ADMINISTRATION AGREEMENT
Exhibit (k)(1)
AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”) made as of this [ ] day of [ ], 2022, by and between Xxxx Capital Private Credit, a Delaware statutory trust (hereinafter referred to as the “Company”), and BCSF Advisors, LP, a Delaware limited partnership (the “Administrator”).
W I T N E S S E T H :
WHEREAS, the Company is a newly formed, closed-end non-diversified management investment company that intends to file a notice with the Securities and Exchange Commission to elect to be treated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”);
WHEREAS, the Company desires to retain the Administrator to provide administrative services to the Company in the manner and on the terms hereinafter set forth; and
WHEREAS, the Administrator is willing to provide administrative services to the Company on the terms and conditions hereafter set forth.
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the covenants hereinafter contained and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged, the Company and the Administrator hereby agree as follows:
1. Duties of the Administrator
(a) Employment of Administrator. The Company hereby employs the Administrator to act as administrator of the Company, and to furnish, or arrange for others to furnish, the administrative services, personnel and facilities described below, subject to review by and the overall control of the Board of Trustees of the Company (the “Board”), for the period and on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement. The Administrator hereby accepts such employment and agrees during such period to render, or arrange for the rendering of, such services and to assume the obligations herein set forth subject to the reimbursement of costs and expenses provided for below. The Administrator and such others shall for all purposes herein be deemed to be independent contractors and shall, unless otherwise expressly provided or authorized herein, have no authority to act for or represent the Company in any way or otherwise be deemed agents of the Company.
(b) Services. The Administrator shall perform (or oversee, or arrange for, the performance of) the administrative services necessary for the operation of the Company. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Administrator shall provide the Company with office facilities, equipment, clerical, bookkeeping and record keeping services at such facilities and such other services as the Administrator, subject to review by the Board, shall from time to time determine to be necessary or useful to perform its obligations under this Agreement. The Administrator shall also, on behalf of the Company, conduct relations with sub-administrators, custodians, depositories, transfer agents, escrow agents, dividend disbursing agents, other shareholder servicing agents, accountants, attorneys, underwriters, brokers and dealers, corporate fiduciaries, insurers, banks and such other persons in any such other capacity deemed to be necessary or desirable in fulfilling its administrative duties. The Administrator shall prepare materials for, coordinate meetings of and make reports to the Board of its performance of its obligations hereunder and furnish advice and recommendations with respect to such other aspects of the business and affairs of the Company as it shall determine to be desirable; provided that nothing herein shall be construed to require the Administrator to, and the Administrator shall not, in its capacity as Administrator pursuant to this Agreement, provide any advice or recommendation relating to the securities and other assets that the Company should purchase, retain or sell or any other investment advisory services to the Company. The Administrator shall be responsible for the financial and other records that the Company is required to maintain and shall prepare reports to shareholders, and reports and other materials filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and other regulators. BCSF Advisors, LP in its capacity as both the Company’s investment adviser and the Administrator may provide on the Company’s behalf significant managerial assistance to those portfolio companies to which the Company is required to provide such assistance. In addition, the Administrator will assist the Company in determining and publishing the Company’s net asset value, oversee the preparation and filing of the Company’s tax returns, and the printing and dissemination of reports to shareholders of the Company, and generally oversee the payment of the Company’s expenses, and the performance of administrative and professional services rendered to the Company by others. The Administrator is hereby authorized, but not required, to enter into one or more sub-administration agreements with other administrators (each, a “Sub-Administrator”) pursuant to which the Administrator may obtain the services of the Sub-Administrator(s) to assist the Administrator in fulfilling its responsibilities hereunder and as the Administrator determines necessary to carry out the services set forth in this paragraph, subject to the prior approval of the Board. To the extent the Administrator outsources any of its functions, the Company will pay the fees associated with such functions on a direct basis without profit to the Administrator.
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2. Records
The Administrator agrees to maintain and keep all books, accounts and other records of the Company that relate to activities performed by the Administrator hereunder and, if required by the Investment Company Act, will maintain and keep such books, accounts and records in accordance with the Investment Company Act. The Administrator may delegate the foregoing responsibility to a third party with the consent of the Board, subject to the oversight of the Administrator and the Company. In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the Investment Company Act, the Administrator agrees that all records which it or its delegate maintains for the Company shall at all times remain the property of the Company, shall be readily accessible during normal business hours, and shall be promptly surrendered upon the termination of the Agreement or otherwise on written request. The Administrator further agrees that all records which it or its delegate maintains for the Company pursuant to Rule 31a-1 under the Investment Company Act will be preserved for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the Investment Company Act unless any such records are earlier surrendered as provided above. Records shall be surrendered in usable machine-readable form. The Administrator shall have the right to retain copies of such records subject to observance of its confidentiality obligations under the Agreement.
