Crescent Capital BDC, Inc.

General

We are a specialty finance company focused on lending to middle-market companies. We are incorporated under the laws of the State of Maryland. We were listed and began trading on the NASDAQ stock exchange on February 3, 2020. We have elected to be treated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (“1940 Act”). In addition, we have elected to be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a regulated investment company (a “RIC”) under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (the “Code”). As such, we are required to comply with various regulatory requirements, such as the requirement to invest at least 70% of our assets in “qualifying assets,” source of income limitations, asset diversification requirements, and the requirement to distribute annually at least 90% of our taxable income and tax-exempt interest.

Our investment objective is to maximize the total return to our stockholders in the form of current income and capital appreciation through debt and related equity investments. We invest primarily in secured debt (including first lien, unitranche first lien, and second-lien debt) and unsecured debt (including mezzanine and subordinated debt), as well as related equity securities of private U.S. middle-market companies. We may purchase interests in loans or make debt investments, either (i) directly from our target companies as primary market or private credit investments (i.e., private credit transactions), or (ii) primary or secondary market bank loan or high yield transactions in the broadly syndicated “over-the-counter” market (i.e., broadly syndicated loans and bonds). Although our focus is to invest in less liquid private credit transactions, we may from time to time invest in more liquid broadly syndicated loans to complement our private credit transactions.

Our investment objective is accomplished through:

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accessing the origination channels that have been developed and established by Crescent;

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originating investments in what we believe to be middle-market companies with strong business fundamentals, generally controlled by private equity investors that require capital for growth, acquisitions, recapitalizations, refinancings and leveraged buyouts;

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applying Crescent’s underwriting standards; and

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leveraging Crescent’s experience and resources to monitor our investments.

Our investment philosophy emphasizes capital preservation through credit selection and risk mitigation. We expect our targeted portfolio to provide downside protection through conservative cash flow and asset coverage requirements, priority in the capital structure and information requirements.

As a BDC under the Act and a RIC under the Code, our portfolio is subject to diversification and other requirements. See “—Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences.”

We are managed by Crescent Cap Advisors, LLC (the “Adviser”), an investment adviser that is registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”). CCAP Administration LLC (the “Administrator”) provides the administrative services necessary for us to operate. Our management consists of investment and administrative professionals from the Adviser and Administrator, along with the Company’s Board of Directors (the “Board”).

The Adviser directs and executes our investment operations and capital raising activities subject to oversight from the Board, which sets our broad policies. The Board has delegated investment management of our investment assets to the Adviser. The Board consists of six directors, five of whom are independent.

From time to time we may form wholly owned subsidiaries to facilitate the normal course of business if the Adviser determines that for legal, tax, regulatory, accounting or other similar reasons it is in our best interest to do so. We have formed or acquired wholly owned subsidiaries that are structured as tax blockers, to hold equity or equity-like investments in portfolio companies organized as limited liability companies or other forms of pass-through entities. These corporate subsidiaries are not consolidated for income tax purposes and may incur income tax expense as a result of its ownership of portfolio companies.

We may borrow money from time to time within the levels permitted by the 1940 Act (up to 150% of asset coverage requirement). In determining whether to borrow money, we analyze the maturity, covenant package and rate structure of the proposed borrowings as well as the risks of such borrowings compared to our investment outlook. The use of borrowed funds or the proceeds of preferred stock offerings to make investments would have its own specific set of benefits and risks, and all of the costs of borrowing funds or issuing preferred stock would be borne by holders of our common stock. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business and Structure—Our strategy involves a high degree of leverage. We intend to continue to finance our investments with borrowed money, which will magnify the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested and increases the risk of investing in us. The risks of investment in a highly leveraged fund include volatility and possible distribution restrictions.”

The Investment Adviser

The Adviser, a Delaware limited liability company and an affiliate of Crescent, acts as our investment adviser. The Adviser is a registered investment adviser under the Advisers Act. Our investment activities are managed by the Adviser, which is responsible for originating prospective investments, conducting research and due diligence investigations on potential investments, analyzing investment opportunities, negotiating and structuring our investments and monitoring our investments and portfolio companies on an ongoing basis. The Adviser has entered into a Resource Sharing Agreement (the “Resource Sharing Agreement”) with Crescent, pursuant to which Crescent provides the Adviser with experienced investment professionals (including the members of the Adviser’s investment committee) and access to Crescent’s resources so as to enable the Adviser to fulfill its obligations under the Investment Advisory Agreement. Through the Resource Sharing Agreement, the Adviser capitalizes on the deal origination, credit underwriting, due diligence, investment structuring, execution, portfolio management and monitoring experience of Crescent’s investment professionals.

About Crescent

Crescent Capital Corporation, a predecessor to the business of Crescent, was formed in 1991 by Mark Attanasio and Jean-Marc Chapus as an asset management firm specializing in below-investment grade debt securities. In 1995, Crescent Capital Corporation was acquired by The TCW Group, Inc. (“TCW”) and rebranded as TCW’s Leveraged Finance Group. On January 1, 2011, Messrs. Attanasio and Chapus, along with the entire investment team, spun out of TCW and formed Crescent, an employee-owned, registered investment adviser. Crescent is a global credit investment manager with approximately $50 billion of assets under management. With its headquarters in Los Angeles, Crescent has over 250 employees based in six offices in the U.S. and Europe. Messrs. Attanasio and Chapus head Crescent’s management committee, which oversees all of Crescent’s operations. On January 5, 2021, Sun Life Financial Inc. (together with its subsidiaries and joint ventures, “Sun Life”) acquired a majority interest in Crescent (the “Sun Life Transaction”). As a result of the Sun Life Transaction, Crescent became a part of SLC Management, the institutional alternatives and traditional asset management business of Sun Life. There were no changes to our investment objective, strategies and process or to the Crescent team responsible for the investment operations as a result of the Sun Life Transaction.

