PENNANTPARK INVESTMENT CORP - Annual Report: 2012 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

OR

FOR THE TRANSITION PERIOD FROM             TO            

COMMISSION FILE NUMBER: 814-00736

PENNANTPARK INVESTMENT CORPORATION

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (212)-905-1000

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  x.

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

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  x    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 (§232.405 of this chapter) 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 (§229.405 of this chapter) 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.    ¨

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer or a smaller reporting company. See the definition of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer” and “smaller reporting company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act. (Check one):

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

The aggregate market value of common stock held by non-affiliates of the Registrant on September 30, 2012 based on the closing price on that date of $10.61 on the NASDAQ Global Select Market was approximately $685.4 million. For the purposes of calculating this amount only, all directors and executive officers of the Registrant have been treated as affiliates. There were 66,356,911 shares of the Registrant’s common stock outstanding as of November 14, 2012.

Documents Incorporated by Reference: Portions of the Registrant’s Proxy Statement relating to the Registrant’s 2013 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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PENNANTPARK INVESTMENT CORPORATION

FORM 10-K

FOR THE FISCAL YEAR ENDED SEPTEMBER 30, 2012

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PART I

In this annual report on Form 10-K, or the Report, except where the context suggests otherwise, the terms “we,” “us” or “our” refer to PennantPark Investment Corporation and its consolidated subsidiaries; references to “PennantPark Investment” refer only to PennantPark Investment Corporation; “SBIC LP” and “our SBIC” refer to our wholly owned, consolidated Small Business Investment Company, or “SBIC,” subsidiary, PennantPark SBIC LP and its general partner PennantPark SBIC GP, LLC or “SBIC GP” “PennantPark Investment Advisers” or the “Investment Adviser” refers to PennantPark Investment Advisers, LLC; “PennantPark Investment Administration” or the “Administrator” refers to PennantPark Investment Administration, LLC. References to our portfolio and investments include investments we make through our consolidated subsidiaries. Some of the statements in this annual report constitute forward-looking statements, which apply to us and relate to future events, future performance or future financial condition. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties for us and actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements for any reason, including those factors discussed in “Risk Factors” and elsewhere in this Report.

General Business of PennantPark Investment Corporation

PennantPark Investment Corporation is a business development company, or BDC, whose objectives are to generate both current income and capital appreciation through debt and equity investments primarily in U.S. middle-market companies in the form of senior secured loans, mezzanine debt and equity investments.

We believe the middle-market offers attractive risk-reward to investors due to the limited amount of capital available for such companies. We seek to create a diversified portfolio that includes senior secured loans, mezzanine debt and equity investments by investing approximately $10 million to $50 million of capital, on average, in the securities of middle-market companies. We expect this investment size to vary proportionately with the size of our capital base. We use the term “middle-market” to refer to companies with annual revenues between $50 million and $1 billion. The companies in which we invest are typically highly leveraged, and, in most cases, are not rated by national rating agencies. If such companies were rated, we believe that they would typically receive a rating below investment grade (between BB and CCC under the Standard & Poor’s system) from the national rating agencies. In addition, we expect our debt investments to generally range in maturity from three to ten years.

Our investment activity depends on many factors, including the amount of debt and equity capital available to middle-market companies, the level of merger and acquisition activity for such companies, the general economic environment and the competitive environment for the types of investments we make. Turmoil in the credit markets over the last several years has adversely affected each of these factors and has resulted in a broad-based reduction in the demand for, and valuation of, middle-market debt instruments. These conditions have presented us with and may continue to offer attractive investment opportunities, as we believe that there are many middle-market companies that need senior secured and mezzanine debt financing. We have used, and expect to continue to use, our credit facility, or Credit Facility, the Small Business Administration, or SBA, debentures, proceeds from the rotation of our portfolio and proceeds from public and private offerings of securities to finance our investment objectives.

As of September 30, 2012, our portfolio totaled $990.5 million and consisted of $291.7 million of senior secured loans, $191.3 million of second lien secured debt, $400.7 million of subordinated debt and $106.8 million of preferred and common equity investments. Our debt portfolio consisted of 69% fixed-rate and 31% variable-rate investments (including 26% with a London Interbank Offered Rate, or LIBOR, or prime floor). Our overall portfolio consisted of 54 companies with an average investment size of $18.3 million, a weighted average yield on debt investments of 13.2%, and was invested 30% in senior secured loans, 19% in second lien secured debt, 40% in subordinated debt and 11% in preferred and common equity investments.

As of September 30, 2011, our portfolio totaled $827.5 million and consisted of $296.5 million of senior secured loans, $165.3 million of second lien secured debt, $309.3 million of subordinated debt and $56.4 million of preferred and common equity investments. Our debt portfolio consisted of 61% fixed-rate and 39% variable-rate investments (including 31% with a LIBOR or prime floor). Our overall portfolio consisted of 48 companies with an average investment size of $17.2 million, a weighted average yield on debt investments of 13.3%, and was invested 36% in senior secured loans, 20% in second lien secured debt, 37% in subordinated debt and 7% in preferred and common equity investments.

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012, we purchased $328.3 million of investments issued by 13 new and 17 existing portfolio companies with an overall weighted average yield of 13.3% on debt investments. For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, we purchased $479.7 million of investments issued by 17 new and 11 existing portfolio companies with an overall average yield of 13.7% on debt investments and purchased $309.5 million of investments, issued by 17 new and 12 existing portfolio companies with an overall average yield of 14.9% on debt investments, respectively.

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012, sales and repayments generated proceeds of $201.7 million. For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2011 and 2010, sales and repayments generated proceeds of $304.0 million and $145.2 million, respectively.

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Organization and Structure of PennantPark Investment Corporation

PennantPark Investment Corporation was organized under the Maryland General Corporation Law in January 2007. We are a closed-end, externally managed, non-diversified investment company that has elected to be treated as a BDC, under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the 1940 Act. As such, 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 U.S. private companies or thinly traded public companies, public companies with a market capitalization of less than $250 million, cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and high quality debt investments that mature in one year or less. In addition, for tax purposes we have elected to be treated, and intend to qualify annually, as a regulated investment company, or RIC, under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code.

Our wholly owned SBIC subsidiary, PennantPark SBIC LP, was organized as a Delaware limited partnership in May 2010 and received a license from the SBA to operate as an SBIC under Section 301(c) of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958, as amended, or the 1958 Act, in July 2010. SBIC LP’s objective is to generate both current income and capital appreciation through debt and equity investments. SBIC LP, generally, invests with us in SBA eligible businesses that meet the investment criteria used by PennantPark Investment.

Our Investment Adviser and Administrator

We utilize the investing experience and contacts of PennantPark Investment Advisers in developing what we believe is an attractive and diversified portfolio. The senior investment professionals of the Investment Adviser have worked together for many years, and average over 20 years of experience in the mezzanine lending, leveraged finance, distressed debt and private equity businesses. In addition, our senior investment professionals have been involved in originating, structuring, negotiating, managing and monitoring investments in each of these businesses across economic and market cycles. We believe this experience and history has resulted in a strong reputation with financial sponsors, management teams, investment bankers, attorneys and accountants, which should provide us with access to substantial investment opportunities across the capital markets. Our Investment Adviser has a rigorous investment approach, which is based upon intensive financial analysis with a focus on capital preservation, diversification and active management. Since our Investment Advisers inception in 2007, it has raised over $1.5 billion in debt and equity capital and has invested over $2.1 billion in more than 200 companies with over 100 different financial sponsors through its managed funds.

Our Administrator has experienced professionals with substantial backgrounds in finance and administration of registered investment companies. In addition to furnishing us with clerical, bookkeeping and record keeping services, the Administrator also oversees our financial records as well as the preparation of our reports to stockholders and reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC, and the SBA. The Administrator oversees the determination and publication of our net asset value, oversees the preparation and filing of our tax returns, monitors the payment of our expenses as well as the performance of administrative and professional services rendered to us by others. Furthermore, our Administrator provides, on our behalf, managerial assistance to those portfolio companies to which we are required to offer such assistance. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to our Business and Structure—There are significant potential conflicts of interest which could impact our investment returns” for more information.

Market Opportunity

We believe that the limited amount of capital available to the middle-market companies, coupled with the desire of these companies for flexible sources of capital, creates an attractive investment environment for us.

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Competitive Advantages

We believe that we have the following competitive advantages over other capital providers in middle-market companies:

The senior investment professionals of our Investment Adviser have worked together for many years and average over 20 years of experience in mezzanine lending, leveraged finance, distressed debt and private equity businesses. These senior investment professionals have been involved in originating, structuring, negotiating, managing and monitoring investments in each of these businesses across economic and market cycles. We believe this extensive experience and history has resulted in a strong reputation across the capital markets.

We employ a disciplined approach in selecting investments that meet the long-standing, consistent value-oriented investment criteria employed by our Investment Adviser. Our value-oriented investment philosophy focuses on preserving capital and ensuring that our investments have an appropriate return profile in relation to risk. When market conditions make it difficult for us to invest according to our criteria, we are highly selective in deploying our capital. We believe this approach continues to enable us to build an attractive investment portfolio that meets our return and value criteria over the long-term.

We believe it is critical to conduct extensive due diligence on investment targets. In evaluating new investments we, through our Investment Adviser, conduct a rigorous due diligence process that draws from our Investment Adviser’s experience, industry expertise and network of contacts. Among other things, our due diligence is designed to ensure that each prospective portfolio company will be able to meet its debt service obligations. See “Investment Selection Criteria” for more information.

In addition to engaging in extensive due diligence, our Investment Adviser seeks to reduce risk by focusing on businesses with:

The management team of the Investment Adviser has long-term relationships with financial sponsors, management consultants and management teams that we believe enable us to evaluate investment opportunities effectively in numerous industries, as well as provide us access to substantial information concerning those industries. We identify potential investments both through active origination and through dialogue with numerous financial sponsors, management teams, members of the financial community and corporate partners with whom the professionals of our Investment Adviser have long-term relationships.

We are flexible in structuring investments and tailor investments to meet the needs of a portfolio company while also generating attractive risk-adjusted returns. We can invest in any part of a capital structure, and our Investment Adviser has extensive experience in a wide variety of securities for leveraged companies throughout economic and market cycles.

Our Investment Adviser seeks to minimize the risk of capital loss without foregoing potential for capital appreciation. In making investment decisions, we seek to invest in companies that we believe can generate positive risk-adjusted returns.

We believe that the in-depth coverage and experience of our Investment Adviser will enable us to invest throughout various stages of the economic and market cycles and to provide us with ongoing market insights in addition to a significant investment sourcing engine.

Investment Selection Criteria

We are committed to a value oriented philosophy used by the senior investment professionals who manage our portfolio and seek to minimize the risk of capital loss without foregoing potential for capital appreciation.

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We have identified several criteria, discussed below, that we believe are important in identifying and investing in prospective portfolio companies. These criteria provide general guidelines for our investment decisions. However, we caution that not all of these criteria will be met by each prospective portfolio company in which we choose to invest. Generally, we seek to use our experience, relationships, and access to market information to identify investment candidates and to structure investments efficiently and effectively.

Our investment philosophy places a premium on fundamental analysis and has a distinct value orientation. We focus on companies in which we 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, we do not expect to invest in start-up companies or companies having speculative business plans.

We generally require that our portfolio companies have an experienced management team. We also require the portfolio companies to have proper incentives in place to induce management to succeed and to act in concert with our interests as investors, including having equity interests. In addition, we focus our investments in companies backed by strong financial sponsors that have a history of creating value and with whom members of our Investment Adviser have an established relationship.

We seek to invest in target companies that have developed leading market positions within their respective markets and are well positioned to capitalize on growth opportunities. We also seek companies that demonstrate significant competitive advantages versus their competitors, which should help to protect their market position and profitability.

We seek to invest in companies that we believe will provide a steady stream of cash flow to repay our loans and reinvest in their respective businesses. We expect that such internally generated cash flow, leading to the payment of interest on, and the repayment of the principal of, our investments in portfolio companies to be a key means by which we exit from our investments over time. In addition, we also seek 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, refinancing or other capital market transaction.

Competition

Our primary competitors provide financing to middle-market companies and include other BDCs, commercial and investment banks, commercial finance companies, CLO funds and, to the extent they provide an alternative form of financing, private equity funds. Additionally, alternative investment vehicles, such as hedge funds, frequently invest in middle-market companies. As a result, competition for investment opportunities in middle-market companies can be intense. However, we believe that there has been a reduction in the amount of debt capital available to middle-market companies since the downturn in the credit markets, which began in mid-2007. We believe this has resulted in a less competitive environment for making new investments.

Many of our competitors are substantially larger and have considerably greater financial, technical and marketing resources than we do. For example, we believe some competitors have a lower cost of funds and access to funding sources that are not available to us. In addition, some of our competitors 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. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to our Business and Structure—We operate in a highly competitive market for investment opportunities” for more information.

Leverage

We maintain a multi-currency $380.0 million Credit Facility which matures in February 2016 and is secured by substantially all of our investment portfolio assets (excluding the assets of SBIC LP), under which we had $145.0 million (including a $35.5 million temporary draw) and $240.9 million of debt outstanding with a weighted average interest rate of 3.49% and 1.27% at September 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Pricing of borrowings under our current Credit Facility is set at 275 basis points over LIBOR. As of September 30, 2012 and 2011, we had $235.0 million and $74.1 million, respectively, available to us under our Credit Facility. We believe that our capital resources will provide us with the flexibility to take advantage of market opportunities when they arise. In addition, any future additional debt capital we incur, to the extent it is available, may be issued at a higher cost and on less favorable terms and conditions than our current Credit Facility.

As of September 30, 2012 and 2011, SBIC LP had drawn $150.0 million, with a weighted average interest rate of 3.70%, exclusive of 3.43% of upfront fees (4.04% inclusive of the upfront fees), and had no remaining borrowing capacity. SBA debentures offer competitive terms such as being non-recourse to us, a 10-year maturity, semi-annual interest payments, not requiring principal payments prior to maturity and may be prepaid at any time without penalty. The SBA debentures are secured by all the investment portfolio assets of SBIC LP and have a priority claim over such assets. See “Regulation” for more information.

