Goldman Sachs BDC Inc

The Company

We are a specialty finance company focused on lending to middle-market companies. We are a closed-end management investment company that has elected to be regulated as a BDC under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). In addition, we have elected to be treated as a RIC, and we expect to qualify annually for tax treatment as a RIC, commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2013. From our formation in 2012 through December 31, 2024, we originated approximately $8.68 billion in aggregate principal amount of debt and equity investments prior to any subsequent exits and repayments. We seek to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation primarily through direct originations of secured debt, including first lien, unitranche, including last-out portions of such loans, and second lien debt, and unsecured debt, including mezzanine debt, as well as through select equity investments.

“Unitranche” loans are first lien loans that may extend deeper in a borrower’s capital structure than traditional first lien debt and may provide for a waterfall of cash flow priority between different lenders in such loan. In a number of instances, we may find another lender to provide the “first-out” portion of a unitranche loan while we retain the “last-out” portion of such loan, in which case, the “first-out” portion of the loan would generally receive priority with respect to the payment of principal, interest and any other amounts due thereunder as compared to the “last-out” portion that we would continue to hold. In exchange for taking greater risk of loss, the “last-out” portion generally earns a higher interest rate than the “first-out” portion of the loan. We use the term “mezzanine” to refer to debt that ranks senior in right of payment only to a borrower’s equity securities and ranks junior in right of payment to all of such borrower’s other indebtedness. We may make multiple investments in the same portfolio company.

We may also originate “covenant-lite” loans, which are loans with fewer financial maintenance covenants than other obligations, or no financial maintenance covenants. Such covenant-lite loans may not include terms that allow the lender to monitor the performance of the borrower or to declare a default if certain criteria are breached. These flexible covenants (or the absence of covenants) could permit borrowers to experience a significant downturn in their results of operations without triggering any default that would permit holders of their debt (such as us) to accelerate indebtedness or negotiate terms and pricing. In the event of default, covenant-lite loans may recover less value than traditional loans as the lender may not have the opportunity to negotiate with the borrower prior to such default.

We invest primarily in U.S. middle-market companies, which we believe are underserved by traditional providers of capital such as banks and the public debt markets. In this report, we generally use the term “middle market companies” to refer to companies with between $5 million and $200 million of annual earnings before interest expense, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) excluding certain one-time, and non-recurring items that are outside the operations of these companies. However, we may from time to time invest in larger or smaller companies. We generate revenues primarily through receipt of interest income from the investments we hold. In addition, we may generate income from various loan origination and other fees, dividends on direct equity investments and capital gains on the sales of investments. Fees received from portfolio companies (directors’ fees, consulting fees, administrative fees, tax advisory fees and other similar compensation) are paid to us, unless, to the extent required by applicable law or exemptive relief therefrom, we only receive our allocable portion of such fees when invested in the same portfolio company as another client account managed by our Investment Adviser (including collectively with us, the Accounts). The companies in which we invest use our capital for a variety of purposes, including to support organic growth, fund acquisitions, make capital investments or refinance indebtedness.

Available Information

We file with or submit to the SEC periodic and current reports, proxy statements and other information meeting the informational requirements of the Exchange Act. We maintain a website at www.GoldmanSachsBDC.com and make all of our annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other publicly filed information available, free of charge, on or through our website. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this annual report on Form 10-K, and you should not consider information contained on our website to be part of this annual report on Form 10-K or any other report we file with the SEC. You may also obtain such information by contacting us, in writing at: 71 South Wacker Drive, Chicago, Illinois 60606, or by telephone (collect) at (312) 655-4419. The SEC maintains an Internet site at http://www.sec.gov that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information filed electronically by us with the SEC. Copies of these reports, proxy and information statements and other information may be obtained by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov.

Investment Strategy

Our origination strategy focuses on leading the negotiation and structuring of the loans or securities in which we invest and holding the investments in our portfolio to maturity. In many cases we are the sole investor in the loan or security in our portfolio. Where there are multiple investors, we generally seek to control or obtain significant influence over the rights of investors in the loan or security. We generally seek to make investments that have maturities of three to ten years and investment size ranges from $10 million to $75 million or above.

Investment Portfolio

Our portfolio (excluding our investment in a money market fund, if any, managed by an affiliate of GS Group Inc.) consisted of the following:

As of December 31, 2024, our portfolio consisted of 503 investments in 164 portfolio companies across 39 different industries. The largest industries in our portfolio, based on fair value as of December 31, 2024, were Software, Health Care Providers & Services, Financial Services and Professional Services, which represented 19.5%, 10.5%, 9.4% and 9.1%, respectively, of our portfolio at fair value. The geographic composition of our portfolio at fair value as of December 31, 2024 was primarily 97.1% in the United States, 2.0% in Canada and 0.9% in the United Kingdom.

The weighted average yield by asset type of our total portfolio (excluding investments in money market funds, if any), at amortized cost and fair value, was as follows:

(1)

The weighted average yield at amortized cost of our portfolio excludes the Purchase Discount (as defined below in Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations) and amortization related to our Merger (as defined below in Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations) with GS MMLC (as defined below in Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations) and does not represent the total return to our stockholders.

(2)

Computed based on (a) the annual actual interest rate or yield earned plus amortization of fees and discounts on the performing debt and other income producing investments as of the reporting date, divided by (b) the total investments (including investments on non-accrual status and non-income producing investments) at amortized cost or fair value. This calculation excludes exit fees that are receivable upon repayment of certain loan investments.

(3)

The calculation includes incremental yield earned on the “last-out” portion of the unitranche loan investments.

(4)

Computed based on (a) the stated coupon rate, if any, for each income-producing investment, divided by (b) the total investments (including investments on non-accrual status and non-income producing investments) at amortized cost or fair value.

The following table presents certain selected information regarding our investment portfolio (excluding investments in money market funds, if any):

Corporate Structure

We were formed as a private fund in September 2012 and commenced operations in November 2012, using seed capital contributions we received from GS Group Inc. In March 2013, we elected to be treated as a BDC. We have elected to be treated as a RIC, and we expect to qualify annually for tax treatment as a RIC, commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2013. On March 18, 2015, our common stock began trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) under the symbol “GSBD”. As of December 31, 2024, GS Group Inc. owned 5.5% of our common stock.

Our Investment Adviser

GSAM serves as our Investment Adviser and has been registered as an investment adviser with the SEC since 1990. Subject to the supervision of our board of directors (the “Board of Directors” or the “Board”), a majority of which is made up of Independent Directors (as defined below) (including an independent Chairperson), GSAM manages our day-to-day operations and provides us with investment advisory and management services and certain administrative services. GSAM is a subsidiary of GS Group Inc., a bank holding company (“BHC”) and a financial holding company (“FHC”), regulated by the board of governors of the federal reserve system (the “Federal Reserve”). GS Group Inc. is a leading global financial institution that provides a broad range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. GS Group Inc. is the general partner and owner of GSAM.

The Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team

The Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team is dedicated to the direct origination investment strategy of the Company and other Accounts that share a similar investment strategy with us. The Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team is comprised of approximately 200 investment professionals across 11 cities and four continents as of December 31, 2024. Within the Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team, approximately 80 private credit investment professionals across five offices in the Americas led by Alex Chi and David Miller, our Co-Chief Executive Officers and Co-Presidents, oversee and lead our day-to-day portfolio management. The Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team is responsible for identifying investment opportunities, conducting research and due diligence on prospective investments, and negotiating, structuring, monitoring, and servicing our investments. In addition, the Investment

Adviser and Goldman Sachs have risk management, legal, accounting, tax, information technology and compliance personnel, among other personnel, who provide services to us. We benefit from the expertise provided by these personnel in our operations.

The Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team utilizes a bottom-up, fundamental research approach to lending. The managing directors of this team had an average industry experience of over 19 years coupled with an average tenure at Goldman Sachs of over 12 years as of December 31, 2024.

Private Credit Investment Committee

All investment decisions are made by the investment committee of the Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team (the "Private Credit Investment Committee"). As of the date of this report, the Private Credit Investment Committee consists of the following members: Rich Friedman, James Reynolds, Vivek Bantwal, Patrick Armstrong, Amitayush Bahri, Steven Budig, Kevin Sterling, Beat Cabiallavetta, Stephanie Rader, Alex Chi, David Miller, Greg Watts, Nicole Agnew and Moritz Jobke, along with members from Goldman Sachs’ Compliance, Legal, Tax and Controllers groups. The Private Credit Investment Committee is responsible for approving all of our investments. The Private Credit Investment Committee also monitors investments in our portfolio and approves all asset dispositions. We expect to benefit from the extensive and varied relevant experience of the investment professionals serving on the Private Credit Investment Committee, which includes expertise in privately originated and publicly traded leveraged credit, stressed and distressed debt, bankruptcy, mergers and acquisitions and private equity. The size, membership, authority and voting rights of members of the Private Credit Investment Committee are subject to change from time to time without prior notice.

The purpose of our Private Credit Investment Committee is to evaluate and approve, as deemed appropriate, all investments by our Investment Adviser. Our Private Credit Investment Committee process is intended to bring the diverse experience and perspectives of our Private Credit Investment Committee’s members to the analysis and consideration of every investment. Our Private Credit Investment Committee also serves to provide investment consistency and adherence to our Investment Adviser’s investment philosophies and policies. Our Private Credit Investment Committee also determines appropriate investment sizing and suggests ongoing monitoring requirements.

We seek to create a portfolio that includes primarily direct originations of secured debt, including first lien, unitranche, including last-out portions of such loans, and second lien debt, and unsecured debt, including mezzanine debt, as well as through select equity investments. We expect to make investments through both primary originations and open-market secondary purchases. We currently do not limit our focus to any specific industry. If we are successful in achieving our investment objective, we believe that we will be able to provide our stockholders with consistent dividend distributions and attractive risk adjusted total returns.

As of December 31, 2024, our portfolio (which term does not include our investments in money market funds, if any) on a fair value basis, was comprised of approximately 97.6% secured debt investments (96.3% in first lien debt (including 4.8% in first lien/last-out unitranche loans) and 1.3% in second lien debt), 0.5% in unsecured debt investments, 0.9% in preferred stock, 1.0% in common stock and 0.0% in warrants. We expect that our portfolio will continue to include secured debt, including first lien, unitranche, including last-out portions of such loans, and second lien debt, unsecured debt (including mezzanine debt) and, to a lesser extent, equities. In addition to investments in U.S. middle-market companies, we may invest a portion of our capital in opportunistic investments, such as in large U.S. companies, foreign companies, stressed or distressed debt, structured products or private equity. Such investments are intended to enhance our risk adjusted returns to stockholders, and the proportion of these types of investments will change over time given our views on, among other things, the economic and credit environment in which we are operating, although these types of investments generally will constitute less than 30% of our total assets.

In the future, we may also securitize a portion of our investments in any or all of our assets. We expect that our primary use of funds will be to make investments in portfolio companies, distribute cash to holders of our common stock and pay our operating expenses, including debt service to the extent we borrow or issue senior securities to fund our investments.

