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[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 169 (Thursday, August 30, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44322-44330]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18780]

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SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

[Investment Company Act Release No. 33213; File No. 812-14807]

THL Credit, Inc., et al.

August 24, 2018.
AGENCY: Securities and Exchange Commission (``Commission'').

ACTION: Notice.

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    Notice of application for an order under sections 17(d) and 57(i) 
of the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the ``Act'') and rule 17d-1 
under the Act to permit certain joint transactions otherwise prohibited 
by sections 17(d) and 57(a)(4) of the Act and rule 17d-1 under the Act.

SUMMARY OF APPLICATION: Applicants request an order to permit certain 
business development companies (``BDCs'') and closed-end management 
investment companies to co-invest in portfolio companies with each 
other and with certain affiliated investment funds and accounts.

APPLICANTS: THL Credit, Inc. (``TCRD''), THL Credit Advisors LLC 
(``THLCA''), THL Credit Senior Loan Strategies LLC (``SLS,'' together 
with THLCA, the ``THL Advisers''), THL Credit Holdings, Inc. (``TCRD 
Subsidiary''), THL Credit Bank Loan Select Fund, THL Credit Wind River 
2012-1 CLO Ltd., THL Credit Wind River 2013-1 CLO Ltd., THL Credit Wind 
River 2013-2 CLO Ltd., THL Credit Wind River 2014-1 CLO Ltd., THL 
Credit Wind River 2014-2 CLO Ltd., THL Credit Wind River 2014-3 CLO 
Ltd., THL Credit Wind River 2015-1 CLO Ltd., THL Credit Wind River 
2015-2 CLO Ltd., THL Credit Wind River 2016-1 CLO Ltd., THL Credit Wind 
River 2016-2 CLO Ltd., THL Credit Wind River 2017-1 CLO Ltd., THL 
Credit Wind River 2017-2 CLO Ltd., THL Credit Wind River 2017-3 CLO 
Ltd., THL Credit Wind River 2017-4 CLO Ltd., THL Credit Wind River 
2018-1 CLO Ltd., THL Credit Lake Shore MM CLO 2017-1, Ltd., THL Credit 
Direct Lending Fund III LLC, THL Credit Direct Lending Co-Invest III 
(E) LLC, THL Credit Direct Lending Co-Invest III LLC, THL Credit Direct 
Lending Fund III (A) LLC, THL Credit Bank Loan Select Fund (Offshore), 
THL Credit Wind River 2018-2 CLO Ltd., THL Credit Wind River 2018-3 CLO 
Ltd., THL Credit Lake Shore MM CLO II, Ltd., and THL Credit Strategic 
Funding LLC.

FILING DATES: The application was filed on August 9, 2017, and amended 
on July 23, 2018, and August 20, 2018.

HEARING OR NOTIFICATION OF HEARING: An order granting the requested 
relief will be issued unless the Commission orders a hearing. 
Interested persons may request a hearing by writing to the Commission's 
Secretary and serving applicants with a copy of the request, personally 
or by mail. Hearing requests should be received by the Commission by 
5:30 p.m. on September 18, 2018, and should be accompanied by proof of 
service on applicants, in the form of an affidavit or, for lawyers, a 
certificate of service. Pursuant to rule 0-5 under the Act, hearing 
requests should state the nature of the writer's interest, any facts 
bearing upon the desirability of a hearing on the matter, the reason 
for the request, and the issues contested. Persons who wish to be 
notified of a hearing may request notification by writing to the 
Commission's Secretary.

ADDRESSES: Secretary, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, 100 F 
St. NE, Washington, DC 20549-1090. Applicants: 100 Federal Street, 31st 
Floor, Boston, MA 02110.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Bruce R. MacNeil, Senior Counsel, at 
(202) 551-6817 or Kaitlin C. Bottock, Branch Chief, at (202) 551-6825 
(Chief Counsel's Office, Division of Investment Management).

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The following is a summary of the 
application. The complete application may be obtained via the 
Commission's website by searching for the file number, or for an 
applicant using the Company name box, at http://www.sec.gov/search/search.htm or by calling (202) 551-8090.

Introduction

    1. The applicants request an order of the Commission under sections 
17(d) and 57(i) and rule 17d-1 thereunder (the ``Order'') to permit, 
subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the application (the 
``Conditions''), a Regulated Fund \1\ and one or more other Regulated 
Funds and/or one or more Affiliated Funds \2\ to enter into Co-

[[Page 44323]]

Investment Transactions with each other. ``Co-Investment Transaction'' 
means any transaction in which a Regulated Fund (or its Wholly-Owned 
Investment Sub) participated together with one or more Affiliated Funds 
and/or one or more other Regulated Funds in reliance on the Order. 
Potential Co-Investment Transaction'' means any investment opportunity 
in which a Regulated Fund (or its Wholly-Owned Investment Sub) could 
not participate together with one or more Affiliated Funds and/or one 
or more other Regulated Funds without obtaining and relying on the 
Order.\3\
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    \1\ ``Regulated Funds'' means TCRD, the Future Regulated Funds 
and the BDC Downstream Funds (defined below). ``Future Regulated 
Fund'' means a closed-end management investment company (a) that is 
registered under the Act or has elected to be regulated as a BDC, 
(b) whose investment adviser is an Adviser, and (c) intends to 
participate in the Co-investment Program.
    ``Adviser'' means THLCA and SLS, together with any future 
investment adviser that (i) controls, is controlled by or is under 
common control with THLCA or SLS, as applicable, (ii) is registered 
as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 
(``Advisers Act''), and (iii) is not a Regulated Fund or a 
subsidiary of a Regulated Fund.
    \2\ ``Affiliated Fund'' means any Existing Affiliated Fund 
(identified in Appendix A to the application), Existing THL 
Proprietary Accounts (as defined below), Future THL Proprietary 
Accounts, and any entity (a) whose investment adviser is an Adviser, 
(b) that either (i) would be an investment company but for section 
3(c)(1), 3(c)(5)(C) or 3(c)(7) of the Act or (ii) relies on rule 3a-
7 under the Act, (c) that intends to participate in the Co-
Investment Program, and (d) that is not a BDC Downstream Fund. 
Applicants represent that no Existing Affiliated Fund is a BDC 
Downstream Fund. ``Future THL Proprietary Account'' means any direct 
or indirect, wholly- or majority-owned subsidiary of THLCA, or any 
other Adviser, that is formed in the future that, from time to time, 
may hold various financial assets in a principal capacity.
    ``BDC Downstream Fund'' means, with respect to any Regulated 
Fund that is a BDC, an entity (i) that the BDC directly or 
indirectly controls, (ii) that is not controlled by any person other 
than the BDC (except a person that indirectly controls the entity 
solely because it controls the BDC), (iii) that would be an 
investment company but for section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Act, 
(iv) whose investment adviser is an Adviser, (v) that is not a 
Wholly-Owned Investment Sub and (vi) is not a Greenway Entity or 
Logan JV (each defined below).
    Affiliated Funds may include funds that are ultimately 
structured as collateralized loan obligation funds (``CLOs''). Such 
CLOs would be investment companies but for the exception provided in 
section 3(c)(7) of the Act or their ability to rely on rule 3a-7 of 
the Act. During the investment period of a CLO, the CLO may engage 
in customary transactions with another Affiliated Fund on a 
secondary basis at fair market value. For purposes of the Order, any 
securities that were acquired by an Affiliated Fund in a Co-
Investment Transaction that are then transferred to an Affiliated 
Fund that is or will become a CLO (an ``Affiliated Fund CLO'') will 
be treated as if the Affiliated Fund CLO acquired such securities in 
a Co-Investment Transaction and such securities will remain subject 
to the Order.
    \3\ All existing entities that currently intend to rely on the 
Order have been named as applicants and any existing or future 
entities that may rely on the Order in the future will comply with 
its terms and Conditions set forth in the application. TCRD manages 
two limited term investment funds, THL Credit Greenway Fund LLC and 
THL Credit Greenway Fund II LLC (each, a ``Greenway Entity,'' and 
together, the ``Greenway Entities''). TCRD and the Greenway Entities 
previously agreed to conditions that would apply to any co-
investment transactions between them, but the Greenway Entities are 
not applicants to the Order. Accordingly, the Greenway Entities 
would not be able to rely on the requested Order to participate in 
Co-Investment Transactions pursuant to the Order. Moreover, the 
Greenway Entities will not be making any new or follow-on co-
investments with TCRD because the Greenway Entities are fully 
invested and do not, and will not at any point, have any capital to 
invest. No Greenway Entity will have an interest in any issuer that 
is the subject of a Co-Investment Transaction completed pursuant to 
the Order, and TCRD will not form or manage another entity 
structured in the same manner as the Greenway Entities. 
Additionally, THL Credit Logan JV LLC (``Logan JV''), a joint 
venture with TCRD and Perspecta Trust LLC, would not be able to rely 
on the requested Order and, accordingly, would not participate in 
Co-Investment Transactions pursuant to the Order. No entity that 
holds an interest in Logan JV is or would be an affiliated person, 
or an affiliated person of an affiliated person, of TCRD within the 
meaning of section 2(a)(3) of the Act, other than by virtue of its 
ownership interest in Logan JV.
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Applicants