The Board of Directors

Our business and affairs are managed under the direction of our Board. Our Board consists of six members, five of whom are not “interested persons” of CCAP, the Adviser, the Administrator or their respective affiliates as defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act. We refer to these individuals as our “Independent Directors.” The Independent Directors compose a majority of our Board. Our Board elects our officers, who serve at the discretion of our Board. The responsibilities of our Board include oversight of our quarterly determinations of the fair value of our assets, corporate governance activities, oversight of our financing arrangements and oversight of our investment activities.

Investment Strategy

We follow Crescent’s approach to investing, which is based upon fundamental credit research and risk analysis. This approach reflects Crescent’s view that the cornerstone of successful investing is fundamental credit analysis.

Specifically, we pursue an investment strategy targeting companies primarily in the middle-market. We believe that the middle-market is attractive as a result of the lack of available lending sources to smaller companies. We believe many financing providers have chosen to focus on large corporate clients and managing capital markets transactions rather than lending to middle-market businesses. Further, many financial institutions and traditional lenders are faced with constrained balance sheets. We also believe hedge funds and collateralized debt obligation/collateralized loan obligation managers are less likely to pursue investment opportunities in our target market as a result of reduced liquidity for new investments. Specifically, Crescent’s sourcing platform should enable it, on our behalf and through our Adviser, to identify and invest in creditworthy borrowers. In addition, to take advantage of investment opportunities in middle-market companies that are identified for us by Crescent, we may invest alongside other pools of capital, including bank debt, high-yield and mezzanine funds managed by Crescent. See “Item 13. Certain Relationships and Related Transactions, and Director Independence” for a discussion of certain conflicts of interest of Crescent and certain limitations on our ability to co-invest with other accounts advised by Crescent.

We target investments in companies that exhibit one or more of the following characteristics:

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businesses with strong franchises and sustainable competitive advantages;

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businesses operating in industries with barriers to entry;

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businesses in industries with positive long-term dynamics;

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businesses with cash flows that are dependable and predictable;

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businesses with management teams with demonstrated track records and economic incentives; or

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businesses controlled by private equity investors that require capital for growth, acquisitions, and leveraged buyouts.

We seek to create a diversified portfolio of investments across various industries as a method to manage risk and capitalize on specific sector trends, although our investments may be concentrated in a small number of industries.

Investment Focus

Generally, we focus on investing in secured debt (including first lien, unitranche first lien and second-lien debt) and unsecured debt (including senior unsecured, mezzanine and subordinated debt), as well as related equity securities of private U.S. middle-market companies. By “middle-market companies,” we mean companies that have annual EBITDA, which we believe is a useful proxy for cash flow, of $10 million to $250 million. We may on occasion invest in larger or smaller companies.

“First lien” investments are senior loans on a lien basis to other liabilities in the issuer’s capital structure that have the benefit of a first-priority security interest in assets of the issuer. The security interest ranks above the security interest of any second-lien lenders in those assets.

“Unitranche first lien” investments are loans that may extend deeper in a company’s capital structure than traditional first lien debt and may provide for a waterfall of cash flow priority among different lenders in the unitranche loan. In certain 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 any other amounts due thereunder over the “last out” portion that we would continue to hold. In exchange for the greater risk of loss, the “last out” portion earns a higher interest rate.

“Second lien” investments are loans with a second priority lien on all existing and future assets of the portfolio company. The security interest ranks below the security interests of any first lien and unitranche first lien lenders in those assets.

“Unsecured debt” investments are loans that generally rank senior to a borrower’s equity securities and junior in right of payment to such borrower’s other senior indebtedness.

We generally invest in securities that are rated below investment grade (e.g., junk bonds) by rating agencies or that would be rated below investment grade if they were rated. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Investments— We may invest in high yield debt, or junk bonds, which has greater credit and liquidity risk than more highly rated debt obligations.” Our investments may include non-cash income features, including PIK interest and OID. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Investments— Our investments in OID and PIK interest income may expose us to risks associated with such income being required to be included in accounting income and taxable income prior to receipt of cash.”

Our business model is focused on the direct origination of loans to middle-market companies. The companies in which we invest use our capital to support organic growth, acquisitions, market or product expansion and recapitalizations. We expect to generate revenues primarily in the form of interest income from debt investments, dividend income from direct equity investments, capital gains on the sales of debt and equity securities and various loan origination and other fees.

We may purchase interests in loans or make debt investments, either (i) directly from our target companies as primary market or private credit investments (i.e., private credit transactions), or (ii) primary or secondary market bank loan or high yield transactions in the broadly syndicated “over-the-counter” market (i.e., broadly syndicated loans and bonds). Although our focus is to invest in less liquid private credit transactions, we may from time to time invest in more liquid broadly syndicated loans and bonds to complement our private credit transactions. In addition, and because we often receive more attractive financing terms on broadly syndicated loans and bonds than we do on our less liquid assets, we are able to leverage the broadly syndicated portfolio in such a way that can maximize the levered return potential of our portfolio.