In certain circumstances, we can make negotiated co-investments pursuant to an exemptive order from the SEC permitting us to do so. On November 16, 2022, the SEC granted to the Investment Adviser, the BDCs advised by the Investment Adviser and certain other affiliated applicants exemptive relief on which we expect to rely to co-invest alongside certain other Accounts, which may include proprietary accounts of Goldman Sachs, in a manner consistent with our investment objectives and strategies, certain Board-established criteria, the conditions of such exemptive relief and other pertinent factors (the “Relief”). On June 25, 2024, the SEC granted an amendment to the Relief, which permits us to participate in follow-on investments in our existing portfolio companies with certain affiliates covered by the Relief if such affiliates, that are not BDCs or registered investment companies, did not have an investment in such existing portfolio company. If our Investment Adviser forms other funds in the future, we may co-invest alongside such other affiliates, subject to compliance with the Relief, applicable regulations and regulatory guidance, as well as applicable allocation procedures. As a result of the Relief, there could be significant overlap in our investment portfolio and the investment portfolios of other Accounts, including, in some cases, proprietary accounts of Goldman Sachs.

Investment Criteria

We are committed to a value-oriented philosophy implemented by our Investment Adviser, which manages our portfolio and seeks to minimize the risk of capital loss without foregoing the potential for capital appreciation. We have identified several criteria, discussed below, that GSAM believes are important in identifying and investing in prospective portfolio companies.

These criteria outlined below provide general guidelines for our investment decisions. However, not all of these criteria will be met by each prospective portfolio company in which we choose to invest. Generally, we seek to use our experience and access to market information to identify investment candidates and to structure investments quickly and effectively.

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Value orientation and positive cash flow. Our investment philosophy places a premium on fundamental analysis and has a distinct value orientation. We focus on companies in which we can invest at relatively low multiples of operating cash flow and that are profitable at the time of investment on an operating cash flow basis. Typically, we do not expect to invest in start-up companies or companies having speculative business plans.

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Experienced management and established financial sponsor relationships. We generally require that our portfolio companies have an experienced management team and have proper incentives in place for management to succeed and to act in concert with our interests as investors. In addition, we focus our investments in companies backed by strong financial sponsors that have a history of creating value and with whom members of our Investment Adviser have an established relationship.

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Strong and defensible competitive market position. We seek to invest in target companies that have developed leading market positions within their respective markets and are well-positioned to capitalize on growth opportunities. We also seek companies that demonstrate significant competitive advantages versus their competitors, which should help to protect their market position and profitability while enabling us to protect our principal and avoid capital losses.

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Viable exit strategy. We seek to invest in companies that GSAM believes will provide a steady stream of cash flow to repay our loans and reinvest in their respective businesses. We expect that such internally generated cash flow, leading to the payment of interest on, and the repayment of the principal of, our investments in portfolio companies to be a key means by which we exit from our investments over time. In addition, we also seek to invest in companies whose business models and expected future cash flows offer attractive exit possibilities. These companies include candidates for strategic acquisition by other industry participants and companies that may repay our investments through an initial public offering of common stock or other capital markets transactions.

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Due diligence. Our Investment Adviser takes a bottom-up, fundamental research approach to our potential investments. It believes it is critical to conduct extensive due diligence on investment targets and in evaluating new investments. Our Investment Adviser conducts a rigorous due diligence process that is applied to prospective portfolio companies and draws from its experience, industry expertise and network of contacts. In conducting due diligence, our Investment Adviser uses information provided by companies, financial sponsors and publicly available information as well as information from relationships with former and current management teams, consultants, competitors and investment bankers.

Our due diligence process typically includes, but is not limited to: (i) review of historical and prospective financial information; (ii) review of the capital structure; (iii) analysis of the business and industry in which the company operates; (iv) on-site visits; (v) interviews with management, employees, customers and vendors of the potential portfolio company; (vi) review of loan documents; (vii) background checks; and (viii) research relating to the portfolio company’s management, industry, markets, products and services and competitors.

The Investment Adviser may integrate environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) risk considerations within its process for originating loans to U.S. middle market companies, investing directly in middle market credit obligations and related instruments. As part of its due diligence process, the Investment Adviser may consider, alongside other relevant factors, ESG risks, events or conditions that have or could have a material negative impact on the operating and performance metrics of these borrowers in the portfolio. Depending on the circumstances, examples of ESG risks can include physical environmental risks, climate change transition risks, supply chain disruptions, improper labor practices, lack of board diversity and corruption. The Investment Adviser may utilize proprietary research to assess ESG risks that are relevant to our investment.

Upon the completion of due diligence and a decision to proceed with an investment in a company, the team leading the investment presents the investment opportunity to our Private Credit Investment Committee. This committee determines whether to pursue the potential investment. All new investments are required to be reviewed by the Private Credit Investment Committee. The members of the Private Credit Investment Committee are employees of our Investment Adviser and they do not receive separate compensation from us or our Investment Adviser for serving on the Private Credit Investment Committee. Additional due diligence with respect to any investment may be conducted on our behalf (and at our expense) by attorneys prior to the closing of the investment, as well as other outside advisers, as appropriate.

Investment Structure

Once we determine that a prospective portfolio company is suitable for investment, we work with the management of that company and its other capital providers, including senior, junior and equity capital providers, to structure an investment. We negotiate among these parties and use creative and flexible approaches to structure our investment relative to the other capital in the portfolio company’s capital structure.

We expect our secured debt to have terms of approximately three to ten years. We generally obtain security interests in the assets of our portfolio companies that will serve as collateral in support of the repayment of this debt. This collateral may take the form of first or second priority liens on the assets of a portfolio company.

We use the term “mezzanine” to refer to debt that ranks senior only to a borrower’s equity securities and ranks junior in right of payment to all of such borrower’s other indebtedness. Mezzanine debt typically has interest-only payments in the early years, payable in cash or in-kind, with amortization of principal deferred to the later years of the mezzanine debt. In some cases, we may enter into mezzanine debt that, by its terms, converts into equity (or is issued along with warrants for equity) or additional debt securities or defers payments of interest for the first few years after our investment. Typically, our mezzanine debt investments have maturities of three to ten years.

We also invest in unitranche loans, which are loans that combine features of first-lien, second-lien and mezzanine debt, generally in a first-lien position. In a number of instances, we may find another lender to provide the “first-out” portion of such loan and retain the “last-out” portion of such loan, in which case, the “first-out” portion of the loan would generally receive priority with respect to payment of principal, interest and other amounts due thereunder over the “last-out” portion that we would continue to hold.

In the case of our secured debt and unsecured debt, including mezzanine debt investments, we seek to tailor the terms of the investments to the facts and circumstances of the transactions and the prospective portfolio companies, negotiating a structure that protects our rights and manages our risk while creating incentives for the portfolio companies to achieve their business plan and improve their profitability. For example, in addition to seeking a senior position in the capital structure of our portfolio companies, we may seek to limit the downside potential of our investments by (i) requiring a total return on our investments (including both interest and potential equity appreciation) that compensates us for credit risk; (ii) incorporating “put” rights and call protection into the investment structure; and (iii) negotiating covenants in connection with our investments that afford our portfolio companies as much flexibility in managing their businesses as possible, consistent with preservation of our capital. Such restrictions may include affirmative and negative covenants, default penalties, lien protection, change of control provisions and board rights, including either observation or participation rights. We may not be able to negotiate to get any or all of these protections with respect to our investments. Our investments may include equity features, such as direct investments in the equity or convertible securities of portfolio companies or warrants or options to buy a minority interest in a portfolio company. Any warrants we may receive with our debt securities generally require only a nominal cost to exercise, so as a portfolio company appreciates in value, we may achieve additional investment return from these equity investments. We may structure the warrants to provide provisions protecting our rights as a minority-interest holder, as well as puts, or rights to sell such securities back to the company, upon the occurrence of specified events. In many cases, we may also obtain registration rights in connection with these equity investments, which may include demand and “piggyback” registration rights.

We expect to hold most of our investments to maturity or repayment but may sell certain investments earlier if a liquidity event takes place, such as the sale or refinancing of a portfolio company. We also may turn over our investments to better position the portfolio as market conditions change.

Allocation of Investment Opportunities

Our investment objectives and investment strategies are similar to those of other Accounts, and an investment opportunity appropriate for us may also be appropriate for such other Accounts (which may include proprietary accounts of Goldman Sachs). This creates potential conflicts in allocating investment opportunities among us and such other Accounts, particularly in circumstances where the availability of such investment opportunities is limited, where the liquidity of such investment opportunities is limited or where co-investments by us and such other Accounts are not permitted under applicable law.

To address these and other potential conflicts, a selection of which are outlined below, the Investment Adviser has developed allocation policies and procedures that provide that personnel of the Investment Adviser making portfolio decisions for Accounts will make purchase and sale decisions and allocate investment opportunities among Accounts consistent with its fiduciary obligations. To the extent permitted by applicable law, these policies and procedures may result in the pro rata allocation of limited opportunities across eligible Accounts managed by a particular portfolio management team, but in many other cases, the allocations may reflect numerous other factors as described below. There will be cases where certain Accounts receive an allocation of an investment opportunity when we do not, and vice versa.

In some cases, due to information barriers that may be in place, other Accounts may compete with us for specific investment opportunities without being aware that we are competing against each other. Goldman Sachs has a conflicts system in place, in addition to these information barriers to identify potential conflicts early in the process and determine if an allocation decision needs to be made. If the conflicts system detects a potential conflict with respect to a particular investment opportunity, such investment opportunity will be assessed to determine whether it must be allocated to, or prohibited from being allocated to, a particular Account.

Personnel of the Investment Adviser involved in decision-making for Accounts may make allocation-related decisions in accordance with the Investment Adviser’s allocation policies and procedures for us and for other Accounts by reference to one or more factors, including but not limited to: the strategy, objectives, guidelines and restrictions (including legal and regulatory restrictions) of potentially in-scope Accounts, as well as those Accounts’ current portfolios and investment horizons; strategic fit and other portfolio management considerations, including different desired levels of investment for different strategies; the expected future capacity of the potentially in-scope Accounts; cash and liquidity considerations; and the availability of other appropriate investment opportunities. The Investment Adviser may also consider reputational matters and other factors. The application of these considerations may cause differences in the portfolios and performance of different Accounts that have similar strategies. In addition, in some cases the Investment Adviser may make investment recommendations to Accounts where the Accounts make the investment independently of the Investment Adviser, which may result in a reduction in the availability of the investment opportunity for other Accounts (including us), irrespective of the Investment Adviser’s policies regarding allocation of investments. Additional information about the Investment Adviser’s allocation policies is set forth in Item 6 (“Performance-Based Fees and Side-by-Side Management—Side-By-Side Management of Advisory Accounts; Allocation of Opportunities”) of the Investment Adviser’s Form ADV.

The Investment Adviser, including the Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team, may develop and implement new trading strategies or seek to participate in new investment opportunities and strategies. These opportunities and strategies may not be employed in all Accounts even if the opportunity or strategy is consistent with the objectives of such Accounts.

During periods of unusual market conditions, the Investment Adviser may deviate from its normal trade allocation practices. For example, this may occur with respect to the management of unlevered and/or long-only Accounts that are typically managed on a side-by-side basis with levered and/or long-short Accounts.

