Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2)
Registration No. 333-250189

The information in this preliminary prospectus supplement is not complete and may be changed. A registration statement relating to these securities has been filed with and declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission. This preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus are not an offer to sell and are not soliciting offers to buy these securities in any state where such offer or sale is not permitted.

GOLDMAN SACHS BDC, INC.

$                

    % Notes due 20    

Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc. (“GS BDC”) is offering $                million in aggregate principal amount of its    % notes due 20     (the “Notes”). The Notes will mature on                , 20    . GS BDC will pay interest on the Notes on                 and                of each year, beginning                , 2021.

GS BDC may redeem the Notes in whole or in part at any time or from time to time at the redemption price discussed under the caption “Description of the Notes—Optional Redemption” in this prospectus supplement. In addition, holders of the Notes can require GS BDC to repurchase the Notes at 100% of their principal amount upon the occurrence of a Change of Control Repurchase Event (as defined herein). The Notes will be issued in minimum denominations of $2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof.

The Notes will be GS BDC’s direct unsecured obligations and rank pari passu, or equal, in right of payment with all outstanding and future unsecured unsubordinated indebtedness issued by GS BDC. As of September 30, 2020, GS BDC’s total indebtedness was approximately $920.1 million aggregate principal amount outstanding, of which approximately $405.1 million was secured by a first priority security interest in substantially all of GS BDC’s portfolio of investments and cash, with certain exceptions, and therefore, effectively and/or structurally senior to the Notes. As of September 30, 2020, and after giving effect to the Merger (as defined below) and related transactions, GS BDC’s total indebtedness would have been approximately $1,763.3 million aggregate principal amount outstanding, of which approximately $1,248.3 million was secured by a first priority security interest in substantially all of GS BDC’s portfolio of investments and cash, with certain exceptions, and therefore, effectively senior and/or structurally senior to the Notes. As of September 30, 2020, after giving effect to the issuance of the Notes and the Merger and related transactions, GS BDC’s total indebtedness would have been approximately $                 million aggregate principal amount outstanding. As of September 30, 2020, after giving effect to the issuance of the Notes and the Merger and related transactions, GS BDC’s asset coverage ratio based on the aggregate amount outstanding of its senior securities would have been     %. The Notes are a new issue of debt securities and there currently is no trading market for the Notes.

GS BDC is an externally managed specialty finance company that is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). GS BDC is focused on lending to “middle-market companies,” a term it generally uses to refer to companies with between $5 million and $200 million of annual earnings before interest expense, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) excluding certain one-time, and non-recurring items that are outside the operations of these companies. GS BDC’s investment objective is to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation primarily through direct originations of secured debt, including first lien, unitranche, including last out portions of such loans, second lien debt, and unsecured debt, including mezzanine debt, as well as through select equity investments.

GS BDC is managed by its investment adviser, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. (“GSAM”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (“Group Inc.”). Group Inc., together with Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (including its predecessors, “GS & Co.”), GSAM and its other subsidiaries and affiliates, is referred to herein as “Goldman Sachs.”

This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus contains important information you should know before investing in the Notes. GS BDC may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you in connection with this offering. You should carefully read this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, and any related free writing prospectus, and any information incorporated by reference into each, before investing in the Notes and keep them for future reference. GS BDC files annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information about itself with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). You may obtain this information by written or oral request and free of charge by contacting GS BDC at 71 S Wacker Drive, Suite 500, Chicago, Illinois, 60606, Attention: AI Shareholder Services, on its website at www.goldmansachsbdc.com, or by calling collect at (312) 655-4702. Information contained on GS BDC’s website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, and you should not consider that information to be a part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. The SEC also maintains a website at http://www.sec.gov that contains this information.

Investing in the Notes involves a high degree of risk, and is highly speculative. Before investing in the Notes, you should read the discussion of the material risks of investing in GS BDC’s securities in “Risk Factors” beginning on page S-15 of this prospectus supplement and page 15 of the accompanying prospectus.

The securities in which GS BDC invests are generally not rated by any rating agency, and if they were rated, they would be below investment grade (rated lower than “Baa3” by Moody’s Investors Service and lower than “BBB-” by Fitch Ratings or Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (“S&P”)). These securities, which may be referred to as “junk bonds,” “high yield bonds” or “leveraged loans,” have predominantly speculative characteristics with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal.

Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

Delivery of the Notes in book-entry only form through The Depository Trust Company is expected to be made on or about                 , 2020.

Joint Book-Running Managers

The date of this prospectus supplement is November    , 2020.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

PROSPECTUS

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ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS SUPPLEMENT

This document is in two parts. The first part is this prospectus supplement, which describes the terms of this offering of Notes and also adds to and updates information contained in the accompanying prospectus and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. The second part is the accompanying prospectus, which provides more information about us and related matters. To the extent the information contained in this prospectus supplement differs from the information contained in the accompanying prospectus or any document filed prior to the date of this prospectus supplement and incorporated herein by reference, the information in this prospectus supplement shall control. Generally, when we refer to this “prospectus,” we are referring to both this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus combined, together with any free writing prospectus that we have authorized for use in connection with this offering.

You should rely only on the information contained in or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or in any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of GS BDC that relates to this offering of Notes. GS BDC has not, and the underwriters have not, authorized any other person to provide you with different information or to make any representations not contained in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or in any free writing prospectus prepared by or on behalf of us that relates to this offering of Notes. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. GS BDC is not, and the underwriters are not, making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information appearing in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or any such free writing prospectus is accurate as of any date other than their respective dates, or that any information incorporated by reference herein or therein is accurate as of any date other than the date of the document incorporated by reference, regardless of the time of delivery of this prospectus supplement or sale of the Notes offered hereby. GS BDC’s business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects may have changed since such dates.

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in the Notes involves a significant number of risks. You should carefully consider these risk factors, together with all of the other information included in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference, and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize for us in connection with this offering, before you decide whether to make an investment in the Notes. The risks set forth below are not the only risks GS BDC faces, and GS BDC may face other risks that it has not yet identified, which it does not currently deem material or which are not yet predictable. If any of the following risks occur, GS BDC’s business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. In such case, GS BDC’s NAV and the trading price of the Notes could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

Risks Relating to the Notes

The Notes will be unsecured and therefore will be effectively subordinated to any secured indebtedness GS BDC has currently incurred or may incur in the future.

The Notes will not be secured by any of GS BDC’s assets or any of the assets of GS BDC’s subsidiaries. As a result, the Notes will be effectively subordinated, or junior, to any secured indebtedness or other obligations GS BDC or its subsidiaries have currently incurred and may incur in the future (or any indebtedness that is initially unsecured that GS BDC later secures) to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness. The Revolving Credit Facility is currently secured by a first priority security interest in substantially all of GS BDC’s portfolio of investments and cash, with certain exceptions. In any liquidation, dissolution, bankruptcy or other similar proceeding, the holders of any of GS BDC’s existing or future secured indebtedness and the secured indebtedness of its subsidiaries may assert rights against the assets pledged to secure that indebtedness in order to receive full payment of their indebtedness before the assets may be used to pay other creditors, including the holders of the Notes. Secured indebtedness is effectively senior to the Notes to the extent of the value of such assets. As of September 30, 2020, and after giving effect to the Merger and related transactions, GS BDC had $1,763.3 million of indebtedness outstanding, of which $515.0 million was unsecured and unsubordinated, and $1,248.3 million was secured, and, therefore, effectively senior to the Notes. After giving effect to the issuance of the Notes and the Merger and related transactions, GS BDC’s total indebtedness would have been approximately $             million aggregate principal amount outstanding as of September 30, 2020.

The Notes will be structurally subordinated to the indebtedness and other liabilities of GS BDC’s subsidiaries.

The Notes are obligations exclusively of GS BDC and not of any of its subsidiaries. None of GS BDC’s subsidiaries are guarantors of the Notes and the Notes are not required to be guaranteed by any subsidiaries GS BDC may acquire or create in the future. Except to the extent GS BDC is a creditor with recognized claims against its subsidiaries, all claims of creditors (including trade creditors) and holders of preferred stock, if any, of GS BDC’s subsidiaries will have priority over GS BDC’s equity interests in such subsidiaries (and therefore the claims of GS BDC’s creditors, including holders of the Notes) with respect to the assets of such subsidiaries. Even if GS BDC is recognized as a creditor of one or more of its subsidiaries, GS BDC’s claims would still be effectively subordinated to any security interests in the assets of any such subsidiary and to any indebtedness or other liabilities of any such subsidiary senior to GS BDC’s claims. Consequently, the Notes will be structurally subordinated, or junior, to all future indebtedness and other obligations (including trade payables) incurred by any of GS BDC’s subsidiaries or financing vehicles that are subsidiaries of GS BDC and any subsidiaries or financing vehicles that GS BDC may in the future acquire or establish. As of September 30, 2020, and after giving effect to the Merger and related transactions, GS BDC’s subsidiaries had no indebtedness outstanding. However, GS BDC’s subsidiaries may incur indebtedness in the future, all of which would be structurally senior to the Notes.

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GS BDC’s current indebtedness could adversely affect its business, financial condition and results of operations and its ability to meet its payment obligations under the Notes and its other debt.

