securities involve special risks, such as the risk of deferred distributions, credit risk, illiquidity and limited voting rights. In addition, we may from time to time make non-control, equity investments in portfolio companies. Our goal is ultimately to realize gains upon our disposition of these equity 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. We also

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may be unable to realize any value if a portfolio company does not have a liquidity event, such as a sale of the business, recapitalization or public offering, which would allow us to sell the underlying equity interests. We often seek puts or similar rights to give us the right to sell our equity securities back to the portfolio company issuer; however, we may be unable to exercise these put rights for the consideration provided in our investment documents if the issuer is in financial distress.

Prepayments of our debt investments by our portfolio companies could adversely impact our results of operations and reduce our return on equity.

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

Changes in interest rates may affect our cost of capital, the value of investments and net investment income.

Some of our debt investments will bear interest at variable rates and the interest income from these investments could be negatively affected by decreases in market interest rates. In addition, an increase in interest rates would make it more expensive for us to use debt to finance our investments. As a result, a significant increase in market interest rates could increase our cost of capital, which would reduce our net investment income. Also, 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 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. In addition, certain of our debt investments and debt liabilities may bear interest at fixed rates. To the extent that our fixed rate assets and liabilities are not perfectly hedged, our net investment income may decrease based on changes in market interest rates. An increase in market interest rates may also decrease the fair value of our fixed rate investments, as these may be less attractive securities in a rising rate environment.

There may be circumstances in which 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 secured loans, if one of our portfolio companies were to go bankrupt, depending on the facts and circumstances, and based upon principles of equitable subordination as defined by existing case law, a bankruptcy court could subordinate all or a portion of our claim to that of other creditors and transfer any lien securing our subordinated claim to the bankruptcy estate. The principles of equitable subordination defined by case law have generally indicated that a claim may be subordinated only if its holder is guilty of misconduct or where the senior loan is re-characterized as an equity investment and the senior lender has actually provided significant managerial assistance to the bankrupt debtor. We may also be subject to lender liability claims for actions taken by us with respect to a borrower’s business or instances where we exercise control over the borrower. It is possible that we could become subject to a lender’s liability claim, including as a result of actions taken in rendering significant managerial assistance or actions to compel and collect payments from the borrower outside the ordinary course of business.

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As a Regulated Investment Company, we may have certain regulatory restrictions that could preclude us from making additional investments in our portfolio companies.

We may not have the ability to make additional investments in our portfolio companies. After our initial investment in a portfolio company, we may be called upon from time to time to provide additional funds to that company or have the opportunity to increase our investment or make follow-on investments. Any decisions not to make a follow-on investment or any inability on our part to make such an investment may have a negative impact on a portfolio company in need of such an investment, may result in a missed opportunity for us to increase our participation in a successful operation or may reduce the expected return on the investment.

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 commercial banks or 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 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 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.

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

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

RISKS RELATED TO OUR SECURITIES

The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly.

The market price and marketability of shares of our common stock may from time to time be significantly affected by numerous factors, including:

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

The investments we make in accordance with our investment objectives 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.

Our common stock often trades at a discount from NAV.

Our common stock is listed on The Nasdaq Global Select Market, or Nasdaq. Shareholders desiring liquidity may sell their shares on Nasdaq at current market value, which has often been below NAV. Shares of closed-end investment companies frequently trade at discounts from NAV, which is a risk separate and distinct from the risk that a fund’s performance will cause its NAV to decrease. We cannot predict whether our common stock will trade at, above or below NAV. In addition, if our common stock trades below our NAV per share, we will generally not be able to issue additional common stock at the market price unless our stockholders approve such a sale and our board of directors make certain determinations. See “—Risks Relating to Our Business and Structure—Stockholders may incur dilution if we sell shares of our common stock in one or more offerings at prices below the then current NAV per share of our common stock or issue securities to subscribe to, convert to or purchase shares of our common stock” for a discussion related to us issuing shares of our common stock below NAV.

The trading market or market value of our publicly issued debt securities or any convertible debt securities, if issued, may be volatile.