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Investment Policy Overview

We seek to create a diversified portfolio that includes senior secured loans, mezzanine debt and equity by targeting an investment size of $10 million to $50 million in securities, on average, of middle-market companies. We expect this investment size to vary proportionately with the size of our capital base. The companies in which we invest are typically highly leveraged, and, in most cases, are not rated by national rating agencies. If such companies were rated, we believe that they would typically receive a rating below investment grade (between BB and CCC under the Standard & Poor’s system) from the national rating agencies. In addition, we expect our debt investments to range in maturity from three to ten years.

Over time, we expect that our portfolio will continue to consist primarily of senior secured loans, mezzanine debt and, to a lesser extent, equity investments in qualifying assets such as private or thinly traded or small market-capitalization, public U.S. companies. In addition, we may invest up to 30% of our portfolio in non-qualifying assets. See “Regulation—Qualifying Assets” for more information. These non-qualifying assets may include investments in public companies whose securities are not thinly traded or do not have a market capitalization of less than $250 million, securities of middle-market companies located outside of the United States and investment companies as defined in the 1940 Act. Moreover, we may acquire investments in the secondary market. See “Investment Selection Criteria” for more information.

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 and value of our stock. Nevertheless, the effects of changes to our operating policies and strategies may adversely affect our business, and impact our ability to make distributions and the value of our stock.

Senior Secured Debt

Structurally, senior secured debt (which we define to include first lien debt) ranks senior in priority of payment to mezzanine debt and equity, and benefits from a senior security interest in the assets of the borrower. As such, other creditors rank junior to our investments in these securities in the event of insolvency. Due to its lower risk profile and often more restrictive covenants as compared to mezzanine debt, senior secured debt generally earns a lower return than mezzanine debt. In some cases senior secured lenders receive opportunities to invest directly in the equity securities of borrowers and from time to time may also receive warrants to purchase equity securities. We evaluate these investment opportunities on a case-by-case basis.

Mezzanine Debt

Structurally, mezzanine debt (which we define to include second lien secured debt and subordinated debt) usually ranks subordinate in priority of payment to senior secured loans. Our second lien secured debt is subordinated debt that benefits from a security interest in the borrower. As such, other creditors may rank senior to us in the event of insolvency. Mezzanine debt ranks senior to common and preferred equity in a borrowers’ capital structures. Due to its higher risk profile and often less restrictive covenants as compared to senior secured loans, mezzanine debt generally earns a higher return than senior secured loans. In many cases mezzanine investors receive opportunities to invest directly in the equity investments of borrowers and from time to time may also receive warrants to purchase equity investments. We evaluate these investment opportunities on a case-by-case basis.

Operating and Regulatory Structure

Our investment activities are managed by PennantPark Investment Advisers and supervised by our board of directors, a majority of whom are independent of us. Under our investment management agreement, or the Investment Management Agreement, we have agreed to pay our Investment Adviser an annual base management fee based on our average adjusted gross total assets as well as an incentive fee based on our investment performance. See “Investment Management Agreement” for more information.

We have also entered into an administration agreement, or the Administration Agreement, with the Administrator. Under our Administration Agreement, we have agreed to reimburse the Administrator for our allocable portion of overhead and other expenses incurred by the Administrator in performing its obligations under our Administration Agreement, including rent and our allocable portion of the costs of compensation and related expenses of our Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Financial Officer and their respective staffs. See “Administration Agreement” for more information.

If any of our contractual obligations discussed above are terminated, our costs under new agreements that we enter into may increase. In addition, we will likely incur significant time and expense in locating alternative parties to provide the services we expect to receive under our Investment Management Agreement and our Administration Agreement. Any new Investment Management Agreement would also be subject to approval by our stockholders.

As a BDC, we are required to comply with certain regulatory requirements. Also, while we are permitted to finance investments using debt, our ability to use debt is limited in certain significant respects. We have elected to be treated for federal income tax purposes under the Code as a RIC. Our wholly owned subsidiary, SBIC LP, received a license from the SBA to operate as an SBIC under Section 301(c) of the 1958 Act and is regulated by the SBA. PennantPark Investment serves as the investment adviser and administrator to SBIC LP. The SBA regulates, among other matters, SBIC LP’s investing activities. See “Regulation” for more information.

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Our Corporate Information

Our address is 590 Madison Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10022. Our phone number is (212) 905-1000, and our internet address is www.pennantpark.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 well as proxy statements 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 Report, and you should not consider information contained on our website to be part of this Report or any other report we file with the SEC. The SEC also maintains a website that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information we file with the SEC at www.sec.gov. Copies of these reports, proxy and information statements and other information may also be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the SEC’s Public Reference Section, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549-0102. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330.

Our Consolidated Portfolio

Our principal investment focus is to provide senior secured loans and mezzanine debt to U.S. middle-market companies in a variety of industries. We generally seek to target companies that generate positive cash flows from the broad variety of industries in which our Investment Adviser has direct expertise. The following is an illustrative list of the industries in which the Investment Adviser has invested:

Listed below are our top ten portfolio companies and industries represented as a percentage of our consolidated portfolio assets (excluding cash equivalents) as of September 30,:

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Our executive officers and directors, as well as the senior investment professionals of the Investment Adviser and Administrator, may serve as officers, directors or principals of entities that operate in the same or a related line of business as we do. Currently, the executive officers and directors, as well as the current senior investment professionals of the Investment Adviser and Administrator, serve as officers and directors of PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd., a publicly traded BDC and other managed funds, as applicable. Accordingly, they may have obligations to investors in the fulfillment of which obligations might not be in the best interest of us or our stockholders. In addition, we note that any affiliated investment vehicle currently existing, or formed in the future, and managed by the Investment Adviser and or its affiliates may, notwithstanding different stated investment objectives, have overlapping investment objectives with our own and, accordingly, may invest in asset classes similar to those targeted by us. As a result, the Investment Adviser may face conflicts in allocating investment opportunities among us and such other entities. Although the Investment Adviser will endeavor to allocate investment opportunities in a fair and equitable manner, 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 Investment Adviser or its affiliates. In any such case, when the Investment Adviser identifies an investment, it will choose which investment fund should receive the allocation. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to our Business and Structure—There are significant potential conflicts of interest which could impact our investment returns” for more information.

We may invest, to the extent permitted by law, in the securities and instruments of other investment companies and companies that would be investment companies but are excluded from the definition of an investment company provided in Section 3(c) of the 1940 Act. We may also co-invest in the future on a concurrent basis with our affiliates, subject to compliance with applicable regulations and our trade allocation procedures. Some types of negotiated co-investments may be made only if we receive an order from the SEC permitting us to do so. We have not sought, and there can be no assurance that we would obtain, any such order.

Due diligence

We believe it is critical to conduct extensive due diligence on investment targets and in evaluating new investments. Our Investment Adviser conducts a rigorous due diligence process that is applied to prospective portfolio companies and draws from our Investment Adviser’s experience, industry expertise and network of contacts. In conducting due diligence, our Investment Adviser uses information provided by companies, financial sponsors and publicly available information as well as information from relationships with former and current management teams, consultants, competitors and investment bankers.

Our due diligence typically includes:

Upon the completion of due diligence and a decision to proceed with an investment in a portfolio company, the team leading the investment presents the investment opportunity to our Investment Adviser’s investment committee. This committee determines whether to pursue the potential investment. All new investments are required to be reviewed by the investment committee of our Investment Adviser. The members of the investment committee receive no compensation from us. These members are employees of our Investment Adviser and receive compensation from our Investment Adviser.

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Additional due diligence with respect to any investment may be conducted on our behalf by attorneys and independent auditors prior to the closing of the investment, as well as other outside advisers, as appropriate.

The Investment Adviser monitors credit risk of each portfolio company regularly and periodically with a goal toward identifying early, and when able and appropriate, selling other investments with potential credit problems. This monitoring process may include reviewing: (1) a portfolio company’s financial resources and operating history; (2) comparing a portfolio company’s current operating results with the Investment Adviser’s initial thesis for the investment and its expectations for the performance of the investment; (3) a portfolio company’s sensitivity to economic conditions; (4) the performance of a portfolio company’s management; (5) a portfolio company’s debt maturities and borrowing requirements; (6) a portfolio company’s interest and asset coverage; and (7) the relative value of an investment based on a portfolio company’s anticipated cash flow.

The Investment Adviser seeks to achieve our investment objective through a disciplined approach to the selection of credit investments and its evaluation of portfolio companies. The Investment Adviser also gains exposure to portfolio companies across a broad range of industries and of varying operating and financial characteristics and return profiles, as well as active management of such investments in light of economic developments and trends. However, we are classified as “non-diversified” under the 1940 Act, and our investment portfolio may be more concentrated than the portfolios of other issuers. We may take certain actions if short-term interest rates increase or market conditions otherwise change (or if we anticipate such a change) and our use of leverage, if any, begins (or is expected) to adversely affect our common stockholders. To offset any potentially negative impact of leverage on common stockholders, we may shorten the average maturity of our investment portfolio (by investing in short-term securities) or may reduce our indebtedness or unwind other leveraged transactions. We may also attempt to reduce our use of leverage by redeeming or otherwise purchasing outstanding preferred stock or debt securities, if any.

Investment structure

Once we determine that a prospective portfolio company is suitable for investment, we work with the management of that company and its other capital providers, including senior, junior and equity capital providers, to structure an investment. We negotiate among these parties to agree on how our investment is structured relative to the other capital in the portfolio company’s capital structure.

We expect our senior secured loans to have terms of three to ten years. We generally obtain security interests in the assets of our portfolio companies that will serve as collateral in support of the repayment of these loans. This collateral may take the form of first or second priority liens on the assets of a portfolio company.

Mezzanine debt may have interest-only payments in the early years, with cash or payment-in-kind, or PIK, payments with amortization of principal deferred to the later years of the mezzanine debt. In some cases, we may invest in debt securities that, by their terms, convert into equity or additional debt securities or defers payment of interest for the first few years after our investment. Also, in some cases our mezzanine debt may be collateralized by a subordinated lien on some or all of the assets of the borrower. Typically, our mezzanine debt has maturities of three to ten years.

We seek to tailor the terms of the investment to the facts and circumstances of the transaction and the prospective portfolio company, negotiating a structure that protects our rights and manages our risk while creating incentives for the portfolio company to achieve its business plan and improve its profitability. For example, in addition to seeking a senior position in the capital structure of our portfolio companies, we seek to limit the downside potential of our investments by:

Our investments may include equity features, such as direct investments in the equity securities of borrowers or warrants or options to buy a minority interest in a portfolio company. Any warrants we may receive with our debt securities generally require only a nominal cost to exercise, so as a portfolio company appreciates in value, we may achieve additional investment return from these equity investments. We may structure the warrants to provide provisions protecting our rights as a minority-interest holder, as well as puts, or rights to sell such securities back to the company, upon the occurrence of specified events. In many cases, we may also obtain registration rights in connection with these equity investments, which may include demand and “piggyback” registration rights.

We expect to hold most of our investments to maturity or repayment, but we may sell certain investments earlier if a liquidity event takes place, such as the sale or refinancing of a portfolio company. We also may turn over investments to better position the portfolio in light of market conditions.

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Ongoing relationships with portfolio companies

Monitoring

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

The Investment Adviser has several methods of evaluating and monitoring the performance and fair value of our investments, which may include the following:

Managerial assistance

We offer managerial assistance to our portfolio companies. As a BDC, we are required to make available such managerial assistance within the meaning of Section 55 of the 1940 Act. See “Regulation” for more information.

Staffing

We do not currently have any employees. Our Investment Adviser and Administrator have hired and expect to continue to hire professionals with skills applicable to our business plan, including experience in middle-market investing, mezzanine lending, leveraged finance, distressed debt and private equity businesses.

Investment Management Agreement

We have entered into an agreement with the Investment Adviser, or the Investment Management Agreement, under which the Investment Adviser, subject to the overall supervision of our board of directors, manages the day-to-day operations of and provides investment advisory services to, us. Mr. Penn, our Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, is the managing member and a senior investment professional of, and has a financial and controlling interests in PennantPark Investment Advisers. PennantPark Investment through the Investment Adviser, provides similar services to SBIC LP under its investment management agreement. Under the terms of our Investment Management Agreement, the Investment Adviser:

PennantPark Investment Advisers’ services under our Investment Management Agreement are not exclusive, and it is free to furnish similar services, without the prior approval of our stockholders or our board of directors, to other entities so long as its services to us are not impaired. Our board of directors monitors for any potential conflicts that may arise upon such a development. For providing these services, the Investment Adviser receives a fee from PennantPark Investment, consisting of two components—a base management fee and an incentive fee, collectively, Management Fees.

Investment Advisory Fees

The base management fee is calculated at an annual rate of 2.00% of our gross assets (net of temporary investments, as discussed under “Regulation,” temporary draws under our Credit Facility and other balance sheet transactions undertaken at the end of a fiscal quarter for purposes of preserving investment flexibility for the next quarter, or “average adjusted gross assets,” if any (see example below)) and is payable quarterly in arrears. The base management fee is calculated based on the average value of our average adjusted gross total assets at the end of the two most recently completed calendar quarters, and appropriately adjusted for any share issuances or repurchases during the current calendar quarter. For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2012, 2011 and 2010, the Investment Adviser earned base management fees of $17.5 million, $14.9 million and $11.6 million, respectively, from us.

