Delaware | 33-6515727 | ||
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) | (I.R.S Employer Identification No.) | ||
1345 Avenue of the Americas New York, NY | 10105 | ||
(Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) | ||
Large accelerated filer | ☐ | Accelerated filer | ☐ | |||||||||
Non-accelerated filer | ☒ | Smaller reporting company | ☐ | |||||||||
Emerging growth company | ☒ | |||||||||||
• | “we,” “us,” “our,” and the “Company” refer to Fortress Private Lending Fund; |
• | “Fortress” refers to Fortress Investment Group LLC, a Delaware limited liability company; |
• | “Adviser” refers to FPLF Management LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and an indirect subsidiary of Fortress, in its role as advisor to the Company; |
• | “Administrator” refers to FPLF Management LLC, a Delaware limited liability company and an indirect subsidiary of Fortress, in its role as administrator for the Company; |
• | “Board” refers to the board of trustees of the Company; |
• | “Fortress Managed Accounts” refers to other existing or future investment funds or accounts managed by Fortress or any of its affiliates, provided that, except where otherwise specifically stated herein, Fortress Managed Accounts shall not include investment funds and accounts managed by (i) the indirect owner(s) of Fortress or (ii) any person controlling, controlled by or under common control with such indirect owner(s) that is not also controlled by Fortress; |
• | “Shareholders” refers to holders of our Class I common shares of beneficial interest, par value $0.01 per share (the “Class I Shares” and, together with the additional shares that we may offer in the future, the “Shares”); and |
• | “Trustees” refers to the members of the Board. |
• | the Company’s future operating results and distributions; |
• | the Company’s business prospects and the prospects of its investments, including the dependence of the Company’s future success on general economic and political trends and other external factors; |
• | the ability of the Adviser to identify suitable investments for the Company and to monitor and administer the Company’s investments; |
• | the effect of investments that the Company expects to make and the competition for those investments; |
• | the ability of the Company’s investments to achieve their expected performance; |
• | the availability of debt and equity capital and the Company’s use of borrowed money to finance a portion of its investments; |
• | the adequacy of the Company’s financing sources and working capital; |
• | the Company’s ability to anticipate and identify evolving market expectations with respect to environmental, social and governance matters, including the environmental impacts of our portfolio companies’ supply chain and operations; |
• | the timing of cash flows, if any, from the Company’s investments; |
• | the timing, form and amount of any distributions; |
• | the Company’s contractual arrangements and relationships with third parties; |
• | the outcome and impact of any litigation or regulatory proceeding; |
• | the impact of information technology system failures, data security breaches, data privacy compliance, network disruptions, and cybersecurity attacks; |
• | actual and potential conflicts of interest with the Adviser and its affiliates; |
• | the ability of the Adviser or its affiliates to attract and retain highly talented professionals; |
• | the Company’s ability to qualify and maintain its qualification as a regulated investment company under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and as a BDC; |
• | the Company’s ability to recover unrealized losses; |
• | the Company’s ability to deploy any capital raised in its Offering; |
• | uncertainty surrounding global financial stability; |
• | general fluctuations in the values of financial assets; and |
• | the impact of changes in laws and regulations. |
• | the ability to source high-quality investment opportunities to deploy capital; |
• | risks associated with possible disruption in our operations or the economy generally due to terrorism, natural disasters, epidemics or other events having a broad impact on the economy; |
• | periods of disruption and instability in the capital markets, including as a result of United States trade policy developments, tariffs and other trade restrictions; |
• | fluctuations in interest rates and credit spreads could reduce our ability to generate income on our loans and other investments, which could lead to a significant decrease in our results of operations, cash flows and the market value of our investments and may limit our ability to pay dividends to our shareholders; |
• | certain economic events may cause our shareholders to request that we repurchase their Shares, and if we decide to satisfy any or all of such requests, our cash flow and our results of operations and financial condition could be materially adversely affected. Further, our Board may make exceptions to, modify or suspend our share repurchase plan (including to make exceptions to the repurchase limitations or purchase fewer shares than such repurchase limitations) if it deems such action to be in our best interest; |
• | distributions are not guaranteed and may be funded from sources other than cash flow from operations, including, without limitation, borrowings, offering proceeds (including from sales of our shares to Fortress affiliates), proceeds from repayments of our debt investments, sales of our liquid investments and, if necessary, sales of our investments and/or assets, and we have no limits on the amounts we may fund from such sources; |
• | the valuation of our investments may not be certain or transparent as a result of the highly volatile environments we operate in; |
• | the purchase and repurchase prices for our Shares are generally based on our prior month’s net asset value (“NAV”) and are not based on any public trading market; |
• | future changes in laws or regulations and conditions in our operating areas; |
• | our ability to raise additional funds to enable us to make additional investments and diversify the risk profile of our portfolio; |
• | our ability to capitalize on potential investment opportunities on attractive terms; |
• | our ability to accurately identify or adequately evaluate potential risks in volatile investing environments with limited market liquidity or price transparency; |
• | the incurrence of contingent liabilities as a result of our investments, including our assumption of default risk or other third-party risks; |
• | our ability to forecast correlations between the value of our portfolio and the direction of exchange rates, interest rates and the price of securities in order to effectively or appropriately mitigate risks associated with our investments; |
• | defaults by borrowers in paying debt service on outstanding indebtedness; |
• | certain risks associated with limitations on our remedies under bankruptcy laws; |
• | system failures and cybersecurity breaches; |
• | substantial compliance costs that may be required to meet the constantly evolving legal and regulatory landscape for data protection and privacy; |
• | potential misconduct and unauthorized conduct from third-party providers; |
• | compliance with state and local laws, statutes, regulations and ordinances relating to pollution, the protection of the environment and human health and safety; |
• | risks associated with joint ventures; |