As of September 30, 2020, GS BDC’s total indebtedness was approximately $920.1 million aggregate principal amount outstanding, of which approximately $405.1 million was secured by a first priority security interest in substantially all of GS BDC’s portfolio of investments and cash, with certain exceptions, and therefore, effectively senior to the Notes. As of September 30, 2020, and after giving effect to the Merger and related transactions, GS BDC’s total indebtedness would have been approximately $1,763.3 million aggregate principal amount outstanding, of which approximately $1,248.3 million was secured by a first priority security interest in substantially all of GS BDC’s portfolio of investments and cash, with certain exceptions, and therefore, effectively and/or structurally senior to the Notes. After giving effect to the issuance of the Notes, GS BDC’s total indebtedness would have been approximately $             million aggregate principal amount outstanding as of September 30, 2020. After giving effect to the issuance of the Notes and the Merger and related transactions, GS BDC’s total indebtedness would have been approximately $             million aggregate principal amount outstanding as of September 30, 2020. The use of debt could have significant consequences on GS BDC’s future operations, including:

Any of these factors could have an adverse effect on GS BDC’s business, financial condition and results of operations and its ability to meet its payment obligations under the Notes and its other debt.

GS BDC’s ability to meet its payment and other obligations under its debt instruments depends on its ability to generate significant cash flow in the future. This, to some extent, is subject to general economic, financial, competitive, legislative and regulatory factors as well as other factors that are beyond GS BDC’s control.

GS BDC cannot assure you that its business will generate sufficient cash flow from operations or that future borrowings will be available to GS BDC under its financing arrangements or otherwise in an amount sufficient to enable it to pay its indebtedness, including the Notes, or to fund its other liquidity needs. GS BDC may need to refinance all or a portion of its indebtedness, including the Notes, on or before its maturity. The conditions of the financial markets and prevailing interest rates have fluctuated in the past and are likely to fluctuate in the future. GS BDC cannot assure you that it will be able to refinance any of its indebtedness on commercially reasonable terms or at all. If GS BDC cannot service its indebtedness, GS BDC may have to take actions such as selling assets or seeking additional equity. GS BDC cannot assure you that any such actions, if necessary, could be effected on commercially reasonable terms or at all, or on terms that would not be disadvantageous to GS BDC or on terms that would not require it to breach the terms and conditions of GS BDC’s existing or future debt agreements, including its payment obligations under the Notes.

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A downgrade, suspension or withdrawal of the credit rating assigned by a rating agency to GS BDC or the Notes, if any, or change in the debt markets, could cause the liquidity or market value of the Notes to decline significantly.

GS BDC’s credit ratings are an assessment by rating agencies of its ability to pay its debts when due. Consequently, actual or anticipated changes in GS BDC’s credit ratings will generally affect the market value of the Notes. These credit ratings may not reflect the potential impact of risks relating to the structure or marketing of the Notes. Credit ratings are not a recommendation to buy, sell or hold any security, and may be revised or withdrawn at any time by the issuing organization in its sole discretion. Neither GS BDC nor any underwriter undertakes any obligation to maintain GS BDC’s credit ratings or to advise holders of Notes of any changes in GS BDC’s credit ratings.

The indenture will contain limited protection for holders of the Notes.

The indenture offers limited protection to holders of the Notes. The terms of the indenture and the Notes do not restrict GS BDC’s or any of its subsidiaries’ ability to engage in, or otherwise be a party to, a variety of corporate transactions, circumstances or events that could have an adverse impact on your investment in the Notes. In particular, the terms of the indenture and the Notes will not place any restrictions on GS BDC’s or its subsidiaries’ ability to:

Furthermore, the terms of the indenture and the Notes do not protect holders of the Notes in the event that GS BDC experiences changes (including significant adverse changes) in its financial condition, results of operations or credit ratings, as they do not require that GS BDC or its subsidiaries adhere to any financial tests or ratios or specified levels of net worth, revenues, income, cash flow or liquidity.

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GS BDC’s ability to recapitalize, incur additional debt and take a number of other actions that are not limited by the terms of the Notes may have important consequences for you as a holder of the Notes, including making it more difficult for GS BDC to satisfy its obligations with respect to the Notes or negatively affecting the trading value of the Notes.

Certain of GS BDC’s current debt instruments include more protections for their holders than the indenture and the Notes. In addition, other debt GS BDC issues or incurs in the future could contain more protections for its holders than the indenture and the Notes, including additional covenants and events of default. The issuance or incurrence of any such debt with incremental protections could affect the market for and trading levels and prices of the Notes.

The optional redemption provision may materially adversely affect your return on the Notes.

The Notes are redeemable in whole or in part at any time or from time to time at GS BDC’s option. GS BDC may choose to redeem the Notes at times when prevailing interest rates are lower than the interest rate paid on the Notes. In this circumstance, you may not be able to reinvest the redemption proceeds in a comparable security at an effective interest rate as high as that of the Notes being redeemed.

If GS BDC defaults on its obligations to pay its other indebtedness, GS BDC may not be able to make payments on the Notes.

Any default under the agreements governing GS BDC’s indebtedness, or under other indebtedness to which GS BDC may be a party, that is not waived by the required lenders or holders, and the remedies thereunder that are sought by the holders of such indebtedness, could make GS BDC unable to pay principal, premium, if any, and interest on the Notes and substantially decrease the market value of the Notes.

If GS BDC is unable to generate sufficient cash flow and is otherwise unable to obtain funds necessary to meet required payments of principal, premium, if any, and interest on GS BDC’s indebtedness, or if GS BDC otherwise fails to comply with the various covenants, including financial and operating covenants, in the instruments governing GS BDC’s indebtedness, GS BDC could be in default under the terms of the agreements governing such indebtedness. In the event of such default, the holders of such indebtedness could elect to declare all the funds borrowed thereunder to be due and payable, together with accrued and unpaid interest; the lenders under GS BDC’s current indebtedness or other debt GS BDC may incur in the future could elect to terminate their commitments, cease making further loans and institute foreclosure proceedings against GS BDC’s assets; and GS BDC could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.

If GS BDC’s operating performance declines, GS BDC may in the future need to seek to obtain waivers from the required lenders or holders under the agreements governing its indebtedness, or other indebtedness that GS BDC may incur in the future, to avoid being in default. If GS BDC breaches its covenants under the agreements governing its indebtedness and seeks a waiver, GS BDC may not be able to obtain a waiver from the required lenders or holders. If this occurs, GS BDC would be in default and its lenders or debt holders could exercise their rights as described above, and GS BDC could be forced into bankruptcy or liquidation.

If GS BDC is unable to repay debt, lenders having secured obligations, including the lenders under the Revolving GS BDC Credit Facility, could proceed against the collateral securing the debt. Because GS BDC’s Revolving Credit Facility and its outstanding Convertible Notes have, the indenture will have, and any future debt will likely have, customary cross-default provisions, if the indebtedness thereunder, hereunder or under any future credit facility is accelerated, GS BDC may be unable to repay or finance the amounts due. See “Description of the Notes” in this prospectus supplement.

GS BDC may not be able to repurchase the Notes upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event.

Upon the occurrence of a Change of Control Repurchase Event, as defined in the indenture that governs the Notes, subject to certain conditions, GS BDC will be required to offer to repurchase all outstanding Notes at

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100% of their principal amount, plus accrued and unpaid interest. The source of funds for that purchase of Notes will be GS BDC’s available cash or cash generated from GS BDC’s operations or other potential sources, including borrowings, investment repayments, sales of assets or sales of equity. GS BDC cannot assure you that sufficient funds from such sources will be available at the time of any Change of Control Repurchase Event to make required repurchases of Notes tendered. Before making any such repurchase of Notes, GS BDC would also have to comply with certain requirements under the Revolving Credit Facility, to the extent such requirements remain in effect at such time, or otherwise obtain consent from the lenders under the Revolving Credit Facility. In addition, the indenture governing the Convertible Notes contains a provision that would require GS BDC to offer to purchase the Convertible Notes upon the occurrence of a fundamental change. GS BDC’s future debt instruments may also contain similar restrictions and provisions. If the holders of the Notes exercise their right to require GS BDC to repurchase the Notes upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event, the financial effect of this repurchase could cause a default under GS BDC’s existing or future debt instruments, even if the Change of Control Repurchase Event itself would not cause a default. It is possible that GS BDC will not have sufficient funds at the time of the Change of Control Repurchase Event to make the required repurchase of the Notes or GS BDC’s other debt. See “Description of the Notes—Offer to Repurchase Upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event”.

An increase in market interest rates could result in a decrease in the market value of the Notes.

The condition of the financial markets and prevailing interest rates have fluctuated in the past and are likely to fluctuate in the future, which could have an adverse effect on the market prices of the Notes. In general, as market interest rates rise, debt securities bearing interest at fixed rates of interest decline in value. Consequently, if you purchase the Notes and market interest rates increase, the market value of the Notes may decline. We cannot predict the future level of market interest rates.

If an active trading market does not develop for the Notes, you may not be able to resell them.

The Notes are a new issue of debt securities and there currently is no trading market for the Notes. GS BDC does not intend to apply for listing of the Notes on any securities exchange or for quotation of the Notes on any automated dealer quotation system. If no active trading market develops, you may not be able to resell the Notes at their fair market value or at all. If the Notes are traded after their initial issuance, they may trade at a discount from their initial offering price depending on prevailing interest rates, the market for similar securities, GS BDC’s credit ratings, general economic conditions, GS BDC’s financial condition, performance and prospects and other factors. Certain of the underwriters have advised GS BDC that they currently intend to make a market in the Notes after the offering, but they are not obligated to do so. Such underwriters may discontinue any market-making in the Notes at any time at their sole discretion. In addition, any market-making activity will be subject to limits imposed by law. Accordingly, GS BDC cannot assure you that a liquid trading market will develop for the Notes, that you will be able to sell the Notes at a particular time or that the price you receive when you sell will be favorable. To the extent an active trading market does not develop, the liquidity and trading price for the Notes may be harmed. Accordingly, you may be required to bear the financial risk of an investment in the Notes for an indefinite period of time.