The trading market for our publicly issued debt securities or any convertible debt securities may from time to time be significantly affected by numerous factors, including:

In addition, credit rating assessments by third parties regarding our ability to pay our obligations will generally affect the market value of our debt securities.

We currently intend to pay quarterly dividends. However, in the future we may not pay any dividends depending on a variety of factors.

While we intend to pay dividends to our shareholders out of taxable income available for distribution, there can be no assurance that we will do so. Any dividends that we do pay may be payable in cash, in our stock, or in stock in any of our holdings or in a combination of all three. All dividends will be paid at the discretion of our board of directors and will depend upon our financial condition, maintenance of our RIC tax treatment, and compliance with applicable BDC regulations.

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We currently pay dividends in cash, in the future we may choose to pay dividends in our own stock, in which case you may be required to pay tax in excess of the cash you receive.

We may distribute taxable dividends that are payable in part in our stock. Under certain applicable provisions of the Code and the Treasury regulations, distributions payable by us in cash or in shares of stock (at the shareholders election) would satisfy the annual distribution requirement for a RIC. The IRS has issued private letter rulings providing that a dividend payable in stock or in cash at the election of the shareholders will be treated as a taxable dividend eligible for the dividends paid deduction provided that at least 20.0% of the total dividend is payable in cash and certain other requirements are satisfied. Taxable shareholders receiving such dividends will be required to include the full amount of the dividend as ordinary income (or as long-term capital gain to the extent such dividend is properly reported as a capital gain dividend) to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, a U.S. shareholder may be required to pay tax with respect to such dividends in excess of any cash received. If a U.S. shareholder sells the stock it receives as a dividend in order to pay this tax, the sales proceeds may be less than the amount included in income with respect to the dividend, depending on the market price of our stock at the time of the sale. Furthermore, with respect to non-U.S. shareholders, we may be required to withhold U.S. tax with respect to such dividends, including in respect of all or a portion of such dividends payable in stock. In addition, if a significant number of our shareholders determine to sell shares of our stock in order to pay taxes owed on dividends, it may put downward pressure on the trading price of our stock.

We may not be able to invest a significant portion of the net proceeds from a future offering on acceptable terms, which could harm our financial condition and operating results.

Delays in investing the net proceeds raised in an offering may cause our performance to be worse than that of other fully invested BDCs or other lenders or investors pursuing comparable investment strategies. We cannot assure you that we will be able to identify any investments that meet our investment objective or that any investment that we make will produce a positive return. We may be unable to invest the net proceeds of any offering on acceptable terms within the time period that we anticipate or at all, which could harm our financial condition and operating results.

In the event that we cannot invest our net proceeds as desired we will invest the net proceeds from any offering primarily in cash, cash equivalents, U.S. Government securities and other high-quality debt investments that mature in one year or less from the time of investment. These securities may have lower yields than our other investments and accordingly may result in lower distributions, if any, during such period.

Terms relating to redemption may materially adversely affect the return on our debt securities.

If our debt securities are redeemable at our option, we may choose to redeem the debt securities at times when prevailing interest rates are lower than the interest rate paid on the debt securities. In addition, if the debt securities are subject to mandatory redemption, we may be required to redeem the debt securities at times when prevailing interest rates are lower than the interest rate paid on the debt securities. In this circumstance, a holder of our debt securities may not be able to reinvest the redemption proceeds in a comparable security at an effective interest rate as high as the debt securities being redeemed.

Provisions of the Texas law and our charter could deter takeover attempts and have an adverse impact on the price of our common stock.

Texas law and our charter contain provisions that may have the effect of discouraging, delaying or making difficult a change in control. The existence of these provisions, among others, may have a negative impact on the price of our common stock and may discourage third-party bids for ownership of our company. These provisions may prevent any premiums being offered to you for our common stock.