    2. TCRD is a closed-end management investment company incorporated 
in Delaware that has elected to be regulated as a BDC under the Act.\4\ 
TCRD's Board \5\ currently consists of seven directors, five of whom 
are Independent Directors.\6\ TCRD Subsidiary, a Delaware corporation, 
is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TCRD and holds equity or equity-like 
investments in portfolio companies organized as limited liability 
companies (or other forms of pass-through entities). TCRD Subsidiary is 
excluded from the definition of ``investment company'' by section 
3(c)(7) of the Act.
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    \4\ Section 2(a)(48) defines a BDC to be any closed-end 
investment company that operates for the purpose of making 
investments in securities described in section 55(a)(1) through 
55(a)(3) and makes available significant managerial assistance with 
respect to the issuers of such securities.
    \5\ ``Board'' means (i) with respect to a Regulated Fund other 
than a BDC Downstream Fund, the board of directors (or the 
equivalent) of the Regulated Fund and (ii) with respect to a BDC 
Downstream Fund, the Independent Party of the BDC Downstream Fund.
    ``Independent Party'' means, with respect to a BDC Downstream 
Fund, (i) if the BDC Downstream Fund has a board of directors (or 
the equivalent), the board or (ii) if the BDC Downstream Fund does 
not have a board of directors (or the equivalent), a transaction 
committee or advisory committee of the BDC Downstream Fund.
    \6\ ``Independent Director'' means a member of the Board of any 
relevant entity who is not an ``interested person'' as defined in 
2(a)(19) of the Act. No Independent Director of a Regulated Fund 
(including any non-interested member of an Independent Party) will 
have a financial interest in any Co-Investment Transaction, other 
than indirectly through share ownership in one of the Regulated 
Funds.
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    3. THLCA, a Delaware limited liability company that is registered 
under the the Advisers Act, serves as the investment adviser to TCRD 
and to certain Existing Affiliated Funds. SLS, a Delaware limited 
liability company that is registered as an investment adviser under the 
Advisers Act, serves as investment adviser to certain Existing 
Affiliated Funds. SLS is a wholly-owned subsidiary of THLCA. THLCA and 
its direct and indirect wholly-owned subsidiaries may hold various 
financial assets in a principal capacity (the ``Existing THL 
Proprietary Accounts'' and together with any Future THL Proprietary 
Account, the ``THL Proprietary Accounts'').
    4. The Existing Affiliated Funds are the investment funds 
identified in Appendix A to the application. Applicants represent that 
each Existing Affiliated Fund is a separate and distinct legal entity 
and each would be an investment company but for section 3(c)(1), 
3(c)(5)(C) or 3(c)(7) of the Act.
    5. Each of the applicants may be deemed to be controlled by THLP 
Debt Partners L.P. (``THLP''). THLP owns controlling interests in the 
Advisers and, thus, may be deemed to control the Regulated Funds and 
the Affiliated Funds. Applicants state that THLP does not currently 
offer investment advisory services to any person and is not expected to 
do so in the future. Applicants state that as a result, THLP has not 
been included as an applicant.
    6. Applicants state that a Regulated Fund may, from time to time, 
form one or more Wholly-Owned Investment Subs.\7\ Such a subsidiary may 
be prohibited from investing in a Co-Investment Transaction with a 
Regulated Fund (other than its parent) or any Affiliated Fund because 
it would be a company controlled by its parent Regulated Fund for 
purposes of section 57(a)(4) and rule 17d-1. Applicants request that 
each Wholly-Owned Investment Sub be permitted to participate in Co-
Investment Transactions in lieu of the Regulated Fund that owns it and 
that the Wholly-Owned Investment Sub's participation in any such 
transaction be treated, for purposes of the Order, as though the parent 
Regulated Fund were participating directly. Applicants represent that 
this treatment is justified because a Wholly-Owned Investment Sub would 
have no purpose other than serving as a holding vehicle for the 
Regulated Fund's investments and, therefore, no conflicts of interest 
could arise between the parent Regulated Fund and the Wholly-Owned 
Investment Sub. The Board of the parent Regulated Fund would make all 
relevant determinations under the Conditions with regard to a Wholly-
Owned Investment Sub's participation in a Co-Investment Transaction, 
and the Board would be informed of, and take into consideration, any 
proposed use of a Wholly-Owned Investment Sub in the Regulated Fund's 
place. If the parent Regulated Fund proposes to participate in the same 
Co-Investment Transaction with any of its Wholly-Owned Investment Subs, 
the Board of the parent Regulated Fund will also be informed of, and 
take into consideration, the relative participation of the Regulated 
Fund and the Wholly-Owned Investment Sub.
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    \7\ ``Wholly-Owned Investment Sub'' means an entity (i) that is 
wholly-owned by TCRD or a Future Regulated Fund (with such Regulated 
Fund at all times holding, beneficially and of record, 100% of the 
voting and economic interests); (ii) whose sole business purpose is 
to hold one or more investments on behalf of such Regulated Fund; 
(iii) with respect to which such Regulated Fund's Board has the sole 
authority to make all determinations with respect to the entity's 
participation under the Conditions; and (iv) that would be an 
investment company but for section 3(c)(1) or 3(c)(7) of the Act.
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Applicants' Representations

A. Allocation Process

    7. Applicants state that the Advisers are presented with thousands 
of investment opportunities each year on behalf of their clients and 
must determine how to allocate those opportunities in a manner that, 
over time, is fair and equitable to all of their clients. Such 
investment opportunities may be Potential Co-Investment Transactions.
    8. Applicants represent that they have established processes for 
allocating

[[Page 44324]]

