U.S. SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM N-2

ý    REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

ý    PRE-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO. 1

o    POST-EFFECTIVE AMENDMENT NO.

PROSPECT CAPITAL CORPORATION

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

10 East 40^th Street, 42^nd Floor

New York, NY 10016

(Address of Principal Executive Offices)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code:  (212) 448-0702

John F. Barry III

Kristin L. Van Dask

c/o Prospect Capital Management L.P.

10 East 40^th Street, 42^nd Floor

New York, NY 10016

(212) 448-0702

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

Copies of information to:

Michael K. Hoffman

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

4 Times Square

New York, NY 10036

(212) 735-3000

______________________________________ 

Approximate Date of Proposed Public Offering: As soon as practicable after the effective date of this Registration Statement.

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If any of the securities being registered on this form are 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. ý

 It is proposed that this filing will become effective (check appropriate box):

o    when declared effective pursuant to section 8(c).

If appropriate, check the following box:

o    This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment registration statement.

(1) Estimated pursuant to Rule 457(o) of the rules and regulations under the Securities Act of 1933, or the “Securities Act,” solely for the purpose of calculating the registration fee. Pursuant to Rule 415(a)(6) under the Securities Act, this registration statement covers a total of $500,000,000 of unsold securities that had previously been registered under the registrant’s registration statement on Form N-2, initially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the “SEC,” on August 31, 2018 (No. 333- 227124), or the “Prior N-2 Registration Statement,” and that are being carried forward to this registration statement. The Prior N-2 Registration Statement initially registered securities for a maximum aggregate offering price of $5,000,000,000, and of that amount the registrant has previously sold securities for an aggregate offering price of $557,800,400 pursuant to the Prior N-2 Registration Statement, leaving a balance of unsold securities with an aggregate offering price of $4,452,199,600 on the Prior N-2 Registration Statement. $500,000,000 of such unsold securities and the registration fee paid by the registrant for such unsold securities is being carried forward to this registration statement and will continue to be applied to such unsold securities pursuant to Rule 415(a)(6). Pursuant to Rule 415(a)(6), the offering of the unsold securities registered under the Prior N-2 Registration Statement will be deemed terminated as of the date of effectiveness of this registration statement. If the registrant sells any of such unsold securities pursuant to the Prior N-2 Registration Statement after the date of the initial filing, and prior to the date of effectiveness, of this registration statement, the registrant will file a pre-effective amendment to this registration statement which will reduce the number of such unsold securities included on this registration statement.

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 THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT SHALL THEREAFTER BECOME EFFECTIVE IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 8(A) OF THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 OR UNTIL THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE ON SUCH DATES AS THE COMMISSION, ACTING PURSUANT TO SAID SECTION 8(A), MAY DETERMINE.

The information in this preliminary 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 has been declared effective. This preliminary prospectus is not an offer to sell nor does it seek an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

SUBJECT TO COMPLETION, DATED AUGUST 30, 2019

Up to $500,000,000

PROSPECT CAPITAL CORPORATION

Prospect Capital InterNotes^® 

Prospect Capital Corporation, or the “Company”, is a company that lends to and invests in middle market privately-held companies. Prospect Capital Corporation, a Maryland corporation, has been organized as a closed-end investment company since April 13, 2004 and has filed an election to be treated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the “1940 Act”, and is a non-diversified investment company within the meaning of the 1940 Act.

We are offering, on a continuous basis, pursuant to this prospectus up to $500,000,000 of our Prospect Capital InterNotes®, or the “notes,” to provide us with additional capital. Notes may be offered at prices and on terms to be set prior to the time of sale and described in a pricing supplement. You should read this prospectus, any applicable supplement to this prospectus and the applicable pricing supplement carefully before you invest in our notes.

Our notes may be offered to or through agents for resale. The applicable pricing supplement will specify the purchase price, agent discounts and net proceeds of any particular offering of notes. The agents are not required to sell any specific amount of notes but will use their reasonable best efforts to sell the notes. We also may offer the notes directly. We have not set a date for termination of our offering. See “Plan of Distribution.” We may not sell any of our notes through agents, underwriters or dealers without delivery of the prospectus and a pricing supplement describing the method and terms of the offering of such notes. The agents have advised us that from time to time they may purchase and sell notes in the secondary market, but they are not obligated to make a market in the notes and may suspend or completely stop that activity at any time. Unless otherwise specified in the applicable pricing supplement, we do not intend to list the notes on any stock exchange.

Prospect Capital Management L.P., our investment adviser, manages our investments and Prospect Administration LLC, our administrator, provides the administrative services necessary for us to operate.

Investing in our notes involves a heightened risk of total loss of investment. Before buying any notes, you should read the discussion of the material risks of investing in our notes in “Risk Factors” beginning on page 12 of this prospectus.

This prospectus, including any applicable supplement to the prospectus, contains important information about us that you should know before investing in our notes. Please read it before making an investment decision and keep it for future reference. We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information about us with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. You may make inquiries or obtain this information free of charge by writing to Prospect Capital Corporation at 10 East 40^th Street, 42^nd Floor, New York, NY 10016, or by calling 212-448-0702. Our Internet address is http://www.prospectstreet.com. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus and you should not consider information contained on our website to be a part of this prospectus. You may also obtain information about us from our website and the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov).

The SEC has not 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 notes will be our general, senior unsecured obligations and will rank equally in right of payment with all of our existing and future senior unsecured indebtedness. As a result, the notes are effectively subordinated to our existing and future secured indebtedness (including indebtedness that is initially unsecured to which we subsequently grant security) to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness and structurally subordinated to any existing and future liabilities and other indebtedness of our subsidiaries.

Obligations of Prospect Capital Corporation and any subsidiary of Prospect Capital Corporation are not guaranteed by the full faith and credit of the United States of America. Neither Prospect Capital Corporation nor any subsidiary of Prospect Capital Corporation is a government-sponsored enterprise or an instrumentality of the United States of America.

This prospectus may not be used to consummate sales of notes unless accompanied by a pricing supplement.

We may sell the notes to or through one or more agents or dealers, including the agents listed below.

The date of this Prospectus is , 2019

^®InterNotes is a registered trademark of Incapital Holdings LLC

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the SEC, in connection with a continuous offering process for us to raise debt capital. When material changes in the information included in this prospectus occurs, including in connection with the terms of the offering or developments involving our business, we will provide a supplement to the prospectus or a pricing supplement that may add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. Under the continuous offering process, we will offer up to $500,000,000 of our notes, on the terms to be determined at the time of each offering. The notes may be offered at prices and on terms described in one or more pricing supplements to this prospectus. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the notes that we may offer. Each time we use this prospectus to offer notes, we will provide a pricing supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering. The pricing supplement or a supplement to the prospectus may also add, update or change information contained in this prospectus. Please carefully read this prospectus, any supplement to the prospectus and any pricing supplement together with any exhibits and the additional information described under the heading “Available Information” and the section under the heading “Risk Factors” before you make an investment decision.

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus, including any supplement to the prospectus or pricing supplement included hereto. We have not, and the agent(s) or dealer(s) has not, authorized any other person to provide you with information that is different from that contained in this prospectus, including any supplement to the prospectus or pricing supplement included hereto. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not, and the agents are not, making an offer of these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus, including any supplement to the prospectus or pricing supplement included hereto, is accurate only as of their respective dates and we assume no obligation to update any such information. Our business, financial condition and results of operations may have changed since those dates. 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 or through reports that we have filed with the SEC, including annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K.

•	$0.06 per share for September 2019 to holders of record on September 30, 2019 with a payment date of October 24, 2019.

•	$0.06 per share for October 2019 to holders of record on October 31, 2019 with a payment date of November 20, 2019.

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in the notes involves a high degree of risk. You should, in consultation with your own financial and legal advisors, carefully consider the risks described below, together with all of the other information included in this prospectus, any applicable supplement to the prospectus and any applicable pricing supplement, before you decide whether to make an investment in the notes. The notes will not be an appropriate investment for you if you are not knowledgeable about significant features of the notes or financial matters in general. You should not purchase the notes unless you understand, and know that you can bear, these investment risks. The risks set forth below are not the only risks we face. If any of the adverse events or conditions described below occurs, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. In such case, our NAV, and the value of our debt securities ,including the notes, may decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Relating to the Notes

Our amount of debt outstanding will increase as a result of this offering. Our current indebtedness could adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to meet our payment obligations under the notes and our other debt.

As of August 28, 2019, together with our subsidiaries, we had approximately $2.2 billion of unsecured senior indebtedness outstanding and $102.0 million of secured indebtedness outstanding.

The use of debt could have significant consequences on our future operations, including:

Any of the above-listed factors could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations and our ability to meet our payment obligations under the notes and our other debt.

Our ability to meet our payment and other obligations under our debt instruments depends on our ability to generate significant cash flow in the future. This, to some extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative and regulatory factors as well as other factors that are beyond our control. We cannot assure you that our business will generate cash flow from operations, or that future borrowings will be available to us under our credit facility or otherwise, in an amount sufficient to enable us to meet our payment obligations under the notes and our other debt and to fund other liquidity needs. If we are not able to generate sufficient cash flow to service our debt obligations, we may need to refinance or restructure our debt, including any notes sold, sell assets, reduce or delay capital investments, or seek to raise additional capital. If we are unable to implement one or more of these alternatives, we may not be able to meet our payment obligations under the notes and our other debt.

A downgrade, suspension or withdrawal of the rating assigned by a rating agency to us or the notes, if any, could cause the liquidity or market value of the notes to decline significantly.

Our credit ratings are an assessment by rating agencies of our ability to pay our debts when due. Consequently, real or anticipated changes in our credit ratings will generally affect the market value of the notes. These credit ratings may not reflect the potential impact of risks relating to the structure or marketing of the notes. Credit ratings are not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, and may be revised or withdrawn at any time by the issuing organization in its sole discretion. Neither we nor the agents undertake any obligation to maintain the ratings or to advise holders of notes of any changes in ratings.

The notes will be rated by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, or “S&P,” Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Inc., or “Kroll,” and Moody’s Investor Service, or “Moody’s.” There can be no assurance that their rating will remain for any given period of

time or that such rating will not be lowered or withdrawn entirely by S&P, Kroll or Moody’s if in their respective judgment future circumstances relating to the basis of the rating, such as adverse changes in our company, so warrant.

An increase in market interest rates could result in a decrease in the market value of the notes.

The condition of the financial markets and prevailing interest rates have fluctuated in the past and are likely to fluctuate in the future, which could have an adverse effect on the market prices of the notes. In general, as market interest rates rise, debt securities bearing interest at fixed rates of interest decline in value. Consequently, if you purchase notes bearing interest at fixed rates and market interest rates increase, the market values of those notes may decline. We cannot predict the future level of market interest rates.

The notes will be effectively subordinated to any existing and future secured indebtedness and structurally subordinated to existing and future liabilities and other indebtedness of our subsidiaries.

The notes are our general, senior unsecured obligations and rank equally in right of payment with all of our existing and future senior unsecured indebtedness, including without limitation, our Unsecured Notes. As a result, the notes are effectively subordinated to our existing and future secured indebtedness (including indebtedness that is initially unsecured to which we subsequently grant security) to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness and structurally subordinated to any existing and future liabilities and other indebtedness of our subsidiaries. Effective subordination means that in any liquidation, dissolution, bankruptcy or other similar proceeding, the holders of any of our existing or future secured indebtedness and the secured indebtedness of our subsidiaries may assert rights against the assets pledged to secure that indebtedness in order to receive full payment of their indebtedness before the assets may be used to pay other creditors. Structural subordination means that creditors of a parent entity are subordinate to creditors of a subsidiary entity with respect to the subsidiary’s assets. These liabilities may include indebtedness, trade payables, guarantees, lease obligations and letter of credit obligations. The notes do not restrict us or our subsidiaries from incurring indebtedness, including senior secured indebtedness in the future, nor do they limit the amount of indebtedness we can issue that is equal in right of payment to the notes. As of August 28, 2019, we had $102.0 million borrowings under our credit facility. Our credit facility is secured by certain of our assets and the indebtedness thereunder is therefore effectively senior to the notes to the extent of the value of such assets.

Certain of our Unsecured Notes will be due prior to the respective maturities of the notes. We do not currently know whether we will be able to replace any such notes upon their respective maturities, or if we do, whether we will be able to do so on terms that are as favorable as such notes. In the event that we are not able to replace such notes at the time of their respective maturities, this could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and ability to fund new investments, our ability to make distributions to our stockholders, our ability to repay the notes and our ability to qualify as a regulated investment company, or “RIC.”

The indenture and supplemental indentures under which the notes will be issued will contain limited protection for holders of the notes.

The indenture and supplemental indentures, or collectively, the “indenture,” under which the notes will be issued offer limited protection to holders of the notes. The terms of the indenture and the notes do not restrict our or any of our subsidiaries’ ability to engage in, or otherwise be a party to, a variety of corporate transactions, circumstances or events that could have an adverse impact on your investment in the notes. In particular, the terms of the indenture and the notes will not place any restrictions on our or our subsidiaries’ ability to:

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

Furthermore, the terms of the indenture and the notes do not protect holders of the notes in the event that we experience changes (including significant adverse changes) in our financial condition, results of operations or credit ratings, as they do not require that we or our subsidiaries adhere to any financial tests or ratios or specified levels of net worth, revenues, income, cash flow, or liquidity other than certain limited restrictions on dividends and certain board structures or default provisions mandated by the 1940 Act.

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

Certain of our current debt instruments include more protections for their holders than the indenture and the notes. See “Risk Factors-Risks Relating to Our Notes-In addition to regulatory restrictions that restrict our ability to raise capital, our credit facility contains various covenants which, if not complied with, could accelerate repayment under the facility, thereby materially and adversely affecting our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.” In addition, other debt we issue or incur in the future could contain more protections for its holders than the indenture and the notes, including additional covenants and events of default. The issuance or incurrence of any such debt with incremental protections could affect the market for and trading levels and prices of the notes.

We may be subject to certain corporate-level taxes which could adversely affect our cash flow and consequently adversely affect our ability to make payments on the notes.

We may be subject to certain corporate-level taxes regardless of whether we continue to qualify as a RIC. Additionally, should we fail to qualify as a RIC, we would be subject to corporate-level taxes on all of our taxable income. The imposition of corporate-level taxes could adversely affect our cash flow and consequently adversely affect our ability to make payments on the notes.

We may choose to redeem notes when prevailing interest rates are relatively low.

If your notes will be redeemable at our option, we may choose to redeem your notes from time to time, especially when prevailing interest rates are lower than the rate borne by the notes. If prevailing rates are lower at the time of redemption, you would not be able to reinvest the redemption proceeds in a comparable security at an effective interest rate as high as the interest rate on the notes being redeemed. Our redemption right also may adversely impact your ability to sell your notes as the optional redemption date or period approaches.

Survivor’s Option may be limited in amount.

We will have a discretionary right to limit the aggregate principal amount of notes subject to the Survivor’s Option that may be exercised in any calendar year to an amount equal to the greater of $2.0 million or 2% of the outstanding principal amount of all notes outstanding as of the end of the most recent calendar year. We also have the discretionary right to limit to $250,000 in any calendar year the aggregate principal amount of notes subject to the Survivor’s Option that may be exercised in such calendar year on behalf of any individual deceased beneficial owner of notes. Accordingly, no assurance can be given that exercise of the Survivor’s Option for the desired amount will be permitted in any single calendar year.

We cannot assure that a trading market for your notes will ever develop or be maintained.

In evaluating the notes, you should assume that you will be holding the notes until their stated maturity. The notes are a new issue of securities. We cannot assure you that a trading market for your notes will ever develop, be liquid or be maintained. Many factors independent of our creditworthiness affect the trading market for and market value of your notes. Those factors include, without limitation:

There may be a limited number of buyers when you decide to sell your notes. This may affect the price you receive for your notes or your ability to sell your notes at all.

Your investment in the floating rate notes will involve certain risks not associated with an investment in conventional debt securities. You should consider carefully the following discussion of risks before you decide that an investment in the floating rate notes is suitable for you.

Floating rate notes present different investment considerations than fixed rate notes. For notes with only floating rates, the rate of interest paid by us on the notes for each applicable interest period is not fixed, but will vary depending on LIBOR and accordingly could be substantially less than the rates of interest we would pay on fixed rate notes of the same maturity. Additionally, the notes may change the interest rate or interest rate formula in relation to LIBOR at one or more points during the term of such notes (often referred to as a “step up” feature) or may switch from floating to fixed rate or from a fixed to a floating rate during the term of the notes. Consequently, the return on the notes may be less than returns otherwise payable on fixed rate debt securities issued by us with similar maturities whose interest rates cannot change. The variable interest rate on the notes, while determined, in part, by reference to LIBOR, may not actually pay at such rates. Furthermore, we have no control over any fluctuations in LIBOR.

If the relevant pricing supplement specifies a maximum rate, the interest rate for any interest period will be limited by the maximum rate. The maximum rate will limit the amount of interest you may receive for each such interest period, even if the fixed or floating rate component, as adjusted by any spread factor, if applicable, and/or a spread, if applicable, would have otherwise resulted in an interest rate greater than the maximum rate. As a result, if the interest rate for any interest period without taking into consideration the maximum rate would have been greater than the maximum rate, the notes will provide you less interest income than an investment in a similar instrument that is not subject to a maximum interest rate.

Our most recent NAV was calculated on June 30, 2019 and our NAV when calculated effective September 30, 2019 and thereafter may be higher or lower.

Our NAV per share is $9.01 as of June 30, 2019. NAV per share as of September 30, 2019 may be higher or lower than $9.01 based on potential changes in valuations, issuances of securities, repurchases of securities, dividends paid and earnings for the quarter then ended. Our Board of Directors has not yet determined the fair value of portfolio investments at any date subsequent to June 30, 2019. Our Board of Directors determines the fair value of our portfolio investments on a quarterly basis in connection with the preparation of quarterly financial statements and based on input from independent valuation firms, the Investment Adviser, the Administrator and the Audit Committee of our Board of Directors.

In addition to regulatory restrictions that restrict our ability to raise capital, our credit facility contains various covenants which, if not complied with, could accelerate repayment under the facility, thereby materially and adversely affecting our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.

The agreement governing our credit facility requires us to comply with certain financial and operational covenants. These covenants include:

As of June 30, 2019, we were in compliance with these covenants. However, our continued compliance with these covenants depends on many factors, some of which are beyond our control. Accordingly, there are no assurances that we will continue to comply with the covenants in our credit facility. Failure to comply with these covenants would result in a default under this facility which, if we were unable to obtain a waiver from the lenders thereunder, could result in an acceleration of repayments under the facility and thereby have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our credit ratings may not reflect all risks of an investment in our debt securities, including the notes.

Our credit ratings are an assessment by third parties of our ability to pay our obligations. Consequently, real or anticipated changes in our credit ratings will generally affect the market value of our debt securities, including the notes. Our

credit ratings, however, may not reflect the potential impact of risks related to market conditions generally or other factors discussed above on the market value of or trading market for the publicly issued debt securities.

Failure to extend our existing credit facility, the revolving period of which is currently scheduled to expire on March 27, 2022, could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position and our ability to pay expenses and make distributions.

The revolving period for our credit facility with a syndicate of lenders is currently scheduled to terminate on March 27, 2022, with an additional two year amortization period (with distributions allowed) after the completion of the revolving period. During such two year amortization period, all principal payments on the pledged assets will be applied to reduce the balance. At the end of the two year amortization period, the remaining balance will become due, if required by the lenders. If the credit facility is not renewed or extended by the participant banks by March 27, 2022, we will not be able to make further borrowings under the facility after such date and the outstanding principal balance on that date will be due and payable on March 27, 2024. As of August 28, 2019, we had $102.0 million of outstanding borrowings under our credit facility. Interest on borrowings under the credit facility is one-month LIBOR plus 220 basis points with a minimum LIBOR floor of zero. Additionally, the lenders charge a fee on the unused portion of the credit facility equal to either 50 basis points if more than 60% of the credit facility is drawn, or 100 basis points if more than 35% and an amount less than or equal to 60% of the credit facility is drawn, or 150 basis points if an amount less than or equal to 35% of the credit facility is drawn.

The credit facility requires us to pledge assets as collateral in order to borrow under the credit facility. If we are unable to extend our facility or find a new source of borrowing on acceptable terms, we will be required to pay down the amounts outstanding under the facility during the two-year term-out period through one or more of the following: (1) principal collections on our securities pledged under the facility, (2) at our option, interest collections on our securities pledged under the facility and cash collections on our securities not pledged under the facility, or (3) possible liquidation of some or all of our loans and other assets, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position and may force us to decrease or stop paying certain expenses and making distributions until the facility is repaid. In addition, our stock price could decline significantly, we would be restricted in our ability to acquire new investments and, in connection with our year-end audit, and our independent registered accounting firm could raise an issue as to our ability to continue as a going concern.

Failure to refinance our existing Unsecured Notes could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position.

The Unsecured Notes mature at various dates from February 15, 2021 to October 15, 2043. If we are unable to refinance the Unsecured Notes or find a new source of borrowing on acceptable terms, we will be required to pay down the amounts outstanding at maturity under the facility during the two-year term-out period through one or more of the following: (1) borrowing additional funds under our then current credit facility, (2) issuance of additional common stock or (3) possible liquidation of some or all of our loans and other assets, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our results of operations and financial position. In addition, our stock price could decline significantly; we would be restricted in our ability to acquire new investments and, in connection with our year-end audit, our independent registered accounting firm could raise an issue as to our ability to continue as a going concern.

Terms relating to redemption may materially adversely affect our noteholders return on any debt securities that we may issue.

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

The market price of our securities, including the notes, may fluctuate significantly.

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

Risks Relating to Our Business

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 and abroad, which may have a negative impact on our business and operations.