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CAUTIONARY STATEMENT CONCERNING FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This registration statement and any accompanying prospectus supplement include or incorporate by reference “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of Section  27A of the Securities Act, Section  21E of the Exchange Act and the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. This registration statement 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,” “predict,” “will,” “continue,” “likely,” “would,” “could,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “potential,” “estimate,” “indicate,” “seek,” “believe,” “target,” “intend” or “project” or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and 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. Accordingly, there are or will be important factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements. We believe these factors include, but are not limited to, the following:

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For a discussion of these and other factors that could cause our actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements contained in this registration statement, please see the discussion under “Risk Factors.” You should not place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements and you should carefully consider all of the factors identified in this registration statement that could cause actual results to differ. The forward-looking statements made in this registration statement relate only to events as of the date on which the statements are made. Although we undertake no obligation to revise or update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, you are advised to consult any additional disclosures that we may make directly to you, including in the form of a prospectus supplement or post-effective amendment to this registration statement, or through reports that we file with the SEC, including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K.

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USE OF PROCEEDS

Unless otherwise specified in a prospectus supplement, we intend to use the net proceeds from any offering to make investments in LMM and UMM portfolio companies in accordance with our investment objective and strategies. While we work to invest these proceeds in LMM and UMM portfolio companies, we may use the proceeds to make investments in marketable securities and other temporary investments, to pay down revolver debt outstanding, and for other general corporate purposes, including payment of operating expenses. We anticipate that substantially all of any remainder of the net proceeds of an offering will be invested in accordance with our investment objective within twelve months following completion of such offering, depending on the availability of appropriate investment opportunities consistent with our investment objectives and market conditions. We cannot assure you that we will achieve our targeted investment pace. Pending our investments in portfolio companies, we will invest the remaining net proceeds of an offering primarily in cash, cash equivalents, U.S. Government securities and other high-quality debt investments that mature in one year or less from the time of investment. These securities may have lower yields than our other investments and accordingly may result in lower distributions, if any, during such period.

We intend to raise new equity or issue debt securities when we have attractive opportunities available. We did not seek stockholder authorization to issue common stock at a price below NAV per share at our 2017 annual meeting of stockholders. We do not anticipate seeking such authorization in the future. However, in the event we change our position, we will seek the requisite approval of our common stockholders.

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PRICE RANGE OF COMMON STOCK AND DISTRIBUTIONS

Market Information

Our common stock is traded on Nasdaq under the symbol “CSWC.”

The following table set forth, for each fiscal quarter within the two most recent fiscal years and each full fiscal quarter since the beginning of the current fiscal year, the range of high and low selling prices of our common stock as reported on Nasdaq, as applicable, and the sales price as a percentage of the NAV per share of our common stock. The prices and NAV on and before September 30, 2015 have not been adjusted to reflect the Share Distribution.

On October 6, 2017, we had 478 stockholders of record. On October 20, 2017, the last sale price of our common stock on Nasdaq was $17.06 per share.

Shares of BDCs may trade at a market price that is less than the value of the net assets attributable to those shares. The possibility that our shares of common stock will trade at a discount from NAV per share or at premiums that are unsustainable over the long term are separate and distinct from the risk that our NAV per share will decrease. It is not possible to predict whether our common stock will trade at, above, or below NAV per share. As we continue to make investments and grow our balance sheet through the use of leverage, we believe we will achieve a market dividend yield which should allow us to trade at or above NAV.

DISTRIBUTIONS

We intend to make distributions on a quarterly basis to our shareholders of substantially all of our taxable income. In lieu of cash, we may make deemed distributions of certain net capital gains to our shareholders.

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The payment dates and amounts of cash dividends per share on a post-split basis for the past five years are as follows:

The amounts and timing of cash dividend payments have generally been dictated by requirements of the Code regarding the distribution of taxable net investment income (ordinary income) of regulated investment companies.

On March 1, 2016, we entered into a share repurchase agreement with Cantor Fitzgerald & Co. This agreement established a plan in compliance with the requirements of Rules 10b5-1(c)(1)(i)(B) and 10b-18 under the Exchange Act. The plan was established pursuant to a $10 million share repurchase program that the board approved on January 20, 2016. This agreement became effective immediately and shall terminate on the earliest of: (1) the date on which a total of $10 million worth of common shares have been purchased under the plan; (2) the date on which the terms set forth in the purchase instructions have been met; or (3) the date that is one trading day after the date on which insider notifies broker in writing that this agreement shall terminate. As of March 31, 2017 and 2016, no shares have been purchased under the plan.