initial investment opportunities, opportunities for subsequent 
investments in an issuer and dispositions of securities holdings 
reasonably designed to treat all clients fairly and equitably. Further, 
applicants represent that these processes will be extended and modified 
in a manner reasonably designed to ensure that the additional 
transactions permitted under the Order will both (i) be fair and 
equitable to the Regulated Funds and the Affiliated Funds and (ii) 
comply with the Conditions.
    9. Specifically, applicants state that the Advisers are organized 
and managed such that teams and investment committees (``Investment 
Teams'' and ``Investment Committees''), responsible for evaluating 
investment opportunities and making investment decisions on behalf of 
clients are promptly notified of the opportunities. If the requested 
Order is granted, the Advisers will establish, maintain and implement 
policies and procedures reasonably designed to ensure that, when such 
opportunities arise, the Advisers to the relevant Regulated Funds are 
promptly notified and receive the same information about the 
opportunity as any other Advisers considering the opportunity for their 
clients. In particular, consistent with Condition 1, if a Potential Co-
Investment Transaction falls within the then-current Objectives and 
Strategies \8\ and any Board-Established Criteria \9\ of a Regulated 
Fund, the policies and procedures will require that the relevant 
Investment Teams and Investment Committees responsible for that 
Regulated Fund receive sufficient information to allow the Regulated 
Fund's Adviser to make its independent determination and 
recommendations under the Conditions.
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    \8\ ``Objectives and Strategies'' means (i) with respect to any 
Regulated Fund other than a BDC Downstream Fund, its investment 
objectives and strategies, as described in its most current 
registration statement on Form N-2, other current filings with the 
Commission under the Securities Act of 1933 (the ``Securities Act'') 
or under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and its 
most current report to stockholders, and (ii) with respect to any 
BDC Downstream Fund, those investment objectives and strategies 
described in its disclosure documents (including private placement 
memoranda and reports to equity holders) and organizational 
documents (including operating agreements).
    \9\ ``Board-Established Criteria'' means criteria that the Board 
of a Regulated Fund may establish from time to time to describe the 
characteristics of Potential Co-Investment Transactions regarding 
which the Adviser to the Regulated Fund should be notified under 
Condition 1. The Board-Established Criteria will be consistent with 
the Regulated Fund's Objectives and Strategies. If no Board-
Established Criteria are in effect, then the Regulated Fund's 
Adviser will be notified of all Potential Co-Investment Transactions 
that fall within the Regulated Fund's then-current Objectives and 
Strategies. Board-Established Criteria will be objective and 
testable, meaning that they will be based on observable information, 
such as industry/sector of the issuer, minimum EBITDA of the issuer, 
asset class of the investment opportunity or required commitment 
size, and not on characteristics that involve a discretionary 
assessment. The Adviser to the Regulated Fund may from time to time 
recommend criteria for the Board's consideration, but Board-
Established Criteria will only become effective if approved by a 
majority of the Independent Directors. The Independent Directors of 
a Regulated Fund may at any time rescind, suspend or qualify its 
approval of any Board-Established Criteria, though applicants 
anticipate that, under normal circumstances, the Board would not 
modify these criteria more often than quarterly.
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    10. The Adviser to each applicable Regulated Fund will then make an 
independent determination of the appropriateness of the investment for 
the Regulated Fund in light of the Regulated Fund's then-current 
circumstances. If the Adviser to a Regulated Fund deems the Regulated 
Fund's participation in such Potential Co-Investment Transaction to be 
appropriate, then it will formulate a recommendation regarding the 
proposed order amount for the Regulated Fund.
    11. Applicants state that, for each Regulated Fund and Affiliated 
Fund whose Adviser recommends participating in a Potential Co-
Investment Transaction, the applicable Investment Committee will 
approve the investment and the investment amount. Applicants state 
further that the applicable Investment Committee will notify the 
allocation committee that coordinates and facilitates an order 
submission process with a designated representative of each applicable 
investment committee of a Regulated Fund and Affiliated Fund to the 
extent such investment is consistent with its Board-Established 
Criteria and/or falls within its then-current Objectives and 
Strategies. Prior to the External Submission (as defined below), each 
proposed order or investment amount may be reviewed and adjusted, in 
accordance with the applicable Advisers' written allocation policies 
and procedures, by both the allocation committee, consisting of legal, 
compliance, and operations personnel and/or applicable investment 
committee of the Adviser (e.g., tradable credit, or direct 
lending).\10\ The order of a Regulated Fund or Affiliated Fund 
resulting from this process is referred to as its ``Internal Order.'' 
The Internal Order will be submitted for approval by the Required 
Majority of any participating Regulated Funds in accordance with the 
Conditions.\11\
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    \10\ The reason for any such adjustment to a proposed order 
amount will be documented in writing and preserved in the records of 
the Advisers.
    \11\ ``Required Majority'' means a required majority, as defined 
in section 57(o) of the Act. In the case of a Regulated Fund that is 
a registered closed-end fund, the Board members that make up the 
Required Majority will be determined as if the Regulated Fund were a 
BDC subject to section 57(o). In the case of a BDC Downstream Fund 
with a board of directors (or the equivalent), the members that make 
up the Required Majority will be determined as if the BDC Downstream 
Fund were a BDC subject to section 57(o). In the case of a BDC 
Downstream Fund with a transaction committee or advisory committee, 
the committee members that make up the Required Majority will be 
determined as if the BDC Downstream Fund were a BDC subject to 
section 57(o) and as if the committee members were directors of the 
fund.
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    12. Applicants acknowledge that some of the Affiliated Funds may 
not be funds advised by Advisers to Affiliated Funds because they are 
THL Proprietary Accounts. Applicants do not believe these THL 
Proprietary Accounts should raise issues under the Conditions because 
the allocation policies and procedures of the Advisers provide that 
investment opportunities are offered to client accounts before they are 
offered to THL Proprietary Accounts.
    13. If the aggregate Internal Orders for a Potential Co-Investment 
Transaction do not exceed the size of the investment opportunity 
immediately prior to the submission of the orders to the underwriter, 
broker, dealer or issuer, as applicable (the ``External Submission''), 
then each Internal Order will be fulfilled as placed and to the extent 
there is excess amount available to invest, the THL Proprietary 
Accounts will be permitted to invest. If, on the other hand, the 
aggregate Internal Orders for a Potential Co-Investment Transaction 
exceed the size of the investment opportunity immediately prior to the 
External Submission, then the allocation of the opportunity will be 
made pro rata on the basis of the size of the Internal Orders and the 
THL Proprietary Accounts will not be permitted to invest.\12\ If, 
subsequent to such External Submission, the size of the opportunity is 
increased or decreased, or if the terms of such opportunity, or the 
facts and circumstances applicable to the

[[Page 44325]]

Regulated Funds' or the Affiliated Funds' consideration of the 
opportunity, change, the participants will be permitted to submit 
revised Internal Orders in accordance with written allocation policies 
and procedures that the Advisers will establish, implement and 
maintain.\13\
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    \12\ The Advisers will maintain records of all proposed order 
amounts, Internal Orders and External Submissions in conjunction 
with Potential Co-Investment Transactions. Each applicable Adviser 
will provide the Eligible Directors with information concerning the 
Affiliated Funds' and Regulated Funds' order sizes to assist the 
Eligible Directors with their review of the applicable Regulated 
Fund's investments for compliance with the Conditions.
    ``Eligible Directors'' means, with respect to a Regulated Fund 
and a Potential Co-Investment Transaction, the members of the 
Regulated Fund's Board eligible to vote on that Potential Co-
Investment Transaction under section 57(o) of the Act.
    \13\ However, if the size of the opportunity is decreased such 
that the aggregate of the original Internal Orders would exceed the 
amount of the remaining investment opportunity, then upon submitting 
any revised order amount to the Board of a Regulated Fund for 
approval, the Adviser to the Regulated Fund will also notify the 
Board promptly of the amount that the Regulated Fund would receive 
if the remaining investment opportunity were allocated pro rata on 
the basis of the size of the original Internal Orders. The Board of 
the Regulated Fund will then either approve or disapprove of the 
investment opportunity in accordance with Condition 2, 6, 7, 8 or 9, 
as applicable.
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B. Follow-On Investments

