Item 1.01. |
Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement |
On April 11, 2024 (the “Refinancing Date”), Blue Owl Capital Corporation (the “Company”) completed a $260,000,000 term debt securitization refinancing (the “CLO Refinancing”), also known as a collateralized loan obligation refinancing, which is a form of secured financing incurred by the Company. The secured notes issued in the CLO Refinancing were issued by the Company’s consolidated subsidiary Owl Rock CLO III, LLC, a limited liability company organized under the laws of the State of Delaware (the “Issuer”) and are backed by a portfolio of collateral obligations consisting of middle market loans as well as by other assets of the Issuer.
The CLO Refinancing was executed by (A) the issuance of the following classes of notes pursuant to an indenture and security agreement dated as of March 26, 2020 (the “Original Closing Date”) by and among Owl Rock CLO III, Ltd., as issuer (the “Original Issuer”), the Issuer, as co-issuer and State Street Bank and Trust Company, as supplemented by the first supplemental indenture dated as of July 18, 2023 and as further amended by the second supplemental indenture dated as of the Refinancing Date (the “Indenture”), by and between the Issuer and State Street Bank and Trust Company: (i) $228,000,000 of AAA(sf) Class A-R Notes, which bear interest at the Benchmark plus 1.85% and (ii) $32,000,000 of AA(sf) Class B-R Notes, which bear interest at the Benchmark plus 2.35% (together, the “Secured Notes”). The Secured Notes are secured by middle market loans and other assets of the Issuer. The Secured Notes are scheduled to mature on the Payment Date in April 2036. The Secured Notes were privately placed by SG Americas Securities, LLC. The proceeds from the CLO Refinancing were used to redeem in full the classes of notes issued on the Original Closing Date and to pay expenses incurred in connection with the CLO Refinancing. On the Refinancing Date, the Original Issuer was merged with and into the Issuer, with the Issuer surviving the merger. The Issuer assumed by all operation of law all of the rights and obligations of the Original Issuer, including the subordinated securities issued by the Original Issuer on the Original Closing Date.
On the Original Closing Date, the Issuer issued $135,310,000 of subordinated securities in the form of 135,310 preferred shares ($1,000 per preferred share) (the “Preferred Shares”). The Company acquired the Preferred Shares on the Original Closing Date. As of the Refinancing Date, the Preferred Shares remain outstanding and continue to be held by the company. The Preferred Shares were issued by the Issuer as part of its issued share capital and are not secured by the collateral securing the Secured Notes. The Company acts as retention holder in connection with the CLO Refinancing for the purposes of satisfying certain U.S., European Union and United Kingdom regulations requiring sponsors of securitization transactions to retain exposure to the performance of the securitized assets and as such is required to retain a portion of the Preferred Shares.
On the Original Closing Date, the Original Issuer entered into a loan sale agreement with Company, which provided for the sale and contribution of approximately $275 million par amount of middle market loans from the Company to the Original Issuer on the Original Closing Date and for future sales from the Company to the Original Issuer on an ongoing basis. As part of the CLO Refinancing, the Issuer, as the successor to the Original Issuer, and the Company entered into an amended and restated loan sale agreement with the Company dated as of the Refinancing Date (the “Loan Sale Agreement”), pursuant to which the Issuer assumed all ongoing obligations of the Original Issuer under the original agreement and provides for future sales from the Company to the Issuer on an ongoing basis. Such loans constituted part of the portfolio of assets securing the Secured Notes. The Company made customary representations, warranties, and covenants to the Issuer under the applicable loan sale agreement.
Through April 20, 2028, a portion of the proceeds received by the Issuer from the loans securing the Secured Notes may be used by the Issuer to purchase additional middle market loans under the direction of Blue Owl Credit Advisors LLC (“OCA” or the “Adviser”), the Company’s investment advisor, in its capacity as collateral manager for the Issuer and in accordance with the Company’s investing strategy and ability to originate eligible middle market loans.
The Secured Notes are the secured obligation of the Issuer, and the Indenture includes customary covenants and events of default. The Secured Notes have not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), or any state securities (e.g., “blue sky”) laws, and may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration with the Securities and Exchange Commission or pursuant to an applicable exemption from such registration.
OCA serves as collateral manager for the Issuer under an amended and restated collateral management agreement dated as of the Refinancing Date (the “Collateral Management Agreement”). OCA is entitled to receive fees for providing these services. OCA has waived its right to receive such fees but may rescind such waiver at any time; provided, however, that if the Adviser rescinds such waiver, the management fee payable to the Adviser pursuant to the Third Amended and Restated Investment Advisory Agreement, dated May 18, 2021, between the Adviser and the Company will be offset by the amount of the collateral management fee attributable to the CLO III Issuer’s equity or notes owned by the company.
The Company expects to use the proceeds of the issuance of the Secured Notes, net of certain fees and expenses, for general corporate purposes.
The above description of the documentation related to the CLO Refinancing and other arrangements entered into on the Refinancing Date contained in this Current Report on Form 8-K do not propose to be complete and are qualified in their entirety by reference to the underlying agreements, including the Indenture, the Loan Sale Agreement, and the Collateral Management Agreement, each filed as exhibits hereto and incorporated by reference herein.