Distribution Policy

We generally intend to make distributions on a quarterly basis to our shareholders of substantially all of our taxable income. In order to avoid certain excise taxes imposed on RICs, we must distribute during each calendar year an amount at least equal to the sum of (1) 98.0% 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 ended each October 31, and (3) any ordinary income and net capital gains for the preceding year that were not distributed during that year. We will not be subject to excise taxes on amounts on which we are required to pay corporate income tax (such as retained net capital gains). In order to obtain the tax benefits applicable to RICs, we will be required to distribute to our shareholders with respect to each taxable year at least 90.0% of our ordinary income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized net long-term capital losses. We may retain for investment realized net long-term capital gains in excess of realized net short-term capital losses. We may make deemed distributions to our shareholders of any retained net capital gains. If this happens, our shareholders will be treated as if they received an actual distribution of the capital gains we retain and then reinvested the net after-tax proceeds in our common stock. Our shareholders also may be eligible to claim a tax credit (or, in certain circumstances, a tax refund) equal to their allocable share of the tax we paid on the capital gains deemed distributed to them. We may, in the future, make actual distributions to our shareholders of some or all realized net long-term capital gains in excess of realized net short-term capital losses. We can offer no assurance that we will achieve results that will permit the payment of any cash distributions and, if we issue senior securities, we will be prohibited from making

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distributions if doing so causes us to fail to maintain the asset coverage ratios stipulated by the 1940 Act or if distributions are limited by the terms of any of our borrowings.

We have adopted a DRIP which provides for reinvestment of our distributions on behalf of our common shareholders if opted into by a common shareholder.

Shareholders who receive dividends in the form of stock generally are subject to the same U.S. federal, state and local tax consequences as are shareholders who elect to receive their dividends in cash. A shareholder’s basis for determining gain or loss upon the sale of stock received in a dividend from us will be equal to the total dollar amount of the dividend payable to the shareholder. Any stock received in a dividend will have a holding period for tax purposes commencing on the day following the day on which the shares are credited to the U.S. shareholder’s account.

Our ability to make distributions will be limited by the asset coverage requirements under the 1940 Act.

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For purposes of computing the ratios of earnings to fixed charges, earnings represent net increase in net assets resulting from operations plus (or minus) income tax expense (benefit) including excise tax expense plus fixed charges. Fixed charges include interest and credit facility fees expense and amortization of debt issuance costs.

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SELECTED FINANCIAL DATA

The selected financial and other data below reflects the historical financial condition and the results of operations of Capital Southwest Corporation as of and for each of the three months ended June 30, 2017 and 2016 and years ended March 31, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2013 have been derived from consolidated financial statements that have been audited by Grant Thornton LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm. You should read this selected financial and other data in conjunction with our “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations,” “Senior Securities” and the financial statements and related notes in this prospectus.

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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 the notes thereto included elsewhere in this registration statement or an accompanying post-effective amendment or prospectus.

Statements we make in the following discussion which express a belief, expectation or intention, as well as those that are not historical fact, are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Our actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, could differ materially from those we express in the following discussion as a result of a variety of factors, including the risks and uncertainties we have referred to under the headings “Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements” and “Risk Factors” in this prospectus.

OVERVIEW

Capital Southwest Corporation, which we refer to as CSWC or the Company, is an internally managed investment company that specializes in providing customized debt and equity financing to lower middle market, or LMM, companies and debt capital to upper middle market, or UMM, companies in a broad range of investment segments located primarily in the United States. Our principal investment objective is to produce attractive risk-adjusted returns by generating current income from our debt investments and capital appreciation from our equity and equity related investments. Our investment strategy is to partner with business owners, management teams and financial sponsors to provide flexible financing solutions to fund growth, changes of control, or other corporate events. We invest primarily in senior debt securities, secured by security interests in portfolio company assets, and in secured and unsecured subordinated debt securities. We also invest in equity interests in our portfolio companies alongside our debt securities.