    14. Applicants state that from time to time the Regulated Funds and 
Affiliated Funds may have opportunities to make Follow-On Investments 
\14\ in an issuer in which a Regulated Fund and one or more other 
Regulated Funds and/or Affiliated Funds previously have invested.
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    \14\ ``Follow-On Investment'' means an additional investment in 
the same issuer, including, but not limited to, through the exercise 
of warrants, conversion privileges or other rights to purchase 
securities of the issuer.
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    15. Applicants propose that Follow-On Investments would be divided 
into two categories depending on whether the prior investment was a Co-
Investment Transaction or a Pre-Boarding Investment.\15\ If the 
Regulated Funds and Affiliated Funds had previously participated in a 
Co-Investment Transaction with respect to the issuer, then the terms 
and approval of the Follow-On Investment would be subject to the 
Standard Review Follow-Ons described in Condition 8. If the Regulated 
Funds and Affiliated Funds have not previously participated in a Co-
Investment Transaction with respect to the issuer but hold a Pre-
Boarding Investment, then the terms and approval of the Follow-On 
Investment would be subject to the Enhanced-Review Follow-Ons described 
in Condition 9. All Enhanced Review Follow-Ons require the approval of 
the Required Majority. For a given issuer, the participating Regulated 
Funds and Affiliated Funds would need to comply with the requirements 
of Enhanced-Review Follow-Ons only for the first Co-Investment 
Transaction. Subsequent Co-Investment Transactions with respect to the 
issuer would be governed by the requirements of Standard Review Follow-
Ons.
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    \15\ ``Pre-Boarding Investments'' are investments in an issuer 
held by a Regulated Fund as well as one or more Affiliated Funds 
and/or one or more other Regulated Funds that were acquired prior to 
participating in any Co-Investment Transaction: (i) In transactions 
in which the only term negotiated by or on behalf of such funds was 
price in reliance on one of the JT No-Action Letters (defined 
below); or (ii) in transactions occurring at least 90 days apart and 
without coordination between the Regulated Fund and any Affiliated 
Fund or other Regulated Fund.
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    16. A Regulated Fund would be permitted to invest in Standard 
Review Follow-Ons either with the approval of the Required Majority 
under Condition 8(c) or without Board approval under Condition 8(b) if 
it is (i) a Pro Rata Follow-On Investment \16\ or (ii) a Non-Negotiated 
Follow-On Investment.\17\ Applicants believe that these Pro Rata and 
Non-Negotiated Follow-On Investments do not present a significant 
opportunity for overreaching on the part of any Adviser and thus do not 
warrant the time or the attention of the Board. Pro Rata Follow-On 
Investments and Non-Negotiated Follow-On Investments remain subject to 
the Board's periodic review in accordance with Condition 10.
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    \16\ A ``Pro Rata Follow-On Investment'' is a Follow-On 
Investment (i) in which the participation of each Affiliated Fund 
and each Regulated Fund is proportionate to its outstanding 
investments in the issuer or security, as appropriate, immediately 
preceding the Follow-On Investment, and (ii) in the case of a 
Regulated Fund, a majority of the Board has approved the Regulated 
Fund's participation in the pro rata Follow-On Investments as being 
in the best interests of the Regulated Fund. The Regulated Fund's 
Board may refuse to approve, or at any time rescind, suspend or 
qualify, its approval of Pro Rata Follow-On Investments, in which 
case all subsequent Follow-On Investments will be submitted to the 
Regulated Fund's Eligible Directors in accordance with Condition 
8(c).
    \17\ A ``Non-Negotiated Follow-On Investment'' is a Follow-On 
Investment in which a Regulated Fund participates together with one 
or more Affiliated Funds and/or one or more other Regulated Funds 
(i) in which the only term negotiated by or on behalf of the funds 
is price and (ii) with respect to which, if the transaction were 
considered on its own, the funds would be entitled to rely on one of 
the JT No-Action Letters.
    ``JT No-Action Letters'' means SMC Capital, Inc., SEC No-Action 
Letter (pub. avail. Sept. 5, 1995) and Massachusetts Mutual Life 
Insurance Company, SEC No-Action Letter (pub. avail. June 7, 2000).
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C. Dispositions

    17. Applicants propose that Dispositions \18\ would be divided into 
two categories. If the Regulated Funds and Affiliated Funds holding 
investments in the issuer had previously participated in a Co-
Investment Transaction with respect to the issuer, then the terms and 
approval of the Disposition would be subject to the Standard Review 
Dispositions described in Condition 6. If the Regulated Funds and 
Affiliated Funds have not previously participated in a Co-Investment 
Transaction with respect to the issuer but hold a Pre-Boarding 
Investment, then the terms and approval of the Disposition would be 
subject to the Enhanced Review Dispositions described in Condition 7. 
Subsequent Dispositions with respect to the same issuer would be 
governed by Condition 6 under the Standard Review Dispositions.\19\
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    \18\ ``Disposition'' means the sale, exchange or other 
disposition of an interest in a security of an issuer.
    \19\ However, with respect to an issuer, if a Regulated Fund's 
first Co-Investment Transaction is an Enhanced Review Disposition, 
and the Regulated Fund does not dispose of its entire position in 
the Enhanced Review Disposition, then before such Regulated Fund may 
complete its first Standard Review Follow-On in such issuer, the 
Eligible Directors must review the proposed Follow-On Investment not 
only on a stand-alone basis but also in relation to the total 
economic exposure in such issuer (i.e., in combination with the 
portion of the Pre-Boarding Investment not disposed of in the 
Enhanced Review Disposition), and the other terms of the 
investments. This additional review would be required because such 
findings would not have been required in connection with the prior 
Enhanced Review Disposition, but they would have been required had 
the first Co-Investment Transaction been an Enhanced Review Follow-
On.
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    18. A Regulated Fund may participate in a Standard Review 
Disposition either with the approval of the Required Majority under 
Condition 6(d) or without Board approval under Condition 6(c) if (i) 
the Disposition is a Pro Rata Disposition \20\ or (ii) the securities 
are Tradable Securities \21\ and the Disposition meets the other 
requirements of Condition 6(c)(ii). Pro Rata Dispositions and 
Dispositions of a Tradable Security remain subject to the Board's 
periodic review in accordance with Condition 10.
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    \20\ A ``Pro Rata Disposition'' is a Disposition (i) in which 
the participation of each Affiliated Fund and each Regulated Fund is 
proportionate to its outstanding investment in the security subject 
to Disposition immediately preceding the Disposition; and (ii) in 
the case of a Regulated Fund, a majority of the Board has approved 
the Regulated Fund's participation in pro rata Dispositions as being 
in the best interests of the Regulated Fund. The Regulated Fund's 
Board may refuse to approve, or at any time rescind, suspend or 
qualify, its approval of Pro Rata Dispositions, in which case all 
subsequent Dispositions will be submitted to the Regulated Fund's 
Eligible Directors.
    \21\ ``Tradable Security'' means a security that meets the 
following criteria at the time of Disposition: (i) It trades on a 
national securities exchange or designated offshore securities 
market as defined in rule 902(b) under the Securities Act; (ii) it 
is not subject to restrictive agreements with the issuer or other 
security holders; and (iii) it trades with sufficient volume and 
liquidity (findings as to which are documented by the Advisers to 
any Regulated Funds holding investments in the issuer and retained 
for the life of the Regulated Fund) to allow each Regulated Fund to 
dispose of its entire position remaining after the proposed 
Disposition within a short period of time not exceeding 30 days at 
approximately the value (as defined by section 2(a)(41) of the Act) 
at which the Regulated Fund has valued the investment.

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[[Page 44326]]

D. Delayed Settlement

    19. Applicants represent that under the terms and Conditions of the 
application, all Regulated Funds and Affiliated Funds participating in 
a Co-Investment Transaction will invest at the same time, for the same 
price and with the same terms, conditions, class, registration rights 
and any other rights, so that none of them receives terms more 
favorable than any other. However, the settlement date for an 
Affiliated Fund in a Co-Investment Transaction may occur up to ten 
business days after the settlement date for the Regulated Fund, and 
vice versa.\22\ Nevertheless, in all cases, (i) the date on which the 
commitment of the Affiliated Funds and Regulated Funds is made will be 
the same even where the settlement date is not and (ii) the earliest 
settlement date and the latest settlement date of any Affiliated Fund 
or Regulated Fund participating in the transaction will occur within 
ten business days of each other.
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    \22\ Applicants state this may occur for two reasons. First, 
when the Affiliated Fund or Regulated Fund is not yet fully funded 
because, when the Affiliated Fund or Regulated Fund desires to make 
an investment, it must call capital from its investors to obtain the 
financing to make the investment, and in these instances, the notice 
requirement to call capital could be as much as ten business days. 
Second, where, for tax or regulatory reasons, an Affiliated Fund or 
Regulated Fund does not purchase new issuances immediately upon 
issuance but only after a short seasoning period of up to ten 
business days.
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E. Holders

    20. Under Condition 15, if an Adviser, its principals, or any 
person controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the 
Adviser or its principals, and the Affiliated Funds (collectively, the 
``Holders'') own in the aggregate more than 25 percent of the 
outstanding voting shares of a Regulated Fund (the ``Shares''), then 
the Holders will vote such Shares as directed by an independent third 
party when voting on matters specified in the Condition. Applicants 
believe that this Condition will ensure that the Independent Directors 
will act independently in evaluating Co-Investment Transactions, 
because the ability of the Adviser or its principals to influence the 
Independent Directors by a suggestion, explicit or implied, that the 
Independent Directors can be removed will be limited significantly. The 
Independent Directors shall evaluate and approve any independent party, 
taking into account its qualifications, reputation for independence, 
cost to the shareholders, and other factors that they deem relevant.