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The following is a hypothetical example of the calculation of average adjusted gross assets:

Gross assets as of December 31, 20XX = $160 million

U.S. Treasury bills and temporary draws on credit facilities as of December 31, 20 XX = $10 million

Adjusted gross assets as of December 31, 20 XX = $150 million

Gross assets as of March 31, 20 XX = $200 million

U.S. Treasury bills and temporary draws on credit facilities as of March 31, 20 XX = $20 million

Adjusted gross assets as of March 31, 20XX = $180 million

Average value of adjusted gross assets as of March 31, 20XX at the end of the two most recently completed calendar quarters, and appropriately adjusted for any share issuances or repurchases during the current calendar quarter = ($150 million + $180 million) / 2 = $165 million

The incentive fee has two parts, as follows:

One part is calculated and payable quarterly in arrears based on our Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income for the immediately preceding calendar quarter. For this purpose, “Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income” means interest income, dividend income and any other income (including any other fees (other than fees for providing managerial assistance), such as commitment, origination, prepayment penalties, structuring, diligence and consulting fees or other fees that we receive from portfolio companies) accrued during the calendar quarter, minus our operating expenses for the quarter (including the base management fee, expenses payable under our Administration Agreement, and any interest expense and distributions paid on any issued and outstanding preferred stock, but excluding the incentive fee). Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income includes, in the case of investments with a deferred interest feature (such as original issue discount, or OID, debt instruments with PIK interest and zero coupon securities), accrued income that we have not yet received in cash. Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income does not include any realized capital gains, realized capital losses or unrealized capital appreciation or depreciation. Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income, expressed as a percentage on the value of our net assets at the end of the immediately preceding calendar quarter, will be compared to a Hurdle of 1.75% per quarter (7.00% annualized). We have agreed to pay PennantPark Investment Advisers an incentive fee with respect to our Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income in each calendar quarter as follows: (1) no incentive fee in any calendar quarter in which PennantPark Investment’s Pre-Incentive Fee Net Income does not exceed the hurdle rate of 1.75%, (2) 100% of our Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income with respect to that portion of such Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income, if any, that exceeds the Hurdle but is less than 2.1875% in any calendar quarter (8.75% annualized). We refer to this portion of our Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income (which exceeds the Hurdle but is less than 2.1875%) as the “catch-up.” The “catch-up” is meant to provide our Investment Adviser with 20% of our Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income as if a Hurdle did not apply if this net investment income exceeds 2.1875% in any calendar quarter, and (3) 20% of the amount of our Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income, if any, that exceeds 2.1875% in any calendar quarter (8.75% annualized) is payable to our Investment Adviser (once the Hurdle is reached and the catch-up is achieved, 20% of all Pre-Incentive Fee Investment Income thereafter is allocated to our Investment Adviser). These calculations are adjusted for any share issuances or repurchases, if applicable. For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2012, 2011 and 2010, the Investment Adviser earned $14.2 million, $13.2 million and $8.0 million, respectively, in incentive fees.

The following is a graphical representation of calculation of quarterly incentive fee based on Net Investment Income

Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income

(expressed as a percentage of the value of net assets)

Percentage of Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income

allocated to income-related portion of incentive fee

The second part of the incentive fee is determined and payable in arrears as of the end of each calendar year (or upon termination of the Investment Management Agreement, as of the termination date), commencing on December 31, 2007 and equals 20.0% of our realized capital gains, if any, on a cumulative basis from inception through the end of each calendar year, computed net of all realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation on a cumulative basis, less the aggregate amount of any previously paid capital gain incentive fees.

Under U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, or GAAP, we are required to accrue a capital gains incentive fee based upon net realized capital gains and net unrealized capital appreciation and depreciation on investments held at the end of each period. In calculating the capital gains incentive fee accrual we considered the cumulative aggregate unrealized capital appreciation in the calculation, as a capital gains incentive fee would be payable if such unrealized capital appreciation were realized, even though such unrealized capital appreciation is not permitted to be considered in calculating the fee actually payable under the Investment Management Agreement. This accrual is calculated using the aggregate cumulative realized capital gains and losses and aggregate cumulative unrealized capital appreciation or depreciation.

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If such amount is positive at the end of a period, then we record a capital gains incentive fee equal 20% of such amount, less the aggregate amount of actual capital gains related incentive fees paid in all prior years. If such amount is negative, then there is no accrual for such year. There can be no assurance that such unrealized capital appreciation will be realized in the future. For the years ended September 30, 2012, 2011 and 2010, our unrealized and realized capital gains did not exceed our cumulative realized and unrealized losses and resulted in no accrual under GAAP.

Examples of Quarterly Incentive Fee Calculation

Example 1: Income Related Portion of Incentive Fee (*):

Alternative 1:

Assumptions

Investment income (including interest, distributions, fees, etc.) = 1.25%

Hurdle⁽¹⁾ = 1.75%

Base management fee⁽²⁾ = 0.50%

Other expenses (legal, accounting, custodian, transfer agent, etc.) = 0.20%

Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income

(investment income—(base management fee + other expenses)) = 0.55%

Pre-incentive net investment income does not exceed the Hurdle; therefore there is no incentive fee.

Alternative 2:

Assumptions

Investment income (including interest, distributions, fees, etc.) = 2.70%

Hurdle⁽¹⁾ = 1.75%

Base management fee⁽²⁾ = 0.50%

Other expenses (legal, accounting, custodian, transfer agent, etc.) = 0.20%

Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income

(investment income—(base management fee + other expenses)) = 2.00%

Alternative 3:

Assumptions:

Investment income (including interest, distributions, fees, etc.) = 3.00%

Hurdle⁽¹⁾ = 1.75%

Base management fee⁽²⁾ = 0.50%

Other expenses (legal, accounting, custodian, transfer agent, etc.) = 0.20%

Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income

(investment income—(base management fee + other expenses)) = 2.30%

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Example 2: Capital Gains Portion of Incentive Fee:

Assumptions:

Year 1 = no net realized capital gains or losses

Year 2 = 6% realized capital gains and 1% realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation, capital gain incentive fee = 20% x (realized capital gains for year computed net of all realized capital losses and unrealized capital depreciation at year end)

Duration and Termination of Investment Management Agreement

The Investment Management Agreement was re-approved by our board of directors, including a majority of our directors who are not interested persons of PennantPark Investment, in February 2012. Unless terminated earlier as described below, our Investment Management Agreement will continue in effect for a period of one year through February 2013. It will remain in effect if approved annually by our board of directors, or by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of our outstanding voting securities, including, in either case, approval by a majority of our directors who are not interested persons. In determining to re-approve the Investment Management Agreement, the board of directors requested information from the Investment Adviser that enabled it to evaluate a number of factors relevant to its determination. These factors included the nature, quality and extent of services performed by the Investment Adviser, our ability to effectively manage conflicts of interest, our short and long-term performance, our costs, including as compared to comparable externally and internally managed publicly traded business development companies that engage in similar investing activities, our profitability and any economies of scale. Based on the information reviewed and the considerations detailed above, our board of directors, including all of the directors who are not interested persons of PennantPark Investment, concluded that the investment advisory fee rates and terms are fair and reasonable in relation to the services provided and re-approved the Investment Management Agreement as being in the best interests of our stockholders. The Investment Management Agreement will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment. The Investment Management Agreement may be terminated by either party without penalty upon not more than 60 days’ written notice to the other. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to our Business and Structure—We are dependent upon our Investment Adviser’s key personnel for our future success, and if we or our Investment Adviser is unable to hire and retain qualified personnel or if we lose any member of our management team, our ability to achieve our investment objectives could be significantly harmed” for more information.

Organization of the Investment Adviser

PennantPark Investment Advisers is a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, or the Advisers Act. The principal executive office of PennantPark Investment Advisers is located at 590 Madison Avenue, 15th Floor, New York, NY 10022.

Administration Agreement

PennantPark Investment has also entered into an Administration Agreement with the Administrator. Under this agreement the Administrator provides administrative services for PennantPark Investment. PennantPark Investment, through the Administrator, provides similar services to SBIC LP under its administration agreement with us. For providing these services, facilities and personnel, PennantPark Investment reimburses the Administrator for PennantPark Investment’s allocable portion of overhead and other expenses incurred by the Administrator in performing its obligations under the Administration Agreement, including rent, technology systems, insurance and PennantPark Investment’s allocable portion of the costs of the compensation and related expenses for its Chief Compliance Officer, Chief Financial Officer and their respective staffs. The Administrator also offers on PennantPark Investment’s behalf managerial assistance to portfolio companies to which PennantPark Investment is required to offer such assistance. Reimbursement for certain of these costs is included in administrative services expenses in the Consolidated Statement of Operations. For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2012, 2011 and 2010, the Investment Adviser and Administrator, collectively, were reimbursed $3.6 million, $2.6 million and $2.1 million, respectively, from us, including expenses it incurred on behalf of the Administrator for services described above.

PennantPark Investment entered into an administration agreement with its controlled affiliate, SuttonPark Holdings, Inc. and its subsidiaries, or SPH. Under the administration agreement with SPH, or the SPH Administration Agreement, PennantPark Investment, through the Administrator, furnishes SPH with office facilities, equipment and clerical, bookkeeping and record keeping services at such facilities.

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Additionally, the Administrator performs or oversees the performance of SPH’s required administrative services, which include, among other duties, maintaining financial records, preparing financial reports and filing of tax returns. Payments under the SPH Administration Agreement are equal to an amount based upon SPH’s allocable portion of the Administrator’s overhead in performing its obligations under the SPH Administration Agreement, including rent and allocable portion of the cost of compensation and related expenses of our Chief Financial Officer and his respective staff. For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2012, 2011 and 2010, PennantPark Investment was reimbursed $0.7 million, $0.5 million and $0.1 million, respectively, from SPH, including expenses it incurred on behalf of the Administrator for the services described above.

Duration and Termination of Administration Agreement

The Administration Agreement was re-approved by our board of directors, including a majority of our directors who are not interested persons of PennantPark Investment, in February 2012. Unless terminated earlier as described below, our Administration Agreement will continue in effect for a period of one year through February 2013. It will remain in effect if approved annually by our board of directors, or by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of our outstanding voting securities, including, in either case, approval by a majority of our directors who are not interested persons. The Administration Agreement will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment. The Administration Agreement may be terminated by either party without penalty upon not more than 60 days’ written notice to the other.

Indemnification

Our Investment Management Agreement and Administration Agreement provide that, absent willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of their duties or by reason of the reckless disregard of their duties and obligations, PennantPark Investment Advisers and PennantPark Investment Administration and their officers, manager, partners, agents, employees, controlling persons, members and any other person or entity affiliated with them are entitled to indemnification from PennantPark Investment for any damages, liabilities, costs and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and amounts reasonably paid in settlement) arising from the rendering of PennantPark Investment Advisers’ and PennantPark Investment Administration’s services under our Investment Management Agreement or Administration Agreement or otherwise as Investment Adviser or Administrator for PennantPark Investment.

License Agreement

We have entered into a license agreement, or the License Agreement, with PennantPark Investment Advisers pursuant to which PennantPark Investment Advisers has granted us a royalty-free, non-exclusive license to use the name “PennantPark.” Under this agreement, we have a right to use the PennantPark name, for so long as PennantPark Investment Advisers or one of its affiliates remains our Investment Adviser. Other than with respect to this limited license, we have no legal right to the “PennantPark” name.

REGULATION

Regulated Investment Company and Business Development Company Regulations

We are a BDC under the 1940 Act, which has qualified and intends to continue to qualify to maintain an election to be treated as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. The 1940 Act contains prohibitions and restrictions relating to transactions between a BDC and its affiliates (including any investment advisers or sub-advisers), 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 approved by holders of 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, as amended, 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 do not intend to acquire securities issued by any investment company that exceed the limits imposed by the 1940 Act. Under these limits, 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 more than one investment company. 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. We may enter into hedging transactions to manage the risks associated with interest rate fluctuations. None of the policies in this paragraph are fundamental and they may be changed without stockholder approval.

Qualifying Assets

Under the 1940 Act, a BDC may not acquire any asset other than assets of the type listed in Section 55(a) of the 1940 Act, which are referred to as qualifying assets, unless, at the time the acquisition is made, qualifying assets represent at least 70% of the BDC’s total assets. The principal categories of qualifying assets relevant to our business are the following:

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In addition, a BDC must have been organized and have its principal place of business in the United States and must be operated for the purpose of making investments in the types of securities described in (1), (2) or (3) above.

Managerial Assistance to Portfolio Companies

As a BDC, we are required to make available managerial assistance to our portfolio companies that constitute a qualifying asset within the meaning of Section 55 of the 1940 Act. However, if a BDC purchases securities in conjunction with one or more other persons acting together, one of the other persons in the group may make available such managerial assistance. Making available managerial assistance means any arrangement whereby the BDC, through its directors, officers or employees, offers to provide, and, if accepted, does provide, significant guidance and counsel concerning the management, operations or business objectives and policies of a portfolio company. Our Administrator may provide such assistance on our behalf to portfolio companies that request such assistance. Officers of our Investment Adviser and Administrator provide assistance to our controlled affiliates.

Temporary Investments

Pending investments in other types of qualifying assets, as described above, may consist of cash, cash equivalents, U.S. Government securities or high-quality debt securities maturing in one year or less from the time of investment, which we refer to, collectively, as temporary investments, so that 70% of our assets are qualifying assets. We may invest in U.S. Treasury bills or in repurchase agreements, provided that such agreements are fully collateralized by cash or securities issued by the U.S. Government or its agencies. A repurchase agreement involves the purchase by an investor, such as us, of a specified security and the simultaneous agreement by the seller to repurchase it at an agreed-upon future date and at a price which is greater than the purchase price by an amount that reflects an agreed-upon interest rate. There is no percentage restriction on the proportion of our assets that may be invested in such repurchase agreements. However, if more than 25% of our total assets constitute repurchase agreements from a single counterparty, we would not meet the Diversification Tests, as defined later in this Report under “Regulation—Election to be Taxed as a RIC”, in order to qualify as a RIC for federal income tax purposes. Thus, we do not intend to enter into repurchase agreements with a single counterparty in excess of this limit. Our Investment Adviser will monitor the creditworthiness of the counterparties with which we enter into repurchase agreement transactions.

