BlackRock TCP Capital Corp.

Ladies and gentlemen, good afternoon. Welcome everyone to the BlackRock TCP Capital Corp's second quarter 2021 earnings conference call. Today's conference call is being recorded for replay purposes. During the presentation, all participants will be in a listen-only mode. A question and answer session will follow the company's formal remarks. To ask a question, please press the star key followed by the digit 1. I will repeat these instructions before we begin the Q&A session. And now I would like to turn the call over to Katie McGlynn, Director of the BlackRock TCP Capital Corp Global Investor Relations Team. Katie, please proceed.

Thank you, Matt. Before we begin, I'll note that this conference call may contain forward-looking statements based on the estimates and assumptions of management at the time of such statements and are not guarantees of future performance. Forward-looking statements may involve risks and uncertainties, and actual results could differ materially from those projected. Any forward-looking statements made on this call are made as of today and are subject to change without notice. Earlier today, we issued our earnings release for the second quarter ended June 30, 2021. We also posted a supplemental earnings presentation to our website at tcpcapital.com. To view the slide presentation, which we will refer to on today's call, please click on the Investor Relations link and select Events and Presentations. These documents should be reviewed in conjunction with the company's Form 10-Q, which was filed with the SEC earlier today. I will now turn the call over to our Chairman and CEO, Howard Lefkowitz.

Thank you, Katie, and thank you all for joining us today. We appreciate your continued interest in TCPC and we hope you are safe and well. There are several members of the TCPC team on the call with us today, including our President and Chief Operating Officer, Raj Vick, and our Chief Financial Officer, Eric Cuellar. I will start with a few highlights from the second quarter. Raj will then provide an update on our portfolio and investment activity. Next, Eric will review our financial results as well as our capital and liquidity positioning. After that, I will provide some closing comments before opening the call to your questions. Beginning with highlights from our second quarter, TCPC delivered another strong quarter of results driven by a meaningful increase in the value of our portfolio investments which drove significant net asset value growth as well as outstanding credit quality and robust deployment in the second quarter our net asset value increased 4.8 percent and year over year net asset value is up 16.4 percent this is our fifth consecutive quarter of net asset value increases and builds on the positive net asset value accretion we had during 2020 a result of which we are extremely proud. As Eric will discuss in more detail, the increase in net asset value in Q2 was primarily driven by a $41 million unrealized gain on our investment in Edmentum, together with more modest increases in value across the portfolio. That investment income in the quarter was $17.8 million, or $0.31 per share, which again exceeded our dividend of $0.30 per share. Our credit quality remains solid, with loans to just two portfolio companies on non-accrual, totaling 30 basis points of the portfolio at fair value and 70 basis points at cost. As Raj will discuss in more detail, we had significant gross deployment activity in the second quarter, and we increased the number of our investments by 10% to 108. While the market environment remains competitive, we continue to benefit from the relationships we've developed over more than two decades of lending to middle market companies, as well as the extensive resources of the BlackRock platform that provide our team with attractive investment opportunities. We also continue to seek ways to enhance our strong balance sheet and liquidity positioning. In June, we amended the SVCP credit facility. As part of the amendment, we extended the maturity two years to May 2026 and lowered the stated rate from LIBOR plus 2% to LIBOR plus 1.75%. Despite the volatility that occurred in 2020, TCPC delivered strong results for shareholders over the past year, as we've done throughout our nearly 10 years as a public company. Throughout this period, we have generated a 10.9% return on invested assets and a total cash return of 9.7%, while also outperforming the Wells Fargo BDC index. Three years into the TCP acquisition by BlackRock, we are fully leveraging the strength and unparalleled scale of the BlackRock platform to build upon TCPC's performance track record. In view of these accomplishments, two months ago, I announced my plans to retire from my position as Chief Executive Officer of TCPC, effective August 5, and as Chairman of TCPC, effective September 30. I will remain at BlackRock through year end. I'm extremely proud of the deep bench of talent that we have developed over two decades at TCPC and now BlackRock, which allows for a smooth transition. Raj Vig will succeed me as CEO and chairman, and Phil Tseng will be appointed president and COO. Raj, Phil, and I have worked together for more than 15 years, and together we built an industry-leading private credit platform. Raj and Phil are also co-heads of the BlackRock U.S. private capital team. They have been instrumental in the integration and growth of our team at BlackRock and are well equipped to continue to build upon TCPC's successful track record. In addition, I would like to congratulate Eric Cuellar on his appointment as CFO, a position for which he is extremely well prepared after serving as TCPC's controller since 2011. Eric has assumed this position seamlessly. Additionally, Kathleen Corbett announced her retirement from the TCPC Board effective today. Kathleen has been an invaluable member of the Board, and we thank her for her tireless service on behalf of TCPC's shareholders. Now, I will turn it over to Raj to discuss our portfolio positioning.