BlackRock Capital Investment Corp - Annual Report: 2009 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, DC 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009

OR

For the transition period from                      to                     

Commission file number 001-33559

BLACKROCK KELSO CAPITAL CORPORATION

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Its Charter)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, Including Area Code: 212-810-5800

SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(b) OF THE ACT:

SECURITIES REGISTERED PURSUANT TO SECTION 12(g) OF THE ACT: None

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.    Yes  ¨    No  þ

Indicate by check mark if the Registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act.    Yes  ¨    No  þ

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the Registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  þ    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).    Yes  ¨    No  ¨

Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of Registrant’s knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K.  þ

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer or a non-accelerated filer as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

Large Accelerated Filer  ¨                    Accelerated Filer  þ                    Non-Accelerated Filer  ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the Registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934).    Yes  ¨    No  þ

The aggregate market value of the Registrant’s common stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant at June 30, 2009 (the last business day of the Registrant’s most recently completed second quarter) was $491,699,388 based upon the last sales price reported for such date on The NASDAQ Global Select Market. For purposes of this disclosure, shares of common stock beneficially owned by persons who own 5% or more of the outstanding shares of common stock and shares beneficially owned by executive officers and directors of the Registrant and members of their families have been excluded in that such persons may be deemed to be affiliates. This determination of affiliate status is not necessarily conclusive for other purposes. The Registrant has no non-voting common stock.

There were 56,601,229 shares of the Registrant’s common stock outstanding at March 11, 2010.

Documents Incorporated by Reference:   Portions of the Registrant’s Proxy Statement relating to the Registrant’s 2010 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed not later than 120 days after the end of the fiscal year covered by this Annual Report on
Form 10-K are incorporated by reference into Part III of this Report.

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BLACKROCK KELSO CAPITAL CORPORATION

2009 FORM 10-K ANNUAL REPORT

TABLE OF CONTENTS

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PART I

General

BlackRock Kelso Capital Corporation (“BlackRock Kelso”, the “Company” or the “Registrant,” which may also be referred to as “we,” “us” or “our”) provides middle-market companies with flexible financing solutions, including senior and junior secured, unsecured and subordinated debt securities and loans, and equity securities. Our strategy is to provide capital to meet our clients’ current and future needs across this spectrum, creating long-term partnerships with growing middle-market companies.

We are organized as an externally-managed, non-diversified closed-end management investment company. We have elected to be regulated as a business development company, or BDC, under the Investment Company Act of 1940, which we refer to as the 1940 Act. In addition, for tax purposes we intend to continue to qualify as a regulated investment company, or RIC, under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, which we refer to as the Code.

Our investment objective is to generate both current income and capital appreciation through our debt and equity investments. We invest primarily in middle-market companies and target investments throughout the capital structure that we believe provide an attractive risk-adjusted return. The term “middle-market” refers to companies with annual revenues typically between $50 million and $1 billion. Our targeted investment typically ranges between $10 million and $50 million, although the investment sizes may be more or less than the targeted range and the size of our investments may grow with our capital availability. We generally seek to invest in companies that operate in a broad variety of industries and that generate positive cash flows.

Although most of our investments are in senior and junior secured, unsecured and subordinated loans to U.S. private and certain public middle-market companies, we invest throughout the capital structure, which may include common and preferred equity, options and warrants, credit derivatives, high-yield bonds, distressed debt and other structured securities. We may from time to time invest up to 30% of our assets opportunistically in other types of investments, including securities of other public companies and foreign securities.

The senior and junior secured loans in which we invest generally have stated terms of three to ten years and the subordinated debt investments we make generally have stated terms of up to ten years, but the expected average life of such senior and junior secured loans and subordinated debt is generally between three and seven years. However, we may invest in securities of any maturity or duration. The debt that we invest in typically is not initially rated by any rating agency, but we believe that if such investments were rated, they would be below investment grade (rated lower than “Baa3” by Moody’s Investors Service, lower than “BBB-” by Fitch Ratings or lower than “BBB-” by Standard & Poor’s). We may invest without limit in debt of any rating, as well as debt that has not been rated by any nationally recognized statistical rating organization.

We were incorporated on April 13, 2005, commenced operations with private funding on July 25, 2005, and completed our initial public offering on July 2, 2007. Since the commencement of our operations, the team of investment professionals of BlackRock Kelso Capital Advisors LLC (the “Advisor” or “BlackRock Kelso Capital Advisors”), including our senior management, has evaluated more than 1,500 investment opportunities and completed more than 105 investments on our behalf, aggregating over $1.8 billion in capital provided to middle-market companies through December 31, 2009.

At December 31, 2009, our portfolio included investments in 57 portfolio companies with a total value of $853 million. The weighted average yield of the debt and income producing equity securities in our portfolio at their current cost basis was approximately 11.2% at December 31, 2009. Our largest portfolio company investment by value was approximately $56.1 million and our five largest portfolio company investments by value comprised approximately 26% of our portfolio at December 31, 2009. The following table provides selected financial data for the Company for each of the four years in the period ended December 31, 2009 and for the period from July 25, 2005 (inception of operations) to December 31, 2005.

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Selected Financial Data

BlackRock Kelso Capital Advisors

Our investment activities are managed by the Advisor. The Advisor is responsible for sourcing potential investments, conducting research on prospective investments, analyzing investment opportunities, structuring our investments, and monitoring our investments and portfolio companies on an ongoing basis. The Advisor is led by James R. Maher, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Company and the Advisor, and Michael B. Lazar, Chief Operating Officer of the Company and the Advisor. They are supported by the Advisor’s team of employees, including 12 investment professionals who have extensive experience in commercial lending, investment banking, accounting, corporate law and private equity investing.

The Advisor has an investment committee comprised of 13 members, including Messrs. Maher and Lazar, several senior executives of BlackRock, Inc. (“BlackRock”) and several of the principals of Kelso & Company, L.P. (the “Kelso Principals”). The investment committee is primarily responsible for approving our investments. We benefit from the extensive and varied relevant experience of the BlackRock executives and the Kelso Principals serving on the investment committee. Many of the BlackRock senior executives and the Kelso Principals who are members of the investment committee have worked together in a similar capacity since 1998. Although the BlackRock executives and Kelso Principals who serve on the investment committee bring the benefit of expertise they have gained at BlackRock, Kelso & Company, L.P. (“Kelso”) and elsewhere, neither of those organizations provides us with investment advice. Nevertheless, we benefit from the business and specific industry knowledge, transaction expertise and deal-sourcing capabilities of BlackRock. The Kelso Principals who serve on the investment committee bring the benefit of the expertise they gained at Kelso and elsewhere, including providing access to a broad network of contacts.

BlackRock is a leader in investment management, risk management and advisory services for institutional and retail clients worldwide. At December 31, 2009, BlackRock’s assets under management was $3.346 trillion. BlackRock offers products that span the risk spectrum to meet clients’ needs, including active, enhanced and index strategies across markets and asset classes. Products are offered in a variety of structures including separate accounts, mutual funds, iShares^® (exchange traded funds), and other pooled investment vehicles. BlackRock also offers risk management, advisory and enterprise investment system services to a broad base of institutional investors through BlackRock Solutions^®.

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The Kelso Principals have an average tenure of at least eighteen years at Kelso. Kelso is a leading private equity firm and since 1980 has raised over $10 billion of committed private equity capital, investing primarily in middle-market companies across a broad range of industries and through different economic and interest rate environments. Kelso was organized in 1971 and has since made investments in over 100 companies with aggregate initial capitalization of over $35 billion. The firm typically makes investments in companies where key managers make significant investments and works in partnership with management teams to create value for investors. Through our relationship with the Kelso Principals, we have access to these management teams who can provide unique insight into the industries in which they operate. Although the Kelso Principals who serve on the investment committee bring the benefit of the expertise they have gained at Kelso and elsewhere, Kelso as an organization does not participate in the activities of the Advisor or advise us.

Administration

BlackRock, through its subsidiary, BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. (the “Administrator”), serves as our administrator and leases office space to us and provides us with equipment and office services. The Administrator oversees our financial records, assists in the preparation of reports to our stockholders and reports filed with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and generally monitors the payment of our expenses and the performance of administrative and professional services rendered to us by others.

Market opportunity

We believe there are abundant opportunities for investments in middle-market companies with attractive risk-adjusted returns for several reasons, including:

Recent disruptions within the credit markets generally have brought a reduction in competition and a more lender-friendly environment. Recent credit market dislocation has caused many of the alternative methods of obtaining middle-market debt financing to significantly decrease in scope and availability while demand for financings has remained robust. We believe we are able to structure investments with lower leverage, better terms, higher yields, and longer duration than was typical before the recent market correction.

Middle-market companies have faced increasing difficulty in accessing the capital markets. While many middle-market companies were formerly able to raise funds by issuing high-yield bonds, we believe this approach to financing has become more difficult, as commercial and investment banks are capital-constrained and largely unable to underwrite and syndicate bank loans and high yield securities, particularly for middle market issuers.

There is a large pool of uninvested private equity capital likely to seek additional capital to support private investments. We believe there is a large pool of uninvested private equity capital available to middle-market companies. We expect that private equity firms will be active investors in middle-market companies and that these private equity firms will seek to supplement their equity investments with senior secured and junior loans and equity co-investments from other sources, such as us. Record amounts of private equity capital have been raised in recent years. Since our commencement of operations in July 2005, we have invested in transactions involving more than 65 private equity firms in more than 105 different portfolio companies. We believe that our extensive relationships with private equity firms and other deal sourcing contacts is a competitive advantage and a source for future investment opportunities.

Middle-market companies are increasingly seeking private sources for debt and equity capital. The cost and effort associated with being a public company in the United States have become more onerous, causing many management teams to consider alternative liquidity strategies. We believe that many middle-market companies prefer to execute transactions with private capital providers such as us, rather than execute high-yield bond or equity transactions in the public markets, which may necessitate increased financial and regulatory compliance and reporting obligations. We believe there will be a continued opportunity to provide private debt and equity financing to middle-market companies and that we are well positioned to serve this market.

Consolidation among commercial banks has reduced the focus on middle-market business. We believe that many senior lenders have de-emphasized their service and product offerings to middle-market companies in favor of lending to large corporate clients, managing capital markets transactions and providing other non-credit services to their customers. In addition, commercial and investment banks are severely limited in their ability to underwrite new financings as they seek to replenish their capital bases and reduce leverage, resulting in opportunities for alternative funding sources such as us.

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Competitive advantages

We believe we possess the following competitive advantages over many other capital providers to middle-market companies:

Demonstrated ability to deploy capital consistent with our investment policies. Since inception, we have invested in excess of $1.8 billion across more than 105 portfolio companies with more than 65 financial sponsors and have a portfolio yield of approximately 11.2% at December 31, 2009. In 2009, we invested approximately $47 million of gross assets in existing portfolio companies.

Proven transaction sourcing strategy. Since the Advisor’s inception of operations, it has sourced and reviewed more than 1,500 potential investments and has a proven process through which it has invested in excess of $1.8 billion on our behalf through December 31, 2009. The Advisor identifies potential investments through its dynamic transaction origination efforts. The origination efforts include calling on financial institutions such as investment banks, commercial banks, specialty finance companies and private equity firms; as well as on advisory firms, trade associations and the owners and managers of middle-market companies with whom its investment professionals and investment committee members have relationships. In addition to its investment professionals, senior members of the Advisor’s investment committee have relationships with a large and diverse group of financial intermediaries. We expect that our ability to leverage these relationships will continue to result in the referral of investment opportunities to us and provide us with a competitive advantage.

Access to BlackRock and Kelso Principals’ broad investing capabilities. Our Advisor’s relationship with BlackRock and the Kelso Principals provides access to extensive expertise across asset classes. The Advisor’s investment committee, which is comprised of individuals from BlackRock Kelso Capital Advisors, BlackRock and the Kelso Principals, and its team of dedicated investment professionals have had extensive experience in fixed-income, public equity and private equity investing. The Advisor has access to BlackRock’s more than 190 investment professionals in traditional fixed income and alternative portfolios, including a 30-person leveraged finance team. Collectively, members of the investment committee and the investment professionals of the Advisor have had experience investing in nearly every industry group in small, middle and large capitalization companies and at every level of the capital structure.

Highly experienced investment committee. Our investment activities are carried out by BlackRock Kelso Capital Advisors and led by James R. Maher and Michael B. Lazar with guidance from the Advisor’s investment committee. The investment committee is comprised of senior members of BlackRock and the Kelso Principals, including BlackRock’s Chief Executive Officer and two other members of its Operating Committee. Many of the BlackRock senior executives and the Kelso Principals who are members of the investment committee have worked together in a similar capacity since 1998. These investment committee members are supported by a team of seasoned investment professionals of the Advisor who possess a broad range of transaction, financial, managerial and investment skills. The Advisor’s investment professionals and members of its investment committee have significant experience investing across market cycles. Collectively, their involvement in our investment process provides us with substantial market insight and valuable access to investment opportunities. This insight and judgment enables us to achieve favorable risk-adjusted rates of return on the capital we deploy.

Disciplined investment process with focus on preservation of capital. In making investment decisions, the Advisor employs a disciplined and selective review process that focuses on, among other things, a thorough analysis of the underlying issuer’s business and the performance drivers of that business, as well as an assessment of the legal and economic features of each particular investment. As part of its review process, the Advisor draws on the industry expertise of its investment professionals, as well as on that of the members of its investment committee and BlackRock’s credit research analysts. Though each transaction involves a somewhat different approach, the Advisor undertakes a thorough due diligence analysis that leverages the capabilities of BlackRock and the Kelso Principals, including, for example, assessing business and industry prospects, conducting competitive analysis and meeting with management teams to get an insider’s view of the business or industry. This enables the Advisor to consider the total return on investment when evaluating each prospective portfolio company, seeking to minimize the risk of capital loss without forgoing potential for capital appreciation.

Cost-effective and high quality infrastructure. We benefit from the existing infrastructure and administrative capabilities of BlackRock. BlackRock serves as our administrator and provides us with office space, equipment and office services. It oversees our financial records, assists in the preparation of reports to our stockholders and reports filed with the SEC, and generally monitors the payment of our expenses and the performance of administrative and professional services rendered to us by others. The BlackRock organization has over 20 years of experience managing closed-end investment products. Our relationship with BlackRock grants us access to BlackRock’s fund administration platform which we believe provides higher quality service and lower cost than traditionally available in the industry.

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Operating and regulatory structure

Our investment activities are managed by the Advisor and supervised by our Board of Directors, a majority of whom are independent of the Advisor, BlackRock, the Kelso Principals and their respective affiliates. The Advisor is registered under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, or the Advisers Act. Under our investment management agreement, we have agreed to pay the Advisor an annual base management fee based on our total assets, as well as an incentive fee based on our performance. The investment management agreement also provides that we will reimburse the Advisor for costs and expenses incurred by the Advisor for office space rental, office equipment and utilities allocable to the Advisor under that agreement, as well as any costs and expenses incurred by the Advisor relating to any non-investment advisory, administrative or operating services provided by the Advisor to us.

Also, while we may borrow funds to make investments, our ability to use debt is limited in certain significant respects. As a BDC and a RIC for tax purposes, we are dependent on our ability to raise capital through the issuance of our common stock. RICs generally must distribute substantially all of their earnings to stockholders as dividends in order to achieve pass-through tax treatment, which prevents us from using those earnings to support operations, which may include new investments (including investments into existing portfolio companies). Further, BDCs must maintain an asset coverage ratio (the ratio of total assets less total liabilities other than indebtedness to total indebtedness) of not less than 200% in order to incur debt or issue senior securities, meaning generally that for every dollar of debt incurred or senior securities issued, we must have two dollars of assets. Our credit facility also requires that we maintain an asset coverage ratio of not less than 200%, among other things.

Portfolio composition

We have built an investment portfolio that includes senior and junior secured, senior and junior unsecured and subordinated loans to U.S. private middle-market companies. We invest a range of $10 million to $50 million of capital, on average, per transaction, although the investment sizes may be more or less and are expected to grow with our capital availability. Although most of our investments are in senior and junior secured, senior and junior unsecured and subordinated loans to U.S. private and certain public middle-market companies, we invest throughout the capital structure of these companies in other securities, which may include common and preferred equity, options and warrants, credit derivatives, high-yield bonds, distressed debt and other structured securities. We generally seek to invest in companies that operate in a broad variety of industries and that generate positive cash flows. While our focus is to generate current income through these investments, we also seek capital appreciation.

At December 31, 2009, our net portfolio of 57 portfolio companies was invested 59% in senior secured loans, 30% in unsecured or subordinated debt securities, 6% in senior secured notes, 5% in equity investments and less than 1% in cash and cash equivalents.

The industry composition of our portfolio at December 31, 2009 and 2008 was as follows:

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The geographic composition of our portfolio at fair value at December 31, 2009 was United States 93.7%, Canada 6.3% and United Kingdom and other less than 0.1%, and at December 31, 2008 was United States 93.3%, Canada 5.0% and United Kingdom and other 1.7%. The geographic composition is determined by the location of the corporate headquarters of the portfolio company.

We generally are not permitted to invest in any private company in which any of our affiliates holds an existing investment, except to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. We may, however, co-invest on a concurrent basis with our affiliates, subject to compliance with such affiliates’ allocation procedures. We may invest, to the extent permitted by law, in the securities and instruments of other investment companies, including private funds.

