ADMINISTRATION AGREEMENT
Exhibit 10.1
This Agreement (“Agreement”) is made as of January 1, 2014 by and between FIFTH STREET FINANCE CORP., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and FSC CT, INC., a Connecticut corporation (the “Administrator”).
W I T N E S S E T H:
WHEREAS, the Company is a closed-end management investment company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”); and
WHEREAS, the Company previously engaged FSC, Inc., a New York corporation (the “Prior Administrator”) to provide administrative services to the Company; and
WHEREAS, effective as of the date first set forth above, the Company desires to retain the Administrator, in lieu of the Prior 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 Directors 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, to the extent the Company so requires, 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 custodians, trustees, depositories, transfer agents, dividend disbursing agents, other stockholder 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. The Administrator shall make reports to the Board of its performance of obligations hereunder and furnish advice and recommendations with respect to such other aspects of the business and affairs of the Company, in each case, as it shall determine to be desirable or as reasonably requested by the Board; provided that nothing herein shall be construed to require the Administrator to, and the Administrator shall not, 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 pursuant to this Agreement. The Administrator shall provide portfolio collections functions for interest income, fees and warrants and be responsible for the financial and other records that the Company is required to maintain and shall prepare, print and disseminate reports to stockholders, and reports and other materials filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). In addition, the Administrator will assist the Company in determining and publishing the Company’s net asset value, overseeing the preparation and filing of the Company’s tax returns, and generally overseeing the payment of the Company’s expenses and the performance of administrative and professional services rendered to the Company by others.
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 will maintain and keep such books, accounts and records in accordance with the Investment Company Act. In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the Investment Company Act, the Administrator agrees that all records which it 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 that it 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 this Agreement.
3. | Confidentiality |
All confidential information provided by a party hereto, including nonpublic personal information (regulated pursuant to Regulation S-P of the SEC), 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 to any regulatory or legal authority, or legal counsel of the parties hereto, by judicial or administrative process or otherwise by applicable law or regulation.
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 Company will bear all costs and expenses that are incurred in its operation, administration and transactions and not specifically assumed by Fifth Street Management LLC (the “Adviser”) pursuant to that certain Investment Advisory Agreement, dated as of May 2, 2011 (the “Investment Advisory Agreement”) by and between the Company and the Adviser. Costs and expenses to be borne by the Company include, but are not limited to, fees and expenses relating to: organizational and offering expenses; the investigation and monitoring of the Company’s investments; the cost of calculating the Company’s net asset value; the cost of effecting sales and repurchases of shares of the Company’s common stock and other securities; management and incentive fees payable pursuant to the Investment Advisory Agreement; fees payable to third parties relating to, or associated with, making investments and valuing investments (including third-party valuation firms); transfer agent, trustee and custodial fees; interest payments and other costs related to the Company’s borrowings; fees and expenses associated with marketing efforts (including attendance at investment conferences and similar events); federal and state registration fees; any exchange listing fees; federal, state and local taxes; independent directors’ fees and expenses; brokerage commissions; costs of proxy statements, stockholders’ reports and notices; costs of preparing government filings, including periodic and current reports with the SEC; fidelity bond, liability insurance and other insurance premiums; and printing, mailing, independent accountants and outside legal costs and all other direct expenses incurred by either the Administrator or the Company in connection with administering the Company’s business , including payments under this Agreement.
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, and any person affiliated with its members to the extent they are providing services for or otherwise acting on behalf of the Administrator, Adviser or the Company) shall not be liable to the Company for any action taken or omitted to be taken by the Administrator 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 Adviser, 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 Section 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 or gross negligence 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).
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 of its affiliates is free to render services to others. It is understood that directors, officers, employees and stockholders of the Company are or may become interested in the Administrator and its affiliates, as directors, officers, members, managers, employees, partners, stockholders or otherwise, and that the Administrator and directors, officers, members, managers, employees, partners and stockholders of the Administrator and its affiliates are or may become similarly interested in the Company as stockholders or otherwise.
7. | Duration and Termination of this Agreement |
(a)This Agreement shall become effective as of the first date above written. This Agreement may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, upon 60 days’ written notice, by the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Company, or by the vote of the Company’s directors or by the Administrator.
(b)This Agreement shall remain in effect until January 1, 2015, and thereafter shall continue automatically for successive annual periods, provided that such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by (a) the vote of the Board, or by the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Company and (b) the vote of a majority of the Company’s directors who are not parties to this Agreement or “interested persons” (as such term is defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act) of any such party, in accordance with the requirements of the Investment Company Act and each of whom is an “independent director” under applicable securities exchange listing standards.
(c)This Agreement may not be assigned by a party without the consent of the other party; provided, however, that the rights and obligations of the Company under this Agreement shall not be deemed to be assigned to a newly-formed entity in the event of the merger of the Company into, or conveyance of all of the assets of the Company to, such newly-formed entity; provided, further, however, that the sole purpose of that merger or conveyance is to effect a mere change in the Company’s legal form into another limited liability entity. The provisions of Section 5 of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect, and the Administrator shall remain entitled to the benefits thereof, notwithstanding any termination of this Agreement.
8. | Amendments of 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 the laws of the State of New York and shall be construed in accordance with the applicable provisions of the Investment Company Act. To the extent the applicable laws of the State of New York, or any of the provisions herein, conflict with the provisions of the Investment Company Act, 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 executed and delivered this Agreement as of the date first above written.
By: /s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxxx
Name: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxxxxxx
Title: Chief Executive Officer
FSC CT, INC.
By: /s/ Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Name: Xxxxxxx X. Xxxxxx
Title: President