• | risks associated with our relationship with Fortress and the Adviser; and |
• | changes to United States federal income tax laws. |
• | We have a limited operating history. |
• | We will be a privately placed BDC and our Shareholders may not be able to transfer or otherwise dispose of our Shares at desired times or prices, or at all. |
• | We may have difficulty sourcing investment opportunities. |
• | We may borrow money, which may magnify the potential for gain or loss and may increase the risk of investing in us. |
• | We are exposed to risks associated with high rates of inflation. |
• | We are exposed to risks associated with changes in interest rates. |
• | Because we expect our initial Shareholders to approve a proposal to allow an asset coverage ratio of 150%, we expect to be subject to 150% asset coverage ratio. |
• | We will face competition for investment opportunities, which could delay further deployment of our capital, reduce returns and result in losses. |
• | 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. |
• | Changes in laws or regulations governing our operations may adversely affect our business or cause us to alter our business strategy. |
• | The Adviser relies on key personnel, the loss of any of whom could impair its ability to successfully manage us. |
• | Our fee structure may create a conflict of interest due to the incentives for the Adviser to make speculative investments or use substantial leverage. |
• | The Adviser and its affiliates may have incentives to favor their respective other funds, accounts and clients over us, which may result in conflicts of interest that could be adverse to us and our investment opportunities and harmful to us. |
• | The capital markets may experience periods of disruption and instability, including as a result of United States trade policy developments, tariffs and other trade restrictions. Such market conditions may materially and adversely affect the debt and equity capital markets, which may have a negative impact on our business and operations. |
• | Our investments in portfolio companies may be risky, and we could lose all or part of our investments. |
• | Investments in common and preferred equity securities, many of which are illiquid with no readily available market, involve a substantial degree of risk. |
• | If we cannot obtain debt financing or equity capital on acceptable terms, our ability to acquire investments and to expand our operations will be adversely affected. |
• | Our portfolio companies may be highly leveraged. |
• | Our portfolio may be focused on a limited number of portfolio companies or industries, which will subject us to a risk of significant loss if any of these companies defaults on its obligations under any of its debt instruments or if there is a downturn in a particular industry. |
• | We may not be able to realize expected returns on our invested capital. |
• | We may not be able to complete certain desired investments because such investments may be subject to regulatory review and approval requirements, including pursuant to foreign investment regulations and review by governmental entities such as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”), or may be ultimately prohibited. |
• | The amount of any distributions we may make on our Shares is uncertain. We may not be able to pay distributions, or be able to sustain distributions at any particular level, and our distributions per Share, if any, may not grow over time, and our distributions per Share may be reduced. We have not established any limit on the extent to which we may use borrowings, if any, and proceeds from our Offering to fund distributions (which may reduce the amount of capital we ultimately invest in portfolio companies). |
• | Our Shares are not listed on an exchange or quoted through a quotation system and will not be listed for the foreseeable future, if ever. Therefore, our Shareholders will have limited liquidity. |
• | The NAV of our Shares may fluctuate significantly. |
• | Preferred shares could be issued with rights and preferences that would adversely affect our Shareholders, including the right to elect certain members of the Board and have class voting rights on certain matters. |
• | Certain Shareholders will be subject to Exchange Act filing requirements relating to their beneficial ownership of Shares. |
• | Those Shareholders that are obligated to fund drawdowns may need to maintain a substantial portion of the amount of their unfunded capital commitments in assets that can be readily converted to cash. |
• | Shareholders who default on their capital commitment to us will be subject to significant adverse consequences. |
• | We cannot predict how tax reform legislation will affect us, our investments, or our Shareholders, and any such legislation could adversely affect our business. |
• | We will be subject to corporate-level U.S. federal income tax if we are unable to qualify for and maintain our tax treatment as a RIC (as defined in “Item 1. Business”) under Subchapter M of the Code or if we make investments through taxable subsidiaries. |
• | We may have difficulty making our required distributions if we recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income. |
• | If we are not treated as a “publicly offered regulated investment company,” as defined in the Code following the RIC Election Date, certain U.S. Shareholders will be treated as having received a dividend from us in the amount of such U.S. Shareholders’ allocable share of the Management Fees (as defined in “Item 1. Business”) and Incentive Fees (as defined in “Item 1. Business”) paid to the Adviser and some of our expenses, and these fees and expenses will be treated as miscellaneous itemized deductions of such U.S. Shareholders. |
• | Economic recessions or downturns could impair our portfolio companies and harm our operating results. |
• | Credit funds have been the subject of increasing regulatory focus at international and regional levels. |
Business |
2 | Reflects total dollar losses of Fortress’s U.S. direct corporate loans, divided by total invested capital (annualized). Calculations of losses include both interest income and principal gains and losses. Including unrealized losses, the annualized loss rate is 0.09%. |
• | First lien debt. First lien debt is typically senior on a lien basis to other liabilities in the issuer’s capital structure and has 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. The Company’s first lien debt may include stand-alone first lien loans, “last out” first lien loans, “unitranche” loans and secured corporate bonds with similar features to these categories of first lien loans. |
• | Stand-alone first lien loans. Stand-alone first lien loans are traditional first lien loans. All lenders in the facility have equal rights to the collateral that is subject to the first priority security interest. |
• | “Last out” first lien loans. “Last out” first lien loans have secondary priority behind super senior “first out” first lien loans in the collateral securing the loans in certain circumstances. The arrangements for a “last out” first lien loan are set forth in an “agreement among lenders,” which provides lenders with “first out” and “last out” payment streams based on a single lien on the collateral. Since the “first out” lenders generally have priority over the “last out” lenders for receiving payment under certain specified events of default, or upon the occurrence of other triggering events under intercreditor agreements or agreements among lenders, the “last out” lenders bear a greater risk and, in exchange, receive a higher effective interest rate through arrangements among the leaders than the “first out” lenders or lenders in standalone first lien loans. Agreements among lenders also typically provide greater voting rights to the “last out” lenders than the intercreditor agreements to which second lien lenders often are subject. |