Investment selection criteria

The Advisor chooses investments and constructs our portfolio based on the investment experience of its professionals and a detailed investment analysis for each investment opportunity. In analyzing each prospective portfolio company, the Advisor has identified several criteria it believes are important in identifying and investing in prospective portfolio companies. These criteria provide general guidelines for the Advisor’s investment decisions on our behalf, although each prospective portfolio company may fail to meet one or more of these criteria. Generally, the Advisor seeks to utilize its access to information generated by its investment professionals and investment committee members to identify investment candidates and to structure investments quickly and effectively.

Value Orientation/Positive Cash Flow. The Advisor’s investment philosophy places a premium on fundamental analysis from an investor’s perspective and has a distinct value orientation. The Advisor focuses on companies in which it can invest at relatively low multiples of operating cash flow and that are profitable at the time of investment on an operating cash flow basis. Typically, the Advisor does not invest in start-up companies or companies having speculative business plans.

Experienced Management. The Advisor generally requires that portfolio companies have an experienced management team. The Advisor also generally requires portfolio companies to have in place proper incentives to induce management to succeed and to act in concert with our interests as investors, which may include having significant equity interests.

Strong Competitive Position in Industry. The Advisor seeks to invest in companies that have strong market positions within their respective markets or market niches and are well positioned to capitalize on growth opportunities. The Advisor seeks companies that demonstrate significant competitive advantages versus their competitors, which it believes should help to protect their market position and profitability.

Exit Strategy. The Advisor seeks to invest in companies that it believes will provide a steady stream of cash flow to repay loans and/or build equity value. With respect to loans and debt securities, the Advisor expects that such internally generated cash flow, leading to the payment of interest on, and the repayment of the principal of, our investments will be a key means by which we exit these investments over time. In addition, the Advisor also seeks to invest in companies whose business models and expected future cash flows offer attractive exit possibilities. These companies include candidates for strategic acquisition by other industry participants and companies that may repay our investments through an initial public offering of common stock or another capital market transaction. With respect to our equity investments, the Advisor will look to exit such investments via repurchases by the portfolio company, public offerings and sales pursuant to merger and acquisition transactions.

Liquidation Value of Assets. The prospective liquidation value of the assets, if any, collateralizing loans in which we invest is an important factor in the Advisor’s credit analysis. The Advisor emphasizes both tangible assets, such as accounts receivable, inventory, equipment and real estate, and intangible assets, such as intellectual property, customer lists, networks and databases.

Generally, the Advisor utilizes access to information generated by its investment professionals to identify investment candidates and to structure investments quickly and effectively. Furthermore, the Advisor seeks to identify those companies exhibiting superior fundamental risk-reward profiles and strong defensible business franchises while focusing on the relative value of the security in the company’s capital structure.

Investment selection process

The Advisor selectively narrows prospective investment opportunities through a process designed to identify the most attractive opportunities. If the senior investment professionals responsible for the transaction and the Advisor’s senior management determine that an investment opportunity merits pursuit, the Advisor engages in an intensive due diligence process. This process involves extensive research into the target company, its management, its industry, its growth prospects and its ability to withstand adverse conditions.

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In conducting their due diligence, the Advisor’s investment professionals use publicly available information as well as information from their extensive relationships with former and current management teams, consultants, competitors and investment bankers, among others. Though each transaction involves a somewhat different approach, the Advisor often undertakes the following due diligence steps. Initially, the investment team involved in the transaction may meet with management to get an insider’s view of the business and probe for potential weaknesses in business prospects. They may also visit headquarters and company operations, meeting top- and middle-level executives. Independently from the company, the investment team may check management’s backgrounds and references. With information provided by the company, the investment team performs a detailed review of historical financial performance and the quality of earnings. To assess both business prospects and standard practices, they may contact customers and vendors and conduct a competitive analysis, comparing the company to its main competitors on an operating, financial, market share and valuation basis. The investment team also researches the industry for historic growth trends and future prospects utilizing industry analysts at BlackRock, third party research, industry association literature and general news. Furthermore, they assess asset value and the ability of physical infrastructure and information systems to handle anticipated growth and investigate any legal risks and the viability of current financial and accounting systems. Attorneys and independent accountants as well as outside advisors, as appropriate, may conduct additional due diligence on behalf of the Advisor.

After the Advisor has identified an investment opportunity and completed due diligence, the investment team involved in the transaction prepares a written investment analysis. Senior investment professionals involved in the transaction review the analysis, and if they are in favor of making the potential investment, present it first to Messrs. Maher and Lazar and then, if approved by Messrs. Maher and Lazar, to the Advisor’s investment committee. The investment committee is comprised of Messrs. Maher and Lazar and several senior executives of BlackRock and several of the Kelso Principals. Investment committee members have an average of over 20 years of investment experience in the fixed income and private equity markets. Each investment opportunity requires the consensus of the investment committee in order to be approved, except that investments of less than approximately 3% of our net assets may be made without the prior approval of the investment committee if approved by Messrs. Maher and Lazar and two other members of the investment committee, one of whom must be an individual from BlackRock and the other a Kelso Principal. In addition, follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies generally do not require investment committee approval beyond that obtained when the initial investment in the company was made. Temporary investments, such as those in cash equivalents, U.S. Government securities and other high quality debt investments that mature in one year or less, do not require approval by the investment committee.

Investment structure

Once the Advisor determines that a prospective portfolio company is a suitable investment, it works with the management of that company, any intermediaries and other capital providers, including senior and junior debt security investors and equity capital providers, to structure an investment quickly and effectively.

We invest in portfolio companies primarily in the form of senior and junior secured loans and unsecured and subordinated loans. The senior and junior secured loans generally have terms of three to ten years. We obtain security interests in the assets of our portfolio companies that serve as collateral in support of the repayment of the senior and junior secured loans. The collateral may take the form of first or second priority liens on the assets of a portfolio company.

The Advisor structures unsecured and subordinated debt securities and loans to have relatively high floating or fixed interest rates that provide us with current investment income. These debt securities and loans generally have terms of up to ten years. Such unsecured and subordinated debt securities and loans may have interest-only payments in the early years, with amortization of principal deferred to the later years of the loan. Also, some of these loans will be collateralized by a subordinate lien on some or all of the assets of the company.

In some cases, our debt investments may provide for a portion of the interest payable to be payment-in-kind, or PIK, interest. To the extent interest is PIK, it will be payable through the increase of the principal amount of the loan by the amount of the interest due on the then-outstanding principal amount of the loan. We must recognize PIK interest, a non-cash source of income, as taxable income, increasing the amounts we are required to distribute to stockholders to qualify for the federal income tax benefits applicable to RICs.

In the case of the senior secured and junior loans, the Advisor tailors the terms of the investment to the facts and circumstances of the transaction and the prospective portfolio company, negotiating a structure that aims to protect our rights and manage our risk while creating incentives for the portfolio company to achieve its business plan and improve

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its profitability. For example, in addition to seeking a senior position in the capital structure of our portfolio companies, the Advisor seeks to limit the downside potential of our investments. The Advisor may accomplish this through requiring a total return on our investment (including both interest and potential equity appreciation) that compensates us for credit risk or through incorporating call protection into the investment structure. The Advisor may also negotiate covenants in connection with our investments that protect the preservation of our capital. Such restrictions may include affirmative and negative covenants, default penalties, lien protection, change of control provisions and board rights, including either observation or participation rights.

In general, our debt investments include financial covenants and terms that require the portfolio company to reduce leverage over time, thereby enhancing its credit quality. These methods may include, among others: maintenance leverage covenants requiring a decreasing ratio of debt to cash flow; maintenance cash flow covenants requiring an increasing ratio of cash flow to interest expense and possibly other cash expenses such as capital expenditures, cash taxes and mandatory principal payments; and debt incurrence prohibitions, limiting a company’s ability to relever its balance sheet. In addition, limitations on asset sales and capital expenditures prevent a company from changing the nature of its business or capitalization without our consent.

Structurally, subordinated loans usually rank junior in priority of payment to senior debt, such as senior bank debt, and are often unsecured. As such, other creditors may rank senior to us in the event of an insolvency. However, subordinated loans rank senior to common and preferred equity in a borrower’s capital structure. Due to their higher risk profile and often less restrictive covenants as compared to senior loans, subordinated loans generally earn a higher return than senior secured loans. We believe that subordinated loans offer an attractive alternative investment opportunity. In many cases investors in subordinated loans receive opportunities to invest directly in the equity securities of borrowers, and from time to time also may receive warrants to purchase equity securities.

Our debt investments may include equity features, such as warrants or options to buy a minority interest in the portfolio company. Warrants we receive with our debt may require only a nominal cost to exercise, and thus, as a portfolio company appreciates in value, we may achieve additional investment return from this equity interest. We generally seek to structure the warrants to provide provisions protecting our rights as a minority-interest holder, and we generally seek to structure puts or rights to sell such securities back to the company upon the occurrence of specified events.

Our equity investments may consist of preferred equity that pays dividends on a current basis or preferred equity that does not pay current dividends. Preferred equity generally has a preference over common equity as to distributions on liquidations and dividends. In some cases, we may acquire common equity. Our equity investments frequently are not control-oriented investments, and in many cases, we acquire equity securities as part of a group of private equity investors in which we are not the lead investor. Our preferred and common equity investments typically are made in conjunction with loans to these companies.

Ongoing relationship with portfolio companies

The Advisor monitors our portfolio companies on an ongoing basis. The Advisor monitors the financial trends of each portfolio company to determine if it is meeting its business plans and to assess the appropriate course of action for each company.

The Advisor has several methods of evaluating and monitoring the performance and fair values of our investments, which may include the following and other methods:

Managerial assistance

As a BDC, we offer, and must provide upon request, managerial assistance to our portfolio companies. This assistance could involve, among other things, participating in board and management meetings, consulting with and

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advising officers of portfolio companies and providing other organizational and financial guidance or exercising strategic or managerial influence over such companies. We may receive fees for these services. The Advisor will provide managerial assistance on our behalf to those portfolio companies that request this assistance. Employees of the Advisor have experience providing managerial assistance to private operating companies like our portfolio companies, and such assistance has tended to be related to board representation and to strategic and financing transactions. The Advisor generally will not receive any direct compensation from our portfolio companies for providing managerial assistance although it may do so from time to time.

Investment rating system

The Advisor employs a grading system for our entire portfolio. The Advisor grades all loans on a scale of 1 to 4. This system is intended to reflect the performance of the borrower’s business, the collateral coverage of the loans and other factors considered relevant. Generally, the Advisor assigns only one loan grade to each portfolio company for all loan investments in that portfolio company; however, the Advisor will assign multiple ratings when appropriate for different investments in one portfolio company. The following is a description of the conditions associated with each investment rating:

Grade 1: Investments in portfolio companies whose performance is substantially within the Advisor’s expectations and whose risk factors are neutral to favorable to those at the time of the original investment.

Grade 2: Investments in portfolio companies whose performance is below the Advisor’s expectations and that require closer monitoring; however, no loss of investment return (interest and/or dividends) or principal is expected.

Grade 3: Investments in portfolio companies whose performance is below the Advisor’s expectations and for which risk has increased materially since origination. Some loss of investment return is expected, but no loss of principal is expected. Companies graded 3 generally will be out of compliance with debt covenants and will be unlikely to make debt repayments on their original schedule.

Grade 4: Investments in portfolio companies whose performance is materially below the Advisor’s expectations where business trends have deteriorated and risk factors have increased substantially since the original investment. Investments graded 4 are those for which some loss of principal is expected.

The Advisor monitors and, when appropriate, changes the investment ratings assigned to each investment in our portfolio. In connection with our valuation process, the Advisor and Board of Directors review these investment ratings on a quarterly basis. Our average investment rating was 1.46 at December 31, 2009 and 1.45 at December 31, 2008. The following is a distribution of the investment ratings of our portfolio companies at December 31, 2009 and December 31, 2008:

The investment rating process begins with each portfolio company or investment being initially evaluated by the transaction team, led by a senior investment professional who is responsible for the portfolio company relationship. This evaluation generally is completed no less frequently than quarterly. At the Advisor’s weekly investment professionals’ meeting, the transaction team presents an update on the activities of any company rated below Grade 1. Each quarter, all investment professionals attend a separate investment rating meeting. At these quarterly meetings, the transaction team responsible for each portfolio investment reviews each portfolio company and suggests a rating for each investment for discussion among the investment professionals. At the conclusion of discussion, and subject to the approval of the Advisor’s chief executive officer and chief operating officer, the Advisor’s chief financial officer records the internal investment ratings for review by the Board of Directors quarterly.

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The investment committee

The Advisor’s investment committee is primarily responsible for approving our investments. The members of the investment committee are:

Investment management agreement

We have entered into an investment management agreement, which we refer to as the management agreement, with the Advisor, under which the Advisor, subject to the overall supervision of our Board of Directors, manages our day-to-day operations and provides us with investment advisory services. For providing these services, the Advisor receives a base management fee from us at an annual rate of 2.0% of our total assets, including any assets acquired with the proceeds of leverage, payable quarterly in arrears.

On June 22, 2008, the owners of the Advisor amended its limited liability operating agreement to reduce the voting power of certain of its owners, which may have been deemed to cause an “assignment,” as defined in the 1940 Act, of our previous investment management agreement and such an assignment results in termination of the agreement under the 1940 Act. Pursuant to the approval of our Board of Directors at an in-person meeting on March 5, 2008 and of our stockholders at our Annual Meeting of Stockholders on April 24, 2008, we entered into a new investment management agreement, the terms of which are identical to the previous investment management agreement, except for the date of the agreement and the expiration of its initial term. The date of the new agreement is June 22, 2008 and its initial term expires on June 22, 2010.

For the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, the Advisor earned $18,498,189, $22,716,602 and $17,095,983, respectively, in base management fees, net of waiver provisions until June 30, 2007, under the management agreement. The 2007 amount would have been $19,152,889 without the fee waivers.

The management agreement provides that the Advisor or its affiliates may be entitled to an incentive fee (the “Incentive Fee”) under certain circumstances. The determination of the Incentive Fee, as described in more detail below, will result in the Advisor or its affiliates receiving no Incentive Fee payments if returns to our stockholders do not meet an 8.0% annualized rate of return during the applicable fee measurement period and will result in the Advisor or its affiliates receiving less than the full amount of the Incentive Fee percentage until returns to our stockholders exceed an approximate 13.3% annualized rate of return during such period. Annualized rate of return in this context is computed by reference to our net asset value and does not take into account changes in the market price of our common stock.

The Advisor will be entitled to receive the Incentive Fee from us if our performance exceeds a “hurdle rate” during different measurement periods: the pre-offering period; the transition period; trailing four quarters’ periods (which applies only to the portion of the Incentive Fee based on income); and annual periods (which applies only to the portion of the Incentive Fee based on capital gains).

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The hurdle rate for each quarterly portion of a measurement period is 2.0% multiplied by the net asset value of our common stock at the beginning of each calendar quarter during the measurement period calculated after giving effect to any distribution that occurred during the measurement period. A portion of the Incentive Fee is based on our income and a portion is based on capital gains. Each portion of the Incentive Fee is described below.

Quarterly Incentive Fee Based on Income. For each of the first three measurement periods referred to above (the pre-offering period, the transition period and each trailing four quarters’ period), we paid or will pay the Advisor an Incentive Fee based on the amount by which (A) aggregate distributions and amounts distributable out of taxable net income (excluding any capital gain and loss) during the period less the amount, if any, by which net unrealized capital depreciation exceeds net realized capital gains during the period exceeds (B) the hurdle rate for the period. The amount of the excess of (A) over (B) described in this paragraph for each period is referred to as the excess income amount.

The portion of the Incentive Fee based on income for each period will equal 50% of the period’s excess income amount, until the cumulative Incentive Fee payments for the period equal 20% of the period’s income amount distributed or distributable to stockholders as described in clause (A) of the preceding paragraph. Thereafter, the portion of the Incentive Fee based on income for the period equals 20% of the period’s remaining excess income amount.

Periodic Incentive Fee Based on Capital Gains. The portion of the Incentive Fee based on capital gains is calculated on an annual basis. For each annual period, we paid or will pay the Advisor an Incentive Fee based on the amount by which (A) net realized capital gains, if any, to the extent they exceed gross unrealized capital depreciation, if any, occurring during the period exceeds (B) the amount, if any, by which the period’s hurdle rate exceeds the amount of income used in the determination of the Incentive Fee based on income for the period. The amount of the excess of (A) over (B) described in this paragraph is referred to as the excess gain amount.

The portion of the Incentive Fee based on capital gains for each period will equal 50% of the period’s excess gain amount, until such payments equal 20% of the period’s capital gain amount distributed or distributable to our stockholders. Thereafter, the portion of the Incentive Fee based on capital gains for the period equals an amount such that the portion of the Incentive Fee payments to the Advisor based on capital gains for the period equals 20% of the period’s remaining excess gain amount. The result of this formula is that, if the portion of the Incentive Fee based on income for the period exceeds the period’s hurdle, then the portion of the Incentive Fee based on capital gains will be capped at 20% of the capital gain amount.