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USE OF PROCEEDS

GS BDC estimates that the net proceeds that it will receive from this offering will be approximately $                million, based on an offering price of $                 per $1,000 principal amount of Notes, after deducting fees paid to the underwriters and estimated offering expenses of approximately $                 million payable by GS BDC. This estimate is subject to change and no assurances can be given that actual expenses will not exceed such amount.

GS BDC intends to use the net proceeds of this offering to pay down a portion of the Revolving Credit Facility on or about the date of the closing of this offering. After giving effect to the issuance of the Notes and the Merger and related transactions, assuming the proceeds therefrom are used to repay outstanding borrowings under the Revolving Credit Facility, approximately $                million would have been outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility as of September 30, 2020. However, through reborrowing under the Revolving Credit Facility, GS BDC intends to make new investments in accordance with its investment objective and strategies described in this prospectus supplement. For the nine months ended September 30, 2020, amounts outstanding under the Revolving Credit Facility bore interest at a weighted average interest rate of 2.69%. The Revolving Credit Facility matures in full on February 25, 2025. Affiliates of certain of the underwriters are lenders under the Revolving Credit Facility. Accordingly, affiliates of certain of the underwriters may receive more than 5% of the proceeds of this offering to the extent the proceeds are used to pay down outstanding indebtedness under the Revolving Credit Facility.

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CAPITALIZATION

The following table sets forth:

You should read this table together with “Use of Proceeds” and the consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto of GS BDC and GS MMLC and the unaudited pro forma condensed consolidated financial statements and the related notes thereto, included elsewhere in or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

Information included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus and in any free writing prospectus relating to this offering of Notes contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “target,” “estimate,” “intend,” “continue” or “believe” or the negatives of, or other variations on, these terms or comparable terminology. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss our plans, strategies, prospects and expectations concerning our business, operating results, financial condition and other similar matters. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. Our forward-looking statements include information in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus regarding general domestic and global economic conditions, our future financing plans, our ability to operate as a BDC and the expected performance of, and the yield on, our portfolio companies. In particular, there are forward-looking statements under “Prospectus Summary—Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc.,” “Business” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” There may be events in the future, however, that we are not able to predict accurately or control. The factors listed under “Risk Factors,” as well as any cautionary language included or incorporated by reference in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus, and in any free writing prospectus relating to this offering of Notes, provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. The occurrence of the events described in these risk factors and elsewhere in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial position. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus speaks only as of the date of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. You are advised to consult any additional disclosures that we may make directly to you or through reports that we have filed or in the future may file with the SEC, including our joint proxy statement and prospectus that forms part of a registration statement on Form N-14, filed with the SEC on August 4, 2020, and our annual reports on Form 10-K, registration statements on Form N-2, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Under Section 27A(b)(2)(B) and (D) of the Securities Act and Section 21E(b)(2)(B) and (D) of the Exchange Act, the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 do not apply to statements made in connection with any offering of securities pursuant to this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or in the periodic reports we file under the Exchange Act.

The following factors are among those that may cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements:

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CERTAIN U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS

The following discussion is a general summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to the ownership and disposition of the Notes. This summary applies only to beneficial owners of the Notes that acquire the Notes for cash in this offering for a price equal to the “issue price” of the Notes (i.e., the first price at which a substantial amount of the Notes is sold for money to investors, other than to bond houses, brokers, or similar persons or organizations acting in the capacity of underwriters, placement agents or wholesalers) and hold the Notes as capital assets (generally, assets held for investment). The discussion is based upon the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, the regulations of the U.S. Department of Treasury promulgated thereunder (the “Treasury regulations”) the legislative history of the Code, current administrative interpretations and practices of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”) (including administrative interpretations and practices of the IRS expressed in private letter rulings which are binding on the IRS only with respect to the particular taxpayers that requested and received those rulings), and judicial decisions, each as of the date of this prospectus supplement and all of which are subject to change or differing interpretations, possibly retroactively, which could affect the continuing validity of this discussion. GS BDC has not sought, and will not seek, any ruling from the IRS with respect to any of the matters discussed in this summary, and this summary is not binding on the IRS. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the IRS will not assert, and a court will not sustain, a position contrary to any of the tax considerations discussed below.

You should note that this summary is necessarily general and does not purport to be a complete description of all the tax aspects affecting the beneficial owners of the Notes. For example, this summary does not describe all of the U.S. federal income tax consequences and other considerations that may be relevant to certain types of beneficial owners of the Notes subject to special treatment under the U.S. federal income tax laws, including persons subject to the alternative minimum tax, tax-exempt organizations, insurance companies, partnerships or other pass-through entities and their owners, Non-U.S. holders (as defined below) engaged in a trade or business in the United States or entitled to claim the benefits of an applicable income tax treaty, persons who have ceased to be U.S. citizens or to be taxed as residents of the United States, U.S. holders (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar, persons holding the Notes in connection with a hedging, straddle, conversion or other integrated transaction, dealers in securities, traders in securities that elect to use a mark-to-market method of accounting for securities holdings, pension plans, trusts, and financial institutions. This summary does not discuss any aspects of U.S. estate or gift taxation, U.S. state or local taxation or non-U.S. taxation.

U.S. holders that use an accrual method of accounting for U.S. federal income tax purposes generally are required to include certain amounts in income no later than the time such amounts are reflected on certain applicable financial statements. The application of this rule may require the accrual of income earlier than would be the case under the general U.S. federal income tax rules described below. U.S. holders that use an accrual method of accounting for U.S. federal income tax purposes should consult with their tax advisers regarding the potential applicability of this rule to their particular situation. The remainder of this summary does not address the application of the foregoing rule.

For purposes of this discussion, a “U.S. holder” is a beneficial owner of a Note that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:

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For purposes of this discussion, a “Non-U.S. holder” is a beneficial owner of a Note that is not a U.S. holder and not a partnership (or an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership) for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

If a partnership (or other entity or arrangement treated as a partnership) for U.S. federal income tax purposes holds the Notes, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend on the status of the partner, the activities of the partnership and certain determinations made at the partner level. A partnership holding the Notes, and each partner in such a partnership, should consult his, her or its own tax adviser with respect to the tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of the Notes.

Tax matters are very complicated and the tax consequences to each beneficial owner of the ownership and disposition of shares of the Notes will depend on the facts of his, her or its particular situation. Each beneficial owner should consult its own tax adviser regarding the specific tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of shares of the Notes to such beneficial owner, including tax reporting requirements, the applicability of U.S. federal, state and local tax laws and non-U.S. tax laws, eligibility for the benefits of any applicable income tax treaty and the effect of any possible changes in the tax laws.

Taxation of U.S. Holders of the Notes

The following discussion only applies to U.S. holders of the Notes. Prospective holders of the Notes that are not U.S. holders should refer to “—Taxation of Non-U.S. Holders of the Notes” below.

Payments of Stated Interest

Stated interest on the Notes will be included in a U.S. holder’s gross income and taxed as ordinary interest income at the time such interest is accrued or received in accordance with the U.S. holder’s method of accounting for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Sale, Exchange, Redemption, Retirement or Other Taxable Disposition

A U.S. holder will generally recognize taxable gain or loss upon the sale, exchange, redemption, retirement or other taxable disposition (each a “disposition”) of a Note equal to the difference between the amount realized on the disposition (less any amount attributable to accrued but unpaid stated interest on such Note, which will be taxed as interest income to the extent not previously so taxed) and the U.S. holder’s tax basis in the Note. A U.S. holder’s tax basis in a Note generally will be equal to the amount paid by the U.S. holder for the Note. Any gain or loss recognized on a taxable disposition of the Note will generally constitute capital gain or loss. A non-corporate U.S. holder whose holding period for the Note exceeds one year at the time of disposition generally will be eligible for reduced rates of taxation on such gain. The ability to deduct capital losses is limited.

Information Reporting and Backup Withholding

Information returns will generally be filed with the IRS in connection with payments on the Notes and the proceeds from a sale or other disposition of the Notes. The relevant withholding agent may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax (“backup withholding”), at a current rate of 24%, from any such payments to a U.S. holder of the Notes, unless the U.S. holder provides its correct taxpayer identification number and complies with the requirements of the backup withholding rules or establishes for an exemption from backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax, and any amount withheld under the backup withholding rules is allowed as a credit against the U.S. holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability (which may entitle the U.S. holder to a refund if the amount withheld exceeds such tax liability), provided that proper information is timely furnished to the IRS.

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Medicare Tax on Net Investment Income

A U.S. holder that is an individual or estate, or a trust that does not fall into a special class of trusts that is exempt from such tax, will generally be subject to a 3.8% tax on the lesser of (i) the U.S. holder’s “net investment income” (or “undistributed net investment income” in the case of an estate or trust) for a taxable year and (ii) the excess of the U.S. holder’s modified adjusted gross income for such taxable year over a certain threshold, which for individuals is generally $200,000 ($250,000 in the case of joint filers and $125,000 in the case of married individuals filing separately). For these purposes, “net investment income” will generally include interest paid with respect to the Notes and net gain attributable to the disposition of the Notes (in each case, unless such Notes are held in connection with certain trades or businesses), but will be reduced by any deductions properly allocable to such interest or net gain.