• | “Unitranche” loans. Unitranche loans are loans that combine features of first lien, second lien and mezzanine debt, generally in a first lien position. In many cases, “unitranche” lenders, including the Company, may provide the issuer most, if not all, of the capital structure above the equity. The primary advantage to the borrower in this scenario is the ability to negotiate an entire debt financing with one lender and eliminate of intercreditor issues. |
• | First lien secured bonds. First lien secured bonds are similar to stand-alone first lien loans. All investors in the bond have equal rights to the collateral that is subject to the first priority security interest. |
• | Second lien debt. Second lien debt may include second lien secured loans, and, to a lesser extent, second lien secured bonds, with a secondary priority behind first lien debt. Second lien debt typically is senior on a lien basis to other liabilities in the issuer’s capital structure and has the benefit of a security interest over assets of the issuer, though ranking junior to first lien debt secured by those assets. First lien lenders and second lien lenders typically have separate liens on collateral, and an intercreditor agreement provides the first-lien lenders with priority over the second lien lenders’ liens on collateral. Generally, the Adviser will focus on second lien investment opportunities in the event that they accompany the Company’s primary investment strategy of a first lien, senior secured investment, providing the Company with a fortified position in a borrower’s capital structure. |
• | Mezzanine or Unsecured debt. Structurally, mezzanine debt usually ranks subordinate in priority of payment to first lien and second lien debt and may not have the benefit of financial covenants in first lien and second lien debt. Unsecured debt may rank junior in priority as it relates to proceeds in certain liquidations where it does not have the benefit of a lien in specific collateral held by creditors (typically first lien and/or second lien) who have a perfected security interest in such collateral. However, both mezzanine and unsecured debt ranks senior to common and preferred equity in an issuer’s capital structure. Mezzanine and unsecured debt investments generally offer lenders fixed returns in the form of interest payments and mezzanine debt will often provide lenders an opportunity to participate in the capital appreciation, if any, of an issuer through an equity interest. This equity interest typically takes the form of an equity co-investment or warrants. Due to its higher risk profile, and often less restrictive covenants compared to senior secured loans, mezzanine and unsecured debt generally bears a higher stated interest rate than first lien and second lien debt. |
• | requiring a total return on the Company’s investments (including both interest and potential equity appreciation) that compensates the Company for credit risk; |
• | mitigating non-credit-related risks on the Company’s investments, including call protection provisions to protect future payment income. In addition, most of the Company’s investments are expected to be floating rate in nature, which the Adviser believes will help act as a portfolio-wide hedge against inflation; and |
• | negotiating covenants in connection with the Company’s investments consistent with preservation of the Company’s capital. Such restrictions may include affirmative covenants (including reporting requirements), negative covenants (including financial covenants), lien protection, change of control provisions and, depending on the size, nature and performance of the transaction, the Company may occupy a seat or serve as an observer on a portfolio company’s board of directors or similar governing body. |
• | high margins of safety; |
• | low loan to collateral value levels; |
• | top of the capital structure, first-dollar risk; |
• | call protection and voting control; |
• | maintenance and incurrence covenants; and |
• | experienced management teams with deep alignment with creditors and equity investors. |
• | Market Category Leader and Sustainable Competitive Advantages. The Adviser will seek to invest in companies and management teams that have leading positions within their respective sectors, coupled with differentiated competitive advantages and high barriers to entry. When conducting diligence, the Adviser will generally target investments which demonstrate superior unit economics, often exemplified by a borrower’s revenue model, whether recurring or contractual, and consistency of cash flow streams through different cycles. |
• | Stable Free Cash Flow, Earnings and Profit Margins. The Company will generally target companies with stable and substantial free cash flow, earnings and profit margins, which the Adviser believes is fundamental to borrowers’ ability to satisfy debt service requirements. |
• | Aligned Incentives with Experienced Management Teams. The Adviser believes that experienced management teams are paramount to long-term value creation and stewardship of both equity and credit stakeholders’ capital. Through the Adviser’s deep expertise across sectors, it will carefully evaluate the quality and capability of senior management, as well as the incentives in-place to create mutually desirable |
• | barriers to entry and sustainable competitive advantages of the borrower; |
• | the quality and durability of a company’s business model and market position; |
• | the company’s ability to generate free cash flow and earnings to service its financial obligations; |
• | Fortress’s position in the capital structure and detachment relative to the implied collateral value; |
• | covenants, consent rights and voting controls; and |
• | the company’s equity capitalization, asset and/or enterprise value(s), shareholder(s), management team members and stakeholder incentives, and characteristics of the particular investment instrument(s) that are being evaluated (e.g., economic terms, collateral, seniority, covenants, etc.). |
• | managing the investment and reinvestment of our assets in accordance with our investment objectives, policies and restrictions, the 1940 Act, as applicable, the Advisers Act and all other applicable federal and state law, and our Declaration of Trust and Bylaws; |
• | determining the composition of our portfolio, the nature and timing of the changes therein and the manner of implementing such changes; |
• | identifying, evaluating and negotiating the structure of the investments made by us (including by performing due diligence on prospective investments); |
• | executing, closing, servicing and monitoring our investments; |
• | determining the securities and other assets that we will purchase, retain or sell; and |
• | providing us with such other investment advisory, research and related services as we may, from time to time, reasonably require for the investment and reinvestment of our assets. |