From time to time, capital markets may experience periods of disruption and instability. For example, between 2007 and 2009, the global capital markets experienced an extended period of disruption as evidenced by a lack of liquidity in the debt capital markets, write-offs in the financial services sector, the re-pricing of credit risk and the failure of certain major financial institutions. Despite actions of the United States federal government and foreign governments, these events contributed to worsening general economic conditions that materially and adversely impacted the broader financial and credit markets and reduced the availability of debt and equity capital for the market as a whole and financial services firms in particular. While the adverse effects of these conditions have abated to a degree, global financial markets experienced significant volatility following the downgrade by Standard & Poor’s on August 5, 2011 of the long-term credit rating of U.S. Treasury debt from AAA to AA+. These market conditions have historically had, and could again have, a material adverse effect on debt and equity capital markets in the United States and Europe, which could have a materially negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We and other companies in the financial services sector may have to access, if available, alternative markets for debt and equity capital. In such circumstances, equity capital may be difficult to raise because subject to some limited exceptions, as a BDC, we are generally not able to issue additional shares of our common stock at a price less than net asset value without general approval by our stockholders, which we currently have, and approval of the specific issuance by our Board of Directors. In addition, our ability to incur indebtedness or issue preferred stock is limited by applicable regulations such that our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, must equal at least 200% immediately after each time we incur indebtedness or issue preferred stock. The debt capital that may be available, if at all, may be at a higher cost and on less favorable terms and conditions in the future. Any inability to raise capital could have a negative effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Market conditions may in the future make it difficult to extend the maturity of or refinance our existing indebtedness, including the final maturity of our revolving credit facility in March 2024, and any failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business. The re-appearance of market conditions similar to those experienced from 2007 through 2009 for any substantial length of time or worsened market conditions, including as a result of U.S. government shutdowns or the perceived creditworthiness of the United States, could make it difficult to extend the maturity of, or refinance our existing indebtedness, or obtain new indebtedness with similar terms and any failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business. The debt capital that will be available to us in the future, if at all, may be at a higher cost and on less favorable terms and conditions than what we currently experience. Further, if we are unable to raise or refinance debt, then our equity investors

may not benefit from the potential for increased returns on equity resulting from leverage and we may be limited in our ability to make new commitments or to fund existing commitments to our portfolio companies.

The illiquidity of our investments may make it difficult for us to sell such investments, if required. As a result, we may realize significantly less than the value at which we have recorded our investments if forced to liquidate quickly.

Given the extreme volatility and dislocation that the capital markets have historically experienced, many BDCs have faced, and may in the future face, a challenging environment in which to raise capital. We may in the future have difficulty accessing debt and equity capital, and a severe disruption in the global financial markets or deterioration in credit and financing conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, significant changes in the capital markets, including the extreme volatility and disruption, have had, and may in the future have, a negative effect on the valuations of our investments and on the potential for liquidity events involving our investments. An inability to raise capital, and any required sale of our investments for liquidity purposes, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

The Investment Adviser does not know how long the financial markets will continue to be affected by these events and cannot predict the effects of these or similar events in the future on the United States economy and securities markets or on our investments. The Investment Adviser monitors developments and seeks to manage our investments in a manner consistent with achieving our investment objective, but there can be no assurance that it will be successful in doing so; and the Investment Adviser may not timely anticipate or manage existing, new or additional risks, contingencies or developments, including regulatory developments in the current or future market environment.

We are required to record certain of our assets at fair value, as determined in good faith by our Board of Directors in accordance with our valuation policy. As a result, volatility in the capital markets may have a material adverse effect on our investment valuations and our net asset value, even if we plan to hold investments to maturity.

Uncertainty about the financial stability of the United States, the economic crisis in Europe and the Trump administration could negatively impact our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Although U.S. lawmakers passed legislation to raise the federal debt ceiling and Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services affirmed its AA+ long-term sovereign credit rating on the United States and revised the outlook on the long-term rating from negative to stable in June of 2013, U.S. debt ceiling and budget deficit concerns together with signs of deteriorating sovereign debt conditions in Europe continue to present the possibility of a credit-rating downgrade, economic slowdowns, or a recession for the United States. The impact of any further downgrades to the U.S. government’s sovereign credit rating or downgraded sovereign credit ratings of European countries or the Russian Federation, or their perceived creditworthiness could adversely affect the U.S. and global financial markets and economic conditions. These developments, along with any further European sovereign debt issues, could cause interest rates and borrowing costs to rise, which may negatively impact our ability to access the debt markets on favorable terms. Continued adverse economic conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In October 2014, the Federal Reserve announced that it was concluding its bond-buying program, or quantitative easing, which was designed to stimulate the economy and expand the Federal Reserve's holdings of long-term securities, suggesting that key economic indicators, such as the unemployment rate, had showed signs of improvement since the inception of the program. During the period between December 2015 and December 2018, the Federal Reserve raised the target range for the federal funds rate nine times and may continue to do so in the future. To the extent the Federal Reserve continues to raise rates, and without quantitative easing by the Federal Reserve, there is a risk that the debt markets may experience increased volatility and that the liquidity of certain of our investments may be reduced. These developments, along with the corresponding potential rise in interest rates and borrowing costs, the United States government's credit and deficit concerns and the European sovereign debt crisis, may negatively impact our ability to access the debt markets on favorable terms.

The Trump administration has called for significant changes to U.S. trade, healthcare, immigration, foreign, and government regulatory policy. In this regard, there is significant uncertainty with respect to legislation, regulation and government policy at the federal level, as well as the state and local levels. Recent events have created a climate of heightened uncertainty and introduced new and difficult-to-quantify macroeconomic and political risks with potentially far-reaching implications. There has been a corresponding meaningful increase in the uncertainty surrounding interest rates, inflation, foreign exchange rates, trade volumes and fiscal and monetary policy. To the extent the U.S. Congress or the Trump administration implements changes to U.S. policy, those changes may impact, among other things, the U.S. and global economy, international trade and relations, unemployment, immigration, corporate taxes, healthcare, the U.S. regulatory environment, inflation and other areas. Some particular areas identified as subject to potential change, amendment or repeal include the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) including the Volcker Rule

and various swaps and derivatives regulations, credit risk retention requirements and the authorities of the Federal Reserve, the Financial Stability Oversight Council and the SEC. Although we cannot predict the impact, if any, of these changes to our business, they could adversely affect our business, financial condition, operating results and cash flows. Until we know what policy changes are made and how those changes impact our business and the business of our competitors over the long term, we will not know if, overall, we will benefit from them or be negatively affected by them. Although the Federal Reserve elected not to raise the federal funds rate at its first quarter 2019 meeting, it had previously raised the federal funds rate nine times during the period between December 2015 and December 2018, and it may continue to raise the federal funds rate in the future. General interest rate fluctuations may have a substantial negative impact on our investments, the value of our common stock and our rate of return on invested capital. A reduction in the interest rates on new investments relative to interest rates on current investments could also have an adverse impact on our net investment income. An increase in interest rates could decrease the value of any investments we hold which earn fixed interest rates, including subordinated loans, senior and junior secured and unsecured debt securities and loans and high-yield bonds, and also could increase our interest expense, thereby decreasing our net investment income. Also, an increase in interest rates available to investors could make investment in our common stock less attractive if we are not able to increase our distributions rate, which could reduce the value of our common stock.

On February 3, 2017, President Trump signed Executive Order 13772 announcing the administration’s policy to regulate the U.S. financial system in a manner consistent with certain “Core Principles,” including regulation that is efficient, effective and appropriately tailored. The Executive Order directed the Secretary of the Treasury, in consultation with the heads of the member agencies of the Financial Stability Oversight Council, to report to the President on the extent to which existing laws, regulations and other government policies promote the Core Principles and to identify any laws, regulations or other government policies that inhibit federal regulation of the U.S. financial system. On June 12, 2017, the U.S. Department of the Treasury published the first of several reports in response to the Executive Order on the depository system covering banks and other savings institutions. On October 6, 2017, the Treasury released a second report outlining ways to streamline and reform the U.S. regulatory system for capital markets, followed by a third report, on October 26, 2017, examining the current regulatory framework for the asset management and insurance industries. The Treasury released a fourth report on July 31, 2018 describing recommendations relating to non-bank financial institutions. Subsequent reports are expected to address: retail and institutional investment products and vehicles.

On June 8, 2017, the U. S. House of Representatives passed the Financial Choice Act, which includes legislation intended to repeal or replace substantial portions of the Dodd-Frank Act. Among other things, the proposed law would repeal the Volcker Rule limiting certain proprietary investment and trading activities by banks, eliminate the authority of regulators to designate asset managers and other large non-bank institutions as "systemically important financial institutions" ("SIFIs") and repeal the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) “fiduciary rule” governing standards for dealing with retirement plans until the SEC issues standards for similar dealings by broker-dealers and limiting the substance of any subsequent DOL rule to the SEC standards. The bill was referred to the Senate, where it is unlikely to pass as proposed. On November 16, 2017, a bipartisan group of U.S. Senators, led by Senate Banking Committee Chairman, introduced the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act (the "Senate Regulatory Relief Bill"). The Senate Regulatory Relief Bill would revise various post-crisis regulatory requirements and provide targeted regulatory relief to certain financial institutions. Among the most significant of its proposed amendments to the Dodd-Frank Act are a substantial increase in the $50 billion asset threshold for automatic regulation of bank holding companies as SIFIs, an exemption from the Volcker Rule for insured depository institutions with less than $10 billion in consolidated assets and lower levels of trading assets and liabilities, as well as amendments to the liquidity leverage ratio and supplementary leverage ratio requirements. On December 5, 2017, the Senate Banking Committee approved the Senate Regulatory Relief Bill. If the legislation is adopted in the Senate, it remains unclear whether and how it would be reconciled with its House-passed counterpart, the Financial Choice Act, which is substantially different in scope and substance, and ultimately approved by both chambers of Congress. At this time it is not possible to determine whether any such particular proposal will become law or its potential impact on us.

On May 24, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief, and Consumer Protection Act, which increased from $50 billion to $250 billion the asset threshold for designation of “systemically important financial institutions” or “SIFIs” subject to enhanced prudential standards set by the Federal Reserve, staggering application of this change based on the size and risk of the covered bank holding company. On May 30, 2018, the Federal Reserve voted to consider changes to the Volcker Rule that would loosen compliance requirements for all banks. On July 17, 2018, the House of Representatives passed the JOBS and Investor Confidence Act, which includes 32 pieces of legislation intended to help small businesses, entrepreneurs and investors by reforming capital markets. The proposed legislation includes provisions to expand the definition of “accredited investors,” extend on-ramp exemptions for emerging growth companies (EGCs) and ease securities regulations on initial public offerings. The legislation was forwarded to the Senate for consideration, where no further action was taken, although it may be reintroduced in the future. At this time it is not possible to determine the potential impact of these new laws and proposals on us.

Regulations adopted by prudential regulators have begun to require that certain qualified financial contracts entered into with certain counterparties that are part of a U.S. or foreign banking organization designated as a global-systemically important banking organization include contractual provisions that delay or restrict the rights of counterparties, such as the portfolio, to exercise certain close-out, cross-default and similar rights under certain conditions. Qualified financial contracts include agreements relating to swaps, foreign currency forward contracts and other derivatives. Qualified financial contracts are subject to a stay for a specified time period during which counterparties, such as the portfolio, will be prevented from closing out a qualified financial contract if the counterparty is subject to resolution proceedings and prohibit the portfolio from exercising default rights due to a receivership or similar proceeding of an affiliate of the counterparty. Implementation of these requirements may increase credit and other risks to the portfolio.

Legislative or other actions relating to taxes could have a negative effect on us.

The rules dealing with U.S. federal income taxation are constantly under review by persons involved in the legislative process and by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) and the U.S. Treasury Department. On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed into law the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, which significantly changed the Code, including by, among other changes, instituting a reduction in the corporate income tax rate, changing the tax rates applicable to non-corporate taxpayers, creating a new limitation on the deductibility of interest expense and other deductions, and making significant changes to the taxation of income earned from foreign sources and foreign subsidiaries. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act also authorizes the IRS to issue regulations with respect to the new provisions. We cannot predict how the changes in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, or regulations or other guidance issued under it, might affect us, our business, the business of our portfolio companies, or an investment in our securities. In addition, other legislation, U.S. Treasury regulations, administrative interpretations or court decisions, with or without retroactive application, could affect the U.S. federal income tax consequences to our investors and us or could have other adverse consequences. You are urged to consult with your tax advisor with respect to the status of legislative, regulatory or administrative developments and proposals and their potential effect on an investment in our securities.

Rising interest rates may adversely affect the value of our portfolio investments which could have an adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our debt investments may be based on floating rates, such as London Interbank Offer Rate (“LIBOR”) EURIBOR, the Federal Funds Rate or the Prime Rate. General interest rate fluctuations may have a substantial negative impact on our investments, the value of our common stock and our rate of return on invested capital. A reduction in the interest rates on new investments relative to interest rates on current investments could also have an adverse impact on our net interest income. An increase in interest rates could decrease the value of any investments we hold which earn fixed interest rates, including subordinated loans, senior and junior secured and unsecured debt securities and loans and high yield bonds, and also could increase our interest expense, thereby decreasing our net investment income. Also, an increase in interest rates available to investors could make investment in our common stock less attractive if we are not able to increase our dividend rate, which could reduce the value of our common stock.

Because we have borrowed money, and may issue preferred stock to finance investments, our net investment income depends, in part, upon the difference between the rate at which we borrow funds or pay distributions on preferred stock and the rate that our investments yield. As a result, we can offer no assurance that a significant change in market interest rates will not have a material adverse effect on our net investment income. In periods of rising interest rates, our cost of funds would increase except to the extent we have issued fixed rate debt or preferred stock, which could reduce our net investment income.

You should also be aware that a change in the general level of interest rates can be expected to lead to a change in the interest rate we receive on many of our debt investments. Accordingly, a change in the interest rate could make it easier for us to meet or exceed the performance threshold and may result in a substantial increase in the amount of incentive fees payable to our Investment Adviser with respect to the portion of the Incentive Fee based on income.

Changes relating to the LIBOR calculation process may adversely affect the value of the LIBOR-indexed, floating-rate debt securities in our portfolio.

In the recent past, concerns have been publicized that some of the member banks surveyed by the British Bankers’ Association (the “BBA”) in connection with the calculation of LIBOR across a range of maturities and currencies may have been under-reporting or otherwise manipulating the inter-bank lending rate applicable to them in order to profit on their derivatives positions or to avoid an appearance of capital insufficiency or adverse reputational or other consequences that may have resulted from reporting inter-bank lending rates higher than those they actually submitted. A number of BBA member banks entered into settlements with their regulators and law enforcement agencies with respect to alleged manipulation of LIBOR, and investigations by regulators and governmental authorities in various jurisdictions are ongoing.

In July 2017, the head of the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority announced the desire to phase out the use of LIBOR by the end of 2021. It is unclear if at that time whether LIBOR will cease to exist or if new methods of calculating LIBOR will be established such that it continues to exist after 2021. In addition, in April 2018, the Federal Reserve System, in conjunction with the Alternative Reference Rates Committee, announced the replacement of LIBOR with a new index, calculated by short-term repurchase agreements collateralized by U.S. Treasury securities, called the Secured Overnight Financing Rate (the “SOFR”). At this time, it is not possible to predict whether SOFR will attain market traction as a LIBOR replacement tool, and the future of LIBOR is still uncertain. As such, the potential effect of the phase-out or replacement of LIBOR on our cost of capital and net investment income cannot yet be fully determined. If LIBOR ceases to exist, we may need to renegotiate the credit agreements extending beyond 2021 with our portfolio companies that utilize LIBOR as a factor in determining the interest rate to replace LIBOR with the new standard that is established in its place, which may have an adverse effect on our ability to receive attractive returns. In addition, if LIBOR ceases to exist we may need to renegotiate any LIBOR based credit facilities to replace LIBOR with the new standard that is established in its place.

Actions by the BBA, the United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority or other regulators or law enforcement agencies as a result of these or future events, may result in changes to the manner in which LIBOR is determined. Potential changes, or uncertainty related to such potential changes may adversely affect the market for LIBOR-based securities, including our portfolio of LIBOR-indexed, floating-rate debt securities. In addition, any further changes or reforms to the determination or supervision of LIBOR may result in a sudden or prolonged increase or decrease in reported LIBOR, which could have an adverse impact on the market for LIBOR-based securities or the value of our portfolio of LIBOR-indexed, floating-rate debt securities.

Volatility in the global financial markets resulting from relapse of the Eurozone crisis, geopolitical developments in Eastern Europe, turbulence in the Chinese stock markets and global commodity markets, the United Kingdom’s vote to leave the European Union or otherwise could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Volatility in the global financial markets could have an adverse effect on the economic recovery in the United States and could result from a number of causes, including a relapse in the Eurozone crisis, geopolitical developments in Eastern Europe, turbulence in the Chinese stock markets and global commodity markets or otherwise. In 2010, a financial crisis emerged in Europe, triggered by high budget deficits and rising direct and contingent sovereign debt in Greece, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain, which created concerns about the ability of these nations to continue to service their sovereign debt obligations. While the financial stability of many of such countries has improved significantly, risks resulting from any future debt crisis in Europe or any similar crisis could have a detrimental impact on the global economic recovery, sovereign and non-sovereign debt in these countries and the financial condition of European financial institutions. Market and economic disruptions have affected, and may in the future affect, consumer confidence levels and spending, personal bankruptcy rates, levels of incurrence and of default on consumer debt and home prices, among other factors. We cannot assure you that market disruptions in Europe, including the increased cost of funding for certain governments and financial institutions, will not impact the global economy, and we cannot assure you that assistance packages will be available, or if available, be sufficient to stabilize countries and markets in Europe or elsewhere affected by a financial crisis. To the extent uncertainty regarding any economic recovery in Europe negatively impacts consumer confidence and consumer credit factors, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be significantly and adversely affected.

In the second quarter of 2015, stock prices in China experienced a significant drop, resulting primarily from continued sell-off of shares trading in Chinese markets. In addition, in August 2015, Chinese authorities sharply devalued China’s currency. Since then, the Chinese capital markets have continued to experience periods of instability. The current political climate has also intensified concerns about a potential trade war between the United States and China in connection with each country’s recent or proposed tariffs on the other country’s products. These market and economic disruptions and the potential trade war with China have affected, and may in the future affect, the U.S. capital markets, which could adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

As a consequence of the United Kingdom’s vote to withdraw from the European Union (the “EU”), the government of the United Kingdom gave notice of its withdrawal from the EU (“Brexit”). The United Kingdom and EU announced in March 2018 an agreement in principle to transitional provisions under which EU law would remain in force in the United Kingdom until the end of December 2020, but this remains subject to the successful conclusion of an agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU. In the absence of such an agreement there would be no transitional provisions and the United Kingdom would exit the European Union and the relationship between the United Kingdom and the EU would be based on the World Trade Organization rules. On March 21, 2019, the United Kingdom came to an agreement with the EU to delay their withdrawal and has since come to further agreements to delay the withdrawal. The process for the United Kingdom to exit the EU, and the longer term economic, legal, political, regulatory and social framework to be put in place between the United

Kingdom and the EU remain unclear and may lead to ongoing political and economic uncertainty and periods of exacerbated volatility in both the United Kingdom and in wider European and global markets for some time. The mid-to-long term uncertainty may have a negative effect on the performance of any investments located or with operations in the United Kingdom or Europe. During this period of uncertainty, the negative impact on not only the United Kingdom and European economies, but the broader global economy, could be significant, potentially resulting in increased market and currency volatility (including volatility of the value of the British pound sterling relative to the United States dollar and other currencies and volatility in global currency markets generally), and illiquidity and lower economic growth for companies that rely significantly on Europe for their business activities and revenues. It is possible that certain economic activity will be curtailed until some signs of clarity begin to emerge, including negotiations around the terms for United Kingdom’s exit out of the EU. Additional risks associated with the outcome of Brexit include macroeconomic risk to the United Kingdom and European economies, impetus for further disintegration of the EU and related political stresses (including those related to sentiment against cross border capital movements and activities of investors like us), prejudice to financial services business that are conducting business in the EU and which are based in the United Kingdom, legal uncertainty regarding achievement of compliance with applicable financial and commercial laws and regulations in view of the expected steps to be taken pursuant to or in contemplation of Article 50 of the Treaty on EU and negotiations undertaken under Article 218 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the EU, and the unavailability of timely information as to expected legal, tax and other regimes. Any further exits from the EU, or the possibility of such exits, would likely cause additional market disruption globally and introduce new legal and regulatory uncertainties. We will continue to monitor the potential impact of Brexit on our results of operations and financial condition.

The occurrence of events similar to those in recent years, such as the aftermath of the war in Iraq, instability in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Egypt, Libya, Syria, Russia, Ukraine and the Middle East, ongoing epidemics of infectious diseases in certain parts of the world, terrorist attacks in the U.S. and around the world, social and political discord, debt crises (such as the Greek crisis), sovereign debt downgrades, continued tensions between North Korea and the U.S. and the international community generally, new and continued political unrest in various countries, such as Venezuela, the exit or potential exit of one or more countries from the EU or the Economic and Monetary Union, the change in the U.S. president and the new administration, among others, may result in market volatility, may have long term effects on the U.S. and worldwide financial markets, and may cause further economic uncertainties in the U.S. and worldwide.

The occurrence of any of these above events could have a significant adverse impact on the value and risk profile of our portfolio. We do not know how long the securities markets may be affected by similar events and cannot predict the effects of similar events in the future on the U.S. economy and securities markets. Non-investment grade and equity securities tend to be more volatile than investment-grade fixed income securities; therefore, these events and other market disruptions may have a greater impact on the prices and volatility of non-investment grade and equity securities than on investment-grade fixed income securities. There can be no assurances that similar events and other market disruptions will not have other material and adverse implications.

Economic sanction laws in the United States and other jurisdictions may prohibit us and our affiliates from transacting with certain countries, individuals and companies.

