Edgar Lee
Analyst · JP Morgan. Please go ahead
Thank you, Matt. I’ll begin by reviewing Oaktree Specialty Lending portfolio and our plans for managing it. I would like to remind you that since the transaction closed on October 17th, the portfolio results for the fourth quarter of 2017 do not reflect any of our portfolio repositioning efforts. At September 30th, the portfolio had a fair value of $1.54 billion invested in 125 companies. This was comprised of loans to 81 borrowers, the joint venture with Kemper Corporation, 6 public bond issued, 19 equity only positions and 18 private equity investments. Approximately 92% of portfolio was invested in debt instruments, 54% of the portfolio was invested in first lien loans, 24% was in second lien loans, and the remaining 14% was in unsecured investments. 84% of the debt investments were in floating rate securities. The weighted average yield of on un-debt investments is 9.6%. The portfolio included investment in companies across more than 40 industries. The largest concentrations were in the following sectors. Internet and application software and services, healthcare services and equipment, advertising, data processing and outsourced services and pharmaceuticals, while the average investment by borrower was approximate $13 million at fair value, 13 investments were over $30 million and 55 investments were less than $10 million in line with our goal to maintain a diverse portfolio with more evenly size high conviction investments, we expect to reduce our exposure to loans below $10 million overtime. The Kemper joint venture which invests primarily in senior secured loans to middle market companies was valued at $134 million. 96% of that amount is a secured debt investment in the joint venture with the balance in common equity. New investment commitments for the fourth quarter were $156 million and included nine new and five existing portfolio companies. Fundings for the quarter were $168 million including a $21 million loan to an existing portfolio company and $147 million in loans to 14 new portfolio companies. These investments included broadly syndicated loans that are generally more liquid and lower yielding than privately placed middle market loan. During the quarter, OCSL received $243 million in proceeds from refinancing and monetizations of 17 investments. The environment for direct lending remains active, so a number of our portfolio companies were able to refinance or repay their loans. Two of the 17 pay-offs, Dexter Axle and Vandelay Industries generated realized gains totaling $13 million. Now turning to credit quality, at September 30th, a total of eight investments were a non-accrual status, which represented 16.4% of the portfolio at cost and 4.7% at fair value. In the fourth quarter, two additional loans were placed on non-accrual status. Looking ahead, we plan to leverage our restructuring experience and expertise to take a proactive approach to managing challenge credits in the portfolio. In the case of companies with solid enterprise or asset values, we will look to work closely with management to help them execute realistic turnaround plans. In situations where we see little chance of recovery, we will look to exit investments in a manner that optimizes the value of the investment. Since this process is ongoing, we're limited in what we can say with respect to our plans for individual portfolio companies at this time. Now, we'll provide some color on the investment landscape and our expectations for originating new loans for the portfolio. The landscape for direct lending is increasingly competitive as new participants continue to enter the market. Many of whom have significant amounts of dry powder, this has resulted in a wave of refinancing as well as more aggressive deal structures such as those that include weaker covenant, higher leverage or aggressive EBITDA add backs. Against this backdrop, we remain committed to our credit underwriting standards and highly selective approach to making new investments. That said, we believe that Oaktree's broad direct lending platform combined with our ability to co-invest along our other funds will allow us to maintain an active presence in the market. Since we began managing the portfolio in late October, we've made several new investments. To give you a sense for our investment approach, let me briefly describe one strategic transaction we're currently working on with a leading financial sponsor. I should note that this potential investment is subject to certain approvals and we're not certain that it will close. This is a $35 million first lien senior secured investment and an outsourced IT services company that needs growth capital for acquisition. It is attractively priced at LIBOR plus 800 with two points of OID, and has a well structured covenant package and significant asset coverage. Oaktree has provided financing to this company in the past, so we are very familiar with the sector of business and the management team. This is a co-investment opportunity with Oaktree's strategic credit strategy that we were able to pursue following receipt of exemptive relief. We look forward to discussing additional transactions with you in the future and hope this give you a sense for how we will leverage the Oaktree platform to source attractive investment opportunities and how we will structure and price transactions. Now I'll conclude my remarks with some comments on our plans to reposition the portfolio. Our near-term focus is on protecting principle and minimizing credit losses. We're doing this by managing the portfolio down to a core set of more evenly sized high conviction investments. We anticipate restructuring certain loans, exiting positions when we can obtain fair value, and as loans mature or refinanced rotating into opportunities that better aligned with Oaktree's overall approach to credit investing. As we move through the process of repositioning the portfolio, we expect our financial results will be uneven. At the same time since we plan to pay future dividends based on the earnings generated by the portfolio, we also expect our dividend payments will vary from quarter-to-quarter until the portfolio is stabilized. Longer term, we will focus on generating a competitive return on equity and a sustainable and consistent dividend. We will do this by leveraging Oaktree's platform to originate new investments that are aligned with our demonstrated investment approach and can generate attractive returns across economic cycles. We plan to opportunistically invest across the capital structure in senior secured debt, unitranche or junior capital, as well as in structured finance or other non-traditional structures that leverage our expertise. Finally, we'll look for opportunities to capitalize on dislocations in the financing markets to general capital appreciation and income for secondary investments at discounts to par in either private or syndicated deals. And now, I’d like to turn the call over to Mel Carlisle, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer to discuss our financial results and more detail.