• | the Company’s net assets as of the end of the calendar quarter immediately preceding the applicable day; plus |
• | the aggregate amount of capital invested (including reinvested) from investors from the beginning of the current quarter to the applicable day; minus |
• | the aggregate amount of distributions (including share repurchases) made by the Company from the beginning of the current quarter to the applicable day (but only to the extent distributions were not declared and accounted for on the Company’s books and records in a previous calendar quarter). |
• | No Investment Income Incentive Fee will be payable to the Adviser in any calendar quarter in which Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income does not exceed the Hurdle Rate for such calendar quarter; |
• | 100% of Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income with respect to that portion of such Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income, if any, that exceeds the Hurdle Rate but is less than 1.715% for that calendar quarter will be payable to the Adviser. We refer to this portion of our Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income as the “catch-up”; and |
• | 12.5% of the Company’s Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income, if any, that exceeds 1.715% in any calendar quarter is payable to the Adviser. |
• | organization expenses of the Company; |
• | calculating the NAV of the Company, including the cost and expenses of any independent valuation firms or services; |
• | fees and expenses incurred by the Adviser and payable to third parties, including agents, consultants or other advisors, in monitoring financial and legal affairs for the Company and in monitoring the Company’s investments, performing due diligence on prospective portfolio companies, and if necessary, in respect of enforcing the Company’s rights with respect to investments in existing portfolio companies, or otherwise relating to, or associated with, evaluating and making investments, which fees and expenses include, among other items, due diligence reports, appraisal reports, research and market data services (including an allocable portion of any research or other service that may be deemed to be bundled for the benefit of the Company), any studies commissioned by the Adviser and travel and lodging expenses; |
• | interest payable on debt, if any, incurred by the Company to finance its investments, debt service and all other costs of borrowings or other financing arrangements (including fees and other expenses), and expenses related to unsuccessful portfolio acquisition efforts; |
• | offerings of Shares and other securities of the Company; |
• | Management Fees and Incentive Fees; |
• | administration fees and expenses payable under the Administration Agreement and any sub-administration agreements; |
• | any expense reimbursements; |
• | fees payable to third parties, including agents, consultants or other advisors, relating to, or associated with, evaluating and making investments in portfolio companies, including costs associated with meeting financial sponsors; |
• | fees incurred by the Company for escrow agent, transfer agent, dividend agent and custodial fees and expenses; |
• | U.S. federal and state registration and franchise fees; |
• | all costs of registration and listing of the Company’s securities on any securities exchange, if any; |
• | fees payable to rating agencies; |
• | U.S. federal, state and local taxes, non-U.S. taxes, and related costs and expenses, including costs of tax return preparation and other compliance costs, and costs incurred in connection with any audit or other inquiry, tax litigation or any other contests; |
• | Independent Trustees’ fees and expenses; |
• | expenses related to meetings of the Board; |
• | costs of any reports, proxy statements or other notices to Shareholders, including printing and mailing costs; |
• | costs associated with individual or group Shareholders, including the costs of any Shareholder meetings and the compensation of investor relations personnel responsible for the preparation of the foregoing and related matters; |
• | costs of preparing financial statements and maintaining books and records; |
• | costs of preparing and filing reports or other documents with the SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and other regulatory bodies, and other reporting and compliance costs, and the costs associated with reporting and compliance obligations under the 1940 Act and any other applicable federal and state securities laws, and the compensation of professionals responsible for the foregoing; |
• | costs associated with compliance with Sarbanes-Oxley Act; |
• | the Company’s allocable portion of any fidelity bond, trustees’ and officers’ errors and omissions liability insurance policies, and any other insurance premiums; |
• | direct costs and expenses of administration, including printing, mailing, long distance telephone, cellular phone and data service, copying, secretarial and other staff, independent auditors and outside legal costs; |
• | proxy voting expenses; |
• | costs of effecting sales and any repurchases of the Shares and other securities of the Company; |
• | fees and expenses associated with marketing efforts (including attendance at investment conferences and similar events), design and website expenses; |
• | allocable out-of-pocket costs incurred in providing managerial assistance to those portfolio companies that request it; |
• | commissions and other compensation payable to brokers or dealers; |
• | costs of information technology and related costs, including costs related to software, hardware and other technological systems (including specialty and custom software); |
• | the Company’s allocable portion of costs and expenses of information systems, software and hardware utilized by the Company in connection with asset management services (e.g., providing portfolio collection functions, maintaining financial, accounting and other records for the Company, monitoring of covenant compliance by borrowers and tracking and enforcing payment obligations of such borrowers); |
• | extraordinary expenses, including litigation; |
• | indemnification payments; |
• | costs incurred in connection with any claim, litigation, arbitration, mediation, government investigation or dispute in connection with the business of the Company and the amount of any judgment or settlement paid in connection therewith; |
• | extraordinary expenses or liabilities incurred by the Company outside of the ordinary course of its business; |
• | costs of derivatives and hedging; |
• | certain costs and expenses relating to distributions paid on the Shares; |
• | all fees, costs and expenses, if any, incurred by or on behalf of the Company in developing, negotiating and structuring prospective or potential investments that are not ultimately made, including any reverse termination fees and any liquidated damages, commitment fees that become payable in connection with any proposed investment that is not ultimately made, forfeited deposits or similar payments, including expenses relating to unconsummated investments that may have been attributable to co-investors had such investments been consummated; |
• | costs and expenses (including travel) in connection with the diligence and oversight of the Company’s service providers; |
• | fees, costs and expenses of winding up and liquidating the Company’s assets; |
