PART I
In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, except as otherwise indicated, the terms:
•“we,” “us,” “our” and “GDLC” refer to Golub Capital Direct Lending Corporation, a Maryland corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries;
•“GDLC Holdings” refers to GDLC Holdings LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, or LLC, our direct subsidiary;
•“GC Advisors” refers to GC Advisors LLC, our investment adviser;
•“GDLC Feeder” refers to GDLC Feeder Fund, L.P., a Delaware limited partnership, whose general partner is controlled by our Investment Advisor;
•“Feeder GP” refers to Golub Onshore GP 3, LLC, a general partner of GDLC Feeder;
• “Administrator” refers to Golub Capital LLC, an affiliate of GC Advisors and our administrator;
•“Adviser Revolver” refers to the line of credit with GC Advisors, which was most recently amended on November 15, 2021, and which allowed for borrowing up to $70.0 million as of September 30, 2023;
•“PNC Facility” refers to the revolving credit facility with PNC Bank, entered into on March 21, 2022, and was most recently amended on November 15, 2023, and which as of September 30, 2023, allowed for borrowing up to $170.0 million that bears at a rate of either the Eurocurrency Rate, the Daily Simple RFR, the Daily Simple SOFR, the Term SOFR Rate, or the Base Rate plus a margin ranging from 2.00% to 2.40%, depending on the degree of uncalled capital commitments coverage of the PNC Facility’s borrowing base versus our investment asset coverage of the borrowing base;
•“Investment Advisory Agreement” refers to the advisory agreement by and between us and GC Advisors,
dated as of July 1, 2021; and
•“Golub Capital” refers, collectively, to the activities and operations of Golub Capital LLC (formerly Golub Capital Management LLC), which entity employs all of Golub Capital’s investment professionals, GC Advisors and associated investment funds and their respective affiliates.
Item 1. Business
GENERAL
We are an externally managed, closed-end, non-diversified management investment company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the 1940 Act. In addition, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we have elected to be treated as a regulated investment company, or RIC, under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code.
We were formed to make investments and generate current income and capital appreciation by investing primarily in one stop loans (a loan that combines characteristics of traditional first lien senior secured loans and second lien or subordinated loans and that are often referred to by other middle-market lenders as unitranche loans) and other senior secured loans of U.S. middle-market companies that are, in most cases, sponsored by private equity firms. GC Advisors structures these one stop loans as senior secured loans, and we obtain security interests in the assets of the portfolio company that serve as collateral in support of the repayment of these loans. This collateral often takes the form of first-priority liens on the assets of the portfolio company. In many cases, we are the sole lender or we, together with our affiliates, are the sole lenders of one stop loans, which can afford us additional influence over the borrower in terms of monitoring and, if necessary, remediating any underperformance.
In this Annual Report on Form 10-K, the term “middle-market” generally refers to companies having earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, of less than $100.0 million annually.
Our investment objective is to generate current income and capital appreciation by investing primarily in senior secured and one stop loans of U.S. middle-market companies. We also selectively invest in second lien and subordinated (a loan that ranks senior only to a borrower’s equity securities and ranks junior to all of such borrower’s other indebtedness in priority of payment) loans of, and warrants and minority equity securities in, middle-market companies. We intend to achieve our investment objective by (1) accessing the established loan origination channels developed by Golub Capital, a leading lender to middle-market companies that had over $60 billion of capital under management as of July 1, 2023, (2) selecting investments within our core middle-market company focus, (3) partnering with experienced private equity firms, or sponsors, in many cases with whom Golub Capital has invested alongside in the past, (4) implementing the disciplined underwriting standards of Golub Capital and (5) drawing upon the aggregate experience and resources of Golub Capital.
We were formed in September 2020 as a Delaware limited liability company and converted to a Maryland corporation effective July 1, 2021 in connection with our election to be regulated as a business development company and the commencement of our operations. We have sold and continue to offer and sell shares of our common stock in private placement transactions pursuant to certain exemptions of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and the laws of the states and jurisdictions where any offering is made.
We seek to create a portfolio that includes primarily senior secured and one stop loans by primarily investing approximately $5.0 million to $30.0 million of capital, on average, in the securities of U.S. middle-market companies. We expect to selectively invest more than $30.0 million in some of our portfolio companies and generally expect that the size of our individual investments will vary proportionately with the size of our capital base.
We generally invest in securities that have been rated below investment grade by independent rating agencies or that would be rated below investment grade if they were rated. These securities, which are often referred to as “junk,” have predominantly speculative characteristics with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal. In addition, many of our debt investments have floating interest rates that reset on a periodic basis and typically do not fully pay down principal prior to maturity, which could increase our risk of losing part or all of our investment.