Applicants' Legal Analysis

    1. Section 17(d) of the Act and rule 17d-1 under the Act prohibit 
participation by a registered investment company and an affiliated 
person in any ``joint enterprise or other joint arrangement or profit-
sharing plan,'' as defined in the rule, without prior approval by the 
Commission by order upon application. Section 17(d) of the Act and rule 
17d-1 under the Act are applicable to Regulated Funds that are 
registered closed-end investment companies.
    2. Similarly, with regard to BDCs, section 57(a)(4) of the Act 
generally prohibits certain persons specified in section 57(b) from 
participating in joint transactions with the BDC or a company 
controlled by the BDC in contravention of rules as prescribed by the 
Commission. Section 57(i) of the Act provides that, until the 
Commission prescribes rules under section 57(a)(4), the Commission's 
rules under section 17(d) of the Act applicable to registered closed-
end investment companies will be deemed to apply to transactions 
subject to section 57(a)(4). Because the Commission has not adopted any 
rules under section 57(a)(4), rule 17d-1 also applies to joint 
transactions with Regulated Funds that are BDCs.
    3. Co-Investment Transactions are prohibited by either or both of 
rule 17d-1 and section 57(a)(4) without a prior exemptive order of the 
Commission to the extent that the Affiliated Funds and the Regulated 
Funds participating in such transactions fall within the category of 
persons described by rule 17d-1 and/or section 57(b), as applicable, 
vis-[agrave]-vis each participating Regulated Fund. Each of the 
participating Regulated Funds and Affiliated Funds may be deemed to be 
affiliated persons vis-[agrave]-vis a Regulated Fund within the meaning 
of section 2(a)(3) by reason of common control because (i) the THL 
Advisers to Affiliated Funds manage, and may be deemed to control, each 
of the Existing Affiliated Funds and any other Affiliated Fund will be 
managed by, and may be deemed to be controlled by an Adviser to 
Affiliated Funds; (ii) THLCA is the investment adviser to, and may be 
deemed to control, TCRD and an Adviser to Regulated Funds will be the 
investment adviser to, and may be deemed to control, any Future 
Regulated Fund, (iii) each BDC Downstream Fund will be deemed to be 
controlled by its BDC parent and/or its BDC parent's investment 
adviser; and (iv) the Advisers to Affiliated Funds and the Advisers to 
Regulated Funds are under common control. Thus, each of the Affiliated 
Funds could be deemed to be a person related to the Regulated Funds, 
including any BDC Downstream Fund, in a manner described by section 
57(b) and related to the other Regulated Funds in a manner described by 
rule 17d-1; and therefore the prohibitions of rule 17d-1 and section 
57(a)(4) would apply respectively to prohibit the Affiliated Funds from 
participating in Co-Investment Transactions with the Regulated Funds. 
In addition, because the THL Proprietary Accounts are controlled by 
THLCA and, therefore, may be under common control with TCRD, SLS, any 
future Advisers, and any Future Regulated Funds, the THL Proprietary 
Accounts could be deemed to be persons related to the Regulated Funds 
(or a company controlled by the Regulated Funds) in a manner described 
by section 57(b) and also prohibited from participating in the Co-
Investment Program.
    4. In passing upon applications under rule 17d-1, the Commission 
considers whether the company's participation in the joint transaction 
is consistent with the provisions, policies, and purposes of the Act 
and the extent to which such participation is on a basis different from 
or less advantageous than that of other participants.
    5. Applicants state that in the absence of the requested relief, in 
many circumstances the Regulated Funds would be limited in their 
ability to participate in attractive and appropriate investment 
opportunities. Applicants state that, as required by rule 17d-1(b), the 
Conditions ensure that the terms on which Co-Investment Transactions 
may be made will be consistent with the participation of the Regulated 
Funds being on a basis that it is neither different from nor less 
advantageous than other participants, thus protecting the equity 
holders of any participant from being disadvantaged. Applicants further 
state that the Conditions ensure that all Co-Investment Transactions 
are reasonable and fair to the Regulated Funds and their shareholders 
and do not involve overreaching by any person concerned, including the 
Advisers. Applicants state that the Regulated Funds' participation in 
the Co-Investment Transactions in accordance with the Conditions will 
be consistent with the provisions, policies, and purposes of the Act 
and would be done in a manner that is not different from, or less 
advantageous than, that of other participants.

Applicants' Conditions

    Applicants agree that the Order will be subject to the following 
Conditions:

[[Page 44327]]