Senior Securities

We are permitted, under specified conditions, to issue multiple classes of indebtedness and one class of stock senior to our common stock if we meet our asset coverage ratio or test, which is defined in the 1940 Act as the ratio of total assets (less total liabilities other than indebtedness) to total indebtedness must equal 200% or more, after each such issuance. In addition, while any senior securities remain outstanding, we must make provisions to prohibit any distribution to our stockholders or the repurchase of such

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securities or shares unless we meet the applicable asset coverage ratio at the time of the distribution or repurchase. We may also borrow amounts up to 5% of the value of our total assets for temporary or emergency purposes without regard to asset coverage ratio. We received exemptive relief from the SEC allowing us to modify the asset coverage requirement to exclude the SBA debentures from the calculation. For a discussion of the risks associated with leverage, see “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to our Business and Structure—Regulations governing our operation as a business development company will affect our ability to, and the way in which we, raise additional capital” for more information.

Joint Code of Ethics and Code of Conduct

We and PennantPark Investment Advisers have each adopted a joint code of ethics pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act that establish procedures for personal investments and restricts certain personal securities transactions. Personnel subject to each code may invest in securities for their personal investment accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by us, so long as such investments are made in accordance with the codes’ requirements. Our joint code of ethics and code of conduct are available, free of charge, on our website at www.pennantpark.com. You may read and copy the code of ethics at the SEC’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. You may obtain information on the operation of the Public Reference Room by calling the SEC at (202) 551-8090. In addition, the joint code of ethics is attached as an exhibit to this Report and is available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at www.sec.gov. You may also obtain copies of our joint code of ethics, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following email address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the SEC’s Public Reference Section, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549.

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

We have delegated our proxy voting responsibility to our Investment Adviser. The Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures of our Investment Adviser are set forth below. The guidelines are reviewed periodically by our Investment Adviser and our non-interested directors, and, accordingly, are subject to change. For purposes of these Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures described below, “we,” “our” and “us” refers to our Investment Adviser.

Introduction

As an investment adviser registered under the Advisers Act, we have a fiduciary duty to act solely in the best interests of our clients. As part of this duty, we recognize that we must vote client securities in a timely manner free of conflicts of interest and in the best interests of our clients.

These policies and procedures for voting proxies for our investment advisory clients are intended to comply with Section 206 of, and Rule 206(4)-6 under, the Advisers Act.

Proxy Policies

We vote proxies relating to our portfolio securities in what we perceive to be the best interest of our clients’ stockholders. We review on a case-by-case basis each proposal submitted to a shareholder vote to determine its impact on the portfolio securities held by our clients. Although we will generally vote against proposals that may have a negative impact on our clients’ portfolio securities, we may vote for such a proposal if there exists compelling long-term reasons to do so.

Our proxy voting decisions are made by the senior officers who are responsible for monitoring each of our clients’ investments. To ensure that our vote is not the product of a conflict of interest, we require that: (1) anyone involved in the decision making process disclose to our Chief Compliance Officer any potential conflict that he or she is aware of and any contact that he or she has had with any interested party regarding a proxy vote; and (2) employees involved in the decision making process or vote administration are prohibited from revealing how we intend to vote on a proposal in order to reduce any attempted influence from interested parties.

Proxy Voting Records

You may obtain information about how we voted proxies by making a written request for proxy voting information to: Aviv Efrat, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer, 590 Madison Avenue, 15^th Floor, New York, New York 10022.

Privacy Protection Principles

We are committed to maintaining the privacy of our stockholders and to safeguarding their non-public 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 non-public personal information relating to our stockholders, although certain non-public personal information of our stockholders may become available to us. We do not disclose any non-public 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).

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We restrict access to non-public personal information about our stockholders to employees of our Investment Adviser and its affiliates with a legitimate business need for the information. We maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards designed to protect the non-public personal information of our stockholders.

Our privacy and protection policies are available, free of charge, on our website at www.pennantpark.com. In addition, the privacy policy is available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at www.sec.gov, filed as an exhibit to our report on Form 10-K (File No. 814-00736) on November 16, 2011. You may also obtain copies of our privacy policy, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following email address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the SEC’s Public Reference Section, 100 F Street, N.E., Washington, D.C. 20549.

Other

We may also be prohibited under the 1940 Act from knowingly participating in certain transactions with our affiliates without the prior approval of our board of directors, including a majority of our directors who are not interested persons of us and, in some cases, prior approval by the SEC.

We will be periodically examined by the SEC and SBA for compliance with the 1940 Act and 1958 Act, respectively.

We are required by law to provide and maintain a bond issued by a reputable fidelity insurance company to protect us against larceny and embezzlement. Furthermore, as a BDC, we are prohibited from protecting any director or officer against any liability to PennantPark Investment or our stockholders arising from willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of such person’s office.

We and PennantPark Investment Advisers have each adopted and implemented written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violation of the federal securities laws. We review these policies and procedures annually for their adequacy and the effectiveness of their implementation, and we have designated a Chief Compliance Officer to be responsible for administering these policies and procedures.

Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, imposes several regulatory requirements on publicly held companies and their insiders. Many of these requirements affect us. For example:

The Sarbanes-Oxley Act requires us to review our current policies and procedures to determine whether we comply with the act and the regulations promulgated there-under. We continue to monitor our compliance with all regulations that are adopted under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and continue to take actions necessary to ensure that we are in compliance with that act.

Election to be Taxed as a RIC

We have elected to be taxed, and intend to qualify annually to maintain our election to be taxed, as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. To maintain our RIC tax election, we must, among other requirements, meet certain source-of-income and quarterly asset diversification requirements (as described below). We also must annually distribute dividends of at least 90% of the sum of our net ordinary income and realized net short-term capital gains in excess of net realized net long-term capital losses, if any, out of the assets legally available for distribution, or the Annual Distribution Requirement. Although not required for us to maintain our RIC tax status, in order to preclude the imposition of a 4% nondeductible federal excise tax imposed on RICs, we must distribute during each calendar year an amount at least equal to the sum of (1) 98% of our net ordinary income for the calendar year, (2) 98.2% of the sum of our realized net capital gains for the one-year period ending on October 31 of the calendar year and (3) the sum of any net ordinary income plus net capital gains and net ordinary gains for preceding years that were not distributed during such years, or the Excise Tax Avoidance Requirement.

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In addition, although we may 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 in the manner described above, we have retained and may continue to retain such net capital gains or ordinary income to provide us with additional liquidity.

In order to qualify as a RIC for federal income tax purposes, we must:

Taxation as a RIC

If we qualify as a RIC, and satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, then we will not be subject to federal income tax on the portion of our investment company taxable income and net capital gain (i.e., realized net long-term capital gains in excess of realized net short-term capital losses) we distribute to stockholders. We will be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the regular corporate rates on any income or capital gain not distributed (or deemed distributed) to our stockholders.

We may be required to recognize taxable income in circumstances in which we do not receive cash. For example, if we hold debt obligations that are treated under applicable tax rules as having OID (such as debt instruments with PIK interest or, in certain cases, increasing interest rates or issued with warrants), we must include in income each year a portion of the OID that accrues over the life of the obligation, regardless of whether cash representing such income is received by us in the same taxable year. Because any OID accrued will be included in our investment company taxable income for the year of accrual, we may be required to make a distribution to our stockholders in order to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, even though we will not have received any corresponding cash amount.

Gain or loss realized by us from warrants acquired by us as well as any loss attributable to the lapse of such warrants generally will be treated as capital gain or loss. Such gain or loss generally will be long-term or short-term, depending on how long we held a particular warrant.

Although we do not presently expect to do so, we are authorized to borrow funds and to sell assets in order to satisfy distribution requirements. However, under the 1940 Act, we are not permitted to make distributions to our stockholders while our debt obligations and other senior securities are outstanding unless certain asset coverage tests are met. Moreover, our ability to dispose of assets to meet our distribution requirements may be limited by (1) the illiquid nature of our portfolio and/or (2) other requirements relating to our status as a RIC, including the Diversification Tests. If we dispose of assets in order to meet the Annual Distribution Requirement or the Excise Tax Avoidance Requirement, we may make such dispositions at times that, from an investment standpoint, are not advantageous.

We may distribute our common stock as a dividend of our taxable income and a shareholder could receive a portion of the dividends declared and distributed by us in shares of our common stock with the remaining amount in cash. A shareholder will be considered to have recognized dividend income equal to the fair market value of the stock paid by us plus cash received with respect to such dividend. We have not elected to distribute stock as a dividend but reserve the right to do so.

Failure to Qualify as a RIC

If we fail to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement or fail to qualify as a RIC in any taxable year, unless certain cure provisions apply, we will be subject to tax in that year on all of our taxable income, regardless of whether we make any distributions to our stockholders. In that case, all of our income will be subject to corporate-level federal income tax, reducing the amount available to be distributed to our stockholders. In contrast, assuming we qualify as a RIC, our corporate-level federal income tax should be substantially reduced or eliminated. See “Election to be Taxed as a RIC” above for more information.

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If we are unable to maintain our status as a RIC, we would be subject to tax on all of our taxable income at regular corporate rates. We would not be able to deduct distributions to stockholders, nor would distributions be required to be made. Distributions would generally be taxable to our stockholders as ordinary distribution income eligible for the 15% maximum rate to the extent of our current and accumulated earnings and profits through tax years ending 2012, unless extended by the U.S. Congress. Subject to certain limitations under the Code, dividends paid by us to corporate distributees would be eligible for the dividends received deduction. Distributions in excess of our current and accumulated earnings and profits would be treated first as a return of capital to the extent of the stockholder’s tax basis in our common stock, and any remaining distributions would be treated as a capital gain.

Recent Tax Developments

Recently enacted legislation may require certain non-corporate U.S. holders to pay a 3.8% Medicare tax on, among other things, interest on and capital gains from the sale, exchange, redemption or retirement of our common stock. This legislation would apply for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2012. U.S. holders should consult their own tax advisors regarding the effect, if any, of this legislation.

SBA Regulations

SBIC LP is licensed under the SBA as a SBIC under the 1958 Act. SBIC LP received its license in July 2010.

SBICs are designed to stimulate the flow of capital to businesses that meet specified eligibility requirements discussed below. Under SBA regulations, SBIC LP is subject to regulatory requirements including making investments in SBA eligible businesses, investing at least 25% of regulatory capital in eligible smaller businesses, placing certain limitations on the financing terms of investments, prohibiting investing in certain industries, and required capitalization thresholds among other regulations. Furthermore, SBIC LP is subject to periodic audits and examinations of its financial statements that are prepared on a basis of accounting other than GAAP. For example, SBIC LP does not use fair value accounting on its assets or liabilities. If SBIC LP subsidiary fails to comply with applicable SBA regulations, the SBA could, depending on the severity of the violation, limit or prohibit its use of debentures, declare outstanding debentures immediately due and payable, and/or limit SBIC LP from making new investments. In addition, the SBA can revoke or suspend a license for willful or repeated violation of, or willful or repeated failure to observe, any provision of the 1958 Act or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder. These actions by the SBA would, in turn, negatively affect us because SBIC LP is our wholly owned subsidiary.

Eligible Small and Smaller Businesses

Under present SBA regulations, eligible small business include businesses that (together with their affiliates) have tangible net worth not exceeding $18.0 million and have average annual net income of $6.0 million for the two most recent fiscal years. In addition, SBIC LP must invest at least 25% of investments in “smaller” concerns. A smaller concern is a business that has tangible net worth not exceeding $6.0 million and has average annual net income not exceeding $2.0 million for the two most recent fiscal years or, as an alternative to the aforementioned requirement, meet the size requirements based on either the number of employees or gross revenue, which is based on the industry in which the smaller concern operates. Once SBIC LP has invested in a company, it may continue to make follow-on investments in the company, regardless of the size of the business, up and until the time a business offers its securities in a public market.

Financing Limitations, Terms and Changes in Control

The SBA prohibits a SBIC from financing small businesses in certain industries such as relending, gambling, oil and gas exploration and other passive businesses. Additional SBA prohibitions include investing outside the United States, investing more than 20% of regulatory capital in one company and lending money to any officer, director or employee or to invest in any affiliate thereof. The SBA places certain limits on the financing terms of investments by SBIC LP in portfolio companies such as limiting the interest rate on debt securities and loans provided to portfolio companies. The SBA also limits fees, prepayment terms and other economic arrangements that are typically charged in lending arrangements.

The SBA also prohibits, without prior written approval, a “change of control” of SBIC LP or transfers that would result in any person or group owning 10% or more of a class of capital stock (or its equivalent in the case of a partnership) of a licensed Small Business Investment Company. A “change of control” is any event which would result in the transfer of power, direct or indirect, to direct management and policies of an SBIC, whether through ownership, contractual arrangements or otherwise.

Idle Funds Limitation

The SBA limits SBIC LP from investing idle funds to the following types of securities:

SBA Leverage or Debentures

SBA-guaranteed debentures are non-recourse to us, have a 10-year maturity, and may be prepaid at any time without penalty. The interest rate of SBA-guaranteed debentures is fixed at the time of issuance at a market-driven spread over 10-year U.S. Treasury Notes. Leverage through SBA-guaranteed debentures is subject to required capitalization thresholds. SBA current regulations limit the amount that SBIC LP may borrow to a maximum of $150 million, which is up to twice its regulatory capital.

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Before you invest in our securities, you should be aware of various risks, including those described below. You should carefully consider these risk factors, together with all of the other information included in this Report, before you decide whether to make an investment in our securities. 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 have a material adverse effect on 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, or any securities we may issue, could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

RISKS RELATING TO OUR BUSINESS AND STRUCTURE

Global capital markets could enter a period of severe disruption and instability. These market conditions have historically and could again have a materially adverse affect on debt and equity capital markets in the United States, which could have a materially negative impact on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The U.S. capital markets have experienced periods of disruption characterized by the freezing of available credit, a lack of liquidity in the debt capital markets, significant losses in the principal value of investments, the re-pricing of credit risk in the broadly syndicated credit market and the failure of major financial institutions. During these periods of disruption, general economic conditions deteriorated with material and adverse consequences for the broader financial and credit markets, and the availability of debt and equity capital for the market as a whole, and financial services firms in particular, was reduced significantly. These conditions may reoccur for a prolonged period of time again or materially worsen in the future. We may in the future have difficulty accessing debt and equity capital, and a severe disruption in the global financial markets or deterioration in credit and financing conditions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Volatility or a prolonged disruption in the credit markets could materially damage our business.