Economic sanction laws in the United States and other jurisdictions may prohibit us or our affiliates from transacting with certain countries, individuals and companies. In the United States, the U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control administers and enforces laws, executive orders and regulations establishing U.S. economic and trade sanctions, which prohibit, among other things, transactions with, and the provision of services to, certain non-U.S. countries, territories, entities and individuals. These types of sanctions may significantly restrict or completely prohibit investment activities in certain jurisdictions, and if we, our portfolio companies or other issuers in which we invest were to violate any such laws or regulations, we may face significant legal and monetary penalties.

The U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”), and other anti-corruption laws and regulations, as well as anti-boycott regulations, may also apply to and restrict our activities, our portfolio companies and other issuers of our investments. If an issuer or we were to violate any such laws or regulations, such issuer or we may face significant legal and monetary penalties. The U.S. government has indicated that it is particularly focused on FCPA enforcement, which may increase the risk that an issuer or us becomes the subject of such actual or threatened enforcement. In addition, certain commentators have suggested that private investment firms and the funds that they manage may face increased scrutiny and/or liability with respect to the activities of their underlying portfolio companies. As such, a violation of the FCPA or other applicable regulations by us or an issuer of our portfolio investments could have a material adverse effect on us. We are committed to complying with the FCPA and other anti-corruption laws and regulations, as well as anti-boycott regulations, to which we are subject. As a result, we may be adversely affected because of our unwillingness to enter into transactions that violate any such laws or regulations.

We may suffer credit losses.

Investment in small and middle-market companies is highly speculative and involves a high degree of risk of credit loss. These risks are likely to increase during volatile economic periods. See “Risks Related to Our Investments.”

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

Prospect Capital Management has been registered as an investment adviser since March 31, 2004, and we have been organized as a closed-end investment company since April 13, 2004. Our ability to achieve our investment objective depends on our ability to grow, which depends, in turn, on the Investment Adviser’s ability to continue to identify, analyze, invest in and monitor companies that meet our investment criteria. Accomplishing this result on a cost-effective basis is largely a function of the Investment Adviser’s structuring of investments, its ability to provide competent, attentive and efficient services to us and our access to financing on acceptable terms. As we continue to grow, Prospect Capital Management will need to continue to hire, train, supervise and manage new employees. Failure to manage our future growth effectively could have a materially adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

We are dependent upon Prospect Capital Management’s key management personnel for our future success.

We depend on the diligence, skill and network of business contacts of the senior management of the Investment Adviser. We also depend, to a significant extent, on the Investment Adviser’s access to the investment professionals and the information and deal flow generated by these investment professionals in the course of their investment and portfolio management activities. The senior management team of the Investment Adviser evaluates, negotiates, structures, closes, monitors and services our investments. Our success depends to a significant extent on the continued service of the senior management team, particularly John F. Barry III and M. Grier Eliasek. The departure of any of the senior management team could have a materially adverse effect on our ability to achieve our investment objective. In addition, we can offer no assurance that Prospect Capital Management will remain the Investment Adviser or that we will continue to have access to its investment professionals or its information and deal flow.

We operate in a highly competitive market for investment opportunities.

A number of entities compete with us to make the types of investments that we make in middle-market companies. We compete with other BDCs, public and private funds, commercial and investment banks, commercial financing companies, insurance companies, hedge funds, and, to the extent they provide an alternative form of financing, private equity funds. Many of our competitors are substantially larger and have considerably greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do. Some competitors may have a lower cost of funds and access to funding sources that are not available to us. In addition, some of our competitors may have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments, which could allow them to consider a wider variety of investments and establish more relationships than us. Furthermore, many of our competitors are not subject to the regulatory restrictions that the 1940 Act imposes on us as a BDC and that the Code imposes on us as a RIC. We cannot assure you that the competitive pressures we face will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Also, as a result of this competition, we may not be able to pursue attractive investment opportunities from time to time.

We do not seek to compete primarily based on the interest rates we offer and we believe that some of our competitors may make loans with interest rates that are comparable to or lower than the rates we offer. Rather, we compete with our competitors based on our existing investment platform, seasoned investment professionals, experience and focus on middle-market companies, disciplined investment philosophy, extensive industry focus and flexible transaction structuring.

We may lose investment opportunities if we do not match our competitors’ pricing, terms and structure. If we match our competitors’ pricing, terms and structure, we may experience decreased net interest income and increased risk of credit loss. As a result of operating in such a competitive environment, we may make investments that are on less favorable terms than what we may have originally anticipated, which may impact our return on these investments.

We fund a portion of our investments with borrowed money, which magnifies the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested and may increase the risk of investing in us.

Borrowings and other types of financing, also known as leverage, magnify the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested and, therefore, increase the risks associated with investing in our securities. Our lenders have fixed dollar claims on our assets that are superior to the claims of our common stockholders or any preferred stockholders. If the value of our assets increases, then leveraging would cause the net asset value to increase more sharply than it would have had we not leveraged. Conversely, if the value of our assets decreases, leveraging would cause net asset value to decline more sharply than it

otherwise would have had we not leveraged. Similarly, any increase in our income in excess of consolidated interest payable on the borrowed funds would cause our net income to increase more than it would without the leverage, while any decrease in our income would cause net income to decline more sharply than it would have had we not borrowed. Such a decline could negatively affect our ability to make common stock dividend payments. Leverage is generally considered a speculative investment technique.

Changes in interest rates may affect our cost of capital and net investment income.

A portion of the debt investments we make bears interest at fixed rates and other debt investments bear interest at variable rates with floors and the value of these investments could be negatively affected by increases in market interest rates. In addition, as the interest rate on our revolving credit facility is at a variable rate based on an index, an increase in interest rates would make it more expensive to use debt to finance our investments. As a result, an increase in market interest rates could both reduce the value of our portfolio investments and increase our cost of capital, which could reduce our net investment income or net increase in net assets resulting from operations. A portion of our floating rate investments may include features such as LIBOR floors. To the extent we invest in credit instruments with LIBOR floors, we may lose some of the benefits of incurring leverage. Specifically, if we issue preferred stock or debt (or otherwise borrow money), our costs of leverage will increase as rates increase. However, we may not benefit from the higher coupon payments resulting from increased interest rates if our investments in LIBOR floors and rates do not rise to levels above the LIBOR floors. In this situation, we will experience increased financing costs without the benefit of receiving higher income. This in turn may result in the potential for a decrease in the level of income available for dividends or distributions made by us.

We need to raise additional capital to grow because we must distribute most of our income.

We need additional capital to fund growth in our investments. A reduction in the availability of new capital could limit our ability to grow. We must distribute at least 90% of our ordinary income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized net long-term capital losses, if any, to our stockholders to maintain our status as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, such earnings are not available to fund investment originations. We have sought additional capital by borrowing from financial institutions and may issue debt securities or additional equity securities. If we fail to obtain funds from such sources or from other sources to fund our investments, we could be limited in our ability to grow, which may have an adverse effect on the value of our common stock. In addition, as a business development company, we generally may not borrow money or issue debt securities or issue preferred stock unless immediately thereafter our ratio of total assets to total borrowings and other senior securities is at least 200%. This may restrict our ability to obtain additional leverage in certain circumstances.

We may experience fluctuations in our quarterly results.

We could experience fluctuations in our quarterly operating results due to a number of factors, including the level of structuring fees received, the interest or dividend rates payable on the debt or equity securities we hold, the default rate on debt securities, the level of our expenses, variations in and the timing of the recognition of realized and unrealized gains or losses, the degree to which we encounter competition in our markets, and general economic conditions. As a result of these factors, results for any period should not be relied upon as being indicative of performance in future periods.

Our business model depends upon the development and maintenance of strong referral relationships with other asset managers and investment banking firms.

We are substantially dependent on our informal relationships, which we use to help identify and gain access to investment opportunities. If we fail to maintain our relationships with key firms, or if we fail to establish strong referral relationships with other firms or other sources of investment opportunities, we will not be able to grow our portfolio of equity investments and achieve our investment objective. In addition, persons with whom we have informal relationships are not obligated to inform us of investment opportunities, and therefore such relationships may not lead to the origination of equity or other investments. Any loss or diminishment of such relationships could effectively reduce our ability to identify attractive portfolio companies that meet our investment criteria, either for direct equity investments or for investments through private secondary market transactions or other secondary transactions.

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

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

Potential conflicts of interest could impact our investment returns.

Our executive officers and directors, and the executive officers of the Investment Adviser, may serve as officers, directors or principals of entities that operate in the same or related lines of business as we do or of investment funds managed by our affiliates. Accordingly, they may have obligations to investors in those entities, the fulfillment of which might not be in our best interests or those of our stockholders. Nevertheless, it is possible that new investment opportunities that meet our investment objective may come to the attention of one of these entities in connection with another investment advisory client or program, and, if so, such opportunity might not be offered, or otherwise made available, to us. However, as an investment adviser, Prospect Capital Management has a fiduciary obligation to act in the best interests of its clients, including us. To that end, if Prospect Capital Management or its affiliates manage any additional investment vehicles or client accounts in the future, Prospect Capital Management will endeavor to allocate investment opportunities in a fair and equitable manner over time so as not to discriminate unfairly against any client. If Prospect Capital Management chooses to establish another investment fund in the future, when the investment professionals of Prospect Capital Management identify an investment, they will have to choose which investment fund should make the investment.

In the course of our investing activities, under the Investment Advisory Agreement we pay base management and incentive fees to Prospect Capital Management and reimburse Prospect Capital Management for certain expenses it incurs. As a result of the Investment Advisory Agreement, there may be times when the senior management team of Prospect Capital Management has interests that differ from those of our stockholders, giving rise to a conflict.

The Investment Adviser receives a quarterly income incentive fee based, in part, on our pre-incentive fee net investment income, if any, for the immediately preceding calendar quarter. This income incentive fee is subject to a fixed quarterly hurdle rate before providing an income incentive fee return to Prospect Capital Management. This fixed hurdle rate was determined when then current interest rates were relatively low on a historical basis. Thus, if interest rates rise, it would become easier for our investment income to exceed the hurdle rate and, as a result, more likely that Prospect Capital Management will receive an income incentive fee than if interest rates on our investments remained constant or decreased. Subject to the receipt of any requisite stockholder approval under the 1940 Act, our Board of Directors may adjust the hurdle rate by amending the Investment Advisory Agreement.

The income incentive fee payable by us is computed and paid on income that may include interest that has been accrued but not yet received in cash. If a portfolio company defaults on a loan that has a deferred interest feature, it is possible that interest accrued under such loan that has previously been included in the calculation of the income incentive fee will become uncollectible. If this happens, we will reverse the interest that was recorded but Prospect Capital Management is not required to reimburse us for any such income incentive fee payments that were received in the past but would reduce the current period incentive fee for the effects of the reversal, if any. If we do not have sufficient liquid assets to pay this incentive fee or distributions to stockholders on such accrued income, we may be required to liquidate assets in order to do so. This fee structure could give rise to a conflict of interest for Prospect Capital Management to the extent that it may encourage Prospect Capital Management to favor debt financings that provide for deferred interest, rather than current cash payments of interest.

We have entered into a royalty-free license agreement with Prospect Capital Management. Under this agreement, Prospect Capital Management agrees to grant us a non-exclusive license to use the name “Prospect Capital.” Under the license agreement, we have the right to use the “Prospect Capital” name for so long as Prospect Capital Management or one of its affiliates remains our investment adviser. In addition, we rent office space from Prospect Administration, an affiliate of Prospect

Capital Management, and pay Prospect Administration our allocable portion of overhead and other expenses incurred by Prospect Administration in performing its obligations as Administrator under the Administration Agreement, including rent and our allocable portion of the costs of our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer and their respective staffs. This may create conflicts of interest that our Board of Directors monitors.

Our incentive fee could induce Prospect Capital Management to make speculative investments.

The incentive fee payable by us to Prospect Capital Management may create an incentive for the Investment Adviser to make investments on our behalf that are more speculative or involve more risk than would be the case in the absence of such compensation arrangement. The way in which the incentive fee payable is determined (calculated as a percentage of the return on invested capital) may encourage the Investment Adviser to use leverage to increase the return on our investments. Increased use of leverage and this increased risk of replacement of that leverage at maturity would increase the likelihood of default, which would disfavor holders of our common stock. Similarly, because the Investment Adviser will receive an incentive fee based, in part, upon net capital gains realized on our investments, the Investment Adviser may invest more than would otherwise be appropriate in companies whose securities are likely to yield capital gains, as compared to income producing securities. Such a practice could result in our investing in more speculative securities than would otherwise be the case, which could result in higher investment losses, particularly during economic downturns.

The incentive fee payable by us to Prospect Capital Management could create an incentive for the Investment Adviser to invest on our behalf in instruments, such as zero coupon bonds, that have a deferred interest feature. Under these investments, we would accrue interest income over the life of the investment but would not receive payments in cash on the investment until the end of the term. Our net investment income used to calculate the income incentive fee, however, includes accrued interest. For example, accrued interest, if any, on our investments in zero coupon bonds will be included in the calculation of our incentive fee, even though we will not receive any cash interest payments in respect of payment on the bond until its maturity date. Thus, a portion of this incentive fee would be based on income that we may not have yet received in cash in the event of default may never receive.

We may be obligated to pay our Investment Adviser incentive compensation even if we incur a loss.

The Investment Adviser is entitled to incentive compensation for each fiscal quarter based, in part, on our pre-incentive fee net investment income if any, for the immediately preceding calendar quarter above a performance threshold for that quarter. Accordingly, since the performance threshold is based on a percentage of our net asset value, decreases in our net asset value make it easier to achieve the performance threshold. Our pre-incentive fee net investment income for incentive compensation purposes excludes realized and unrealized capital losses or depreciation that we may incur in the fiscal quarter, even if such capital losses or depreciation result in a net loss on our statement of operations for that quarter. Thus, we may be required to pay the Investment Adviser incentive compensation for a fiscal quarter even if there is a decline in the value of our portfolio or we incur a net loss for that quarter. In addition, increases in interest rates may increase the amount of incentive fees we pay to our Investment Adviser even though our performance relative to the market has not increased.

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

The Investment Adviser and the Administrator have the right, under the Investment Advisory Agreement and the Administration Agreement, respectively, to resign at any time upon not less than 60 days’ written notice, whether we have found a replacement or not. If the Investment Adviser or the Administrator resigns, we may not be able to find a replacement or hire internal management or administration with similar expertise and ability to provide the same or equivalent services on acceptable terms within 60 days, or at all. If we are unable to do so quickly, our operations are likely to experience a disruption, our business, financial condition and results of operations as well as our ability to pay distributions are likely to be adversely affected and the market price of our shares may decline. In addition, the coordination of our internal management and investment activities or our internal administration activities, as applicable, is likely to suffer if we are unable to identify and reach an agreement with a single institution or group of executives having the expertise possessed by the Investment Adviser and its affiliates or the Administrator and its affiliates. Even if we are able to retain comparable management or administration, whether internal or external, the integration of such management or administration and their lack of familiarity with our investment objective may result in additional costs and time delays that may adversely affect our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Changes in the laws or regulations governing our business or the businesses of our portfolio companies and any failure by us or our portfolio companies to comply with these laws or regulations could negatively affect the profitability of our operations or the profitability of our portfolio companies.

We are subject to changing rules and regulations of federal and state governments, as well as the stock exchanges on which our common stock is listed. These entities, including the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, the SEC and the NASDAQ Global Select Market, have issued a significant number of new and increasingly complex requirements and regulations over the course of the last several years and continue to develop additional regulations. In particular, 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 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, financial condition and results of operations.

Foreign and domestic political risk may adversely affect our business.

We are exposed to political risk to the extent that Prospect Capital Management, on its behalf and subject to its investment guidelines, transacts in securities in the U.S. and foreign markets. The governments in any of these jurisdictions could impose restrictions, regulations or other measures, which may have a material adverse impact on our strategy.

If we fail to maintain an effective system of internal control over financial reporting, we may not be able to accurately report our financial results or prevent fraud. As a result, stockholders could lose confidence in our financial and other public reporting, which would harm our business and the trading price of our common stock.

Effective internal controls over financial reporting are necessary for us to provide reliable financial reports and, together with adequate disclosure controls and procedures, are designed to prevent fraud. Any failure to implement required new or improved controls, or difficulties encountered in their implementation could cause us to fail to meet our reporting obligations. In addition, any testing by us conducted in connection with Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the subsequent testing by our independent registered public accounting firm (when undertaken, as noted below), may reveal deficiencies in our internal controls over financial reporting that are deemed to be material weaknesses or that may require prospective or retroactive changes to our consolidated financial statements or identify other areas for further attention or improvement. Inferior internal controls could also cause investors and lenders to lose confidence in our reported financial information, which could have a negative effect on the trading price of our common stock.

We may experience cyber-security incidents and are subject to cyber-security risks. The failure in cyber-security systems, as well as the occurrence of events unanticipated in our disaster recovery systems and management continuity planning, could impair our ability to conduct business effectively.

Our business operations rely upon secure information technology systems for data processing, storage and reporting. Despite careful security and controls design, implementation and updating, our information technology systems could become subject to cyber-attacks and unauthorized access, such as physical and electronic break-ins or unauthorized tampering. Cyber-attacks include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems (e.g., through "hacking" or malicious software coding) for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data, or causing operational disruption. Cyber-attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on websites (i.e., efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users). Network, system, application and data breaches could result in operational disruptions or information misappropriation, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. Like other companies, we may experience threats to our data and systems, including malware and computer virus attacks, unauthorized access, system failures and disruptions. If one or more of these events occurs, it could potentially jeopardize the confidential, proprietary and other information processed and stored in, and transmitted through, our computer systems and networks, or otherwise cause interruptions or malfunctions in our operations, which could result in damage to our reputation, financial losses, litigation, increased costs, regulatory penalties and/or customer dissatisfaction or loss.

The occurrence of a disaster such as a cyber-attack, a natural catastrophe, an industrial accident, a terrorist attack or war, events unanticipated in our disaster recovery systems, or a support failure from external providers, could have an adverse

effect on our ability to conduct business and on our results of operations and financial condition, particularly if those events affect our computer-based data processing, transmission, storage, and retrieval systems or destroy data. If a significant number of our managers were unavailable in the event of a disaster, our ability to effectively conduct our business could be severely compromised.

Cyber-security failures or breaches by the Investment Adviser, any future sub-adviser(s), the Administrator and other service providers (including, but not limited to, accountants, custodians, transfer agents and administrators), and the issuers of securities in which we invest, have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses, interference with our ability to calculate our net asset value, impediments to trading, the inability of our stockholders to transact business, violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, or additional compliance costs. We and our Investment Adviser’s employees have been and expect to continue to be the target of fraudulent calls, emails and other forms of activities. In addition, substantial costs may be incurred in order to prevent any cyber incidents in the future. The costs related to cyber or other security threats or disruptions may not be fully insured or indemnified by other means. While we have established a business continuity plan in the event of, and risk management systems to prevent, such cyber-attacks, there are inherent limitations in such plans and systems including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified. Furthermore, we cannot control the cyber security plans and systems put in place by our service providers and issuers in which we invest. We and our stockholders could be negatively impacted as a result. In addition, cyber-security has become a top priority for regulators around the world, and some jurisdictions have enacted laws requiring companies to notify individuals of data security breaches involving certain types of personal data. If we fail to comply with the relevant laws and regulations, we could suffer financial losses, a disruption of our business, liability to investors, regulatory intervention or reputational damage.

We are 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 dependent on our and third parties’ communications and information systems. Further, in the ordinary course of our business we or our Investment Adviser may engage certain third party service providers to provide us with services necessary for our business. Any failure or interruption of those systems or services, including as a result of the termination or suspension of an agreement with any third-party service providers, could cause delays or other problems in our business 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:

These events, in turn, could have a material adverse effect on our operating results and negatively affect the market price of our common stock and our ability to pay dividends to our stockholders.

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

We are prohibited under the 1940 Act from knowingly participating in certain transactions with our affiliates without the prior approval of our independent directors. Any person that owns, directly or indirectly, 5% or more of our outstanding voting securities is our affiliate for purposes of the 1940 Act and we are generally prohibited from buying or selling any security or other property from or to such affiliate, absent the prior approval of our independent directors. The 1940 Act also prohibits “joint” transactions with an affiliate, which could include investments in the same portfolio company (whether at the same or different times), without prior approval of our independent directors. Subject to certain limited exceptions, we are prohibited from buying or selling any security or other property from or to the Investment Adviser and its affiliates and persons with whom we are in a control relationship, or entering into joint transactions with any such person, absent the prior approval of the SEC.

On February 10, 2014, we received an exemptive order from the SEC (the “Order”) that gave us the ability to negotiate terms other than price and quantity of co-investment transactions with other funds managed by the Investment Adviser or certain affiliates, including Priority Income Fund, Inc. and TP Flexible Income Fund, Inc. (formerly Pathway Capital Opportunity Fund, Inc.), subject to the conditions included therein. Under the terms of the relief permitting us to co-invest with other funds managed by our Investment Adviser or its affiliates, a “required majority” (as defined in Section 57(o) of the 1940

Act) of our independent directors must make certain conclusions in connection with a co-investment transaction, including that (1) the terms of the proposed transaction, including the consideration to be paid, are reasonable and fair to us and our stockholders and do not involve overreaching of us or our stockholders on the part of any person concerned and (2) the transaction is consistent with the interests of our stockholders and is consistent with our investment objective and strategies. In certain situations where co-investment with one or more funds managed by the Investment Adviser or its affiliates is not covered by the Order, such as when there is an opportunity to invest in different securities of the same issuer, the personnel of the Investment Adviser or its affiliates will need to decide which fund will proceed with the investment. Such personnel will make these determinations based on policies and procedures, which are designed to reasonably ensure that investment opportunities are allocated fairly and equitably among affiliated funds over time and in a manner that is consistent with applicable laws, rules and regulations. Moreover, except in certain circumstances, when relying on the Order, we will be unable to invest in any issuer in which one or more funds managed by the Investment Adviser or its affiliates has previously invested.

In the past, following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has, from time to time, been brought against that company.

If our stock price fluctuates significantly, we may be the target of securities litigation in the future. Securities litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources from our business.