Investment Decision Process

Through its affiliation with Crescent, the Adviser has access to origination capabilities and research resources, experienced investment professionals, internal information systems and a credit analysis framework and investment process. Over the years,

Crescent has designed its investment process to seek investments which it believes have the most attractive risk/reward characteristics. The process involves multiple levels of review and is coordinated in an effort to identify risks in potential investments. Our Adviser applies Crescent’s expertise to screen our investment opportunities as described below. Depending on the type of investment and the borrower, the Adviser may apply all or some of these levels of review, in its discretion. Based upon a favorable outcome of the diligence process described below, our Adviser’s investment committee will make a final decision on such investment and such investment will only be funded after approval by the Adviser’s investment committee.

Private Credit Originations: New private credit investment opportunities are initially reviewed by a Crescent senior investment professional to determine whether additional consideration is warranted. Factors influencing this decision include fundamental business considerations, including borrower industry, borrower financial leverage and cash flows and quality of management as well as private equity sponsor involvement (if any). In the event of an initial positive review, potential investments are further reviewed with senior and junior investment professionals. If the team agrees on the fundamental attractiveness of the investment, the review phase proceeds with preliminary due diligence and financial analyses. At this point, Crescent utilizes its credit analysis methodology to outline credit and operating statistics and identify key business characteristics and risks through available diligence materials in addition to dialogue with company management and the proposed private equity sponsor (if any). Following this analysis, Crescent considers an initial structure and pricing proposal for the investment and preliminarily informs the broader investment team of such proposal.

After satisfactory preliminary analysis and review, further due diligence continues, including completion of credit analysis, on-site due diligence (if deemed necessary), visits and meetings with management, and could include consultation with third-party experts. The credit analysis is a detailed, bottom-up analysis on the proposed portfolio company that generally includes an assessment of its industry, market, competition, products, services, management and the equity sponsor or owner. Detailed financial analysis is also performed at this stage with a focus on historical financial results. Projected financial information developed by the proposed portfolio company is analyzed and sensitized based upon the portfolio company’s historical results and assessment of the portfolio company’s future prospects. The sensitivity analysis highlights the variability of revenues and earnings, “worst case” debt service coverage and available sources of liquidity. As part of the overall evaluation, comparisons are made to similar companies to help assess a portfolio company’s asset and enterprise value coverage of debt, interest servicing capacity and competitive strength within its industry and market. Additionally during this stage, Crescent typically works with the management of the proposed portfolio company and its other capital providers to develop the structure of an investment, including negotiating among these parties on how the investment is expected to perform relative to the other forms of capital in its capital structure.

Syndicated Investments: For syndicated investments, Crescent seeks to pursue an investment process based upon evaluation of the credit fundamentals of issuers. The foundation of this process is the “bottom-up” credit research process that Crescent employs across multiple strategies. In selecting investments, Crescent’s investment professionals perform comprehensive analysis of credit worthiness, including an assessment of the business, an evaluation of management, an analysis of business strategy and industry trends, an examination of financial results and projections and a review of the security’s proposed terms. Credit research is a critical component of the investment process. In selecting investments, Crescent’s respective portfolio management teams analyze opportunities with an emphasis on principal preservation (i.e., an issuer’s ability to service its debt and maintain cash flow).

Investment Funding

Upon completion of the investment decision process described above, the investment team working on an investment delivers a memorandum to the Adviser’s investment committee. Once an investment has been approved by the investment committee, the Adviser moves through a series of steps with the respective investment team towards negotiation of final documentation.

Investment Monitoring

The Adviser monitors our portfolio companies on an ongoing basis. The Adviser monitors the financial trends of each portfolio company to determine if it is meeting its business plans and to assess the appropriate course of action for each company. The Adviser has a number of 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 of the portfolio company in adhering to its business plan and compliance with covenants;

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

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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 other companies in the industry; and

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attendance and participation in board meetings.

As part of the monitoring process, the Adviser regularly assesses the risk profile of each of our investments and, on a quarterly basis, grades each investment on a risk scale of 1 to 5. Risk assessment is not standardized in our industry and our risk assessment may not be comparable to ones used by our competitors. Our assessment is based on the following categories:

Involves the least amount of risk relative to cost or amortized cost. Investment performance is above expectations since origination or acquisition. Trends and risk factors are generally favorable, which may include financial performance or a potential exit.

Involves a level of risk that is similar to the risk at the time of origination or acquisition. The investment is generally performing as expected, and the risks around our ability to ultimately recoup the cost of the investment are neutral to favorable relative to the time of origination or acquisition. New investments are generally assigned a rating of 2 at origination or acquisition.

Indicates an investment performing below expectations where the risks around our ability to ultimately recoup the cost of the investment have increased since origination or acquisition. For debt investments, borrowers are more likely than not in compliance with debt covenants and loan payments are generally not past due. An investment rating of 3 requires closer monitoring.

Indicates an investment performing materially below expectations where the risks around our ability to ultimately recoup the cost of the investment have increased materially since origination or acquisition. For debt investments, borrowers may be out of compliance with debt covenants and loan payments may be past due (but generally not more than 180 days past due). Non-accrual status is strongly considered for debt investments rated 4.

Indicates an investment performing substantially below expectations where the risks around our ability to ultimately recoup the cost of the investment have substantially increased since origination or acquisition. We do not expect to recover our initial cost basis from investments rated 5. Debt investments with an investment rating of 5 are generally in payment and/or covenant default and are on non-accrual status.

Investment Advisory Agreement

On June 2, 2015, we entered into an investment advisory agreement with the Adviser which was most recently amended and restated (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”) on January 5, 2021. Under the terms of the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Adviser provides investment advisory services to us and our portfolio investments. The Adviser’s services under the Investment Advisory Agreement are not exclusive, and the Adviser is free to furnish similar or other services to others so long as its services to us are not impaired. Under the terms of the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Adviser is entitled to receive a base management fee and may also receive incentive fees, as discussed below.