We are required to record our assets at fair value, as determined in good faith by our board of directors in accordance with our valuation policy. As a result, volatility in the capital markets may have a material adverse effect on our valuations and our net asset value, even if we hold investments to maturity. Volatility or dislocation in the capital markets may depress our stock price below our net asset value per share and create a challenging environment in which to raise debt and equity capital. 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. Additionally, our ability to incur indebtedness is limited by our asset coverage ratio or test, as defined under the 1940 Act, exclusive of the SBA debentures pursuant to our SEC exemptive relief. Declining portfolio values negatively impact our ability to borrow additional funds under our Credit Facility because our net asset value is reduced for purposes of the asset coverage ratio. If the fair value of our assets declines substantially, we may fail to maintain the asset coverage ratio stipulated by the 1940 Act, which could, in turn, cause us to lose our status as a BDC and materially impair our business operations. A protracted disruption in the credit markets could also materially decrease demand for our investments.

The significant disruption in the capital markets experienced in the past 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. The debt capital that may be available to us may be at a higher cost or on less favorable terms and conditions than those currently in effect. If our financing costs increase and we have no increase in interest income, then our net investment income will decrease. A prolonged inability to raise capital may require us to reduce the volume of loans we originate and could have a material adverse impact on our business, financial condition or results of operations. This may also increase the probability that other structural risks negatively impact us. These situations may arise due to circumstances that we may be unable to control, such as a protracted disruption in the credit markets, a severe decline in the value of the U.S. dollar, a sharp economic downturn or an operational problem that affects third parties or us, and could materially damage our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Market developments may adversely affect our business and results of operations by reducing availability under our Credit Facility and SBA debentures.

In addition to the applicable asset coverage ratio that restricts our ability to borrow under our Credit Facility, the Credit Facility contains various covenants which, if not complied with, could accelerate repayment under the Credit Facility, thereby having a material adverse effect on our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations. Our borrowings under our Credit Facility are collateralized by the assets in our investment portfolio, excluding those portfolio investments held by SBIC LP. The agreements governing the Credit Facility require us to comply with certain financial and operational covenants. These covenants include:

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In addition to the Credit Facility, SBIC LP has issued SBA debentures that require it to generate sufficient cash flow to make required interest payments. Further, SBIC LP must maintain a minimum capitalization that, if impaired, could materially and adversely affect our liquidity, financial condition and results of operations by accelerating repayment under the SBA debentures. Our borrowings under the SBA debentures are secured by the assets of SBIC LP.

Our continued compliance with these covenants depends on many factors, some of which are beyond our control. A material decrease in our net asset value in connection with additional borrowings could result in an inability to comply with our obligation to restrict the level of indebtedness that we are able to incur in relation to the value of our assets or to maintain a minimum level of shareholders’ equity. This could have a material adverse effect on our operations, as it would trigger mandatory pre-payment obligations under the terms of the Credit Facility and SBA debentures.

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

As a result of an issuance of debt securities, including SBA debentures, we would be exposed to typical risks associated with leverage, including an increased risk of loss and an increase in expenses, which are ultimately borne by our common stockholders. Payment of interest on such debt securities must take preference over any other dividends or other payments to our common stockholders. If we issue debt securities, it is likely that such securities will be governed by an indenture or other instrument containing covenants restricting our operating flexibility. In addition, such securities may be rated by rating agencies, and in obtaining a rating for such securities, we may be required to abide by operating and investment guidelines that could further restrict our operating flexibility. Furthermore, any amounts that we use to service our indebtedness would not be available for distributions to our common stockholders.

We may in the future determine to fund a portion of our investments with preferred stock, which would magnify the potential for 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. If we issue preferred securities they would rank “senior” to common stock in our capital structure. Payment of dividends on, and repayment of the liquidation preference of, such preferred stock would typically take preference over any dividends or other payments to our common stockholders. Also, preferred stockholders are not, typically, 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. Furthermore, preferred stockholders would have separate voting rights and may have rights, preferences or privileges more favorable than those of our common stock. Also, the issuance of preferred securities could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a transaction or a change of control that might involve a premium price for our common stockholders or otherwise be in your best interest.

We may in the future issue securities for which there is no public market and for which we expect no public market to develop.

In order to raise additional capital, we may issue debt or other securities for which no public market exists, and for which no public market is expected to develop. If we issue shares of our common stock as a component of a unit security, we would expect the common stock to separate from the other securities in such unit after a period of time or upon occurrence of an event and to trade publicly on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, which may cause volatility in our publicly traded common stock. To the extent we issue securities for which no public market exists and for which no public market develops, a purchaser of such securities may not be able to liquidate the investment without considerable delay, if at all. If a market should develop for our debt and other securities, the price may be highly volatile, and our debt and other securities may lose value.

Our credit ratings may not reflect all risks of an investment in debt securities.

Our credit ratings, if any, are an assessment of our ability to pay our obligations. Consequently, real or anticipated changes in our credit ratings will generally affect the market value of any publicly issued debt securities. Our credit ratings, however, may not reflect the potential impact of risks related to market conditions generally or other factors discussed above on the market value of, or trading market for, any publicly issued debt securities.

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.

As a BDC, we are required to carry our investments at fair value, which is derived from a market value or, if no market value is ascertainable or if market value does not reflect the fair value of such investment in the bona fide determination of our board of directors, then we would carry our investments at fair value as determined in good faith by or under the direction of our board of directors. Decreases in the market values or fair values of our investments will be recorded as unrealized depreciation or loss. Unrealized losses of any given portfolio company could be an indication of such company’s inability in the future to meet its repayment obligations to us.

If the fair value of our portfolio companies reflects future realized losses, this would ultimately result in reductions of our income available for distribution in future periods and could materially harm our results of operations and cause a material decline in the value of our publicly traded common stock.

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Following periods of volatility in the market price of a company’s securities, securities class action litigation has often been brought against that company.

If our stock price fluctuates significantly, we may be the target of securities litigation in the future. Securities litigation could result in substantial costs and divert management’s attention and resources from our business and cause a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition or results of operations.

Our borrowers may default on their payments, which may have a materially negative effect on our financial performance.

Our primary business exposes us to credit risk, and the quality of our portfolio has a significant impact on our earnings. Credit risk is a component part of our fair valuation of our portfolio companies. Negative credit events will lead to a decrease in the fair value of our portfolio companies.

In addition, current market conditions have affected consumer confidence levels which may harm the business of our portfolio companies and result in adverse changes in payment patterns. Increased delinquencies and default rates would negatively impact our results of operations. Deterioration in the quality of our credit portfolio could have a material adverse effect on our capital, financial condition and results of operations.

We make long-term loans and invest in equity securities, which may involve a high degree of repayment risk. We invest in companies that may have limited financial resources, may be highly leveraged and may be unable to obtain financing from traditional sources. Accordingly, a general economic downturn or severe tightening in the credit markets could materially impact the ability of our borrowers to repay their loans, which could significantly damage our business. Numerous other factors may affect a borrower’s ability to repay its loan, including the failure to meet its business plan or a downturn in its industry. A portfolio company’s failure to satisfy financial or operating covenants imposed by us or other lenders could lead to defaults and, potentially, termination of its loans or foreclosure on the secured assets. This could trigger cross defaults under other agreements and jeopardize our portfolio company’s ability to meet its obligations under the loans or debt securities that we hold. In addition, our portfolio companies may have, or may be permitted to incur, other debt that ranks senior to or equally with our securities. This means that payments on such senior-ranking securities may have to be made before we receive any payments on our subordinated loans or debt securities. Deterioration in a borrower’s financial condition and prospects may be accompanied by deterioration in any related collateral and may have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and results of operations.

We are dependent upon our Investment Adviser’s key personnel for our future success, and if we or our Investment Adviser is unable to hire and retain qualified personnel or if we lose any member of our management team, our ability to achieve our investment objectives could be significantly harmed.

We depend on the diligence, skill and network of business contacts of the senior investment professionals of our Investment Adviser. We also depend, to a significant extent, on PennantPark Investment Advisers’ access to the investment information and deal flow generated by these investment professionals and any others that may be hired by PennantPark Investment Advisers. Managers of our Investment Adviser evaluate, negotiate, structure, close and monitor our investments. Our future success depends on the continued service of management personnel of our Investment Adviser. The departure of managers of PennantPark Investment Advisers could have a material adverse effect on our ability to achieve our investment objectives. In addition, we can offer no assurance that PennantPark Investment Advisers will remain our Investment Adviser. The Investment Adviser has the right, under the Investment Management Agreement, to resign at any time upon 60 days’ written notice, whether we have found a replacement or not.

Our financial condition and results of operation depend on our ability to manage future growth effectively.

Our ability to achieve our investment objectives depends on our ability to grow, which depends, in turn, on our Investment Adviser’s ability to identify, invest in and monitor companies that meet our investment criteria. Accomplishing this result on a cost-effective basis will be largely a function of our Investment Adviser’s structuring of the investment process, its ability to provide competent, attentive and efficient services to us and our access to financing on acceptable terms. The management team of PennantPark Investment Advisers has substantial responsibilities under our Investment Management Agreement. In order to grow, we and our Investment Adviser will need to hire, train, supervise and manage new employees. However, we can offer no assurance that any such employees will contribute effectively to the work of the Investment Adviser. We caution you that the principals of our Investment Adviser or Administrator may also be called upon to provide managerial assistance to portfolio companies and other investment vehicles, including other BDCs, which may be managed by the Investment Adviser. Such demands on their time may distract them or slow our rate of investment. Any failure to manage our future growth 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 in middle-market companies. We compete with public and private funds, including other BDCs, commercial and investment banks, commercial financing companies, CLO funds and, to the extent they provide an alternative form of financing, private equity funds. Additionally, alternative investment vehicles, such as hedge funds, also invest in middle-market companies. As a result, competition for investment opportunities at middle-market companies can be intense. Many of our potential competitors are substantially larger and have considerably greater financial, technical and marketing resources

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than we do. For example, we believe some competitors have a lower cost of funds and access to funding sources that are not available to us. In addition, some of our competitors 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 BDCs. 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 take advantage of attractive investment opportunities from time to time, and we can offer no assurance that we will be able to identify and make investments that are consistent with our investment objectives.

Participants in our industry compete on several factors, including price, flexibility in transaction structuring, customer 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 lower than the rates we offer. We may lose investment opportunities if we do not match our competitors’ pricing, terms and structure. However, if we match our competitors’ pricing, terms and structure, we may experience decreased net interest income and increased risk of credit loss.

Any failure on our part to maintain our status as a business development company would reduce our operating flexibility.

If we do not remain a BDC, we might be regulated as a closed-end investment company under the 1940 Act, which would subject us to substantially more regulatory restrictions under the 1940 Act and correspondingly decrease our operating flexibility, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

Loss of RIC tax treatment would substantially reduce net assets and income available for debt service and dividends.

We have operated and continue to operate so as to qualify as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. If we meet source of income, quarterly asset diversification, and distribution requirements, we generally will not be subject to corporate-level income taxation on income we timely distribute, or deem to distribute, to our stockholders as dividends. We would cease to qualify for such tax treatment if we were unable to comply with these requirements. In addition, we may have difficulty meeting the requirement to make distributions to our stockholders because in certain cases we may recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income. If we fail to qualify as a RIC, we will have to pay corporate-level taxes on all of our income whether or not we distribute it, which would substantially reduce the amount of income available for debt service as well as reduce and/or affect the character and amount of our distributions to our stockholders. Even if we qualify as a RIC, we generally will be subject to a corporate-level income tax on the income or gains we do not distribute. If we do not distribute an amount at least equal to the sum of 98% of our net ordinary income (during the calendar year) plus 98.2% of our net capital gain income (during each 12 month period ending on October 31), we generally will be required to pay an excise tax on amounts carried over and distributed to shareholders in the next year equal to 4% of the undistributed amount.

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

For federal income tax purposes, we will include in income certain amounts that we have not yet received in cash, such as OID or contractual PIK interest, which represents interest added to the loan balance and due at the end of the loan term. OID, which could be significant relative to our overall investment assets, and increases in loan balances as a result of PIK interest will be included in income before we receive any corresponding cash payments. We also may be required to include in income certain other amounts that we will not receive in cash.

The part of the incentive fee payable by us that relates to our net investment income is computed and paid on income that may include interest that has been accrued but not yet received in cash. If a portfolio company defaults on a loan that is structured to provide accrued interest, it is possible that accrued interest previously used in the calculation of the incentive fee will become uncollectible.

In some cases we may recognize income before or without receiving cash representing such income. As a result, we may have difficulty meeting the tax requirement to distribute at least 90% of the sum of our ordinary income and realized net short-term capital gains, if any, to obtain RIC tax benefits. Accordingly, we may have to sell some of our investments at times we would not consider advantageous, raise additional debt or equity capital or reduce new investment originations to meet these distribution requirements, which could have a material effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. If we are not able to obtain cash from other sources, we may fail to qualify for RIC tax benefits and thus be subject to corporate level income tax.

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Because we intend to distribute substantially all of our income to our stockholders to maintain our status as a RIC, we will need to raise additional capital to finance our growth. If funds are not available to us, we may need to curtail new investments, and our common stock value could decline.

In order to satisfy the requirements applicable to a RIC, we intend to distribute to our stockholders substantially all of our net ordinary income and net capital gain income except for certain net long-term capital gains, some or all of which we may retain, pay applicable income taxes with respect thereto and elect to treat as deemed distributions to our stockholders. As a BDC, we generally are required to meet the asset coverage ratio of total assets to total senior securities, which includes all of our borrowings, exclusive of the SBA debentures pursuant to SEC exemptive relief, and any preferred stock we may issue in the future. This requirement limits the amount we may borrow. If the value of our assets decline, we may be unable to satisfy this test. If that happens, we may be required to sell a portion of our investments or sell additional common stock and, depending on the nature of our leverage, to repay a portion of our indebtedness at a time when such sales and repayments may be disadvantageous. In addition, the issuance of additional securities could dilute the percentage ownership of our current stockholders in us.