In calculating whether the portion of the Incentive Fee based on capital gains is payable under the management agreement with respect to any period, we will account for our assets on a security-by-security basis. In addition, we use the “period-to-period” method pursuant to which the portion of the Incentive Fee based on capital gains for any period is based on realized capital gains for the period reduced by realized capital losses and gross unrealized capital depreciation for the period. Based on current interpretations of Section 205(b)(3) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 by the SEC and its staff, the calculation of unrealized depreciation for each portfolio security over a period is based on the fair value of the security at the end of the period compared to the fair value at the beginning of the period. Incentive Fees earned in any of the periods described above are not subject to modification or repayment based upon performance in a subsequent period.

For the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 the Advisor earned $16,818,602, zero and $9,412,097, respectively, in incentive fees from the Company.

Expenses

All investment professionals and staff of the Advisor, when and to the extent engaged in providing investment advisory and management services, and the compensation and routine overhead expenses of such personnel allocable to such services, will be provided and paid for by the Advisor. We will bear all other costs and expenses of our operations and transactions, including those relating to:

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We will reimburse the Advisor for costs and expenses incurred by the Advisor for office space rental, office equipment and utilities allocable to the Advisor under the management agreement, as well as any costs and expenses incurred by the Advisor relating to any non-investment advisory, administrative or operating services provided by the Advisor to us. For the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, we incurred $1,466,563, $1,027,135 and $876,429, respectively, for costs and expenses reimbursable to the Advisor under the management agreement.

From time to time, the Advisor may pay amounts owed by us to third party providers of goods or services. We will subsequently reimburse the Advisor for such amounts paid on our behalf. For the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, we reimbursed the Advisor $1,978,629, $1,691,420 and $1,475,237, respectively, for payments made on our behalf to third party providers of goods and services.

Indemnification

The management agreement provides that in the absence of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of its obligations thereunder, the Advisor is not liable to us or any of our stockholders for any act or omission by it or its employees in the supervision or management of our investment activities or for any loss sustained by us or our stockholders, and provides for indemnification by us of its members, directors, officers, employees, agents and control persons for liabilities incurred by it in connection with their services to us, subject to certain limitations and conditions.

Board and stockholder approval of the management agreement

The management agreement was originally approved by our Board of Directors at an in-person meeting of the Board of Directors held on April 14, 2005, including a majority of the directors who are not parties to the agreement or interested persons of any such party (as such term is defined in the 1940 Act). In addition, the management agreement was approved by our sole stockholder on July 21, 2005. On June 22, 2008, the owners of the Advisor amended its limited liability operating agreement to reduce the voting power of certain of its owners, which may have been deemed to cause

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an “assignment,” as defined in the 1940 Act, of our previous investment management agreement and such an assignment results in termination of the agreement under the 1940 Act. Pursuant to the approval of our Board of Directors at an in-person meeting on March 5, 2008 and of our stockholders at our Annual Meeting of Stockholders on April 24, 2008, we entered into a new investment management agreement, the terms of which are identical to the previous investment management agreement, except for the date of the agreement and the expiration of its initial term. The date of the new agreement is June 22, 2008 and its initial term expires on June 22, 2010. A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the investment management agreement is available in our Proxy Statement for our 2008 Annual Meeting of Stockholders.

Duration and termination

The management agreement will continue in effect until June 22, 2010, and if not sooner terminated, will continue in effect for successive periods of twelve months thereafter, provided that each continuance is specifically approved at least annually by both (1) the vote of a majority of our Board of Directors or the vote of a majority of our outstanding voting securities and (2) the vote of a majority of the Board of Directors who are not parties to the management agreement or interested persons (as such term is defined in the 1940 Act) of any such party, cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval. We may terminate the management agreement as a whole at any time, without the payment of any penalty, upon the vote of a majority of our Board of Directors or a majority of our outstanding voting securities or by the Advisor, on 60 days’ written notice by either party to the other which can be waived by the non-terminating party. The management agreement will terminate automatically in the event of its assignment.

Organization of the Advisor

The Advisor is organized as a Delaware limited liability company. The Advisor is registered as an investment advisor with the SEC under the Advisers Act. Its principal executive offices are located at 40 East 52^nd Street, New York, New York. James R. Maher and Michael B. Lazar, the managing members of the Advisor, are the control persons of the Advisor.

Administration agreement

We have entered into an administration agreement with the Administrator, a subsidiary of BlackRock, under which the Administrator provides administrative services to us. In payment for these services, facilities and personnel, we reimburse the Administrator for our allocable portion of overhead and other expenses incurred by the Administrator in performing its obligations under the administration agreement, including rent and our allocable portion of the cost of certain of our officers and their respective staffs.

For the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, we incurred $642,993, $847,387 and $947,028, respectively, for administrative services expenses payable to the Administrator under the administration agreement.

License agreements

We have entered into a license agreement with BlackRock and the Advisor pursuant to which BlackRock has agreed to grant to the Advisor, and the Advisor has agreed to grant to us, a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use the name “BlackRock.” In addition, we have entered into a license agreement with Michael B. Lazar, our Chief Operating Officer, and the Advisor pursuant to which Mr. Lazar has agreed to grant to the Advisor, and the Advisor has agreed to grant to us, a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use the name “Kelso.” Mr. Lazar obtained this limited right to license the name “Kelso” under an agreement with Kelso.

Competition

Our primary competitors provide financing to middle-market companies, including public and private funds, commercial and investment banks, commercial financing companies, BDCs, insurance companies and, to the extent they provide an alternative form of financing, private equity funds. Additionally, because competition for investment opportunities generally has increased among alternative investment vehicles, such as hedge funds, those entities have begun to invest in areas they have not traditionally invested in, including investments in middle-market companies. As a result of these new entrants, competition for investment opportunities at middle-market companies has intensified. Many of our existing and potential competitors are substantially larger and have considerably greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do. For example, some competitors may have a lower cost of funds and access to funding sources that are not available to us. In addition, some competitors may have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments, which could allow them to consider a wider variety of investments and establish more relationships than us. Furthermore, many of our competitors are not subject to the regulatory restrictions that the 1940 Act imposes on us as a BDC or the restrictions that the Code imposes on us as a RIC.

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Leverage

We maintain a multi-currency $545 million senior secured credit facility with a group of lenders, under which we had approximately $296 million of indebtedness outstanding at December 31, 2009. Availability under the facility, which we refer to as our Credit Facility, consists of $400 million in revolving loan commitments and $145 million in term loan commitments. The term loan commitments have been fully drawn and may not be reborrowed once repaid. The Credit Facility allows us to increase its size to $1.395 billion subject to certain conditions. The Credit Facility has a stated maturity date of December 6, 2010 and the interest rate applicable to borrowings thereunder is generally LIBOR plus 87.5 basis points with respect to revolving loans and LIBOR plus 150 basis points with respect to term loans. The Credit Facility contains customary affirmative and negative covenants, including the maintenance of a minimum stockholders’ equity, the maintenance of a ratio of not less than 200% of total assets (less total liabilities other than indebtedness) to total indebtedness, and restrictions on certain payments and issuance of debt. At December 31, 2009, we were in compliance with all financial and operational covenants required by the Credit Facility.

Staffing

Services necessary for our business are provided by individuals who are employees of the Advisor or the Administrator, pursuant to the terms of the management agreement and the administration agreement. Each of our executive officers is an employee of the Advisor or the Administrator. Our executive officers are also executive officers of the Advisor. Our day-to-day investment operations are managed by the Advisor. The Advisor currently has 14 investment professionals who focus on origination and transaction development and monitoring of our investments. We reimburse the Advisor for costs and expenses incurred by the Advisor for office space rental, office equipment and utilities allocable to the Advisor under the management agreement, as well as any costs and expenses incurred by the Advisor relating to any non-investment advisory, administrative or operating services provided by the Advisor to us. In addition, we reimburse the Administrator for our allocable portion of expenses it incurs in performing its obligations under the administration agreement, including rent and our allocable portion of the cost of certain of our officers and their respective staffs.

Regulation

We are a BDC under the 1940 Act. The 1940 Act contains prohibitions and restrictions relating to transactions between BDCs and their affiliates (including any investment advisors or sub-advisors), principal underwriters and affiliates of those affiliates or underwriters and requires that a majority of the directors be persons other than “interested persons,” as that term is defined in the 1940 Act. In addition, the 1940 Act provides that we may not change the nature of our business so as to cease to be, or to withdraw our election as, a BDC unless that change is approved by a majority of our outstanding voting securities.

We may invest up to 100% of our assets in securities acquired directly from issuers in privately negotiated transactions. With respect to such securities, we may, for the purpose of public resale, be deemed an “underwriter” as that term is defined in the Securities Act of 1933, or the Securities Act. We may purchase or otherwise receive warrants to purchase the common stock of our portfolio companies in connection with acquisition financing or other investment. Similarly, in connection with an acquisition, we may acquire rights to require the issuers of acquired securities or their affiliates to repurchase them under certain circumstances. We also do not intend to acquire securities issued by any investment company that exceed the limits imposed by the 1940 Act. Under these limits, except for registered money market funds we generally cannot acquire more than 3% of the voting stock of any investment company, invest more than 5% of the value of our total assets in the securities of one investment company or invest more than 10% of the value of our total assets in the securities of investment companies in the aggregate. With regard to that portion of our portfolio invested in securities issued by investment companies, it should be noted that such investments might subject our stockholders to additional expenses. None of these are fundamental policies and they may be changed without stockholder approval.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 imposes a wide variety of regulatory requirements on publicly-held companies and their insiders. We have adopted procedures to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder. The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires us to review our policies and procedures to determine whether we comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and such regulations. We will continue to monitor our compliance with all regulations that are adopted under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and will take actions necessary to ensure that we are in compliance therewith.

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The NASDAQ Global Select Market corporate governance regulations

The NASDAQ Global Select Market has adopted corporate governance regulations with which listed companies must comply. We believe we are in compliance with such corporate governance listing standards. We will continue to monitor our compliance with all future listing standards and will take actions necessary to ensure that we are in compliance therewith.

Privacy principles

We are committed to maintaining the privacy of stockholders and to safeguarding our nonpublic personal information. The following information is provided to help you understand what personal information we collect, how we protect that information and why, in certain cases, we may share information with select other parties.

Generally, we do not receive any nonpublic personal information relating to our stockholders, although certain nonpublic personal information of our stockholders may become available to us. We do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about our stockholders or former stockholders to anyone, except as permitted by law or as is necessary in order to service stockholder accounts (for example, to a transfer agent or third party administrator).

We restrict access to nonpublic personal information about our stockholders to our investment advisor’s employees with a legitimate business need for the information. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards designed to protect the nonpublic personal information of our stockholders.

Available information

Our internet address is www.blackrockkelso.com. We make available free of charge on our website our annual report on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file such material with, or furnish it to, the SEC. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this annual report on Form 10-K and you should not consider information contained on our website to be part of this annual report on Form 10-K.

You should carefully consider these risk factors, together with all of the other information included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K, including our financial statements and the related notes thereto, before making a decision to purchase our common stock. The risks set out below are not the only risks we face. Additional risks and uncertainties not currently known to us or that we currently deem to be immaterial also may materially adversely affect our business, financial condition and/or operating results. If any of the following events occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. In such case, our net asset value and the trading price of our common stock could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment in the Company.

Risks related to our business

Capital markets have recently been in a period of disruption and instability. These market conditions have materially and adversely affected debt and equity capital markets in the United States, which have had, and may in the future have, a negative impact on our business and operations.

The U.S. capital markets have recently been in a period of disruption as evidenced by a lack of liquidity in the debt capital markets, significant write-offs in the financial services sector, the re-pricing of credit risk in the broadly syndicated credit market and the failure of certain major financial institutions. Despite actions of the United States federal government, these events contributed to worsening general economic conditions that materially and adversely impacted the broader financial and credit markets and reduced the availability of debt and equity capital for the market as a whole and financial services firms in particular. While these conditions appear to be improving, they could continue for a prolonged period of time or worsen in the future. While these conditions persist, we and other companies in the financial services sector may have to access, if available, alternative markets for debt and equity capital in order to grow. Equity capital may be difficult to raise because subject to some limited exceptions, as a BDC, we are generally not able to issue additional shares of our common stock at a price less than net asset value without first obtaining approval for such issuance from our stockholders and our independent directors. At a special meeting of stockholders held on February 8, 2010, subject to certain determinations required to be made by our Board of Directors, our stockholders approved our ability to sell or otherwise issue shares of our common stock at a price below its then current net asset value per share for a twelve month period expiring on the anniversary of the date of stockholder approval. In addition, our ability to incur indebtedness (including by issued preferred stock) is limited by applicable regulations such that our asset coverage, as

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defined in the 1940 Act, must equal at least 200% immediately after each time we incur indebtedness. The debt capital that will be available, if at all, may be at a higher cost and on less favorable terms and conditions in the future. Any inability to raise capital could have a negative effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Moreover, recent market conditions have made, and may in the future make, it difficult to extend the maturity of or refinance our existing indebtedness and any failure to do so could have a material adverse effect on our business. The illiquidity of our investments may make it difficult for us to sell such investments if required. As a result, we may realize significantly less than the value at which we have recorded our investments.

Given the recent extreme volatility and dislocation in the capital markets, many BDCs have faced, and may in the future face, a challenging environment in which to raise capital. Recent significant changes in the capital markets affecting our ability to raise capital have affected the pace of our investment activity. In addition, significant changes in the capital markets, including the recent extreme volatility and disruption, has had, and may in the future have, a negative effect on the valuations of our investments and on the potential for liquidity events involving our investments. An inability to raise capital, and any required sale of our investments for liquidity purposes, could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Price declines and illiquidity in the corporate debt markets have adversely affected, and may in the future adversely affect, the fair value of our portfolio investments, reducing our net asset value through increased net unrealized depreciation.

As a BDC, we are required to carry our investments at market value or, if no market value is ascertainable, at fair value as determined in good faith by or under the direction of our Board of Directors. As part of the valuation process, the types of factors that we may take into account in determining the fair value of our investments include, as relevant and among other factors: available current market data, including relevant and applicable market trading and transaction comparables, applicable market yields and multiples, security covenants, call protection provisions, information rights, the nature and realizable value of any collateral, the portfolio company’s ability to make payments, its earnings and discounted cash flows, the markets in which the portfolio company does business, comparisons of financial ratios of peer companies that are public, M&A comparables, our principal market (as the reporting entity) and enterprise values. Decreases in the market values or fair values of our investments are recorded as unrealized depreciation. Unprecedented declines in prices and liquidity in the corporate debt markets resulted in significant net unrealized depreciation in our portfolio in the past. The effect of all of these factors on our portfolio has reduced our net asset value by increasing net unrealized depreciation in our portfolio. Depending on market conditions, we could incur substantial realized losses and may suffer additional unrealized losses in future periods, which could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

In addition to regulatory restrictions that restrict our ability to raise capital, our Credit Facility contains various covenants which, if not complied with, could accelerate repayment under this facility, thereby materially and adversely affecting our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations.

The agreement governing our Credit Facility requires us to comply with certain financial and operational covenants. These covenants include:

As of December 31, 2009, we were in compliance with these covenants. However, our continued compliance with these covenants depends on many factors, some of which are beyond our control. Accordingly, there are no assurances that we will continue to comply with the covenants in our Credit Facility. Failure to comply with these covenants would result in a default under this facility which, if we were unable to obtain a waiver from the lenders thereunder, could result in an acceleration of repayments under the facility and thereby have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we are unable to manage our investments effectively, we may be unable to achieve our investment objective.

Our ability to achieve our investment objective will depend on our ability to manage our business, which will depend, in turn, on the ability of the Advisor to identify, invest in and monitor companies that meet our investment criteria. Accomplishing this result largely will be a function of the Advisor’s investment process and, in conjunction with the Administrator, its ability to provide competent, attentive and efficient services to us. Many of the members of the

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Advisor’s investment committee have substantial responsibilities to other clients in addition to their activities on our behalf. The investment professionals dedicated primarily to us may also be required to provide managerial assistance to our portfolio companies. These demands on their time may distract them or slow our rate of investment. Any failure to manage our business effectively could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations

We operate in a highly competitive market for investment opportunities.

A number of entities compete with us to make the types of investments that we make. We compete with other BDCs, public and private funds, commercial and investment banks, commercial financing companies, insurance companies, high yield investors, hedge funds, and, to the extent they provide an alternative form of financing, private equity funds. Many of our competitors are substantially larger and have considerably greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do. Some competitors may have a lower cost of funds and access to funding sources that are not available to us. In addition, some of our competitors may have higher risk tolerances or different risk assessments, which could allow them to consider a wider variety of investments and establish more relationships than us. Furthermore, many of our competitors are not subject to the regulatory restrictions that the 1940 Act imposes on us as a BDC and that the Code imposes on us as a RIC. We cannot assure you that the competitive pressures we face will not have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Also, as a result of this competition, we may not be able to pursue attractive investment opportunities from time to time.

Entrants in our industry compete on several factors, including price, flexibility in transaction structuring, service, reputation, market knowledge and speed in decision-making. We do not seek to compete primarily based on the interest rates we offer, and we believe that some of our competitors may make loans with interest rates that are comparable to or lower than the rates we offer. We may lose investment opportunities if we do not match our competitors’ pricing, terms and structure. If we match our competitors’ pricing, terms and structure, we may experience decreased net interest income and increased risk of credit loss. As a result of operating in such a competitive environment, we may make investments that are on better terms to our portfolio companies than what we may have originally anticipated, which may impact our return on these investments.