We may or may not receive opportunities referred by Goldman Sachs businesses and affiliates, but in no event do we have any rights with respect to such opportunities. Subject to applicable law, including the Investment Company Act, such opportunities or any portion thereof may be offered to other Accounts, Goldman Sachs, certain of our investors, or such other persons or entities as determined by Goldman Sachs in its sole discretion. We will have no rights and will not receive any compensation related to such opportunities. Certain of such opportunities may be referred to us by employees or other personnel of Goldman Sachs, or by third parties. If we invest in any such opportunities, Goldman Sachs, may be entitled, to the extent permitted by applicable law, including the limitations set forth in Section 57(k) of the Investment Company Act, to receive compensation from us or from the borrowers in connection with such investments. Any compensation we pay in connection with such referrals will be an operating expense and will accordingly be borne by us (and will not serve to offset any Management Fee (as defined below) or Incentive Fee (as defined below) payable to the Investment Adviser).

In connection with certain of our investments, the Investment Adviser may determine that the appropriate amount to allocate to us and other Accounts may be less than the full amount of the investment opportunity, due to considerations related to, among other things, diversification, portfolio management, leverage management, investment profile, risk tolerance or other exposure guidelines or limitations, cash flow or other considerations. In such situations, “excess amounts” that can be allocated may be offered to other persons or entities. Subject to applicable law, such opportunities may be structured as an investment alongside us or as a purchase of a portion of the investment from us (through a syndication, participation or otherwise).

In all cases, subject to applicable law, the Investment Adviser has broad discretion in determining to whom and in what relative amounts to offer such opportunities, and factors the Investment Adviser may take into account, in its sole discretion, include whether such potential recipient is able to assist or provide a benefit to us in connection with the potential transaction or otherwise, whether the Investment Adviser believes the potential recipient is able to execute a transaction quickly, whether the potential recipient is expected to provide expertise or other advantages in connection with a particular investment, whether the Investment Adviser is aware of such potential recipient’s expertise or interest in these types of opportunities generally or in a subset of such opportunities or, the potential recipient’s target investment sizing. Recipients of these opportunities may, in accordance with applicable law, include one or more of our investors, one or more investors in other funds managed by the Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team, clients or potential clients of Goldman Sachs, or funds or Accounts established for any such persons. These opportunities may give rise to potential conflicts of interest. These opportunities will be offered to the recipients thereof on such terms as the Investment Adviser determines in its sole discretion, subject to applicable law, including on a no-fee basis or at prices higher or lower than those paid by us. As a result of these and other reasons, returns with respect to an opportunity may exceed investors’ returns with respect to our investment in the same opportunity.

Transactions with affiliates. We are prohibited under the Investment Company Act from participating in certain transactions with our affiliates without the prior approval of our independent directors (the “Independent Directors”) and, in some cases, of the SEC. Any person that owns, directly or indirectly, five percent or more of our outstanding voting securities will be an affiliate of the Company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, and we are generally prohibited from buying or selling any assets from or to, or entering into certain “joint” transactions (which could include investments in the same portfolio company) with such affiliates, absent the prior approval of the Independent Directors. The Investment Adviser and its affiliates, including persons that control, or are under common control with, the Company or the Investment Adviser, are also considered to be our affiliates under the Investment Company Act, and we are generally prohibited from buying or selling any assets from or to, or entering into “joint” transactions with, such affiliates without exemptive relief from the SEC.

Co-Investments Alongside Goldman Sachs and Other Accounts, and the Relief. Subject to applicable law, we may invest alongside Goldman Sachs and other Accounts. The staff of the SEC has issued no-action relief permitting us to purchase a single class of privately placed securities alongside Goldman Sachs and other Accounts, provided that the Investment Adviser negotiates no term other than price and certain other conditions are met. In certain circumstances, we and such other Accounts (which may include proprietary accounts of Goldman Sachs) can make negotiated co-investments pursuant to an exemptive order from the SEC permitting us to do so. On November 16, 2022, the SEC granted the Relief to the Investment Adviser, the BDCs advised by the Investment Adviser, and certain other affiliated applicants. On June 25, 2024, the SEC granted an amendment to the Relief, which permits us to participate in follow-on investments in our existing portfolio companies with certain affiliates covered by the Relief if such affiliates, that are not BDCs or registered investment companies, did not have an investment in such existing portfolio company. If the Investment Adviser forms other funds in the future, we may co-invest alongside such other affiliates, subject to compliance with the Relief, applicable regulations and regulatory guidance, as well as applicable allocation procedures. Any such co-investments are subject to certain conditions, including that co-investments are made in a manner consistent with our investment objectives and strategies, certain Board-established criteria, and the other applicable conditions of the Relief. Under the terms of the Relief, a “required majority” (as defined in Section 57(o) of the Investment Company Act) of our Independent Directors must reach certain conclusions in connection with a co-investment transaction, including that: (i) the terms of the proposed transaction are reasonable and fair to us and our stockholders and do not involve overreaching in respect of us or our stockholders on the part of any person concerned; and (ii) the transaction is consistent with the interests of our stockholders and is consistent with our then-current investment objectives and strategies.

As a result of the Relief, there could be significant overlap in our investment portfolio and the investment portfolios of other Accounts, including, in some cases, proprietary accounts of Goldman Sachs.

If the Investment Adviser identifies an investment and we are unable to rely on the Relief for that particular opportunity, the Investment Adviser will be required to determine which Accounts should make the investment at the potential exclusion of other Accounts. In such circumstances, the Investment Adviser will adhere to its investment allocation policy in order to determine the Account to which to allocate investment opportunities. Accordingly, it is possible that we may not be given the opportunity to participate in investments made by other Accounts.

We may invest alongside other Accounts advised by the Investment Adviser and its affiliates in certain circumstances where doing so is consistent with applicable law and SEC staff guidance and interpretations. For example, we may invest alongside such Accounts consistent with guidance promulgated by the staff of the SEC permitting us and such other Accounts to purchase interests in a single class of privately placed securities so long as certain conditions are met, including that the Investment Adviser, acting on our behalf and on behalf of its other clients, negotiates no term other than price. We may also invest alongside the Investment Adviser’s other clients as otherwise permissible under SEC staff guidance and interpretations, applicable regulations and the allocation policy of the Investment Adviser.

For a further explanation of the allocation of opportunities and other conflicts and the risks related thereto, please see “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business and Structure—Potential conflicts of interest with other businesses of Goldman Sachs could impact our investment returns.”

Expenses are generally allocated to Accounts (including to us) based on whose behalf the expenses are incurred. Where we and one or more other Accounts participate in a particular investment or collectively incur other expenses, the Investment Adviser generally allocates investment-related and other expenses in a manner the Investment Adviser determines to be fair and equitable, which may be pro rata or on a different basis.

We and other Accounts may contract for and incur expenses in connection with certain services provided by third parties, including valuation agents, rating agencies, attorneys, accountants and other professional service providers, while other Accounts that did not contract for such services may not incur such expenses even though they directly or indirectly receive benefit from such services. For example, the work of valuation firms retained by the Company at the request of the Board benefit certain Accounts that invest in the same assets as the Company, but because such other Accounts did not request such services, they are not allocated any costs associated therewith. While it is generally expected that the Accounts requesting third-party services will bear the full expense associated therewith, GSAM may in its sole discretion determine to bear the portion of such expenses that would be allocable to the non-requesting Accounts had such Accounts requested the services.

Market Opportunity

The Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team believes there is an attractive investment opportunity to invest in U.S. middle-market companies. Specifically:

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The middle-market represents a large target market opportunity. According to the National Center for the Middle Market, the U.S. middle market is composed of nearly 200,000 companies that represent approximately 33% of the private sector gross domestic product 1. The Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team believes that there is an attractive investment environment for BDCs to provide loans to U.S. middle market companies.

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There is a large amount of un-invested private equity capital for middle-market companies. There is a large amount of un-invested private equity capital for North America buyout funds. The Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team believes this creates additional capacity for us as the Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team expects private equity firms will seek to leverage their investments by combining equity capital with debt capital.

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Changes in business strategy by banks have further reduced the supply of capital to middle-market companies. The trend of consolidation of regional banks into money center banks has reduced the focus of these businesses on middle-market lending. Money center banks traditionally focus on lending and providing other services to large corporate clients to whom they can deploy larger amounts of capital more efficiently. The Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team believes that this has resulted in fewer bank lenders to U.S. middle-market companies and reduced the availability of debt capital to the companies that we expect to target.

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The capital markets have been unable to fill the void in middle-market finance left by banks. While underwritten bond and syndicated loan markets have been robust in recent years, middle-market companies are rarely able to access these markets as participants are generally highly focused on the liquidity characteristics of the bond or loan being issued. For example, mutual funds and exchange traded funds (“ETFs”) are significant buyers of underwritten bonds and broadly syndicated loans. However, mutual funds and ETFs generally require the ability to liquidate their investments quickly in order to fund investor redemptions. Accordingly, the existence of an active secondary market for their investments is an important consideration in the initial investment decision. Because there is typically no active secondary market for the debt of U.S. middle-market companies, mutual funds and ETFs generally do not provide capital to U.S. middle-market companies. The Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team believes that this is likely to be a persistent problem for the capital markets and creates an advantage for investors like us who have a more stable capital base and can therefore invest in illiquid assets.

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It is difficult for new lending platforms to enter the middle market and fill the capital void because it is very fragmented. While the middle market is a very large component of the U.S. economy, it is a highly fragmented space with thousands of companies operating in many different geographies and industries. Typically, companies that need capital find lenders and investors based on pre-existing relationships, referrals and word of mouth. Developing the many relationships and wide-spread recognition required to become source of capital to the middle market is a time consuming, highly resource-intensive endeavor. As a result, the Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team believes that it is difficult for new lending platforms to successfully enter the middle market, thereby providing insulation from rapid shifts in the supply of capital to the middle market that might otherwise disrupt pricing of capital.

1 As of year-end December 2024, according to the National Center for the Middle Market, which defined middle market as companies with annual revenue of $10 million—$1 billion. See http://www.middlemarketcenter.org. This website is not incorporated by reference into this annual report on Form 10-K and you should not consider information contained on this website to be part of this annual report on Form 10-K or any other report we file with the SEC.

Competitive Advantages

GS Group Inc. is a leading global financial institution that provides a broad range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base, including companies and high-net-worth individuals, among others. The firm is headquartered in New York, and maintains offices across the United States and in all major financial centers around the world. Goldman Sachs, with approximately $3.1 trillion in firmwide assets under supervision as of December 31, 2024, provides investment management services to a diverse set of clients worldwide, including private institutions, public entities and individuals.

Within GSAM, the Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team is the primary center for private credit investing. Since 1996, the Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team and its predecessors have invested over $209 billion, leveraging the Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team’s deep expertise and long-standing relationships with financial sponsors, companies, investors, entrepreneurs and financial intermediaries globally. The Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team invests across senior credit, mezzanine, hybrid capital and asset finance strategies and has significant experience investing in debt instruments across industries, geographic regions, economic cycles and financing structures.

