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| RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS | RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS Transactions with the Adviser
We have been externally managed by the Adviser pursuant to the Advisory Agreement since October 1, 2004 pursuant to which we pay the Adviser a base management fee and an incentive fee for its services. On July 12, 2022, our Board of Directors, including a majority of the directors who are not parties to the Advisory Agreement or interested persons of us or the Adviser, unanimously approved the renewal of the Advisory Agreement through August 31, 2023.
We also pay the Adviser a loan servicing fee for its role of servicer pursuant to our Credit Facility. The entire loan servicing fee paid to the Adviser by Business Loan is non-contractually, unconditionally and irrevocably credited against the base management fee otherwise payable to the Adviser, since Business Loan is a consolidated subsidiary of ours, and overall, the base management fee (including any loan servicing fee) cannot exceed 1.75% of total assets (including investments made with proceeds of borrowings, less any uninvested cash or cash equivalents resulting from borrowings) during any given fiscal year pursuant to the Advisory Agreement.
Two of our executive officers, David Gladstone (our chairman and chief executive officer) and Terry Lee Brubaker (our vice chairman and chief operating officer), serve as directors and executive officers of the Adviser, which is 100% indirectly owned and controlled by Mr. Gladstone. Robert Marcotte (our president) also serves as executive vice president of private equity (debt) of the Adviser. Michael LiCalsi, our general counsel and secretary (who also serves as the Administrator’s president, general counsel and secretary), is also the executive vice president of administration of our Adviser.
The following table summarizes the base management fee, incentive fee, and loan servicing fee and associated non-contractual, unconditional and irrevocable credits reflected in our accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations:
(A)Average total assets subject to the base management fee is defined in the Advisory Agreement as total assets, including investments made with proceeds of borrowings, less any uninvested cash or cash equivalents resulting from borrowings, valued at the end of the two most recently completed quarters within the respective years and adjusted appropriately for any share issuances or repurchases during the period.
(B)Reflected as a line item on our accompanying Consolidated Statements of Operations.
Base Management Fee
The base management fee is payable quarterly to the Adviser pursuant to our Advisory Agreement and is assessed at an annual rate of 1.75%, computed on the basis of the value of our average total assets at the end of the two most recently-completed quarters (inclusive of the current quarter), which are total assets, including investments made with proceeds of borrowings, less any uninvested cash or cash equivalents resulting from borrowings and adjusted appropriately for any share issuances or repurchases during the period.
Additionally, pursuant to the requirements of the 1940 Act, the Adviser makes available significant managerial assistance to our portfolio companies. The Adviser may also provide other services to our portfolio companies under certain agreements and may receive fees for services other than managerial assistance. Such services may include: (i) assistance obtaining, sourcing or structuring credit facilities, long-term loans or additional equity from unaffiliated third parties; (ii) negotiating important contractual financial relationships; (iii) consulting services regarding restructuring of the portfolio company and financial modeling as it relates to raising additional debt and equity capital from unaffiliated third parties; and (iv) taking a primary role in interviewing, vetting and negotiating employment contracts with candidates in connection with adding and retaining key portfolio company management team members. The Adviser non-contractually, unconditionally, and irrevocably credits 100% of any fees for such services against the base management fee that we would otherwise be required to pay to the Adviser.
Our Board of Directors accepted a non-contractual, unconditional, and irrevocable credit from the Adviser to reduce the annual base management fee on syndicated loan participations to 0.5%, to the extent that proceeds resulting from borrowings were used to purchase such syndicated loan participations, for the three months ended December 31, 2022 and 2021.
Loan Servicing Fee
The Adviser also services the loans held by Business Loan (the borrower under the Credit Facility), in return for which the Adviser receives a 1.5% annual fee payable monthly based on the aggregate outstanding balance of loans pledged under our Credit Facility. As discussed in the notes to the table above, we treat payment of the loan servicing fee pursuant to the
Credit Facility as a pre-payment of the base management fee under the Advisory Agreement. Accordingly, these loan servicing fees are 100% non-contractually, unconditionally and irrevocably credited back to us by the Adviser.
Incentive Fee
The incentive fee consists of two parts: an income-based incentive fee and a capital gains-based incentive fee. The income-based incentive fee rewards the Adviser if our quarterly net investment income (before giving effect to any incentive fee) exceeds 1.75% (2.0% during the period from April 1, 2020 through March 31, 2023) of our net assets, which we define as total assets less indebtedness and before taking into account any incentive fees payable or contractually due but not payable during the period, at the end of the immediately preceding calendar quarter, adjusted appropriately for any share issuances or repurchases during the period (the “hurdle rate”). The income-based incentive fee with respect to our pre-incentive fee net investment income is generally payable quarterly to the Adviser and is computed as follows:
•no incentive fee in any calendar quarter in which our pre-incentive fee net investment income does not exceed the hurdle rate;
•100.0% of our pre-incentive fee net investment income with respect to that portion of such pre-incentive fee net investment income, if any, that exceeds the hurdle rate but is less than 2.1875% (2.4375% during the period from April 1, 2020 through March 31, 2022 and 2.50% from April 1, 2022 through March 31, 2023) of our net assets, adjusted appropriately for any share issuances or repurchases during the period, in any calendar quarter; and
•20.0% of the amount of our pre-incentive fee net investment income, if any, that exceeds 2.1875% (2.4375% during the period from April 1, 2020 through March 31, 2022 and 2.50% from April 1, 2022 through March 31, 2023) of our net assets, adjusted appropriately for any share issuances or repurchases during the period, in any calendar quarter.