Risks Relating to Our Operation as a Business Development Company

If we do not invest a sufficient portion of our assets in qualifying assets, we could fail to qualify as a BDC 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% of our total assets are qualifying assets. We may be precluded from investing in what we believe are attractive investments if such investments are not qualifying assets for purposes of the 1940 Act. If we do not invest a sufficient portion of our assets in qualifying assets, we could be found to be in violation of the 1940 Act provisions applicable to BDCs, 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) or could require us to dispose of investments at inappropriate times in order to come into compliance with the 1940 Act. Because most of our investments will be in private companies, and therefore will be relatively illiquid, any such dispositions could be made at disadvantageous prices and could result in substantial losses.

If we fail to qualify as a RIC, we will have to pay corporate-level taxes on our income, and our income available for payments on the notes would be reduced.

To maintain our qualification for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code and obtain RIC tax treatment, we must meet certain source of income, annual distribution and asset diversification requirements.

The source of income requirement is satisfied if we derive at least 90% of our annual gross income from interest, dividends, payments with respect to certain securities loans, gains from the sale or other disposition of securities or options thereon or foreign currencies, or other income derived with respect to our business of investing in such securities or currencies, and net income from interests in “qualified publicly traded partnerships,” as defined in the Code.

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

To maintain our qualification as a RIC, we must also meet certain asset diversification requirements at the end of each quarter of our taxable year. Failure to meet these tests may result in our having to dispose of certain investments quickly in order to prevent the loss of RIC status. Because most of our investments are in private companies, any such dispositions could be made at disadvantageous prices and may result in substantial losses.

If we fail to qualify as a RIC for any reason or become subject to corporate income tax, the resulting corporate taxes would substantially reduce our net assets, the amount of income available for payments on the notes. Such a failure could have a materially adverse effect on us and our noteholders.

We may have difficulty paying our required distributions if we recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income.

For U.S. federal income tax purposes, we include in income certain amounts that we have not yet received in cash, such as original issue discount or payment-in-kind interest, which represents contractual interest added to the loan balance and due at the end of the loan term. Such amounts could be significant relative to our overall investment activities. We also may be required to include in taxable income certain other amounts that we do not receive in cash. While we focus primarily on investments that will generate a current cash return, our investment portfolio currently includes, and we may continue to invest in, securities that do not pay some or all of their return in periodic current cash distributions.

Since in some cases we may recognize taxable income before or without receiving cash representing such income, we may have difficulty distributing at least 90% of our ordinary income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized net long-term capital losses, if any, as required to maintain RIC tax treatment. Accordingly, we may have to sell some of our investments at times we would not consider advantageous, raise additional debt or equity capital or reduce new investment originations to meet these distribution requirements. If we are not able to obtain cash from other sources, we may fail to qualify for RIC treatment and thus become subject to corporate-level income tax.

Regulations governing our operation as a business development company affect our ability to raise, and the way in which we raise, additional capital. These constraints may hinder our Investment Adviser’s ability to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities and to achieve our investment objective.

We have incurred indebtedness under our revolving credit facility and through the issuance of the Unsecured Notes and, in the future, may issue preferred stock or debt securities and/or borrow additional money from banks or other financial institutions, which we refer to collectively as “senior securities,” up to the maximum amount permitted by the 1940 Act. Under the provisions of the 1940 Act, we are permitted, as a BDC, to incur indebtedness or issue senior securities only in amounts such that our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, equals at least 200% after each issuance of senior securities. If the value of our assets declines, we may be unable to satisfy this test, which would prohibit us from paying dividends in cash or other property and could prohibit us from qualifying as a RIC. If we cannot satisfy this test, we may be required to sell a portion of our investments or sell additional shares of common stock at a time when such sales may be disadvantageous in order to repay a portion of our indebtedness or otherwise increase our net assets. In addition, issuance of additional common stock could dilute the percentage ownership of our current stockholders in us.

As a BDC regulated under provisions of the 1940 Act, we are not generally able to issue and sell our common stock at a price below the current net asset value per share without stockholder approval. If our common stock trades at a discount to net asset value, this restriction could adversely affect our ability to raise capital. We may, however, sell our common stock, or warrants, options or rights to acquire our common stock, at a price below the current net asset value of our common stock in certain circumstances, including if (i)(1) the holders of a majority of our shares (or, if less, at least 67% of a quorum consisting of a majority of our shares) and a similar majority of the holders of our shares who are not affiliated persons of us approve the sale of our common stock at a price that is less than the current net asset value, and (2) a majority of our Directors who have no financial interest in the transaction and a majority of our independent Directors (a) determine that such sale is in our and our stockholders’ best interests and (b) in consultation with any underwriter or underwriters of the offering, make a good faith determination as of a time either immediately prior to the first solicitation by us or on our behalf of firm commitments to purchase such shares, or immediately prior to the issuance of such shares, that the price at which such shares are to be sold is not less than a price which closely approximates the market value of such shares, less any distributing commission or discount or (ii) a majority of the number of the beneficial holders of our common stock entitled to vote at our annual meeting, without regard to whether a majority of such shares are voted in favor of the proposal, approve the sale of our common stock at a price that is less than the current net asset value per share.

To generate cash for funding new investments, we pledged a substantial portion of our portfolio investments under our revolving credit facility. These assets are not available to secure other sources of funding or for securitization. Our ability to obtain additional secured or unsecured financing on attractive terms in the future is uncertain.

Alternatively, we may securitize our future loans to generate cash for funding new investments. See “Securitization of our assets subjects us to various risks.”

Securitization of our assets subjects us to various risks.

We may securitize assets to generate cash for funding new investments. We refer to the term securitize to describe a form of leverage under which a company such as us (sometimes referred to as an “originator” or “sponsor”) transfers income producing assets to a single-purpose, bankruptcy-remote subsidiary (also referred to as a “special purpose entity” or “SPE”), which is established solely for the purpose of holding such assets and entering into a structured finance transaction. The SPE then issues notes secured by such assets. The special purpose entity may issue the notes in the capital markets either publicly or privately to a variety of investors, including banks, non-bank financial institutions and other investors. There may be a single class of notes or multiple classes of notes, the most senior of which carries less credit risk and the most junior of which may carry substantially the same credit risk as the equity of the SPE.

An important aspect of most debt securitization transactions is that the sale and/or contribution of assets into the SPE be considered a true sale and/or contribution for accounting purposes and that a reviewing court would not consolidate the SPE with the operations of the originator in the event of the originator’s bankruptcy based on equitable principles. Viewed as a whole, a debt securitization seeks to lower risk to the note purchasers by isolating the assets collateralizing the securitization in an SPE that is not subject to the credit and bankruptcy risks of the originator. As a result of this perceived reduction of risk, debt securitization transactions frequently achieve lower overall leverage costs for originators as compared to traditional secured lending transactions.

In accordance with the above description, to securitize loans, we may create a wholly-owned subsidiary and contribute a pool of our assets to such subsidiary. The SPE may be funded with, among other things, whole loans or interests from other pools and such loans may or may not be rated. The SPE would then sell its notes to purchasers who we would expect to be willing to accept a lower interest rate and the absence of any recourse against us to invest in a pool of income producing assets to which none of our creditors would have access. We would retain all or a portion of the equity in the SPE. An inability to successfully securitize portions of our portfolio or otherwise leverage our portfolio through secured and unsecured borrowings could limit our ability to grow our business and fully execute our business strategy, and could decrease our earnings. However, the successful securitization of portions of our portfolio exposes us to a risk of loss for the equity we retain in the SPE and might expose us to greater risk on our remaining portfolio because the assets we retain may tend to be those that are riskier and more likely to generate losses. A successful securitization may also impose financial and operating covenants that restrict our business activities and may include limitations that could hinder our ability to finance additional loans and investments or to make the distributions required to maintain our status as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. The 1940 Act may also impose restrictions on the structure of any securitizations.

Interests we hold in the SPE, if any, will be subordinated to the other interests issued by the SPE. As such, we will only receive cash distributions on such interests if the SPE has made all cash interest and other required payments on all other interests it has issued. In addition, our subordinated interests will likely be unsecured and rank behind all of the secured creditors, known or unknown, of the SPE, including the holders of the senior interests it has issued. Consequently, to the extent that the value of the SPEs portfolio of assets has been reduced as a result of conditions in the credit markets, or as a result of defaults, the value of the subordinated interests we retain would be reduced. Securitization imposes on us the same risks as borrowing except that our risk in a securitization is limited to the amount of subordinated interests we retain, whereas in a borrowing or debt issuance by us directly we would be at risk for the entire amount of the borrowing or debt issuance.

If the SPE is not consolidated with us, our only interest will be the value of our retained subordinated interest and the income allocated to us, which may be more or less than the cash we receive from the SPE, and none of the SPEs liabilities will be reflected as our liabilities. If the assets of the SPE are not consolidated with our assets and liabilities, then our interest in the SPE may be deemed not to be a qualifying asset for purposes of determining whether 70% of our assets are qualifying assets and the leverage incurred by such SPE may or may not be treated as borrowings by us for purposes of the requirement that we not issue senior securities in an amount in excess of our net assets.

We may also engage in transactions utilizing SPEs and securitization techniques where the assets sold or contributed to the SPE remain on our balance sheet for accounting purposes. If, for example, we sell the assets to the SPE with recourse or provide a guarantee or other credit support to the SPE, its assets will remain on our balance sheet. Consolidation would also generally result if we, in consultation with the SEC, determine that consolidation would result in a more accurate reflection of our assets, liabilities and results of operations. In these structures, the risks will be essentially the same as in other securitization transactions but the assets will remain our assets for purposes of the limitations described above on investing in assets that are not qualifying assets and the leverage incurred by the SPE will be treated as borrowings incurred by us for purposes of our limitation on the issuance of senior securities.

The Investment Adviser may have conflicts of interest with respect to potential securitizations in as much as securitizations that are not consolidated may reduce our assets for purposes of determining its investment advisory fee although

in some circumstances the Investment Adviser may be paid certain fees for managing the assets of the SPE so as to reduce or eliminate any potential bias against securitizations.

Our ability to invest in public companies may be limited in certain circumstances.

As a BDC, we must not acquire any assets other than “qualifying assets” specified in the 1940 Act unless, at the time the acquisition is made, at least 70% of our total assets are qualifying assets (with certain limited exceptions). Subject to certain exceptions for follow-on investments and distressed companies, an investment in an issuer that has outstanding securities listed on a national securities exchange may be treated as qualifying assets only if such issuer has a market capitalization that is less than $250 million at the time of such investment.

Risks Relating to Our Investments

We may not realize gains or income from our investments.

We seek to generate both current income and capital appreciation. However, the securities we invest in may not appreciate and, in fact, may decline in value, and the issuers of debt securities we invest in may default on interest and/or principal payments. Accordingly, we may not be able to realize gains from our investments, and any gains that we do realize may not be sufficient to offset any losses we experience. See “Business - Our Investment Objective and Policies.”

Most of our portfolio investments are recorded at fair value as determined in good faith under the direction of our Board of Directors and, as a result, there is uncertainty as to the value of our portfolio investments.

A large percentage of our portfolio investments consist of securities of privately held companies. Hence, market quotations are generally not readily available for determining the fair values of such investments. The determination of fair value, and thus the amount of unrealized losses we may incur in any year, is to a degree subjective, and the Investment Adviser has a conflict of interest in making the determination. We value these securities quarterly at fair value as determined in good faith by our Board of Directors based on input from the Investment Adviser, our Administrator, a third party independent valuation firm and our Audit Committee. Our Board of Directors utilizes the services of an independent valuation firm to aid it in determining the fair value of any securities. The types of factors that may be considered in determining the fair values of our investments include the nature and realizable value of any collateral, the portfolio company’s ability to make payments and its earnings, the markets in which the portfolio company does business, comparison to publicly traded companies, discounted cash flow, current market interest rates and other relevant factors.

Because such valuations, and particularly valuations of private securities and private companies, are inherently uncertain, the valuations may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time due to changes in current market conditions. The determinations of fair value by our Board of Directors may differ materially from the values that would have been used if an active market and market quotations existed for these investments. Our net asset value could be adversely affected if the determinations regarding the fair value of our investments were materially higher than the values that we ultimately realize upon the disposal of such securities.

In addition, decreases in the market values or fair values of our investments are recorded as unrealized depreciation. Declines in prices and liquidity in the corporate debt markets experienced during a financial crisis will result in significant net unrealized depreciation in our portfolio. The effect of all of these factors increases the net unrealized depreciation in our portfolio and reduces our NAV. Depending on market conditions, we could incur substantial realized losses which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations. We have no policy regarding holding a minimum level of liquid assets. As such, a high percentage of our portfolio generally is not liquid at any given point in time. See “The lack of liquidity in our investments may adversely affect our business.”

Price declines and illiquidity in the corporate debt markets have adversely affected, and may in the future adversely affect, the fair value of our portfolio investments, reducing our net asset value through increased net unrealized depreciation.

As a BDC, we are required to carry our investments at market value or, if no market value is ascertainable, at fair value as determined in good faith by or under the direction of our Board of Directors. As part of the valuation process, the types of factors that we may take into account in determining the fair value of our investments include, as relevant and among other factors: available current market data, including relevant and applicable market trading and transaction comparables, applicable market yields and multiples, security covenants, call protection provisions, information rights, the nature and realizable value of any collateral, the portfolio company’s ability to make payments, its earnings and discounted cash flows, the markets in which the portfolio company does business, comparisons of financial ratios of peer companies that are public, merger and acquisition comparables, our principal market (as the reporting entity) and enterprise values of our portfolio companies. Decreases in the

market values or fair values of our investments are recorded as unrealized depreciation. The effect of all of these factors on our portfolio can reduce our net asset value by increasing net unrealized depreciation in our portfolio. Depending on market conditions, we could incur substantial realized losses and may suffer additional unrealized losses in future periods, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Our investments in prospective portfolio companies may be risky and we could lose all or part of our investment.

Some of our portfolio companies have relatively short or no operating histories. These companies are and will be subject to all of the business risks and uncertainties associated with any new business enterprise, including the risk that these companies may not reach their investment objective, and the value of our investment in them may decline substantially or fall to zero. In addition, investment in the middle market companies that we are targeting involves a number of other significant risks, including:

We acquire majority interests in operating companies engaged in a variety of industries. When we acquire these companies we generally seek to apply financial leverage to them in the form of debt. In most cases all or a portion of this debt is held by us, with the obligor being either the operating company itself, a holding company through which we own our majority interest or both. The level of debt leverage utilized by these companies makes them susceptible to the risks identified above.

In addition, our executive officers, directors and the Investment Adviser could, in the ordinary course of business, be named as defendants in litigation arising from proposed investments or from our investments in the portfolio companies and may, as a result, incur significant costs and expenses in connection with such litigation.

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

We make investments in private companies. A portion of these investments may be subject to legal and other restrictions on resale, transfer, pledge or other disposition or will otherwise be less liquid than publicly traded securities. The illiquidity of our investments may make it difficult for us to sell such investments if the need arises. 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 have previously recorded our investments. In addition, we face other restrictions on our ability to liquidate an investment in a business entity to the extent that we or the Investment Adviser has or could be deemed to have material non-public information regarding such business entity.

Economic recessions or downturns could impair our portfolio companies and harm our operating results.

Many of our portfolio companies may be susceptible to economic slowdowns or recessions and may be unable to repay our loans or meet other obligations during these periods. Therefore, our non-performing assets are likely to increase, and the value of our portfolio is likely to decrease, during these periods. Adverse economic conditions also may decrease the value of collateral securing some of our loans and the value of our equity investments. Economic slowdowns or recessions could lead to financial losses in our portfolio and a decrease in revenues, net income and assets. Unfavorable economic conditions also could increase our funding costs, limit our access to the capital markets or result in a decision by lenders not to extend credit to us. These events could prevent us from increasing investments and harm our operating results.

A portfolio company’s failure to satisfy financial or operating covenants imposed by us or other lenders could lead to defaults and, potentially, termination of its loans and foreclosure on its secured assets, which could trigger cross-defaults under other agreements and jeopardize a portfolio company’s ability to meet its obligations under the debt or equity securities that we hold. We may incur expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery upon default or to negotiate new terms, which may include the waiver of certain financial covenants, with a defaulting portfolio company. In addition, if one of our portfolio companies were to go bankrupt, even though we may have structured our interest as senior debt or preferred equity, depending on the facts and circumstances, including the extent to which we actually provided managerial assistance to that portfolio company, a bankruptcy court might recharacterize our debt or equity holding and subordinate all or a portion of our claim to those of other creditors.

Investments in equity securities, many of which are illiquid with no readily available market, involve a substantial degree of risk.

We may purchase common and other equity securities. Although common stock has historically generated higher average total returns than fixed income securities over the long-term, common stock has significantly more volatility in those returns and may significantly underperform relative to fixed income securities. The equity securities we acquire may fail to appreciate and may decline in value or become worthless and our ability to recover our investment will depend on our portfolio company’s success. Investments in equity securities involve a number of significant risks, including:

There are special risks associated with investing in preferred securities, including:

Additionally, when we invest in first lien senior secured loans (including unitranche loans), second lien senior secured loans or unsecured debt, we may acquire warrants or other equity securities as well. Our goal is ultimately to dispose of such equity interests and realize gains upon our disposition of such interests. However, the equity interests we receive may not appreciate in value and, in fact, may decline in value. Accordingly, we may not be able to realize gains from our equity interests and any gains that we do realize on the disposition of any equity interests may not be sufficient to offset any other losses we experience.

We may invest, to the extent permitted by law, in the equity securities of investment funds that are operating pursuant to certain exceptions to the 1940 Act and in advisers to similar investment funds and, to the extent we so invest, will bear our ratable share of any such company’s expenses, including management and performance fees. We will also remain obligated to pay management and incentive fees to Prospect Capital Management with respect to the assets invested in the securities and instruments of such companies. With respect to each of these investments, each of our common stockholders will bear his or her share of the management and incentive fee of Prospect Capital Management as well as indirectly bearing the management and performance fees and other expenses of any such investment funds or advisers.

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

If one of our portfolio companies were to go bankrupt, even though we may have structured our interest as senior debt, depending on the facts and circumstances, a bankruptcy court might recharacterize our debt holding as an equity investment and subordinate all or a portion of our claim to that of other creditors. In addition, lenders can be subject to lender liability claims for actions taken by them where they become too involved in the borrower’s business or exercise control over the borrower. For example, we could become subject to a lender’s liability claim, if, among other things, we actually render significant managerial assistance.

Our portfolio companies may incur debt or issue equity securities that rank equally with, or senior to, our investments in such companies.

Our portfolio companies may have, or may be permitted to incur, other debt or issue other equity securities that rank equally with or senior to our investments. By their terms, such instruments may provide that the holders are entitled to receive payment of dividends, interest or principal on or before the dates on which we are entitled to receive payments in respect of our investments. These debt instruments would usually prohibit the portfolio companies from paying interest on or repaying our investments in the event and during the continuance of a default under such debt. Also, in the event of insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of a portfolio company, holders of securities ranking senior to our investment in that portfolio company typically are entitled to receive payment in full before we receive any distribution in respect of our investment. After repaying such holders, the portfolio company may not have any remaining assets to use for repaying its obligation to us. In the case of securities ranking equally with our investments, we would have to share on an equal basis any distributions with other security holders in the event of an insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of the relevant portfolio company.

The rights we may have with respect to the collateral securing any junior priority loans we make to our portfolio companies may also be limited pursuant to the terms of one or more intercreditor agreements (including agreements governing “first out” and “last out” structures) that we enter into with the holders of senior debt. Under such an intercreditor agreement, at any time that senior obligations are outstanding, we may forfeit certain rights with respect to the collateral to the holders of the senior obligations. These rights may include the right to commence enforcement proceedings against the collateral, the right to control the conduct of such enforcement proceedings, the right to approve amendments to collateral documents, the right to release liens on the collateral and the right to waive past defaults under collateral documents. We may not have the ability to control or direct such actions, even if as a result our rights as junior lenders are adversely affected.

This risk is characteristic of many of the majority-owned operating companies in our portfolio in that any debt to us from a holding company and the holding company’s substantial equity investments in the related operating company are subordinated to any creditors of the operating company.

When we are a debt or minority equity investor in a portfolio company, we are often not in a position to exert influence on the entity, and other debt holders, other equity holders and/or portfolio company management may make decisions that could decrease the value of our portfolio holdings.

When we make debt or minority equity investments, we are subject to the risk that a portfolio company may make business decisions with which we disagree and the other equity holders and management of such company may take risks or otherwise act in ways that do not serve our interests. As a result, a portfolio company may make decisions that could decrease

the value of our investment. In addition, when we hold a subordinate debt position, other more senior debt holders may make decisions that could decrease the value of our investment.

Our portfolio companies may be highly leveraged.

Some of our portfolio companies may be highly leveraged, which may have adverse consequences to these companies and to us as an investor. These companies may be subject to restrictive financial and operating covenants and the leverage may impair these companies’ ability to finance their future operations and capital needs. As a result, these companies’ flexibility to respond to changing business and economic conditions and to take advantage of business opportunities may be limited. Further, a leveraged company’s income and net assets will tend to increase or decrease at a greater rate than if borrowed money were not used.

Our portfolio contains a limited number of portfolio companies, some of which comprise a substantial percentage of our portfolio, which subjects us to a greater risk of significant loss if any of these companies defaults on its obligations under any of its debt securities.

A consequence of the limited number of investments in our portfolio is that the aggregate returns we realize may be significantly adversely affected if one or more of our significant portfolio company investments perform poorly or if we need to write down the value of any one significant investment. Beyond our income tax diversification requirements, we do not have fixed guidelines for diversification, and our portfolio could contain relatively few portfolio companies.

Our failure to make follow-on investments in our existing portfolio companies could impair the value of our portfolio.