3. Confidentiality
The parties hereto agree that each shall treat confidentially the terms and conditions of this Agreement and all information provided by each party to the other regarding its business and operations. All confidential information provided by a party hereto, including nonpublic personal information (regulated pursuant to Regulation S-P), shall be used by any other party hereto solely for the purpose of rendering services pursuant to this Agreement and, except as may be required in carrying out this Agreement, shall not be disclosed to any third party, without the prior consent of such providing party. The foregoing shall not be applicable to any information that is publicly available when provided or thereafter becomes publicly available other than through a breach of this Agreement, or that is required to be disclosed by any regulatory authority, any authority or legal counsel of the parties hereto, by judicial or administrative process or otherwise by applicable law or regulation.
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4. Compensation; Allocation of Costs and Expenses
In full consideration of the provision of the services of the Administrator, the Company shall reimburse the Administrator for the costs and expenses incurred by the Administrator in performing its obligations and providing personnel and facilities hereunder. The Administrator shall waive its right to be reimbursed in the event that any such reimbursements would cause any distributions to the Company’s shareholders to constitute a return of capital. If requested to perform significant managerial assistance to portfolio companies of the Company, the Administrator will be paid an additional amount based on the services provided, which shall not exceed the amount the Company receives from the portfolio companies for providing this assistance. The Company will bear all costs and expenses that are incurred in its operation and transactions and not specifically assumed by the Company’s investment adviser (the “Advisor”), pursuant to that certain Investment Advisory Agreement, dated as of [ ], 2022 by and between the Company and the Advisor. Costs and expenses to be borne by the Company include, but are not limited to, those relating to:
| (a) | organization and offering expenses associated with the Company’s offering (including legal, accounting, printing, mailing, subscription processing and filing fees and expenses and other offering expenses, including costs associated with technology integration between the Company’s systems and those of participating broker-dealers, reasonable bona fide due diligence expenses of participating broker-dealers supported by detailed and itemized invoices, costs in connection with preparing sales materials and other marketing expenses, design and website expenses, fees and expenses of the Company’s escrow agent and transfer agent, fees to attend retail seminars sponsored by participating broker-dealers and costs, expenses and reimbursements for travel, meals, accommodations, entertainment and other similar expenses related to meetings or events with prospective investors, broker-dealers, registered investment advisors or financial or other advisors, but excluding the shareholder servicing fee); |
| (b) | all taxes, fees, costs, and expenses, retainers and/or other payments of accountants, legal counsel, advisors (including tax advisors), administrators, auditors (including with respect to any additional auditing required under The Directive 2011/61/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 8 June 2011 on Alternative Investment Fund Managers and any applicable legislation implemented by an EEA Member state in connection with such Directive (the “AIFMD”), investment bankers, administrative agents, paying agents, depositaries, custodians, trustees, sub-custodians, consultants (including individuals consulted through expert network consulting firms), engineers, senior advisors, industry experts, operating partners, deal sourcers (including personnel dedicated to but not employed by the Administrator or its affiliates), and other professionals (including, for the avoidance of doubt, the costs and charges allocable with respect to the provision of internal legal, tax, accounting, technology or other services and professionals related thereto (including secondees and temporary personnel or consultants that may be engaged on short- or long-term arrangements) as deemed appropriate by the Administrator, with the oversight of the Board of Trustees, where such internal personnel perform services that would be paid by the Company if outside service providers provided the same services); fees, costs, and expenses herein include (x) costs, expenses and fees for hours spent by its in-house attorneys and tax advisers that provide transactional legal advice and/or services to the Company or its portfolio companies on matters related to potential or actual investments and transactions and the ongoing operations of the Company and (y) expenses and fees to provide administrative and accounting services to the Company or its portfolio companies, and expenses, charges and/or related costs incurred directly by the Company or affiliates in connection such services (including overhead related thereto), in each case, (I) that are specifically charged or specifically allocated or attributed by the Administrator, with the oversight of the Board of Trustees, to the Fund or its portfolio companies and (II) provided that any such amounts shall not be greater than what would be paid to an unaffiliated third party for substantially similar advice and/or services); |
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| (c) | the cost of calculating the Company’s net asset value, including the cost of any third-party valuation services; |
| (d) | the cost of effecting any sales and repurchases of the Company’s shares and other securities; |
| (e) | fees and expenses payable under any managing dealer and selected dealer agreements, if any; |
| (f) | interest and fees and expenses arising out of all borrowings, guarantees and other financings or derivative transactions (including interest, fees and related legal expenses) made or entered into by the Company, including, but not limited to, the arranging thereof and related legal expenses; |
| (g) | all fees, costs and expenses of any loan servicers and other service providers and of any custodians, lenders, investment banks and other financing sources; |
| (h) | costs incurred in connection with the formation or maintenance of entities or vehicles to hold the Company’s assets for tax or other purposes; |
| (i) | costs of derivatives and hedging; |
| (j) | expenses, including travel, entertainment, lodging and meal expenses, incurred by the Adviser, or members of its investment team, or payable to third parties, in evaluating, developing, negotiating, structuring and performing due diligence on prospective portfolio companies, including such expenses related to potential investments that were not consummated, and, if necessary, enforcing the Company’s rights; |
| (k) | expenses (including the allocable portions of compensation and out-of-pocket expenses such as travel expenses) or an appropriate portion thereof of employees of the Adviser to the extent such expenses relate to attendance at meetings of the Board of Trustees or any committees thereof; |
| (l) | 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, without limitation any legal, tax, administrative, accounting, travel, meals, accommodations and entertainment, advisory, consulting and printing expenses, 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; |
| (m) | the allocated costs incurred by the Adviser and the Administrator in providing managerial assistance to those portfolio companies that request it; |
| (n) | all brokerage costs, hedging costs, prime brokerage fees, custodial expenses, agent bank and other bank service fees; private placement fees, commissions, appraisal fees, commitment fees and underwriting costs; costs and expenses of any lenders, investment banks and other financing sources, and other investment costs, fees and expenses actually incurred in connection with evaluating, making, holding, settling, clearing, monitoring or disposing of actual investments (including, without limitation, travel, meals, accommodations and entertainment expenses and any expenses related to attending trade association and/or industry meetings, conferences or similar meetings, any costs or expenses relating to currency conversion in the case of investments denominated in a currency other than U.S. dollars) and expenses arising out of trade settlements (including any delayed compensation expenses); |
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| (o) | investment costs, including all fees, costs and expenses incurred in sourcing, evaluating, developing, negotiating, structuring, trading (including trading errors), settling, monitoring and holding prospective or actual investments or investment strategies including, without limitation, any financing, legal, filing, auditing, tax, accounting, compliance, loan administration, travel, meals, accommodations and entertainment, advisory, consulting, engineering, data-related and other professional fees, costs and expenses in connection therewith (to the extent the Adviser is not reimbursed by a prospective or actual issuer of the applicable investment or other third parties or capitalized as part of the acquisition price of the transaction) and any fees, costs and expenses related to the organization or maintenance of any vehicle through which the Company directly or indirectly participates in the acquisition, holding and/or disposition of investments or which otherwise facilitate the Company’s investment activities, including without limitation any travel and accommodations expenses related to such vehicle and the salary and benefits of any personnel (including personnel of Adviser or its affiliates) reasonably necessary and/or advisable for the maintenance and operation of such vehicle, or other overhead expenses (including any fees, costs and expenses associated with the leasing of office space (which may be made with one or more affiliates of the Administrator as lessor in connection therewith)); |
| (p) | transfer agent, distribution/dividend agent and custodial fees; |
| (q) | fees and expenses associated with marketing efforts; |
| (r) | federal and state registration fees, franchise fees, costs associated with an exchange listing (including stock exchange listing fees) and fees payable to rating agencies; |
| (s) | independent trustees’ fees and expenses including reasonable travel, entertainment, lodging and meal expenses, and any legal counsel or other advisors retained by, or at the discretion or for the benefit of, the independent trustees; |
| (t) | costs of preparing financial statements and maintaining books and records, costs of Xxxxxxxx-Xxxxx Act of 2002 compliance and attestation and costs of preparing and filing reports or other documents with the SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and other regulatory bodies and other reporting and compliance costs, including registration and exchange listing 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; |
| (u) | all fees, costs and expenses associated with the preparation and issuance of the Company’s periodic reports and related statements (e.g., financial statements and tax returns) and other internal and third-party printing (including a flat service fee), publishing (including time spent performing such printing and publishing services) and reporting-related expenses (including other notices and communications) in respect of the Company and its activities (including internal expenses, charges and/or related costs incurred, charged or specifically attributed or allocated by the Company or the Adviser or its affiliates in connection with such provision of services thereby); |
| (v) | the costs of any reports, proxy statements or other notices to shareholders (including printing and mailing costs) and the costs of any shareholder or Trustee meetings; |