Base Management Fee

The base management fee is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears at an annual rate of 1.25% of our gross assets, including assets acquired through the incurrence of debt but excluding any cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash. The base management fee is calculated based on the average value of gross assets at the end of the two most recently completed calendar quarters, and appropriately adjusted for any share issuances or repurchases during the current calendar quarter. For purposes of the Investment Advisory Agreement, cash equivalents means U.S. government securities and commercial paper maturing within one year of purchase.

The Adviser has voluntarily waived its right to receive management fees on the Company’s investments in WhiteHawk III Onshore Fund LP and Freeport Financial SBIC Fund LP for any period in which these investments remain in the investment portfolio.

Incentive Fee

Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, the incentive fee consists of two parts:

The first part, the income incentive fee, is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears and (a) equals 100% of the excess of the pre-incentive fee net investment income for the immediately preceding calendar quarter, over a preferred return of 1.75% per quarter (7.0% annualized) (the “Hurdle”), and a catch-up feature until the Adviser has received 17.5% of the pre-incentive fee net investment income for the current quarter up to 2.1212% (the “Catch-up”), and (b) 17.5% of all remaining pre-incentive fee net investment income above the “Catch-up.”

The second part, the capital gains incentive fee, is determined and payable in arrears as of the end of each fiscal year at a rate of 17.5% of the realized capital gains, if any, on a cumulative basis from the inception through the end of the fiscal year, computed net of all realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation on a cumulative basis, less the aggregate amount of any previously paid capital gain incentive fees. In the event that the Investment Advisory Agreement shall terminate as of a date that is not a fiscal year end, the termination date shall be treated as though it were a fiscal year end for purposes of calculating and paying a capital gains incentive fee.

On February 22, 2021, the Adviser notified the Board of Directors of its intent to voluntarily waive income incentive fees to the extent net investment income, excluding the effect of the GAAP incentive fee, falls short of the regular declared dividend on a full dollar basis. The waiver became effective on July 31, 2021 and, pursuant to an extension of the waiver announced on October 4, 2022, continued through December 31, 2023. The Adviser has also voluntarily waived its right to receive the income incentive fees attributable to the investment income accrued as a result of its investments in WhiteHawk III Onshore Fund LP and Freeport Financial SBIC Fund LP.

Pre-incentive fee net investment income means interest income, dividend income and any other income (including any other fees (other than fees for providing managerial assistance), such as commitment, origination, structuring, diligence and consulting fees or other fees that we receive from portfolio companies) accrued during each calendar quarter, minus operating expenses for such quarter (including the base management fee, expenses payable under the Administration Agreement and any interest expense and distributions paid on any issued and outstanding debt or preferred stock, but excluding the incentive fee). Pre-incentive fee net investment income includes, in the case of investments with a deferred interest feature (such as market discount, original issue discount, debt instruments with PIK interest, preferred stock with PIK dividends and zero coupon securities), accrued income that has not yet been received in cash. Pre-incentive fee net investment income does not include any realized capital gains, realized capital losses or unrealized capital appreciation or depreciation. Pre-incentive fee net investment income will be compared to a “Hurdle Amount” equal to the product of (i) the Hurdle rate of 1.75% per quarter, or 7.0% annualized, and (ii) our net assets (defined as total assets less indebtedness, before taking into account any incentive fees payable during the period), at the end of the immediately preceding calendar quarter, subject to a “catch-up” provision incurred at the end of each calendar quarter.

See “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Business and Structure—Our management and incentive fee structure may create incentives for the Adviser that are not fully aligned with our stockholders' interests and may induce the Adviser to make speculative investments.”

GAAP Incentive Fee on Cumulative Unrealized Capital Appreciation

We accrue, but do not pay, a portion of the incentive fee based on capital gains with respect to net unrealized appreciation. Under 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 payable under the Investment Advisory 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 17.5% 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.

Our Board monitors the mix and performance of our investments over time and will seek to satisfy itself that the Adviser is acting in our interests and that our fee structure appropriately incentivizes the Adviser to do so.

Term

The Investment Advisory Agreement has been unanimously approved by the Board. Unless terminated earlier as described below, the Investment Advisory Agreement will remain in effect until March 31, 2026 and will remain in effect from year to year thereafter if approved annually by (i) the vote of the Board, or by the vote of a majority of our outstanding voting securities, and (ii) the vote of a majority of our independent directors. The Investment Advisory Agreement will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Investment Advisory Agreement may be terminated by either party without penalty upon not less than 60 days’ written notice to the other. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to our Business and Structure—We are dependent upon key personnel of Crescent and the Adviser.”

Indemnification

Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Adviser has not assumed any responsibility to us other than to render the services called for under that agreement. The Adviser will not be responsible for any action of the Board in following or declining to follow the Adviser’s advice or recommendations. Under the Investment Advisory Agreement, the Adviser, its officers, managers, partners, agents, employees, controlling persons, members and any other person or entity affiliated with the Adviser, including, without limitation, the Administrator, and any person controlling or controlled by the Adviser will not be liable to us, any of our subsidiaries, our directors, our stockholders or any subsidiary’s stockholders or partners for acts or omissions performed in accordance with and pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement, except those resulting from acts constituting gross negligence, willful misfeasance, bad faith or reckless disregard of the duties that the Adviser owes to us under the Investment Advisory Agreement. In addition, as part of the Investment Advisory Agreement, we have agreed to indemnify the Adviser and each of its officers, managers, partners, agents, employees, controlling persons, members and any other person or entity affiliated with the Adviser, from and against any claims or liabilities, including reasonable legal fees and other expenses reasonably incurred, arising out of or in connection with our business and operations or any action taken or omitted on our behalf pursuant to authority granted by the Investment Advisory Agreement, except where attributable to gross negligence, willful misfeasance, bad faith or reckless disregard of such person’s duties under the Investment Advisory Agreement. These protections may lead the Adviser to act in a riskier manner when acting on our behalf than it would when acting for its own account. The Investment Advisory Agreement may be terminated by either party without penalty on 60 days’ written notice to the other party.