Taxation of Non-U.S. Holders of the Notes

The following discussion only applies to Non-U.S. holders of the Notes. Prospective holders of the Notes that are U.S. holders should refer to “—Taxation of U.S. Holders of the Notes” above.

U.S. Federal Withholding Tax

Subject to the discussions below under “Information Reporting and Backup Withholding” and “Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act,” U.S. federal withholding tax generally will not apply to payments of stated interest on the Notes, under the “portfolio interest” exception of the Code, provided that:

If a Non-U.S. holder cannot satisfy the requirements described above, payments of stated interest made to the Non-U.S. holder will be subject to a 30% U.S. federal withholding tax, unless the Non-U.S. holder provides the applicable withholding agent with a properly executed (1) IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E (or other applicable form) claiming an exemption from or reduction in withholding under the benefit of an applicable income tax treaty between the United States and its country of residence or (2) IRS Form W-8ECI (or other applicable form) stating that interest paid on the Notes is not subject to withholding tax because it is effectively connected with the Non-U.S. holder’s conduct of a trade or business in the United States (in which case the Non-U.S. holder will be subject to U.S. federal income tax in respect of interest income on the Notes in the same manner as a U.S. holder). For a corporate Non-U.S. holder, any effectively connected interest income may, under certain circumstances, be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate (or at a lower rate if provided for by an applicable income tax treaty).

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Any gain recognized by a Non-U.S. holder upon a disposition of a Note (other than any amount representing accrued but unpaid stated interest, which is treated as described immediately above) generally will not be subject to U.S. federal withholding tax, subject to the discussions below regarding backup withholding and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act.

U.S. Federal Income Tax

Except for the possible application of U.S. federal withholding tax discussed above, and subject to the discussions below regarding backup withholding and the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, a Non-U.S. holder generally will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on payments of principal of and stated interest on the Notes, or on any gain realized from (or accrued stated interest treated as received in connection with) the sale, exchange or other disposition of a Note, unless:

A Non-U.S. holder described in the second bullet point above will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the interest or the net gain derived from the sale or other disposition in the same manner as a U.S. holder. If a Non-U.S. holder is eligible for the benefits of an applicable income tax treaty between the United States and its country of residence, any such interest or gain will be subject to U.S. federal income tax in the manner specified by the treaty and generally will only be subject to such tax if such interest or gain is attributable to a permanent establishment maintained by the Non-U.S. holder in the United States. To claim the benefit of a treaty, a Non-U.S. holder must properly submit an IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E (or suitable successor or substitute form). For a corporate Non-U.S. holder, any effectively connected gain may, under certain circumstances, be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate (or at a lower rate if provided for by an applicable income tax treaty). A Non-U.S. holder described in the third bullet point above will be subject to a flat 30% (or a lower rate if provided for by an applicable income tax treaty) U.S. federal income tax on the gain derived from the sale or other disposition, which may be offset by U.S. source capital losses, even though the Non-U.S. holder is not considered a resident of the United States.

Information Reporting and Backup Withholding

Generally, payors must report to the IRS and to Non-U.S. holders the amount of interest paid to the Non-U.S. holder and the amount of tax, if any, withheld with respect to those payments. Copies of the information returns reporting such interest payments and any withholding may also be made available to the tax authorities in the country in which the holder resides under the provisions of an applicable tax treaty or agreement.

In general, a Non-U.S. holder will not be subject to backup withholding with respect to payments of interest if the Non-U.S. holder has provided the statement described above in the fifth bullet point under “—Taxation of Non-U.S. Holders of the Notes—U.S. Federal Withholding Tax.” A Non-U.S. holder will be subject to information reporting and, depending on the circumstances, backup withholding with respect to the proceeds of the sale or other disposition (including a redemption or retirement) of Notes within the United States or conducted through certain U.S.-related payors, unless the payor of the proceeds receives the statement described

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above or the Non-U.S. holder otherwise establishes an exemption. Backup withholding is not an additional tax, and any amount withheld under the backup withholding rules is allowed as a credit against the Non-U.S. holder’s U.S. federal income tax liability (which may entitle the Non-U.S. holder to a refund if the amount withheld exceeds such tax liability), provided that proper information is timely provided to the IRS.

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act

The Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act and related Treasury guidance (collectively referred to as “FATCA”) impose U.S. federal withholding tax at a rate of 30% on payments to certain foreign entities of (i) U.S.-source interest (including interest paid on the Notes) and (ii) the gross proceeds from the sale or other disposition of an obligation that produces U.S.-source interest (including a disposition of the Notes). Proposed Treasury regulations that may be relied upon pending finalization provide that FATCA withholding on gross proceeds will be eliminated and, consequently, FATCA withholding on gross proceeds is not currently expected to apply. This withholding tax applies to a foreign entity, whether acting as a beneficial owners or an intermediary, unless such foreign entity complies with (i) certain information reporting requirements regarding its U.S. account holders and its U.S. owners and (ii) certain withholding obligations regarding certain payments to its account holders and certain other persons. Accordingly, the entity through which a U.S. holder or a Non-U.S. holder holds its Notes will affect the determination of whether such withholding is required. GS BDC will not pay any additional amounts to U.S. holders or Non-U.S. holders in respect of any amounts withheld under FATCA. U.S. holders that own their interests in a Note through a foreign entity or intermediary, and Non-U.S. holders, are encouraged to consult their tax advisors regarding FATCA.

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DESCRIPTION OF OTHER INDEBTEDNESS

Revolving Credit Facility

On September 19, 2013, GS BDC entered into the Revolving Credit Facility. GS BDC amended the Revolving Credit Facility on October 3, 2014, November 3, 2015, December 16, 2016, February 21, 2018, September 17, 2018 and February 25, 2020.

The aggregate commitments under the Revolving Credit Facility are $1,695.0 million and the uncommitted accordion feature allows GS BDC to increase the borrowing capacity of the Revolving Credit Facility up to $2,250.0 million.

Borrowings denominated in USD, including amounts drawn in respect of letters of credit, bear interest (at the Company’s election) of either (i) LIBOR plus a margin of either 2.00% or (x) 1.875% (subject to maintenance of certain long-term corporate debt ratings) or (y) 1.75% (subject to certain borrowing base conditions) or (ii) an alternative base rate, which is the highest of 0, the Prime Rate, the Federal Funds Effective Rate plus 0.50% and overnight LIBOR plus 1.00%, plus either 1.00% or (x) 0.875% (subject to maintenance of certain long-term corporate debt ratings) or (y) 0.75% (subject to certain borrowing base conditions). Borrowings denominated in non-USD bear interest of LIBOR plus a margin of either 2.00%, 1.875% or 1.75% (subject to the conditions applicable to Borrowings denominated in USD that bear interest based on LIBOR). With respect to borrowings denominated in USD, the Company may elect either the LIBOR, or an alternative base rate at the time of borrowing, and such borrowings may be converted from one rate to another at any time, subject to certain conditions. Interest is payable quarterly in arrears. The Company pays a fee of 0.375% per annum on committed but undrawn amounts under the Revolving Credit Facility, payable quarterly in arrears. Any amounts borrowed under the Revolving Credit Facility will mature, and all accrued and unpaid interest will be due and payable, on February 25, 2025. The Revolving Credit Facility is guaranteed by GSBD Wine I, LLC, GSBD Blocker II, LLC, GSBD Blocker III LLC and BDC Blocker I, LLC (f/k/a My-On BDC Blocker, LLC). Proceeds from borrowings may be used for general corporate purposes, including the funding of portfolio investments.

GS BDC’s obligations to the lenders under the Revolving Credit Facility are secured by a first priority security interest in substantially all of its portfolio of investments and cash, with certain exceptions. The Revolving Credit Facility contains certain covenants, including: (i) maintaining a minimum shareholder’s equity of $800.0 million plus 25% of net proceeds of the sale of equity interests after February 25, 2020, (ii) maintaining a minimum asset coverage ratio of at least 200%, (iii) maintaining a minimum asset coverage ratio of 150% with respect to consolidated assets (with certain limitations on the contribution of equity in financing subsidiaries as specified therein) of GS BDC and its subsidiary guarantors to the secured debt of GS BDC and its subsidiary guarantors, (iv) maintaining a minimum GS BDC net worth of at least $700.0 million, (v) maintaining a minimum liquidity test of at least 10% of the covered debt amount during any period when the adjusted covered debt balance is greater than 90% of the adjusted borrowing base, as defined in the Revolving Credit Facility, and (vi) complying with restrictions on industry concentrations in GS BDC’s investment portfolio. GS BDC is in compliance with these covenants.

The Revolving Facility also includes customary representations and warranties, conditions precedent to funding of draws and events of default.

Convertible Notes

On October 3, 2016, GS BDC closed the offering of the initial Convertible Notes (the “Initial Convertible Notes”). The sale of the Initial Convertible Notes generated net proceeds of approximately $110.9 million. GS BDC used the net proceeds of the offering to pay down debt under the Revolving Credit Facility.

On July 2, 2018, GS BDC closed an offering of $40.0 million aggregate additional principal amount (the “Additional Convertible Notes”). The Additional Convertible Notes have identical terms, are fungible with and

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are part of the same series as the Initial Convertible Notes. The sale of the Additional Convertible Notes generated net proceeds of approximately $38.6 million. GS BDC used the net proceeds of the offering of Additional Convertible Notes to pay down debt under the Revolving Credit Facility.