| (w) | proxy voting expenses; |
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| (x) | costs of registration rights granted to certain investors; |
| (y) | any taxes and/or tax-related interest, fees or other governmental charges (including any penalties incurred where the Adviser lacks sufficient information from third parties to file a timely and complete tax return) levied against the Company and all expenses incurred in connection with any tax audit, investigation, litigation, settlement or review of the Company and the amount of any judgments, fines, remediation or settlements paid in connection therewith; |
| (z) | all fees, costs and expenses of any litigation, arbitration or audit involving the Company any vehicle or its portfolio companies and the amount of any judgments, assessments fines, remediations or settlements paid in connection therewith, Trustees and officers, liability or other insurance (including costs of title insurance) and indemnification (including advancement of any fees, costs or expenses to persons entitled to indemnification) or extraordinary expense or liability relating to the affairs of the Company; |
| (aa) | all fees, costs and expenses associated with the Company’s information, obtaining and maintaining technology (including the costs of any professional service providers), hardware/software, data-related communication, market data and research (including news and quotation equipment and services and including costs allocated by the Adviser’s or its affiliates’ internal and third-party research groups (which are generally based on time spent, assets under management, usage rates, proportionate holdings or a combination thereof or other reasonable methods determined by the Administrator) and expenses and fees (including compensation costs) charged or specifically attributed or allocated by Adviser and/or its affiliates for data-related services provided to the Company and/or its portfolio companies (including in connection with prospective investments), each including expenses, charges, fees and/or related costs of an internal nature; provided, that any such expenses, charges or related costs shall not be greater than what would be paid to an unaffiliated third party for substantially similar services), reporting costs (which includes notices and other communications and internally allocated charges), and dues and expenses incurred in connection with membership in industry or trade organizations; |
| (bb) | the costs of specialty and custom software for monitoring risk, compliance and the overall portfolio, including any development costs incurred prior to the filing of the Company’s election to be treated as a business development company; |
| (cc) | costs associated with individual or group shareholders; |
| (dd) | fidelity bond, trustees and officers errors and omissions liability insurance and other insurance premiums; |
| (ee) | direct costs and expenses of administration, including printing, mailing, long distance telephone, copying and secretarial and other staff; |
| (ff) | all fees, costs and expenses of winding up and liquidating the Company’s assets; |
| (gg) | extraordinary expenses (such as litigation or indemnification); |
| (hh) | all fees, costs and expenses related to compliance-related matters (such as developing and implementing specific policies and procedures in order to comply with certain regulatory requirements) and regulatory filings; notices or disclosures related to the Company’s activities (including, without limitation, expenses relating to the preparation and filing of filings required under the Securities Act, TIC Form SLT filings, Internal Revenue Service filings under FATCA and FBAR reporting requirements applicable to the Company or reports to be filed with the CFTC, reports, disclosures, filings and notifications prepared in connection with the laws and/or regulations of jurisdictions in which the Company engages in activities, including any notices, reports and/or filings required under the AIFMD, European Securities and Markets Authority and any related regulations, and other regulatory filings, notices or disclosures of the Adviser relating to the Company and its affiliates relating to the Company, and their activities) and/or other regulatory filings, notices or disclosures of the Adviser and its affiliates relating to the Company including those pursuant to applicable disclosure laws and expenses relating to FOIA requests, but excluding, for the avoidance of doubt, any expenses incurred for general compliance and regulatory matters that are not related to the Company and its activities; |
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| (ii) | costs and expenses (including travel) in connection with the diligence and oversight of the Company’s service providers; |
| (jj) | costs and expenses, including travel, meals, accommodations, entertainment and other similar expenses, incurred by the Adviser or its affiliates for meetings with existing investors and any broker-dealers, registered investment advisors, financial and other advisors representing such existing investors; |
| (kk) | the Company’s allocable portion of compensation, overhead (including rent, office equipment and utilities) and other expenses incurred by the Administrator and in performing its administrative obligations under this Agreement, including but not limited to, compensation of: (i) the Company’s chief compliance officer, chief financial officer and their respective staffs; (ii) investor relations, legal, operations and other non-investment professionals at the Administrator that perform duties for the Company; and (iii) any internal audit group personnel of the Administrator or any of its affiliates; and |
| (ll) | all other expenses incurred by the Administrator in connection with administering the Company’s business. |
To the extent the Administrator outsources any of its functions, the Company will pay the fees associated with such functions on a direct basis without profit to the Administrator.