    1. Identification and Referral of Potential Co-Investment 
Transactions.
    (a) The Advisers will establish, maintain and implement policies 
and procedures reasonably designed to ensure that each Adviser is 
promptly notified of all Potential Co-Investment Transactions that fall 
within the then-current Objectives and Strategies and Board-Established 
Criteria of any Regulated Fund the Adviser manages.
    (b) When an Adviser to a Regulated Fund is notified of a Potential 
Co-Investment Transaction under Condition 1(a), the Adviser will make 
an independent determination of the appropriateness of the investment 
for the Regulated Fund in light of the Regulated Fund's then-current 
circumstances.
    2. Board Approvals of Co-Investment Transactions.
    (a) If the Adviser deems a Regulated Fund's participation in any 
Potential Co-Investment Transaction to be appropriate for the Regulated 
Fund, it will then determine an appropriate level of investment for the 
Regulated Fund.
    (b) If the aggregate amount recommended by the Advisers to be 
invested in the Potential Co-Investment Transaction by the 
participating Regulated Funds and any participating Affiliated Funds, 
collectively, exceeds the amount of the investment opportunity, the 
investment opportunity will be allocated among them pro rata based on 
the size of the Internal Orders, as described in section III.A.1.b. of 
the application. Each Adviser to a participating Regulated Fund will 
promptly notify and provide the Eligible Directors with information 
concerning the Affiliated Funds' and Regulated Funds' order sizes to 
assist the Eligible Directors with their review of the applicable 
Regulated Fund's investments for compliance with these Conditions.
    (c) After making the determinations required in Condition 1(b) 
above, each Adviser to a participating Regulated Fund will distribute 
written information concerning the Potential Co-Investment Transaction 
(including the amount proposed to be invested by each participating 
Regulated Fund and each participating Affiliated Fund) to the Eligible 
Directors of its participating Regulated Fund(s) for their 
consideration. A Regulated Fund will enter into a Co-Investment 
Transaction with one or more other Regulated Funds or Affiliated Funds 
only if, prior to the Regulated Fund's participation in the Potential 
Co-Investment Transaction, a Required Majority concludes that:
    (i) The terms of the transaction, including the consideration to be 
paid, are reasonable and fair to the Regulated Fund and its equity 
holders and do not involve overreaching in respect of the Regulated 
Fund or its equity holders on the part of any person concerned;
    (ii) the transaction is consistent with:
    (A) The interests of the Regulated Fund's equity holders; and
    (B) the Regulated Fund's then-current Objectives and Strategies;
    (iii) the investment by any other Regulated Fund(s) or Affiliated 
Fund(s) would not disadvantage the Regulated Fund, and participation by 
the Regulated Fund would not be on a basis different from, or less 
advantageous than, that of any other Regulated Fund(s) or Affiliated 
Fund(s) participating in the transaction; provided that the Required 
Majority shall not be prohibited from reaching the conclusions required 
by this Condition 2(c)(iii) if:
    (A) The settlement date for another Regulated Fund or an Affiliated 
Fund in a Co-Investment Transaction is later than the settlement date 
for the Regulated Fund by no more than ten business days or earlier 
than the settlement date for the Regulated Fund by no more than ten 
business days, in either case, so long as: (x) The date on which the 
commitment of the Affiliated Funds and Regulated Funds is made is the 
same; and (y) the earliest settlement date and the latest settlement 
date of any Affiliated Fund or Regulated Fund participating in the 
transaction will occur within ten business days of each other; or
    (B) any other Regulated Fund or Affiliated Fund, but not the 
Regulated Fund itself, gains the right to nominate a director for 
election to a portfolio company's board of directors, the right to have 
a board observer or any similar right to participate in the governance 
or management of the portfolio company so long as: (x) The Eligible 
Directors will have the right to ratify the selection of such director 
or board observer, if any; (y) the Adviser agrees to, and does, provide 
periodic reports to the Regulated Fund's Board with respect to the 
actions of such director or the information received by such board 
observer or obtained through the exercise of any similar right to 
participate in the governance or management of the portfolio company; 
and (z) any fees or other compensation that any other Regulated Fund or 
Affiliated Fund or any affiliated person of any other Regulated Fund or 
Affiliated Fund receives in connection with the right of one or more 
Regulated Funds or Affiliated Funds to nominate a director or appoint a 
board observer or otherwise to participate in the governance or 
management of the portfolio company will be shared proportionately 
among any participating Affiliated Funds (who may, in turn, share their 
portion with their affiliated persons) and any participating Regulated 
Fund(s) in accordance with the amount of each such party's investment; 
and
    (iv) the proposed investment by the Regulated Fund will not involve 
compensation, remuneration or a direct or indirect \23\ financial 
benefit to the Advisers, any other Regulated Fund, the Affiliated Funds 
or any affiliated person of any of them (other than the parties to the 
Co-Investment Transaction), except (A) to the extent permitted by 
Condition 14, (B) to the extent permitted by section 17(e) or 57(k), as 
applicable, (C) indirectly, as a result of an interest in the 
securities issued by one of the parties to the Co-Investment 
Transaction, or (D) in the case of fees or other compensation described 
in Condition 2(c)(iii)(B)(z).
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    \23\ For example, procuring the Regulated Fund's investment in a 
Potential Co-Investment Transaction to permit an affiliate to 
complete or obtain better terms in a separate transaction would 
constitute an indirect financial benefit.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    3. Right to Decline. Each Regulated Fund has the right to decline 
to participate in any Potential Co-Investment Transaction or to invest 
less than the amount proposed.
    4. General Limitation. Except for Follow-On Investments made in 
accordance with Conditions 8 and 9 below,\24\ a Regulated Fund will not 
invest in reliance on the Order in any issuer in which a Related Party 
has an investment.\25\
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    \24\ This exception applies only to Follow-On Investments by a 
Regulated Fund in issuers in which that Regulated Fund already holds 
investments.
    \25\ ``Related Party'' means (i) any Close Affiliate and (ii) in 
respect of matters as to which any Adviser has knowledge, any Remote 
Affiliate. ``Close Affiliate'' means the Advisers, the Regulated 
Funds, the Affiliated Funds and any other person described in 
Section 57(b) (after giving effect to Rule 57b-1) in respect of any 
Regulated Fund (treating any registered investment company or series 
thereof as a BDC for this purpose) except for limited partners 
included solely by reason of the reference in Section 57(b) to 
Section 2(a)(3)(D). ``Remote Affiliate'' means any person described 
in Section 57(e) in respect of any Regulated Fund (treating any 
registered investment company or series thereof as a BDC for this 
purpose) and any limited partner holding 5% or more of the relevant 
limited partner interests that would be a Close Affiliate but for 
the exclusion in that definition.
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    5. Same Terms and Conditions. A Regulated Fund will not participate 
in any Potential Co-Investment Transaction unless (i) the terms, 
conditions, price, class of securities to be purchased, date on which 
the commitment is entered into and registration rights (if any) will be 
the

[[Page 44328]]

same for each participating Regulated Fund and Affiliated Fund and (ii) 
the earliest settlement date and the latest settlement date of any 
participating Regulated Fund or Affiliated Fund will occur as close in 
time as practicable and in no event more than ten business days apart. 
The grant to one or more Regulated Funds or Affiliated Funds, but not 
the respective Regulated Fund, of the right to nominate a director for 
election to a portfolio company's board of directors, the right to have 
an observer on the board of directors or similar rights to participate 
in the governance or management of the portfolio company will not be 
interpreted so as to violate this Condition 5, if Condition 
2(c)(iii)(B) is met.
    6. Standard Review Dispositions.
    (a) General. If any Regulated Fund or Affiliated Fund elects to 
sell, exchange or otherwise dispose of an interest in a security and 
one or more Regulated Funds and Affiliated Funds have previously 
participated in a Co-Investment Transaction with respect to the issuer, 
then:
    (i) The Adviser to such Regulated Fund or Affiliated Fund \26\ will 
notify each Regulated Fund that holds an investment in the issuer of 
the proposed Disposition at the earliest practical time; and
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    \26\ Any THL Proprietary Account that is not advised by an 
Adviser is itself deemed to be an Adviser for purposes of Conditions 
6(a)(i), 7(a)(i), 8(a)(i) and 9(a)(i).
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    (ii) the Adviser to each Regulated Fund that holds an investment in 
the issuer will formulate a recommendation as to participation by such 
Regulated Fund in the Disposition.
    (b) Same Terms and Conditions. Each Regulated Fund will have the 
right to participate in such Disposition on a proportionate basis, at 
the same price and on the same terms and conditions as those applicable 
to the Affiliated Funds and any other Regulated Fund.
    (c) No Board Approval Required. A Regulated Fund may participate in 
such a Disposition without obtaining prior approval of the Required 
Majority if:
    (i) (A) The participation of each Regulated Fund and Affiliated 
Fund in such Disposition is proportionate to its then-current holding 
of the security (or securities) of the issuer that is (or are) the 
subject of the Disposition; \27\ (B) the Board of the Regulated Fund 
has approved as being in the best interests of the Regulated Fund the 
ability to participate in such Dispositions on a pro rata basis (as 
described in greater detail in the application); and (C) the Board of 
the Regulated Fund is provided on a quarterly basis with a list of all 
Dispositions made in accordance with this Condition; or
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \27\ In the case of any Disposition, proportionality will be 
measured by each participating Regulated Fund's and Affiliated 
Fund's outstanding investment in the security in question 
immediately preceding the Disposition.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (ii) each security is a Tradable Security and (A) the Disposition 
is not to the issuer or any affiliated person of the issuer; and (B) 
the security is sold for cash in a transaction in which the only term 
negotiated by or on behalf of the participating Regulated Funds and 
Affiliated Funds is price.
    (d) Standard Board Approval. In all other cases, the Adviser will 
provide its written recommendation as to the Regulated Fund's 
participation to the Eligible Directors and the Regulated Fund will 
participate in such Disposition solely to the extent that a Required 
Majority determines that it is in the Regulated Fund's best interests.
    7. Enhanced Review Dispositions.
    (a) General. If any Regulated Fund or Affiliated Fund elects to 
sell, exchange or otherwise dispose of a Pre-Boarding Investment in a 
Potential Co-Investment Transaction and the Regulated Funds and 
Affiliated Funds have not previously participated in a Co-Investment 
Transaction with respect to the issuer:
    (i) The Adviser to such Regulated Fund or Affiliated Fund will 
notify each Regulated Fund that holds an investment in the issuer of 
the proposed Disposition at the earliest practical time;
    (ii) the Adviser to each Regulated Fund that holds an investment in 
the issuer will formulate a recommendation as to participation by such 
Regulated Fund in the Disposition; and
    (iii) the Advisers will provide to the Board of each Regulated Fund 
that holds an investment in the issuer all information relating to the 
existing investments in the issuer of the Regulated Funds and 
Affiliated Funds, including the terms of such investments and how they 
were made, that is necessary for the Required Majority to make the 
findings required by this Condition.
    (b) Enhanced Board Approval. The Adviser will provide its written 
recommendation as to the Regulated Fund's participation to the Eligible 
Directors, and the Regulated Fund will participate in such Disposition 
solely to the extent that a Required Majority determines that:
    (i) The Disposition complies with Condition 2(c)(i), (ii), 
(iii)(A), and (iv).
    (ii) the making and holding of the Pre-Boarding Investments were 
not prohibited by section 57 or rule 17d-1, as applicable, and records 
the basis for the finding in the Board minutes.
    (c) Additional Requirements: The Disposition may only be completed 
in reliance on the Order if:
    (i) Same Terms and Conditions. Each Regulated Fund has the right to 
participate in such Disposition on a proportionate basis, at the same 
price and on the same terms and Conditions as those applicable to the 
Affiliated Funds and any other Regulated Fund;
    (ii) Original Investments. All of the Affiliated Funds' and 
Regulated Funds' investments in the issuer are Pre-Boarding 
Investments;
    (iii) Advice of counsel. Independent counsel to the Board advises 
that the making and holding of the investments in the Pre-Boarding 
Investments were not prohibited by section 57 (as modified by rule 57b-
1) or rule 17d-1, as applicable;
    (iv) Multiple Classes of Securities. All Regulated Funds and 
Affiliated Funds that hold Pre-Boarding Investments in the issuer 
immediately before the time of completion of the Co-Investment 
Transaction hold the same security or securities of the issuer. For the 
purpose of determining whether the Regulated Funds and Affiliated Funds 
hold the same security or securities, they may disregard any security 
held by some but not all of them if, prior to relying on the Order, the 
Required Majority is presented with all information necessary to make a 
finding, and finds, that: (x) Any Regulated Fund's or Affiliated Fund's 
holding of a different class of securities (including for this purpose 
a security with a different maturity date) is immaterial \28\ in 
amount, including immaterial relative to the size of the issuer; and 
(y) the Board records the basis for any such finding in its minutes. In 
addition, securities that differ only in respect of issuance date, 
currency, or denominations may be treated as the same security; and
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    \28\ In determining whether a holding is ``immaterial'' for 
purposes of the Order, the Required Majority will consider whether 
the nature and extent of the interest in the transaction or 
arrangement is sufficiently small that a reasonable person would not 
believe that the interest affected the determination of whether to 
enter into the transaction or arrangement or the terms of the 
transaction or arrangement.
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    (v) No control. The Affiliated Funds, the other Regulated Funds and 
their affiliated persons (within the meaning of section 2(a)(3)(C) of 
the Act), individually or in the aggregate, do not control the issuer 
of the securities (within the meaning of section 2(a)(9) of the Act).
    8. Standard Review Follow-Ons.
    (a) General. If any Regulated Fund or Affiliated Fund desires to 
make a