Following an initial investment in a portfolio company, we may make additional investments in that portfolio company as “follow-on” investments, in order to: (1) increase or maintain in whole or in part our equity ownership percentage; (2) exercise warrants, options or convertible securities that were acquired in the original or subsequent financing or (3) attempt to preserve or enhance the value of our investment.

We may elect not to make follow-on investments, may be constrained in our ability to employ available funds, or otherwise may lack sufficient funds to make those investments. We have the discretion to make any follow-on investments, subject to the availability of capital resources. The failure to make follow-on investments may, in some circumstances, jeopardize the continued viability of a portfolio company and our initial investment, or may result in a missed opportunity for us to increase our participation in a successful operation. Even if we have sufficient capital to make a desired follow-on investment, we may elect not to make a follow-on investment because we may not want to increase our concentration of risk, because we prefer other opportunities, or because we are inhibited by compliance with BDC requirements or the desire to maintain our tax status.

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

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

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

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

We may not be able to fully realize the value of the collateral securing our debt investments.

Although a substantial amount of our debt investments are protected by holding security interests in the assets or equity interests of the portfolio companies, we may not be able to fully realize the value of the collateral securing our investments due to one or more of the following factors:

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

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

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

We may expose ourselves to risks if we engage in hedging transactions.

We may employ hedging techniques to minimize certain investment risks, such as fluctuations in interest and currency exchange rates, but we can offer no assurance that such strategies will be effective. If we engage in hedging transactions, we may expose ourselves to risks associated with such transactions. We may utilize instruments such as forward contracts, currency options and interest rate swaps, caps, collars and floors to seek to hedge against fluctuations in the relative values of our portfolio positions from changes in currency exchange rates and market interest rates. Hedging against a decline in the values of our portfolio positions does not eliminate the possibility of fluctuations in the values of such positions or prevent losses if the values of such positions decline. However, such hedging can establish other positions designed to gain from those same developments, thereby offsetting the decline in the value of such portfolio positions. Such hedging transactions may also limit the opportunity for gain if the values of the portfolio positions should increase. Moreover, it may not be possible to hedge against an exchange rate or interest rate fluctuation that is so generally anticipated that we are not able to enter into a hedging transaction at an acceptable price. Furthermore, our ability to engage in hedging transactions may also be adversely affected by rules adopted by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”). The Dodd-Frank Act has made broad changes to the OTC derivatives market, granted significant new authority to the CFTC and the SEC to regulate OTC derivatives (swaps and security-based swaps) and participants in these markets. The Dodd-Frank Act is intended to regulate the OTC derivatives market by requiring many derivative transactions to be cleared and traded on an exchange, expanding entity registration requirements, imposing business conduct requirements on dealers and requiring banks to move some derivatives trading units to a non-guaranteed affiliate separate from the deposit-taking bank or divest them altogether. The CFTC has implemented mandatory clearing and exchange-trading of certain OTC derivatives contracts including many standardized interest rate swaps and credit default index swaps. The CFTC continues to approve contracts for central clearing. Exchange-trading and central clearing are expected to reduce counterparty credit risk by substituting the clearinghouse as the counterparty to a swap and increase liquidity, but exchange-trading and central clearing do not make swap transactions risk-free. Uncleared swaps, such as non-deliverable foreign currency forwards, are subject to certain margin requirements that mandate the posting and collection of minimum margin amounts. This requirement may result in the portfolio and its counterparties posting higher margin amounts for uncleared swaps than would otherwise be the case. Certain rules require centralized reporting of detailed information about many types of cleared and uncleared swaps. Reporting of swap data may result in greater market transparency, but may subject a portfolio to additional administrative burdens, and the safeguards established to protect trader anonymity may not function as expected. Future CFTC or SEC rulemakings to implement the Dodd-Frank Act requirements

could potentially limit or completely restrict our ability to use these instruments as a part of our investment strategy, increase the costs of using these instruments or make them less effective. Limits or restrictions applicable to the counterparties with which we engage in derivative transactions could also prevent us from using these instruments or affect the pricing or other factors relating to these instruments, or may change availability of certain investments. The SEC has also indicated that it may adopt new policies on the use of derivatives by registered investment companies. Such policies could affect the nature and extent of our use of derivatives.

The success of our hedging transactions depends on our ability to correctly predict movements, currencies and interest rates. Therefore, while we may enter into such transactions to seek to reduce currency exchange rate and interest rate risks, unanticipated changes in currency exchange rates or interest rates may result in poorer overall investment performance than if we had not engaged in any such hedging transactions. The degree of correlation between price movements of the instruments used in a hedging strategy and price movements in the portfolio positions being hedged may vary. Moreover, for a variety of reasons, we may not seek to establish a perfect correlation between such hedging instruments and the portfolio holdings being hedged. Any such imperfect correlation may prevent us from achieving the intended hedge and expose us to risk of loss. In addition, it may not be possible to hedge fully or perfectly against currency fluctuations affecting the value of securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies. We have no current intention of engaging in any of the hedging transaction described above, although it reserves the right to do so in the future.

Our Board of Directors may change our operating policies and strategies without prior notice or stockholder approval, the effects of which may be adverse to us and could impair the value of our stockholders’ investment.

Our Board of Directors has the authority to modify or waive our current operating policies and our strategies without prior notice and without stockholder approval. We cannot predict the effect any changes to our current operating policies and strategies would have on our business, financial condition, and value of our common stock. However, the effects might be adverse, which could negatively impact our ability to pay dividends and cause stockholders to lose all or part of their investment.

Investments in the energy sector are subject to many risks.

We have made certain investments in and relating to the energy sector. The operations of energy companies are subject to many risks inherent in the transporting, processing, storing, distributing, mining or marketing of natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil, coal, refined petroleum products or other hydrocarbons, or in the exploring, managing or producing of such commodities, including, without limitation: damage to pipelines, storage tanks or related equipment and surrounding properties caused by hurricanes, tornadoes, floods, fires and other natural disasters or by acts of terrorism, inadvertent damage from construction and farm equipment, leaks of natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil, refined petroleum products or other hydrocarbons, and fires and explosions. These risks could result in substantial losses due to personal injury or loss of life, severe damage to and destruction of property and equipment and pollution or other environmental damage, and may result in the curtailment or suspension of their related operations, any and all of which could adversely affect our portfolio companies in the energy sector. In addition, the energy sector commodity prices have experienced significant volatility at times, which may occur in the future, and which could negatively affect the returns on any investment made by us in this sector. In addition, valuation of certain investments includes the probability weighting of future events which are outside of management’s control. The final outcome of such events could increase or decrease the fair value of the investment in a future period.

Our investments in CLOs may be riskier and less transparent to us and our stockholders than direct investments in the underlying companies.

We invest in CLOs. Generally, there may be less information available to us regarding the underlying debt investments held by CLOs than if we had invested directly in the debt of the underlying companies. As a result, our stockholders will not know the details of the underlying securities of the CLOs in which we will invest. Our CLO investments are subject to the risk of leverage associated with the debt issued by such CLOs and the repayment priority of senior debt holders in such CLOs. Our investments in portfolio companies may be risky, and we could lose all or part of our investment.

CLOs typically will have no significant assets other than their underlying senior secured loans; payments on CLO investments are and will be payable solely from the cash flows from such senior secured loans.

CLOs typically will have no significant assets other than their underlying senior secured loans. Accordingly, payments on CLO investments are and will be payable solely from the cash flows from such senior secured loans, net of all management fees and other expenses. Payments to us as a holder of CLO junior securities are and will be made only after payments due on the senior secured notes, and, where appropriate, the junior secured notes, have been made in full. This means that relatively small numbers of defaults of senior secured loans may adversely impact our returns.

Our CLO investments are exposed to leveraged credit risk.

Generally, we are in a subordinated position with respect to realized losses on the senior secured loans underlying our investments in CLOs. The leveraged nature of CLOs, in particular, magnifies the adverse impact of senior secured loan defaults. CLO investments represent a leveraged investment with respect to the underlying senior secured loans. Therefore, changes in the market value of the CLO investments could be greater than the change in the market value of the underlying senior secured loans, which are subject to credit, liquidity and interest rate risk.

There is the potential for interruption and deferral of cash flow from CLO investments.

If certain minimum collateral value ratios and/or interest coverage ratios are not met by a CLO, primarily due to senior secured loan defaults, then cash flow that otherwise would have been available to pay distributions to us on our CLO investments may instead be used to redeem any senior notes or to purchase additional senior secured loans, until the ratios again exceed the minimum required levels or any senior notes are repaid in full. This could result in an elimination, reduction or deferral in the distribution and/or principal paid to the holders of the CLO investments, which would adversely impact our returns.

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

Our CLO investment strategy allows investments in foreign CLOs. Investing in foreign entities may expose us to additional risks not typically associated with investing in U.S. issuers. These risks include changes in exchange control regulations, political and social instability, expropriation, imposition of foreign taxes, less liquid markets and less available information than is generally the case in the United States, higher transaction costs, less government supervision of exchanges, brokers and issuers, less developed bankruptcy laws, difficulty in enforcing contractual obligations, lack of uniform accounting and auditing standards and greater price volatility. Further, we, and the CLOs in which we invest, may have difficulty enforcing creditor’s rights in foreign jurisdictions. In addition, the underlying companies of the CLOs in which we invest may be foreign, which may create greater exposure for us to foreign economic developments.

The payment of underlying portfolio manager fees and other charges on CLO investments could adversely impact our returns.

We may invest in CLO investments where the underlying portfolio securities may be subject to management, administration and incentive or performance fees, in addition to those payable by us. Payment of such additional fees could adversely impact the returns we achieve.

The inability of a CLO collateral manager to reinvest the proceeds of the prepayment of senior secured loans at equivalent rates may adversely affect us.

There can be no assurance that for any CLO investment, in the event that any of the senior secured loans of a CLO underlying such investment are prepaid, the CLO collateral manager will be able to reinvest such proceeds in new senior secured loans with equivalent investment returns. If the CLO collateral manager cannot reinvest in new senior secured loans with equivalent investment returns, the interest proceeds available to pay interest on the rated liabilities and investments may be adversely affected.

Our CLO investments are subject to prepayments and calls, increasing re-investment risk.

Our CLO investments and/or the underlying senior secured loans may prepay more quickly than expected, which could have an adverse impact on our value. Prepayment rates are influenced by changes in interest rates and a variety of economic, geographic and other factors beyond our control and consequently cannot be predicted with certainty. In addition, for a CLO collateral manager there is often a strong incentive to refinance well performing portfolios once the senior tranches amortize. The yield to maturity of the investments will depend on the amount and timing of payments of principal on the loans and the price paid for the investments. Such yield may be adversely affected by a higher or lower than anticipated rate of prepayments of the debt.

Furthermore, our CLO investments generally do not contain optional call provisions, other than a call at the option of the holders of the equity tranches for the senior notes and the junior secured notes to be paid in full after the expiration of an initial period in the deal (referred to as the “non-call period”).

The exercise of the call option is by the relevant percentage (usually a majority) of the holders of the equity tranches and, therefore, where we do not hold the relevant percentage we will not be able to control the timing of the exercise of the call

option. The equity tranches also generally have a call at any time based on certain tax event triggers. In any event, the call can only be exercised by the holders of equity tranches if they can demonstrate (in accordance with the detailed provisions in the transaction) that the senior notes and junior secured notes will be paid in full if the call is exercised.

Early prepayments and/or the exercise of a call option otherwise than at our request may also give rise to increased re-investment risk with respect to certain investments, as we may realize excess cash earlier than expected. If we are unable to reinvest such cash in a new investment with an expected rate of return at least equal to that of the investment repaid, this may reduce our net income and, consequently, could have an adverse impact on our ability to pay dividends.

We have limited control of the administration and amendment of senior secured loans owned by the CLOs in which we invest.

We are not able to directly enforce any rights and remedies in the event of a default of a senior secured loan held by a CLO vehicle. In addition, the terms and conditions of the senior secured loans underlying our CLO investments may be amended, modified or waived only by the agreement of the underlying lenders. Generally, any such agreement must include a majority or a super majority (measured by outstanding loans or commitments) or, in certain circumstances, a unanimous vote of the lenders. Consequently, the terms and conditions of the payment obligations arising from senior secured loans could be modified, amended or waived in a manner contrary to our preferences.

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

The terms and conditions of target securities may be amended, modified or waived only by the agreement of the underlying security holders. Generally, any such agreement must include a majority or a super majority (measured by outstanding amounts) or, in certain circumstances, a unanimous vote of the security holders. Consequently, the terms and conditions of the payment obligation arising from the CLOs in which we invest be modified, amended or waived in a manner contrary to our preferences.

Senior secured loans of CLOs may be sold and replaced resulting in a loss to us.

The senior secured loans underlying our CLO investments may be sold and replacement collateral purchased within the parameters set out in the relevant CLO indenture between the CLO and the CLO trustee and those parameters may typically only be amended, modified or waived by the agreement of a majority of the holders of the senior notes and/or the junior secured notes and/or the equity tranche once the CLO has been established. If these transactions result in a net loss, the magnitude of the loss from the perspective of the equity tranche would be increased by the leveraged nature of the investment.

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

We expect that a majority of our portfolio will consist of equity and junior debt investments in CLOs, which involve a number of significant risks. CLOs are typically highly levered up to approximately 10 times, and therefore the junior debt and equity tranches that we will invest in are subject to a higher risk of total loss. In particular, investors in CLOs indirectly bear risks of the underlying debt investments held by such CLOs. We will generally have the right to receive payments only from the CLOs, and will generally not have direct rights against the underlying borrowers or the entities that sponsored the CLOs. Although it is difficult to predict whether the prices of indices and securities underlying CLOs will rise or fall, these prices, and, therefore, the prices of the CLOs will be influenced by the same types of political and economic events that affect issuers of securities and capital markets generally.

The investments we make in CLOs are thinly traded or have only a limited trading market. CLO investments are typically privately offered and sold, in the primary and secondary markets. As a result, investments in CLOs may be characterized as illiquid securities. In addition to the general risks associated with investing in debt securities, CLOs carry additional risks, including, but not limited to: (i) the possibility that distributions from the underlying senior secured loans will not be adequate to make interest or other payments; (ii) the quality of the underlying senior secured loans may decline in value or default; and (iii) the complex structure of the security may not be fully understood at the time of investment and may produce disputes with the CLO or unexpected investment results. Further, our investments in equity and junior debt tranches of CLOs are subordinate to the senior debt tranches thereof.

Investments in structured vehicles, including equity and junior debt instruments issued by CLOs, involve risks, including credit risk and market risk. Changes in interest rates and credit quality may cause significant price fluctuations. Additionally, changes in the underlying senior secured loans held by a CLO may cause payments on the instruments we hold to be reduced, either temporarily or permanently. Structured investments, particularly the subordinated interests in which we invest, are less liquid than many other types of securities and may be more volatile than the senior secured loans underlying the CLOs in which we invest.

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

The senior secured loans underlying our CLO investments typically are BB or B rated (non-investment grade) and in limited circumstances, unrated, senior secured loans. Non-investment grade securities are predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal when due and therefore involve a greater risk of default and higher price volatility than investment grade debt.

We will have no influence on management of underlying investments managed by non-affiliated third party CLO collateral managers.

We are not responsible for and have no influence over the asset management of the portfolios underlying the CLO investments we hold as those portfolios are managed by non-affiliated third party CLO collateral managers. Similarly, we are not responsible for and have no influence over the day-to-day management, administration or any other aspect of the issuers of the individual securities. As a result, the values of the portfolios underlying our CLO investments could decrease as a result of decisions made by third party CLO collateral managers.

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

Section 941 of the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (the “Dodd-Frank Act”) added a provision to the Exchange Act, requiring the seller, sponsor or securitizer of a securitization vehicle to retain no less than five percent of the credit risk in assets it sells into a securitization and prohibiting such securitizer from directly or indirectly hedging or otherwise transferring the retained credit risk. The responsible federal agencies adopted final rules implementing these restrictions on October 22, 2014. The risk retention rules became effective with respect to CLOs two years after publication in the Federal Register. Under the final rules, the asset manager of a CLO is considered the sponsor of a securitization vehicle and is required to retain five percent of the credit risk in the CLO, which may be retained horizontally in the equity tranche of the CLO or vertically as a five percent interest in each tranche of the securities issued by the CLO. Although the final rules contain an exemption from such requirements for the asset manager of a CLO if, among other things, the originator or lead arranger of all of the loans acquired by the CLO retain such risk at the asset level and, at origination of such asset, takes a loan tranche of at least 20% of the aggregate principal balance, it is possible that the originators and lead arrangers of loans in this market will not agree to assume this risk or provide such retention at origination of the asset in a manner that would provide meaningful relief from the risk retention requirements for CLO managers.

We believe that the U.S. risk retention requirements imposed for CLO managers under Section 941 of the Dodd-Frank Act has created some uncertainty in the market in regard to future CLO issuance. Given that certain CLO managers may require capital provider partners to satisfy this requirement, we believe that this may create additional risks for us in the future.

On February 9, 2018, a panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled (the “D.C. Circuit Ruling”) that the federal agencies exceeded their authority under the Dodd-Frank Act in adopting the final rules as applied to asset managers of open-market CLOs. On April 5, 2018, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia entered an order implementing the D.C. Circuit Ruling and thereby vacated the U.S. Risk Retention Rules insofar as they apply to CLO managers of “open market CLOs”.

As of the date of hereof, there has been no petition for writ of certiorari filed requesting the case to be heard by the United States Supreme Court. Since there hasn’t been a successful challenge to the D.C. Circuit Ruling and the United States District Court for the District of Columbia has issued the above described order implementing the D.C. Circuit Ruling, collateral managers of open market CLOs are no longer required to comply with the U.S. Risk Retention Rules at this time. As such, it is possible that some collateral managers of open market CLOs will decide to dispose of the notes constituting the “eligible vertical interest” or “eligible horizontal interest” they were previously required to retain, or decide to take other action with respect to such notes that is not otherwise permitted by the U.S. risk retention rules. As a result of this decision, certain CLO managers of “open market CLOs” will no longer be required to comply with the U.S. risk retention rules solely because of their roles as managers of “open market CLOs”, and there may be no “sponsor” of such securitization transactions and no party may be required to acquire and retain an economic interest in the credit risk of the securitized assets of such transactions.

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

Changes in credit spreads may adversely affect our profitability and result in realized and unrealized depreciation on our investments.

The performance of our CLO equity investments will depend, in a large part, upon the spread between the rate at which the CLO borrows funds and the rate at which it lends these funds. Any reduction of the spread between the rate at which the CLO invests and the rate at which it borrows may adversely affect the CLO equity investor’s profitability. Additionally, changes in credit spreads could lead to refinancing (paying off the existing senior secured loan with the proceeds from a new loan) or repricing (reducing the interest rate on an existing senior secured loan) of the senior secured loans that make up a CLO’s portfolio, which would result in a decline in the yield to the CLO’s equity investors and a corresponding loss on investment.

Because CLO equity investors are paid the residual income after the CLO debt tranches receive contractual interest payments, a reduction in the weighted average spread of the senior secured loans underlying a CLO will reduce the income flowing to CLO equity investors. As a result, CLO investors will experience realized and unrealized depreciation in periods of prolonged spread compression. If these conditions continue, the CLO investors, such as us, may lose some or all of their investment.

Our net asset value per share was $9.01 at June 30, 2019 compared to $9.35 at June 30, 2018, representing a 3.6% decline. The decline in net asset value per share since June 30, 2018 is primarily a function of an increase in net realized and change in unrealized losses.

With respect to our online consumer lending initiative, we are dependent on the business performance and competitiveness of marketplace lending facilitators and our ability to assess loan underwriting performance and, if the marketplace lending facilitators from which we currently purchase consumer loans are unable to maintain or increase consumer loan originations, or if such marketplace lending facilitators do not continue to sell consumer loans to us, or we are unable to otherwise purchase additional loans, our business and results of operations will be adversely affected.

With respect to our online consumer lending initiative, we invest primarily in marketplace loans through marketplace lending facilitators. We do not conduct loan origination activities ourselves. Therefore, our ability to purchase consumer loans, and our ability to grow our portfolio of consumer loans, is directly influenced by the business performance and competitiveness of the marketplace loan origination business of the marketplace lending facilitators from which we purchase consumer loans.

In addition, our ability to analyze the risk-return profile of consumer loans is significantly dependent on the marketplace facilitators’ ability to effectively evaluate a borrower's credit profile and likelihood of default. The platforms from which we purchase such loans utilize credit decisioning and scoring models that assign each such loan offered a corresponding interest rate and origination fee. Our returns are a function of the assigned interest rate for each such particular loan purchased less any defaults over the term of the applicable loan. We evaluate the credit decisioning and scoring models implemented by each platform on a regular basis and leverage the additional data on loan history experience, borrower behavior, economic factors and prepayment trends that we accumulate to continually improve our own decisioning model. If we are unable to effectively evaluate borrowers' credit profiles or the credit decisioning and scoring models implemented by each platform, we

may incur unanticipated losses which could adversely impact our operating results. Further, if the interest rates for consumer loans available through marketplace lending platforms are set too high or too low, it may adversely impact our ability to receive returns on our investment that are commensurate with the risks we incur in purchasing the loans.

With respect to our online consumer lending initiative, we rely on the marketplace lending facilitators to service loans including pursuing collections against borrowers. Personal loans facilitated through the marketplace lending facilitators are not secured by any collateral, are not guaranteed or insured by any third-party and are not backed by any governmental authority in any way. Marketplace lending facilitators are therefore limited in their ability to collect on the loans if a borrower is unwilling or unable to repay. A borrower's ability to repay can be negatively impacted by increases in their payment obligations to other lenders under mortgage, credit card and other loans, including student loans and home equity lines of credit. These changes can result from increases in base lending rates or structured increases in payment obligations and could reduce the ability of the borrowers to meet their payment obligations to other lenders and under the loans purchased by us. If a borrower defaults on a loan, the marketplace lending facilitators may outsource subsequent servicing efforts to third-party collection agencies, which may be unsuccessful in their efforts to collect the amount of the loan. Marketplace lending facilitators make payments ratably on an investor's investment only if they receive the borrower's payments on the corresponding loan. If they do not receive payments on the corresponding loan related to an investment, we are not entitled to any payments under the terms of the investment.