On April 12, 2022, our Board of Directors approved an amendment of the Advisory Agreement which extended the temporary revision to the hurdle rate through March 31, 2023 and increased the excess incentive fee hurdle rate from 2.1875% per quarter (8.75% annualized) to 2.50% per quarter (10.0% annualized), up from the 2.4375% per quarter (9.75% annualized) in effect since April 1, 2020.
The second part of the incentive fee is a capital gains-based incentive fee that is determined and payable in arrears as of the end of each fiscal year (or upon termination of the Advisory Agreement, as of the termination date) and equals 20.0% of our “net realized capital gains” (as defined herein) as of the end of the fiscal year. In determining the capital gains-based incentive fee payable to the Adviser, we calculate “net realized capital gains” at the end of each applicable year by subtracting the sum of our cumulative aggregate realized capital losses and our entire portfolio’s aggregate unrealized capital depreciation from our cumulative aggregate realized capital gains. For this purpose, cumulative aggregate realized capital gains, if any, equals the sum of the differences between the net sales price of each investment, when sold, and the original cost of such investment since inception. Cumulative aggregate realized capital losses equals the sum of the amounts by which the net sales price of each investment, when sold, is less than the original cost of such investment since inception. The entire portfolio’s aggregate unrealized capital depreciation, if any, equals the sum of the difference between the valuation of each investment as of the applicable calculation date and the original cost of such investment. At the end of the applicable fiscal year, the amount of capital gains that serves as the basis for our calculation of the capital gains-based incentive fee equals the cumulative aggregate realized capital gains less cumulative aggregate realized capital losses, less the entire portfolio’s aggregate unrealized capital depreciation, if any. If this number is positive at the end of such fiscal year, then the capital gains-based incentive fee for such year equals 20.0% of such amount, less the aggregate amount of any capital gains-based incentive fees paid in respect of our portfolio in all prior years. No capital gains-based incentive fee has been recorded or paid since our inception through December 31, 2022, as cumulative unrealized capital depreciation has exceeded cumulative realized capital gains net of cumulative realized capital losses.
In accordance with GAAP, a capital gains-based incentive fee accrual is calculated using the aggregate cumulative realized capital gains and losses and aggregate cumulative unrealized capital appreciation and depreciation. If such amount is positive at the end of a period, then GAAP requires us to record a capital gains-based incentive fee equal to 20.0% of such amount, less the aggregate amount of actual capital gains-based incentive fees paid in all prior years. If such amount is negative, then there is no accrual for such period. GAAP requires that the capital gains-based incentive fee accrual consider the cumulative aggregate unrealized capital appreciation in the calculation, as a capital gains-based incentive fee would be payable if such unrealized capital appreciation were realized. There can be no assurance that such unrealized capital
appreciation will be realized in the future. No GAAP accrual for a capital gains-based incentive fee has been recorded from our inception through December 31, 2022.
Transactions with the Administrator
We have entered into the Administration Agreement with the Administrator to provide administrative services. We reimburse the Administrator pursuant to the Administration Agreement for the portion of expenses the Administrator incurs while performing services for us. The Administrator’s expenses are primarily rent and the salaries, benefits and expenses of the Administrator’s employees, including: our chief financial officer and treasurer, chief compliance officer, chief valuation officer, and general counsel and secretary (who also serves as the Administrator’s president, general counsel and secretary) and their respective staffs. Two of our executive officers, David Gladstone (our chairman and chief executive officer) and Terry Lee Brubaker (our vice chairman and chief operating officer) serve as members of the board of managers and executive officers of the Administrator, which, as of December 31, 2022, is 100% indirectly owned and controlled by Mr. Gladstone. Another of our officers, Michael LiCalsi (our general counsel and secretary), serves as the Administrator’s president as well as the executive vice president of administration for the Adviser.
Our allocable portion of the Administrator’s expenses is generally derived by multiplying the Administrator’s total expenses by the approximate percentage of time during the current quarter the Administrator’s employees performed services for us in relation to their time spent performing services for all companies serviced by the Administrator. On July 12, 2022, our Board of Directors, including a majority of the directors who are not parties to the Administration Agreement or interested persons of either party, approved the renewal of the Administration Agreement through August 31, 2023.
Other Transactions
Gladstone Securities, LLC (“Gladstone Securities”), a privately-held broker-dealer registered with the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and insured by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation, which is 100% indirectly owned and controlled by Mr. Gladstone, our chairman and chief executive officer, has provided other services, such as investment banking and due diligence services, to certain of our portfolio companies, for which Gladstone Securities receives a fee. Any such fees paid by portfolio companies to Gladstone Securities do not impact the fees we pay to the Adviser or the non-contractual, unconditional and irrevocable credits against the base management fee or incentive fee. Gladstone Securities received fees from portfolio companies totaling $16 thousand and $0.6 million during the three months ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, respectively.
Related Party Fees Due
Amounts due to related parties on our accompanying Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities were as follows:
In addition to the above fees, other operating expenses due to the Adviser as of December 31, 2022 and September 30, 2022, totaled $19 thousand and $44 thousand, respectively. In addition, net expenses payable to Gladstone Investment Corporation (for reimbursement purposes), which includes certain co-investment expenses, totaled $16 thousand and $13 thousand as of December 31, 2022 and September 30, 2022, respectively. These amounts are generally settled in the quarter subsequent to being incurred and are included in other liabilities on the accompanying Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities as of December 31, 2022 and September 30, 2022.
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