The Convertible Notes were issued pursuant to an indenture between GS BDC and Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, as Trustee. Wells Fargo Bank, National Association and/or its affiliates provide bank lending and distribution services to certain Goldman Sachs funds. The Convertible Notes bear interest at a rate of 4.50% per year, payable semi-annually in arrears on April 1 and October 1 of each year, commencing on April 1, 2017. The Convertible Notes will mature on April 1, 2022, unless repurchased or converted in accordance with their terms prior to such date. In certain circumstances, the Convertible Notes will be convertible into cash, shares of GS BDC’s common stock or a combination of cash and shares of GS BDC’s common stock, based on an initial conversion rate of 40.8397 shares of GS BDC’s common stock per $1,000 principal amount of Convertible Notes, which is equivalent to an initial conversion price of approximately $24.49 per share of common stock, subject to customary anti-dilution adjustments and the other terms of the indenture governing the Convertible Notes. The conversion price is approximately 10.0% above the $22.26 per share closing price of GS BDC’s common stock on September 27, 2016 and 16.7% above the $20.99 per share closing price of GS BDC’s common stock on June 26, 2018. GS BDC will not have the right to redeem the Convertible Notes prior to maturity.

Holders may convert their notes at their option at any time prior to the close of business on the business day immediately preceding October 1, 2021 only under the following circumstances: (1) during any calendar quarter, if the last reported sale price of GS BDC’s common stock for at least 20 trading days (whether or not consecutive) during a period of 30 consecutive trading days ending on the last trading day of the immediately preceding calendar quarter is greater than or equal to 130% of the conversion price on each applicable trading day; (2) during the five business day period after any five consecutive trading day period (the “measurement period”) in which the trading price per $1,000 principal amount of notes for each trading day of the measurement period was less than 98% of the product of the last reported sale price of GS BDC’s common stock and the conversion rate on each such trading day; or (3) upon the occurrence of specified corporate events. On or after October 1, 2021, until the close of business on the scheduled trading day immediately preceding the maturity date, holders may convert their notes at any time, regardless of the occurrence or nonoccurrence of any of the foregoing circumstances.

The Convertible Notes are accounted for in accordance with ASC Topic 470-20, Debt with Conversion and Other Options. Upon conversion of any of the Convertible Notes, GS BDC intends to pay the outstanding principal amount in cash and, to the extent that the conversion value exceeds the principal amount, it has the option to pay the excess amount in cash or shares of GS BDC’s common stock (or a combination of cash and shares), subject to the requirements of the indenture governing the Convertible Notes. GS BDC has determined that the embedded conversion options in the Convertible Notes are not required to be separately accounted for as derivatives under ASC 815, Derivatives and Hedging. At the time of issuance the values of the debt and equity components of the Initial Convertible Notes and Additional Convertible Notes were approximately 99.4% and 0.6%, and 97.9% and 2.1%, respectively.

The original issue discount (“OID”) equal to the equity component of the Convertible Notes was recorded in “paid-in capital in excess of par” in GS BDC’s consolidated statements of assets and liabilities. GS BDC records interest expense comprised of both stated interest and amortization of the OID. At the time of issuance, the equity component of the Initial Convertible Notes and the Additional Convertible Notes were $0.74 million and $0.84 million, respectively. Additionally, the issuance costs associated with the Convertible Notes were allocated to the debt and equity components in proportion to the allocation of the values at the time of issuance and accounted for as debt issuance costs and equity issuance costs, respectively.

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2025 Notes

On February 10, 2020, GS BDC completed the offering of $360 million of its 2025 Notes. The 2025 Notes will mature on February 10, 2025 and may be redeemed in whole or in part at GS BDC’s option at any time or from time to time at the redemption prices set forth in the indenture governing the 2025 Notes. The 2025 Notes bear interest at a rate of 3.750% per year payable semi-annually on February 10th and August 10th of each year, and commenced on August 10, 2020. The 2025 Notes are general unsecured obligations of GS BDC that rank senior in right of payment to all of GS BDC’s future indebtedness or other obligations that are expressly subordinated, or junior, in right of payment to the 2025 Notes, rank pari passu, or equal, in right of payment with all of GS BDC’s existing and future indebtedness or other obligations that are not so subordinated, or junior, rank effectively subordinated, or junior, to any of GS BDC’s secured indebtedness or other obligations (including unsecured indebtedness that GS BDC later secures) to the extent of the value of the assets securing such indebtedness, and rank structurally subordinated, or junior, to all future indebtedness and other obligations (including trade payables) incurred by GS BDC’s subsidiaries.

The indenture governing the 2025 Notes contains certain covenants, including covenants requiring GS BDC comply with the asset coverage requirements of Section 18(a)(1)(A) as modified by Section 61(a)(1) and (2) of the Investment Company Act, whether or not it is subject to those requirements, and to provide financial information to the holders of the 2025 Notes and the Trustee if GS BDC is no longer subject to the reporting requirements under the Exchange Act. These covenants are subject to important limitations and exceptions that are described in the indenture governing the 2025 Notes.

In addition, on the occurrence of a “change of control repurchase event,” as defined in the indenture, GS BDC will generally be required to make an offer to purchase the outstanding 2025 Notes at a price equal to 100% of the principal amount of such 2025 Notes plus accrued and unpaid interest to the repurchase date.

The net proceeds of the 2025 Notes offering to GS BDC were approximately $353.6 million. GS BDC used the net proceeds to pay down a portion of the Revolving Credit Facility.

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DESCRIPTION OF THE NOTES

GS BDC will issue the Notes under that certain base indenture, dated as of February 10, 2020 (the “base indenture”), as supplemented by a second supplemental indenture (the “supplemental indenture”) to be dated as of the settlement date for the offering of the Notes.

As used in this section, all references to the indenture mean the base indenture as supplemented by the supplemental indenture. The terms of the Notes include those expressly set forth in the indenture and those made part of the indenture by reference to the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the “TIA”).

The following description is a summary of the material provisions of the Notes and the indenture and does not purport to be complete. This summary is subject to and is qualified by reference to all the provisions of the Notes and the indenture, including the definitions of certain terms used in the indenture. GS BDC urges you to read these documents because they, and not this description, define your rights as a holder of the Notes.

For purposes of this description, references to “GS BDC” and the “Company” refer only to Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc., and not to any of its current or future subsidiaries and references to “subsidiaries” refer only to GS BDC’s consolidated subsidiaries and exclude any investments held by GS BDC in the ordinary course of business which are not, under GAAP, consolidated on the financial statements of GS BDC and its subsidiaries.

General

The Notes:

The indenture does not limit the amount of debt that may be issued by GS BDC or its subsidiaries under the indenture or otherwise. The indenture does not contain any financial covenants and does not restrict GS BDC from paying dividends or issuing or repurchasing its other securities. Other than restrictions described under “—Offer to Repurchase Upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event” and “—Merger, Consolidation or Sale of Assets” below, the indenture does not contain any covenants or other provisions designed to afford holders of the Notes protection in the event of a highly leveraged transaction involving GS BDC or in the event of a decline in GS BDC’s credit rating as the result of a takeover, recapitalization, highly leveraged transaction or similar restructuring involving GS BDC that could adversely affect such holders. GS BDC may, without the consent of the holders, issue additional Notes under the indenture with the same terms (except that the first payment date and the date from which interest may accrue may be different) in an unlimited aggregate principal amount; provided that such additional Notes must be part of the same issue as the Notes offered hereby for U.S. federal income tax purposes if represented by the same CUSIP number as the Notes offered hereby.

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GS BDC does not intend to list the Notes on any securities exchange or any automated dealer quotation system.

Payments on the Notes; Paying Agent and Registrar; Transfer and Exchange

GS BDC will pay the principal of, and interest on, Notes in global form registered in the name of or held by The Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) or its nominee in immediately available funds to DTC or its nominee, as the case may be, as the registered holder of such Global Note (as defined below).

Payment of principal of (and premium, if any) and any such interest on the Notes will be made at the corporate trust office of the paying agent, which initially shall be the trustee, in such coin or currency of the United States of America as at the time of payment is legal tender for payment of public and private debts; provided, however, that, in the case of notes that are not in global form, at GS BDC’s option, payment of interest may be made by check mailed to the address of the person entitled thereto as such address shall appear in the security register.

A holder of Notes may transfer or exchange Notes at the office of the registrar in accordance with the indenture. A holder may be required, among other things, to furnish appropriate endorsements and transfer documents. No service charge will be imposed by GS BDC, the trustee or the registrar for any registration of transfer or exchange of Notes, but GS BDC may require a holder to pay a sum sufficient to cover any transfer tax or other similar governmental charge required by law or permitted by the indenture.

The transferor shall provide to the trustee all information reasonably requested by the trustee that is necessary to allow the trustee to comply with any applicable tax reporting obligations, including without limitation any cost basis reporting obligations under Section 6045 of the Code. The trustee may rely on the information provided to it and shall have no responsibility to verify or ensure the accuracy of such information.

The registered holder of the Notes will be treated as its owner for all purposes.

Interest

The Notes will bear cash interest at a rate of    % per year until maturity. Interest on the Notes will accrue from                , 2020 or from the most recent date on which interest has been paid or duly provided for. Interest will be payable semiannually in arrears on                and                of each year, beginning on                , 2021.

Interest will be paid to the person in whose name the Notes is registered at 5:00 p.m. New York City time (the “close of business”) on                or                (whether or not a business day), as the case may be, immediately preceding the relevant interest payment date. Interest on the Notes will be computed on the basis of a 360-day year composed of twelve 30-day months.