We are dependent upon senior management personnel of our investment advisor for our future success, and if our investment advisor is unable to hire and retain qualified personnel or if our investment advisor loses any member of its senior management team, our ability to achieve our investment objective could be significantly harmed.

We depend on the members of senior management of the Advisor, particularly its Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, James R. Maher, and its Chief Operating Officer, Michael B. Lazar, as well as other key personnel for the identification, final selection, structuring, closing and monitoring of our investments. These employees of the Advisor have critical industry experience and relationships that we rely on to implement our business plan. Our future success depends on the continued service of our Advisor’s senior management team. The departure of any of the members of our Advisor’s senior management or a significant number of the members of its investment team could have a material adverse effect on our ability to achieve our investment objective. As a result, we may not be able to operate our business as we expect, and our ability to compete could be harmed, which could cause our operating results to suffer. In addition, we can offer no assurance that BlackRock Kelso Capital Advisors will remain our investment advisor, that BlackRock Financial Management, Inc. will remain our administrator or that we will continue to have access to BlackRock’s investment professionals or the Kelso Principals.

There is a risk that we may not make distributions and consequently will be subject to corporate-level income tax.

We intend to make distributions on a quarterly basis to our stockholders out of assets legally available for distribution. We may not be able to achieve operating results that will allow us to make distributions at a specific level or to increase the amount of these distributions from time to time. In addition, due to the asset coverage test applicable to us as a BDC, we may be limited in our ability to make distributions. Also, restrictions and provisions in our existing and any future credit facilities may limit our ability to make distributions. If we do not distribute a certain percentage of our income annually, we could fail to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC, and we would be subject to corporate-level federal income tax. We cannot assure you that you will receive distributions at a particular level or at all.

Any unrealized losses we experience on our investment portfolio may be an indication of future realized losses, which could reduce our income available for distribution.

Decreases in the market values or fair values of our investments will be recorded as unrealized depreciation. Any unrealized losses in our investment portfolio could be an indication of a portfolio company’s inability to meet its repayment obligations to us with respect to the affected investments. This could result in realized losses in the future and ultimately in reductions of our income available for distribution in future periods.

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We may experience fluctuations in our periodic results.

We could experience fluctuations in our periodic results due to a number of factors, some of which are beyond our control, including our ability to make investments in companies that meet our investment criteria, the interest rates payable on the debt investments we make, the default rate on such investments, the level of our expenses (including the interest rates payable on our borrowings and the dividend rates on any preferred stock we may issue), variations in and the timing of the recognition of realized and unrealized gains or losses, the degree to which we encounter competition in our markets and general economic conditions. As a result of these factors, results for any period should not be relied upon as being indicative of performance in future periods.

We are exposed to risks associated with changes in interest rates.

General interest rate fluctuations may have a substantial negative impact on our investments, the value of our common stock and our rate of return on invested capital. A reduction in the interest rates on new investments relative to interest rates on current investments could also have an adverse impact on our net interest income. An increase in interest rates could decrease the value of any investments we hold which earn fixed interest rates, including subordinated loans, senior and junior secured and unsecured debt securities and loans and high-yield bonds, and also could increase our interest expense, thereby decreasing our net income. Also, an increase in interest rates available to investors could make investment in our common stock less attractive if we are not able to increase our dividend rate, which could reduce the value of our common stock.

We may have difficulty paying our required distributions if we recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income.

In accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, and tax regulations, we include in income certain amounts that we have not yet received in cash, such as payment-in-kind, or PIK, interest, which represents contractual interest added to the loan balance and due at the end of the loan term. In addition to the cash yields received on our loans, in some instances, certain loans may also include any of the following: origination, structuring, closing, commitment and other upfront fees, end of term payments, exit fees, balloon payment fees or prepayment fees. The increases in loan balances as a result of contracted payment-in-kind arrangements are included in income for the period in which such PIK interest was received, which is often in advance of receiving cash payment. We also may be required to include in income certain other amounts that we will not receive in cash. Any warrants that we receive in connection with our debt investments are generally valued as part of the negotiation process with the particular portfolio company. As a result, a portion of the aggregate purchase price for the debt investments and warrants are allocated to the warrants that we receive. This will generally result in “original issue discount” for tax purposes, which we must recognize as ordinary income, increasing the amounts we are required to distribute to qualify for the federal income tax benefits applicable to RICs. Because such original issue discount income would not be accompanied by cash, we would need to obtain cash from other sources to satisfy such distribution requirements. If we are unable to obtain cash from other sources to satisfy such distribution requirements, we may fail to qualify for favorable tax treatment as a RIC and, thus, could become subject to a corporate-level income tax on all of our income. Other features of the debt instruments that we hold may also cause such instruments to generate original issue discount, resulting in a dividend distribution requirement in excess of current cash received. Since in certain cases we may recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income, we may have difficulty meeting the requirement to distribute at least 90% of our net ordinary income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized net long-term capital losses, if any. If we are unable to meet these distribution requirements, we will not qualify for favorable tax treatment as a RIC or, even if such distribution requirements are satisfied, we may be subject to tax on the amount that is undistributed. Accordingly, we may have to sell some of our assets, raise additional debt or equity capital or reduce new investment originations to meet these distribution requirements and avoid tax.

Our Credit Facility matures in December 2010 and any inability to renew, extend or replace our Credit Facility could adversely impact our liquidity and ability to find new investments or maintain distributions to our stockholders.

We maintain a multi-currency $545 million senior secured credit facility with a group of lenders, under which we had approximately $296 million of indebtedness outstanding at December 31, 2009. Availability under our Credit Facility consists of $400 million in revolving loan commitments and $145 million in term loan commitments. The interest rate applicable to borrowings under our Credit Facility is generally LIBOR plus 87.5 basis points with respect to revolving loans and LIBOR plus 150 basis points with respect to term loans. The Credit Facility has a stated maturity date of December 6, 2010. There can be no guarantee that we will be able to renew, extend or replace the Credit Facility

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upon its maturity on terms that are favorable to us, if at all. Our ability to renew, extend or replace the Credit Facility will be constrained by then-current economic conditions affecting the credit markets. In the event that we are not able to renew, extend or replace the Credit Facility at the time of its maturity, this could have a material adverse effect on our liquidity and ability to fund new investments, our ability to make distributions to our stockholders and our ability to qualify as a RIC.

If we incur additional debt, it could increase the risk of investing in our shares.

We have indebtedness outstanding pursuant to our Credit Facility and expect, in the future, to borrow additional amounts under our Credit Facility and may increase the size of our Credit Facility. Lenders have fixed dollar claims on our assets that are superior to the claims of our common stockholders or any preferred stockholders, and we have granted a security interest in our assets in connection with our borrowings. In the case of a liquidation event, those lenders would receive proceeds before our stockholders. In addition, borrowings, also known as leverage, magnify the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested and, therefore, increase the risks associated with investing in our shares. Leverage is generally considered a speculative investment technique. If the value of our assets increases, then leveraging would cause the net asset value attributable to our common stock to increase more than it otherwise would have had we not leveraged. Conversely, if the value of our assets decreases, leveraging would cause the net asset value attributable to our common stock to decline more than it otherwise would have had we not leveraged. Similarly, any increase in our revenue in excess of interest expense on our borrowed funds would cause our net income to increase more than it would without the leverage. Any decrease in our revenue would cause our net income to decline more than it would have had we not borrowed funds and could negatively affect our ability to make distributions on our common stock. Our ability to service any debt that we incur depends largely on our financial performance and is subject to prevailing economic conditions and competitive pressures.

As a BDC, we generally are required to meet a coverage ratio of total assets to total borrowings and other senior securities, which include all of our borrowings and any preferred stock we may issue in the future, of at least 200%. If this ratio declines below 200%, we may not be able to incur additional debt and may need to sell a portion of our investments to repay some debt when it is disadvantageous to do so, and we may not be able to make distributions.

Illustration. The following table illustrates the effect of leverage on returns from an investment in our common stock assuming various annual returns, net of expenses. The calculations in the table below are hypothetical and actual returns may be higher or lower than those appearing below. The calculation is based on our level of borrowing at December 31, 2009, which represented borrowings equal to 34% of our total assets. On such date, we also had $880 million in total assets; an average cost of funds of 1.49%; $296 million in debt outstanding; and $540 million of total net assets. In order to compute the “Corresponding Return to Common Stockholders,” the “Assumed Return on Portfolio (Net of Expenses Other than Interest)” is multiplied by the total value of our assets at December 31, 2009 to obtain an assumed return to us. From this amount, the interest expense calculated by multiplying the interest rate of 1.49% by the $296 million debt is subtracted to determine the return available to stockholders. The return available to stockholders is then divided by the total value of our net assets at December 31, 2009 to determine the “Corresponding Return to Common Stockholders.” Actual interest payments may be different.

The assumed portfolio return in the table is based on SEC regulations and is not a prediction of, and does not represent, our projected or actual performance. The table also assumes that we will maintain a constant level of leverage. The amount of leverage that we use will vary from time to time.

Our use of borrowed funds to make investments exposes us to risks typically associated with leverage.

We borrow money and may issue debt securities or preferred stock to leverage our capital structure. As a result:

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We may in the future determine to fund a portion of our investments with preferred stock, which would magnify the potential for gain or loss and the risks of investing in us in the same way as our borrowings.

Preferred stock, which is another form of leverage, has the same risks to our common stockholders as borrowings because the dividends on any preferred stock we issue must be cumulative. Payment of such dividends and repayment of the liquidation preference of such preferred stock must take preference over any dividends or other payments to our common stockholders, and preferred stockholders are not subject to any of our expenses or losses and are not entitled to participate in any income or appreciation in excess of their stated preference.

Because we are required to distribute substantially all of our net investment income and net realized capital gains to our stockholders, we will continue to need additional capital to finance our growth.

We have elected to be taxed for federal income tax purposes as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. If we can meet certain requirements, including source of income, asset diversification and distribution requirements, and if we continue to qualify as a BDC, we will continue to qualify to be a RIC under the Code and will not have to pay corporate-level taxes on income we distribute to our stockholders as dividends, allowing us to substantially reduce or eliminate our corporate-level tax liability. As a BDC, we are generally required to meet a coverage ratio of total assets to total senior securities, which includes all of our borrowings and any preferred stock we may issue in the future, of at least 200%. This requirement limits the amount that we may borrow. Because we will continue to need capital to grow our investment portfolio, this limitation may prevent us from incurring debt and require us to raise additional equity at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so. We cannot assure you that debt and equity financing will be available to us on favorable terms, if at all, and debt financings may be restricted by the terms of any of our outstanding borrowings. In addition, as a BDC, we are generally not permitted to issue equity securities priced below net asset value without stockholder approval. If additional funds are not available to us, we could be forced to curtail or cease new lending and investment activities, and our net asset value could decline.

Our Board of Directors may change our investment objective, operating policies and strategies without prior notice or stockholder approval.

Our Board of Directors has the authority to modify or waive certain of our operating policies and strategies without prior notice and without stockholder approval (except as required by the 1940 Act). However, absent stockholder approval, we may not change the nature of our business so as to cease to be, or withdraw our election as, a BDC. We cannot predict the effect any changes to our current operating policies and strategies would have on our business, operating results or value of our common stock. Nevertheless, the effects could adversely affect our business and impact our ability to make distributions.

Our investment advisor and its affiliates, officers and employees have certain conflicts of interest.

The Advisor, its officers and employees and its investment committee serve or may serve as officers, directors or principals of entities or investment funds that operate in the same or a related line of business as us. Accordingly, these individuals may have obligations to investors in those entities or funds, the fulfillment of which might not be in our best interests or the best interests of our stockholders. In addition, we note that any affiliated investment vehicle formed in the future and managed by the Advisor or its affiliates may have overlapping investment objectives with our own and, accordingly, may invest in asset classes similar to those targeted by us. As a result, the Advisor may face conflicts in allocating investment opportunities between us and such other entities. Although the Advisor will endeavor to allocate investment opportunities in a fair and equitable manner and consistent with applicable allocation procedures, it is possible that, in the future, we may not be given the opportunity to participate in investments made by investment funds managed by the Advisor or an investment manager affiliated with the Adviser. In any such case, if our investment adviser forms other affiliates in the future, we may co-invest on a concurrent basis with such other affiliates, subject to compliance with applicable regulations and regulatory guidance, as well as applicable allocation procedures.

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We may not replicate the success of BlackRock or Kelso.

We are not managed by either BlackRock or Kelso. Our investment strategies differ from those of BlackRock, the Kelso Principals or their respective affiliates. We can provide no assurance that we will replicate the historical or future performance of BlackRock’s or Kelso’s investments and our investment returns may be substantially lower than the returns achieved by those firms. As a BDC, we are subject to certain investment restrictions that do not apply to BlackRock or Kelso. In addition, current market conditions and the current stage of the economic cycle present significant challenges to us that have not been present in the past. Accordingly, we can offer no assurance that the Advisor will be able to continue to implement our investment objective with the same degree of success as it has in the past or that shares of our common stock will trade at or above the current level.

The Incentive Fee payable to our investment advisor may increase risks.

The potential for the Advisor to earn an Incentive Fee from time to time under the management agreement may create an incentive for the Advisor to make investments that are riskier or more speculative than would otherwise be the case. The way in which the amount of the Incentive Fee is determined, which is calculated as a percentage of distributions on our common shares, may encourage the Advisor to use leverage in an effort to increase the return on our investments. If the Advisor acquires poorly performing assets with such leverage, the loss to holders of our common shares could be substantial. Finally, because a portion of the Incentive Fee is likely to reflect interest and dividend income and is calculated on an accrual basis regardless of whether we have received a cash payment of such interest or dividends, the Advisor might have an incentive to invest in zero coupon or deferred interest securities in circumstances where it would not have done so but for the opportunity to continue to earn the Incentive Fee even when the issuers thereof would not be able to make cash payments on such securities. The foregoing risks could be increased because the Advisor is not obligated to reimburse us for any Incentive Fee received even if we subsequently incur losses or never receive in cash income that was previously accrued.

Substantially all of our portfolio investments are recorded at fair value as determined in good faith by or under the direction of our Board of Directors and, as a result, there is uncertainty regarding the value of our portfolio investments.

There is not a readily available market value for substantially all of the investments in our portfolio. We value these investments quarterly at fair value as determined in good faith under the direction of our Board of Directors using a consistently applied valuation process in accordance with a documented valuation policy that has been reviewed and approved by our Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors utilizes the services of one or more independent valuation firms to aid it in determining the fair value of these investments. Due to the inherent uncertainty and subjectivity of determining the fair value of investments that do not have a readily available market value, the fair value of our investments may differ significantly from the values that would have been used had a readily available market value existed for such investments and may differ materially from the amounts we realize on any dispositions of such investments. In addition, the impact of changes in the market environment and other events on the fair values of our investments that have no readily available market values may differ from the impact of such changes on the readily available market values for our other investments. Our net asset value could be adversely affected if our determinations regarding the fair value of our investments were materially higher than the values that we ultimately realize upon the disposal of such investments.

Our investment advisor and its management have limited experience operating under the constraints imposed on us as a BDC or a RIC.

The 1940 Act and the Code impose numerous constraints on the operations of BDCs and RICs. For example, under the 1940 Act, BDCs are required to invest at least 70% of their total assets primarily in securities of private or thinly traded U.S. public companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. Government securities and other high quality debt investments that mature in one year or less. Moreover, qualification for taxation as a RIC under subchapter M of the Code requires satisfaction of source-of-income and diversification requirements and our ability to avoid corporate-level taxes on our income and gains depends on our satisfaction of distribution requirements. The failure to comply with these provisions in a timely manner could prevent us from qualifying as a BDC or RIC or could force us to pay unexpected taxes and penalties, which could be material. These constraints, among others, may hinder the Advisor’s ability to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities and to achieve our investment objective. The Advisor’s experience operating under these constraints is limited to the period since our inception.

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Risks related to our investments

Our investments may be risky, and you could lose all or part of your investment.

We invest primarily in middle-market companies in the form of senior and junior secured and unsecured debt securities and loans, each of which may include an equity component, and by making direct preferred, common and other equity investments in such companies.

Risks Associated with Middle-market Companies. Investment in private middle-market companies involves a number of significant risks, including:

Little public information exists about these companies. These companies and their financial information are not subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 and other rules that govern public companies. If we are unable to uncover all material information about these companies, we may not make a fully informed investment decision, and we may lose money on our investment.

Lower Credit Quality Obligations. Most of our debt investments are likely to be in lower grade obligations. The lower grade investments in which we invest may be rated below investment grade by one or more nationally-recognized statistical rating agencies at the time of investment or may be unrated but determined by the Advisor to be of comparable quality. Debt securities rated below investment grade are commonly referred to as “junk bonds” and are considered speculative with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal. The debt that we invest in typically is not initially rated by any rating agency, but we believe that if such investments were rated, they would be below investment grade (rated lower than “Baa3” by Moody’s Investors Service, lower than “BBB-” by Fitch Ratings or lower than “BBB-” by Standard & Poor’s). We may invest without limit in debt of any rating, as well as debt that has not been rated by any nationally recognized statistical rating organization.