Our investment strategy is consistent with that of the broader Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit platform, with a focus on capital preservation and capital appreciation and includes:

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Leveraging Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit’s position within GSAM: The Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team, which is responsible for sourcing, diligencing, negotiating, structuring, monitoring and harvesting investment opportunities for the Company, is able to draw on the broader Goldman Sachs platform, network and relationships across the investment lifecycle to identify potentially attractive opportunities. Goldman Sachs is a leading global financial services firm and one of the world’s most experienced alternatives investors, and we expect to benefit not only from the Goldman Sachs network and relationships to identify potentially attractive opportunities, but also from a broad range of other resources offered by Goldman Sachs, including market insights, structuring capabilities and industry experts whose insights can enhance due diligence, structuring and investment monitoring processes.

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Direct origination with borrowers: The Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team believes that evaluating investment opportunities through direct discussions with borrowers leads to a better understanding of the underlying drivers of performance and business risks. The Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team’s direct origination platform has been developed over its more-than-28-year history of private credit investing and includes approximately 200 investment professionals across 11 cities and four continents as of December 2024. The Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team’s local relationships with companies, private equity sponsors and advisors combined with deep industry expertise provides us with access to a wide range of opportunities and allows us to gain early and direct access to due diligence materials and management teams. We will seek to lead the structuring and negotiation of the loans or securities in which it invests with a collaborative, solutions-oriented approach.

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Prudent investment selection with intensive due diligence and credit analysis: We believe that Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit’s substantial flow of potential investment opportunities, in combination with diligence practices developed over its more-than-28-year history of private credit investing, will enable us to invest in and selectively develop a diversified portfolio of high-quality companies. Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit’s seasoned team and underwriting approach reflects deep sector expertise and seeks to identify attractive trends and pursue investments accordingly, through its approach to fundamental credit analysis driven by intensive investment research.

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Provision of large-sized commitments: We believe that Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit’s capability to hold large-sized, directly originated investments drives our ability to source, negotiate and commit capital in attractive opportunities. We intend to invest substantially alongside institutional and retail-focused private credit Accounts, which may include proprietary accounts of Goldman Sachs, which we believe will provide us with access to a wide range of opportunities, and allow us to commit to larger investment across the GSAM platform.

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Structuring expertise with a focus on risk mitigation: Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit has significant structuring capabilities with a seasoned team of investment professionals, including the Private Credit Investment Committee (as defined below), who have over 23 years of experience on average. We seek to mitigate risk by investing primarily in senior secured debt, which is secured by a collateral package that often results in a higher rate of recovery in the event of default as compared to unsecured and subordinated investments. Senior secured debt has favorable characteristics that typically include a senior ranking in the capital structure of the borrower with priority of repayment, security of collateral and protective contractual rights that may include affirmative and negative covenants that restrict the borrower’s ability to incur additional indebtedness, make restricted payments or execute other transactions or implement changes that may be negative to lenders. In addition, the Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit Team has experience investing across the capital structure, which will enable us to consider different investment structures and expand our opportunity funnel.

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Rigorous portfolio management: Goldman Sachs Asset Management Private Credit’s active approach to portfolio management centers on team continuity through the lifecycle of an investment, from sourcing and underwriting through investment monitoring and maturity. Investment professionals actively monitor portfolio companies’ operations and financial condition, and senior secured loan agreements typically provide for regular reporting which includes borrower performance, compliance and notification of adverse events. We believe the Goldman Sachs platform adds additional value to our portfolio companies through its extensive network, research capabilities and connectivity across the global capital markets.

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Focus on companies with attractive business fundamentals: Capital preservation is central to our investment strategy. Generally, we will seek to target companies with the following characteristics: (i) strong and defensible market positions, (ii) stable or growing revenues and free cash flow, (iii) attractive business models, (iv) experienced and well-regarded management teams, (v) reputable private equity or private family sponsors, as applicable, (vi) a meaningful amount of equity cushion or junior capital (i.e., any equity or debt in the capital structure that is subordinated to our investments), and (vii) viable exit strategies. We intend to make investments in companies located primarily in the United States.

Operating and Regulatory Structure

We have elected to be treated as a BDC under the Investment Company Act. As a BDC, we are generally prohibited from acquiring assets other than qualifying assets unless, after giving effect to any acquisition, at least 70% of our total assets are qualifying assets. Qualifying assets generally include securities of eligible portfolio companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and high-quality debt instruments maturing in one year or less from the time of investment. Under the rules of the Investment Company Act, “eligible portfolio companies” include (i) private U.S. operating companies, (ii) public U.S. operating companies whose securities are not listed on a national securities exchange (e.g., the NYSE) or registered under the Exchange Act, and (iii) public U.S. operating companies having a market capitalization of less than $250 million. Public U.S. operating companies whose securities are quoted on the over-the-counter bulletin board and through OTC Markets are not listed on a national securities exchange and therefore are eligible portfolio companies.

We have elected to be treated as a RIC, and we expect to qualify annually for tax treatment as a RIC, commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2013. As a RIC, we generally will not be required to pay corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes on any net ordinary income or capital gains that we timely distribute to our stockholders as dividends if we meet certain source of income, distribution and asset diversification requirements. We intend to timely distribute to our stockholders substantially all of our annual taxable income for each year, except that we may retain certain net capital gains for reinvestment and we may choose to carry forward taxable income for distribution in the following year and pay any applicable tax. In addition, the distributions we pay to our stockholders in a year may exceed our net ordinary income and capital gains for that year and, accordingly, a portion of such distributions may constitute a return of capital for U.S. federal income tax purposes. See “Item 5. Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities—Price Range of Common Stock and Distributions.”

Ongoing Relationships with Portfolio Companies

Monitoring

Our Investment Adviser monitors our portfolio companies on an ongoing basis. It monitors the financial trends of each portfolio company to determine if they are meeting their respective business plans and to assess the appropriate course of action for each company. Our Investment Adviser has several methods of evaluating and monitoring the performance and fair value of our investments, which may include the following:

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assessment of success in adhering to the portfolio company’s business plan and compliance with covenants;

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periodic or regular contact with portfolio company management and, if appropriate, the financial or strategic sponsor to discuss financial position, requirements and accomplishments;

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comparisons to our other portfolio companies in the industry, if any;

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attendance at and participation in board meetings or presentations by portfolio companies; and

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review of monthly and quarterly financial statements and financial projections of portfolio companies.

As part of the monitoring process, our Investment Adviser also employs an investment rating system to categorize our investments. In addition to various risk management and monitoring tools, the Investment Adviser grades the credit risk of all investments on a scale of 1 to 4 no less frequently than quarterly. This system is intended primarily to reflect the underlying risk of a portfolio investment relative to our initial cost basis in respect of such portfolio investment (i.e., at the time of origination or acquisition), although it may also take into account under certain circumstances the performance of the portfolio company’s business, the collateral coverage of the investment and other relevant factors. The grading system is as follows:

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Grade 1 investments involve the least amount of risk to our initial cost basis. The trends and risk factors for this investment since origination or acquisition are generally favorable, which may include the performance of the portfolio company or a potential exit;

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Grade 2 investments involve a level of risk to our initial cost basis that is similar to the risk to our initial cost basis at the time of origination or acquisition. This portfolio company is generally performing as expected and the risk factors to our ability to ultimately recoup the cost of our investment are neutral to favorable. All investments or acquired investments in new portfolio companies are initially assessed a grade of 2;

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Grade 3 investments indicate that the risk to our ability to recoup the initial cost basis of such investment has increased materially since origination or acquisition, including as a result of factors such as declining performance and non-compliance with debt covenants; however, payments are generally not more than 120 days past due; and

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Grade 4 investments indicate that the risk to our ability to recoup the initial cost basis of such investment has substantially increased since origination or acquisition, and the portfolio company likely has materially declining performance. For debt investments with an investment grade of 4, in most cases, most or all of the debt covenants are out of compliance and payments are substantially delinquent. For investments graded 4, it is anticipated that we will not recoup our initial cost basis and may realize a substantial loss of our initial cost basis upon exit.

Our Investment Adviser grades the investments in our portfolio at least quarterly, and it is possible that the grade of a portfolio investment may be reduced or increased over time. For investments graded 3 or 4, the Investment Adviser enhances its level of scrutiny over the monitoring of such portfolio company.

Managerial Assistance

As a BDC, we must offer, and must provide upon request, significant managerial assistance to certain of our eligible portfolio companies within the meaning of Section 55 of the Investment Company Act. This assistance could involve, among other things, monitoring the operations of our portfolio companies, participating in board and management meetings, consulting with and advising officers of portfolio companies and providing other organizational and financial guidance. Our Investment Adviser or an affiliate thereof may provide such managerial assistance on our behalf to portfolio companies that request such assistance. We may receive fees for these services. See “—Managerial Assistance to Portfolio Companies.”

Competition

Our primary competitors provide financing to middle-market companies and include other BDCs, commercial and investment banks, commercial financing companies, collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”), private funds, including hedge funds, and, to the extent they provide an alternative form of financing, private equity funds. Some of our existing and potential competitors are substantially larger and have considerably greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do. For example, 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 Investment Company Act imposes on us as a BDC.

While we expect to use the industry information of GSAM’s investment professionals to which we have access to assess investment risks and determine appropriate pricing for our investments in portfolio companies, we do not seek to compete primarily based on the interest rates we offer and GSAM believes 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 reputation in the market, our existing investment platform, the seasoned investment professionals of our Investment Adviser, our experience and focus on middle-market companies, our disciplined investment philosophy, our extensive industry focus and relationships and our flexible transaction structuring.

Staffing

We do not currently have any employees. Our day-to-day operations are managed by our Investment Adviser. Our Investment Adviser has hired and expects to continue to hire professionals with skills applicable to our business plan, including experience in middle-market investing, leveraged finance and capital markets.

We do not own any real estate or other properties materially important to our operations. Our principal executive offices are located at 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282. We believe that our office facilities are suitable and adequate for our business as it is contemplated to be conducted.

We and our Investment Adviser are not currently subject to any material legal proceedings, although we may, from time to time, be involved in litigation arising out of operations in the normal course of business or otherwise.

Our Administrator

Pursuant to our administration agreement (the "Administration Agreement”) with State Street Bank and Trust Company (our “administrator”), our administrator is responsible for providing various accounting and administrative services to us. Our administrator is entitled to fees as described in “—Administration Agreement.” To the extent that our administrator outsources any of its functions, the administrator will pay any compensation associated with such functions. See “—Administration Agreement.”

Dividend Reinvestment Plan

We have a voluntary dividend reinvestment plan (the “DRIP”) that provides for automatic reinvestment of all cash distributions declared by our Board of Directors unless a stockholder elects to “opt out” of the plan. As a result, if our Board of Directors declares a cash distribution, then the stockholders who have not “opted out” of the DRIP will have their cash distributions automatically reinvested in additional shares of common stock, rather than receiving the cash distribution. Due to regulatory considerations, GS Group Inc. has opted out of the DRIP, and GS & Co. has opted out of the DRIP in respect of any shares of our common stock acquired through a 10b5-1 plan. For further details, see Note 9 “Net Assets” to our consolidated financial statements included in this report.

All correspondence concerning the plan should be directed to the plan agent at Computershare Trust Company, N.A, P.O. Box 43078, Providence, RI 02940-3078, with overnight correspondence being directed to the plan agent at Computershare Trust Company, N.A, 150 Royall St., Suite 101, Canton, MA 02021; by calling 855-807-2742; or through the plan agent’s website at www.computershare.com/investor. Participants who hold their shares through a broker or other nominee should direct correspondence or questions concerning the DRIP to their broker or nominee.

Management Agreements

Investment Management Agreement

We have entered into an investment management agreement (as amended and restated as of June 15, 2018, the “Investment Management Agreement”) with the Investment Adviser, pursuant to which the Investment Adviser manages our investment program and related activities.

Management Services

Pursuant to the terms of our Investment Management Agreement, GSAM, subject to the overall supervision of our Board of Directors, manages our day-to-day investment-related operations and provides investment management services to us.

Subject to compliance with applicable law and published SEC guidance, nothing contained in the Investment Management Agreement in any way precludes, restricts or limits the activities of our Investment Adviser or any of its respective subsidiaries or affiliated parties. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business and Structure—Our Investment Adviser, its principals, investment professionals and employees and the members of its Private Credit Investment Committee may have certain conflicts of interest.”

Management Fee

We pay the Investment Adviser a management fee (the “Management Fee”), which accrues and is payable quarterly in arrears. The Management Fee is calculated at an annual rate of 1.00% (0.25% per quarter), in each case, of the average value of our gross assets (excluding cash or cash equivalents (such as investments in money market funds) but including assets purchased with borrowed amounts) at the end of each of the two most recently completed calendar quarters. The Management Fee for any partial quarter will be appropriately prorated based on the actual number of days elapsed relative to the total number of days in such calendar quarter. The Investment Adviser waives a portion of its management fee payable by the Company in an amount equal to the management fees it earns as an investment adviser for any affiliated money market funds in which the Company invests.

For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, Management Fees amounted to $35.23 million and $35.47 million. As of December 31, 2024, $8.78 million remained payable.

Incentive Fee

The incentive fee (the “Incentive Fee”) payable to our Investment Adviser consists of two components that are determined independent of each other, with the result that one component may be payable even if the other is not.

A portion of the Incentive Fee is based on our income and a portion is based on our capital gains, each as described below. Our Investment Adviser is entitled to receive the Incentive Fee based on income from us if our Ordinary Income (as defined below) exceeds a quarterly “hurdle rate” of 1.75%. For this purpose, the hurdle is computed by reference to our net asset value (“NAV”) and does not take into account changes in the market price of our common stock.

Beginning with the calendar quarter that commenced on January 1, 2015, the Incentive Fee based on income is determined and paid quarterly in arrears at the end of each calendar quarter by reference to our aggregate net investment income, as adjusted as described below, from the calendar quarter then ending and the eleven preceding calendar quarters (such period, the “Trailing Twelve Quarters”). The Incentive Fee based on capital gains is determined and paid annually in arrears at the end of each calendar year by reference to an Annual Period (as defined below).

The hurdle amount for the Incentive Fee based on income is determined on a quarterly basis and is equal to 1.75% multiplied by our NAV at the beginning of each applicable calendar quarter comprising the relevant Trailing Twelve Quarters. The hurdle amount is calculated after making appropriate adjustments for subscriptions (which includes all issuances by us of shares of our common stock, including issuances pursuant to our DRIP) and distributions that occurred during the relevant Trailing Twelve Quarters. The Incentive Fee for any partial period will be appropriately prorated.

Please refer to “Part II, Item 7. Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Conditions and Results of Operations—Recent Developments” for additional information regarding the Incentive Fee.

i. Quarterly Incentive Fee Based on Income

For the portion of the Incentive Fee based on income, we pay our Investment Adviser a quarterly Incentive Fee based on the amount by which (A) aggregate net investment income (“Ordinary Income”) in respect of the relevant Trailing Twelve Quarters exceeds (B) the hurdle amount for such Trailing Twelve Quarters. The amount of the excess of (A) over (B) described in this paragraph for such Trailing Twelve Quarters is referred to as the “Excess Income Amount.” Ordinary Income is net of all fees and expenses, including the Management Fee but excluding any Incentive Fee.

The Incentive Fee based on income for each quarter is determined as follows:

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No Incentive Fee based on income is payable to our Investment Adviser for any calendar quarter for which there is no Excess Income Amount;

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100% of the Ordinary Income, if any, that exceeds the hurdle amount, but is less than or equal to an amount, which we refer to as the “Catch-up Amount,” determined as the sum of 2.1875% multiplied by our NAV at the beginning of each applicable calendar quarter comprising the relevant Trailing Twelve Quarters is included in the calculation of the Incentive Fee based on income; and

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20% of the Ordinary Income that exceeds the Catch-up Amount is included in the calculation of the Incentive Fee based on income.

The amount of the Incentive Fee based on income that is paid to our Investment Adviser for a particular quarter is equal to the excess of the Incentive Fee so calculated minus the aggregate Incentive Fees based on income that were paid in respect of the first eleven calendar quarters (or the portion thereof) included in the relevant Trailing Twelve Quarters but not in excess of the Incentive Fee Cap (as described below).

The Incentive Fee based on income that is paid to our Investment Adviser for a particular quarter is subject to a cap (the “Incentive Fee Cap”). The Incentive Fee Cap for any quarter is an amount equal to (a) 20% of the Cumulative Net Return (as defined below) during the relevant Trailing Twelve Quarters minus (b) the aggregate Incentive Fees based on income that were paid in respect of the first eleven calendar quarters (or the portion thereof) included in the relevant Trailing Twelve Quarters.

“Cumulative Net Return” means (x) the Ordinary Income in respect of the relevant Trailing Twelve Quarters minus (y) any Net Capital Loss (as defined below), if any, in respect of the relevant Trailing Twelve Quarters. If, in any quarter, the Incentive Fee Cap is zero or a negative value, we will pay no Incentive Fee based on income to our Investment Adviser for such quarter. If, in any quarter, the Incentive Fee Cap for such quarter is a positive value but is less than the Incentive Fee based on income that is payable to our Investment Adviser for such quarter (before giving effect to the Incentive Fee Cap) calculated as described above, we will pay an Incentive Fee based on income to our Investment Adviser equal to the Incentive Fee Cap for such quarter. If, in any quarter, the Incentive Fee Cap for such quarter is equal to or greater than the Incentive Fee based on income that is payable to our Investment Adviser for such quarter (before giving effect to the Incentive Fee Cap) calculated as described above, we will pay an Incentive Fee based on income to our Investment Adviser equal to the Incentive Fee calculated as described above for such quarter without regard to the Incentive Fee Cap.

“Net Capital Loss” in respect of a particular period means the difference, if positive, between (i) aggregate capital losses, whether realized or unrealized, in such period and (ii) aggregate capital gains, whether realized or unrealized, in such period.

The following is a graphical representation of the calculation of the Incentive Fee based on income:

Incentive Fee based on Income

Percentage of Ordinary Income comprising the Incentive Fee based on Income

(expressed as an annualized rate(1) of return on the value of net assets as of the beginning

of each of the quarters included in the Trailing Twelve Quarters)

(1) The Incentive Fee is determined on a quarterly basis but has been annualized for purposes of the above diagram. The diagram also does not reflect the Incentive Fee Cap.

For the years ended December 31, 2024 and 2023, Incentive Fees based on income amounted to $17.21 million and $49.42 million and the Investment Adviser voluntarily agreed to waive $1.99 million of Incentive Fees for the year ended December 31, 2023. As of December 31, 2024, $6.33 million remained payable.

ii. Annual Incentive Fee Based on Capital Gains

The portion of the Incentive Fee based on capital gains is calculated on an annual basis. For the period beginning on January 1 of each calendar year and ending on December 31 of the calendar year or, in the case of our first and last year, the appropriate portion thereof (each, an “Annual Period”), we pay our Investment Adviser an Incentive Fee equal to (A) 20% of the difference, if positive, of the sum of our aggregate realized capital gains, if any, computed net of our aggregate realized capital losses, if any, and our aggregate unrealized capital depreciation, in each case from April 1, 2013 until the end of such Annual Period minus (B) the cumulative amount of Incentive Fees based on capital gains previously paid to our Investment Adviser from April 1, 2013. For the avoidance of doubt, unrealized capital appreciation is excluded from the calculation in clause (A), above.

We accrue, but not pay, a portion of the Incentive Fee based on capital gains with respect to net unrealized appreciation. Under generally accepted accounting principles in the United States of America (“GAAP”), we are required to accrue an Incentive Fee based on capital gains that includes net realized capital gains and losses and net unrealized capital appreciation and depreciation on investments held at the end of each period. In calculating the accrual for the Incentive Fee based on capital gains, we consider the cumulative aggregate unrealized capital appreciation in the calculation, since an Incentive Fee based on capital gains would be payable if such unrealized capital appreciation were realized, even though such unrealized capital appreciation is not permitted to be considered in calculating the fee actually payable under the Investment Management Agreement. This accrual is calculated using the aggregate cumulative realized capital gains and losses and aggregate cumulative unrealized capital appreciation or depreciation. If such amount is positive at the end of a period, then we record a capital gains incentive fee equal to 20% of such amount, minus the aggregate amount of actual Incentive Fees based on capital gains paid in all prior periods. If such amount is negative, then there is no accrual for such period. There can be no assurance that such unrealized capital appreciation will be realized in the future. For the avoidance of doubt, the Incentive Fee examples below reflect the calculation of the Incentive Fee payable under the Investment Management Agreement rather than accruals of the Incentive Fee as required by GAAP.

For the years ended December 31, 2024 and December 31, 2023, we did not accrue any Incentive Fees based on capital gains.

Example of Calculation of the Incentive Fee based on Income Assumptions

Assumptions(1)

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Quarter 1

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Net Asset Value at the start of Quarter 1 = $100.0 million

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Quarter 1 Ordinary Income = $6.0 million

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Quarter 1 Net Capital Gain = $1.0 million

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Quarter 1 Hurdle Amount = $1.75 million (calculated based on an annualized 7.00% hurdle rate)

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Quarter 1 Catch-up Amount = $2.1875 million (calculated based on an annualized 8.75% rate)

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Quarter 2

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Net Asset Value at the start of Quarter 2 = $100.0 million

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Quarter 2 Ordinary Income = $1.5 million

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Quarter 2 Net Capital Gain = $1.0 million

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Quarter 2 Hurdle Amount = $1.75 million (calculated based on an annualized 7.00% hurdle rate)

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Quarter 2 Catch-up Amount = $2.1875 million (calculated based on an annualized 8.75% rate)

(1)

For illustrative purposes, Net Asset Value is assumed to be $100.0 million as of the beginning of all four quarters and does not give effect to gains or losses in the preceding quarters.

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Quarter 3

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Net Asset Value at the start of Quarter 3 = $100.0 million

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Quarter 3 Ordinary Income = $2.0 million

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Quarter 3 Net Capital Loss = ($6.0) million

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Quarter 3 Hurdle Amount = $1.75 million (calculated based on an annualized 7.00% hurdle rate)

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Quarter 3 Catch-up Amount = $2.1875 million (calculated based on an annualized 8.75% rate)

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Quarter 4

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Net Asset Value at the start of Quarter 4 = $100.0 million

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Quarter 4 Ordinary Income = $3.5 million

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Quarter 4 Net Capital Gain = $3.0 million

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Quarter 4 Hurdle Amount = $1.75 million (calculated based on an annualized 7.00% hurdle rate)

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Quarter 4 Catch-up Amount = $2.1875 million (calculated based on an annualized 8.75% rate)

Determination of Incentive Fee Based on Income

In Quarter 1, the Ordinary Income of $6.0 million exceeds the Hurdle Amount of $1.75 million and the Catch-up Amount of $2.1875 million. There are no Net Capital Losses. As a result, an Incentive Fee based on income of $1.2 million ((100% of $437,500) + (20% of $3,812,500)) is payable to our Investment Adviser for Quarter 1.

In Quarter 2, the Ordinary Income of $1.5 million does not exceed the Hurdle Amount of $1.75 million, but the aggregate Ordinary Income for the Trailing Twelve Quarters of $7.5 million exceeds the aggregate Hurdle Amount for the Trailing Twelve Quarters of $3.5 million and the aggregate Catch-up Amount for the Trailing Twelve Quarters of $4.375 million. There are no Net Capital Losses. As a result, an Incentive Fee based on income of $300,000 ($1.5 million ((100% of $875,000) + (20% of 3,125,000)) minus $1.2 million paid in Quarter 1) is payable to our Investment Adviser for Quarter 2.

In Quarter 3, the aggregate Ordinary Income of the Trailing Twelve Quarters of $9.5 million exceeds the aggregate Hurdle Amount for the Trailing Twelve Quarters of $5.25 million and the aggregate Catch-up Amount for the Trailing Twelve Quarters of $6.5625 million. However, there is an aggregate Net Capital Loss of ($4.0) million for the Trailing Twelve Quarters. As a result, the Incentive Fee Cap would apply. The Incentive Fee Cap equals $(400,000), calculated as follows: (20% x ($9.5 million minus $4.0 million)) minus $1.5 million paid in Quarters 1 and 2. Because the Incentive Fee Cap is a negative value, there is no Incentive Fee based on income payable to our Investment Adviser for Quarter 3.

In Quarter 4, the aggregate Ordinary Income of the Trailing Twelve Quarters of $13.0 million exceeds the aggregate Hurdle Amount for the Trailing Twelve Quarters of $7.0 million and the aggregate Catch-up Amount for the Trailing Twelve Quarters of $8.75 million. The calculation of the Incentive Fee based on income would be $1.1 million ($2.6 million (100% of $1.75 million) + (20% of $4.25 million) minus $1.5 million paid in Quarters 1 and 2). However, there is an aggregate Net Capital Loss of ($1.0) million for the Trailing Twelve Quarters. As a result, the Incentive Fee Cap would apply. The Incentive Fee Cap equals $900,000 calculated as follows: (20% x ($13.0 million minus $1.0 million)) minus $1.5 million. Because the Incentive Fee Cap is positive but less than the Incentive Fee based on income of $1.1 million calculated prior to applying the Incentive Fee Cap, an Incentive Fee based on income of $900,000 is payable to our Investment Adviser for Quarter 4.

Examples of Calculation of Incentive Fee based on Capital Gains

Assumptions

•

Year 1: $20 million investment made in Company A (“Investment A”), $30 million investment made in Company B (“Investment B”) and $25 million investment made in Company C (“Investment C”)

•

Year 2: Investment A sold for $30 million, fair value of Investment B determined to be $25 million and fair value of Investment C determined to be $27 million

•

Year 3: fair value of Investment B determined to be $29 million and Investment C sold for $30 million

•

Year 4: fair value of Investment B determined to be $40 million

Determination of Incentive Fee Based on Capital Gains

The Incentive Fee based on capital gains, if any, would be:

•

Year 1: None

•

Year 2: $1.0 million

The portion of the Incentive Fee based on capital gains equals (A) 20% of the difference, if positive, of the sum of our aggregate realized capital gains, if any, computed net of our aggregate realized capital losses, if any, and our aggregate unrealized capital depreciation, if any, in each case from April 1, 2013 until the end of the applicable Annual Period minus (B) the cumulative amount of Incentive Fees based on capital gains previously paid to our Investment Adviser from April 1, 2013.

Therefore, using the assumptions above, the Incentive Fee based on capital gains equals (A) 20% x ($10.0 million—$5.0 million) minus (B) $0. Therefore, the Incentive Fee based on capital gains equals $1.0 million.

•

Year 3: $1.8 million, which is calculated as follows:

The Incentive Fee based on capital gains equals (A) 20% x ($15.0 million—$1.0 million) minus (B) $1.0 million.

Therefore, the Incentive Fee based on capital gains equals $1.8 million.

•

Year 4: $200,000, which is calculated as follows:

The Incentive Fee based on capital gains equals (x) (A) 20% x ($15.0 million—$0 million) minus (B) $2.8 million.

Therefore, the Incentive Fee based on capital gains equals $200,000.

Board Approval of the Investment Management Agreement

Our Board of Directors determined at a meeting held on August 8, 2024 to approve the continuation of the Investment Management Agreement and ratified such determination at an in-person meeting held on November 7, 2024. In its consideration of the renewal of the Investment Management Agreement, the Board of Directors focused on information it had received relating to, among other things: (i) the nature, quality and extent of the advisory and other services provided to us by the Investment Adviser; (ii) the contractual terms of the Investment Management Agreement, including the structure of the Management Fee imposed on gross assets (excluding cash) and the Incentive Fee imposed on net investment income and capital gains; (iii) comparative data with respect to the advisory fees and other expenses paid by other externally managed BDCs with similar investment objectives and strategies; (iv) information about the services performed and the personnel performing such services under the Investment Management Agreement; (v) comparative data with respect to our investment performance and the performance of other BDCs with comparable investment objectives and strategies; (vi) the Investment Adviser’s revenues and pre-tax profit margins with respect to its management of us; (vii) any existing and potential benefits to the Investment Adviser or its affiliates from its relationship with us; (viii) other potential benefits to us as a result of our relationship with the Investment Adviser; and (ix) such other matters as the Board of Directors determined were relevant to their consideration of the Investment Management Agreement.

In connection with their consideration of the renewal of the Investment Management Agreement, our Board of Directors gave weight to each of the factors described above, but did not identify any one particular factor as controlling their decision. After deliberation and consideration of all of the information provided, including the factors described above, the Board of Directors concluded, in the exercise of their business judgment, that the management fees paid by us were reasonable in light of the services provided to us by the Investment Adviser, the Investment Adviser’s costs, and our current and reasonably foreseeable asset levels. The Board of Directors unanimously concluded that the Investment Adviser’s continued management likely would benefit us and our stockholders and that the Investment Management Agreement should be approved and continued with respect to us until August 31, 2025.

For the year ended December 31, 2024, we paid our Investment Adviser a total of $59.08 million in fees, which consisted of $35.16 million in Management Fees and $23.92 million in Incentive Fees. For the year ended December 31, 2023, we paid our Investment Adviser a total of $70.22 million in fees, which consisted of $35.83 million in Management Fees and $34.39 million in Incentive Fees.

Duration and Termination

The Investment Management Agreement will remain in full force and effect for successive annual periods, but only so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (a) the vote of a majority of our Independent Directors and (b) by a vote of a majority of our Board of Directors or of a majority of our outstanding voting securities, as defined in the Investment Company Act. The Investment Management Agreement may, on 60 days’ written notice to the other party, be terminated in its entirety at any time without the payment of any penalty, by our Board of Directors, by vote of a majority of our outstanding voting stock or by our Investment Adviser. The Investment Management Agreement shall automatically terminate in the event of its assignment. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Competition—We depend upon management personnel of our Investment Adviser for our future success.”

Limited Liability of our Investment Adviser

The Investment Management Agreement provides that our Investment Adviser shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss suffered by us in connection with the matters to which the Investment Management Agreement relates, except a loss resulting from our Investment Adviser’s willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or from reckless disregard by our Investment Adviser of its obligations and duties under the Investment Management Agreement. Any person, even though also employed by our Investment Adviser, who may be or become an employee of and paid by us will be deemed, when acting within the scope of such employment, to be acting in such employment solely for us and not as our Investment Adviser’s employee or agent. These protections may lead our Investment Adviser to act in a riskier manner when acting on our behalf than it would when acting for its own account. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business and Structure—Our Investment Adviser will be paid the Management Fee even if the value of an investment in the Company declines and our Investment Adviser’s Incentive Fee may create incentives for it to make certain kinds of investments.”

Organization of our Investment Adviser

Our Investment Adviser is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (the “Advisers Act”). The principal executive offices of our Investment Adviser are located at 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282.

Our Investment Adviser pays all costs incurred by it in connection with the performance of its duties under the Investment Management Agreement. Our Investment Adviser pays the compensation and expenses of all its personnel and makes available, without expense to us, the services of such of its partners, officers and employees as may duly be elected as our officers or directors, subject to their individual consent to serve and to any limitations imposed by law. Our Investment Adviser is not required to pay any of our expenses other than those specifically allocated to it, including as set forth below. In particular, but without limiting the generality of the foregoing, our Investment Adviser is not required to pay: (i) our operational and organizational expenses; (ii) fees and expenses, including travel expenses, incurred by our Investment Adviser or payable to third parties related to our investments, including, among others, professional fees (including the fees and expenses of consultants and experts) and fees and expenses from evaluating, monitoring, researching and performing due diligence on investments and prospective investments; (iii) interest payable on debt, if any, incurred to finance our investments; (iv) fees and expenses incurred by us in connection with membership in investment company organizations; (v) brokers’ commissions; (vi) fees and expenses associated with calculating our NAV (including the costs and expenses of any independent valuation firm); (vii) legal, auditing or accounting expenses; (viii) taxes or governmental fees; (ix) the fees and expenses of our administrator, transfer agent or sub-transfer agent; (x) the cost of preparing stock certificates or any other expenses, including clerical expenses of issue, redemption or repurchase of our shares; (xi) the expenses of and fees for registering or qualifying our shares for sale and of maintaining our registration and registering us as a broker or a dealer; (xii) the fees and expenses of our directors who are not affiliated with our Investment Adviser; (xiii) the cost of preparing and distributing reports, proxy statements and notices to our stockholders, the SEC and other regulatory authorities; (xiv) costs of holding stockholder meetings; (xv) listing fees; (xvi) the fees or disbursements of custodians of our assets, including expenses incurred in the performance of any obligations enumerated by our certificate of incorporation or bylaws insofar as they govern agreements with any such custodian; (xvii) insurance premiums; or (xviii) costs incurred in connection with any claim, litigation, arbitration, mediation, government investigation or dispute in connection with our business and the amount of any judgment or settlement paid in connection therewith, or the enforcement of our rights against any person and indemnification or contribution expenses payable by us to any person and other extraordinary expenses not incurred in the ordinary course of our business. Our Investment Adviser is not required to pay expenses of activities which are primarily intended to result in sales of our shares, including, all costs and expenses associated with the preparation and distribution of any offering memorandum, subscription agreements, registration statements, prospectuses or stockholder application forms.

Our Investment Adviser may impose a voluntary cap on the amount of expenses that will be borne by us on a monthly or annual basis. Any such expense cap may be increased, decreased, waived or eliminated at any time at our Investment Adviser’s sole discretion.

To the extent that expenses to be borne by us pursuant to the Investment Management Agreement are paid by our Investment Adviser, we will reimburse our Investment Adviser for such expenses, provided, however, that our Investment Adviser may elect, from time to time and in its sole discretion, to bear certain of our expenses set forth above, including organizational and other expenses.

Transfer Agent

Computershare Trust Company, N.A. serves as our transfer agent (the “Transfer Agent”), dividend agent and registrar.

Administration Agreement

Pursuant to the Administration Agreement, our administrator is responsible for providing various accounting and administrative services to us. The Administration Agreement provides that the administrator is not liable to us for any damages or other losses arising out of the performance of its services thereunder except under certain circumstances, and contains provisions for the indemnification of the administrator by us against liabilities to other parties arising in connection with the performance of its services to us. We pay the administrator fees for its services as we determine are commercially reasonable in our sole discretion. We also reimburse the administrator for all reasonable expenses. To the extent that our administrator outsources any of its functions, the administrator pays any compensation associated with such functions. We are not obligated to retain our administrator. The Administration Agreement may be terminated by either party without penalty upon 30 days’ written notice to the other party. The terms of any administration agreement that we may enter with any subsequent administrator may differ materially from the terms of the Administration Agreement with State Street Bank and Trust Company in effect prior to such retention, including providing for a fee structure that results in us, directly or indirectly, bearing higher fees for similar services and other terms that are potentially less advantageous to us. Our stockholders will not be entitled to receive prior notice of the engagement of an alternate administrator or of the terms of any agreement that is entered into with such administrator.

License Agreement

We are party to a license agreement with an affiliate of Goldman Sachs pursuant to which we have been granted a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use the “Goldman Sachs” name. Under this agreement, we do not have a right to use the Goldman Sachs name if GSAM or another affiliate of Goldman Sachs is not our Investment Adviser or if our continued use of such license results in a violation of applicable law, results in a regulatory burden or has adverse regulatory consequences. Other than with respect to this limited license, we have no legal right to the “Goldman Sachs” name.

Regulation

We have elected to be treated as a BDC under the Investment Company Act. As with other companies regulated by the Investment Company Act, a BDC must adhere to certain substantive regulatory requirements. The Investment Company Act contains prohibitions and restrictions relating to transactions between BDCs and their affiliates (including any investment advisers or sub-advisers), principal underwriters and affiliates of those affiliates or underwriters and requires that a majority of the directors be persons other than “interested persons,” as that term is defined in the Investment Company Act. In addition, the Investment Company Act provides that we may not change the nature of our business so as to cease to be, or to withdraw our election as, a BDC unless approved by a majority of our outstanding voting securities. A majority of the outstanding voting securities of a company is defined under the Investment Company Act as the vote: (i) of 67% or more of the voting securities present at such meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of such company are present or represented by proxy, or (ii) of more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of such company, whichever is less.

Any issuance of preferred stock must comply with the requirements of the Investment Company Act. The Investment Company Act requires, among other things, that (1) immediately after issuance and before any dividend or other distribution is made with respect to our common stock and before any purchase of common stock is made, such preferred stock together with all other senior securities must not exceed an amount equal to 50% of our total assets after deducting the amount of such dividend, distribution or purchase price, as the case may be, and (2) the holders of shares of preferred stock, if any are issued, must be entitled as a class to elect two directors at all times and to elect a majority of the directors if dividends on such preferred stock are in arrears by two full years or more. Certain other matters under the Investment Company Act require a separate class vote of the holders of any issued and outstanding preferred stock. For example, holders of preferred stock would be entitled to vote separately as a class from the holders of common stock on a proposal involving a plan of reorganization adversely affecting such securities.

We may invest up to 100% of our assets in securities acquired directly from issuers in privately negotiated transactions. With respect to such securities, we may, for the purpose of public resale, be deemed a “principal underwriter” as that term is defined under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). We may purchase or otherwise receive warrants, which offer an opportunity (not a requirement) to purchase common stock of a portfolio company in connection with an acquisition financing or other investments. Similarly, we may acquire rights that obligate an issuer of acquired securities or their affiliates to repurchase the securities at certain times, under certain circumstances. We do not intend to acquire securities issued by any investment company whereby our investment would exceed the limits imposed by the Investment Company Act. Under these limits, we generally cannot (1) acquire more than 3% of the total outstanding voting stock of any registered investment company, (2) invest more than 5% of the value of our total assets in the securities of one registered investment company or (3) invest more than 10% of the value of our total assets in the securities of registered investment companies in general. These limitations do not apply where we acquire interests in a money market fund as long as we do not pay a sales charge or service fee in connection with the purchase. With respect to the portion of our portfolio invested in securities issued by investment companies, it should be noted that such investments might subject our stockholders to additional expenses. None of our policies described above are fundamental and each such policy may be changed without stockholder approval, subject to any limitations imposed by the Investment Company Act.

Private funds that are excluded from the definition of “investment company” pursuant to either Section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Investment Company Act are also subject to certain of the limits under the Investment Company Act noted above. Specifically, such private funds may not acquire directly or through a controlled entity more than 3% of our total outstanding voting stock (measured at the time of the acquisition). Investment companies registered under the Investment Company Act are also subject to the restriction as well as other limitations under the Investment Company Act that would restrict the amount that they are able to invest in our securities. As a result, certain investors would be required to hold a smaller position in our shares than if they were not subject to such restrictions.

Qualifying Assets

Under the Investment Company Act, a BDC may not acquire any asset other than assets of the type listed in Section 55(a) of the Investment Company Act, which are referred to as “qualifying assets,” unless, at the time the acquisition is made, qualifying assets (not including certain assets specified in the Investment Company Act) represent at least 70% of such BDC's total assets. The principal categories of qualifying assets relevant to our proposed business are the following:

(1) Securities purchased in transactions not involving any public offering from the issuer of such securities, which issuer (subject to certain exceptions) is an eligible portfolio company, or from any person who is, or has been during the preceding thirteen months, an affiliated person of an eligible portfolio company, or from any other person, subject to such rules and regulations as may be prescribed by the SEC. An eligible portfolio company is defined in the Investment Company Act as any issuer that:

a)

is organized under the laws of, and has its principal place of business in, the United States;

b)

is not an investment company (other than a small business investment company (“SBIC”) wholly owned by the BDC) or a company that would be an investment company but for certain exclusions under the Investment Company Act; and

c)

satisfies any of the following:

•

does not have any class of securities listed on a national securities exchange or has a class of securities listed on a national securities exchange but has an aggregate market value of outstanding common equity of less than $250 million;

•

is controlled by a BDC or a group of companies including a BDC, and the BDC has an affiliated person who is a director of the eligible portfolio company; or

•

is a small and solvent company having total assets of not more than $4 million and capital and surplus of not less than $2 million.

(2) Securities of any eligible portfolio company that we control.

(3) Securities purchased in a private transaction from a U.S. issuer that is not an investment company or from an affiliated person of the issuer, or in transactions incident thereto, if the issuer is in bankruptcy and subject to reorganization or if the issuer, immediately prior to the purchase of its securities, was unable to meet its obligations as they came due without material assistance other than conventional lending or financing arrangements.

(4) Securities of an eligible portfolio company purchased from any person in a private transaction if there is no ready market for such securities and we already own at least 60% of the outstanding equity of the eligible portfolio company.

(5) Securities received in exchange for or distributed on or with respect to securities described in (1) through (4) above, or pursuant to the exercise of options, warrants or rights relating to such securities.

(6) Cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities or high-quality debt securities maturing in one year or less from the time of investment.

Managerial Assistance to Portfolio Companies

A BDC must be organized and have its principal place of business in the United States and must be operated for the purpose of making investments in the types of securities described in (1), (2) or (3) above under “Qualifying Assets.” However, in order to count portfolio securities as qualifying assets for the purpose of the 70% test, the BDC must also either control the issuer of the securities or offer to make available to the issuer of the securities (other than small and solvent companies described above) significant managerial assistance; except that, where the BDC purchases such securities in conjunction with one or more other persons acting together, one of the other persons in the group may make available such managerial assistance (as long as the BDC does not make available significant managerial assistance solely in this fashion). Making available significant managerial assistance means, among other things, any arrangement whereby the BDC, through its directors, officers or employees, offers to provide, and, if accepted, does so provide, significant guidance and counsel concerning the management, operations or business objectives and policies of a portfolio company.

Temporary Investments

As a BDC, pending investment in other types of “qualifying assets,” as described above, our investments may consist of cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities or high-quality debt securities maturing in one year or less from the time of investment, which we refer to, collectively, as temporary investments, so that 70% of our assets are qualifying assets. We may invest in U.S. Treasury bills or in repurchase agreements, provided that such agreements are fully collateralized by cash or securities issued by the U.S. government or its agencies. A repurchase agreement involves the purchase by an investor, such as us, of a specified security and the simultaneous agreement by the seller to repurchase it at an agreed-upon future date and at a price which is greater than the purchase price by an amount that reflects an agreed-upon interest rate. There is no percentage restriction on the proportion of our assets that may be invested in such repurchase agreements. However, if more than 25% of our total assets constitute repurchase agreements from a single counterparty, we would generally not meet the asset diversification requirements necessary to qualify as a RIC. Thus, we do not intend to enter into repurchase agreements with a single counterparty in excess of this limit. Our Investment Adviser will monitor the creditworthiness of the counterparties with which we enter into repurchase agreement transactions.

Indebtedness and Senior Securities

As a BDC, we are permitted, under specified conditions, to issue multiple classes of indebtedness and one class of shares of stock senior to our common stock if our asset coverage ratio, as defined under the Investment Company Act, is at least equal to 200%, or 150% if certain requirements are met, immediately after each such issuance. The Small Business Credit Availability Act modified the applicable provisions of the Investment Company Act to reduce the required asset coverage ratio applicable to BDCs to 150%, subject to certain approval and disclosure requirements. On June 15, 2018, our stockholders approved the application of the reduced asset coverage requirements in Section 61(a)(2) of the Investment Company Act to us. As a result of this approval, we are now permitted to borrow amounts such that our asset coverage ratio, as defined in the Investment Company Act, is at least 150% after such borrowing (if certain requirements are met), rather than 200%, as previously required. In addition, except in limited circumstances, while any indebtedness and senior securities remain outstanding, we must make provisions to prohibit any distribution to our stockholders or the repurchase of such securities or stock unless we meet the applicable asset coverage ratios at the time of the distribution or repurchase. We may also borrow amounts up to 5% of the value of our total assets for temporary or emergency purposes without regard to asset coverage. A loan is presumed to be made for temporary purposes if it is repaid within 60 days and is not extended or renewed; otherwise, it is presumed to not be for temporary purposes. For a discussion of the risks associated with leverage, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Legal and Regulatory Matters—Regulations governing our operations as a BDC affect our ability to, 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.”

Code of Ethics

We have adopted a Code of Ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act and we have also approved our Investment Adviser’s Code of Ethics that it adopted in accordance with Rule 17j-1 and Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act. These Codes of Ethics establish, among other things, procedures for personal investments and restrict certain personal securities transactions, including transactions in securities that are held by us. Personnel subject to each code may invest in securities for their personal investment accounts, so long as such investments are made in accordance with the code’s requirements. The Codes of Ethics are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. Copies may also be obtained by electronic request to publicinfo@sec.gov.

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

We have delegated the voting of portfolio securities to our Investment Adviser. For client accounts for which our Investment Adviser has voting discretion, our Investment Adviser has adopted policies and procedures (the “Proxy Voting Policy”) for the voting of proxies. Under the Proxy Voting Policy, our Investment Adviser’s guiding principles in performing proxy voting are to make decisions that favor proposals that tend to maximize a company’s stockholder value and are not influenced by conflicts of interest. To implement these guiding principles for investments in publicly traded equities, our Investment Adviser has developed customized proxy voting guidelines (the “Guidelines”) that it generally applies when voting on behalf of client accounts. These Guidelines address a wide variety of individual topics, including, among other matters, stockholder voting rights, anti-takeover defenses, board structures, the election of directors, executive and director compensation, reorganizations, mergers, issues of corporate social responsibility and various stockholder proposals.

The Proxy Voting Policy, including the Guidelines, is reviewed periodically to assure that it continues to be consistent with our Investment Adviser’s guiding principles. The Guidelines embody the positions and factors our Investment Adviser generally considers important in casting proxy votes.

Our Investment Adviser has retained a third-party proxy voting service (the “Proxy Service”), currently Institutional Shareholder Services, to assist in the implementation and administration of certain proxy voting-related functions including operational, recordkeeping, and reporting services. The Proxy Service also prepares a written analysis and recommendation (a “Recommendation”) of each proxy vote that reflects the Proxy Service’s application of the Guidelines to particular proxy issues. While it is our Investment Adviser’s policy generally to follow the Guidelines and Recommendations from the Proxy Service, our Investment Adviser’s portfolio management teams (the “Portfolio Management Teams”) may, on certain proxy votes, seek approval to diverge from the Guidelines or a Recommendation by following an “override” process. Such decisions are subject to a review and approval process, including a determination that the decision is not influenced by any conflict of interest. A Portfolio Management Team that receives approval through the override process to cast a proxy vote that diverges from the Guidelines and/or a Recommendation may vote differently than other Portfolio Management Teams that did not seek to override the vote. In forming their views on particular matters, the Portfolio Management Teams are also permitted to consider applicable regional rules and practices, including codes of conduct and other guides, regarding proxy voting, in addition to the Guidelines and Recommendations. Our Investment Adviser may hire other service providers to replace or supplement the Proxy Service with respect to any of the services our Investment Adviser currently receives from the Proxy Service.

From time to time, our Investment Adviser may face regulatory, compliance, legal or logistical limits with respect to voting securities that it may purchase or hold for client accounts, which can affect our Investment Adviser’s ability to vote such proxies, as well as the desirability of voting such proxies. Among other limits, federal, state and foreign regulatory restrictions or company specific ownership limits, as well as legal matters related to consolidated groups, may restrict the total percentage of an issuer’s voting securities that our Investment Adviser can hold for clients and the nature of our Investment Adviser’s voting in such securities. Our Investment Adviser’s ability to vote proxies may also be affected by, among other things: (i) late receipt of meeting notices; (ii) requirements to vote proxies in person; (iii) restrictions on a foreigner’s ability to exercise votes; (iv) potential difficulties in translating the proxy; (v) requirements to provide local agents with unrestricted powers of attorney to facilitate voting instructions; and (vi) requirements that investors who exercise their voting rights surrender the right to dispose of their holdings for some specified period in proximity to the stockholder meeting.

Our Investment Adviser conducts periodic due diligence meetings with the Proxy Service which include a review of the Proxy Service’s general organizational structure, new developments with respect to research and technology, workflow improvements and internal due diligence with respect to conflicts of interest.

Our Investment Adviser has adopted policies and procedures designed to prevent conflicts of interest from influencing its proxy voting decisions that our Investment Adviser makes on behalf of a client account and to help assure that such decisions are made in accordance with our Investment Adviser’s fiduciary obligations to its clients. These policies and procedures include our Investment Adviser’s use of the Guidelines and Recommendations from the Proxy Service, the override approval process previously discussed, and the establishment of information barriers between our Investment Adviser and other Goldman Sachs’ businesses. Notwithstanding such proxy voting policies and procedures, actual proxy voting decision of our Investment Adviser may have the effect of benefitting the interest of other clients or businesses of other divisions or units of Goldman Sachs and/or its affiliates, provided that our Investment Adviser believes such voting decisions to be in accordance with its fiduciary obligations.

Voting decisions with respect to fixed income securities and the securities of privately held issuers generally will be made by our Investment Adviser based on its assessment of the particular transactions or other matters at issue.

Information regarding how we vote proxies relating to portfolio securities is available upon request by writing to Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc., Attention: Austin Neri, Investor Relations, 200 West Street, New York, New York 10282.

Privacy Principles

The following information is provided to help investors understand what personal information we collect, how we protect that information and why, in certain cases, we may share information with select other parties.

We generally will not receive any nonpublic personal information relating to stockholders who purchase our common stock. We may collect nonpublic personal information regarding our existing investors from sources such as subscription agreements, investor questionnaires and other forms; individual investors’ account histories; and correspondence between us and individual investors. We may share information that we collect regarding an investor with our affiliates and the employees of such affiliates for everyday business purposes, for example, to service the investor’s accounts and, unless an investor opts out, provide the investor with information about other products and services offered by us or our affiliates that may be of interest to the investor. In addition, we may disclose information that we collect regarding investors to third parties who are not affiliated with us (i) as authorized by our investors in investor subscription agreements or our organizational documents; (ii) as required by applicable law or in connection with a properly authorized legal or regulatory investigation, subpoena or summons, or to respond to judicial process or government regulatory authorities having property jurisdiction; (iii) as required to fulfill investor instructions; or (iv) as otherwise permitted by applicable law to perform support services for investor accounts or process investor transactions with us or our affiliates.

Any party not affiliated with us that receives nonpublic personal information relating to investors from us is required to adhere to confidentiality agreements and to maintain appropriate safeguards to protect investor information. Additionally, for officers, employees and agents of ours and our affiliates, access to such information is restricted to those who need such access to provide services to us and investors. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to seek to guard investor nonpublic personal information. For a discussion of the risks associated with cyber incidents, see “Item 1A—Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Operations—Cybersecurity risks and cyber incidents may adversely affect our business or the business of our portfolio companies by causing a disruption to our operations or the operations of our portfolio companies, a compromise or corruption of our confidential information or the confidential information of our portfolio companies and/or damage to our business relationships or the business relationships of our portfolio companies, all of which could negatively impact the business, financial condition and operating results of us or our portfolio companies.”

Other

As a BDC, the SEC will periodically examine us for compliance with the Investment Company Act.

We are required to provide and maintain a bond issued by a reputable fidelity insurance company, in order to protect against larceny and embezzlement, covering each of our officers and employees, who may singly, or jointly with others, have access to our securities or funds. Furthermore, as a BDC, we are prohibited from protecting any director, officer, investment adviser or underwriter against any liability to us or our stockholders arising from willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of such person’s office.

We and our Investment Adviser are each required to adopt and implement written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violation of the federal securities laws, review these policies and procedures annually for their adequacy and the effectiveness of their implementation and designate a chief compliance officer to be responsible for administering the policies and procedures.

Compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, as amended (the “Sarbanes-Oxley Act”), imposes a wide variety of regulatory requirements on publicly held companies and their insiders. Many of these requirements affect us. For example:

•

our principal executive officer and principal financial officer must certify the accuracy of the financial statements contained in our periodic reports;

•

our periodic reports must disclose the conclusions of our principal executive and principal financial officers about the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures;

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our management must prepare an annual report regarding its assessment of our internal control over financial reporting, which must be audited by our independent registered public accounting firm; and

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our periodic reports must disclose whether there were any changes in our internal controls over financing reporting that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, our internal controls over financial reporting.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires us to review our policies and procedures to determine whether we comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder. We will continue to monitor our compliance with all future regulations that are adopted under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and will take actions necessary to ensure that we are in compliance therewith.

Compliance with Listing Requirements

Our common stock is listed on the NYSE under the symbol “GSBD.” As a listed company on the NYSE, we are subject to various listing standards including corporate governance listing standards. We believe we are in compliance with these rules.

Compliance with the Bank Holding Company Act

As a BHC and FHC, the activities of GS Group Inc. and its affiliates are subject to certain restrictions imposed by the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended (the “BHCA”), and related regulations. BHCs and FHCs are subject to supervision and regulation by the Federal Reserve. Because GS Group Inc. may be deemed to “control” us within the meaning of the BHCA, restrictions under the BHCA could apply to us as well. Accordingly, the BHCA and other applicable banking laws, rules, regulations and guidelines, and their interpretation and administration by the appropriate regulatory agencies, including the Federal Reserve, may restrict our investments, transactions and operations and may restrict the transactions and relationships between our Investment Adviser, GS Group Inc. and their affiliates, on the one hand, and us on the other hand. For example, the BHCA regulations applicable to GS Group Inc. and us may, among other things, restrict our ability to make certain investments or the size of certain investments, impose a maximum holding period on some or all of our investments and restrict our and our Investment Adviser’s ability to participate in the management and operations of the companies in which we invest. In addition, certain BHCA regulations may require aggregation of the positions owned, held or controlled by related entities. Thus, in certain circumstances, positions held by GS Group Inc. and its affiliates (including our Investment Adviser) for client and proprietary accounts may need to be aggregated with positions held by us. In this case, where BHCA regulations impose a cap on the amount of a position that may be held, Goldman Sachs may utilize available capacity to make investments for its proprietary accounts or for the accounts of other clients, which may require us to limit and/or liquidate certain investments. Additionally, Goldman Sachs may in the future, in its sole discretion and without notice to investors, engage in activities impacting us and/or our Investment Adviser in order to comply with the BHCA or other legal requirements applicable to, or reduce or eliminate the impact or applicability of any bank regulatory or other restrictions on, Goldman Sachs, us or other funds and accounts managed by our Investment Adviser and its affiliates. In addition, Goldman Sachs may cease in the future to qualify as a FHC, which may subject us to additional restrictions. Moreover, there can be no assurance that the bank regulatory requirements applicable to Goldman Sachs and us, or the interpretation thereof, will not change, or that any such change will not have a material adverse effect on us. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Legal and Regulatory Matters—Our activities may be limited as a result of potentially being deemed to be controlled by GS Group Inc., a bank holding company.”