• | costs associated with technology integration between the Company’s systems and those of the Company’s participating intermediaries; |
• | all travel and related expenses of the Company’s and Adviser’s trustees, officers, managers, agents and employees incurred in connection with attending meetings of the Board or Shareholders or performing other business activities that relate to the Company; |
• | dues, fees and charges of any trade association of which the Company is a member; |
• | costs associated with events and trainings of the Board (including travel); |
• | costs incurred in connection with the formation or maintenance of entities or vehicles to hold the Company’s assets for tax or other purposes; and |
• | all other expenses incurred by the Company, the Adviser or the Administrator in connection with administering the Company’s business, such as the allocable portion of overhead under the Administration Agreement, including rent, and the allocable portion of the cost of the Company’s Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer and their respective staffs. That overhead may include rent and the allocable portion of the costs of the compensation, benefits and related administrative expenses (including travel expenses) of the Company’s officers who provide operational and administrative services under the Administration Agreement, and their respective staffs and other professionals who provide services to the Company (including, in each case, employees of the Administrator or an affiliate) who assist with the preparation, coordination, and administration of the foregoing or provide other “back office” or “middle office” financial, compliance, accounting, asset management, tax, legal, treasury or other operational services to the Company. For clarity, any non-commercial aircraft travel paid for by the Company shall only be up to an amount comparable to business class rates. |
(i) | 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. An eligible portfolio company is defined in the 1940 Act as any issuer which: |
(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 wholly owned by the BDC) or a company that would be an investment company but for certain exclusions under the 1940 Act; and |
(c) | satisfies any of the following: |
(1) | does not have any class of securities that is traded on a national securities exchange; |
(2) | 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; |
(3) | is controlled by a BDC or a group of companies including a BDC and the BDC has an affiliated person who is a trustee of the eligible portfolio company; or |
(4) | 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. |
(ii) | Securities of any eligible portfolio company controlled by us. |
(iii) | 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. |
(iv) | 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. |
(v) | Securities received in exchange for or distributed on or with respect to securities described in (i) through (iv) above, or pursuant to the exercise of warrants or rights relating to such securities. |
(vi) | Cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities or high-quality debt securities maturing in one year or less from the time of investment. |
(i) | 67% or more of such company’s shares present at a meeting if more than 50% of the outstanding shares of such company are present or represented by proxy, or |
(ii) | more than 50% of the outstanding shares of such company. |
• | pursuant to Rule 13a-14 of the Exchange Act, our President and Chief Financial Officer will be required to certify the accuracy of the financial statements contained in our periodic reports; |
• | pursuant to Item 307 of Regulation S-K, our periodic reports will be required to disclose our conclusions about the effectiveness of our disclosure controls and procedures; |
• | pursuant to Rule 13a-15 of the Exchange Act, our management will be required to prepare an annual report regarding its assessment of our internal control over financial reporting after we have been subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act for a specified period of time and, starting from the date on which we cease to be an emerging growth company under the JOBS Act, must obtain an audit of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting performed by our independent registered public accounting firm should we become an accelerated filer; and |
• | pursuant to Item 308 of Regulation S-K and Rule 13a-15 of the Exchange Act, beginning with our fiscal year ended December 31, 2026, our periodic reports will be required to 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. |
• | qualify as a RIC; and |
• | satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, |
• | qualify as a BDC under the 1940 Act at all times during each taxable year; |
• | derive in each taxable year at least 90% of our gross income from dividends, interest, payments with respect to loans of certain securities, gains from the sale of stock or other securities or foreign currencies, net income from certain “qualified publicly traded partnerships,” or other income derived with respect to our business of investing in such stock or securities (the “90% Income Test”); and |
• | diversify our holdings so that at the end of each quarter of the taxable year: |
○ | 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 our assets or more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of the issuer; and |
○ | no more than 25% of the value of our assets is invested in the (i) securities, other than U.S. government securities or securities of other RICs, of one issuer, (ii) securities of two or more issuers that are controlled, as determined under applicable Code rules, by us and that are engaged in the same or similar or related trades or businesses or (iii) securities of one or more “qualified publicly traded partnerships” (the “Diversification Tests”). |
Risk Factors |
• | sudden electrical or telecommunications outages; |
• | natural disasters such as earthquakes, tornadoes and hurricanes; |
• | disease pandemics; |
• | events arising from local or larger scale political or social matters, including terrorist acts; |
• | outages due to idiosyncratic issues at specific service providers; and |
• | cyber-attacks. |
• | preferred securities may include provisions that permit the issuer, at its discretion, to defer distributions for a stated period without any adverse consequences to the issuer. If we own a preferred security that is deferring its distributions, we may be required to report income for U.S. federal income tax purposes before we receive such distributions; |
• | preferred securities are subordinated to bonds and other debt instruments in a company’s capital structure in terms of priority to corporate income and liquidation payments, and therefore are subject to greater credit risk than more senior debt instruments; and generally, preferred security holders have no voting rights with respect to the issuing company unless preferred dividends have been in arrears for a specified number of periods, at which time the preferred security holders may elect a number of directors to the issuer’s board; generally, once all the arrearages have been paid, the preferred security holders no longer have voting rights. |
• | the companies in which we intend to invest may have limited financial resources and may be unable to meet their obligations under their debt securities that we hold, which may be accompanied by a deterioration in the value of any collateral and a reduction in the likelihood of us realizing any guarantees we may have obtained in connection with our investment; |