Information Available
Our address is 200 Park Avenue, 25th Floor, New York, NY 10166 and our phone number is (212) 750-6060.
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information we file with the SEC at www.sec.gov.
Our Adviser
Our investment activities are managed by our investment adviser, GC Advisors. GC Advisors is responsible for sourcing potential investments, conducting research and due diligence on prospective investments and equity sponsors, analyzing investment opportunities, structuring our investments and monitoring our investments and portfolio companies on an ongoing basis. GC Advisors was organized in September 2008 and is a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, or the Advisers Act. Under our Investment Advisory Agreement, we pay GC Advisors a base management fee and an incentive fee for its services. See “Business — Management Agreements — Management Fee” for a discussion of the base management fee and incentive fee, including the cumulative incentive fee cap and the income and capital gains incentive fee payable by us to GC Advisors. Unlike most closed-end funds whose fees are based on assets net of leverage, our base management fee is based on our average-adjusted gross assets (including leverage but adjusted to exclude cash and cash equivalents so that investors do not pay the base management fee on such assets) and, therefore, GC Advisors benefits when we incur debt or use leverage. For purposes of the Investment Advisory Agreement, cash equivalents means U.S. government securities and commercial paper instruments maturing within 270 days of purchase. Additionally, under the incentive fee structure, GC Advisors benefits when capital gains are recognized and, because it determines when a holding is sold, GC Advisors controls the timing of the recognition of capital gains. Our board of directors is charged with protecting our interests by monitoring how GC Advisors addresses these and other conflicts of interest associated with its management services and compensation. While not expected to review or approve each borrowing, our independent directors periodically review GC Advisors’ services and fees as well as its portfolio management decisions and portfolio performance. In connection with these reviews, our independent directors consider whether our fees and expenses (including those related to leverage) remain appropriate. See “Business — Management Agreements — Board Approval of the Investment Advisory Agreement.”
GC Advisors is an affiliate of Golub Capital and pursuant to a staffing agreement, or the Staffing Agreement, Golub Capital LLC makes experienced investment professionals available to GC Advisors and provides access to the senior investment personnel of Golub Capital LLC and its affiliates. The Staffing Agreement provides GC Advisors with access to deal flow generated by Golub Capital LLC and its affiliates in the ordinary course of their businesses and commits the members of GC Advisors’ investment committee to serve in that capacity. As our investment adviser, GC Advisors is obligated to allocate investment opportunities among us and its other clients fairly and equitably over time in accordance with its allocation policy. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations — Related Party Transactions.” However, there can be no assurance that such opportunities will be allocated to us fairly or equitably in the short-term or over time. GC Advisors seeks to capitalize on the significant deal origination, credit underwriting, due diligence, investment structuring, execution, portfolio management and monitoring experience of Golub Capital LLC’s investment professionals.
Our Administrator
Golub Capital LLC, our Administrator and an affiliate of GC Advisors, provides the administrative services necessary for us to operate. See “Business — Management Agreements — Administration Agreement” for a discussion of the fees and expenses (subject to the review and approval of our independent directors) we are required to reimburse to the Administrator.
About Golub Capital
Golub Capital, founded in 1994, is a leading lender to middle-market companies, with a long track record of investing in senior secured, one stop, second lien and subordinated loans. As of July 1, 2023, Golub Capital had over $60.0 billion of capital under management. Since its inception, Golub Capital has closed deals with over 370 middle-market sponsors and repeat transactions with over 260 sponsors.
Golub Capital’s middle-market lending group is managed by an eight-member senior management team consisting of Lawrence E. Golub, David B. Golub, Andrew H. Steuerman, Gregory W. Cashman, Spyro G. Alexopoulos, Marc C. Robinson, Robert G. Tuchscherer and Jason J. Van Dussen. As of September 30, 2023, Golub Capital had more than 170 investment professionals supported by more than 650 administrative and back office personnel that focus on operations, finance, legal and compliance, accounting and reporting, marketing, information technology and office management.
Market Trends
We have identified the following trends that may affect our business:
Target Market. We believe that small and middle-market companies in the United States with annual revenues between $10 million and $2.5 billion represent a significant growth segment of the U.S. economy and often require substantial capital investments to grow. Middle-market companies have generated a significant number of investment opportunities for investment funds managed or advised by Golub Capital, and we believe that this market segment will continue to produce significant investment opportunities for us. We intend to focus our portfolio on borrowers in what we believe are recession resistant industries that are insulated from the effects of economic disruptions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.