As servicers of the loans we purchase as part of our online consumer lending initiative, the marketplace lending facilitators have the authority to waive or modify the terms of a consumer loan without our consent or allow the postponement of strict compliance with any such term or in any manner grant any other indulgence to any borrower. If the marketplace lending facilitators approve a modification to the terms of any consumer loan it may adversely impact our revenues.

To continue to grow our online consumer lending initiative business, we rely on marketplace lending facilitators from which we purchase loans to maintain or increase their consumer loan originations and to agree to sell their consumer loans to us. However, we do not have any exclusive arrangements with any of the marketplace lending facilitators and have no agreements with them to provide us with a guaranteed source of supply. There can be no assurance that such marketplace lending facilitators will be able to maintain or increase consumer loan originations or will continue to sell their consumer loans to us, or that we will be able to otherwise purchase additional loans and, consequently, there can be no assurance that we will be able to grow our business through investment in additional loans. The consumer marketplace lending facilitators could elect to become investors in their own marketplace loans which would limit the amount of supply available for our own investments. An inability to expand our business through investments in additional consumer loans would reduce the return on investment that we might otherwise be able to realize from an increased portfolio of such investments. If we are unable to expand our business relating to our online consumer lending initiative, this may have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Additionally, if marketplace lending facilitators are unable to attract qualified borrowers and sufficient investor commitments or borrowers and investors do not continue to participate in marketplace lending at current rates, the growth of loan originations will slow or loan originations will decrease. As a result of any of these factors, we may be unable to increase our consumer loan investments and our revenue may grow more slowly than expected or decline, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Marketplace lending facilitators on which we rely as part of the online consumer lending initiative by NPRC depend on issuing banks to originate all loans and to comply with various federal, state and other laws.

Typically, the contracts between marketplace lending facilitators and their loan issuing banks are non-exclusive and do not prohibit the issuing banks from working with other marketplace lending facilitators or from offering competing services. Issuing banks could decide that working with marketplace lending facilitators is not in their interests, could make working with marketplace lending facilitators cost prohibitive or could decide to enter into exclusive or more favorable relationships with other marketplace lending facilitators that do not provide consumer loans to us. In addition, issuing banks may not perform as expected under their agreements. Marketplace lending facilitators could in the future have disagreements or disputes with their issuing banks. Any of these factors could negatively impact or threaten our ability to obtain consumer loans and consequently could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Issuing banks are subject to oversight by the FDIC and the states where they are organized and operate and must comply with complex rules and regulations, as well as licensing and examination requirements, including requirements to maintain a certain amount of regulatory capital relative to their outstanding loans. If issuing banks were to suspend, limit or cease their operations or the relationship between the marketplace lending facilitators and the issuing bank were to otherwise terminate, the marketplace lending facilitators would need to implement a substantially similar arrangement with another issuing bank, obtain additional state licenses or curtail their operations. If the marketplace lending facilitators are required to

enter into alternative arrangements with a different issuing bank to replace their existing arrangements, they may not be able to negotiate a comparable alternative arrangement. This may result in their inability to facilitate loans through their platform and accordingly our inability to operate the business of our online consumer lending initiative. If the marketplace lending facilitators were unable to enter into an alternative arrangement with a different issuing bank, they would need to obtain a state license in each state in which they operate in order to enable them to originate loans, as well as comply with other state and federal laws, which would be costly and time-consuming and could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects. If the marketplace lending facilitators are unsuccessful in maintaining their relationships with the issuing banks, their ability to provide loan products could be materially impaired and our operating results could suffer.

Credit and other information that is received about a borrower may be inaccurate or may not accurately reflect the borrower's creditworthiness, which may cause the loans to be inaccurately priced and affect the value of our portfolio.

The marketplace lending facilitators obtain borrower credit information from consumer reporting agencies, such as TransUnion, Experian or Equifax, and assign loan grades to loan requests based on credit decisioning and scoring models that take into account reported credit scores and the requested loan amount, in addition to a variety of other factors. A credit score or loan grade assigned to a borrower may not reflect that borrower's actual creditworthiness because the credit score may be based on incomplete or inaccurate consumer reporting data, and typically, the marketplace lending facilitators do not verify the information obtained from the borrower's credit report. Additionally, there is a risk that, following the date of the credit report that the models are based on, a borrower may have:

Borrowers supply a variety of information to the marketplace lending facilitators based on which the facilitators price the loans. In a number of cases, marketplace lending facilitators do not verify all of this information, and it may be inaccurate or incomplete. For example, marketplace lending facilitators do not always verify a borrower's stated tenure, job title, home ownership status or intention for the use of loan proceeds. Moreover, we do not, and will not, have access to financial statements of borrowers or to other detailed financial information about the borrowers. If we invest in loans through the marketplace provided by the marketplace lending facilitators based on information supplied by borrowers or third parties that is inaccurate, misleading or incomplete, we may not receive expected returns on our investments and this could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects and our reputation may be harmed.

Marketplace lending is a relatively new lending method and the platforms of marketplace lending facilitators have a limited operating history relative to established consumer banks. Borrowers may not view or treat their obligations under any such loans we purchase as having the same significance as loans from traditional lending sources, such as bank loans.

The return on our investment in consumer loans depends on borrowers fulfilling their payment obligations in a timely and complete manner under the corresponding consumer loan. Borrowers may not view their obligations originated on the lending platforms that the marketplace lending facilitators provide as having the same significance as other credit obligations arising under more traditional circumstances, such as loans from banks or other commercial financial institutions. If a borrower neglects his or her payment obligations on a consumer loan or chooses not to repay his or her consumer loan entirely, we may not be able to recover any portion of our investment in the consumer loans. This will adversely impact our business, financial condition, results of operations and prospects.

Risks affecting investments in real estate.

NPRC invests in commercial multi-family residential and student-housing real estate. A number of factors may prevent each of NPRC’s properties and assets from generating sufficient net cash flow or may adversely affect their value, or both, resulting in less cash available for distribution, or a loss, to us. These factors include, but are not limited to:

To the extent original issue discount (“OID”) and payment in kind (“PIK”) interest constitute a portion of our income, we will be exposed to typical risks associated with such income being required to be included in taxable and accounting income prior to receipt of cash representing such income.

Our investments may include OID instruments and PIK interest arrangements, which represents contractual interest added to a loan balance and due at the end of such loan’s term. To the extent OID or PIK interest constitute a portion of our income, we are exposed to typical risks associated with such income being required to be included in taxable and accounting income prior to receipt of cash, including the following:

For accounting purposes, any cash distributions to shareholders representing OID and PIK income are not treated as coming from paid-in capital, even if the cash to pay them comes from offering proceeds. As a result, despite the fact that a distribution representing OID and PIK income could be paid out of amounts invested by our stockholders, the 1940 Act does not require that stockholders be given notice of this fact by reporting it as a return of capital.

Capitalizing PIK interest to loan principal increases our gross assets, thus increasing our Investment Adviser’s future base management fees, and increases future investment income, thus increasing our Investment Adviser’s future income incentive fees at a compounding rate.

Market prices of zero-coupon or PIK securities may be affected to a greater extent by interest rate changes and may be more volatile than securities that pay interest periodically and in cash.

For accounting purposes, any cash distributions to stockholders representing OID and PIK income are not designated as paid-in capital, even if the cash to pay them derives from offering proceeds. As a result, despite the fact that a distribution representing OID and PIK income could be paid out of amounts invested by our stockholders, the 1940 Act does not require that stockholders be given notice of this fact by reporting it as a return of capital.

DESCRIPTION OF NOTES

As required by federal law for all bonds and notes of companies that are publicly offered, the notes are governed by a document called an “indenture.” On February 16, 2012, we entered into an indenture with American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, as trustee. Then, on March 9, 2012, we entered into an Agreement of Resignation, Appointment and Acceptance, or the “Agreement”, with American Stock Transfer & Trust Company, LLC, or the “Retiring Trustee”, and U.S. Bank National Association, or the “trustee”. Under the Agreement, we formally accepted the resignation of the Retiring Trustee and appointed the trustee under the Indenture, dated as of February 16, 2012, or the “indenture”, by and between us and the Retiring Trustee, as supplemented by the First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 1, 2012, by and between us and the Retiring Trustee, as further supplemented by the Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 8, 2012, by and between us and the Retiring Trustee, and as further supplemented by the Joinder Supplemental Indenture, dated as of March 8, 2012, by and among us, the Retiring Trustee and the trustee. We accepted the resignation of the Retiring Trustee and appointed the trustee in order to take advantage of a more efficient money market based system of settling issuances of debt securities issued pursuant to the indenture not available through the Retiring Trustee. The indenture is subject to and governed by the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended. The trustee has two main roles. First, the trustee can enforce your rights against us if we default. There are some limitations on the extent to which the trustee acts on your behalf, described in the second paragraph under “Events of Default-Remedies if an Event of Default Occurs.” Second, the trustee performs certain administrative duties for us.

The indenture does not limit the aggregate amount of debt securities that may be issued under it and provides that the debt securities may be issued under it from time to time in one or more series. The following statements are summaries of the material provisions of the indenture and the notes. These summaries do not purport to be complete and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the indenture, including for the definitions of certain terms. We urge you to read the indenture because it, and not this description, defines your rights as a holder of the notes. For example, in this section, we use capitalized words to signify terms that are specifically defined in the indenture. Some of the definitions are repeated in this prospectus, but for the rest you will need to read the indenture. We have filed the form of the indenture with the SEC. See “Available Information” for information on how to obtain a copy of the indenture. Unless otherwise specified in an applicable pricing supplement, the notes will have the terms described below.

From time to time we may offer other debt securities either publicly or through private placement having maturities, interest rates, covenants and other terms that may differ materially from the terms of the notes described herein and in any pricing supplement. We have the ability to issue debt securities under the indenture with terms different from the notes and those of debt securities previously issued under the indenture and, without the consent of the holders thereof, to reopen a previous issue of a series of debt securities issued under the indenture and issue additional debt securities of that series under the indenture unless the reopening was restricted when that series was created. The indenture does not contain any provisions that give you protection in the event we issue a large amount of debt. Under the provisions of the 1940 Act, we are permitted, as a BDC, to issue debt only in amounts such that our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, equals at least 200% after each issuance of debt. On March 23, 2018, President Trump signed into law the Small Business Credit Availability Act, which included various changes to regulations under the federal securities laws that impact BDCs, including changes to the 1940 Act to allow BDCs to decrease their asset coverage requirement to 150% from 200% under certain circumstances. While certain other BDCs have elected to allow for the increase in leverage, after consideration of the expected negative impact on us, including a rating downgrade by S&P, our Board of Directors has not currently elected to approve the application of the modified asset coverage requirement for the Company. If we choose to take advantage of such additional leverage, it will mean that for every $100 of net assets, we may raise $200 from senior securities, such as borrowings or issuing preferred stock. If this ratio declines below 150%, we may not be able to incur additional debt and may need to sell a portion of our investments to repay some debt when it is disadvantageous to do so, and we may not be able to make distributions.

General

The notes constitute a single series of notes for purposes of the indenture and are unlimited in aggregate principal amount under the terms of the indenture. Our Board of Directors has authorized the issuance and sale of the notes on a continuous basis, up to an aggregate principal amount of $500,000,000 pursuant to this prospectus. As of August 28, 2019, $1.6 billion aggregate principal amount of notes has been issued pursuant to prior registration statements. We have, from time to time, repurchased certain notes and, therefore, as of August 28, 2019, $692.0 million aggregate principal amount of notes were outstanding.

Notes issued in accordance with this prospectus and the applicable pricing supplement will have the following general characteristics:

In addition, the pricing supplement relating to each offering of notes will describe specific terms of the notes, including but not limited to:

We may at any time purchase notes at any price or prices in the open market or otherwise. Notes so purchased by us may, at our discretion, be held, resold or surrendered to the trustee for cancellation.

Types of Notes

We may issue either of the two types of notes described below. Notes may have elements of each of the two types of notes described below. For example, notes may bear interest at a fixed rate for some periods and at a floating rate in others.

Fixed Rate Notes. Notes of this type will bear interest at one or more fixed rates described in your pricing supplement.

Fixed rate notes will bear interest from their original issue date or from the most recent date to which interest on the notes has been paid or made available for payment. Interest will accrue on the principal of fixed rate notes at the fixed rate or rates per annum stated in your pricing supplement during the applicable time periods as stated in your pricing supplement, until the principal is paid or made available for payment. Each payment of interest due on an interest payment date or the maturity will include interest accrued from and including the last date to which interest has been paid, or made available for payment, or from the issue date if none has been paid or made available for payment, to but excluding the interest payment date or maturity. We will compute interest on fixed rate notes on the basis of a 360-day year of twelve 30-day months (the 30/360 (ISDA) day count convention) unless your pricing supplement provides that we will compute interest on a different basis. We will pay interest on each interest payment date and at maturity as described below under “-Payment and Paying Agents” and “-Payment and Record Dates for Interest.” Notes may be offered that switch from a fixed rate to a floating rate or from a floating rate to a fixed rate during the term of the notes.

Floating Rate Notes. Notes of this type will bear interest at rates that are determined by reference to an interest rate formula initially based on LIBOR. In some cases, the rates may also be adjusted by adding or subtracting a spread in relation to LIBOR or multiplying by a spread multiplier and may be subject to a minimum rate and/or a maximum rate. The various interest rate formulas and these other features are described below in “-Interest Rates-Floating Rate Notes.” If your notes are floating rate notes, the formula and any adjustments that apply to the interest rate will be specified in your pricing supplement.

Floating rate notes will bear interest from their original issue date or from the most recent date to which interest on the notes has been paid or made available for payment. Interest will accrue on the principal of floating rate notes at a rate per annum determined according to the interest rate formula stated in your pricing supplement during the applicable interest rate periods as stated in your pricing supplement, until the principal is paid or made available for payment. We will pay interest on each interest payment date and at maturity as described below “-Payment and Paying Agents” and “-Payment and Record Dates for Interest.” Notes may be offered that switch from a fixed rate to a floating rate or from a floating rate to a fixed rate during the term of the notes.

Interest Rates

This subsection describes the different kinds of interest rates that may apply to your notes, as specified in your pricing supplement.

Fixed Rate Notes. Fixed rate notes will bear interest from their original issue date or from the most recent date to which interest on the notes has been paid or made available for payment. Interest will accrue on the principal of fixed rate notes at the fixed yearly rate or rates stated in your pricing supplement during the applicable time periods as stated in your pricing supplement, until the principal is paid or made available for payment. Your pricing supplement will describe the interest periods and relevant interest payment dates on which interest on fixed rate notes will be payable. Each payment of interest due on an interest payment date or the maturity will include interest accrued from and including the last date to which interest has been paid, or made available for payment, or from the issue date if none has been paid or made available for payment, to but excluding the interest payment date or the maturity. We will compute interest on fixed rate notes on the basis of a 360-day year of twelve 30-day months (the 30/360 (ISDA) day count convention), unless your pricing supplement provides that we will compute interest on a different basis. We will pay interest on each interest payment date and at maturity as described below under “-Payment and Paying Agents” and “-Payment and Record Dates for Interest.”

Floating Rate Notes. Floating rate notes will bear interest at rates that are determined by reference to an interest rate formula initially based on LIBOR. In some cases, the rates may also be adjusted by adding or subtracting a spread in relation to LIBOR or multiplying by a spread multiplier and may be subject to a minimum rate and/or a maximum rate. If your note is a floating rate note, the formula and any adjustments that apply to the interest rate will be specified in your pricing supplement.

Each floating rate note will bear interest from its original issue date or from the most recent date to which interest on the note has been paid or made available for payment. Interest will accrue on the principal of a floating rate note at a rate per annum determined according to the interest rate formula stated in the pricing supplement during the applicable interest rate period specified in your pricing supplement, until the principal is paid or made available for payment. We will pay interest on each interest payment date and at maturity as described below under “-Payment and Paying Agents” and “-Payment and Record Dates for Interest.”

In addition, the following will apply to floating rate notes.

Initial Base Rate

Unless otherwise specified in your pricing supplement, for floating rate notes, the initial base rate will be the applicable LIBOR base rate in effect from and including the original issue date to but excluding the initial interest reset date. We will specify the initial LIBOR base rate in your pricing supplement.

Spread or Spread Multiplier

In some cases, the base rate for floating rate notes may be adjusted:

If you purchase floating rate notes, your pricing supplement will specify whether a spread or spread multiplier will apply to your notes and, if so, the amount of the applicable spread or spread multiplier and any increases or decreases in the spread or spread multiplier during the term of your notes.

Maximum and Minimum Rates

The actual interest rate, after being adjusted by the spread or spread multiplier, may also be subject to either or both of the following limits:

If you purchase floating rate notes, your pricing supplement will specify whether a maximum rate and/or minimum rate will apply to your notes and, if so, what those rates are.

Whether or not a maximum rate applies, the interest rate on floating rate notes will in no event be higher than the maximum rate permitted by New York law, as it may be modified by U.S. law of general application. Under current New York law, the maximum rate of interest, with some exceptions, for any loan in an amount less than $250,000 is 16% and for any loan in the amount of $250,000 or more but less than $2,500,000 is 25%, per year on a simple interest basis. These limits do not apply to loans of $2,500,000 or more.

The rest of this subsection describes how the interest rate and the interest payment dates will be determined, and how interest will be calculated, on floating rate notes.

Interest Reset Dates

Except as otherwise specified in your pricing supplement, the rate of interest on floating rate notes will be reset, by the calculation agent described below, daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually (each, an “interest reset period”). The date on which the interest rate resets and the reset rate becomes effective is called the interest reset date. Except as otherwise specified in your pricing supplement, the interest reset date will be as follows:

For floating rate notes, the interest rate in effect on any particular day will be the interest rate determined with respect to the latest interest reset date that occurs on or before that day. There are several exceptions, however, to the reset provisions described above.

Interest reset dates are subject to adjustment, as described below under “-Business Day Conventions.”

The base rate in effect from and including the original issue date to but excluding the first interest reset date will be the initial base rate. For floating rate notes that reset daily or weekly, the base rate in effect for each day following the fifth business day before an interest payment date to, but excluding, the interest payment date, and for each day following the fifth business day before the maturity to, but excluding, the maturity, will be the base rate in effect on that fifth business day.

Interest Determination Dates

The interest rate that takes effect on an interest reset date will be determined by the calculation agent for the LIBOR base rates by reference to a particular date called an interest determination date. Except as otherwise specified in your pricing supplement, the interest determination date relating to a particular interest reset date will be the second London business day preceding the interest reset date.

Interest Calculation Date

The interest rate that takes effect on a particular interest reset date will be determined by reference to the corresponding interest determination date or interest reset date, as applicable. For some notes, however, the calculation agent will set the rate on a day no later than the corresponding interest calculation date. Unless otherwise specified in your pricing supplement, the interest calculation date for rates to which a calculation date applies will be the business day immediately preceding the date on which interest will next be paid (on an interest payment date or the maturity, as the case may be). The calculation agent need not wait until the relevant interest calculation date to determine the interest rate if the rate information it needs to make the determination is available from the relevant sources sooner.

Interest Rate Calculations

Interest payable on floating rate notes for any particular interest period will be calculated as described below using an interest factor, expressed as a decimal, applicable to each day during the applicable interest period, unless otherwise specified in your pricing supplement.

Calculations relating to floating rate notes will be made by the calculation agent, an institution that we appoint as our agent for this purpose. We have initially appointed U.S. Bank National Association as our calculation agent for any floating rate notes. We may specify a different calculation agent in your pricing supplement. The applicable pricing supplement for your floating rate note will name the institution that we have appointed to act as the calculation agent for that note as of its original issue date. We may appoint a different institution to serve as calculation agent from time to time after the original issue date of your floating rate note without your consent and without notifying you of the change. Absent manifest error, all determinations of the calculation agent will be final and binding on you and us, without any liability on the part of the calculation agent.

For floating rate notes, the calculation agent will determine, on the corresponding interest calculation date or interest determination date, as described below, the interest rate that takes effect on each interest reset date. In addition, the calculation agent will calculate the amount of interest that has accrued during each interest period-i.e., the period from and including the original issue date, or the last date to which interest has accrued (which may be the interest payment date or any interest reset date in accordance with the business day convention), to but excluding the next date to which interest will accrue (which may be the interest payment date or any interest reset date in accordance with the business day convention). For each interest period, the calculation agent will calculate the amount of accrued interest by multiplying the face amount of the floating rate note by an accrued interest factor for the interest period. Such accrued interest rate factor is determined by multiplying the applicable interest rate for the period by the day count fraction. The day count fraction will be determined in accordance with the 30/360 (ISDA) day count convention, where the number of days in the interest period in respect of which payment is being made is divided by 360, calculated on a formula basis as follows:

where:

“Y1” is the year, expressed as a number, in which the first day of the interest period falls;

“Y2” is the year, expressed as a number, in which the day immediately following the last day included in the interest period falls;

“M1” is the calendar month, expressed as a number, in which the first day of the interest period falls;

“M2” is the calendar month, expressed as a number, in which the day immediately following the last day included in the interest period falls;

“D1” is the first calendar day, expressed as a number, of the interest period, unless such number would be 31, in which case D1 will be 30; and

“D2” is the calendar day, expressed as a number, immediately following the last day included in the interest period, unless such number would be 31 and D1 is greater than 29, in which case D2 will be 30.

Upon the request of the holder of any floating rate note, the calculation agent will provide the interest rate then in effect, and, if determined, the interest rate that will become effective on the next interest reset date with respect to such floating rate note.

All percentages resulting from any calculation relating to any note will be rounded upward or downward, as appropriate, to the next higher or lower one hundred-thousandth of a percentage point, e.g., 9.876541% (or .09876541) being rounded down to 9.87654% (or .0987654) and 9.876545% (or .09876545) being rounded up to 9.87655% (or .0987655). All amounts used in or resulting from any calculation relating to any note will be rounded upward or downward to the nearest cent.