Investment in lower grade investments involves a substantial risk of loss. Lower grade securities or comparable unrated securities are considered predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s ability to pay interest and principal and are susceptible to default or decline in market value due to adverse economic and business developments. The market values for lower grade debt tend to be very volatile and are less liquid than investment grade securities. For these reasons, your investment in our company is subject to the following specific risks:

Adverse changes in economic conditions are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of a lower grade issuer to make principal payments and interest payments than an investment grade issuer. The principal amount of lower grade securities outstanding has proliferated in the past decade as an increasing number of issuers have used lower grade securities for corporate financing. An economic downturn could severely affect the ability of highly leveraged issuers to service their debt obligations or to repay their obligations upon maturity. Similarly, downturns in profitability in specific industries could adversely affect the ability of lower grade issuers in that industry to meet their obligations. The market values of lower grade debt tend to reflect individual developments of the issuer to a greater extent than do higher quality investments, which react primarily to fluctuations in the general level of interest rates. Factors having an adverse impact

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on the market value of lower grade debt may have an adverse effect on our net asset value and the market value of our common shares. In addition, we may incur additional expenses to the extent we are required to seek recovery upon a default in payment of principal of or interest on our portfolio holdings. In certain circumstances, we may be required to foreclose on an issuer’s assets and take possession of its property or operations. In such circumstances, we would incur additional costs in disposing of such assets and potential liabilities from operating any business acquired.

The secondary market for lower grade debt may not be as liquid as the secondary market for more highly rated debt, a factor which may have an adverse effect on our ability to dispose of a particular instrument. There are fewer dealers in the market for lower grade securities than investment grade obligations. The prices quoted by different dealers may vary significantly and the spread between the bid and asked price is generally much larger than higher quality instruments. Under adverse market or economic conditions, the secondary market for lower grade debt could contract further, independent of any specific adverse changes in the condition of a particular issuer, and these instruments may become highly illiquid. As a result, we could find it more difficult to sell these instruments or may be able to sell the securities only at prices lower than if such instruments were widely traded. Prices realized upon the sale of such lower rated or unrated securities, under these circumstances, may be less than the prices used in calculating our net asset value.

Since investors generally perceive that there are greater risks associated with lower grade debt of the type in which we may invest a portion of our assets, the yields and prices of such debt may tend to fluctuate more than those for higher rated instruments. In the lower quality segments of the fixed income markets, changes in perceptions of issuers’ creditworthiness tend to occur more frequently and in a more pronounced manner than do changes in higher quality segments of the income securities market, resulting in greater yield and price volatility.

Distressed Debt Securities Risk. At times, distressed debt obligations may not produce income and may require us to bear certain extraordinary expenses (including legal, accounting, valuation and transaction expenses) in order to protect and recover our investment. Therefore, to the extent we invest in distressed debt, our ability to achieve current income for our stockholders may be diminished. We also will be subject to significant uncertainty as to when and in what manner and for what value the distressed debt we invest in will eventually be satisfied (e.g., through a liquidation of the obligor’s assets, an exchange offer or plan of reorganization involving the distressed debt securities or a payment of some amount in satisfaction of the obligation). In addition, even if an exchange offer is made or plan of reorganization is adopted with respect to distressed debt we hold, there can be no assurance that the securities or other assets received by us in connection with such exchange offer or plan of reorganization will not have a lower value or income potential than may have been anticipated when the investment was made. Moreover, any securities received by us upon completion of an exchange offer or plan of reorganization may be restricted as to resale. As a result of our participation in negotiations with respect to any exchange offer or plan of reorganization with respect to an issuer of distressed debt, we may be restricted from disposing of such securities.

Preferred Stock Risk. To the extent we invest in preferred securities, there are special risks associated with investing in preferred securities, including:

Deferral. Preferred securities may include provisions that permit the issuer, at its discretion, to defer distributions for a stated period without any adverse consequences to the issuer. If we own a preferred security that is deferring its distributions, we may be required to report income for tax purposes although we have not yet received such income.

Subordination. Preferred securities are subordinated to bonds and other debt instruments in a company’s capital structure in terms of priority to corporate income and liquidation payments, and therefore will be subject to greater credit risk than more senior debt instruments.

Liquidity. Preferred securities may be substantially less liquid than many other securities, such as common stocks or U.S. Government securities.

Limited Voting Rights. Generally, preferred security holders have no voting rights with respect to the issuing company unless preferred dividends have been in arrears for a specified number of periods, at which time the preferred security holders may elect a number of directors to the issuer’s board. Generally, once all the arrearages have been paid, the preferred security holders no longer have voting rights.

Common Stock Risk. We may have exposure to common stocks. Although common stocks have historically generated higher average total returns than fixed-income securities over the long term, common stocks also have experienced significantly more volatility in those returns. The equity securities that we acquire may fail to appreciate and may decline in value or become worthless.

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Hedging Transactions. We may employ hedging techniques to minimize currency exchange rate risks or interest rate risks, but we can offer no assurance that such strategies will be effective. If we engage in hedging transactions, we may expose ourselves to risks associated with such transactions. Hedging against a decline in the values of our portfolio positions does not eliminate the possibility of fluctuations in the values of such positions or prevent losses if the values of such positions decline. Moreover, it may not be possible to hedge against an exchange rate or interest rate fluctuation that is so generally anticipated that we are not able to enter into a hedging transaction at an acceptable price.

Economic recessions or downturns could impair our portfolio companies and harm our operating results.

The economy has recently been in the midst of a recession and in the difficult part of a credit cycle with growing industry defaults. Many of our portfolio companies may be materially and adversely affected by the credit cycle and, in turn, may be unable to satisfy their financial obligations (including their loans to us) over the coming months.

Many of our portfolio companies may be susceptible to economic slowdowns or recessions and may be unable to repay our loans during these periods. Therefore, our non-performing assets may increase and the value of our portfolio may decrease during these periods if we are required to write down the values of our investments. Adverse economic conditions also may decrease the value of collateral securing some of our loans and the value of our equity investments. Economic slowdowns or recessions could lead to financial losses in our portfolio and a decrease in revenues, net income and assets. Unfavorable economic conditions also could increase our funding costs, limit our access to the capital markets or result in a decision by lenders not to extend credit to us. These events could prevent us from increasing investments and harm our operating results.

A portfolio company’s failure to satisfy financial or operating covenants imposed by us or other lenders could lead to defaults and, potentially, acceleration of the time when the loans are due and foreclosure on its secured assets, which could trigger cross-defaults under other agreements and jeopardize the portfolio company’s ability to meet its obligations under the debt that we hold. We may incur additional expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery upon default or to negotiate new terms with a defaulting portfolio company. In addition, if one of our portfolio companies were to go bankrupt, even though we may have structured our interest as senior debt, depending on the facts and circumstances, including the extent to which we actually provided significant managerial assistance to that portfolio company, a bankruptcy court might recharacterize our debt holding and subordinate all or a portion of our claim to that of other creditors.

Our portfolio companies may incur debt that ranks equally with, or senior to, our investments in such companies.

Our portfolio companies usually will have, or may be permitted to incur, other debt that ranks equally with, or senior to, debt securities in which we invest. By their terms, such debt instruments may provide that the holders are entitled to receive payment of interest or principal on or before the dates on which we are entitled to receive payments. Also, in the event of insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of a portfolio company, holders of debt instruments ranking senior to our investment in that portfolio company would typically be entitled to receive payment in full before we receive any distribution in respect of our investment. After repaying such senior creditors, the portfolio company may not have any remaining assets to use for repaying its obligations to us. In the case of debt ranking equally with debt securities in which we invest, we would have to share on an equal basis any distributions with other creditors holding such debt in the event of an insolvency, liquidation, dissolution, reorganization or bankruptcy of the relevant portfolio company. In addition, we may not be in a position to control any portfolio company by investing in its debt securities. As a result, we are subject to the risk that a portfolio company in which we invest may make business decisions with which we disagree, and the management of such company, as representatives of the holders of their common equity, may take risks or otherwise act in ways that do not serve our interests as debt investors.

Concentration of our assets in an issuer, industry or sector may present more risks than if we were more broadly diversified over numerous issuers, industries and sectors of the economy.

We are classified as a non-diversified investment company within the meaning of the 1940 Act, which means that we are not limited by the 1940 Act with respect to the proportion of our assets that we may invest in securities of a single issuer. To the extent that we assume large positions in the securities of a small number of issuers, our net asset value may fluctuate to a greater extent than that of a diversified investment company as a result of changes in the financial condition or the market’s assessment of the issuer. We may also be more susceptible to any single economic or regulatory occurrence than a diversified investment company.

In addition, we may, from time to time, invest a substantial portion of our assets in the securities of issuers in any single industry or sector of the economy or in only a few issuers. We cannot predict the industries or sectors in which our

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investment strategy may cause us to concentrate and cannot predict the level of our diversification among issuers to ensure that we satisfy diversification requirements for qualification as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes. A downturn in an industry or sector in which we are concentrated would have a larger impact on us than on a company that does not concentrate in an industry or sector. As a result of investing a greater portion of our assets in the securities of a smaller number of issuers, we are classified as a non-diversified company under the 1940 Act. Accordingly, an investment in us may present greater risk than an investment in a diversified company. Furthermore, the Advisor has not made and does not intend to make any determination as to the allocation of assets among different classes of securities. At any point in time we may be highly concentrated in a single type of asset, such as junior unsecured loans or distressed debt. Consequently, events which affect a particular asset class disproportionately could have an equally disproportionate effect on us.

Our failure to make follow-on investments in our portfolio companies could impair the value of our portfolio.

Following an initial investment in a portfolio company, we may make additional investments in that portfolio company as “follow-on” investments in order to: (i) increase or maintain in whole or in part our equity ownership percentage; (ii) exercise warrants, options or convertible securities that were acquired in the original or any subsequent financing; or (iii) attempt to preserve or enhance the value of our investments. We may elect not to make follow-on investments or otherwise lack sufficient funds to make those investments. We will have the discretion to make any follow-on investments, subject to the availability of capital resources. The failure to make follow-on investments may, in some circumstances, jeopardize the continued viability of a portfolio company and our initial investment, or may result in a missed opportunity for us to maintain or increase our participation in a successful operation. Even if we have sufficient capital to make a desired follow-on investment, we may elect not to make a follow-on investment because we may not want to increase our concentration of risk, either because we prefer other opportunities or because we are subject to BDC requirements that would prevent such follow-on investments or the desire to maintain our RIC status.

Our investments in foreign securities may involve significant risks in addition to the risks inherent in U.S. investments.

Our investment strategy contemplates that a portion of our investments may be in securities of foreign companies. Investing in foreign companies may expose us to additional risks not typically associated with investing in U.S. companies. These risks include changes in exchange control regulations, political and social instability, expropriation, imposition of foreign taxes (potentially at confiscatory levels), less liquid markets and less available information than is generally the case in the U.S., higher transaction costs, less government supervision of exchanges, brokers and issuers, less developed bankruptcy laws, difficulty in enforcing contractual obligations, lack of uniform accounting and auditing standards and greater price volatility.

Although most of our investments are denominated in U.S. dollars, our investments that are denominated in a foreign currency are subject to the risk that the value of a particular currency may change in relation to one or more other currencies. Among the factors that may affect currency values are trade balances, the level of short-term interest rates, differences in relative values of similar assets in different currencies, long-term opportunities for investment and capital appreciation, and political developments. We may employ hedging techniques to minimize these risks, but we can offer no assurance that we will, in fact, hedge currency risk or, that if we do, such strategies will be effective.

While we may enter into transactions to seek to reduce currency exchange rate and interest rate risks, unanticipated changes in currency exchange rates or interest rates may result in poorer overall investment performance than if we had not engaged in any such hedging transactions. In addition, the degree of correlation between price movements of the instruments used in a hedging strategy and price movements in the portfolio positions being hedged may vary. Moreover, for a variety of reasons, we may not seek to establish a perfect correlation between such hedging instruments and the portfolio holdings being hedged. Any such imperfect correlation may prevent us from achieving the intended hedge and expose us to risk of loss. In addition, it may not be possible to hedge fully or perfectly against currency fluctuations affecting the value of securities denominated in non-U.S. currencies because the value of those securities is likely to fluctuate as a result of factors not related to currency fluctuations.

Risks related to our operations as a BDC

Our ability to enter into transactions with our affiliates is restricted.

We are prohibited under the 1940 Act from knowingly participating in certain transactions with certain of our affiliates without the prior approval of our independent directors and, in some cases, of the SEC. Any person that owns, directly or indirectly, 5% or more of our outstanding voting securities will be our affiliate for purposes of the 1940 Act and we are generally prohibited from buying or selling any security (other than our securities) from or to such affiliate,

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absent the prior approval of our independent directors. The 1940 Act also prohibits certain “joint” transactions with certain of our affiliates, which could include investments in the same portfolio company (whether at the same or different times), without prior approval of our independent directors and, in some cases, of the SEC. We are prohibited from buying or selling any security from or to any person who owns more than 25% of our voting securities or certain of that person’s affiliates, or entering into prohibited joint transactions with such persons, absent the prior approval of the SEC through an exemptive order (other than in certain limited situations pursuant to current regulatory guidance). The analysis of whether a particular transaction constitutes a joint transaction requires a review of the relevant facts and circumstances then existing. Similar restrictions limit our ability to transact business with our officers or directors or their affiliates.

Regulations governing our operation as a BDC affect our ability to, and the way in which we, raise additional capital.

Our business requires a substantial amount of capital. We may acquire additional capital from the issuance of senior securities or other indebtedness, the issuance of additional shares of our common stock or from securitization transactions. However, we may not be able to raise additional capital in the future on favorable terms or at all. We may issue debt securities or preferred securities, which we refer to collectively as “senior securities,” and we may borrow money from banks or other financial institutions, up to the maximum amount permitted by the 1940 Act. The 1940 Act permits us to issue senior securities or incur indebtedness only in amounts such that our asset coverage, as defined in the 1940 Act, equals at least 200% after such issuance or incurrence. Our ability to pay dividends or issue additional senior securities would be restricted if our asset coverage ratio were not at least 200%. If the value of our assets declines, we may be unable to satisfy this test. If that happens, we may be required to liquidate a portion of our investments and repay a portion of our indebtedness at a time when such sales may be disadvantageous.

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Stockholders may incur dilution if we sell or otherwise issue shares of our common stock at prices below the then current net asset value per share of our common stock.

At a special meeting of stockholders held on February 8, 2010, our stockholders approved a proposal designed to allow us to access the capital markets in a way that we were previously unable to as a result of restrictions that, absent stockholder approval, apply to BDCs under the 1940 Act. Specifically, our stockholders approved a proposal that authorizes us to sell shares of our common stock below the then current net asset value per share of our common stock in one or more offerings. Any decision to sell shares of our common stock below the then current net asset value per share of our common stock in one or more offerings would be subject to the determination by our Board of Directors that such issuance and sale is in our and our stockholders’ best interests.

We maintain a dividend reinvestment plan for our common stockholders, which we refer to as the Plan. Under the terms of an amendment to the Plan adopted on March 4, 2009, dividends may be paid in newly issued or treasury shares of our common stock at a price equal to 95% of the market price on the dividend payment date. This feature of the Plan means that, under certain circumstances, we may issue shares of our common stock at a price below net asset value per share.

Subject to certain conditions, for taxable years ending on or before December 31, 2011, we are permitted to make distributions to our stockholders in the form of shares of our common stock in lieu of cash distributions. We may elect to make such a distribution of our common stock at a time when the market price of our common stock is below net asset value per share, which would result in issuance of shares of our common stock at a price below net asset value per share.

Any sale or other issuance of shares of our common stock at a price below net asset value per share would result in an immediate dilution to the net asset value per share. This dilution would occur as a result of a proportionately greater decrease in a stockholder’s interest in our earnings and assets and voting interest in us than the increase in our assets resulting from such issuance.

Because the number of shares of common stock that could be so issued and the timing of any issuance is not currently known, the actual dilutive effect cannot be predicted; however, the example below illustrates the effect of dilution to existing stockholders resulting from the sale or other issuance of common stock at prices below the net asset value of such shares.

Illustration: Example of Dilutive Effect of the Issuance of Shares Below Net Asset Value. Assume that Company XYZ has 1,000,000 total shares outstanding, $15,000,000 in total assets and $5,000,000 in total liabilities. The net asset value per share of the common stock of Company XYZ is $10.00. The following table illustrates the reduction to net asset value, or NAV, and the dilution experienced by Stockholder A following the sale of 40,000 shares of the common stock of Company XYZ at $9.50 per share, a price equal to 95% of its NAV per share and therefore below NAV.

Changes in the laws or regulations governing our business, or changes in the interpretations thereof, and any failure by us to comply with these laws or regulations, could negatively affect the profitability of our operations.

Changes in the laws or regulations or the interpretations of the laws and regulations that govern BDCs, RICs or non-depository commercial lenders could significantly affect our operations and our cost of doing business. We are subject to federal, state and local laws and regulations and are subject to judicial and administrative decisions that affect our operations, including our loan originations, maximum interest rates, fees and other charges, disclosures to portfolio companies, the terms of secured transactions, collection and foreclosure procedures and other trade practices. If these

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laws, regulations or decisions change, or if we expand our business into jurisdictions that have adopted more stringent requirements than those in which we currently conduct business, we may have to incur significant expenses in order to comply, or we might have to restrict our operations. In addition, if we do not comply with applicable laws, regulations and decisions, we may lose licenses needed for the conduct of our business and be subject to civil fines and criminal penalties, any of which could have a material adverse effect upon our business, financial condition and results of operations.