We focus on investing in companies with histories of generating revenues and positive cash flow, established market positions and proven management teams with strong operating discipline. We target senior debt, subordinated debt, and equity investments in LMM companies, as well as first and second lien syndicated loans in UMM companies. Our target LMM companies typically have annual EBITDA between $3.0 million and $15.0 million, and our LMM investments generally range from $5.0 million to $20.0 million. Our UMM investments generally include syndicated first and second lien loans in companies with EBITDA generally greater than $50.0 million, and our UMM investments typically range from $5.0 million to $10.0 million.

We seek to fill the financing gap for LMM businesses, which, historically, have had more limited access to financing from commercial banks and other traditional sources. The underserved nature of the LMM creates the opportunity for us to meet the financing needs of LMM companies while also negotiating favorable transaction terms and equity participations. Our ability to invest across a company’s capital structure, from secured loans to equity securities, allows us to offer portfolio companies a comprehensive suite of financing options. Providing customized financing solutions is important to LMM companies. We generally seek to partner directly with financial sponsors, entrepreneurs, management teams and business owners in making our investments. Our LMM debt investments typically include first lien senior debt, secured by a first lien on the assets of the portfolio company, as well as subordinated debt. Our LMM investments typically have a term of between five and seven years from the original investment date. We also often seek to invest in the equity securities in our LMM portfolio companies.

Our investments in UMM companies primarily consist of direct investments in or secondary purchases of interest bearing debt securities in privately held companies that are generally larger in size than the LMM companies included in our portfolio. Our UMM debt investments are generally secured by either a first or second priority lien on the assets of the portfolio company and typically have an expected duration of between three and seven years from the original investment date.

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CRITICAL ACCOUNTING POLICIES AND USE OF ESTIMATES

The preparation of our consolidated financial statements in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles in the United States of America, or U.S. GAAP, requires management to make certain estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets and liabilities at the date of the consolidated financial statements and the reported amounts of revenues and expenses for the periods covered by the consolidated financial statements. We have identified investment valuation and revenue recognition as our most critical accounting estimates. On an on-going basis, we evaluate our estimates, including those related to the matters below. These estimates are based on the information that is currently available to us and on various other assumptions that we believe to be reasonable under the circumstances. Actual results could differ materially from those estimates under different assumptions or conditions. A discussion of our critical accounting policies follows.

Valuation of Investments

The most significant determination inherent in the preparation of our consolidated financial statements is the valuation of our investment portfolio and the related amounts of unrealized appreciation and depreciation. As of June 30, 2017 and March 31, 2017, our investment portfolio at fair value represented approximately 92.6% and 88.1%, respectively, of our total assets. We are required to report our investments at fair value. We follow the provisions of Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, 820, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (“ASC 820”). ASC 820 defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value, establishes a fair value hierarchy based on the quality of inputs used to measure fair value, and enhances disclosure requirements for fair value measurements. ASC 820 requires us to assume that the portfolio investment is to be sold in the principal market to independent market participants, which may be a hypothetical market. See Note 4 — “Fair Value Measurements” in the notes to consolidated financial statements for the three months ended June 30, 2017 for a detailed discussion of our investment portfolio valuation process and procedures.

Due to the inherent uncertainty in the valuation process, our determination of fair value for our investment portfolio may differ materially from the values that would have been determined had a ready market for the securities actually existed. In addition, changes in the market environment, portfolio company performance, and other events may occur over the lives of the investments that may cause the gains or losses ultimately realized on these investments to be materially different than the valuations currently assigned. We determine fair value of each individual investment and record changes in fair value as unrealized appreciation or depreciation.

Our board of directors has the final responsibility for reviewing and approving, in good faith, our determination of the fair value for our investment portfolio and our valuation procedures, consistent with Investment Company Act of 1940, or 1940 Act, requirements. We believe our investment portfolio as of June 30, 2017 and March 31, 2017 approximates fair value as of those dates based on the markets in which we operate and other conditions in existence on those reporting dates.

Revenue Recognition

Interest and Dividend Income

Interest and dividend income is recorded on an accrual basis to the extent amounts are expected to be collected. Dividend income is recognized on the date dividends are declared. Discounts/premiums received to par on loans purchased are capitalized and accreted or amortized into income over the life of the loan. In accordance with our valuation policy, accrued interest and dividend income is evaluated periodically for collectability. When we do not expect the debtor to be able to service all of its debt or other obligations, we will generally establish a reserve against interest income receivable, thereby placing the loan or debt security on non-accrual status, and cease to recognize interest income on that loan or debt security until the borrower has demonstrated the ability and intent to pay contractual amounts due. If a loan or debt security’s status significantly improves regarding ability to service debt or other obligations, it will be restored to accrual basis. As of June 30, 2017, we did not have any investments on non-accrual status.