United States federal and state securities laws may impose liability under certain circumstances on persons who act in good faith. Nothing in the Investment Advisory Agreement constitutes a waiver or limitation of any rights that we may have under any applicable federal or state securities laws.

Administration Agreement

On June 2, 2015, we entered into the Administration Agreement with the Administrator, as amended and restated on February 1, 2020. Under the terms of the Administration Agreement, the Administrator provides administrative services. These services include providing office space, equipment and office services, maintaining financial records, preparing reports to stockholders and reports filed with the SEC, and managing the payment of expenses and the performance of administrative and professional services rendered by others. Certain of these services are reimbursable to the Administrator under the terms of the Administration Agreement. In addition, the Administrator is permitted to delegate its duties under the Administration Agreement to affiliates or third parties. To the extent the Administrator outsources any of its functions, we will pay the fees associated with such functions on a direct basis, without incremental profit to the Administrator. The Administration Agreement may be terminated by either party without penalty on 60 days’ written notice to the other party.

No person who is an officer, director or employee of the Administrator or its affiliates and who serves as a director receives any compensation for his or her services as a director. However, we reimburse the Administrator (or its affiliates) for an allocable portion of the compensation paid by the Administrator or its affiliates to our compliance professionals, legal counsel, and other professionals who spend time on such related activities (based on the percentage of time those individuals devote, on an estimated basis, to our business and affairs). The allocable portion of the compensation for these officers and other professionals are included in the administration expenses paid to the Administrator. Directors who are not affiliated with the Administrator or its affiliates receive compensation for their services and reimbursement of expenses incurred to attend meetings.

The Administration Agreement has been approved by our Board. Unless earlier terminated as described below, the Administration Agreement will remain in effect for a period of two years from their effective date and will remain in effect from year to year thereafter if approved annually by (i) the vote of our Board, or by the vote of a majority of our outstanding voting securities, and (ii) the vote of a majority of our independent directors. The Administration Agreement will automatically terminate in the event of assignment. The Administration Agreement may be terminated by either party without penalty upon not less than 60 days’ written notice to the other. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to our Business and Structure—We are dependent upon key personnel of Crescent and the Adviser.”

License Agreement

We have entered into a license agreement with Crescent under which Crescent granted us a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use the name “Crescent Capital”.

Competition

Our primary competitors in providing financing to middle-market companies include public and private funds, other business development companies, commercial and investment banks, commercial financing companies and, to the extent they provide an alternative form of financing, private equity and hedge funds. Many of our competitors are substantially larger and have considerably greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do. For example, we believe some competitors may have access to funding sources that are not available to us. In addition, some of our competitors may have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments, which could allow them to consider a wider variety of investments and establish more relationships than us. Furthermore, many of our competitors are not subject to the regulatory restrictions that the 1940 Act imposes on us as a BDC or to the distribution and other requirements we must satisfy to maintain our qualification as a RIC.

We expect to use the expertise of Crescent’s investment professionals to which we will have access to assess investment risks and determine appropriate pricing for our investments in portfolio companies. In addition, we expect that the relationships of Crescent’s senior members will enable us to learn about, and compete effectively for, financing opportunities with attractive middle-market companies in the industries in which we seek to invest. For additional information concerning the competitive risks we face, see “Item 1A. Risk Factors—Risks Relating to our Business and Structure — We operate in an increasingly competitive market for investment opportunities, which could make it difficult for us to identify and make investments that are consistent with our investment objectives.”

Our primary operating expenses include the payment of management fees and incentive fees to the Adviser under the Investment Advisory Agreement, as amended, our allocable portion of overhead expenses under the Administration Agreement, operating costs associated with our third party sub-administrator and other operating costs described below. The management and incentive fees compensate the Adviser for its work in identifying, evaluating, negotiating, closing and monitoring our investments. We bear all other out-of-pocket costs and expenses of our operations and transactions, including:

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the cost of calculating our net asset value, including the cost of any third-party valuation services;

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fidelity bond, directors’ and officers’ liability insurance and other insurance premiums;

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fees and expenses associated with independent audits and outside legal costs;

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independent directors’ fees and expenses;

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administration fees and expenses, if any, payable under the Administration Agreement (including payments based upon our allocable portion of the Administrator’s overhead in performing its obligations under the Administration Agreement, rent and the allocable portion of the cost of certain professional services provided to us, including but not limited to, our compliance professionals, our legal counsel and other professionals);

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U.S. federal, state and local taxes;

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the cost of effecting sales and repurchases of shares of our common stock and other securities;

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fees payable to third parties relating to making investments, including out-of-pocket fees and expenses associated with performing due diligence and reviews of prospective investments;

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out-of-pocket fees and expenses associated with marketing efforts;

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federal and state registration fees and any stock exchange listing fees;

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brokerage commissions;

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costs associated with our reporting and compliance obligations under the 1940 Act and other applicable U.S. federal and state securities laws;

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debt service and other costs of borrowings or other financing arrangements; and

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all other expenses reasonably incurred by us in connection with making investments and administering our business.