Sources and Corrections

If we refer to a rate as set forth on a display page, other published source, information vendor or other vendor officially designated by the sponsor of that rate, if there is a successor source for the display page, other published source, information vendor or other official vendor, we refer to that successor source as applicable as determined by the calculation agent. When we refer to a particular heading or headings on any of those sources, those references include any successor or replacement heading or headings as determined by the calculation agent.

If the applicable rate is based on information obtained from a Reuters screen, that rate will be subject to the corrections, if any, published on that Reuters screen within one hour of the time that rate was first displayed on such source.

LIBOR Calculation

LIBOR, with respect to the base rate and any interest reset date, will be the London interbank offered rate for deposits in U.S. dollars for the index maturity specified in your pricing supplement, appearing on the Reuters screen LIBOR page as of approximately 11:00 A.M., London time, on the relevant interest determination date.

In all cases, if the stated maturity or any earlier redemption date or repayment date with respect to any note falls on a day that is not a business day, any payment of principal, premium, if any, and interest otherwise due on such day will be made on the next succeeding business day, and no interest on such payment shall accrue for the period from and after such stated maturity, redemption date or repayment date, as the case may be.

Business Days

The term “London business day” will apply to your floating rate notes, as specified in your pricing supplement, and it means each Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday that is not a day on which banking institutions in London generally are authorized or obligated by law, regulation or executive order to close and is also a day on which dealings in the applicable index currency are transacted in the London interbank market.

Business Day Convention

The business day convention that will apply to your notes is the “following business day convention.” The “following business day convention” means, for any interest payment date or interest reset date, other than the maturity, if such date would otherwise fall on a day that is not a business day, then such date will be postponed to the next day

that is a business day. Payments made on the next business day in this situation will be treated under the indenture as if they were made on the original due date. Such payment will not result in a default under any note or the indenture, and no interest will accrue on the payment amount from the original due date to the next day that is a business day. “Business day” means any day, other than a Saturday or Sunday, that is neither a legal holiday nor a day on which banking institutions are authorized or required by law or regulation to close in The City of New York.

Payment and Paying Agents

We will pay interest to the person listed in the trustee’s records as the owner of the notes at the close of business on a particular day in advance of each due date for interest, even if that person no longer owns the note on the interest due date. That day, usually about two weeks in advance of the interest due date, is called the “record date.” Because we will pay all the interest for an interest period to the holders on the record date, holders buying and selling notes must work out between themselves the appropriate purchase price. The most common manner is to adjust the sales price of the notes to prorate interest fairly between buyer and seller based on their respective ownership periods within the particular interest period. This prorated interest amount is called “accrued interest.”

Interest on each note will be payable either monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually on each interest payment date and at the note’s stated maturity or on the date of redemption or repayment if a note is redeemed or repaid prior to maturity. Interest due at a note’s stated maturity or on a date of redemption or repayment will be payable to the person to whom principal is payable.

We will pay any administrative costs imposed by banks in connection with making payments in immediately available funds, but any tax, assessment or governmental charge imposed upon any payments on a note, including, without limitation, any withholding tax, is the responsibility of the holders of beneficial interests in the note in respect of which such payments are made.

Payments on Global Notes

We will issue the notes generally in book-entry form only which means the notes will be represented by one or more global notes registered in the name of The Depository Trust Company, or “DTC”, the depositary for the notes. We will make payments on the notes so long as they are represented by a global note in accordance with the arrangements then in place between the paying agent and DTC and its participants as described under “Registration and Settlement-The Depository Trust Company.” See also “-Book-Entry Holders” and “-Global Notes” for a further description of book-entry procedures and notes represented by a global note. Under these arrangements, we will make payments directly to DTC, or its nominee, and not to any indirect holders who own beneficial interests in the global note. An indirect holder’s right to those payments will be governed by the rules and practices of DTC and its participants, as described under “-Global Notes-Special Considerations for Global Notes.”

Payments on Certificated Securities

In the event the notes become represented by certificated securities, we will make payments on a certificated note as follows. We will pay interest that is due on an interest payment date by check mailed on the interest payment date to the holder at his or her address shown on the trustee’s records as of the close of business on the regular record date. We will make all payments of principal and premium, if any, by check at the office of the trustee in New York, NY and/or at other offices that may be specified in an applicable supplement to the prospectus or pricing supplement or in a notice to holders against surrender of the note. The situations in which your book-entry notes could be exchanged for certificates notes are described under “-Global Notes-Special Situations when a Global Note will be Terminated.”

Alternatively, if the holder asks us to do so, we will pay any amount that becomes due on the note by wire transfer of immediately available funds to an account at a bank in New York City, on the due date. To request payment by wire, the holder must give the trustee or other paying agent appropriate transfer instructions at least 15 business days before the requested wire payment is due. In the case of any interest payment due on an interest payment date, the instructions must be given by the person who is the holder on the relevant regular record date. Any wire instructions, once properly given, will remain in effect unless and until new instructions are given in the manner described above.

Payment When Offices Are Closed

As noted above under “-Business Day Convention,” if any payment is due on a note on a day that is not a business day, we will make the payment on the next day that is a business day. Payments made on the next business day in this situation will be treated under the indenture as if they were made on the original due date. Such payment will not result in a default under any note or the indenture, and no interest will accrue on the payment amount from the original due date to the next day that is a business day. “Business day” means any day, other than a Saturday or Sunday, that is

neither a legal holiday nor a day on which banking institutions are authorized or required by law or regulation to close in The City of New York.

Book-entry and other indirect holders should consult their banks or brokers for information on how they will receive payments on their notes.

Payment and Record Dates for Interest

Interest on the notes will be paid as follows:

The regular record date for any interest payment date will be the first day of the calendar month in which the interest payment date occurs, except that the regular record date for interest due on the note’s stated maturity date or date of earlier redemption or repayment will be that particular date. For the purpose of determining the holder at the close of business on a regular record date when business is not being conducted, the close of business will mean 5:00 P.M., New York City time, on that day.

Interest on a note will be payable beginning on the first interest payment date after its date of original issuance to holders of record on the corresponding regular record date.

Redemption and Repayment

Unless we otherwise provide in the applicable pricing supplement, a note will not be redeemable or repayable prior to its stated maturity date.

If the pricing supplement states that the note will be redeemable at our option prior to its stated maturity date, then on such date or dates specified in the pricing supplement, we may redeem those notes at our option either in whole or from time to time in part, upon not less than five nor more than 60 days’ written notice to the holder of those notes.

If the pricing supplement states that your note will be repayable at your option prior to its stated maturity date, we will require receipt of notice of the request for repayment at least 30 but not more than 60 days prior to the date or dates specified in the pricing supplement. We also must receive the completed form entitled “Option to Elect Repayment.” Exercise of the repayment option by the holder of a note is irrevocable.

Since the notes will be represented by a global note, DTC or its nominee will be treated as the holder of the notes; therefore DTC or its nominee will be the only entity that receives notices of redemption of notes from us, in the case of our redemption of notes, and will be the only entity that can exercise the right to repayment of notes, in the case of optional repayment. See “Registration and Settlement.”

To ensure that DTC or its nominee will timely exercise a right to repayment with respect to a particular beneficial interest in a note, the beneficial owner of the interest in that note must instruct the broker or other direct or indirect participant through which it holds the beneficial interest to notify DTC or its nominee of its desire to exercise a right to repayment. Because different firms have different cut-off times for accepting instructions from their customers, each beneficial owner should consult the broker or other direct or indirect participant through which it holds an interest in a note to determine the cut-off time by which the instruction must be given for timely notice to be delivered to DTC or its nominee. Conveyance of notices and other communications by DTC or its nominee to participants, by participants to indirect participants and by participants and indirect participants to beneficial owners of the notes will be governed by agreements among them and any applicable statutory or regulatory requirements.

The redemption of a note normally will occur on a specified interest payment date and any business day thereafter following receipt of a valid notice. The repayment of a note normally will occur on the interest payment date or dates following

receipt of a valid notice. Unless otherwise specified in the pricing supplement, the redemption or repayment price will equal 100% of the principal amount of the note plus unpaid interest accrued to the date or dates of redemption or repayment.

We may at any time purchase notes at any price or prices in the open market or otherwise. We may also purchase notes otherwise tendered for repayment by a holder or tendered by a holder’s duly authorized representative through exercise of the Survivor’s Option described below. If we purchase the notes in this manner, we have the discretion to either hold, resell or surrender the notes to the trustee for cancellation.

Survivor’s Option

The “Survivor’s Option” is a provision in a note pursuant to which we agree to repay that note, if requested by the authorized representative of the beneficial owner of that note, following the death of the beneficial owner of the note, so long as the note was owned by that beneficial owner or the estate of that beneficial owner at least six months prior to the request. The pricing supplement relating to each offering of notes will state whether the Survivor’s Option applies to those notes.

If a note is entitled to a Survivor’s Option, upon the valid exercise of the Survivor’s Option and the proper tender of that note for repayment, we will, at our option, repay or repurchase that note, in whole or in part, at a price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the deceased beneficial owner’s interest in that note plus unpaid interest accrued to the date of repayment.

To be valid, the Survivor’s Option must be exercised by or on behalf of the person who has authority to act on behalf of the deceased beneficial owner of the note (including, without limitation, the personal representative or executor of the deceased beneficial owner or the surviving joint owner with the deceased beneficial owner) under the laws of the applicable jurisdiction.

The death of a person holding a beneficial ownership interest in a note as a joint tenant or tenant by the entirety with another person, or as a tenant in common with the deceased holder’s spouse, will be deemed the death of a beneficial owner of that note, and the entire principal amount of the note so held will be subject to repayment by us upon request. However, the death of a person holding a beneficial ownership interest in a note as tenant in common with a person other than such deceased holder’s spouse will be deemed the death of a beneficial owner only with respect to such deceased person’s interest in the note.

The death of a person who, during his or her lifetime, was entitled to substantially all of the beneficial ownership interests in a note will be deemed the death of the beneficial owner of that note for purposes of the Survivor’s Option, regardless of whether that beneficial owner was the registered holder of that note, if entitlement to those interests can be established to the satisfaction of the trustee. A beneficial ownership interest will be deemed to exist in typical cases of nominee ownership, ownership under the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act or Uniform Gifts to Minors Act, community property or other joint ownership arrangements between a husband and wife. In addition, a beneficial ownership interest will be deemed to exist in custodial and trust arrangements where one person has all of the beneficial ownership interests in the applicable note during his or her lifetime.

We have the discretionary right to limit the aggregate principal amount of notes as to which exercises of the Survivor’s Option shall be accepted by us from authorized representatives of all deceased beneficial owners in any calendar year to an amount equal to the greater of $2,000,000 or 2% of the principal amount of all notes outstanding as of the end of the most recent calendar year. We also have the discretionary right to limit to $250,000 in any calendar year the aggregate principal amount of notes as to which exercises of the Survivor’s Option shall be accepted by us from the authorized representative of any individual deceased beneficial owner of notes in such calendar year. In addition, we will not permit the exercise of the Survivor’s Option except in principal amounts of $1,000 and multiples of $1,000.

An otherwise valid election to exercise the Survivor’s Option may not be withdrawn. Each election to exercise the Survivor’s Option will be accepted in the order that elections are received by the trustee, except for any note the acceptance of which would contravene any of the limitations described in the preceding paragraph. Notes accepted for repayment through the exercise of the Survivor’s Option normally will be repaid on the first interest payment date that occurs 20 or more calendar days after the date of the acceptance. For example, if the acceptance date of a note tendered through a valid exercise of the Survivor’s Option is September 1, 2017, and interest on that note is paid monthly, we would normally, at our option, repay that note on the interest payment date occurring on October 15, 2017, because the September 15, 2017 interest payment date would occur less than 20 days from the date of acceptance. Each tendered note that is not accepted in any calendar year due to the application of any of the limitations described in the preceding paragraph will be deemed to be tendered in the following calendar year in the order in which all such notes were originally tendered. If a note tendered through a valid exercise of the Survivor’s Option is not accepted, the trustee will deliver a notice by first-class mail to the registered holder, at that holder’s last known address as indicated in the note register, that states the reason that note has not been accepted for repayment.

With respect to notes represented by a global note, DTC or its nominee is treated as the holder of the notes and will be the only entity that can exercise the Survivor’s Option for such notes. To obtain repayment pursuant to exercise of the Survivor’s Option for a note, the deceased beneficial owner’s authorized representative must provide the following items to the broker or other entity through which the beneficial interest in the note is held by the deceased beneficial owner:

In turn, the broker or other entity will deliver each of these items to the trustee, together with evidence satisfactory to the trustee from the broker or other entity stating that it represents the deceased beneficial owner.

The death of a person owning a note in joint tenancy or tenancy by the entirety with another or others shall be deemed the death of the holder of the note, and the entire principal amount of the note so held shall be subject to repayment, together with interest accrued thereon to the repayment date. The death of a person owning a note by tenancy in common shall be deemed the death of a holder of a note only with respect to the deceased holder’s interest in the note so held by tenancy in common; except that in the event a note is held by husband and wife as tenants in common, the death of either shall be deemed the death of the holder of the note, and the entire principal amount of the note so held shall be subject to repayment. The death of a person who, during his or her lifetime, was entitled to substantially all of the beneficial interests of ownership of a note, shall be deemed the death of the holder thereof for purposes of this provision, regardless of the registered holder, if such beneficial interest can be established to the satisfaction of the trustee and us. Such beneficial interest shall be deemed to exist in typical cases of nominee ownership, ownership under the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act, the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, community property or other joint ownership arrangements between a husband and wife and trust arrangements where one person has substantially all of the beneficial ownership interest in the note during his or her lifetime.

We retain the right to limit the aggregate principal amount of notes as to which exercises of the Survivor’s Option applicable to the notes will be accepted in any one calendar year as described above. All other questions regarding the eligibility or validity of any exercise of the Survivor’s Option will be determined by the trustee, in its sole discretion, which determination will be final and binding on all parties.

The broker or other entity will be responsible for disbursing payments received from the trustee to the authorized representative. See “Registration and Settlement.”

Forms for the exercise of the Survivor’s Option may be obtained from the trustee at 100 Wall Street, Suite 1600, New York, NY 10005, Attention: General Counsel.

If applicable, we will comply with the requirements of Section 14(e) of the Exchange Act, and the rules promulgated thereunder, and any other securities laws or regulations in connection with any repayment of notes at the option of the registered holders or beneficial owners thereof.

Book-Entry Holders

We will issue the notes in book-entry form only, unless we specify otherwise in an applicable supplement to the prospectus or pricing supplement. As noted above, this means the notes will be represented by one or more global notes registered in the name of DTC, the depositary for the notes. DTC will hold them on behalf of financial institutions that

participate in DTC’s book-entry system. These participating institutions, in turn, hold beneficial interests in the notes held by the DTC or its nominee. These institutions may hold these interests on behalf of themselves or customers.

Under the indenture, only the person in whose name a note is registered is recognized as the holder of that note. Consequently, we will recognize only DTC as the holder of the notes and we will make all payments on the notes to DTC. DTC will then pass along the payments it receives to its participants, which in turn will pass the payments along to their customers who are the beneficial owners. DTC and its participants do so under agreements they have made with one another or with their customers; they are not obligated to do so under the terms of the notes.

As a result, investors will not own the notes directly. Instead, they will own beneficial interests in a global note, through a bank, broker or other financial institution that participates in DTC’s book-entry system or holds an interest through a participant. As long as the notes are represented by one or more global notes, investors will be indirect holders, and not holders, of the notes.

See “Registration and Settlement” for a further description of DTC procedures.

Global Notes

As noted above, we will issue the notes in book-entry form only. Each note issued in book-entry form will be represented by a global note that we deposit with and register in the name of DTC. DTC will be the depositary for all notes issued in book entry-form. A global note represents one or any other number of individual notes. Generally, all notes represented by the same global notes will have the same terms.

A global note may not be transferred to or registered in the name of anyone other than DTC or its nominee, unless special termination situations arise. We describe those situations below under “-Special Situations when a Global Note Will Be Terminated”. As a result of these arrangements, DTC, or its nominee, will be the sole registered owner and holder of all notes represented by a global note, and investors will be permitted to own only beneficial interests in a global note. Beneficial interests must be held by means of an account with a broker, bank or other financial institution that in turn has an account with the DTC or with another institution that has an account with DTC. Thus, an investor whose notes are represented by a global note will not be a holder of those notes, but only an indirect holder of a beneficial interest in the global note.

Special Considerations for Global Notes

As an indirect holder, an investor’s rights relating to a global note will be governed by the account rules of the investor’s financial institution and of DTC, as well as general laws relating to securities transfers. DTC will be considered the holder of the notes represented by the global note.

Since the notes generally will be issued only in the form of a global note, an investor cannot cause the notes to be registered in his or her name, and cannot obtain certificates for his or her interest in the notes, except in the special situations we describe below.

Financial institutions that participate in DTC’s book-entry system, and through which an investor holds its interest in a global note, may also have their own policies affecting payments, notices and other matters relating to the notes. There may be more

than one financial intermediary in the chain of ownership for an investor. We do not monitor and are not responsible for the actions of any of those intermediaries.

Special Situations when a Global Note will be Terminated

In a few special situations described below, a global note will be terminated and interests in it will be exchanged for certificates in non-book-entry form, of “certificated notes.” After that exchange, the choice of whether to hold the certificated notes directly or in street name will be up to the investor. Investors must consult their own banks or brokers to find out how to have their interests in a global note transferred on termination to their own names, so that they will be holders. We describe the rights of legal holders and street name investors under “-Street Name Holders” and “-Legal Holders” below.

The special situations for termination of a global note are as follows:

If a global note is terminated, only DTC, and not we or the trustee, is responsible for deciding the names of the institutions in whose names the notes represented by the global note will be registered and, therefore, who will be the holders of those notes.

See “Registration and Settlement” for further a description of the registration of global notes with DTC and the circumstances under which global notes may be exchanged for certificated notes.

Street Name Holders

In the event we terminate a global note and/or otherwise issue notes in certificated form, investors may choose to hold their notes in their own names or in “street name.” Notes held in street name are registered in the name of a bank, broker or other financial institution chosen by the investor, and the investor would hold a beneficial interest in those notes through the account he or she maintains at that institution.

For notes held in street name, we will recognize only the intermediary banks, brokers and other financial institutions in whose names the notes are registered as the holders of those notes and we will make all payments on those notes to them. These institutions will pass along the payments they receive to their customers who are the beneficial owners, but only because they agree to do so in their customer agreements or because they are legally required to do so. Investors who hold notes in street name will be indirect holders, and not holders, of the notes.

Legal Holders

Our obligations, as well as the obligations of the trustee and those of any third parties employed by us or the trustee, run only to the legal holders of the notes. We do not have obligations to investors who hold beneficial interests in global notes, in street name or by any other indirect means. This will be the case whether an investor chooses to be an indirect holder of notes or has no choice because we are issuing the notes only in book-entry form.

For example, once we make a payment or give a notice to the holder, we have no further responsibility for the payment or notice even if that holder is required, under agreements with depositary participants or customers or by law, to pass it along to the indirect holders but does not do so. Similarly, if we want to obtain the approval of the holders for any purpose (for example, to amend the indenture or to relieve us of the consequences of a default or of our obligation to comply with a particular provision of the indenture), we would seek the approval only from the holders, and not the indirect holders, of the notes. Whether and how the holders contact the indirect holders is up to the holders.

When we refer to you, we mean those who invest in the notes being offered by this prospectus and applicable pricing supplements, whether they are the holders or only indirect holders of those notes. When we refer to your notes, we mean the notes in which you hold a direct or indirect interest.

Special Considerations for Indirect Holders

If you hold notes through a bank, broker or other financial institution, either in book-entry form or in street name, we urge you to check with that institution to find out:

Events of Default

You will have rights if an Event of Default occurs with respect to the notes and is not cured, as described later in this subsection.

The term “Event of Default” in respect of the notes means any of the following:

An Event of Default for the notes does not necessarily constitute an Event of Default for any other series of debt securities issued under the same or any other indenture. The trustee may withhold notice to the holders of notes of any default, except in the payment of principal, premium or interest, if it considers the withholding of notice to be in the best interests of the holders.

Remedies if an Event of Default Occurs

If an Event of Default has occurred and has not been cured, the trustee or the holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the notes may declare the entire principal amount of all the notes to be due and immediately payable. This is called a declaration of acceleration of maturity. A declaration of acceleration of maturity may be canceled by the holders of a majority in principal amount of the notes under certain circumstances.

Except in cases of default, where the trustee has some special duties, the trustee is not required to take any action under the indenture at the request of any holders unless the holders offer the trustee reasonable protection from expenses and liability (called an “indemnity”). (Section 315 of the Trust Indenture Act of 1939) If reasonable indemnity is provided, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding notes may direct the time, method and place of conducting any lawsuit or other formal legal action seeking any remedy available to the trustee. The trustee may refuse to follow those directions in certain circumstances. No delay or omission in exercising any right or remedy will be treated as a waiver of that right, remedy or Event of Default.

Before you are allowed to bypass your trustee and bring your own lawsuit or other formal legal action or take other steps to enforce your rights or protect your interests relating to the notes, the following must occur:

However, you are entitled at any time to bring a lawsuit for the payment of money due on your notes on or after the due date.

Holders of a majority in principal amount of the notes may waive any past defaults other than:

Book-entry and other indirect holders should consult their banks or brokers for information on how to give notice or direction to or make a request of the trustee and how to declare or cancel an acceleration of maturity.

Each year, we will furnish to the trustee a written statement of certain of our officers certifying that to their knowledge we are in compliance with the indenture and the notes or else specifying any default.

Merger or Consolidation

Under the terms of the indenture, we are generally permitted to consolidate or merge with another entity. We are also permitted to sell all or substantially all of our assets to another entity. However, we may not take any of these actions unless all the following conditions are met:

Modification or Waiver

There are three types of changes we can make to the indenture and the notes issued thereunder.