We will be partially dependent on SBIC LP for cash distributions to enable us to meet the RIC distribution requirements. SBIC LP may be limited by the SBA regulations governing SBICs from making certain distributions to us that may be necessary to maintain our status as a RIC. We may have to request a waiver of the SBA’s restrictions for SBIC LP to make certain distributions to maintain our RIC status. We cannot assure you that the SBA will grant such waiver and if SBIC LP is unable to obtain a waiver, compliance with the SBA regulations may result in an entity-level tax on us.

Regulations governing our operation as a business development company will 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, the issuance of warrants or subscription rights to purchase certain of our securities, or from securitization transactions or through SBIC LP’s SBA debentures. 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, through SBA debentures 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 permissible under the asset coverage ratio, as defined in the 1940 Act, exclusive of the SBA debentures pursuant to our SEC exemptive relief. Our ability to pay dividends or issue additional senior securities would be restricted if our asset coverage ratio were not met. 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, which could materially damage our business.

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SBIC LP may be unable to make distributions to us that will enable us to meet or maintain RIC status.

In order for us to continue to qualify for RIC tax treatment and to minimize corporate-level taxes, we will be required to distribute substantially all of our consolidated net ordinary income and net capital gain income, including income from SBIC LP. We will be partially dependent on SBIC LP for cash distributions to enable us to meet the RIC distribution requirements. SBIC LP may be limited by SBA regulations governing SBICs from making certain distributions to us that may be necessary to maintain our status as a RIC. We may have to request a waiver of the SBA’s restrictions for SBIC LP to make certain distributions to maintain our RIC status. We cannot assure you that the SBA will grant such waiver and if SBIC LP is unable to obtain a waiver, compliance with the SBA regulations may result in an entity-level tax on us.

SBIC LP is licensed by the SBA and is subject to SBA regulations.

In July 2010, our wholly owned subsidiary, SBIC LP, received a license to operate as an SBIC under the 1958 Act and is regulated by the SBA. The SBA places certain limitations on the financing terms of investments by SBICs in portfolio companies and regulates the types of financings and prohibits investing in certain industries. Compliance with SBIC requirements may cause SBIC LP to invest at less competitive rates in order to qualify investments under the SBA regulations.

Further, SBA regulations require that a licensed SBIC be periodically examined and audited by the SBA to determine its compliance with the relevant regulations. If SBIC LP fails to comply with applicable regulations, the SBA could, depending on the severity of the violation, limit or prohibit its use of debentures, declare outstanding debentures immediately due and payable, and/or limit it from making new investments. In addition, the SBA could revoke or suspend SBIC LP’s license for willful or repeated violation of, or willful or repeated failure to observe, any provision of the 1958 Act or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder. These actions by the SBA would, in turn, negatively affect us because SBIC LP is our wholly owned subsidiary.

SBA-guaranteed debentures are non-recourse to us, have a 10-year maturity, and may be prepaid at any time without penalty. The interest rate of SBA-guaranteed debentures is fixed at the time of issuance at a market-driven spread over 10-year U.S. Treasury Notes. Leverage through SBA-guaranteed debentures is subject to required capitalization thresholds. SBA current regulations limit the amount that SBIC LP may borrow to a maximum of $150 million, which is up to twice its regulatory capital.

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We currently use borrowed funds to make investments and are exposed to the typical risks associated with leverage.

Because we borrow funds to make investments we are exposed to increased risk of loss due to our use of debt to make investments. A decrease in the value of our investments will have a greater negative impact on the net asset value attributable to our common stock than it would if we did not use debt. Our ability to pay distributions is restricted when our asset coverage ratio is not met, exclusive of the SBA debentures pursuant to SEC exemptive relief, and any amounts that we use to service our indebtedness are not available for distribution to our common stockholders.

Our current debt is governed by the terms of our Credit Facility or the SBA debentures and may in the future be governed by an indenture or other instrument containing covenants restricting our operating flexibility. We, and indirectly our stockholders, bear the cost of issuing and servicing debt. Any convertible or exchangeable securities that we issue in the future may have rights, preferences and privileges more favorable than those of our common stock.

Additionally, our subsidiary, SBIC LP, has received borrowed funds from the SBA through its debenture program. In connection with the filing of its SBA license application, PennantPark Investment received exemptive relief, in June 2011, from the SEC to permit us to exclude the debt of SBIC LP from our consolidated asset coverage ratio. Our ratio of total assets on a consolidated basis to outstanding indebtedness may be less than 200%, which while providing increased investment flexibility, would also increase our exposure to risks associated with leverage.

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 SBA debentures and expect in the future to borrow additional amounts under our Credit Facility and, subject to market availability, to increase the size of our Credit Facility. Lenders have fixed dollar claims on our assets that have priority over the claims of our common stockholders or preferred stockholders, if any, and we have granted a security interest in our assets, excluding those of SBIC LP, in connection with our Credit Facility borrowings. In the case of a liquidation event, those lenders would receive proceeds before our stockholders. Additionally, the SBA, as a lender and an administrative agent, has a superior claim over the assets of SBIC LP in relation to our lender. Any future debt issuance will increase our leverage and may be subordinate to our Credit Facility and SBA debentures. In addition, borrowings or debt issuance and SBA debentures, also known as leverage, magnify the potential for gain or loss on amounts invested and, therefore, increase the risks associated with investing in our securities. Leverage is generally considered a speculative investment technique. If the value of our assets decreases, then leveraging would cause the net asset value attributable to our common stock to decline more than it otherwise would have had we not utilized leverage. Similarly, 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 or preferred 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 of September 30, 2012, we had outstanding borrowings of $145.0 million under our Credit Facility and $150.0 million outstanding under the SBA debentures. Our consolidated debt outstanding was $295.0 million and had a weighted average annual interest rate at the time of 3.60% exclusive of the fee on undrawn commitment of 0.50% and 3.43% upfront fees on the SBA debentures. Accordingly, to cover the annual interest on our borrowings outstanding at September 30, 2012, at the then current rate, we would have to receive an annual yield of at least 1.10%. This example is for illustrative purposes only, and actual interest rates on our Credit Facility borrowings are likely to fluctuate. The costs associated with our borrowings, including any increase in the management fee or incentive fee payable to our Investment Adviser, will be borne by our common stockholders.

The following table is designed to illustrate the effect on return to a holder of our common stock of the leverage created by our use of borrowing at September 30, 2012 of 29% of total assets (including such borrowed funds), at a weighted average rate at the time of 3.60%, and assuming hypothetical annual returns on our portfolio of minus 10 to plus 10 percent. The table also assumes that we will maintain a constant level and weighted average rate of leverage. The amount of leverage that we use will vary from time to time. As can be seen, leverage generally increases the return to stockholders when the portfolio return is positive and decreases return when the portfolio return is negative. Actual returns may be greater or less than those appearing in the table.

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Market conditions may 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.

Our Credit Facility expires in February 2016. We utilize a revolving five-year Credit Facility to make investments in our portfolio companies. The life of our investments typically exceeds the duration of our indebtedness under our Credit Facility. This means that we will have to extend the maturity of our Credit Facility or refinance our indebtedness under our Credit Facility in order to avoid selling investments at a time when such sales may be at prices that are disadvantageous to us, which could materially damage our business. In addition, future market conditions, may affect our ability to renew or refinance our Credit Facility on terms as favorable as those in our existing Credit Facility. If we fail to extend or refinance the indebtedness outstanding under our Credit Facility by the time it becomes due and payable, the administrative agent of the Credit Facility may elect to exercise various remedies, including the sale of all or a portion of the collateral securing the Credit Facility, subject to certain restrictions, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. The illiquidity of our investments may make it difficult for us to sell such investments. If we are required to sell our investments on short-term notice, we may not receive the value that we have recorded for such investments, and this could materially affect our results of operations.

We are exposed to risks associated with changes in interest rates that may affect our cost of capital and net investment income.

Since we borrow money to make investments, our net investment income depends, in part, upon the difference between the rate at which we borrow funds and the rate at which we invest those funds. As a result, we can offer no assurance that a significant change in market interest rates will not have a material adverse effect on our net investment income. In the period from June 2007, when we executed our original Credit Facility, through September 2012, the applicable LIBOR rate has decreased from 5.3% to 0.2%. In periods of rising interest rates, our cost of funds will increase, which could reduce our net investment income. We may use interest rate risk management techniques, such as total return swaps and interest rate swaps, in an effort to limit our exposure to interest rate fluctuations. These techniques may include various interest rate hedging activities to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. These activities may limit our ability to participate in the benefits of lower interest rates with respect to the hedged portfolio. Adverse developments resulting from changes in interest rates or hedging transactions could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. Also, we have limited experience in entering into hedging transactions, and we will initially have to purchase or develop such expertise. See “Quantitative and Qualitative Disclosures about Market Risk” for more information.

A rise in the general level of interest rates can be expected to lead to higher interest rates applicable to our debt investments. Accordingly, an increase in interest rates would make it easier for us to meet or exceed the incentive fee hurdle and may result in a substantial increase of the amount of incentive fees payable to our Investment Adviser with respect to Pre-Incentive Fee Net Investment Income.

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 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.

If we issue preferred stock, debt securities, convertible debt securities or units, the net asset value and market value of our common stock may become more volatile.

We cannot assure you that the issuance of preferred stock and/or debt securities would result in a higher yield or return to the holders of our common stock. The issuance of preferred stock, debt securities, convertible debt or units would likely cause the net asset value and market value of our common stock to become more volatile. If the dividend rate on the preferred stock, or the interest rate on the debt securities, were to approach the net rate of return on our investment portfolio, the benefit of leverage to the holders of our common stock would be reduced. If the dividend rate on the preferred stock, or the interest rate on the debt securities, were to exceed the net rate of return on our portfolio, the use of leverage would result in a lower rate of return to the holders of common stock than if we had not issued the preferred stock or debt securities. Any decline in the net asset value of our investment would be borne entirely by the holders of our common stock. Therefore, if the market value of our portfolio were to decline, the leverage would result in a greater decrease in net asset value to the holders of our common stock than if we were not leveraged through the issuance of preferred stock. This decline in net asset value would also tend to cause a greater decline in the market price for our common stock.

There is also a risk that, in the event of a sharp decline in the value of our net assets, we would be in danger of failing to maintain required asset coverage ratios which may be required by the preferred stock, debt securities, convertible debt or units or of a downgrade in the ratings of the preferred stock, debt securities, convertible debt or units or our current investment income might not be sufficient to meet the dividend requirements on the preferred stock or the interest payments on the debt securities. In order to counteract such an event, we might need to liquidate investments in order to fund redemption of some or all of the preferred stock, debt securities, convertible debt or units. In addition, we would pay (and the holders of our common stock would bear) all costs and expenses relating to the issuance and ongoing maintenance of the preferred stock, debt securities, convertible debt or any combination of these securities. Holders of preferred stock, debt securities, convertible debt or units may have different interests than holders of common stock and may at times have disproportionate influence over our affairs.

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Holders of any preferred stock that we may issue will have the right to elect members of the board of directors and have class voting rights on certain matters.

The 1940 Act requires that holders of shares of preferred stock must be entitled as a class to elect two directors at all times and to elect a majority of the directors if dividends on such preferred stock are in arrears by two years or more, until such arrearage is eliminated. In addition, certain matters under the 1940 Act require the separate vote of the holders of any issued and outstanding preferred stock, including changes in fundamental investment restrictions and conversion to open-end status and, accordingly, preferred stockholders could veto any such changes. Restrictions imposed on the declarations and payment of dividends or other distributions to the holders of our common stock and preferred stock, both by the 1940 Act and by requirements imposed by rating agencies, might impair our ability to maintain our qualification as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

There are significant potential conflicts of interest which could impact our investment returns.

The professionals of our Investment Adviser and Administrator may serve as officers, directors or principals of entities that operate in the same or a related line of business as we do or of investment funds managed by affiliates of PennantPark Investment that currently exist or may be formed in the future. The Investment Adviser and Administrator may be engaged by such funds at any time and without the prior approval of our stockholders or our board of directors. Our board of directors monitors any potential conflict that may arise upon such a development. Accordingly, if this occurs, they may have obligations to investors in those entities, the fulfillment of which might not be in the best interests of us or our stockholders. Currently, the executive officers and directors, as well as the current senior investment professionals of the Investment Adviser, may serve as officers and directors of our controlled affiliate and affiliated funds. In addition, we note that any affiliated investment vehicle currently formed or formed in the future and managed by the Investment Adviser 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 Investment Adviser may face conflicts in allocating investment opportunities between us and such other entities. Although the Investment Adviser will endeavor to allocate investment opportunities in a fair and equitable manner, 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 Investment Adviser or an investment manager affiliated with the Investment Adviser. In any such case, when the Investment Adviser identifies an investment, it will be forced to choose which investment fund should make the investment. We may co-invest on a concurrent basis with our controlled affiliate, and any other affiliates that the Investment Adviser forms in the future, subject to compliance with applicable regulations and regulatory guidance and our allocation procedures. In certain circumstances, negotiated co-investments may be made only if we receive an order from the SEC permitting us to do so. There can be no assurance that any such order will be obtained.

In the course of our investing activities, we will pay investment advisory and incentive fees to our Investment Adviser, and will reimburse our Investment Adviser for certain expenses it incurs. As a result, investors in our common stock will invest on a “gross” basis and receive distributions on a “net” basis after expenses, resulting in a lower rate of return than an investor might achieve through direct investments. Accordingly, there may be times when the management team of the Investment Adviser has interests that differ from those of our stockholders, giving rise to a conflict.