Capital Resources and Borrowings

We anticipate cash to be generated from future offerings of securities, future borrowings, and cash flows from operations, including investment sales and repayments as well as income earned on investments. Additionally, we are permitted, under specified conditions, to issue multiple classes of indebtedness and one class of stock senior to our common stock if our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, is at least equal to 150% immediately after each such issuance. In connection with borrowings, our lenders may require us to pledge assets and to comply with positive or negative covenants that could have an effect on our operations.

For more information on our debt, see “ITEM 7. MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS—Financial Condition, Liquidity and Capital Resources.”

Dividend Reinvestment Plan

We adopted a dividend reinvestment plan that provides for reinvestment of our dividends and other distributions on behalf of our stockholders, unless a stockholder elects to receive cash. As a result, if our Board authorizes, and we declare, a cash dividend or other distribution then stockholders who are participating in the dividend reinvestment plan will have their cash dividends and distributions automatically reinvested in additional shares of common stock, rather than receiving cash dividends and distributions.

Resource Sharing Agreement

We do not currently have any employees. We depend on the diligence, skill and network of business contacts of the investment professionals of the Adviser to achieve our investment objective. The Adviser is an affiliate of Crescent and depends upon access to the investment professionals and other resources of Crescent and its affiliates to fulfill its obligations to us under the Investment Advisory Agreement. The Adviser also depends upon Crescent to obtain access to deal flow generated by Crescent’s investment professionals and its affiliates. Each of our officers will also be an employee of the Adviser, Crescent or its affiliates.

Pursuant to its Resource Sharing Agreement with Crescent, the Adviser will have access to the individuals who comprise our Adviser’s investment committee, and a team of additional experienced investment professionals who, collectively, comprise the Adviser’s investment team. The Adviser may hire additional investment professionals to provide services to us, based upon its needs.

Regulation as a Business Development Company

We are regulated as a BDC under the 1940 Act. A BDC must be organized in the United States for the purpose of investing in or lending primarily to private companies and making significant managerial assistance available to them. A BDC may use capital provided by public stockholders and from other sources to make long-term, private investments in businesses. A publicly-traded BDC provides stockholders the ability to retain the liquidity of a publicly-traded stock while sharing in the possible benefits, if any, of investing in primarily privately owned companies. Prior to February 3, 2020, which is the date of our listing on NASDAQ, our stock was privately held.

We may not change the nature of our business so as to cease to be, or withdraw our election as, a BDC unless authorized by vote of a majority of our outstanding voting securities, as required by the 1940 Act. A majority of our outstanding voting securities is defined under the 1940 Act as the lesser of: (a) 67% or more of such company’s voting securities present at a meeting if more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of such company are present or represented by proxy, or (b) more than 50% of the outstanding voting securities of such company. We do not anticipate any substantial change in the nature of our business.

As with other companies regulated by the 1940 Act, a BDC must adhere to certain substantive regulatory requirements. A majority of our directors must be persons who are not interested persons, as that term is defined in the 1940 Act. Additionally, we are required to provide and maintain a bond issued by a reputable fidelity insurance company to protect the BDC. Furthermore, as a BDC, we will be prohibited from protecting any director or officer 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 may also be prohibited under the 1940 Act from knowingly participating in certain transactions with our affiliates without the prior approval of our directors who are not interested persons and, in some cases, prior approval by the SEC through an exemptive relief order (other than in certain limited situations pursuant to current regulatory guidance).

Also, while we may borrow funds to make investments, our ability to use debt is limited in certain significant aspects. In accordance with applicable SEC staff guidance and interpretations, we, as a BDC, are permitted to borrow amounts such that our asset coverage ratio is at least 150% after such borrowing (if certain requirements are met). Short-term credits necessary for the settlement of securities transactions and arrangements with respect to securities lending will not be considered borrowings for these purposes. The amount of leverage that we employ depends on our Adviser’s and our Board’s assessment of market conditions and other factors at the time of any proposed borrowing.

We do not intend to acquire securities issued by any investment company that exceed the limits imposed by the 1940 Act. Under these limits, except for registered money market funds, we generally cannot acquire more than 3% of the voting stock of any investment company, invest more than 5% of the value of our total assets in the securities of one investment company or invest more than 10% of the value of our total assets in the securities of investment companies in the aggregate, unless certain conditions are met. The portion of our portfolio invested in securities issued by investment companies ordinarily will subject our stockholders to additional expenses. Such investments will also generally be considered “non-qualifying assets” under the 1940 Act as discussed below. Our investment portfolio is also subject to diversification requirements by virtue of our intention to be a RIC for U.S. tax purposes.

We are subject to periodic examinations by the SEC for compliance with the 1940 Act.

As a BDC, we are subject to certain risks and uncertainties. See “Item 1A. Risk Factors.”

Qualifying Assets

We may invest up to 30% of our portfolio opportunistically in “non-qualifying assets”. However, under the 1940 Act, a BDC may not acquire any asset other than assets of the type listed in Section 55(a) of the 1940 Act, which are referred to as “qualifying assets,” unless, at the time the acquisition is made, qualifying assets represent at least 70% of the BDC’s total assets. The principal categories of qualifying assets relevant to our business are the following:

Securities purchased in transactions not involving any public offering from the issuer of such securities, which issuer (subject to certain limited exceptions) is an eligible portfolio company, or from any person who is, or has been during the preceding 13 months, an affiliated person of an eligible portfolio company, or from any other person, subject to such rules as may be prescribed by the SEC. The principal categories of qualifying assets relevant to our business are the following:

a.

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

b.