5. Limitation of Liability of the Administrator; Indemnification
The Administrator (and its officers, managers, partners, agents, employees, controlling persons, members, and any other person or entity affiliated with the Administrator, including without limitation its members) shall not be liable to the Company or its shareholders for any action by the Administrator (and its officers, managers, partners, agents, employees, controlling persons, members, and any other person or entity affiliated with the Administrator, including without limitation its members) in connection with the performance of any of its duties or obligations under this Agreement or otherwise as administrator for the Company, and the Company shall indemnify, defend and protect the Administrator (and its officers, managers, partners, agents, employees, controlling persons, members, and any other person or entity affiliated with the Administrator, including without limitation the Advisor, each of whom shall be deemed a third party beneficiary hereof) (collectively, the “Indemnified Parties”) and hold them harmless from and against all damages, liabilities, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and amounts reasonably paid in settlement) incurred by the Indemnified Parties in or by reason of any pending, threatened or completed action, suit, investigation or other proceeding (including an action or suit by or in the right of the Company or its security holders) arising out of or otherwise based upon the performance of any of the Administrator’s duties or obligations under this Agreement or otherwise as administrator for the Company. Notwithstanding the preceding sentence of this Paragraph 5 to the contrary, nothing contained herein shall protect or be deemed to protect the Indemnified Parties against or entitle or be deemed to entitle the Indemnified Parties to indemnification in respect of, any liability to the Company or its security holders to which the Indemnified Parties would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of its obligations in the performance of the Administrator’s duties or by reason of the reckless disregard of the Administrator’s duties and obligations under this Agreement (to the extent applicable, as the same shall be determined in accordance with the Investment Company Act and any interpretations or guidance by the SEC or its staff thereunder).
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6. Activities of the Administrator
The services of the Administrator to the Company are not to be deemed to be exclusive, and the Administrator and each affiliate is free to render services to others. It is understood that trustees, officers, employees and shareholders of the Company are or may become interested in the Administrator and its affiliates, as trustees, officers, members, managers, employees, partners, shareholders or otherwise, and that the Administrator and directors, officers, members, managers, employees, partners and shareholders of the Administrator and its affiliates are or may become similarly interested in the Company as shareholders or otherwise.
7. Duration and Termination of this Agreement
This Agreement shall become effective as of the date hereof, and shall remain in force with respect to the Company for two years thereafter, and thereafter continue from year to year, but only so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (i) the Board and (ii) a majority of those Trustees who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the Investment Company Act) of a party to this Agreement.
This Agreement may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, by the Company, or by the Administrator, upon 60 days’ written notice to the other party. This Agreement may not be assigned by a party without the prior consent of the other party.
8. Amendments to this Agreement
This Agreement may be amended pursuant to a written instrument by mutual consent of the parties.
9. Governing Law
This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with laws of the State of Delaware and the applicable provisions of the Investment Company Act, if any. To the extent that the applicable laws of the State of Delaware, or any of the provisions herein, conflict with the applicable provisions of the Investment Company Act, if any, the latter shall control.
10. Entire Agreement
This Agreement contains the entire agreement of the parties and supersedes all prior agreements, understandings and arrangements with respect to the subject matter hereof.
11. Notices
Any notice under this Agreement shall be given in writing, addressed and delivered or mailed, postage prepaid, to the other party at its principal office.
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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed on the date above written.
| XXXX CAPITAL PRIVATE CREDIT | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
| BCSF ADVISORS, LP | ||
| By: | ||
| Name: | ||
| Title: | ||
[Signature page for Administration Agreement]