If any interest payment date, redemption date, the maturity date or any earlier required repurchase date upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event (defined below) of the Notes falls on a day that is not a business day, the required payment will be made on the next succeeding business day and no interest on such payment will accrue in respect of the delay. The term “business day” means, with respect to any of the Notes, any day other than a Saturday, a Sunday or a day on which banking institutions in New York or the city in which the corporate trust office of the trustee is located are authorized or obligated by law or executive order to close.

Ranking

The Notes will be GS BDC’s direct, general unsecured obligations that will rank:

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As of September 30, 2020, GS BDC’s total indebtedness was approximately $920.1 million aggregate principal amount outstanding, of which approximately $405.1 million was secured by a first priority security interest in substantially all of GS BDC’s portfolio of investments and cash, with certain exceptions, and therefore, effectively senior to the Notes. As of September 30, 2020, and after giving effect to the Merger and related transactions, GS BDC’s total indebtedness would have been approximately $1,763.3 million aggregate principal amount outstanding, of which approximately $1,248.3 million was secured by a first priority security interest in substantially all of GS BDC’s portfolio of investments and cash, with certain exceptions, and therefore, effectively senior to the Notes. After giving effect to the issuance of the Notes, GS BDC’s total indebtedness would have been approximately $                 million aggregate principal amount outstanding as of September 30, 2020. After giving effect to the issuance of the Notes and the Merger and related transactions, GS BDC’s total indebtedness would have been approximately $                 million aggregate principal amount outstanding as of September 30, 2020. See “Capitalization”.

In the event of GS BDC’s bankruptcy, liquidation, reorganization or other winding up, its assets that secure secured debt will be available to pay obligations on the Notes only after all indebtedness under such secured debt has been repaid in full from such assets. GS BDC advises you that there may not be sufficient assets remaining to pay amounts due on any or all the Notes then outstanding.

Optional Redemption

GS BDC may redeem some or all of the Notes at any time, or from time to time. If GS BDC chooses to redeem any of the Notes prior to maturity, GS BDC will pay a redemption price equal to the greater of the following amounts, plus, in each case, accrued and unpaid interest to the redemption date:

provided, however, that if GS BDC redeems any of the Notes on or after                , 20     (the date falling one month prior to the maturity date of the Notes), the redemption price for the Notes will be equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed, plus accrued and unpaid interest, if any, to, but excluding, the date of redemption.

If GS BDC chooses to redeem any of the Notes, GS BDC will deliver a notice of redemption to holders of the Notes not less than 30 nor more than 60 days before the redemption date. Any exercise of GS BDC’s option

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to redeem the Notes will be done in compliance with the Investment Company Act. If GS BDC is redeeming less than all of the Notes, the particular Notes to be redeemed will be selected by the trustee on a pro rata basis to the extent practicable, or, if a pro rata basis is not practicable for any reason, by lot or in such other manner as the Trustee shall deem fair and appropriate, and in any case in accordance with the applicable procedures of DTC and in accordance with the Investment Company Act as directed by GS BDC; provided, however, that no such partial redemption shall reduce the portion of the principal amount of the Notes not redeemed to less than $2,000. Unless GS BDC defaults in payment of the redemption price, on and after the redemption date, interest will cease to accrue on the Notes or portions of the Notes called for redemption.

For purposes of calculating the redemption price in connection with the redemption of the Notes, on any redemption date, the following terms have the meanings set forth below:

“Comparable Treasury Issue” means the United States Treasury security selected by the Reference Treasury Dealer as having a maturity comparable to the remaining term of the Notes to be redeemed that would be utilized, at the time of selection and in accordance with customary financing practice, in pricing new issues of corporate debt securities of comparable maturity to the remaining term of the Notes being redeemed.

“Comparable Treasury Price” means (1) the average of the remaining Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations for the redemption date, after excluding the highest and lowest Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations, or (2) if the Quotation Agent obtains fewer than four such Reference Treasury Dealer quotations, the average of all such quotations.

“Quotation Agent” means a Reference Treasury Dealer selected by GS BDC.

“Reference Treasury Dealer” means each of (1) BofA Securities, Inc. or its affiliates which is a primary U.S. government securities dealer in the United States (a “Primary Treasury Dealer”) and its successors; provided, however, that if BofA Securities, Inc. or its affiliates shall cease to be a Primary Treasury Dealer, GS BDC shall select another Primary Treasury Dealer, and (2) three other Primary Treasury Dealers selected by GS BDC.

“Reference Treasury Dealer Quotations” means, with respect to each Reference Treasury Dealer and any redemption date, the average, as determined by the Quotation Agent, of the bid and asked prices for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed in each case as a percentage of its principal amount) quoted in writing to the Quotation Agent by such Reference Treasury Dealer at 3:30 p.m. New York time on the third business day preceding such redemption date.

“Treasury Rate” means, with respect to any redemption date, the rate per annum equal to the semi-annual equivalent yield-to-maturity of the Comparable Treasury Issue (computed as of the third business day immediately preceding the redemption), assuming a price for the Comparable Treasury Issue (expressed as a percentage of its principal amount) equal to the Comparable Treasury Price for such redemption date. The redemption price and the Treasury Rate will be determined by GS BDC.

All determinations made by any Reference Treasury Dealer, including the Quotation Agent, with respect to determining the redemption price will be final and binding absent manifest error.

Offer to Repurchase Upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event

If a Change of Control Repurchase Event occurs, unless GS BDC has exercised its right to redeem the Notes in full, GS BDC will make an offer to each holder of the Notes to repurchase all or any part (in minimum denominations of $2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 principal amount thereabove) of that holder’s Notes at a repurchase price in cash equal to 100% of the aggregate principal amount of Notes repurchased plus any accrued and unpaid interest on the Notes repurchased to the date of purchase. Within 30 days following any Change of Control Repurchase Event or, at GS BDC’s option, prior to any Change of Control, but after the public

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announcement of the Change of Control, GS BDC will send a notice to each holder and the trustee describing the transaction or transactions that constitute or may constitute the Change of Control Repurchase Event and offering to repurchase Notes on the payment date specified in the notice, which date will be no earlier than 30 days and no later than 60 days from the date such notice is sent. The notice shall, if sent prior to the date of consummation of the Change of Control, state that the offer to purchase is conditioned on the Change of Control Repurchase Event occurring on or prior to the payment date specified in the notice. GS BDC will comply with the requirements of Rule 14e-1 under the Exchange Act and any other securities laws and regulations thereunder to the extent those laws and regulations are applicable in connection with the repurchase of the Notes as a result of a Change of Control Repurchase Event. To the extent that the provisions of any securities laws or regulations conflict with the Change of Control Repurchase Event provisions of the Notes, GS BDC will comply with the applicable securities laws and regulations and will not be deemed to have breached its obligations under the Change of Control Repurchase Event provisions of the Notes by virtue of such conflict.

On the Change of Control Repurchase Event payment date, subject to extension if necessary to comply with the provisions of the Investment Company Act, GS BDC will, to the extent lawful:

The paying agent will promptly remit to each holder of Notes properly tendered the purchase price for the Notes, and the trustee will promptly authenticate and mail (or cause to be transferred by book-entry) to each holder a new Note equal in principal amount to any unpurchased portion of any Notes surrendered; provided that each new Note will be in a minimum principal amount of $2,000 or an integral multiple of $1,000 in excess thereof.

GS BDC will not be required to make an offer to repurchase the Notes upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event if a third party makes an offer in the manner, at the times and otherwise in compliance with the requirements for an offer made by GS BDC and such third party purchases all Notes properly tendered and not withdrawn under its offer.

The source of funds that will be required to repurchase Notes in the event of a Change of Control Repurchase Event will be GS BDC’s available cash or cash generated from its operations or other potential sources, including funds provided by a purchaser in the Change of Control transaction, borrowings, sales of assets or sales of equity. GS BDC cannot assure you that sufficient funds from such sources will be available at the time of any Change of Control Repurchase Event to make required repurchases of Notes tendered. See “—Ranking” above as well as the documents incorporated by reference herein for a general discussion of GS BDC’s indebtedness. Before making any such repurchase of Notes, GS BDC would also have to comply with certain requirements under its Revolving Credit Facility, to the extent such requirements remain in effect at such time, or otherwise obtain consent from the lenders under the Revolving Credit Facility. GS BDC’s future debt instruments may contain similar restrictions and provisions. If the holders of the Notes exercise their right to require GS BDC to repurchase Notes upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event, the financial effect of this repurchase could cause a default under its existing or future debt instruments, even if the Change of Control Repurchase Event itself would not cause a default. It is possible that GS BDC will not have sufficient funds at the time of the Change of Control Repurchase Event to make the required repurchase of the Notes or its other debt. See “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to the Notes—GS BDC may not be able to repurchase the Notes upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event.”

The definition of “Change of Control” includes a phrase relating to the direct or indirect sale, transfer, conveyance or other disposition of “all or substantially all” of GS BDC’s properties or assets and those of its

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subsidiaries taken as a whole. Although there is a limited body of case law interpreting the phrase “substantially all,” there is no precise, established definition of the phrase under applicable law. Accordingly, the ability of a holder of Notes to require GS BDC to repurchase the Notes as a result of a sale, transfer, conveyance or other disposition of less than all of its assets and the assets of its subsidiaries taken as a whole to another person or group may be uncertain.