Changes Requiring Your Approval

First, there are changes that we cannot make to your notes without your specific approval. The following is a list of those types of changes:

Changes Not Requiring Approval

The second type of change does not require any vote by the holders of the notes. This type is limited to clarifications and certain other changes that would not adversely affect holders of the outstanding notes in any material respect. We also do not need any approval to make any change that affects only debt securities to be issued under the indenture after the change takes effect.

Changes Requiring Majority Approval

Any other change to the indenture and the notes would require the following approval:

In each case, the required approval must be given by written consent.

The holders of a majority in principal amount of all of the series of debt securities issued under an indenture, voting together as one class for this purpose, may waive our compliance with some of our covenants in that indenture. However, we cannot obtain a waiver of a payment default or of any of the matters covered by the bullet points included above under “- Modification or Waiver- Changes Requiring Your Approval.”

Further Details Concerning Voting

When taking a vote, the notes will not be considered outstanding, and therefore not eligible to vote, if we have deposited or set aside in trust money for their payment or redemption. The notes will also not be eligible to vote if they have been fully defeased as described later under “-Defeasance-Full Defeasance.”

We will generally be entitled to set any day as a record date for the purpose of determining the holders of outstanding notes that are entitled to vote or take other action under the indenture. If we set a record date for a vote or other action to be taken by holders of the notes, that vote or action may be taken only by persons who are holders of the notes on the record date and must be taken within eleven months following the record date.

Book-entry and other indirect holders should consult their banks or brokers for information on how approval may be granted or denied if we seek to change the indenture or the notes or request a waiver.

Defeasance

The following defeasance provisions will be applicable to the notes.

Covenant Defeasance

Under current United States federal tax law, we can make the deposit described below and be released from some of the restrictive covenants in the indenture under which the notes are issued. This is called “covenant defeasance.” In that event, you would lose the protection of those restrictive covenants but would gain the protection of having money and government securities set aside in trust to repay your notes. In order to achieve covenant defeasance, we must do the following:

Full Defeasance

If there is a change in United States federal tax law, as described below, we can legally release ourselves from all payment and other obligations on the notes (called “full defeasance”) if we put in place the following other arrangements for you to be repaid:

Other Covenants

In addition to any other covenants described in this prospectus, as well as standard covenants relating to payment of principal and interest, maintaining an office where payments may be made or securities can be surrendered for payment, payment of taxes by the Company and related matters, the following covenant will apply to the notes:

Form, Exchange and Transfer of Certified Registered Securities

If registered notes cease to be issued in book-entry form, they will be issued:

Holders may exchange their certificated notes for notes of smaller denominations or combined into fewer notes of larger denominations, as long as the total principal amount is not changed.

Holders may exchange or transfer their certificated notes at the office of their trustee. We have appointed the trustee to act as our agent for registering notes in the names of holders transferring notes. We may appoint another entity to perform these functions or perform them ourselves.

Holders will not be required to pay a service charge to transfer or exchange their certificated notes, but they may be required to pay any tax or other governmental charge associated with the transfer or exchange. The transfer or exchange will be made only if our transfer agent is satisfied with the holder’s proof of legal ownership.

We may appoint additional transfer agents or cancel the appointment of any particular transfer agent. We may also approve a change in the office through which any transfer agent acts.

If we redeem any of the notes and we redeem less than all the notes, we may block the transfer or exchange of those notes during the period beginning 15 days before the day we mail the notice of redemption and ending on the day of that mailing, in order to freeze the list of holders to prepare the mailing. We may also refuse to register transfers or exchanges of any certificated notes selected for redemption, except that we will continue to permit transfers and exchanges of the unredeemed portion of any note that will be partially redeemed.

If registered notes are issued in book-entry form, only DTC as the depositary will be entitled to transfer and exchange the notes as described in this subsection, since it will be the sole holder of the notes.

Trustee; Resignation of Trustee

U.S. Bank National Association will serve as trustee under the indenture. The trustee may resign or be removed with respect to the notes provided that a successor trustee is appointed to act with respect to the notes. In the event that two or more persons are acting as trustee with respect to different series of indenture securities under the indenture, each of the trustees will be a trustee of a trust separate and apart from the trust administered by any other trustee.

Indenture Provisions-Ranking

The notes will be designated as Senior Securities and therefore, Senior Indebtedness under the indenture. Senior Indebtedness is defined in the indenture as the principal of (and premium, if any) and unpaid interest on:

The notes will be our general, senior unsecured obligations and will rank equally in right of payment with all of our existing and future senior unsecured indebtedness, including without limitation, our Unsecured Notes. As a result, the notes are effectively subordinated to our existing and future secured indebtedness (including indebtedness that is initially unsecured to which we subsequently grant security) to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness and structurally subordinated to any existing and future liabilities and other indebtedness of our subsidiaries. As of August 30, 2019, we and our subsidiaries had approximately $2.3 billion of indebtedness outstanding, $102.0 million of which was secured indebtedness and $2.2 billion of which was unsecured indebtedness.

In particular, as designated Senior Indebtedness under the indenture, the notes will rank senior to any future securities we issue under the indenture that are designated as subordinated debt securities. Any such indenture securities designated as subordinated debt securities will be subordinated in right of payment of the principal of (and premium if any) and interest, if any, on such subordinated debt securities to the prior payment in full of the notes, and all other Senior Indebtedness under the indenture, upon any distribution of our assets upon our dissolution, winding up, liquidation or reorganization. In addition, no payment on account of principal (or premium, if any), sinking fund or interest, if any, may be made on such subordinated debt securities at any time unless full payment of all amounts due in respect of the principal (and premium, if any), sinking fund and interest on the notes, and all other Senior Indebtedness, has been made or duly provided for in money or money’s worth.

In the event that, notwithstanding the foregoing, any payment or distribution of our assets by us is received by the trustee in respect of subordinated debt securities or by the holders of any of such subordinated debt securities before the notes and all Senior Indebtedness are paid in full, the payment or distribution must be paid over, upon written notice to the trustee, to the holders of the Senior Indebtedness, including the notes, or on their behalf for application to the payment of all the Senior Indebtedness, including the notes, remaining unpaid until all the Senior Indebtedness, including the notes, has been paid in full, after giving effect to any concurrent payment or distribution to the holders of the Senior Indebtedness, including the notes. Subject to the payment in full of all Senior Indebtedness, including the notes, upon this distribution by us, the holders of such subordinated debt securities will be subrogated to the rights of the holders of the Senior Indebtedness, including the notes, to the extent of payments made to the holders of the Senior Indebtedness, including the notes, out of the distributive share of such subordinated debt securities.

By reason of this subordination, in the event of a distribution of our assets upon our insolvency, our Senior Indebtedness, including the notes, and certain of our senior creditors may recover more, ratably, than holders of any subordinated debt securities. The indenture provides that these subordination provisions will not apply to money and securities held in trust under the defeasance provisions of the indenture.

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION

AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS

(All figures in this item are in thousands except share, per share and other data.)

The following discussion should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto appearing elsewhere in this prospectus. Historical results set forth are not necessarily indicative of our future financial position and results of operations.

Overview

The terms “Prospect,” “the Company,” “we,” “us” and “our” mean Prospect Capital Corporation and its subsidiaries unless the context specifically requires otherwise.

Prospect is a financial services company that primarily lends to and invests in middle-market privately-held companies. We are a closed-end investment company incorporated in Maryland. We have elected to be regulated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”). As a BDC, we have elected to be treated as a regulated investment company (“RIC”), under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”). We were organized on April 13, 2004 and were funded in an initial public offering completed on July 27, 2004.

On May 15, 2007, we formed a wholly-owned subsidiary Prospect Capital Funding LLC (“PCF”), a Delaware limited liability company and a bankruptcy remote special purpose entity, which holds certain of our portfolio loan investments that are used as collateral for the revolving credit facility at PCF. Our wholly-owned subsidiary Prospect Small Business Lending, LLC (“PSBL”) was formed on January 27, 2014 and purchases small business whole loans on a recurring basis from online small business loan originators, including On Deck Capital, Inc. (“OnDeck”). On September 30, 2014, we formed a wholly-owned subsidiary Prospect Yield Corporation, LLC (“PYC”) and effective October 23, 2014, PYC holds a portion of our investments in Rated Secured Structured Notes (“RSSN”) and Subordinated Structured Notes (“SSN”) (collectively referred to as “collateralized loan obligations” or “CLOs”). Each of these subsidiaries have been consolidated since operations commenced.

We consolidate certain of our wholly-owned and substantially wholly-owned holding companies formed by us in order to facilitate our investment strategy. The following companies are included in our consolidated financial statements and are collectively referred to as the “Consolidated Holding Companies”: CP Holdings of Delaware LLC (“CP Holdings”); Credit Central Holdings of Delaware, LLC (“Credit Central Delaware”); Energy Solutions Holdings Inc.; First Tower Holdings of Delaware LLC (“First Tower Delaware”); MITY Holdings of Delaware Inc. (“MITY Delaware”); Nationwide Acceptance Holdings LLC; NMMB Holdings, Inc. (“NMMB Holdings”); NPH Property Holdings, LLC (“NPH”); SB Forging Company, Inc. (“SB Forging”); STI Holding, Inc.; UTP Holdings Group Inc. (“UTP Holdings”, f/k/a Harbortouch Holdings of Delaware Inc.); Valley Electric Holdings I, Inc.(“Valley Holdings I”); Valley Electric Holdings II, Inc. (“Valley Holdings II”); and Wolf Energy Holdings Inc. (“Wolf Energy Holdings”).

We are externally managed by our investment adviser, Prospect Capital Management L.P. (“Prospect Capital Management” or the “Investment Adviser”). Prospect Administration LLC (“Prospect Administration”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Investment Adviser, provides administrative services and facilities necessary for us to operate.

Our investment objective is to generate both current income and long-term capital appreciation through debt and equity investments. We invest primarily in senior and subordinated debt and equity of private companies in need of capital for acquisitions, divestitures, growth, development, recapitalizations and other purposes. We work with the management teams or financial sponsors to seek investments with historical cash flows, asset collateral or contracted pro-forma cash flows.

We currently have nine strategies that guide our origination of investment opportunities: (1) lending to companies controlled by private equity sponsors, (2) lending to companies not controlled by private equity sponsors, (3) purchasing controlling equity positions and lending to operating companies, (4) purchasing controlling equity positions and lending to financial services companies, (5) purchasing controlling equity positions and lending to real estate companies, (6) purchasing controlling equity positions and lending to aircraft leasing companies, (7) investing in structured credit, (8) investing in syndicated debt and (9) investing in consumer and small business loans and asset-backed securitizations. We may also invest in other strategies and opportunities from time to time that we view as attractive. We continue to evaluate other origination strategies in the ordinary course of business with no specific top-down allocation to any single origination strategy.

Lending to Companies Controlled by Private Equity Sponsors - We make agented loans to companies which are controlled by private equity sponsors. This debt can take the form of first lien, second lien, unitranche or unsecured loans. These loans typically have equity subordinate to our loan position. Historically, this strategy has comprised approximately 25%-50% of our portfolio.

Lending to Companies not Controlled by Private Equity Sponsors - We make loans to companies which are not controlled by private equity sponsors, such as companies that are controlled by the management team, the founder, a family or public shareholders. This origination strategy may have less competition to provide debt financing than the private-equity-sponsor origination strategy because such company financing needs are not easily addressed by banks and often require more diligence preparation. This origination strategy can result in investments with higher returns or lower leverage than the private-equity-sponsor origination strategy. Historically, this strategy has comprised less than 5% of our portfolio.

Purchasing Controlling Equity Positions and Lending to Operating Companies - This strategy involves purchasing yield-producing debt and controlling equity positions in non-financial-services operating companies. We believe that we can provide enhanced certainty of closure and liquidity to sellers and we look for management to continue on in their current roles. This strategy has comprised approximately 5%-10% of our portfolio.

Purchasing Controlling Equity Positions and Lending to Financial Services Companies - This strategy involves purchasing yield-producing debt and control equity investments in financial services companies, including consumer direct lending, sub-prime auto lending and other strategies. These investments are often structured in tax-efficient partnerships, enhancing returns. This strategy has comprised approximately 5%-15% of our portfolio.

Purchasing Controlling Equity Positions and Lending to Real Estate Companies - We purchase debt and controlling equity positions in tax-efficient real estate investment trusts (“REIT” or “REITs”). The real estate investments of National Property REIT Corp. (“NPRC”) are in various classes of developed and occupied real estate properties that generate current yields, including multi-family properties, student housing, and self-storage. NPRC seeks to identify properties that have historically significant occupancy rates and recurring cash flow generation. NPRC generally co-invests with established and experienced property management teams that manage such properties after acquisition. Additionally, NPRC purchases loans originated by certain consumer loan facilitators. It purchases each loan in its entirety (i.e., a “whole loan”). The borrowers are consumers, and the loans are typically serviced by the facilitators of the loans. This investment strategy has comprised approximately 10%-20% of our business.

Purchasing Controlling Equity Positions and Lending to Aircraft Leasing Companies - We invest in debt as well as equity in companies with aircraft assets subject to commercial leases to airlines across the globe. We believe that these investments can present attractive return opportunities due to cash flow consistency from long-term leases coupled with hard asset residual value. We believe that these investment companies seek to deliver risk-adjusted returns with strong downside protection by analyzing relative value characteristics across a variety of aircraft types and vintages. This strategy historically has comprised less than 5% of our portfolio.

Investing in Structured Credit - We make investments in CLOs, often taking a significant position in the subordinated interests (equity) and debt of the CLOs. The underlying portfolio of each CLO investment is diversified across approximately 100 to 200 broadly syndicated loans and does not have direct exposure to real estate, mortgages, or consumer-based credit assets. The CLOs in which we invest are managed by established collateral management teams with many years of experience in the industry. This strategy has comprised approximately 10%-20% of our portfolio.

Investing in Syndicated Debt - On a primary or secondary basis, we purchase primarily senior and secured loans and high yield bonds that have been sold to a club or syndicate of buyers. These investments are often purchased with a long-term, buy-and-hold outlook, and we often look to provide significant input to the transaction by providing anchoring orders. This strategy has comprised approximately 10%-25% of our portfolio.

Investing in Consumer and Small Business Loans and Asset-Backed Securitizations - We purchase loans originated by certain consumer and small-and-medium-sized business (“SME”) loan platforms. We generally purchase each loan in its entirety (i.e., a “whole loan”) and we invest in asset-backed securitizations collateralized by consumer or small business loans. The borrowers are consumers and SMEs and the loans are typically serviced by the platforms of the loans. This investment strategy has comprised up to approximately 0% of our portfolio.

We invest primarily in first and second lien secured loans and unsecured debt, which in some cases includes an equity component. First and second lien secured loans generally are senior debt instruments that rank ahead of unsecured debt of a given portfolio company. These loans also have the benefit of security interests on the assets of the portfolio company, which may rank ahead of or be junior to other security interests. Our investments in CLOs are subordinated to senior loans and are generally unsecured. We invest in debt and equity positions of CLOs which are a form of securitization in which the cash flows of a portfolio of loans are pooled and passed on to different classes of owners in various tranches. Our CLO investments are derived from portfolios of corporate debt securities which are generally risk rated from BB to B.

We hold many of our control investments in a two-tier structure consisting of a holding company and one or more related operating companies for tax purposes. These holding companies serve various business purposes including concentration of management teams, optimization of third party borrowing costs, improvement of supplier, customer, and insurance terms, and enhancement of co-investments by the management teams. In these cases, our investment, which is generally equity in the holding company, the holding company’s equity investment in the operating company and any debt from us directly to the operating company structure represents our total exposure for the investment. As of June 30, 2019, as shown in our Consolidated Schedule of Investments, the cost basis and fair value of our investments in controlled companies was $2,385,806 and $2,475,924, respectively. This structure gives rise to several of the risks described in our public documents and highlighted elsewhere in this prospectus. We consolidate all wholly-owned and substantially wholly-owned holding companies formed by us for the purpose of holding our controlled investments in operating companies. There is no significant effect of consolidating these holding companies as they hold minimal assets other than their investments in the controlled operating companies. Investment company accounting prohibits the consolidation of any operating companies.

Fourth Quarter Highlights

Investment Transactions

We seek to be a long-term investor with our portfolio companies. During the three months ended June 30, 2019, we acquired $122,530 of new investments, completed follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies totaling approximately $50,966, funded $470 of revolver advances, and recorded PIK interest of $13,972, resulting in gross investment originations of $187,938. During the three months ended June 30, 2019, we received full repayments on investments totaling $156,550, received $46,516 in partial prepayments, recorded $3,383 in returns of capital, and revolver paydowns of $4,700, resulting in net repayments of $212,813.

Debt Issuances and Redemptions

During the three months ended June 30, 2019, we increased total commitments to our revolving credit facility (the “Revolving Credit Facility”) for PCF by $87,500 to $1,132,500 in the aggregate.

During the three months ended June 30, 2019, we repaid $2,927 aggregate principal amount of Prospect Capital InterNotes® at par in accordance with the Survivor’s Option, as defined in the InterNotes® Offering prospectus. In order to replace shorter maturity debt with longer-term debt, we redeemed $156,423 aggregate principal amount of Prospect Capital InterNotes® at par with a weighted average interest rate of 4.97%. As a result of these transactions, we recorded a loss in the amount of the unamortized debt issuance costs. The net loss on the extinguishment of Prospect Capital InterNotes® in the three months ended June 30, 2019 was $1,142.

During the three months ended June 30, 2019, we issued $112,328 aggregate principal amount of Prospect Capital InterNotes® with a stated and weighted average interest rate of 5.55%, to extend our borrowing base. The newly issued notes mature between April 15, 2024 and June 15, 2029 and generated net proceeds of $110,548.

During the three months ended June 30, 2019, we repurchased an additional $24,588 aggregate principal amount of the 2020 Notes at a weighted average price of 101.1, including commission. As a result of these transactions, we recorded a net loss of $414 during the three months ended June 30, 2019, in the amount of the difference of the reacquisition price and the net carrying amounts of the 2020 Notes, net of the proportionate amount of unamortized debt issuance costs. On June 28, 2019, we commenced a tender offer to purchase for cash any and all of the $224,114 outstanding aggregate principal amount of the 2020 Notes. The tender offer expired at 12:00 midnight on July 26, 2019.

In connection with follow-on programs for our unsecured Public Notes, we completed the following at-the-market (“ATM”) offerings of additional debt during the three months ended June 30, 2019:

Equity Issuances

On April 18, 2019, May 23, 2019, and June 20, 2019, we issued 82,697, 81,323, and 82,031 shares of our common stock in connection with the dividend reinvestment plan, respectively.

Investment Holdings

As of June 30, 2019, we continue to pursue our investment strategy. At June 30, 2019, approximately $5,653,553, or 171.0%, of our net assets are invested in 135 long-term portfolio investments and CLOs.

Our annualized current yield was 13.1% and 13.0% as of June 30, 2019 and June 30, 2018, respectively, across all performing interest bearing investments, excluding equity investments and non-accrual loans. Our annualized current yield was 10.6% and 10.5% as of June 30, 2019 and June 30, 2018, respectively, across all investments. Monetization of equity positions that we hold and loans on non-accrual status are not included in this yield calculation. In many of our portfolio companies we hold equity positions, ranging from minority interests to majority stakes, which we expect over time to contribute to our investment returns. Some of these equity positions include features such as contractual minimum internal rates of returns, preferred distributions, flip structures and other features expected to generate additional investment returns, as well as contractual protections and preferences over junior equity, in addition to the yield and security offered by our cash flow and collateral debt protections.

We are a non-diversified company within the meaning of the 1940 Act. As required by the 1940 Act, we classify our investments by level of control. As defined in the 1940 Act, “Control Investments” are those where there is the ability or power to exercise a controlling influence over the management or policies of a company. Control is generally deemed to exist when a company or individual possesses or has the right to acquire within 60 days or less, a beneficial ownership of 25% or more of the voting securities of an investee company. Under the 1940 Act, “Affiliate Investments” are defined by a lesser degree of influence and are deemed to exist through the possession outright or via the right to acquire within 60 days or less, beneficial ownership of 5% or more of the outstanding voting securities of another person. “Non-Control/Non-Affiliate Investments” are those that are neither Control Investments nor Affiliate Investments.

As of June 30, 2019, we own controlling interests in the following portfolio companies: CP Energy Services Inc. (“CP Energy”); Credit Central Loan Company, LLC (“Credit Central”); Echelon Transportation, LLC (“Echelon”); First Tower Finance Company LLC (“First Tower Finance”); Freedom Marine Solutions, LLC (“Freedom Marine”); InterDent, Inc. (“InterDent”), MITY, Inc. (“MITY”); NPRC; Nationwide Loan Company LLC (“Nationwide”); NMMB, Inc. (“NMMB”); Pacific World Corporation (“Pacific World”); R-V Industries, Inc. (“R-V”); Universal Turbine Parts, LLC (“UTP”); USES Corp. (“USES”); Valley Electric Company, Inc. (“Valley Electric”); and Wolf Energy, LLC (“Wolf Energy”). In June 2019, CP Energy purchased approximately 64.1% of the common equity of Spartan Energy Holdings, Inc. (“Spartan Holdings”), which owns 100% of Spartan Energy Services, LLC (“Spartan”), a portfolio company of Prospect with $34,399 in senior secured term loans (the “Spartan Term Loans”) due to us as of June 30, 2019. As a result of CP Energy’s purchase, and given Prospect’s controlling interest in CP Energy, we report our investments in Spartan as control investments beginning June 30, 2019. Spartan remains the direct borrow and guarantor to Prospect for the Spartan Term Loans. We also own affiliated interests in Edmentum Ultimate Holdings, LLC (“Edmentum”); Nixon, Inc. (“Nixon”), Targus Cayman HoldCo Limited (“Targus”) and United Sporting Companies, Inc. (“USC”).

The following shows the composition of our investment portfolio by level of control as of June 30, 2019 and June 30, 2018: