Related Party Agreements and Transactions

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2023

Related Party Transactions [Abstract]

Related Party Agreements and Transactions

Note 3 — Related Party Agreements and Transactions

Second Amended and Restated Advisory Agreement

On November 29, 2016, the Company’s Board of Directors approved an investment advisory agreement between RGC and the Company, under which RGC, subject to the overall supervision of the Board of Directors, manages the day-to-day operations of and provides investment advisory services to the Company (together with a subsequent amendment thereto, the “Prior Advisory Agreement”). On August 3, 2017, the Board of Directors approved certain amendments to the Prior Advisory Agreement (the “First Amended and Restated Advisory Agreement”) and recommended that the Company’s stockholders approve the First Amended and Restated Advisory Agreement. The First Amended and Restated Advisory Agreement became effective on September 12, 2017 upon approval by the stockholders at a special meeting of stockholders of the Company. On April 7, 2021, the Board of Directors approved certain additional amendments to the advisory agreement (the “Advisory Agreement”) at a virtual meeting and recommended that the Company’s stockholders approve the Advisory Agreement. In reliance upon certain exemptive relief granted by the SEC in connection with the global COVID-19 pandemic, the Board of Directors undertook to ratify the Advisory Agreement at its next in-person meeting which was held in July 2021. The Advisory Agreement became effective on May 27, 2021 upon approval by the stockholders at a special meeting of stockholders of the Company. The Advisory Agreement amended the Prior Advisory Agreement to include certain revisions to the management and incentive fee calculation mechanisms and clarify language relating to liquidity events. On May 2, 2023, the Company's Board of Directors renewed the Advisory agreement for a period of twelve months commencing May 27, 2023. Under the terms of the Advisory Agreement, RGC:

•determines the composition of the Company’s portfolio, the nature and timing of the changes to the portfolio and the manner of implementing such changes;

•identifies, evaluates and negotiates the structure of the investments the Company makes;

•executes, closes and monitors the investments the Company makes;

•determines the securities and other assets that the Company will purchase, retain or sell;

•performs due diligence on prospective investments; and

•provides the Company with other such investment advisory, research and related services as the Company may, from time to time, reasonably require for the investment of its funds.

Pursuant to the Advisory Agreement, the Company pays RGC a fee for its investment advisory and management services consisting of two components — a base management fee and an incentive fee. The cost of both the base management fee and incentive fee are ultimately borne by the Company’s stockholders.

Base Management Fee

The base management fee is payable on the first day of each calendar quarter and is calculated on the Company's "Gross Assets" which, for purposes of the Advisory Agreement, is defined as the Company’s gross assets, including assets purchased with borrowed funds or other forms of leverage, as well as any PIK interest, as of the end of the most recently completed fiscal quarter. The base management fee will be an amount equal to 0.375% (1.50% annualized) of the Company’s average daily Gross Assets during the most recently completed calendar quarter, so long as the aggregate amount of the Company’s Gross Assets as of the end of the most recently completed calendar quarter is equal to or greater than $1.0 billion. If the aggregate amount of the Company’s Gross Assets as of the end of the most recently completed calendar quarter is less than $1.0 billion but equal to or greater than $500.0 million, the base management fee will be an amount equal to 0.40% (1.60% annualized) of the Company’s average daily Gross Assets during the most recently completed calendar quarter. If the aggregate amount of the Company’s Gross Assets as of the end of the most recently completed calendar quarter is less than $500.0 million, the base management fee will be an amount equal to 0.4375% (1.75% annualized) of the Company’s average daily Gross Assets during the most recently completed calendar quarter.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, RGC earned base management fees at a rate of 1.50% per annum, amounting to $16.7 million For the years ended December 31, 2022 and 2021, RGC earned base management fees at a rate of 1.60% per annum, amounting to $11.9 million and $9.0 million, respectively.

Incentive Fee

The incentive fee, which provides RGC with a share of the income that RGC generates for the Company, consists of an investment-income component and a capital-gains component, which are largely independent of each other, with the result that one component may be payable even if the other is not.

Under the investment-income component (the “Income Incentive Fee”), the Company pays RGC each quarter an incentive fee with respect to the Company’s pre-incentive fee net investment income ("Pre-Incentive Fee NII"). The Income Incentive Fee is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears based on the Pre-Incentive Fee NII for the immediately preceding fiscal quarter. Payments based on Pre-Incentive Fee NII will be based on the Pre-Incentive Fee NII earned for the quarter. For this purpose, Pre-Incentive Fee NII means interest income, dividend income and any other income (including any other fees, such as commitment, origination, structuring, diligence, managerial and consulting fees or other fees that the Company receives from portfolio companies) that the Company accrues during the fiscal quarter, minus the Company’s operating expenses for the quarter (including the base management fee, expenses payable under the amended and restated administration were deferred incentive fees payable, both of which are included in incentive fees payable on the Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities agreement with the Administrator (the “Administration Agreement”), and any dividends paid on any issued and outstanding preferred stock, but excluding the incentive fee). Pre-Incentive Fee NII includes, in the case of investments with a deferred interest feature (such as OID accretion, debt instruments with pay in kind interest and zero coupon securities), accrued income the Company has not yet received in cash; provided, however, that the portion of the Income Incentive Fee attributable to deferred interest features will be paid, only if and to the extent received in cash, and any accrual thereof will be reversed if and to the extent such interest is reversed in connection with any write off or similar treatment of the investment giving rise to any deferred interest accrual, applied in each case in the order such interest was accrued. Such subsequent payments in respect of previously accrued income will not reduce the amounts payable for any quarter pursuant to the calculation of the Income Incentive Fee described above. Pre-Incentive Fee NII does not include any realized or unrealized capital gains (losses).

Pre-Incentive Fee NII, expressed as a rate of return on the value of the Company’s net assets (defined as total assets less liabilities) at the end of the immediately preceding fiscal quarter, will be compared to a “hurdle rate” of 2.0% per quarter (8.0% annualized). The Company pays RGC an Income Incentive Fee with respect to the Company’s Pre-Incentive Fee NII in each calendar quarter as follows: (1) no Income Incentive Fee in any calendar quarter in which the Company’s Pre-Incentive Fee NII does not exceed the hurdle rate of 2.0%; (2) 80% of the Company’s Pre-Incentive Fee NII with respect to that portion of such Pre-Incentive Fee NII, if any, that exceeds the hurdle rate but is less than 2.667% in any calendar quarter (10.668% annualized) (the portion of the Company’s Pre-Incentive Fee NII that exceeds the hurdle but is less than 2.667% is referred to as the “catch-up”; the “catch-up” is meant to provide RGC with 20.0% of the Company’s Pre-Incentive Fee NII as if a hurdle did not apply if the Company’s Pre-Incentive Fee NII exceeds 2.667% in any calendar quarter (10.668% annualized)); and (3) 20.0% of the amount of the Company’s Pre-Incentive Fee NII, if any, that exceeds 2.667% in any calendar quarter (10.668% annualized) payable to RGC (once the hurdle is reached and the catch-up is achieved, 20.0% of all Pre-Incentive Fee NII thereafter is allocated to RGC).

Until the consummation of a Spin-Off transaction (defined below), in the event that (a) the sum of the Company’s cumulative net realized losses since the date of the Company’s election to be regulated as a BDC exceeded 2.0% of the total non-control/non-affiliate investments made by the Company since the date of the Company’s election to be regulated as a BDC through the end of the quarter and (b) the Pre-Incentive Fee NII adjusted to include any realized capital gains and losses (“Adjusted Pre-Incentive Fee NII”), expressed as an annualized rate of return on the value of the Company’s average daily net assets (defined as total assets less liabilities), since the Company’s election to be regulated as a BDC through the end of the quarter was less than 10.0%, no Income Incentive Fee would be payable for such quarter until the first subsequent quarter in which either (x) the sum of the Company’s cumulative net realized losses since the date of the Company’s election to be regulated as a BDC was equal to or less than 2.0% of the total non-control/non-affiliate investments made by the Company since the date of the Company’s election to be regulated as a BDC through the end of such subsequent quarter or (y) the Adjusted Pre-Incentive Fee NII, expressed as an annualized rate of return on the value of the Company’s average daily net assets (defined as total assets less liabilities), since the Company’s election to be regulated as a BDC through the of the end of the quarter equals or exceeds 10.0%; provided, however, that in no event would any Income Incentive Fee be payable for any prior quarter after the three-year anniversary of the end of such quarter. For purposes of the Advisory Agreement, a “Spin-Off transaction” includes either a transaction whereby (a) the Company offers its stockholders the option to elect to either (i) retain their ownership of shares of the Company’s common stock, or (ii) exchange their shares of the Company’s common stock for shares of common stock in a newly formed entity (the “Public Fund”) that will elect to be regulated as a BDC under the 1940 Act and treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code (the “Public Fund Spin Off”); or (b) the Company completes a listing of the Company’s securities on any securities exchange (an “Exchange Listing”).