Issuer is not an investment company (other than a small business investment company wholly owned by the BDC) or a company that would be an investment company but for certain exclusions under the 1940 Act; and

c.

Issuer satisfies any of the following:

i.

does not have any class of securities that is traded on a national securities exchange;

ii.

has a class of securities listed on a national securities exchange, but has an aggregate market value of outstanding voting and non-voting common equity of less than $250 million;

iii.

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

iv.

is a small and solvent company having total assets of not more than $4.0 million and capital and surplus of not less than $2.0 million.

Securities of any eligible portfolio company which we control.

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.

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 60% of the outstanding equity of the eligible portfolio company.

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 warrants or rights relating to such securities.

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 operated for the purpose of making investments in the types of securities described under “Qualifying Assets” above. However, in order to count portfolio securities as qualifying assets for the purpose of the 70% test, the BDC must either control the issuer of the securities or must 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. Making available managerial assistance means, among other things, any arrangement whereby the BDC, through its directors or officers, 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.

Monitoring Investments

In most cases, we will not have board influence over portfolio companies. In some instances, the Adviser’s investment professionals may obtain board representation or observation rights in conjunction with our investments. In conjunction with our Adviser’s investment committee and our Board, the Adviser will take an active approach in monitoring all investments, which includes reviews of financial performance on at least a quarterly basis and may include discussions with management and/or the equity sponsor. The monitoring process will begin with structuring terms and conditions which require the timely delivery and access to critical financial and business information regarding portfolio companies.

Senior Securities

We are permitted, under specified conditions, to issue multiple classes of indebtedness and one class of stock senior to our common stock if our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, is at least equal to 150% immediately after each such issuance. In addition, while any senior securities remain outstanding, we must make provisions to prohibit any distribution to our stockholders or the repurchase of such securities or shares 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.

The 1940 Act imposes limitations on a BDC’s issuance of preferred shares, which are considered “senior securities” and thus are subject to the 150% asset coverage requirement described above. In addition, (i) preferred shares must have the same voting rights as the common stockholders (one share, one vote); and (ii) preferred stockholders must have the right, as a class, to appoint directors to the board of directors.

Code of Ethics

As required by Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act and Rule 204A-1 under the Advisers Act, respectively, we and the Adviser have adopted codes of ethics which apply to, among others, our and our Adviser’s executive officers, including our Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, as well as our Adviser’s officers, directors and employees. Our codes of ethics generally will not permit investments by our and the Adviser’s personnel in securities that may be purchased or sold by us.

We hereby undertake to provide a copy of the codes to any person, without charge, upon request. Requests for a copy of the codes may be made in writing addressed to our Secretary, George Hawley, Crescent Capital BDC, Inc., 11100 Santa Monica Boulevard, Suite 2000, Los Angeles, California, 90025, Attention: CCAP Investor Relations, or by emailing us at investor.relations@crescentcap.com. Our code of ethics is available without charge on our website, athttp://www.crescentbdc.com.

Compliance Policies and Procedures

We and our Adviser have adopted and implemented written policies and procedures reasonably designed to detect and prevent violation of the federal securities laws and we are required to review these compliance 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.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

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:

•

pursuant to Rule 13a-14 of the Exchange Act, our principal executive officer and principal financial officer must certify the accuracy of the financial statements contained in our periodic reports;

•

pursuant to Item 307 of Regulation S-K, our periodic reports must disclose our conclusions about the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures;

•

pursuant to Rule 13a-15 of the Exchange Act, our management must prepare an annual report regarding its assessment of our internal control over financial reporting and must obtain an audit of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting performed by our independent registered public accounting firm; and

•

pursuant to Item 308 of Regulation S-K and Rule 13a-15 of the Exchange Act, our periodic reports must disclose whether there were significant changes in our internal controls over financial reporting or in other factors that could significantly affect these controls subsequent to the date of their evaluation, including any corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires us to review our current 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 regulations that are adopted under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and will take actions necessary to ensure that we are in compliance therewith.

Stock Exchange Corporate Governance Regulations

The Nasdaq Stock Market LLC has adopted various corporate governance requirements as part of its listing standards. We monitor our compliance with such listing standards to the extent applicable and will take actions necessary to ensure that we remain in compliance therewith.

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

We delegate our proxy voting responsibility to our Adviser. The Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures of the Adviser are set forth below. The guidelines are reviewed periodically by the Adviser and our non-interested directors, and, accordingly, are subject to change.

An investment adviser registered under the Advisers Act has a fiduciary duty to act solely in the best interests of its clients. As part of this duty, the Adviser recognizes that it must vote portfolio securities in a timely manner free of conflicts of interest and in the best interests of its clients.

These policies and procedures for voting proxies are intended to comply with Section 206 of, and Rule 206(4)-6 under, the Advisers Act.

The Adviser votes all proxies based upon the guiding principle of seeking to maximize the ultimate long-term economic value of our stockholders’ holdings, and ultimately all votes are cast on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration the contractual obligations under the relevant advisory agreements or comparable documents, and all other relevant facts and circumstances at the time of the vote. The Adviser reviews on a case-by-case basis each proposal submitted to a stockholder vote to determine its impact on the portfolio securities held by us. Although the Adviser generally votes against proposals that may have a negative impact on our portfolio securities, the Adviser may vote for such a proposal if there exists compelling long-term reasons to do so.

The Adviser’s proxy voting decisions are made by our Adviser’s investment committee. To ensure that the vote is not the product of a conflict of interest, the Adviser will require that: (1) anyone involved in the decision making process disclose to our Adviser’s investment committee, and disinterested directors, any potential conflict that he or she is aware of and any contact that he or she has had with any interested party regarding a proxy vote; and (2) employees involved in the decision making process or vote administration are prohibited from revealing how the Adviser intends to vote on a proposal in order to reduce any attempted influence from interested parties.