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Recently Issued Accounting Standards

In February 2016, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, or FASB, issued ASU 2016-02, Leases, which requires lessees to recognize on the balance sheet a right-of-use asset, representing its right to use the underlying asset for the lease term, and a lease liability for all leases with terms greater than 12 months. The guidance also requires qualitative and quantitative disclosures designed to assess the amount, timing, and uncertainty of cash flows arising from leases. The standard requires the use of a modified retrospective transition approach, which includes a number of optional practical expedients that entities may elect to apply. The new guidance is effective for annual periods beginning after December 15, 2018, and interim periods therein. Early application is permitted. CSWC is currently evaluating the impact the adoption of this new accounting standard will have on its consolidated financial statements, but the impact of the adoption is not expected to be material.

In May 2014, the FASB issued ASU 2014-09, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606) . ASU 2014-09 supersedes the revenue recognition requirements under ASC Topic 605, Revenue Recognition , and most industry-specific guidance throughout the Industry Topics of the ASC. The core principle of the guidance is that an entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which an entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. Under the new guidance, an entity is required to perform the following five steps: (1) identify the contract(s) with a customer; (2) identify the performance obligations in the contract; (3) determine the transaction price; (4) allocate the transaction price to the performance obligations in the contract, and (5) recognize revenue when (or as) the entity satisfies a performance obligation. The new guidance will significantly enhance comparability of revenue recognition practices across entities, industries, jurisdictions and capital markets. Additionally, the guidance requires improved disclosures as to the nature, amount, timing and uncertainty of revenue that is recognized. In May 2016, the FASB issued ASU No. 2016-12, Revenue from Contracts with Customers (Topic 606)—Narrow-Scope Improvements and Practical Expedients . This ASU clarified guidance on assessing collectability, presenting sales tax, measuring noncash consideration, and certain transition matters. The FASB tentatively decided to defer the effective date of the new revenue standard for public entities under U.S. GAAP for one year. The new guidance will be effective for the annual reporting period beginning after December 15, 2017, including interim periods within that reporting period. Early adoption would be permitted for annual reporting periods beginning after December 15, 2016. CSWC completed its initial assessment in evaluating the potential impact on its consolidated financial statements and based on its initial assessment determined that its financial contracts are excluded from the scope of ASU 2014-09. As a result of the scope exception for financial contracts, the Company’s management has determined that there will be no material changes to the recognition timing and classification of revenues and expenses; additionally, the Company’s management does not expect the adoption of ASU 2014-09 to have a significant impact to pretax income upon adoption. The Company will continue to evaluate the impacts of ASU 2014-09 through the date of adoption to ensure that its initial assessment continues to remain accurate. Additionally, the Company is continuing its assessment of ASU 2014-09’s impact on its consolidated financial statement disclosures.

INVESTMENT PORTFOLIO COMPOSITION

Our LMM investments primarily consist of secured debt, subordinated debt, equity warrants and direct equity investments in privately held, LMM companies based in the United States. Our LMM portfolio companies generally have annual EBITDA between $3.0 million and $15.0 million, and our LMM investments typically range from $5.0 million to $20.0 million. The LMM debt investments are typically secured by either a first or second priority lien on the assets of the portfolio company, generally bear interest at floating rates, and generally have a term of between five and seven years from the original investment date.

Our UMM investments primarily consist of direct investments in or secondary purchases of interest-bearing debt securities in privately held companies based in the United States. that are generally larger in size than the LMM companies included in our portfolio with EBITDA generally greater than $50.0 million. Our UMM investments typically range from $5.0 million to $10.0 million. Our UMM debt investments are generally

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secured by ether a first or second priority lien on the assets of the portfolio company and typically have a term of between three and seven years from the original investment date.