Under the capital gains component of the incentive fee (the “Capital Gains Fee”), the Company will pay RGC, as of the end of each calendar year, 20.0% of the Company’s aggregate cumulative realized capital gains, if any, from the date of the Company’s election to be regulated as a BDC through the end of that calendar year, computed net of the Company’s aggregate cumulative realized capital losses and aggregate cumulative unrealized capital losses through the end of such year, less the aggregate amount of any previously paid Capital Gains Fee. For the foregoing purpose, the Company’s “aggregate cumulative realized capital gains” will not include any unrealized gains. If such amount is negative, then no Capital Gains Fee will be payable for such year.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, RGC earned incentive fees of $19.0 million, $14.1 million of which was payable in cash, and $4.9 million was accrued and generated from deferred interest. For the year ended December 31, 2022, RGC earned incentive fees of $13.2 million, $11.0 million of which were payable in cash, and $2.2 million were accrued and generated from deferred interest. For the year ended December 31, 2021, RGC earned incentive fees of $9.2 million, $7.4 million of which was payable in cash, and $1.8 million were accrued and generated from deferred interest. All incentive fees accrued and generated from deferred interest (i.e., PIK and certain discount accretion) are not payable until receipt of respective cash by the Company. As of December 31, 2023, $3.3 million were payable in cash and $9.2 million were deferred incentive fees payable, both of which are included in incentive fees payable on the Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities. As of December 31, 2022, $3.8 million of incentive fees payable were payable in cash, and $5.0 million were deferred incentive fees payable, both of which are included in incentive fees payable on the Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

The capital gains incentive fee consists of fees related to realized gains and losses and unrealized capital losses. With respect to the incentive fee expense accrual related to the capital gains incentive fee, U.S. GAAP requires that the capital gains incentive fee accrual consider the cumulative aggregate unrealized gains in the calculation, as a capital gains incentive fee would be payable if such unrealized gains were realized even though such unrealized gains are not permitted to be considered in calculating the fee actually payable under the Advisory Agreement. As of each of December 31, 2023 and December 31, 2022, there was no capital gains incentive fee accrued, earned or payable to RGC under the Advisory Agreement.

Spin-Off Incentive Fee

The Income Incentive Fee will be payable in connection with a Public Fund Spin-Off as follows. The Income Incentive Fee will be calculated as of the date of the completion of each Public Fund Spin-Off and will equal the amount of Income Incentive Fee that would be payable to RGC if (1) all of the Company’s investments were liquidated for their current value and any unamortized deferred portfolio investment-related fees would be deemed accelerated, (2) the proceeds from such liquidation were used to pay all of the Company’s outstanding liabilities, and (3) the remainder were distributed to the Company’s stockholders and paid as incentive fee in accordance with the Income Incentive Fee described in clauses (1) and (2) above for determining the amount of the Income Incentive Fee; provided, however, that in no event will the Income Incentive Fee paid in connection with the completion of the Public Fund Spin-Off (x) include the portion of the Income Incentive Fee attributable to deferred interest features of a particular investment that is not transferred pursuant to the Public Fund Spin-Off until such time as the deferred interest is received in cash, or (y) exceed 20.0% of the Company’s Pre-Incentive Fee NII accrued by the Company for the fiscal quarter as of the date of the completion of the Public-Fund Spin-Off. The Company will make the payment of the Income Incentive Fee paid in connection with the completion of the Public Fund Spin-Off in cash on or immediately following the date of the completion of the Public-Fund Spin-Off. After the Public Fund Spin-Off, all calculations relating to the incentive fee payable will be made beginning on the day immediately following the completion of the Public Fund Spin-Off without taking into account the exchanged shares of the Company’s common stock (or contributions, distributions or proceeds relating thereto).

The Capital Gains Fee will be payable in respect of the exchanged shares of the Company’s common stock in connection with the Public Fund Spin-Off and will be calculated as of the date of the completion of the Public Fund Spin-Off as if such date were a calendar year-end for purposes of calculating and paying the Capital Gains Fee.