Reporting Obligations

We furnish our stockholders with annual reports containing audited financial statements, quarterly reports, and such other periodic reports as we determine to be appropriate or as may be required by law. We are required to comply with all periodic reporting, proxy solicitation and other applicable requirements under the Exchange Act.

Stockholders and the public may also read and copy any materials we file with the SEC at the SEC’s Public Reference Room at 100 F Street, NE, Washington, DC 20549. The public may also obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090. The SEC also maintains a website (www.sec.gov) that contains such information.

Election to be Taxed as a Regulated Investment Company

We have elected to be treated, and intend to operate in a manner so as to continuously qualify annually, as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, we generally will not be required to pay corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes on any ordinary income or capital gains that we timely distribute (or are deemed to distribute) to our stockholders as dividends. Instead, dividends we distribute (or are deemed to distributed) generally will be taxable to stockholders, and any net operating losses, foreign tax credits and most other tax attributes generally will not passthrough to stockholders. To continue to qualify as a RIC, we must, among other things, meet certain source-of-income and asset diversification requirements (as described below). In addition, to qualify for RIC tax treatment we must distribute to our stockholders, for each taxable year, at least 90% of the Company’s “investment company taxable income” for that year, which is generally its ordinary income plus the excess of its realized net short-term capital gains over its realized net long-term capital losses, or the Annual Distribution Requirement.

If we:

• qualify as a RIC; and

• satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement;

then we will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of our investment company taxable income and net capital gain (i.e., realized net long-term capital gains in excess of realized net short-term capital losses) we distribute to stockholders. We are subject to U.S. federal income tax at the regular corporate rates on any income or capital gain not distributed (or deemed distributed) to our stockholders.

We will be subject to a 4% nondeductible federal excise tax on certain undistributed income unless we distribute in a timely manner an amount at least equal to the sum of (1) 98% of our ordinary income for each calendar year, (2) 98.2% of our capital gain net income for the one-year period ending October 31 in that calendar year and (3) any income realized, but not distributed, and on which we paid no U.S. federal income tax, in preceding years.

In order to maintain our qualification as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we must, among other things:

• at all times during each taxable year, have in effect an election to be treated as a Business Development Company under the 1940 Act;

• derive in each taxable year at least 90% of our gross income from (a) dividends, interest, payments with respect to certain securities (including loans), gains from the sale of stock or other securities or currencies, or other income derived with respect to our business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies and (b) net income derived from an interest in a “qualified publicly traded partnership” (the “90% Gross Income Test”); and

• diversify our holdings so that at the end of each quarter of the taxable year:

◦ (i) at least 50% of the value of our assets consists of cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities, securities of other RICs, and other securities if such other securities of any one issuer do not represent more than 5% of the value of its assets or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer; and

◦ (ii) no more than 25% of the value of our assets is invested in (a) the securities, other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs, of one issuer, (b) the securities of two or more issuers that are controlled, as determined under applicable tax rules, by us and that are engaged in the same or similar or related trades or businesses or (c) the securities of one or more “qualified publicly traded partnerships” ((i) and (ii) collectively, the “Diversification Tests”).

We may be required to recognize taxable income in circumstances in which we do not receive cash. For example, if we hold debt obligations that are treated under applicable tax rules as having OID (such as debt instruments with increasing interest rates or debt instruments issued with warrants), we must include in income each year a portion of the OID that accrues over the life of the obligation, regardless of whether cash representing such income is received by us in the same taxable year. Because any OID accrued will be included in our investment company taxable income for the year of accrual, we may be required to make a distribution to our stockholders in order to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, even though we will not have received any corresponding cash amount.

Because we use debt financing, we are subject to certain asset coverage ratio requirements under the 1940 Act described above and financial covenants under loan and credit agreements that could, under certain circumstances, restrict us from making distributions necessary to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement. If we are unable to obtain cash from other sources or are otherwise limited in our ability to make distributions, we could fail to qualify for RIC tax treatment and thus become subject to corporate-level income tax.

Certain of our investment practices may be subject to special and complex U.S. federal income tax provisions that may, among other things: (a) disallow, suspend or otherwise limit the allowance of certain losses or deductions; (b) convert lower taxed long-term capital gain into higher taxed short-term capital gain or ordinary income; (c) convert an ordinary loss or a deduction into a capital loss (the deductibility of which is more limited); (d) cause us to recognize income or gain without a corresponding receipt of cash; (e) adversely affect the time as to when a purchase or sale of securities is deemed to occur; (f) adversely alter the characterization of certain complex financial transactions; or (g) produce income that will not be qualifying income for purposes of the 90% Gross Income Test described above. We will monitor our transactions and may make certain tax elections in order to mitigate the potential adverse effect of these provisions.

If, in any particular taxable year, we do not qualify as a RIC, all of our taxable income (including our net capital gains) will be subject to tax at regular corporate rates without any deduction for distributions to stockholders, and distributions will be taxable to the stockholders as ordinary dividends to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

We file with or submit to the SEC annual, quarterly and current periodic reports, proxy statements and other information meeting the informational requirements of the Exchange Act. This information is available free of charge on our website athttp://www.crescentbdc.com. Information contained on our website is not incorporated into this Annual Report and you should not consider such information to be part of this Annual Report. Such information is also available from the EDGAR database on the SEC’s web site at http://www.sec.gov.