• | the companies in which we intend to invest typically have shorter operating histories, narrower product lines and smaller market shares than larger businesses, which tend to render them more vulnerable to competitors’ actions and market conditions, as well as general economic downturns; |
• | the companies in which we intend to invest are more likely to depend on the management talents and efforts of a small group of persons; therefore, the death, disability, resignation or termination of one or more of these persons could have a material adverse impact on our portfolio company and, in turn, on us; |
• | the companies in which we intend to invest generally have less predictable operating results, may be engaged in rapidly changing businesses with products subject to a substantial risk of obsolescence, and may require substantial additional capital to support their operations, finance expansion or maintain their competitive position; |
• | the debt investments we intend to have in our portfolio generally will have a significant portion of principal due at the maturity of the investment, which would result in a substantial loss to us if such borrowers are unable to refinance or repay their debt at maturity; |
• | our executive officers, directors and Adviser may, in the ordinary course of business, be named as defendants in litigation arising from our investments in the portfolio companies; and |
• | the companies in which we intend to invest generally have less publicly available information about their businesses, operations and financial condition and, if we are unable to uncover the companies in which we invest may have difficulty accessing the capital markets to meet future capital needs, which may limit their ability to grow or to repay their outstanding indebtedness upon maturity. |
• | such companies may have limited financial resources and may be unable to meet their obligations under their debt securities that we hold, which may be accompanied by a deterioration in the value of any collateral and a reduction in the likelihood of us realizing any guarantees we may have obtained in connection with our investment; |
• | such companies typically have shorter operating histories, narrower product lines and smaller market shares than larger businesses, which tend to render them more vulnerable to competitors’ actions and market conditions, as well as general economic downturns; |
• | such companies are more likely to depend on the management talents and efforts of a small group of persons; therefore, the death, disability, resignation or termination of one or more of these persons could have a material adverse impact on our portfolio company and, in turn, on us; |
• | such companies generally have less predictable operating results, may from time to time be parties to litigation, may be engaged in rapidly changing businesses with products subject to a substantial risk of obsolescence and may require substantial additional capital to support their operations, finance expansion or maintain their competitive position; |
• | there is generally little public information about these companies and their financial information, they are not subject to the reporting requirements of the Exchange Act and other regulations that govern public companies and we may be unable to uncover all material information about these companies, which may prevent us from making a fully informed investment decision and cause us to lose money on our investments; |
• | our executive officers, Trustees and the Adviser may, in the ordinary course of business, be named as defendants in litigation arising from our investments in the portfolio companies; and |
• | such companies may have difficulty accessing the capital markets to meet future capital needs, which may limit their ability to grow or to repay their outstanding indebtedness, including any debt securities held by us, upon maturity. |
• | any equity investment we make in a portfolio company could be subject to further dilution as a result of the issuance of additional equity interests and to serious risks as a junior security that will be subordinate to all indebtedness (including trade creditors) or senior securities in the event that the issuer is unable to meet its obligations or becomes subject to a bankruptcy process; |
• | to the extent that the portfolio company requires additional capital and is unable to obtain it, we may not recover our investment; and |
• | in some cases, equity securities in which we invest will not pay current dividends, and our ability to realize a return on our investment, as well as to recover our investment, will be dependent on the success of the portfolio company. |
• | preferred securities may include provisions that permit the issuer, at its discretion, to defer distributions for a stated period without any adverse consequences to the issuer. If we own a preferred security that is deferring its distributions, we may be required to report income for tax purposes before we receive such distributions; |
• | preferred securities are subordinated to debt in terms of priority to income and liquidation payments, and therefore will be subject to greater credit risk than debt; |
• | preferred securities may be substantially less liquid than many other securities, such as common stock or U.S. government securities; and |
• | generally, preferred security holders have no voting rights with respect to the issuing company, subject to limited exceptions. |
• | will have reduced access to the capital markets, resulting in diminished capital resources and ability to withstand financial distress; |
• | may have limited financial resources and may be unable to meet their obligations under their debt obligations that we hold, which may be accompanied by a deterioration in the value of any collateral and a reduction in the likelihood of our realizing any guarantees we may have obtained in connection with our investment; |
• | may have shorter operating histories, narrower product lines and smaller market shares than larger businesses, which tend to render them more vulnerable to competitors’ actions and changing market conditions, as well as general economic downturns; |
• | are more likely to depend on the management talents and efforts of a small group of persons and, therefore, the death, disability, resignation or termination of one or more of these persons could have a material adverse impact on the company and, in turn, on us; and |
• | generally have less predictable operating results, may from time to time be parties to litigation, may be engaged in rapidly changing businesses with products subject to a substantial risk of obsolescence, and may require substantial additional capital to support their operations, finance expansion or maintain their competitive position. |
• | OID instruments may have unreliable reported income because the accruals require judgments about collectability or deferred payments and the value of any associated collateral; |
• | OID instruments may create heightened credit risks because the inducement to the borrower to accept higher interest rates in exchange for the deferral of cash payments typically represents, to some extent, speculation on the part of the borrower; |