If we do not invest a sufficient portion of our assets in qualifying assets, we could fail to qualify as a BDC or be precluded from investing according to our current business strategy.

As a BDC, we may not acquire any assets other than “qualifying assets” unless, at the time of and after giving effect to such acquisition, at least 70% of our total assets are qualifying assets. We believe that most of the investments that we may acquire in the future will constitute qualifying assets. However, we may be precluded from investing in what we believe are attractive investments if such investments are not qualifying assets for purposes of the 1940 Act. If we do not invest a sufficient portion of our assets in qualifying assets, we could be found to be in violation of the 1940 Act provisions applicable to BDCs, which would have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Similarly, these rules could prevent us from making follow-on investments in existing portfolio companies (which could result in the dilution of our position) or could require us to dispose of investments at inappropriate times in order to come into compliance with the 1940 Act. If we need to dispose of such investments quickly, it would be difficult to dispose of such investments on favorable terms. For example, we may have difficulty in finding a buyer and, even if we do find a buyer, we may have to sell the investments at a substantial loss.

Loss of status as a RIC would reduce our net asset value and distributable income.

We currently qualify as a RIC under the Code and intend to continue to qualify each year as a RIC. As a RIC we do not have to pay federal income taxes on our income (including realized gains) that is distributed to our stockholders, provided that we satisfy certain distribution requirements. Accordingly, we are not permitted under accounting rules to establish reserves for taxes on our unrealized capital gains. If we fail to qualify for RIC status in any year, to the extent that we had unrealized gains, we would have to establish reserves for taxes, which would reduce our net asset value. In addition, if we, as a RIC, were to decide to make a deemed distribution of net realized capital gains and retain the net realized capital gains, we would have to establish appropriate reserves for taxes that we would have to pay on behalf of stockholders. It is possible that establishing reserves for taxes could have a material adverse effect on the value of our common stock.

If we fail to qualify for tax treatment as a RIC, we will be subject to corporate-level income tax, which will adversely affect our results of operations and financial condition.

To maintain our qualification as a RIC under the Code and allow us to distribute our income without tax at the corporate level, we must meet certain income source, asset diversification and annual distribution requirements. Satisfying these requirements may require us to take actions we would not otherwise take, such as selling investments at unattractive prices to satisfy diversification, distribution or source of income requirements. In addition, while we are authorized to borrow funds in order to make distributions, under the 1940 Act we are not permitted to make distributions to stockholders while we have debt obligations or other senior securities outstanding unless certain asset coverage tests are met. If we fail to qualify as a RIC for any reason and become or remain subject to corporate-level income tax, the resulting corporate-level taxes could substantially reduce our net assets, the amount of income available for distribution and the amount of our distributions. Such a failure would have a material adverse effect on us and our stockholders.

Risks relating to an investment in our common stock

Our shares of common stock have traded at a discount from net asset value and may do so again in the future, which could limit our ability to raise additional equity capital.

Shares of closed-end investment companies frequently trade at a market price that is less than the net asset value that is attributable to those shares. This characteristic of closed-end investment companies is separate and distinct from the risk that our net asset value per share may decline. It is not possible to predict whether any shares of our common stock will trade at, above, or below net asset value. During much of 2009, the stocks of BDCs as an industry, including at times shares of our common stock, traded below net asset value and at historic lows as a result of concerns over liquidity, leverage restrictions and distribution requirements. When our common stock is trading below its net asset value per share, we will generally not be able to issue additional shares of our common stock at its market price without first obtaining approval for such issuance from our stockholders and our independent directors.

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The price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly.

As with any company, the price of our common stock will fluctuate with market conditions and other factors. The capital and credit markets have experienced a period of extreme volatility and disruption that began in 2007. The market price and liquidity of the market for our common stock may be significantly affected by numerous factors, some of which are beyond our control and may not be directly related to our operating performance. These factors include:

Our principal stockholders have substantial ownership in us, and this control could limit your ability to influence the outcome of key transactions, including a change of control.

As a result of their substantial ownership in us, our principal stockholders may be able to exert influence over our management and policies. This concentration of ownership may have the effect of delaying, preventing or deterring a change of control of our company, depriving our stockholders of an opportunity to receive a premium for their common stock as part of a sale of our company, and ultimately affecting the market price of our common stock.

We may in the future choose to pay dividends in our own stock, in which case our shareholders may be required to pay tax in excess of the cash they receive, and which may adversely affect the market price of our common stock.

We may distribute taxable dividends that are payable in part in our stock. Under IRS Revenue Procedure 2010-12, which extended and modified Revenue Procedure 2009-15, up to 90% of any such taxable dividend for 2009, 2010, and 2011 could be payable in our stock. The IRS has also issued (and where Revenue Procedure 2009-15 or 2010-12 is not currently applicable, the IRS continues to issue) private letter rulings on cash/stock dividends paid by regulated investment companies and real estate investment trusts using a 20% cash standard (instead of the 10% cash standard of Revenue Procedures 2009-15 and 2010-12) if certain requirements are satisfied. Taxable stockholders receiving such dividends would be required to include the full amount of the dividend as ordinary income (or as long-term capital gain to the extent such distribution is properly designated as a capital gain dividend) to the extent of its current and accumulated earnings and profits for United States federal income tax purposes. As a result, a U.S. stockholder may be required to pay tax with respect to such dividends in excess of any cash received. If a U.S. stockholder sells the stock it receives as a dividend in order to pay this tax, it may be subject to transaction fees (e.g., broker fees or transfer agent fees) and the sales proceeds may be less than the amount included in income with respect to the dividend, depending on the market price of our stock at the time of the sale. Furthermore, with respect to non-U.S. stockholders, we may be required to withhold U.S. tax with respect to such dividends, including in respect of all or a portion of such dividend that is payable in stock. Additionally, if we elect to make a distribution using shares of our common stock and/or if a significant number of our stockholders determine to sell shares of our stock in order to pay taxes owed on dividends, there may be downward pressure on the trading price of our stock. It is unclear whether and to what extent we will be able to pay dividends in cash and our stock (whether pursuant to Revenue Procedure 2009-15 or 2010-12, a private letter ruling or otherwise).

Certain provisions of the Delaware General Corporation Law and our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could deter takeover attempts and have an adverse impact on the price of our common stock.

The Delaware General Corporation Law, our certificate of incorporation and our amended and restated bylaws contain provisions that may have the effect of discouraging a third party from making an acquisition proposal for us. These anti-takeover provisions may inhibit a change in control in circumstances that could give the holders of our common stock the opportunity to realize a premium over the market price of our common stock.

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Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock in the public market may have an adverse effect on the market price of our common stock.

Sales of substantial amounts of our common stock, or the availability of common stock for sale, could adversely affect the prevailing market price of our common stock. If this occurs and continues, it could impair our ability to raise additional capital through the sale of common stock should we desire to do so.

None.

We do not own any real estate or other physical properties materially important to our operation. Our administrative and principal executive offices are located at 40 East 52^nd Street, New York, NY 10022. We believe that our office facilities are suitable and adequate for our business as it is contemplated to be conducted.

From time to time, we and the Advisor may be a party to certain legal proceedings incidental to the normal course of our business, including the enforcement of our rights under contracts with our portfolio companies. While we cannot predict the outcome of these legal proceedings with certainty, we do not expect that these proceedings will have a material effect on our financial statements.

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PART II

Price range of common stock

Our common stock is quoted on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “BKCC”. The following table lists the high and low closing sales price for our common stock, the closing sales price as a percentage of NAV, and quarterly dividends per share for the years ended December 31, 2009 and 2008.

Holders

At February 28, 2010, there were approximately 378 holders of record of our common stock. Such number of stockholders includes institutional or omnibus accounts that hold common stock for multiple underlying investors.

Dividends

Our quarterly dividends, if any, are determined by our Board of Directors. Dividends are declared considering our estimate of annual taxable income available for distribution to stockholders and the amount of taxable income carried over from the prior year for distribution in the current year. We cannot assure stockholders that they will receive any dividends and distributions or dividends and distributions at a particular level. Dividends declared by the Company since July 25, 2005 (inception of operations) have been as follows:

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Tax characteristics of all dividends are reported to stockholders on Form 1099 after the end of the calendar year.

We have elected to be taxed as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. In order to maintain favorable RIC tax treatment, we must distribute annually to our stockholders at least 90% of our ordinary income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized net long-term capital losses, if any, out of the assets legally available for distribution. In order to avoid certain excise taxes imposed on RICs, we must distribute during each calendar year an amount at least equal to the sum of:

We may, at our discretion, carry forward taxable income in excess of calendar year distributions and pay a 4% excise tax on this income. If we choose to do so, all other things being equal, this would increase expenses and reduce the amounts available to be distributed to our stockholders. We will accrue excise tax on estimated taxable income as required. In addition, although we currently intend to distribute realized net capital gains (i.e., net long-term capital gains in excess of short-term capital losses), if any, at least annually, out of the assets legally available for such distributions, we may in the future decide to retain such capital gains for investment.

We maintain an “opt out” dividend reinvestment plan for our common stockholders. As a result, if we declare a dividend, stockholders’ cash dividends will be automatically reinvested in additional shares of our common stock, unless they specifically “opt out” of the dividend reinvestment plan so as to receive cash dividends. With respect to our dividends and distributions paid to stockholders during the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, dividends reinvested pursuant to our dividend reinvestment plan totaled $9,083,849, $28,689,391 and $72,929,900, respectively.

Under the terms of an amendment to our dividend reinvestment plan adopted on March 4, 2009, dividends may be paid in newly issued or treasury shares of our common stock at a price equal to 95% of the market price on the dividend payment date. This feature of the plan means that, under certain circumstances, we may issue shares of our common stock at a price below net asset value per share, which could cause our stockholders to experience dilution. With respect to our dividends and distributions paid to stockholders during the year ended December 31, 2009, reinvestment at such prices resulted in dilution of our net asset value of approximately $0.13 per share.

We may not be able to achieve operating results that will allow us to make dividends and distributions at a specific level or to increase the amount of these dividends and distributions from time to time. Also, we may be limited in our ability to make dividends and distributions due to the asset coverage test applicable to us as a BDC under the 1940 Act and due to provisions in our existing and future credit facilities. If we do not distribute a certain percentage of our income annually, we will suffer adverse tax consequences, including possible loss of favorable RIC tax treatment. In addition, in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and tax regulations, we include in income certain amounts that we have not yet received in cash, such as payment-in-kind interest, which represents contractual interest added to the loan balance that becomes due at the end of the loan term, or the accrual of original issue or market discount. Since we may recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income, we may have difficulty meeting the requirement to distribute at least 90% of our investment company taxable income to obtain tax benefits as a RIC.

With respect to dividends paid to stockholders, income we receive from origination, structuring, closing, commitment and other upfront fees associated with investments in portfolio companies is treated as taxable income when received and accordingly, distributed to stockholders. For financial reporting purposes, such fees are recorded as unearned income and accreted/amortized over the life of the respective investment. For the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, these fees totaled zero, $2,571,938 and $6,507,209, respectively. We anticipate earning additional upfront fees in the future and such fees may cause our taxable income to exceed our GAAP income, although the differences are expected to be temporary in nature.

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In order to satisfy the annual distribution requirement applicable to RICs, we have the ability to declare a large portion of a dividend in shares of our common stock instead of in cash. As long as a portion of such dividend is paid in cash (which portion can be as low as 10% for our taxable years ending on or before December 31, 2011) and certain requirements are met, the entire distribution would be treated as a dividend for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Stock performance graph

The following graph compares the return on our common stock with that of the Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index and the Russell 2000 Financial Services Index for the period June 27, 2007 (the date our common stock began to trade on The NASDAQ Global Select Market in connection with our initial public offering) through December 31, 2009. The graph assumes that, on June 27, 2007, a person invested $100 in each of our common stock (“BKCC” in the graph), the S&P 500 Index (“S&P 500”), and the Russell 2000 Financial Services Index (“Russell 2000”). The graph measures total shareholder return, which takes into account both changes in stock price and dividends. It assumes that dividends paid are invested in like securities.

The graph and other information furnished under this part II Item 5 of this Form 10-K shall not be deemed to be “soliciting material” or to be “filed” with the SEC or subject to Regulation 14A or 14C, or to the liabilities of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, or the Exchange Act. The stock price performance included in the above graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock performance.

Recent sales of unregistered securities

On January 2, 2007 and February 26, 2007, we issued and sold to the Advisor in private placements a total of 184,300 shares of our common stock for aggregate proceeds of $2,790,665. On February 1, 2007 and March 1, 2007, we issued and sold to certain officers and employees of the Advisor in private placements a total of 89,604 shares of our common stock for aggregate proceeds of $1,353,019. The proceeds of these placements were used for general corporate purposes. These placements were exempt from the registration requirements of the Securities Act pursuant to Section 4(2) of the Securities Act and Regulation D, Rule 506 promulgated thereunder for transactions not involving a public offering and based on the fact that the common stock was issued primarily to accredited investors.

The Statement of Operations Data, Per Share Data and Balance Sheet Data for each of the four years in the period ended December 31, 2009 and for the period July 25, 2005 (inception of operations) to December 31, 2005 are derived from our financial statements which have been audited by Deloitte & Touche LLP, our independent registered public

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accounting firm. This selected financial data should be read in conjunction with our financial statements and related notes thereto and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” included elsewhere in this Annual Report.

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Selected quarterly data (unaudited)

The information contained in this section should be read in conjunction with the Selected Financial Data and our financial statements and notes thereto appearing elsewhere in this Annual Report.

Forward-looking statements

This report, and other statements that we may make, may contain forward-looking statements with respect to future financial or business performance, strategies or expectations. Forward-looking statements are typically identified by words or phrases such as “trend,” “opportunity,” “pipeline,” “believe,” “comfortable,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “current,” “intention,” “estimate,” “position,” “assume,” “potential,” “outlook,” “continue,” “remain,” “maintain,” “sustain,” “seek,” “achieve” and similar expressions, or future or conditional verbs such as “will,” “would,” “should,” “could,” “may” or similar expressions.

Forward-looking statements are subject to numerous assumptions, risks and uncertainties, which change over time. Forward-looking statements speak only as of the date they are made, and we assume no duty to and do not undertake to update forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from those anticipated in forward-looking statements and future results could differ materially from historical performance.

In addition to factors previously disclosed in our SEC reports and those identified elsewhere in this report, including the “Risk Factors” section, the following factors, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from forward-looking statements or historical performance:

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Overview

We were incorporated in Delaware on April 13, 2005 and were initially funded on July 25, 2005. Our investment objective is to provide a combination of current income and capital appreciation. We intend to invest primarily in debt and equity securities of private and certain public U.S. middle-market companies.

We are externally managed and have elected to be regulated as a BDC under the 1940 Act. As a BDC, we are required to comply with certain regulatory requirements. For instance, we generally have to invest at least 70% of our total assets in “qualifying assets,” including securities of private or thinly traded public U.S. companies, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. Government securities and high-quality debt investments that mature in one year or less.

On July 25, 2005, we completed a private placement of 35,366,589 shares of our common stock at a price of $15.00 per share that raised approximately $529 million in net proceeds. On July 2, 2007, we completed an initial public offering of 10,000,000 shares of our common stock at a price of $16.00 per share that raised approximately $150 million in net proceeds.

Business environment

The current economic conditions generally and the disruptions in the capital markets in particular have decreased liquidity and increased our cost of raising capital, where available. The longer these conditions persist, the greater the probability that these factors could increase our cost and significantly limit our access to debt and equity capital and thus have an adverse effect on our operations and financial results. Many of the companies in which we have made or will make investments may also be susceptible to the adverse economic environment which may affect the ability of one or more of our portfolio companies to repay our loans or engage in a liquidity event, such as a sale, recapitalization or initial public offering. The recession could also disproportionately impact some of the industries in which we invest, causing us to be more vulnerable to losses in our portfolio. Therefore, the number of our non-performing assets may increase and the value of our portfolio may decrease during these periods. The economic downturn has affected the availability of credit generally and may prevent us from replacing or renewing our credit facility on reasonable terms, if at all.

Challenges in the current market are intensified for us by certain regulatory limitations under the Code and the 1940 Act, as well as contractual restrictions under the agreement governing our credit facility that further constrain our ability to access the capital markets. To maintain our qualification as a RIC, we must satisfy, among other requirements, an annual distribution requirement to pay out at least 90% of our ordinary income and short-term capital gains to our stockholders. Because we are required to distribute our income in this manner, and because the illiquidity of many of our investments makes it difficult for us to finance new investments through the sale of current investments, our ability to make new investments is highly dependent upon external financing. Our external financing sources include the issuance of equity securities, debt securities or other leverage such as borrowings under our credit facility. Our ability to seek external debt financing, to the extent that it is available under current market conditions, is further subject to the asset coverage limitations of the 1940 Act, which require us to have a 200% asset coverage ratio, meaning generally that for every dollar of debt, we must have two dollars of assets.

Recent market conditions have also affected the trading price of our common stock and thus our ability to finance new investments through the issuance of equity. Our common stock has traded above and below our net asset value per share. When our stock is trading below net asset value, our ability to issue equity is constrained by provisions of the 1940 Act which generally prohibit us from the issuance and sale of our common stock below net asset value per share without stockholder approval. At a special meeting of stockholders held on February 8, 2010, our stockholders provided such approval, subject to the determination by our Board of Directors that such issuance is in our and our stockholders’ best interests.