The total value of our investment portfolio was $306.6 million as of June 30, 2017, as compared to $286.9 million as of March 31, 2017. As of June 30, 2017, we had investments in 28 portfolio companies with an aggregate cost of $268.9 million. As of March 31, 2017, we had investments in 28 portfolio companies with an aggregate cost of $250.5 million.

As of June 30, 2017 and March 31, 2017, approximately $164.8 million, or 90.7% and $155.0 million, or 92.6%, respectively, of our debt investment portfolio (at fair value) bore interest at floating rates, all of which were subject to contractual minimum interest rates. As of June 30, 2017 and March 31, 2017, approximately $16.9 million, or 9.3% and $12.4 million, or 7.4%, respectively, of our debt investment portfolio (at fair value) bore interest at fixed rates.

The following tables provide a summary of our investments in LMM and UMM companies as of June 30, 2017 and March 31, 2017 (excluding our investment in I-45 SLF LLC):

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As of June 30, 2017 and March 31, 2017, our investment portfolio consisted of the following investments:

PORTFOLIO ASSET QUALITY

We utilize an internally developed investment rating system to rate the performance and monitor the expected level of returns for each debt investment in our portfolio. The investment rating system takes into account both quantitative and qualitative factors of the portfolio company and the investments held therein, including each investment’s expected level of returns and the collectability of our debt investments, comparisons to competitors and other industry participants and the portfolio company’s future outlook. The ratings are not intended to reflect the performance or expected level of returns of our equity investments.

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The following table shows the distribution of our debt portfolio investments on the 1 to 4 investment rating scale at fair value as of June 30, 2017 and March 31, 2017:

Interest and dividend income is recorded on an accrual basis to the extent amounts are expected to be collected. When we do not expect the debtor to be able to service all of its debt or other obligations, we will generally establish a reserve against interest income receivable, thereby placing the loan or debt security on non-accrual status, and cease to recognize interest income on that loan or debt security until the borrower has demonstrated the ability and intent to pay contractual amounts due.

As of June 30, 2017 and March 31, 2017, we did not have any investments on non-accrual status.

Investment Activity

During the three months ended June 30, 2017, we made debt investments in four new portfolio companies totaling $32.1 million, follow-on debt investments in one portfolio company totaling $4.1 million, and equity investments in one existing and one new portfolio company totaling $1.0 million. We also funded $4.0 million on our existing equity commitment to I-45 SLF. We received contractual principal repayments totaling approximately $4.9 million and full prepayments of approximately $19.2 million from four portfolio companies.

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During the year ended March 31, 2017, we made investments in fourteen portfolio companies, including two follow-ons in existing portfolio companies, totaling $145.8 million. We received proceeds from sales and repayments of debt investments in portfolio companies of $45.6 million. In addition, we received proceeds from sales and return of capital of equity investments in portfolio companies totaling $7.7 million and recognized net realized gains on those sales totaling $7.2 million in the year ended March 31, 2017.

Total portfolio investment activity for the three months ended June 30, 2017 and year ended March 31, 2017 was as follows (dollars in thousands):

RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

The composite measure of our financial performance in the Consolidated Statements of Operations is captioned “Net increase (decrease) in net assets from operations” and consists of three elements. The first is “Net investment income (loss),” which is the difference between income from interest, dividends and fees and our combined operating and interest expenses, net of applicable income taxes. The second element is “Net realized gain (loss) on investments before income tax,” which is the difference between the proceeds received from the

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disposition of portfolio securities and their stated cost, net of applicable income tax expense based on our tax year. The third element is the “Net increase (decrease) in unrealized appreciation of investments, net of tax,” which is the net change in the market or fair value of our investment portfolio, compared with stated cost. It should be noted that the “Net realized gain (loss) on investments before income tax” and “Net increase (decrease) in unrealized appreciation of investments, net of tax” are directly related in that when an appreciated portfolio security is sold to realize a gain, a corresponding decrease in net unrealized appreciation occurs by transferring the gain associated with the transaction from being “unrealized” to being “realized.” Conversely, when a loss is realized on a depreciated portfolio security, an increase in net unrealized appreciation occurs.

Comparison of three months ended June 30, 2017 and June 30, 2016