We have entered into the License Agreement with PennantPark Investment Advisers, pursuant to which our Investment Adviser has agreed to grant us a royalty-free non-exclusive license to use the name “PennantPark.” The License Agreement will expire (i) upon expiration or termination of the Investment Management Agreement, (ii) if the Investment Adviser ceases to serve as our investment adviser, (iii) by either party upon 60 days’ written notice or (iv) by the Investment Adviser at any time in the event we assign or attempt to assign or sublicense the License Agreement or any of our rights or duties thereunder without the prior written consent of the Investment Adviser.

Other than with respect to this limited license, we have no legal right to the “PennantPark” name. In addition, we pay PennantPark Investment Administration, an affiliate of the Investment Adviser, our allocable portion of overhead and other expenses incurred by PennantPark Investment Administration in performing its obligations under our Administration Agreement, including rent and our allocable portion of the cost of our Chief Financial Officer and Chief Compliance Officer and their respective staffs. These arrangements may create conflicts of interest that our board of directors must monitor.

The trading market or market value of any publicly issued debt or convertible debt securities may be volatile.

If we publicly issue debt or convertible debt securities, they may or may not have an established trading market. We cannot assure investors that a trading market for our publicly issued debt or convertible debt securities would develop or be maintained if developed. In addition to our creditworthiness, many factors may have a material adverse effect on the trading market for, and market value of, our publicly issued debt or convertible debt securities including:

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There also may be a limited number of buyers for our debt securities. This too may have a material adverse effect the market value of the debt securities or the trading market for the debt securities. Our debt securities may include convertible features that cause them to more closely bear risks associated with an investment in our common stock.

Terms relating to redemption may have a material adverse effect on the return on any debt securities.

If we issue debt securities that are redeemable at our option, we may choose to redeem the debt securities at times when prevailing interest rates are lower than the interest rate paid on the debt securities. In addition, if the debt securities are subject to mandatory redemption, we may be required to redeem the debt securities at times when prevailing interest rates are lower than the interest rate paid on the debt securities. In this circumstance, a holder of our debt securities may not be able to reinvest the redemption proceeds in a comparable security at an effective interest rate as high as the debt securities being redeemed.

If we issue subscription rights or warrants for our common stock, your interest in us may be diluted as a result of such rights or warrants offering.

Stockholders who do not fully exercise rights or warrants issued to them in an offering of subscription rights or warrants to purchase our common stock should expect that they will, at the completion of an offering, own a smaller proportional interest in us than would otherwise be the case if they fully exercised their rights or warrants. We cannot state precisely the amount of any such dilution in share ownership because we do not know what proportion of the common stock would be purchased as a result of any such offering.

In addition, if the subscription price or warrant price is less than our net asset value per share of common stock at the time of such offering, then our stockholders would experience an immediate dilution of the aggregate net asset value of their shares as a result of the offering. The amount of any such decrease in net asset value is not predictable because it is not known at this time what the subscription price, warrant price or net asset value per share will be on the expiration date of such rights offering or what proportion of our common stock will be purchased as a result of any such offering.

We may experience fluctuations in our quarterly results.

We could experience fluctuations in our quarterly operating results due to a number of factors, including the interest rate payable on the debt securities we acquire, the default rate on such securities, the level of our expenses, 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. However, as a result of our irrevocable election to apply the fair value option to our Credit Facility future decreases of fair value of our debt will have a corresponding increase to our net asset value. Further increases of fair value of our debt will have the opposite effect. This will tend to mitigate volatility in our earnings and net asset value. As a result of these factors, results for any period should not be relied upon as being indicative of performance in future periods.

Changes in laws or regulations governing our operations may adversely affect our business.

We and our portfolio companies are subject to regulation by laws at the local, state and federal levels. These laws and regulations, as well as their interpretation, may be changed from time to time. Accordingly, any change in these laws or regulations could have a material adverse effect on our business. See “Regulation” for more information.

Our board of directors may change our investment objectives, 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 and value of our stock. Nevertheless, the effects may adversely affect our business and impact our ability to make distributions.

RISKS RELATING TO THE ILLIQUID NATURE OF OUR PORTFOLIO ASSETS

We invest in illiquid assets, and our valuation procedures with respect to such assets may result in recording values that are materially different than the values we ultimately receive upon disposition of such assets.

All of our investments are recorded using broker or dealer quotes, or at fair value as determined in good faith by our board of directors. We expect that primarily most, if not all, of our investments (other than cash and cash equivalents) and the fair value of our Credit Facility will be classified as Level 3 under Accounting Standards Codification, or ASC, 820, Fair Value Measurements. This means that our portfolio valuations will be based on unobservable inputs and our own assumptions about how market participants would price the asset or liability. We expect that inputs into the determination of fair value of our portfolio investments and Credit Facility borrowings will 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 materially reduces the reliability of such information.

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Determining fair value requires that judgment be applied to the specific facts and circumstances of each portfolio investment while employing a consistently applied valuation process for the types of investments we make. In determining fair value in good faith, we generally obtain financial and other information from portfolio companies, which may represent unaudited, projected or proforma financial information. Unlike banks, we are not permitted to provide a general reserve for anticipated loan losses; we are instead required by the 1940 Act to specifically fair value each individual investment on a quarterly basis. We record unrealized appreciation if we believe that the underlying portfolio company has appreciated in value. Likewise, we record unrealized depreciation if we believe that the underlying portfolio company has depreciated in value. As a result, there will be uncertainty as to the value of our portfolio investments.

We adjust quarterly the valuation of our portfolio to reflect our board of directors’ determination of the fair value of each investment in our portfolio. Any changes in fair value are recorded in the Consolidated Statement of Operations as net change in unrealized appreciation or depreciation.

At September 30, 2012, all of our portfolio assets are recorded at fair value as approved in good faith by our board of directors. As we invest a greater percentage of our total assets in private investments, more of our portfolio assets will be recorded at fair value as determined in good faith by our board of directors. Our board of directors uses the services of one or more nationally recognized independent valuation firms to aid it in determining the fair value of these securities. The factors that may be considered in fair value pricing of our investments include the nature and realizable value of any collateral, the portfolio company’s ability to make payments and its earnings and cash flows, the markets in which the portfolio company does business, comparison to publicly traded companies and other relevant factors. Because valuations may fluctuate over short periods of time and may be based on estimates, our determinations of fair value may differ materially from the value received in an actual transaction. Additionally, valuations of private securities and private companies are inherently uncertain. 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 securities.

The lack of liquidity in our investments may adversely affect our business.

We may acquire our investments directly from the issuer in privately negotiated transactions. Substantially all of these securities are subject to legal and other restrictions on resale or are otherwise less liquid than publicly traded securities. We typically exit our investments when the portfolio company has a liquidity event such as a sale, refinancing, or initial public offering of the company, but we are not required to do so.

The illiquidity of our investments may make it difficult or impossible for us to sell such investments if the need arises, particularly in light of recent market developments in which investor appetite for illiquid securities was substantially diminished. In addition, if we are required to liquidate all or a portion of our portfolio quickly, we may realize significantly less than the value at which we have previously recorded our investments, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations. In addition, we may face other restrictions on our ability to liquidate an investment in a portfolio company to the extent that we have material non-public information regarding such portfolio company.

Securities purchased by us that are liquid at the time of purchase may subsequently become illiquid due to events relating to the issuer of the securities, market events, economic conditions or investor perceptions. Domestic and foreign markets are complex and interrelated, so that events in one sector of the world markets or economy, or in one geographical region, can reverberate and have materially negative consequences for other market, economic or regional sectors in a manner that may not be foreseen and which may materially harm our business.

A general disruption in the credit markets could materially damage our business.

We are susceptible to the risk of significant loss if we are forced to discount the value of our investments in order to provide liquidity to meet our liability maturities. Our borrowings under our Credit Facility are collateralized by the assets in our investment portfolio. A general disruption in the credit markets could result in a diminished appetite for our securities. In addition, with respect to over-the-counter traded securities, the continued viability of any over-the-counter secondary market depends on the continued willingness of dealers and other participants to purchase the securities.

If the fair value of our assets declines substantially, we may fail to maintain the asset coverage ratios stipulated by the 1940 Act, which could, in turn, cause us to lose our status as a BDC and materially impair our business operations. Our liquidity could be impaired further by an inability to access the capital markets or to draw down our Credit Facility. These situations may arise due to circumstances that we may be unable to control, such as a general disruption in the credit markets, a severe decline in the value of the U.S. dollar, a sharp economic downturn or an operational problem that affects third parties or us, and could materially damage our business.

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We rely in part on our over-the-counter securities, which faced liquidity constraints under recent market conditions, to provide us with additional liquidity.

The market for other over-the-counter traded securities has weakened in the recent past as the viability of any over-the-counter secondary market depends on the continued willingness of dealers and other participants to purchase the securities.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR INVESTMENTS

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

We intend to invest primarily in senior secured loans, mezzanine debt and selected equity investments issued by U.S. middle-market companies.

In addition, investing in middle-market companies involves a number of significant risks, including:

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Under the 1940 Act we may invest up to 30% of our assets in investments that are not qualifying assets for business development companies under the 1940 Act. If we do not invest a sufficient portion of our assets in qualifying assets, we could be precluded from investing in assets that we deem to be attractive.

As a BDC, we may not acquire any asset other than qualifying assets, as defined under the 1940 Act, unless at the time the acquisition is made such qualifying assets represent at least 70% of the value of our total assets. Qualifying assets include investments in U.S. operating companies whose securities are not listed on a national securities exchange and companies listed on a national securities exchange subject to a maximum market capitalization of $250 million. Qualifying assets also include cash, cash equivalents, government securities and high quality debt securities maturing in one year or less from the time of investment.

We believe that most of our senior secured loans and mezzanine debt investments do and 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 will be prohibited from making any additional investment that is not a qualifying asset and could be forced to forgo attractive investment opportunities. 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 comply 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.

We are a non-diversified investment company within the meaning of the 1940 Act, and therefore we generally are not limited with respect to the proportion of our assets that may be invested in securities of a single issuer.

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, excluding limitations on investments in other investment companies. 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. Beyond our income tax diversification requirements, we do not have fixed guidelines for diversification, and our investments could be concentrated in relatively few portfolio companies.

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

Many of our portfolio companies are susceptible to economic slowdowns or recessions and may be unable to repay loans from us during these periods. Therefore, our non-performing assets are likely to increase, and the value of our portfolio is likely to decrease during these periods. 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 material 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 materially 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 potential termination of its loans and foreclosure on its secured assets, which could trigger cross-defaults under other agreements and jeopardize our portfolio company’s ability to meet its obligations under the debt securities that we hold. We may incur expenses to the extent necessary to seek recovery upon default or to negotiate new terms with a defaulting portfolio company. Depending on the facts and circumstances of our investments and the extent of our involvement in the management of a portfolio company, upon the bankruptcy of a portfolio company, a bankruptcy court may recharacterize our debt investments as equity investments and subordinate all or a portion of our claim to that of other creditors. This could occur regardless of how we may have structured our investment.

If we fail to make follow-on investments in our portfolio companies, this 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:

We have the discretion to make any follow-on investments, subject to the availability of capital resources. We may elect not to make follow-on investments or otherwise lack sufficient funds to make those investments. Any 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 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, because we prefer other opportunities, or because we are inhibited by compliance with BDC requirements or the desire to maintain our tax status.

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Because we do not generally hold controlling equity interests in our portfolio companies, we are not in a position to exercise control over our portfolio companies or to prevent decisions by management of our portfolio companies that could decrease the value of our investments.

Because we do not generally have controlling equity positions in our portfolio companies, we are subject to the risk that a portfolio company may make business decisions with which we disagree, and the stockholders and management of a portfolio company may take risks or otherwise act in ways that are adverse to our interests. Due to the lack of liquidity for the debt and equity investments that we typically hold in our portfolio companies, we may not be able to dispose of our investments in the event we disagree with the actions of a portfolio company, and may therefore suffer a decrease in the value of our investments.

An investment strategy focused primarily on privately held companies, including controlled equity interests, presents certain challenges, including the lack of available or comparable information about these companies, a dependence on the talents and efforts of only a few key portfolio company personnel and a greater vulnerability to economic downturns.

We have invested and intend to continue to invest primarily in privately held companies. Generally, little public information exists about these companies, and we will rely on the ability of our Investment Adviser’s investment professionals to obtain adequate information to evaluate the potential returns from investing in these companies. If they are unable to uncover all material information about these companies, we may not make a fully informed investment decision, and we may lose value on our investments. Also, privately held companies frequently have less diverse product lines and smaller market presence than larger competitors. These factors could have a material adverse effect on our investment returns as compared to companies investing primarily in the securities of public companies.

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

We invest primarily in senior secured loans, mezzanine debt and equity investments issued by our portfolio companies. The portfolio companies usually will have, or may be permitted to incur, other debt that ranks equally with, or senior to our investments. 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 in respect of the debt securities in which we invest. 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 obligation 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.

Our incentive fee may induce the Investment Adviser to make speculative investments.

The incentive fee payable by us to PennantPark Investment Advisers may create an incentive for PennantPark Investment Advisers to make investments on our behalf that are risky or more speculative than would be the case in the absence of such compensation arrangement. The incentive fee payable to our Investment Adviser is calculated based on a percentage of our return on invested capital. This may encourage our Investment Adviser to use leverage to increase the return on our investments. Under certain circumstances, the use of leverage may increase the likelihood of default, which would disfavor the holders of our common stock. In addition, our Investment Adviser will receive the incentive fee based, in part, upon net capital gains realized on our investments. Unlike that portion of the incentive fee based on income, there is no hurdle applicable to the portion of the incentive fee based on net capital gains. As a result, the Investment Adviser may have a tendency to invest more capital in investments that are likely to result in capital gains as compared to income producing securities. Such a practice could result in our investing in more speculative securities than would otherwise be the case, which could result in higher investment losses, particularly during economic downturns.

The part of our incentive fee payable to PennantPark Investment Advisers that relates to net investment income is computed and paid on income that has been accrued but that may not have been received in cash. PennantPark Investment Advisers is not obligated to reimburse us for any such incentive fees even if we subsequently incur losses or never receive in cash the deferred income that was previously accrued. As a result, there is a risk that we will pay incentive fees with respect to income that we never receive in cash.