• | For GAAP purposes, cash distributions to Shareholders that include a component of OID income do not come from paid-in capital, although they may be paid from the offering proceeds. Thus, although a distribution of OID income may come from the cash invested by the Shareholders, the 1940 Act does not require that Shareholders be given notice of this fact; |
• | The presence of OID and PIK creates the risk of non-refundable cash payments to the Adviser in the form of Incentive Fees on income based on non-cash OID and PIK accruals that may never be realized; and |
• | In the case of PIK, “toggle” debt, which gives the issuer the option to defer an interest payment in exchange for an increased interest rate in the future, the PIK election has the simultaneous effect of increasing the investment income, thus increasing the potential for realizing Incentive Fees. |
• | changes in the value of our portfolio of investments and derivative instruments as a result of changes in market factors, such as interest rate shifts, and also portfolio specific performance, such as portfolio company defaults, among other reasons; |
• | changes in law, regulatory policies or tax guidelines, or interpretations thereof, particularly with respect to RICs or BDCs; |
• | once elected, loss of RIC tax treatment or BDC status; |
• | distributions that exceed our net investment income and net income as reported according to GAAP; |
• | changes in our earnings or variations in our operating results; |
• | changes in accounting guidelines governing valuation of our investments; |
• | any shortfall in revenue or net income or any increase in losses from levels expected by investors; |
• | departure of the Adviser or certain of its key personnel; |
• | general economic trends and other external factors; and |
• | loss of a major funding source. |
Financial Information |
Properties |
Security Ownership of Certain Beneficial Owners and Management |
• | each person known to us to be expected to beneficially own more than 5% of the outstanding Shares; |
• | each of our Trustees and executive officers who are not Trustees; and |
• | all of our Trustees and executive officers who are not Trustees as a group. |
Name | Number of Shares Beneficially Owned | Percentage of Shares Beneficially Owned | ||||
Beneficial Owner of More than 5% | — | —% | ||||
Trustees and Named Executive Officers | ||||||
David Sims | — | — | ||||
All current executive officers and Trustees as a group ( persons) | — | —% | ||||
Trustees and Executive Officers |
Name | Year of Birth | Position | ||||
David Sims | 1976 | Trustee | ||||
Name | Year of Birth | Position | ||||
Executive Compensation |
Certain Relationships and Related Transactions and Trustee Independence |
Legal Proceedings |
Market Price of and Dividends on the Registrant’s Common Equity and Related Shareholder Matters |
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities |
Description of Registrant’s Securities to be Registered |
Indemnification of Trustees and Officers |
Financial Statements and Supplementary Data |
Page | |||
Audited Consolidated Financial Statements of Fortress Private Lending Fund: | |||
Changes in and Disagreements with Accountants on Accounting and Financial Disclosure |
Financial Statements and Exhibits |
(a) | List separately all financial statements filed |
(b) | Exhibits |
Exhibit No. | Description | ||
Restated Certificate of Trust, as filed with the Secretary of State of the State of Delaware on June 4, 2025 | |||
Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust | |||
Amended and Restated Bylaws | |||
4.1 | Form of Subscription Agreement+* | ||
Amended and Restated Investment Advisory Agreement | |||
Amended and Restated Administration Agreement | |||
10.3 | Form of Distribution Reinvestment Plan* | ||
10.4 | Form of Indemnification Agreement* | ||
10.5 | Custody Agreement+* | ||
10.6 | License Agreement* | ||
10.7 | Amended and Restated Expense Support and Conditional Reimbursement Agreement* | ||
Lender Joinder and First Amendment to Revolving Credit Agreement, dated as of April 28, 2025, by and among Fortress Private Lending Fund, as borrower, Fortress Private Lending Fund UST Feeder LLC, as guarantor, and The Bank of Nova Scotia, as administrative agent, lead arranger, letter of credit issuer and a lender+ | |||
(+) | The schedules, appendices and/or exhibits to this agreement have been omitted pursuant to Item 601(a) (5) of Regulation S-K. A copy of any omitted schedule, appendix and/or exhibit will be furnished to the SEC upon request. |
(*) | To be filed by amendment. |
Page | |||
Audited Consolidated Financial Statements of Fortress Private Lending Fund: | |||
As of March 31, 2025 | As of December 31, 2024 | |||||
Assets | ||||||
Investments, at fair value | ||||||
Non-controlled, non-affiliated investments (cost of $976,567 and $0, respectively) | $1,091,537 | $ — | ||||
Total investments, at fair value | 1,091,537 | — | ||||
Deferred offering costs | 997,048 | — | ||||
Cash and cash equivalents | 89,429 | — | ||||
Interest receivable | 4,607 | — | ||||
Total assets | $2,182,620 | $— | ||||
Liabilities | ||||||
Debt (net of unamortized debt issuance costs of $1,117,582 and $0, respectively) | 1,082,418 | — | ||||
Accrued expenses and other liabilities | 1,027,240 | — | ||||
Interest payable | 92,002 | — | ||||
Subscription received in advance | 50,000 | — | ||||
Incentive fee payable | 14,371 | — | ||||
Total liabilities | 2,266,031 | — | ||||
Commitments and Contingencies (Footnote 9) | ||||||
Net Assets | ||||||
Total Net Assets | (83,410) | — | ||||
Total Liabilities and Net Assets | $2,182,620 | $— | ||||
For the period from January 1, 2025 to March 31, 2025 | For the period from January 25, 2024 (inception) to December 31, 2024 | |||||
Investment income | ||||||
From non-controlled, non-affiliated investments | ||||||
Interest income | $8,401 | $ — | ||||
Other income | 12,992 | — | ||||
Total investment income from non-controlled, non-affiliated investments | 21,393 | — | ||||
Total investment income | $21,393 | $— | ||||
Operating Expenses | ||||||
Organization costs | $2,391,853 | $— | ||||
Interest expense | 174,420 | — | ||||
Administration fees | 27,046 | — | ||||
Capital gains incentive fee | 14,371 | — | ||||
Professional fees | 3,146 | — | ||||
Other expenses | 790 | — | ||||
Total Operating Expenses | 2,611,627 | — | ||||
Expense support (Footnote 6) | (2,391,853) | — | ||||
Net Operating Expenses | 219,773 | — | ||||
Net investment income (loss) | (198,381) | — | ||||
Net Unrealized Gain (Loss) | ||||||
Net unrealized gain (loss) from: | ||||||
Non-controlled, non-affiliated investments | 114,970 | — | ||||
Total Unrealized Gain (Loss) | 114,970 | — | ||||
Total Net Increase (Decrease) in Net Assets Resulting from Operations | $(83,410) | $— | ||||
For the period from January 1, 2025 to March 31, 2025 | For the period from January 25, 2024 (inception) to December 31, 2024 | |||||
Operations | ||||||
Net investment income (loss) | $(198,381) | $ — | ||||
Net unrealized gain (loss) on investments | 114,970 | — | ||||
Net increase (decrease) in net assets resulting from operations | (83,410) | — | ||||
Total increase (decrease) in net assets | (83,410) | — | ||||
Net assets at beginning of period | — | — | ||||
Net assets at end of period | $(83,410) | $— | ||||
For the period from January 1, 2025 to March 31, 2025 | For the period from January 25, 2024 (inception) to December 31, 2024 | |||||
Cash flows from operating activities | ||||||