The economic downturn may also continue to decrease the value of collateral securing some of our loans, as well as the value of our investments, which may impact our ability to borrow under our credit facility. Additionally, our credit facility contains covenants regarding the maintenance of certain minimum asset coverage and net worth requirements which are affected by decreases in the value of our portfolio. Failure to meet these requirements would result in a default which, if we are unable to obtain a waiver from our lenders, could result in the acceleration of our repayment obligations under the credit facility.

Investments

Our level of investment activity can and does vary substantially from period to period depending on many factors, including the amount of debt and equity capital available to middle-market companies, the level of merger and acquisition activity, the general economic environment and the competitive environment for the types of investments we make.

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As a BDC, we must not acquire any assets other than “qualifying assets” specified in the 1940 Act unless, at the time the acquisition is made, at least 70% of our total assets are qualifying assets (with certain limited exceptions). Qualifying assets include investments in “eligible portfolio companies.” Under the relevant SEC rules, the term “eligible portfolio company” includes all private companies and companies whose securities are not listed on a national securities exchange, as well as certain public companies that have listed their securities on a national securities exchange and have a market capitalization of less than $250 million. These rules also permit us to include as qualifying assets certain follow-on investments in companies that were eligible portfolio companies at the time of initial investment but that no longer meet the definition.

Revenues

We generate revenues primarily in the form of interest on the debt we hold, dividends on our equity interests and capital gains on the sale of warrants and other debt or equity interests that we acquire in portfolio companies. Our investments in fixed income instruments generally have an expected maturity of three to ten years, although we have no lower or upper constraint on maturity, and typically bear interest at a fixed or floating rate. Interest on our debt securities is generally payable quarterly or semi-annually. Payments of principal of our debt investments may be amortized over the stated term of the investment, deferred for several years or due entirely at maturity. In some cases, our debt instruments and preferred stock investments may defer payments of cash interest or dividends or pay interest or dividends in-kind. Any outstanding principal amount of our debt securities and any accrued but unpaid interest will generally become due at the maturity date. In addition, we may generate revenue in the form of prepayment fees, commitment, origination, structuring or due diligence fees, fees for providing significant managerial assistance and consulting fees.

Expenses

Our primary operating expenses include the payment of a base management fee and, depending on our operating results, an incentive management fee, expenses reimbursable under the management agreement, administration fees and the allocable portion of overhead under the administration agreement. The base management fee and incentive management fee compensate the Advisor for work in identifying, evaluating, negotiating, closing and monitoring our investments. Our management agreement with the Advisor provides that we will reimburse the Advisor for costs and expenses incurred by the Advisor for office space rental, office equipment and utilities allocable to the Advisor under the management agreement, as well as any costs and expenses incurred by the Advisor relating to any non-investment advisory, administrative or operating services provided by the Advisor to us. We bear all other costs and expenses of our operations and transactions, including those relating to:

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Through June 30, 2007, the Advisor agreed to waive certain portions of the base management fee the Advisor would otherwise have been entitled to receive from us. All of the fee waivers terminated on that date.

Additionally, the management agreement provides that the Advisor or its affiliates may be entitled to an Incentive Fee under certain circumstances. The determination of the Incentive Fee will result in the Advisor or its affiliates receiving no Incentive Fee payments if returns to our stockholders do not meet an 8.0% annualized rate of return and will result in the Advisor or its affiliates receiving less than the full amount of the Incentive Fee percentage until returns to stockholders exceed an approximate 13.3% annualized rate of return. Annualized rate of return in this context is computed by reference to our net asset value and does not take into account changes in the market price of our common stock. The determination of the Incentive Fee is subject to any applicable limitations under the 1940 Act and the Advisers Act.

Critical accounting policies

Our discussion and analysis of our financial condition and results of operations are based upon our financial statements, which have been prepared in accordance with GAAP. The preparation of these financial statements requires management to make estimates and assumptions that affect the reported amounts of assets, liabilities, revenues and expenses. Changes in the economic environment, financial markets and any other parameters used in determining such estimates could cause actual results to differ. Management considers the following critical accounting policies important to understanding the financial statements. In addition to the discussion below, our critical accounting policies are further described in the notes to the financial statements. See Note 2 to the financial statements for a description of recently issued accounting pronouncements.

Valuation of portfolio investments

Investments for which market quotations are readily available are valued at such market quotations unless they are deemed not to represent fair value. We generally obtain market quotations from an independent pricing service or one or more broker-dealers or market makers and utilize mid-market pricing as a practical expedient for fair value. However, debt investments with remaining maturities within 60 days are valued at amortized cost, which approximates fair value. Debt and equity securities for which market quotations are not readily available or for which market quotations are deemed not to represent fair value are valued at fair value as determined in good faith by or under the direction of our Board of Directors. Because we expect that there will not be a readily available market value for substantially all of the investments in our portfolio, we expect to value substantially all of our portfolio investments at fair value as determined in good faith under the direction of our Board of Directors using a consistently applied valuation process in accordance with a documented valuation policy that has been reviewed and approved by our Board of Directors. Due to the inherent uncertainty and subjectivity of determining the fair value of investments that do not have a readily available market value, the fair value of our investments may differ significantly from the values that would have been used had a readily available market value existed for such investments and may differ materially from the values that we may ultimately realize. In addition, changes in the market environment and other events may have differing impacts on the market quotations used to value some of our investments than on the fair values of our investments for which market quotations are not readily available. Market quotations may be deemed not to represent fair value in certain circumstances where the Advisor believes that facts and circumstances applicable to an issuer, a seller or purchaser or the market for a particular security cause current market quotations to not reflect the fair value of the security. Examples of these events could include cases where a security trades infrequently causing a quoted purchase or sale price to become stale, where there is a “forced” sale by a distressed seller, where markets quotations vary substantially among market makers, or where there is a wide bid-ask spread or significant increase in the bid-ask spread.

With respect to investments for which market quotations are not readily available or for which market quotations are deemed not to represent fair value, our Board of Directors undertakes a multi-step valuation process each quarter, as described below:

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Those investments for which market quotations are not readily available or for which market quotations are deemed not to represent fair value are valued utilizing a market approach, an income approach, or both approaches, as appropriate. The market approach uses prices and other relevant information generated by market transactions involving identical or comparable assets or liabilities (including a business). The income approach uses valuation techniques to convert future amounts (for example, cash flows or earnings) to a single present amount (discounted). The measurement is based on the value indicated by current market expectations about those future amounts. In following these approaches, the types of factors that we may take into account in determining the fair value of our investments include, as relevant and among other factors: available current market data, including relevant and applicable market trading and transaction comparables, applicable market yields and multiples, security covenants, call protection provisions, information rights, the nature and realizable value of any collateral, the portfolio company’s ability to make payments, its earnings and discounted cash flows, the markets in which the portfolio company does business, comparisons of financial ratios of peer companies that are public, M&A comparables, our principal market (as the reporting entity) and enterprise values.

Until the end of the second calendar quarter following its acquisition, each unquoted investment in a new portfolio company generally is valued at cost, which approximates fair value. As of that date, an independent valuation firm conducts an initial independent appraisal of the investment.

Effective January 1, 2008, the Company adopted changes issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (“FASB”) to Accounting Standards Codification (“ASC”) 820-10, Fair Value Measurements and Disclosures (“ASC 820-10”), which defines fair value, establishes a framework for measuring fair value and requires enhanced disclosures about fair value measurements. The adoption of these changes did not have a material impact on the Company’s financial statements. ASC 820-10 defines fair value as the price that a company would receive upon selling an investment or pay to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction to a market participant in the principal or most advantageous market for the investment. ASC 820-10 emphasizes that valuation techniques maximize the use of observable market inputs and minimize the use of unobservable inputs. Inputs refer broadly to the assumptions that market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability, including assumptions about risk. Inputs may be observable or unobservable. Observable inputs are inputs that reflect the assumptions market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability developed based on market data obtained from sources independent of us. Unobservable inputs are inputs that reflect our assumptions about the assumptions market participants would use in pricing an asset or liability developed based on the best information available in the circumstances.

ASC 820-10 establishes a hierarchy that classifies these inputs into the three broad levels listed below:

Level 1 – Valuations based on unadjusted quoted prices in active markets for identical assets or liabilities that a company has the ability to access.

Level 2 – Valuations based on unadjusted quoted prices in markets that are not active or for which all significant inputs are observable, either directly or indirectly.

Level 3 – Valuations based on inputs that are unobservable and significant to the overall fair value measurement. The inputs into the determination of fair value may require significant management judgment or estimation. Even if observable market data is available, such information may be the result of consensus pricing information or broker quotes which include a disclaimer that the broker would not be held to such a price in an actual transaction. The non-binding nature of consensus pricing and/or quotes accompanied by disclaimer would result in classification as Level 3 information, assuming no additional corroborating evidence.

In addition to using the above inputs in investment valuations, we continue to employ the valuation policy approved by our Board of Directors that is described above and is consistent with ASC 820-10. Consistent with this valuation policy, we evaluate the source of inputs, including any markets in which our investments are trading, in determining fair value.

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Determination of fair value involves subjective judgments and estimates. Accordingly, the notes to our financial statements express the uncertainty with respect to the possible effect of such valuations, and any change in such valuations, on the financial statements.

Revenue recognition

We record interest income, adjusted for amortization of premium and accretion of discount, and dividend income on an accrual basis to the extent that we expect to collect such amounts. For loans and securities with PIK income, which represents contractual interest or dividends accrued and added to the principal balance and generally due at maturity, we may not accrue PIK income if the portfolio company valuation indicates that the PIK income is not collectible. Origination, structuring, closing, commitment and other upfront fees and discounts and premiums on investments purchased are accreted/amortized over the life of the respective investment. Unamortized origination, structuring, closing, commitment and other upfront fees are recorded as unearned income. Upon the prepayment of a loan or debt security, we record any prepayment fees and unamortized loan origination, structuring, closing, commitment and other upfront fees as interest income.

With respect to the dividends paid to stockholders, income we receive from origination, structuring, closing, commitment and other upfront fees associated with investments in portfolio companies is treated as taxable income when received and, accordingly, distributed to stockholders. For financial reporting purposes, such fees are recorded as unearned income and accreted/amortized over the life of the respective investment. For the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, these fees totaled zero, $2,571,938 and $6,507,209, respectively. We anticipate earning additional upfront fees in the future and such fees may cause our taxable income to exceed our GAAP income, although the differences are expected to be temporary in nature.

Net realized gains or losses and net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation

We measure realized gains or losses by the difference between the net proceeds from the repayment or sale and the amortized cost basis of the investment, without regard to unrealized appreciation or depreciation previously recognized, but considering unamortized upfront fees and prepayment fees. Realized gains and losses are computed using the specific identification method. Net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation reflects the change in portfolio investment values during the reporting period, including the reversal of previously recorded unrealized appreciation or depreciation, when gains or losses are realized.

Federal income taxes

We have elected to be taxed as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code and currently qualify, and intend to continue to qualify each year, as a RIC under the Code. In order to qualify as a RIC, we are required to distribute annually at least 90% of investment company taxable income, as defined by the Code, to our stockholders. To avoid federal excise taxes, we must distribute annually at least 98% of our income from the current year (both ordinary income and net capital gains) and any undistributed ordinary income and net capital gains from the preceding years. We may, at our discretion, carry forward taxable income in excess of calendar year distributions and pay a 4% excise tax on this income. If we choose to do so, all other things being equal, this would increase expenses and reduce the amount available to be distributed to our stockholders. We will accrue excise tax on estimated excess taxable income as required. For the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, we recorded a provision for federal excise taxes of $1,012,791, $436,733 and $24,035, respectively.

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Portfolio and investment activity

During the year ended December 31, 2009, we invested approximately $46.8 million across existing portfolio companies. The new investments consisted primarily of senior loans secured by first liens ($9.3 million, or 20% of the total) or second liens ($8.4 million, or 18%), unsecured or subordinated debt securities ($25.8 million, or 55%), senior secured notes ($0.6 million, or 1%) and equity securities ($2.7 million, or 6%). Additionally, we received proceeds from sales/repayments of investment principal of approximately $128.2 million during the year ended December 31, 2009.

At December 31, 2009, our net portfolio of $853 million (at fair value) consisted of 57 portfolio companies and was invested 59% in senior secured loans, 30% in unsecured or subordinated debt securities, 6% in senior secured notes, 5% in equity investments and less than 1% in cash and cash equivalents. Our average portfolio company investment at amortized cost was approximately $18.5 million. Our largest portfolio company investment by value was approximately $56.1 million and our five largest portfolio company investments by value comprised approximately 26% of our portfolio at December 31, 2009. At December 31, 2008, our net portfolio of $943 million (at fair value) consisted of 63 portfolio companies and was invested 61% in senior secured loans, 28% in unsecured or subordinated debt securities, 6% in senior secured notes, 3% in equity investments and 2% in cash and cash equivalents. Our average portfolio company investment at amortized cost was approximately $19.6 million at December 31, 2008. Our largest portfolio company investment by value was approximately $41.4 million and our five largest portfolio company investments by value comprised approximately 19% of our portfolio at December 31, 2008.

The weighted average yield of the debt and income producing equity securities in our portfolio at their current cost basis was 11.2% at December 31, 2009 and 11.0% at December 31, 2008. The weighted average yields on our senior secured loans and other debt securities at their current cost basis were 9.4% and 14.2%, respectively, at December 31, 2009, versus 10.2% and 12.2%, respectively, at December 31, 2008. Yields are computed using interest rates and dividend yields as of the balance sheet date and include amortization of loan origination and commitment fees, original issue discount and market premium or discount. Yields exclude common equity investments, preferred equity investments with no stated dividend rate, short-term investments, cash and cash equivalents.

At December 31, 2009, 41% of our debt investments bore interest based on floating rates, such as LIBOR, EURIBOR, the Federal Funds Rate or the Prime Rate, and 59% bore interest at fixed rates. The percentage of our total debt investments that bore floating rate interest based on an interest rate floor was 5% at December 31, 2009. At December 31, 2008, 47% of our debt investments bore interest based on floating rates and 53% bore interest at fixed rates. The percentage of our total debt investments that bore floating rate interest based on an interest rate floor was 8% at December 31, 2008.

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Results of operations

Results comparisons are for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007.

Investment income

Investment income totaled $124,884,057, $143,195,713 and $127,776,128, respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, of which $68,096,154, $86,676,943 and $88,316,906 were attributable to interest and fees on senior secured loans, $54,112,822, $52,957,970 and $36,638,953 to interest earned on other debt securities, $2,590,001, $3,022,861 and $2,132,403 to dividends from preferred equity securities, $11,509, $321,162 and $332,171 to interest earned on short-term investments and cash equivalents, and $73,571, $216,777 and $355,695 to other income, respectively. The decrease in investment income compared to the prior year primarily reflects a reduction in the size of our portfolio due to sales and repayments, as wells as the impact of lower levels of LIBOR on interest income from our floating rate debt investments, which generally bear interest based on LIBOR. Total investments at their current cost and borrowings were $1,054,820,003 and $296,000,000 at December 31, 2009, compared to $1,235,831,711 and $426,000,000 at December 31, 2008 and $1,155,374,740 and $381,300,000 at December 31, 2007, respectively. Three-month LIBOR averaged 0.69% during the year ended December 31, 2009, compared to 2.93% and 5.30% during the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively.

Expenses

Net expenses including taxes for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007 were $48,831,287, $48,092,724 and $51,930,356, respectively, which consisted of $18,498,189, $22,716,602 and $17,095,983 in base management fees (net of base management fee waivers of $2,056,906 for 2007), $16,818,602, zero and $9,412,097 in incentive management fees owed to the Advisor, $6,416,888, $18,667,097 and $20,272,906 in interest expense and fees related to the Credit Facility, $1,466,563, $1,027,135 and $876,429 in Advisor expenses, $1,126,665, $1,775,146 and $1,249,491 in professional fees, $807,837, $1,037,712 and $1,144,394 in administrative services, $683,552, $654,460 and $387,706 in amortization of debt issuance costs, $569,201, $535,420 and $341,016 in insurance expenses, $360,095, $286,834 and $399,385 in director fees and $1,070,904, $955,585 and $726,914 in other expenses, respectively. Excise tax expense was $1,012,791, $436,733 and $24,035 for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, respectively. Incentive management fees were incurred for the first time since 2007, due to continued strong investment earnings, without the substantial net capital depreciation that had occurred in the prior years. The decrease in interest expense and fees related to the credit facility is mainly a result of reduced borrowing levels and lower prevailing levels of LIBOR. The decrease in base management fees reflects a decline in the quarterly portfolio values on which the fees are paid (in arrears). Other general and administrative expenses were generally lower due to the reduced level of new investment originations. Excise taxes increased in 2009 due to our conservative approach to dividends during the first three quarters of 2009 in response to the dislocations in the financial markets. In 2010, we expect to pay out as dividends to stockholders taxable income carried forward from 2009 of approximately $26 million, or $0.46 per share.

Net investment income

Net investment income was $76,052,770, $95,102,989 and $75,845,772 respectively, for the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007. The 2007 amount would have been $73,788,866 without base management fee waivers.