[[Page 44329]]

Follow-On Investment in an issuer and the Regulated Funds and 
Affiliated Funds holding investments in the issuer previously 
participated in a Co-Investment Transaction with respect to the issuer:
    (i) The Adviser to each such Regulated Fund or Affiliated Fund will 
notify each Regulated Fund that holds securities of the portfolio 
company of the proposed transaction at the earliest practical time; and
    (ii) the Adviser to each Regulated Fund that holds an investment in 
the issuer will formulate a recommendation as to the proposed 
participation, including the amount of the proposed investment, by such 
Regulated Fund.
    (b) No Board Approval Required. A Regulated Fund may participate in 
the Follow-On Investment without obtaining prior approval of the 
Required Majority if:
    (i) (A) The proposed participation of each Regulated Fund and each 
Affiliated Fund in such investment is proportionate to its outstanding 
investments in the issuer or the security at issue, as appropriate,\29\ 
immediately preceding the Follow-On Investment; and (B) the Board of 
the Regulated Fund has approved as being in the best interests of the 
Regulated Fund the ability to participate in Follow-On Investments on a 
pro rata basis (as described in greater detail in the application); or
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    \29\ To the extent that a Follow-On Investment opportunity is in 
a security or arises in respect of a security held by the 
participating Regulated Funds and Affiliated Funds, proportionality 
will be measured by each participating Regulated Fund's and 
Affiliated Fund's outstanding investment in the security in question 
immediately preceding the Follow-On Investment using the most recent 
available valuation thereof. To the extent that a Follow-On 
Investment opportunity relates to an opportunity to invest in a 
security that is not in respect of any security held by any of the 
participating Regulated Funds or Affiliated Funds, proportionality 
will be measured by each participating Regulated Fund's and 
Affiliated Fund's outstanding investment in the issuer immediately 
preceding the Follow-On Investment using the most recent available 
valuation thereof.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    (ii) it is a Non-Negotiated Follow-On Investment.
    (c) Standard Board Approval. In all other cases, the Adviser will 
provide its written recommendation as to the Regulated Fund's 
participation to the Eligible Directors and the Regulated Fund will 
participate in such Follow-On Investment solely to the extent that a 
Required Majority makes the determinations set forth in Condition 2(c). 
If the only previous Co-Investment Transaction with respect to the 
issuer was an Enhanced Review Disposition the Eligible Directors must 
complete this review of the proposed Follow-On Investment both on a 
stand-alone basis and together with the Pre-Boarding Investments in 
relation to the total economic exposure and other terms of the 
investment.
    (d) Allocation. If, with respect to any such Follow-On Investment:
    (i) The amount of the opportunity proposed to be made available to 
any Regulated Fund is not based on the Regulated Funds' and the 
Affiliated Funds' outstanding investments in the issuer or the security 
at issue, as appropriate, immediately preceding the Follow-On 
Investment; and
    (ii) the aggregate amount recommended by the Advisers to be 
invested in the Follow-On Investment by the participating Regulated 
Funds and any participating Affiliated Funds, collectively, exceeds the 
amount of the investment opportunity, then the Follow-On Investment 
opportunity will be allocated among them pro rata based on the size of 
the Internal Orders, as described in section III.A.1.b. of the 
application.
    (e) Other Conditions. The acquisition of Follow-On Investments as 
permitted by this Condition will be considered a Co-Investment 
Transaction for all purposes and subject to the other Conditions set 
forth in this application.
    9. Enhanced Review Follow-Ons.
    (a) General. If any Regulated Fund or Affiliated Fund desires to 
make a Follow-On Investment in an issuer that is a Potential Co-
Investment Transaction and the Regulated Funds and Affiliated Funds 
holding investments in the issuer have not previously participated in a 
Co-Investment Transaction with respect to the issuer:
    (i) The Adviser to each such Regulated Fund or Affiliated Fund will 
notify each Regulated Fund that holds securities of the portfolio 
company of the proposed transaction at the earliest practical time;
    (ii) the Adviser to each Regulated Fund that holds an investment in 
the issuer will formulate a recommendation as to the proposed 
participation, including the amount of the proposed investment, by such 
Regulated Fund; and
    (iii) the Advisers will provide to the Board of each Regulated Fund 
that holds an investment in the issuer all information relating to the 
existing investments in the issuer of the Regulated Funds and 
Affiliated Funds, including the terms of such investments and how they 
were made, that is necessary for the Required Majority to make the 
findings required by this Condition.
    (b) Enhanced Board Approval. The Adviser will provide its written 
recommendation as to the Regulated Fund's participation to the Eligible 
Directors, and the Regulated Fund will participate in such Follow-On 
Investment solely to the extent that a Required Majority reviews the 
proposed Follow-On Investment both on a stand-alone basis and together 
with the Pre-Boarding Investments in relation to the total economic 
exposure and other terms and makes the determinations set forth in 
Condition 2(c). In addition, the Follow-On Investment may only be 
completed in reliance on the Order if the Required Majority of each 
participating Regulated Fund determines that the making and holding of 
the Pre-Boarding Investments were not prohibited by section 57 (as 
modified by rule 57b-1) or rule 17d-1, as applicable. The basis for the 
Board's findings will be recorded in its minutes.
    (c) Additional Requirements. The Follow-On Investment may only be 
completed in reliance on the Order if:
    (i) Original Investments. All of the Affiliated Funds' and 
Regulated Funds' investments in the issuer are Pre-Boarding 
Investments;
    (ii) Advice of counsel. Independent counsel to the Board advises 
that the making and holding of the investments in the Pre-Boarding 
Investments were not prohibited by section 57 (as modified by rule 57b-
1) or rule 17d-1, as applicable;
    (iii) Multiple Classes of Securities. All Regulated Funds and 
Affiliated Funds that hold Pre-Boarding Investments in the issuer 
immediately before the time of completion of the Co-Investment 
Transaction hold the same security or securities of the issuer. For the 
purpose of determining whether the Regulated Funds and Affiliated Funds 
hold the same security or securities, they may disregard any security 
held by some but not all of them if, prior to relying on the Order, the 
Required Majority is presented with all information necessary to make a 
finding, and finds, that: (x) Any Regulated Fund's or Affiliated Fund's 
holding of a different class of securities (including for this purpose 
a security with a different maturity date) is immaterial in amount, 
including immaterial relative to the size of the issuer; and (y) the 
Board records the basis for any such finding in its minutes. In 
addition, securities that differ only in respect of issuance date, 
currency, or denominations may be treated as the same security; and
    (iv) No control. The Affiliated Funds, the other Regulated Funds 
and their affiliated persons (within the meaning of section 2(a)(3)(C) 
of the Act), individually or in the aggregate, do not control the 
issuer of the securities