We may make investments that cause our shareholders to bear investment advisory fees and other expenses on such investments in addition to our management fees and expenses.

We may invest, to the extent permitted by law, in the securities and instruments of other investment companies and companies that would be investment companies but are excluded from the definition of an investment company provided in Section 3(c) of the 1940 Act. To the extent we so invest, we will bear our ratable share of any such investment company’s expenses, including management and performance fees. We will also remain obligated to pay investment advisory fees, consisting of a base management fee and incentive fees, to PennantPark Investment Advisers with respect to investments in the securities and instruments of other investment companies under our Investment Management Agreement. With respect to any such investments, each of our stockholders will bear his or her share of the investment advisory fees of PennantPark Investment Advisers as well as indirectly bearing the investment advisory fees and other expenses of any investment companies in which we invest.

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We may be obligated to pay our Investment Adviser incentive compensation even if we incur a loss.

Our investment adviser is entitled to incentive compensation for each fiscal quarter in an amount equal to a percentage of the excess of our investment income for that quarter (before deducting incentive compensation, net operating losses and certain other items) above a threshold return for that quarter. Our pre-incentive fee net investment income for incentive compensation purposes excludes realized and unrealized capital losses that we may incur in the fiscal quarter, even if such capital losses result in a net loss on our Statement of Operations for that quarter. Thus, we may be required to pay our Investment Adviser incentive compensation for a fiscal quarter even if there is a decline in the value of our portfolio or we incur a net loss for that quarter.

The effect of global climate change may impact the operations of our portfolio companies.

There may be evidence of global climate change. Climate change creates physical and financial risk and some of our portfolio companies may be adversely affected by climate change. For example, the needs of customers of energy companies vary with weather conditions, primarily temperature and humidity. To the extent weather conditions are affected by climate change, energy use could increase or decrease depending on the duration and magnitude of any changes. Increases in the cost of energy could adversely affect the cost of operations of our portfolio companies if the use of energy products or services is material to their business. A decrease in energy use due to weather changes may affect some of our portfolio companies’ financial condition, through decreased revenues. Extreme weather conditions in general require more system backup, adding to costs, and can contribute to increased system stresses, including service interruptions.

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

Our investment strategy contemplates potential investments in securities of companies located outside of the United States. Investing in companies located outside of the United States 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, less liquid markets and less available information than is generally the case in the United States, 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 will be U.S. dollar-denominated, any investments denominated in a foreign currency will be subject to the risk that the value of a particular currency will 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.

We may expose ourselves to risks if we engage in hedging transactions.

If we engage in hedging transactions, we may expose ourselves to risks associated with such transactions. We may borrow under a credit facility in currencies selected to minimize our foreign currency exposure or use instruments such as forward contracts, currency options and interest rate swaps, caps, collars and floors to seek to hedge against fluctuations in the relative values of our portfolio positions from changes in currency exchange rates and market interest rates. 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. However, such hedging can establish other positions designed to gain from those same developments, thereby offsetting the decline in the value of such portfolio positions. Such hedging transactions may also limit the opportunity for gain if the values of the underlying portfolio positions should increase. 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.

While we may enter into such 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.

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RISKS RELATING TO AN INVESTMENT IN OUR COMMON STOCK

We may again obtain the approval of our stockholders to issue shares of our common stock at prices below the then current net asset value per share of our common stock. If we receive such approval from stockholders, in the future we may again issue shares of our common stock at a price below the then current net asset value per share of common stock. Any such issuance could materially dilute your interest in our common stock and reduce our net asset value per share.

We may again obtain the approval of our stockholders to issue shares of our common stock at prices below the then current net asset value per share of our common stock. Such approval has allowed, and may again allow, us to access the capital markets in a way that we typically are unable to do as a result of restrictions that, absent stockholder approval, apply to BDCs under the 1940 Act.

Any sale or other issuance of shares of our common stock at a price below net asset value per share has resulted and will continue to result in an immediate dilution to your interest in our common stock and a reduction of our 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 future shares of common stock that may be issued below our net asset value per share and the price and timing of such issuances are not currently known, we cannot predict the actual dilutive effect of any such issuance. We also cannot determine the resulting reduction in our net asset value per share of any such issuance at this time. We caution you that such effects may be material, and we undertake to describe all the material risks and dilutive effects of any offering that we make at a price below our then current net asset value in the future in a prospectus supplement issued in connection with any such offering.

There is a risk that our stockholders may not receive distributions or that our distributions may not grow over time.

We intend to make distributions on a quarterly basis to our stockholders out of assets legally available for distribution. We cannot assure you that we will achieve investment results that will allow us to make a specified level of cash distributions or year-to-year increases in cash distributions. In addition, due to the asset coverage ratio applicable to us as a BDC, we may be limited in our ability to make distributions. Further, if more stockholders opt to receive cash dividends and other distributions rather than participate in our dividend reinvestment plan, we may be forced to liquidate some of our investments and raise cash in order to make distribution payments, which could materially harm our business. Finally, to the extent we make distributions to stockholders which include a return of capital, that portion of the distribution essentially constitutes a return of the stockholders’ investment. Although such return of capital may not be taxable, such distributions may increase an investor’s tax liability for capital gains upon the future sale of our common stock.

Investing in our shares may involve an above average degree of risk.

The investments we make in accordance with our investment objectives may result in a higher amount of risk and volatility than alternative investment options or loss of principal. Our investments in portfolio companies may be highly speculative and aggressive and therefore, an investment in our shares may not be suitable for someone with lower risk tolerance.

We may allocate the net proceeds from an offering in ways with which you may not agree.

We have significant flexibility in investing the net proceeds of any offering of our securities and may use the net proceeds from an offering in ways with which you may not agree or for purposes other than those contemplated at the time of the offering.

Our shares may trade at discounts from net asset value or at premiums that are unsustainable over the long term.

Shares of BDCs may trade at a market price that is less than the net asset value that is attributable to those shares. Our shares have traded above and below our net asset value, or NAV. Our shares closed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market at $10.61 and $8.92 as of September 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively. Our NAV was $10.22 and $10.13 as of September 30, 2012 and 2011, respectively. The possibility that our shares of common stock will trade at a discount from NAV or at a premium that is unsustainable over the long term is separate and distinct from the risk that our NAV will decrease. It is not possible to predict whether our shares will trade at, above or below NAV in the future.

The market price of our common stock may fluctuate significantly.

The market price and liquidity of the market for shares of 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:

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Since our initial listing on the NASDAQ Global Select Market, our shares of common stock have traded at a wide range of prices. We can offer no assurance that our shares of common stock will not display similar volatility in future periods.

We may be unable to invest the net proceeds raised from offerings on acceptable terms, which would harm our financial condition and operating results.

Until we identify new investment opportunities, we intend to either invest the net proceeds of future offerings in cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and other high-quality debt investments that mature in one year or less or use the net proceeds from such offerings to reduce then-outstanding obligations under our Credit Facility. We cannot assure you that we will be able to find enough appropriate investments that meet our investment criteria or that any investment we complete using the proceeds from an offering will produce a sufficient return.

The SBA also limits an SBIC from investing idle funds in the following types of securities:

Sales of substantial amounts of our securities may have an adverse effect on the market price of our securities.

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

You may have current tax liabilities on distributions you reinvest in our common stock.

Under the dividend reinvestment plan, if you own shares of our common stock registered in your own name, you will have all cash distributions automatically reinvested in additional shares of our common stock unless you opt out of the dividend reinvestment plan by delivering a written notice to the plan administrator prior to the record date of the next dividend or distribution. If you have not “opted out” of the dividend reinvestment plan, you will be deemed to have received, and for federal income tax purposes will be taxed on, the amount reinvested in our common stock to the extent the amount reinvested was not a tax-free return of capital. As a result, you may have to use funds from other sources to pay your federal income tax liability on the value of the common stock received. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Liquidity and Capital Resources—Dividends and Distributions” for more information.

There is a risk that our common stockholders may receive our stock as dividends in which case they may be required to pay taxes in excess of the cash they receive.

We may distribute our common stock as a dividend of our taxable income and a shareholder could receive a portion of the dividends declared and distributed by us in shares of our common stock with the remaining amount in cash. A shareholder will be considered to have recognized dividend income equal to the fair market value of the stock paid by us plus cash received with respect to such dividend. The total dividend declared would be taxable income to a shareholder even though he or she may only receive a relatively small portion of the dividend in cash to pay any taxes due on the dividend. We have not elected to distribute stock as a dividend but reserve the right to do so.

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We incur significant costs as a result of being a publicly traded company.

As a publicly traded company, we incur legal, accounting and other expenses, including costs associated with the periodic reporting requirements applicable to a company whose securities are registered under the Exchange Act, as well as additional corporate governance requirements, including requirements under the Sarbanes Oxley Act, and other rules implemented by the SEC and the listing standards of NASDAQ.

Provisions of the Maryland General Corporation Law and of our charter and bylaws could deter takeover attempts and have an adverse impact on the price of our common stock.

The Maryland General Corporation Law, our charter and our bylaws contain provisions that may discourage, delay or make more difficult a change in control of PennantPark Investment Corporation or the removal of our directors. We are subject to the Maryland Business Combination Act, the application of which is subject to any applicable requirements of the 1940 Act. Our board of directors has adopted a resolution exempting from the Business Combination Act any business combination between us and any other person, subject to prior approval of such business combination by our board, including approval by a majority of our disinterested directors. If the resolution exempting business combinations is repealed or our board does not approve a business combination, the Business Combination Act may discourage third parties from trying to acquire control of us and increase the difficulty of consummating such an offer.

In addition, our bylaws exempt from the Maryland Control Share Acquisition Act acquisitions of our common stock by any person. If we amend our bylaws to repeal the exemption from such act, it may make it more difficult for a third party to obtain control of us and increase the difficulty of consummating such an offer. Our bylaws require us to consult with the SEC staff before we repeal such exemption. Also, our charter provides for classifying our board of directors in three classes serving staggered three-year terms, and provisions of our charter authorizes our board of directors to classify or reclassify shares of our stock in one or more classes or series, to cause the issuance of additional shares of our stock, and to amend our charter, without stockholder approval, to increase or decrease the number of shares of stock that we have authority to issue.

These anti-takeover provisions may inhibit a change of control in circumstances that could give our stockholders the opportunity to realize a premium over the market price for our common stock.

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None

As of September 30, 2012, we did not own any real estate or other physical properties materially important to our operation. We believe that the office facilities of the Investment Adviser are suitable and adequate for our business as it is contemplated to be conducted.

None of us, our Investment Adviser or our Administrator, is currently subject to any material legal proceedings, nor, to our knowledge, is any material legal proceeding threatened against us, or against our Investment Adviser or Administrator. From time to time, we, our Investment Adviser or Administrator may be a party to certain legal proceedings in the ordinary course of business, including proceedings relating to the enforcement of our rights under contracts with our portfolio companies. While the outcome of these legal proceedings cannot be predicted with certainty, we do not expect that these proceedings will have a material effect upon our financial condition of results of operations.

Not applicable.

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PART II

PRICE RANGE OF COMMON STOCK

Our common stock is traded on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “PNNT.” The following table lists the high and low closing sale price for our common stock, the closing sale price as a percentage of NAV and quarterly dividends per share since October 1, 2007.

Shares of BDCs may trade at a market price that is less than the NAV that is attributable to those shares. Our shares have traded above and below our NAV. Our shares closed on the NASDAQ Global Select Market at $10.61 and our NAV was $10.22 as of September 30, 2012. The possibility that our shares of common stock will trade at a discount from NAV or at a premium that is unsustainable over the long term is separate and distinct from the risk that our net asset value will decrease. It is not possible to predict whether our shares will trade at, above or below NAV in the future. As of November 13, 2012 we had 12 stockholders of record.

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DISTRIBUTIONS

We intend to continue making quarterly distributions to our stockholders. The timing and amount of our quarterly distributions, if any, is determined by our board of directors. Any distributions to our stockholders are declared out of assets legally available for distribution. We monitor available net investment income to determine if a tax return of capital may occur for the fiscal year. To the extent our taxable earnings fall below the total amount of our distributions for any given fiscal year, a portion of those distributions may be deemed to be a tax return of capital to our common stockholders. The following table reflects the cash distributions, including dividends and returns of capital per share that we have declared on our common stock since October 1, 2007 (See Note 8 to our Consolidated Financial Statements):

In January 2013, a Form 1099-DIV will be sent to stockholders that will state the amount and composition of distributions and provide information with respect to appropriate tax treatment of our distributions.

We maintain an “opt out” dividend reinvestment plan for our common stockholders. As a result, if we declare a dividend or other distribution, then stockholders’ cash distributions 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 distributions.

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. In addition, we may be limited in our ability to make dividends and distributions due to the asset coverage ratio for borrowings when applicable to us as a BDC under the 1940 Act and due to provisions in 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 our RIC status. We cannot assure stockholders that they will receive any dividends and distributions or dividends and distributions at a particular level.

Sale of Unregistered Securities

We did not engage in any sales of unregistered securities during the fiscal year ended September 30, 2012.

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Stock Performance Graph

This 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 five year period from September 30, 2007 through September 30, 2012. The graph assumes that, in October 2007, a person invested $100 in each of our common stock, the S&P 500 Index, and the Russell 2000 Financial Services Index. The graph measures total stockholder 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 Report 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 Exchange Act. The stock price performance included in the above graph is not necessarily indicative of future stock price performance.

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We have derived the financial information below from our audited and unaudited financial data and, in the opinion of management, such information reflects all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring adjustments) that are necessary to present fairly the results of such years. The Consolidated Statement of Operations data, Per share data and Consolidated Statement of Assets and Liabilities data for the fiscal years ended September 30, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009 and 2008 are derived from our Consolidated Financial Statements which have been audited by KPMG LLP, our independent registered public accounting firm. These selected financial data should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and related notes thereto and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”

SEE NOTES TO CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

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