Net realized gain or loss

Net realized loss of $(110,238,068) for the year ended December 31, 2009 was the result of $(106,531,541) in net losses realized from the disposition or restructuring of our investments and $(3,706,527) in net losses realized on foreign currency transactions. For the year ended December 31, 2008, net realized gain was $6,127,856 as a result of $258,257 in net gains realized from the disposition of investments offset by $5,869,599 in net gains realized on foreign currency transactions. For the year ended December 31, 2007 net realized loss was $(645,793) as a result of $1,623,116 in net gains realized from the disposition of investments offset by $(2,268,909) in net losses realized on foreign currency transactions.

Net unrealized appreciation or depreciation

For the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, the change in net unrealized appreciation or depreciation was a decrease (increase) in net unrealized depreciation of $101,425,021, $(251,738,227) and $(58,980,614), respectively. The decrease in net unrealized depreciation for the year ended December 31, 2009 was comprised of a decrease in net unrealized depreciation on investments of $100,908,828 and an increase in net unrealized appreciation on foreign currency translation of $516,193. The increase in net unrealized depreciation for the year ended December 31, 2008

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was comprised of an increase in net unrealized depreciation on investments of $(251,872,831) and an increase in net unrealized appreciation on foreign currency translation of $134,604. The increase in net unrealized depreciation for the year ended December 31, 2007 was comprised of an increase in net unrealized depreciation on investments of $(59,000,295) and an increase in net unrealized appreciation on foreign currency translation of $19,681. The decrease in net unrealized depreciation on investments for the year ended December 31, 2009 includes $105,942,810 relating to reversals of prior years’ net unrealized depreciation as a result of investment restructurings and dispositions. The decrease in net unrealized depreciation during 2009 was primarily a result of the reversals described above and improved capital market conditions. The valuations of our investments were favorably impacted by market-wide decreases in interest yields, as well as increases in multiples used to estimate the fair value of some of our investments. Market-wide movements and trading multiples are not necessarily indicative of any fundamental change in the condition or prospects of our portfolio companies.

Net increase or decrease in net assets resulting from operations

The net increase or decrease in net assets resulting from operations was an increase of $67,239,723 for the year ended December 31, 2009 and a (decrease) increase of $(150,507,382) and $16,219,365 for the years ended December 31, 2008 and 2007, respectively. The increase during 2009 primarily reflects the decrease in net unrealized depreciation on investments.

Financial condition, liquidity and capital resources

During the year ended December 31, 2009, we generated operating cash flows primarily from interest earned and fees received on senior secured loans and other debt securities, as well as from sales of selected portfolio company investments or repayments of principal.

Net cash provided by operating activities during the year ended December 31, 2009 was $159,382,074. Our primary sources of cash from operating activities during 2009 consisted of a net increase in net assets from operations of $67,239,723 and sales of investments (net of purchases) of $81,466,739.

We used $169,363,563 for financing activities during the year ended December 31, 2009, consisting primarily of $37,128,672 of dividend distributions, $130,000,000 of net repayments under our Credit Facility and $2,234,891 of treasury stock purchases.

On December 28, 2007, we amended and restated our senior secured, multi-currency Credit Facility to provide us with $600,000,000 in total availability, consisting of $455,000,000 in revolving loan commitments and $145,000,000 in term loan commitments. Total availability and revolving loan commitments reverted to $545,000,000 and $400,000,000, respectively, on April 14, 2008. Subject to certain conditions, we have the ability in the future to seek additional commitments from new and existing lenders up to an aggregate amount not to exceed $1,000,000,000 with respect to revolving loans and $395,000,000 with respect to term loans. The interest rate applicable to borrowings under the Credit Facility is generally LIBOR plus 87.5 basis points with respect to revolving loans and LIBOR plus 150 basis points with respect to term loans. The term loans have been fully drawn and mature on December 6, 2010, the termination date of the Credit Facility, and term loans, once repaid, may not be reborrowed. The Credit Facility is secured by substantially all of the assets in our portfolio, including cash and cash equivalents. At December 31, 2009, we had $296,000,000 drawn and outstanding under the Credit Facility, with $249,000,000 available to us, subject to compliance with customary affirmative and negative covenants, including the maintenance of a minimum stockholders’ equity, the maintenance of a ratio of not less than 200% of total assets (less total liabilities other than indebtedness) to total indebtedness, and restrictions on certain payments and issuance of debt. At December 31, 2009, we were in compliance with all financial and operational covenants required by the Credit Facility.

Our Credit Facility has a stated maturity date of December 6, 2010. We expect to be able to renew and extend the Credit Facility prior to that date, although we anticipate having to pay higher interest rates than we paid previously. If we are unable to renew, extend or replace the Credit Facility upon its maturity, we expect to have sufficient funds to repay the outstanding balance in full from our net investment income and sales of, and repayments of principal from, our portfolio company investments, as well as from anticipated debt and equity capital raises, among other sources. Our ability to consummate debt and equity capital raises will be constrained by economic conditions affecting the credit markets. Although we anticipate being able to repay the outstanding balance under the Credit Facility when due, there can be no assurance that we will be able to do so, which could lead to an event of default. See “Risk Factors.”

At December 31, 2009, we had $5,807,901 in cash and cash equivalents.

The primary use of existing funds is expected to be purchases of investments in portfolio companies, cash distributions to our stockholders, repayment of indebtedness and other general corporate purposes.

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On October 23, 2008, our Form N-2 shelf registration statement was declared effective by the SEC. The shelf registration permits us to offer, from time to time, up to $1 billion of our common stock, preferred stock, debt securities, warrants representing rights to purchase shares of our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities, and subscription rights. As a closed-end investment company regulated as a BDC under the 1940 Act, we are prohibited from selling shares of our common stock at a price below the current net asset value of the stock, or NAV, unless our stockholders approve such a sale and our Board of Directors makes certain determinations. On February 8, 2010, subject to certain Board of Director determinations, our stockholders approved our ability to sell or otherwise issue shares of our common stock at a price below its then current net asset value per share for a twelve month period expiring on the anniversary of the date of stockholder approval. In any such case, the price at which our common stock would be issued and sold may not be less than a price, that in the determination of our Board of Directors, closely approximates the market value of such common stock. Any sale of our common stock at a price below NAV would have a dilutive effect on our NAV.

Contractual obligations

A summary of our significant contractual payment obligations for the repayment of outstanding borrowings under our Credit Facility at December 31, 2009 is as follows:

We have entered into several contracts under which we have future commitments. Pursuant to an investment management agreement, the Advisor manages our day-to-day operations and provides investment advisory services to us. Payments under the investment management agreement are equal to a percentage of the value of our gross assets and an incentive fee, plus reimbursement of certain expenses incurred by the Advisor. Under our administration agreement, the Administrator provides us with administrative services, facilities and personnel. Payments under the administration agreement are equal to an allocable portion of overhead and other expenses incurred by the Administrator in performing its obligations to us, including rent and our allocable portion of the cost of certain of our officers and their respective staffs. Pursuant to various other agreements, subsidiaries of The PNC Financial Services Group, Inc. (“PNC”) provide custodian services, administrative and accounting services, transfer agency and compliance support services to us. Payments under such agreements are generally equal to a percentage of our average net assets plus reimbursement of reasonable expenses, and a base fee. Either party may terminate each of the investment management agreement, administration agreement and such other agreements without penalty upon not less than 60 days’ written notice to the other. See Note 3 to our financial statements for more information regarding these agreements.

Off-balance sheet financing

In the normal course of business, the Company may enter into guarantees on behalf of portfolio companies. Under these arrangements, the Company would be required to make payments to third parties if the portfolio companies were to default on their related payment obligations. The maximum amount of potential future payments under such guarantees was $6,000,000 at December 31, 2009 with an expiration of December 2011. There were no guarantees outstanding at December 31, 2008. Guarantees made on behalf of portfolio companies are considered in determining the fair value of the Company’s investments.

Dividends

Our quarterly dividends, if any, are determined by our Board of Directors. Dividends are declared considering our estimate of annual taxable income available for distribution to stockholders and the amount of taxable income carried over from the prior year for distribution in the current year. We cannot assure stockholders that they will receive any dividends and distributions or dividends and distributions at a particular level. Dividends declared by the Company since July 25, 2005 (inception of operations) have been as follows:

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Tax characteristics of all dividends are reported to stockholders on Form 1099 after the end of the calendar year.

We have elected to be taxed as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. In order to maintain favorable RIC tax treatment, we must distribute annually to our stockholders at least 90% of our ordinary income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of realized net long-term capital losses, if any, out of the assets legally available for distribution. In order to avoid certain excise taxes imposed on RICs, we must distribute during each calendar year an amount at least equal to the sum of:

We may, at our discretion, carry forward taxable income in excess of calendar year distributions and pay a 4% excise tax on this income. If we choose to do so, all other things being equal, this would increase expenses and reduce the amounts available to be distributed to our stockholders. We will accrue excise tax on estimated taxable income as required. In addition, although we currently intend to distribute realized net capital gains (i.e., net long-term capital gains in excess of short-term capital losses), if any, at least annually, out of the assets legally available for such distributions, we may in the future decide to retain such capital gains for investment.

We maintain an “opt out” dividend reinvestment plan for our common stockholders. As a result, if we declare a dividend, stockholders’ cash dividends will be automatically reinvested in additional shares of our common stock, unless they specifically “opt out” of the dividend reinvestment plan so as to receive cash dividends. With respect to our dividends and distributions paid to stockholders during the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, dividends reinvested pursuant to our dividend reinvestment plan totaled $9,083,849, $28,689,391 and $72,929,900, respectively.

Under the terms of an amendment to our dividend reinvestment plan adopted on March 4, 2009, dividends may be paid in newly issued or treasury shares of our common stock at a price equal to 95% of the market price on the dividend payment date. This feature of the plan means that, under certain circumstances, we may issue shares of our common stock at a price below net asset value per share, which could cause our stockholders to experience dilution. With respect to our dividends and distributions paid to stockholders during the year ended December 31, 2009, reinvestment at such prices resulted in dilution of our net asset value of approximately $0.13 per share.

We may not be able to achieve operating results that will allow us to make dividends and distributions at a specific level or to increase the amount of these dividends and distributions from time to time. Also, we may be limited in our ability to make dividends and distributions due to the asset coverage test applicable to us as a BDC under the 1940 Act and due to provisions in our existing and future credit facilities. If we do not distribute a certain percentage of our income annually, we will suffer adverse tax consequences, including possible loss of favorable RIC tax treatment. In addition, in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and tax regulations, we include in income certain amounts that we have not yet received in cash, such as payment-in-kind interest, which represents contractual interest added to the loan balance that becomes due at the end of the loan term, or the accrual of original issue or market discount. Since we may recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income, we may have difficulty meeting the requirement to distribute at least 90% of our investment company taxable income to obtain tax benefits as a RIC and may be subject to an excise tax.

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With respect to dividends paid to stockholders, income we receive from origination, structuring, closing, commitment and other upfront fees associated with investments in portfolio companies is treated as taxable income when received and accordingly, distributed to stockholders. For financial reporting purposes, such fees are recorded as unearned income and accreted/amortized over the life of the respective investment. For the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, these fees totaled zero, $2,571,938 and $6,507,209, respectively. We anticipate earning additional upfront fees in the future and such fees may cause our taxable income to exceed our GAAP income, although the differences are expected to be temporary in nature.

In order to satisfy the annual distribution requirement applicable to RICs, we have the ability to declare a large portion of a dividend in shares of our common stock instead of in cash. As long as a portion of such dividend is paid in cash (which portion can be as low as 10% for our taxable years ending on or before December 31, 2011) and certain requirements are met, the entire distribution would be treated as a dividend for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Recent developments

On February 8, 2010, subject to certain Board of Director determinations, our stockholders approved the ability to sell or otherwise issue shares of our common stock at a price below its then current net asset value per share for a twelve month period expiring on the anniversary of the date of stockholder approval. In any such case, the price at which our common stock would be issued and sold may not be less than a price, that in the determination of our Board of Directors, closely approximates the market value of our common stock.

On March 3, 2010, our Board of Directors declared a dividend of $0.32 per share, payable on April 5, 2010 to stockholders of record at the close of business on March 22, 2010.

Through March 11, 2010, sales and repayments of principal in our investment portfolio have totaled $79 million since year-end and borrowings under our credit facility are $251 million as of that date.

Notice is hereby given in accordance with Section 23(c) of the 1940 Act that from time to time the Company may purchase shares of its common stock in the open market at prevailing market prices.

We are subject to financial market risks, including changes in interest rates. At December 31, 2009, 41% of our debt investments bore interest based on floating rates, such as LIBOR, EURIBOR, the Federal Funds Rate or the Prime Rate. The interest rates on such investments generally reset by reference to the current market index after one to six months. At December 31, 2009, the percentage of our total debt investments that bore floating rate interest based on an interest rate floor was 5%. Floating rate investments subject to a floor generally reset by reference to the current market index after one to six months only if the index exceeds the floor.

To illustrate the potential impact of changes in interest rates, we have performed the following analysis based on our December 31, 2009 balance sheet and assuming no changes in our investment structure. Net asset value is analyzed using the assumptions that interest rates, as defined by the LIBOR and U.S. Treasury yield curves, increase or decrease and that the yield curves of the rate shocks will be parallel to each other. Under this analysis, an instantaneous 100 basis point increase in LIBOR and U.S. Treasury yields would cause a decline of approximately $10,400,000, or $0.18 per share, in the value of our net assets at December 31, 2009 and a corresponding 100 basis point decrease in LIBOR and U.S. Treasury yields would cause an increase of approximately $10,600,000, or $0.19 per share, in the value of our net assets on that date.

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While hedging activities may help to insulate us against adverse changes in interest rates, they also may limit our ability to participate in the benefits of lower interest rates with respect to our portfolio of investments. During the years ended December 31, 2009, 2008 and 2007, we did not engage in any interest rate hedging activity.

See the Index to Financial Statements on page F-1.

None.

(a) Evaluation of Disclosure Controls and Procedures. The Company’s management, with the participation of the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, has evaluated the effectiveness of the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e) of the Exchange Act) as of the end of the period covered by this report. Based upon such evaluation, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer concluded that the Company’s disclosure controls and procedures were effective, as of December 31, 2009, to provide assurance that information that is required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized, and reported, within the time periods specified by the SEC’s rules and forms. Disclosure controls and procedures, include without limitation, controls and procedures designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, or persons performing similar functions, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding required disclosure.

(b) Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting. The Company’s management is responsible for establishing and maintaining adequate internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rules 13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f) of the Exchange Act). Under the supervision and with the participation of management, including the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer, the Company conducted an evaluation of the effectiveness of the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on the criteria established in Internal Control—Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission (COSO). Based on the Company’s evaluation under the framework in Internal Control—Integrated Framework, management concluded that the Company’s internal control over financial reporting was effective as of December 31, 2009. The Company’s internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2009 has been audited by our independent registered public accounting firm, Deloitte & Touche LLP, as stated in its report titled “Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm” on the following page.

Because of its inherent limitations, internal control over financial reporting may not prevent or detect misstatements. Also, projections of any evaluation of effectiveness to future periods are subject to the risk that controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

(c) Attestation Report of the Registered Public Accounting Firm. Our independent registered public accounting firm, Deloitte & Touche LLP, has issued an attestation report on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting, which is set forth on the following page.

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REPORT OF INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

To the Board of Directors and Stockholders of

BlackRock Kelso Capital Corporation:

We have audited the internal control over financial reporting of BlackRock Kelso Capital Corporation (the “Company”) as of December 31, 2009, based on criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission. The Company’s management is responsible for maintaining effective internal control over financial reporting and for its assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting, included in the accompanying “Management’s Report on Internal Control Over Financial Reporting.” Our responsibility is to express an opinion on the Company’s internal control over financial reporting based on our audit.

We conducted our audit in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance whether effective internal control over financial reporting was maintained in all material respects. Our audit included obtaining an understanding of internal control over financial reporting, assessing the risk that a material weakness exists, testing and evaluating the design and operating effectiveness of internal control based on the assessed risk, and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

A company’s internal control over financial reporting is a process designed by, or under the supervision of, the company’s principal executive and principal financial officers, or persons performing similar functions, and effected by the company’s board of directors, management, and other personnel to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. A company’s internal control over financial reporting includes those policies and procedures that (1) pertain to the maintenance of records that, in reasonable detail, accurately and fairly reflect the transactions and dispositions of the assets of the company; (2) provide reasonable assurance that transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, and that receipts and expenditures of the company are being made only in accordance with authorizations of management and directors of the company; and (3) provide reasonable assurance regarding prevention or timely detection of unauthorized acquisition, use, or disposition of the company’s assets that could have a material effect on the financial statements.

Because of the inherent limitations of internal control over financial reporting, including the possibility of collusion or improper management override of controls, material misstatements due to error or fraud may not be prevented or detected on a timely basis. Also, projections of any evaluation of the effectiveness of the internal control over financial reporting to future periods are subject to the risk that the controls may become inadequate because of changes in conditions, or that the degree of compliance with the policies or procedures may deteriorate.

In our opinion, the Company maintained, in all material respects, effective internal control over financial reporting as of December 31, 2009, based on the criteria established in Internal Control — Integrated Framework issued by the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission.

We have also audited, in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States), financial statements and financial highlights as of and for the year ended December 31, 2009 of the Company and our report dated March 12, 2010 expressed an unqualified opinion on those financial statements.

/s/ Deloitte & Touche LLP

New York, New York

March 12, 2010

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