[[Page 44330]]

(within the meaning of section 2(a)(9) of the Act).
    (d) Allocation. If, with respect to any such Follow-On Investment:
    (i) The amount of the opportunity proposed to be made available to 
any Regulated Fund is not based on the Regulated Funds' and the 
Affiliated Funds' outstanding investments in the issuer or the security 
at issue, as appropriate, immediately preceding the Follow-On 
Investment; and
    (ii) the aggregate amount recommended by the Advisers to be 
invested in the Follow-On Investment by the participating Regulated 
Funds and any participating Affiliated Funds, collectively, exceeds the 
amount of the investment opportunity, then the Follow-On Investment 
opportunity will be allocated among them pro rata based on the size of 
the Internal Orders, as described in section III.A.1.b. of the 
application.
    (e) Other Conditions. The acquisition of Follow-On Investments as 
permitted by this Condition will be considered a Co-Investment 
Transaction for all purposes and subject to the other Conditions set 
forth in the application.
    10. Board Reporting, Compliance and Annual Re-Approval.
    (a) Each Adviser to a Regulated Fund will present to the Board of 
each Regulated Fund, on a quarterly basis, and at such other times as 
the Board may request, (i) a record of all investments in Potential Co-
Investment Transactions made by any of the other Regulated Funds or any 
of the Affiliated Funds during the preceding quarter that fell within 
the Regulated Fund's then-current Objectives and Strategies and Board-
Established Criteria that were not made available to the Regulated 
Fund, and an explanation of why such investment opportunities were not 
made available to the Regulated Fund; (ii) a record of all Follow-On 
Investments in and Dispositions of investments in any issuer in which 
the Regulated Fund holds any investments by any Affiliated Fund or 
other Regulated Fund during the prior quarter; and (iii) all 
information concerning Potential Co-Investment Transactions and Co-
Investment Transactions, including investments made by other Regulated 
Funds or Affiliated Funds that the Regulated Fund considered but 
declined to participate in, so that the Independent Directors, may 
determine whether all Potential Co-Investment Transactions and Co-
Investment Transactions during the preceding quarter, including those 
investments that the Regulated Fund considered but declined to 
participate in, comply with the Conditions.
    (b) All information presented to the Regulated Fund's Board 
pursuant to this Condition will be kept for the life of the Regulated 
Fund and at least two years thereafter, and will be subject to 
examination by the Commission and its staff.
    (c) Each Regulated Fund's chief compliance officer, as defined in 
rule 38a-1(a)(4), will prepare an annual report for its Board each year 
that evaluates (and documents the basis of that evaluation) the 
Regulated Fund's compliance with the terms and Conditions of the 
application and the procedures established to achieve such compliance. 
In the case of a BDC Downstream Fund that does not have a chief 
compliance officer, the chief compliance officer of the BDC that 
controls the BDC Downstream Fund will prepare the report for the 
relevant Independent Party.
    (d) The Independent Directors (including the non-interested members 
of each Independent Party) will consider at least annually whether 
continued participation in new and existing Co-Investment Transactions 
is in the Regulated Fund's best interests.
    11. Record Keeping. Each Regulated Fund will maintain the records 
required by section 57(f)(3) of the Act as if each of the Regulated 
Funds were a BDC and each of the investments permitted under these 
Conditions were approved by the Required Majority under section 57(f).
    12. Director Independence. No Independent Director (including the 
non-interested members of any Independent Party) of a Regulated Fund 
will also be a director, general partner, managing member or principal, 
or otherwise be an ``affiliated person'' (as defined in the Act) of any 
Affiliated Fund.
    13. Expenses. The expenses, if any, associated with acquiring, 
holding or disposing of any securities acquired in a Co-Investment 
Transaction (including, without limitation, the expenses of the 
distribution of any such securities registered for sale under the 
Securities Act) will, to the extent not payable by the Advisers under 
their respective advisory agreements with the Regulated Funds and the 
Affiliated Funds, be shared by the Regulated Funds and the 
participating Affiliated Funds in proportion to the relative amounts of 
the securities held or being acquired or disposed of, as the case may 
be.
    14. Transaction Fees.\30\ Any transaction fee (including break-up, 
structuring, monitoring or commitment fees but excluding brokerage or 
underwriting compensation permitted by section 17(e) or 57(k)) received 
in connection with any Co-Investment Transaction will be distributed to 
the participants on a pro rata basis based on the amounts they invested 
or committed, as the case may be, in such Co-Investment Transaction. If 
any transaction fee is to be held by an Adviser pending consummation of 
the transaction, the fee will be deposited into an account maintained 
by the Adviser at a bank or banks having the qualifications prescribed 
in section 26(a)(1), and the account will earn a competitive rate of 
interest that will also be divided pro rata among the participants. 
None of the Advisers, the Affiliated Funds, the other Regulated Funds 
or any affiliated person of the Affiliated Funds or the Regulated Funds 
will receive any additional compensation or remuneration of any kind as 
a result of or in connection with a Co-Investment Transaction other 
than (i) in the case of the Regulated Funds and the Affiliated Funds, 
the pro rata transaction fees described above and fees or other 
compensation described in Condition 2(c)(iii)(B)(z), (ii) brokerage or 
underwriting compensation permitted by section 17(e) or 57(k) or (iii) 
in the case of the Advisers, investment advisory compensation paid in 
accordance with investment advisory agreements between the applicable 
Regulated Fund(s) or Affiliated Fund(s) and its Adviser.
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    \30\ Applicants are not requesting and the Commission is not 
providing any relief for transaction fees received in connection 
with any Co-Investment Transaction.
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    15. Independence. If the Holders own in the aggregate more than 25 
percent of the Shares of a Regulated Fund, then the Holders will vote 
such Shares as directed by an independent third party when voting on 
(1) the election of directors; (2) the removal of one or more 
directors; or (3) any other matter under either the Act or applicable 
State law affecting the Board's composition, size or manner of 
election.
    16. Proprietary Accounts. The THL Proprietary Accounts will not be 
permitted to invest in a Potential Co-Investment Transaction except to 
the extent the aggregate demand from the Regulated Funds and the other 
Affiliated Funds is less than the total investment opportunity.

    For the Commission, by the Division of Investment Management, 
under delegated authority.
Eduardo A. Aleman,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2018-18780 Filed 8-29-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011-01-P
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