Net increase/(decrease) in Net Assets resulting from operations | $(83,410) | $ — | ||||
Adjustments to reconcile net increase/(decrease) in Net Assets resulting from operations to net cash, cash equivalents provided by/(used in) operating activities: | ||||||
Amortization of debt issuance and financing costs | 82,418 | — | ||||
Accretion/amortization of original issue discount/premium on investments | (1,331) | — | ||||
Net unrealized gain/(loss) on investments | (114,970) | — | ||||
Purchases of investments | (977,751) | — | ||||
Proceeds from sales and paydowns of investments | 2,515 | — | ||||
Changes in operating assets and liabilities: | ||||||
(Increase)/decrease in interest receivable | (4,607) | — | ||||
(Increase)/decrease in deferred offering costs | (997,048) | — | ||||
Increase/(decrease) in interest payable | 92,002 | — | ||||
Increase/(decrease) in subscription received in advance | 50,000 | — | ||||
Increase/(decrease) in incentive fee payable | 14,371 | — | ||||
Increase/(decrease) in accrued expenses and other liabilities | 1,027,240 | — | ||||
Net cash and cash equivalents provided by/(used in) operating activities | (910,571) | — | ||||
Cash flows from financing activities | ||||||
Payment for debt issuance and financing costs | (1,200,000) | — | ||||
Drawdown on loans | 2,200,000 | — | ||||
Net cash and cash equivalents provided by/(used in) financing activities | 1,000,000 | — | ||||
Net increase/(decrease) in cash and cash equivalents | 89,429 | — | ||||
Cash and cash equivalents at beginning of period | — | — | ||||
Cash and cash equivalents at end of period | $89,429 | $— | ||||
Company | Investment | Reference Rate and Spread(a) | Maturity Date | Par/Shares(b) | Cost(c) | Fair Value(d) | % of Net Assets | ||||||||||||||
Investments | |||||||||||||||||||||
Non-controlled, non-affiliated investments | |||||||||||||||||||||
Debt investments | |||||||||||||||||||||
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure | |||||||||||||||||||||
Riser Fitness, LLC | First Lien - Delayed Draw Term Loan | SOFR + 685 | 3/14/2030 | $1,036,764 | $899,745 | $903,117 | 1082.7% | ||||||||||||||
Riser Fitness, LLC(e) | First Lien - Revolving Credit Facility | SOFR + 685 | 3/14/2030 | — | (14,276) | (10,030) | -12.0% | ||||||||||||||
Total debt investments | 885,469 | 893,087 | 1070.7% | ||||||||||||||||||
Equity investments | |||||||||||||||||||||
Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure | |||||||||||||||||||||
Riser Fitness, LLC | Warrants | N/A | N/A | 91,098 | 91,098 | 198,450 | 237.9% | ||||||||||||||
Total equity investments | 91,098 | 198,450 | 237.9% | ||||||||||||||||||
Total Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure | 976,567 | 1,091,537 | 1308.6% | ||||||||||||||||||
Total non-controlled, non-affiliated investments | 976,567 | 1,091,537 | 1308.6% | ||||||||||||||||||
Total investments | $976,567 | $1,091,537 | 1308.6% | ||||||||||||||||||
(a) | For each loan, the Fund has indicated the reference rate used and provided the spread in effect as of March 31, 2025. |
(b) | The total par amount is presented for debt investments and the number of shares or units owned is presented for equity investments. |
(c) | All debt investments are shown at amortized cost. |
(d) | Unless otherwise indicated, these investments were valued using unobservable inputs and are considered Level 3 investments. |
(e) | Investment had an unfunded loan commitment, and no interest is being earned on the unfunded portion, although the investment may earn unused commitment fees. Unamortized fees are classified as unearned income which reduces cost basis, which may result in a negative cost basis. A negative fair value may result from the unfunded commitment being valued below par. See Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements for more information on the Fund’s unfunded commitments. |
1. | Organization and Business Purpose |
2. | Summary of Significant Accounting Policies |
3. | Investor Capital Commitments |
4. | Fair Value Measurements |
Level 1 | Level 2 | Level 3 | Total | |||||||||
First Lien Debt | $ — | $ — | $893,087 | $893,087 | ||||||||
Equity | — | — | 198,450 | 198,450 | ||||||||
Total investments | $— | $— | $1,091,537 | $1,091,537 | ||||||||
First Lien Debt | Equity | Total | |||||||
Fair value, December 31, 2024 | $— | $— | $— | ||||||
Purchases/Borrowings | 886,653 | 91,098 | 977,751 | ||||||
Sales and Settlements/Paydowns | (2,515) | — | (2,515) | ||||||
Accretion of discount/amortization of premium | 1,331 | — | 1,331 | ||||||
Total net realized and unrealized gain/(loss) on investments | 7,618 | 107,352 | 114,970 | ||||||
Fair value, March 31, 2025 | $893,087 | $198,450 | $1,091,537 | ||||||
Level 3 Asset Category | Fair Value | Valuation Technique | Significant Unobservable Inputs | Inputs | ||||||||
First Lien Debt | 893,087 | Discounted Cash Flow | Discount Rate | 10.4% | ||||||||
Expected Life (Exit Date) | 2030 | |||||||||||
Equity | 198,450 | Valuation Multiple | EBITDA Multiple | 7.25x | ||||||||
Expected Life (Exit Date) | 2030 | |||||||||||
5. | Subscription Facility |
6. | Related Party Transactions and Agreements |
• | the Company’s net assets as of the end of the calendar quarter immediately preceding the applicable day; plus |
• | the aggregate amount of capital invested (including reinvested) from investors from the beginning of the current quarter to the applicable day; minus |
• | the aggregate amount of distributions (including Share repurchases) made by the Company from the beginning of the current quarter to the applicable day (but only to the extent distributions were not declared and accounted for on the Company’s books and records in a previous calendar quarter). |
• | No Investment Income Incentive Fee will be payable to the Adviser in any calendar quarter in which Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income does not exceed the Hurdle Rate for such calendar quarter; |
• | 100% of Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income with respect to that portion of such Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income, if any, that exceeds the Hurdle Rate but is less than 1.715% for that calendar quarter will be payable to the Adviser. The Company refer to this portion of its Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income as the “catch-up”; and |
• | 12.5% of the Company’s Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income, if any, that exceeds 1.715% in any calendar quarter is payable to the Adviser |
7. | Financial Highlights |
Total return as of March 31, 2025 | (200.00)% | ||
Ratios to average Net Assets | |||
Net investment income/(loss)1 | (475.67)% | ||
Expenses | |||
Operating expenses2 | (72.39)% | ||
Interest and other expenses | (420.12) | ||
Capital gains incentive fees | (34.46) | ||
Organization costs | (5,735.15) | ||
Total expenses before expense support | (6,262.12) | ||
Expense support3 | 5,735.15 | ||
Total expenses after expense support | (526.97)% | ||
1 | Net investment income/(loss) is net of expenses. |
2 | Operating expenses include administration fees and professional fees. |
3 | Represents expenses the Adviser has elected to pay on behalf of the Company in accordance with the Expense Support Agreement. |
8. | Risks and Uncertainties |
9. | Commitments and Contingencies |
10. | Subsequent Events |
Fortress Private Lending Fund | ||||||
By: | /s/ David Sims | |||||
Name: David Sims | ||||||
Title: Trustee | ||||||
Date: June 6, 2025 | ||||||