No Income Incentive Fee or Capital Gains Fee will be payable in connection with the Public Fund Spin-Off unless, on the date of the completion of the Public Fund Spin-Off, the sum of the Company’s (i) Pre-Incentive Fee NII and (ii) realized capital gains less realized capital losses and unrealized capital losses from the date of the Company’s election to be regulated as a BDC through, and including, the date of the completion of the Public Fund Spin-Off, is greater than 8.0% of the cumulative net investments made by the Company since the Company’s election to be regulated as a BDC.

Administration Agreement

The Company reimburses the Administrator for the allocable portion of overhead expenses incurred by the Administrator in performing its obligations under the Administration Agreement, including furnishing the Company with office facilities, equipment and clerical, bookkeeping and recordkeeping services at such facilities, as well as providing other administrative services. In addition, the Company reimburses the Administrator for the fees and expenses associated with performing compliance functions, and the Company’s allocable portion of the compensation of the Company’s Chief Financial Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and any administrative support staff, as well as any expenses paid by the Administrator on the Company's behalf.

For the year ended December 31, 2023, the Company incurred $2.1 million of Administration Agreement expenses, of which $0.8 million was payable to a third-party service provider and $1.3 million was overhead allocation expense. As of December 31, 2023, the Company had accrued a net payable to the Administrator of $0.4 million and a payable to the third-party administrator of $0.2 million, which are included in Accrued expenses and other liabilities on the Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities. For the year ended December 31, 2022, the Company incurred $1.8 million of Administration Agreement expenses, of which $0.8 million was payable to a third-party service provider and $1.0 million was overhead allocation expense. As of December 31, 2022, the Company had accrued a net payable to the Administrator of $0.4 million and a payable to the third-party administrator of $0.2 million, which are included in Accrued expenses and other liabilities on the Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities. For the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company incurred $1.6 million of Administration Agreement expenses, of which $0.7 million was payable to a third-party service provider and $0.9 million was overhead allocation expense. As of December 31, 2021, the Company had accrued a net payable to the Administrator of $0.2 million and a payable to the third-party administrator of $0.3 million, which are included in Accrued expenses and other liabilities on the Consolidated Statements of Assets and Liabilities.

License Agreement

The Company has entered into a license agreement with RGC (the “License Agreement”) pursuant to which RGC has granted the Company a personal, non-exclusive, royalty-free right and license to use the name “Runway Growth Finance.” Under the License Agreement, the Company has the right to use the “Runway Growth Finance” name for so long as RGC or one of its affiliates remains the Company’s investment adviser. Other than with respect to this limited license, the Company has no legal right to the “Runway Growth Finance” name.

Strategic Relationship

In December 2016, the Company and RGC entered into a strategic relationship with Oaktree Capital Management, L.P (“Oaktree”). In connection with the strategic relationship, OCM Growth Holdings ("OCM Growth") purchased an aggregate of 14,571,334 shares of the Company's common stock for an aggregate purchase price of $219.3 million in the Company's Initial Private Offering and Second Private Offering. Oaktree Opportunities Fund Xb Holdings (Delaware), L.P. ("Oaktree Opportunities") purchased 24,100 shares of the Company common stock in secondary transactions in 2020 and 2022. As of December 31, 2023, OCM Growth and Oaktree Opportunities Fund Xb Holdings (Delaware), L.P. (together with OCM Growth, the “OCM Holders”), each an affiliate of Oaktree, own 16,473,290 shares and 18,878 shares of our common stock, respectively, or 40.7% of the Company's outstanding shares. Pursuant to an irrevocable proxy, certain shares held by OCM Growth must be voted in the same proportion that the Company's other stockholders vote their shares. Of the 16,492,168 shares of Company’s common stock owned by the OCM Holders, 15,588,549 shares, or approximately 38.5% of the Company’s outstanding shares, are subject to this proxy voting arrangement.

In connection with OCM Growth’s commitment, the Company entered into a stockholder agreement, dated December 15, 2016, with OCM Growth, pursuant to which OCM Growth has a right to nominate a member of the Company’s Board of Directors for election for so long as OCM Growth holds shares of the Company’s common stock in an amount equal to, in the aggregate, at least one-third (33%) of OCM Growth’s initial $125.0 million capital commitment. Gregory M. Share, Managing Director of Oaktree's Global Opportunities Group in Los Angeles, serves on the Company’s Board of Directors as OCM Growth’s director nominee and is considered an interested director. OCM Growth also holds a minority interest in RGC and has the right to appoint a member of RGC’s board of managers and a member of RGC’s investment committee. Mr. Share is OCM Growth’s appointee to RGC’s board of managers and investment committee.