For purposes of the Notes:

“Below Investment Grade Rating Event” means the Notes are downgraded below Investment Grade by both Rating Agencies on any date from the date of the public notice of an arrangement that results in a Change of Control until the end of the 60-day period following public notice of the occurrence of a Change of Control (which period shall be extended so long as the rating of the Notes is under publicly announced consideration for possible downgrade by either of the Rating Agencies); provided that a Below Investment Grade Rating Event otherwise arising by virtue of a particular reduction in rating shall not be deemed to have occurred in respect of a particular Change of Control (and thus shall not be deemed a Below Investment Grade Rating Event for purposes of the definition of Change of Control Repurchase Event hereunder) if the Rating Agencies making the reduction in rating to which this definition would otherwise apply do not announce or publicly confirm or inform GS BDC in writing that the reduction was the result, in whole or in part, of any event or circumstance comprised of or arising as a result of, or in respect of, the applicable Change of Control (whether or not the applicable Change of Control shall have occurred at the time of the Below Investment Grade Rating Event).

“Change of Control” means the occurrence of any of the following:

“Change of Control Repurchase Event” means the occurrence of a Change of Control and a Below Investment Grade Rating Event.

“Controlled Subsidiary” means any subsidiary of GS BDC, 50% or more of the outstanding equity interests of which are owned by GS BDC and its direct or indirect subsidiaries and of which GS BDC possesses, directly or indirectly, the power to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies, whether through the ownership of voting equity interests, by agreement or otherwise.

“Fitch” means Fitch, Inc., also known as Fitch Ratings, or any successor thereto.

“Investment Grade” means a rating of BBB- or better by Fitch (or its equivalent under any successor rating categories of Fitch) and Baa3 or better by Moody’s (or its equivalent under any successor rating categories of Moody’s) (or, in each case, if such Rating Agency ceases to rate the Notes for reasons outside of GS BDC’s control, the equivalent investment grade credit rating from any Rating Agency selected by GS BDC as a replacement Rating Agency).

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“Moody’s” means Moody’s Investor Service or any successor thereto.

“Permitted Holders” means (i) GS BDC, (ii) one or more of GS BDC’s Controlled Subsidiaries and (iii) GSAM or any affiliate of GSAM that is organized under the laws of a jurisdiction located in the United States of America and in the business of managing or advising clients.

“Rating Agency” means:

“Voting Stock” as applied to stock of any person, means shares, interests, participations or other equivalents in the equity interest (however designated) in such person having ordinary voting power for the election of a majority of the directors (or the equivalent) of such person, other than shares, interests, participations or other equivalents having such power only by reason of the occurrence of a contingency.

Covenants

The following covenants shall apply to the Notes.

Merger, Consolidation or Sale of Assets

The indenture will provide that GS BDC will not merge or consolidate with or into any other person (other than a merger of a wholly owned subsidiary into GS BDC), or sell, transfer, lease, convey or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all GS BDC’s property (provided that, for the avoidance of doubt, a pledge of assets pursuant to any secured debt instrument of GS BDC or its subsidiaries shall not be deemed to be any such sale, transfer, lease, conveyance or disposition; and provided further that this covenant shall not apply to any sale, transfer, lease, conveyance, or other disposition of all or substantially all of GS BDC’s property to a wholly owned subsidiary of GS BDC) in any one transaction or series of related transactions unless:

For the purposes of this covenant, the sale, transfer, lease, conveyance or other disposition of all the property of one or more of GS BDC’s subsidiaries, which property, if held by GS BDC instead of such

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subsidiaries, would constitute all or substantially all of GS BDC’s property on a consolidated basis, shall be deemed to be the transfer of all or substantially all of GS BDC’s property.

Although there is a limited body of case law interpreting the phrase “substantially all”, there is no precise established definition of the phrase under applicable law. Accordingly, in certain circumstances there may be a degree of uncertainty as to whether a particular transaction would involve “all or substantially all” of the properties or assets of a person. As a result, it may be unclear as to whether the merger, consolidation or sale of assets covenant would apply to a particular transaction as described above absent a decision by a court of competent jurisdiction. Although these types of transactions are permitted under the indenture, certain of the foregoing transactions could constitute a Change of Control that results in a Change of Control Repurchase Event permitting each holder to require GS BDC to repurchase the Notes of such holder as described above.

An assumption by any person of obligations under the Notes and the indenture might be deemed for U.S. federal income tax purposes to be an exchange of the Notes for new Notes by the beneficial owners thereof, potentially resulting in recognition of gain or loss for such purposes and possibly other adverse tax consequences to the beneficial owners. Beneficial owners of the Notes should consult their own tax advisors regarding the tax consequences of such an assumption.

Other Covenants

Modification or Waiver

There are three types of changes GS BDC can make to the indenture and the Notes issued thereunder.

Changes Requiring Your Approval

First, there are changes that GS BDC cannot make to your Notes without your specific approval. The following is a list of those types of changes:

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Changes Not Requiring Approval

The second type of change does not require any vote by the holders of the Notes. This type is limited to clarifications, establishment of the form or terms of new securities of any series as permitted by the indenture, and certain other changes that would not adversely affect holders of the outstanding Notes in any material respect, including adding additional covenants or event of default. GS BDC also does not need any approval to make any change that affects only Notes to be issued under the indenture after the change takes effect.

Changes Requiring Majority Approval

Any other change to the indenture and the Notes would require the following approval:

The holders of a majority in principal amount of a series of debt securities issued under an indenture, or all series, voting together as one class for this purpose, may waive GS BDC’s compliance with some of its covenants in that indenture. However, GS BDC cannot obtain a waiver of a payment default or of any of the matters covered by the bullet points included above under “—Changes Requiring Your Approval”.

Further Details Concerning Voting

When taking a vote, GS BDC will use the following rules to decide how much principal to attribute to the Notes:

The Notes will not be considered outstanding, and therefore not eligible to vote, if GS BDC has deposited or set aside in trust money for their payment or redemption. The Notes will also not be eligible to vote if they have been fully defeased as described later under “—Defeasance—Legal Defeasance”.

GS BDC will generally be entitled to set any day as a record date for the purpose of determining the holders of outstanding indenture securities that are entitled to vote or take other action under the indenture. If GS BDC sets a record date for a vote or other action to be taken by holders of one or more series, that vote or action may be taken only by persons who are holders of outstanding indenture securities of those series on the record date and must be taken within eleven months following the record date.

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Book-entry and other indirect holders should consult their banks or brokers for information on how approval may be granted or denied if GS BDC seeks to change the indenture or the Notes or request a waiver.

Events of Default

Each of the following is an event of default:

If an event of default occurs and is continuing, then and in every such case (other than an event of default specified in item (6) above) the trustee or the holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the outstanding Notes may declare the entire principal amount of Notes to be due and immediately payable, by a notice in writing to GS BDC (and to the trustee if given by the holders), and upon any such declaration such principal or specified portion thereof shall become immediately due and payable. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the case of the events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization described in item (6) above, 100% of the principal of and accrued and unpaid interest on the Notes will automatically become due and payable.

At any time after a declaration of acceleration with respect to the Notes has been made and before a judgment or decree for payment of the money due has been obtained by the trustee, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Notes, by written notice to GS BDC and the trustee, may rescind and annul such declaration and its consequences if (i) GS BDC has paid or deposited with the trustee a sum sufficient to pay all overdue installments of interest, if any, on all outstanding Notes, the principal of (and premium, if any, on) all outstanding Notes that have become due otherwise than by such declaration of acceleration and interest

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thereon at the rate or rates borne by or provided for in such Notes, to the extent that payment of such interest is lawful interest upon overdue installments of interest at the rate or rates borne by or provided for in such Notes, and all sums paid or advanced by the trustee and the reasonable compensation, expenses, disbursements and advances of the trustee, its agents and counsel, and (ii) all events of default with respect to the Notes, other than the nonpayment of the principal of (or premium, if any, on) or interest on such Notes that have become due solely by such declaration of acceleration, have been cured or waived. No such rescission will affect any subsequent default or impair any right consequent thereon.

No holder of Notes will have any right to institute any proceeding, judicial or otherwise, with respect to the indenture, or for the appointment of a receiver or trustee, or for any other remedy under the indenture, unless:

Notwithstanding any other provision in the indenture, the holder of any Note shall have the right, which is absolute and unconditional, to receive payment of the principal of (and premium, if any, on) and interest, if any, on such Note on the stated maturity or maturity expressed in such Note (or, in the case of redemption, on the redemption date or, in the case of repayment at the option of the holders, on the repayment date) and to institute suit for the enforcement of any such payment, and such rights shall not be impaired without the consent of such holder.

The trustee shall be under no obligation to exercise any of the rights or powers vested in it by the indenture at the request or direction of any of the holders of the Notes unless such holders shall have offered to the trustee security or indemnity satisfactory to the trustee against the costs, expenses and liabilities which might be incurred by it in compliance with such request or direction. Subject to the foregoing, the holders of a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Notes shall have the right to direct the time, method and place of conducting any proceeding for any remedy available to the trustee or exercising any trust or power conferred on the trustee with respect to the Notes, provided that (i) such direction shall not be in conflict with any rule of law or with this indenture, (ii) the trustee may take any other action deemed proper by the trustee that is not inconsistent with such direction and (iii) the trustee need not take any action that it determines in good faith may involve it in personal liability or be unjustly prejudicial (it being understood that the trustee does not have an affirmative duty to ascertain whether or not any such directions are unduly prejudicial to such holders) to the holders of Notes not consenting.

The holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the outstanding Notes may on behalf of the holders of all of the Notes waive any past default under the indenture with respect to the Notes and its consequences, except a default (i) in the payment of (or premium, if any, on) or interest, if any, on any of the Notes, or (ii) in respect of a covenant or provision of the indenture which cannot be modified or amended without the consent of the holder of each outstanding Note affected. Upon any such waiver, such default shall cease to exist, and any event of default arising therefrom shall be deemed to have been cured, for every purpose, but no such waiver shall extend to any subsequent or other default or event of default or impair any right consequent thereto.

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GS BDC is required to deliver to the trustee, within 120 days after the end of each fiscal year, an officers’ certificate stating that to the knowledge of the signers whether GS BDC is in default in the performance of any of the terms, provisions or conditions of the indenture.

Within 90 days after the occurrence of any default under the indenture with respect to the Notes, the trustee shall transmit notice of such default actually known to a responsible officer of the trustee, unless such default shall have been cured or waived; provided, however, that, except in the case of a default in the payment of the principal of (or premium, if any, on) or interest, if any, on any of the Notes, the trustee shall be protected in withholding such notice if and so long as it in good faith determines that withholding of such notice is in the interest of the holders of the Notes.

Satisfaction and Discharge

GS BDC may satisfy and discharge its obligations under the indenture by delivering to the securities registrar for cancellation all outstanding Notes or by depositing with the trustee, in trust, funds in U.S. dollars in an amount sufficient to pay all of the outstanding Notes after the Notes have become due and payable or will become due and payable within one year (or scheduled for redemption within one year). Such discharge is subject to terms contained in the indenture.

Defeasance

The Notes will be subject to covenant defeasance and legal defeasance.

Covenant Defeasance

If certain conditions are satisfied, GS BDC can make the deposit described below and be released from some of the restrictive covenants in the indenture under which the Notes were issued. This is called “covenant defeasance.” In that event, you would lose the protection of those restrictive covenants but would gain the protection of having money and government securities set aside in trust to repay your Notes. In order to achieve covenant defeasance, GS BDC must do the following:

If GS BDC accomplished covenant defeasance, you can still look to GS BDC for repayment of the Notes if there were a shortfall in the trust deposit or the trustee is prevented from making payment. For example, if one of the remaining Events of Default occurred (such as GS BDC’s bankruptcy) and the Notes became immediately due and payable, there might be a shortfall. Depending on the event causing the default, you may not be able to obtain payment of the shortfall.

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Legal Defeasance

If there is a change in U.S. federal tax law, as described below, GS BDC can legally release itself from all payment and other obligations on the Notes (called “defeasance” or “legal defeasance”) if GS BDC puts in place the following other arrangements for you to be repaid:

If GS BDC ever accomplished legal defeasance, as described above, you would have to rely solely on the trust deposit for repayment of the Notes. You could not look to GS BDC for repayment in the unlikely event of any shortfall. Conversely, the trust deposit would most likely be protected from claims of GS BDC’s lenders and other creditors if GS BDC ever became bankrupt or insolvent.

Trustee

Wells Fargo Bank, National Association is the trustee, security registrar and paying agent. Wells Fargo Bank, National Association, in each of its capacities, including without limitation as trustee, security registrar and paying agent, assumes no responsibility for the accuracy or completeness of the information concerning GS BDC or its affiliates or any other party contained in this prospectus supplement or the related documents or for any failure by GS BDC or any other party to disclose events that may have occurred and may affect the significance or accuracy of such information, or for any information provided to it by GS BDC, including but not limited to settlement amounts and any other information.

GS BDC may maintain banking relationships in the ordinary course of business with the trustee and its affiliates.

Resignation of Trustee

The trustee may resign or be removed with respect to the Notes provided that a successor trustee is appointed to act with respect to these series. In the event that two or more persons are acting as trustee with respect to different series of indenture securities under the indenture, each of the trustees will be a trustee of a trust separate and apart from the trust administered by any other trustee.

No Personal Liability of Directors, Officers, Employees and Stockholders

No past, present or future director, officer, employee, incorporator or stockholder of GS BDC, as such, will have any liability for any obligations of GS BDC’s under the indenture or the Notes or for any claim based on, in respect of, or by reason of, such obligations or their creation. By accepting any Note, each holder of the Notes will be deemed to waive and release all such liability, and such waiver and release are part of the consideration for the issuance of the Notes.

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Governing Law

The indenture provides that it and the Notes shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without regard to principles of conflicts of laws that would cause the application of laws of another jurisdiction.

Book-Entry, Settlement and Clearance

Global Notes

The Notes will be initially issued in the form of one or more registered Notes in global form, without interest coupons (the “Global Notes”). Upon issuance, each of the Global Notes will be deposited with the trustee as custodian for DTC and registered in the name of Cede & Co., as nominee of DTC. Ownership of beneficial interests in a Global Note will be limited to persons who have accounts with DTC (“DTC participants”) or persons who hold interests through DTC participants. GS BDC expects that under procedures established by DTC:

Beneficial interests in Global Notes may not be exchanged for Notes in physical, certificated form except in the limited circumstances described below.

Book-Entry Procedures for Global Notes

All interests in the Global Notes will be subject to the operations and procedures of DTC. GS BDC provides the following summary of those operations and procedures solely for the convenience of investors. The operations and procedures of DTC are controlled by that settlement system and may be changed at any time. Neither GS BDC, the trustee nor the underwriters are responsible for those operations or procedures.

DTC has advised GS BDC that it is:

DTC was created to hold securities for its participants and to facilitate the clearance and settlement of securities transactions between its participants through electronic book-entry changes to the accounts of its participants. DTC’s participants include securities brokers and dealers, including the underwriters; banks and trust companies; clearing corporations and other organizations. Indirect access to DTC’s system is also available to others such as banks, brokers, dealers and trust companies; these indirect participants clear through or maintain a custodial relationship with a DTC participant, either directly or indirectly. Investors who are not DTC participants may beneficially own securities held by or on behalf of DTC only through DTC participants or indirect participants in DTC.

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So long as DTC’s nominee is the registered owner of a Global Note, that nominee will be considered the sole owner or holder of the Notes represented by that Global Note for all purposes under the indenture. Except as provided below, owners of beneficial interests in a Global Note:

As a result, each investor who owns a beneficial interest in a Global Note must rely on the procedures of DTC to exercise any rights of a holder of Notes under the indenture (and, if the investor is not a participant or an indirect participant in DTC, on the procedures of the DTC participant through which the investor owns its interest). Payments of principal and interest with respect to the Notes represented by a Global Note will be made by the trustee to DTC’s nominee as the registered holder of the Global Note. Neither GS BDC nor the trustee will have any responsibility or liability for the payment of amounts to owners of beneficial interests in a Global Note, for any aspect of the records relating to or payments made on account of those interests by DTC, or for maintaining, supervising or reviewing any records of DTC relating to those interests.

Payments by participants and indirect participants in DTC to the owners of beneficial interests in a Global Note will be governed by standing instructions and customary industry practice and will be the responsibility of those participants or indirect participants and DTC.

Cross-market transfers of beneficial interests in Global Notes between DTC participants, on the one hand, and Euroclear or Clearstream participants, on the other hand, will be effected within DTC through the DTC participants that are acting as depositaries for Euroclear and Clearstream. To deliver or receive an interest in a Global Note held in a Euroclear or Clearstream account, an investor must send transfer instructions to Euroclear or Clearstream, as the case may be, under the rules and procedures of that system and within the established deadlines of that system. If the transaction meets its settlement requirements, Euroclear or Clearstream, as the case may be, will send instructions to its DTC depositary to take action to effect final settlement by delivering or receiving interests in the relevant Global Notes in DTC, and making or receiving payment under normal procedures for same-day funds settlement applicable to DTC. Euroclear and Clearstream participants may not deliver instructions directly to the DTC depositaries that are acting for Euroclear or Clearstream.

Because the settlement of cross-market transfers takes place during New York business hours, DTC participants may employ their usual procedures for sending securities to the applicable DTC participants acting as depositaries for Euroclear and Clearstream. The sale proceeds will be available to the DTC participant seller on the settlement date. Thus, to a DTC participant, a cross-market transaction will settle no differently from a trade between two DTC participants. Because of time zone differences, the securities account of a Euroclear or Clearstream participant that purchases an interest in a Global Note from a DTC participant will be credited on the business day for Euroclear or Clearstream immediately following the DTC settlement date. Cash received in Euroclear or Clearstream from the sale of an interest in a Global Note to a DTC participant will be reflected in the account of the Euroclear of Clearstream participant the following business day, and receipt of the cash proceeds in the Euroclear or Clearstream participant’s account will be back-valued to the date on which settlement occurs in New York. DTC, Euroclear and Clearstream have agreed to the above procedures to facilitate transfers of interests in the Global Notes among participants in those settlement systems. However, the settlement systems are not obligated to perform these procedures and may discontinue or change these procedures at any time. Neither GS BDC nor the trustee will have any responsibility or liability for the performance by DTC, Euroclear or Clearstream or their participants or indirect participants of their obligations under the rules and procedures governing their operations, including maintaining, supervising or reviewing the records relating to, or payments made on account of, beneficial ownership interests in Global Notes.

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Transfers between participants in DTC will be effected under DTC’s procedures and will be settled in same-day funds.

In connection with any proposed transfer outside the book entry only system, there shall be provided to the trustee all information reasonably requested by the trustee that is necessary to allow the trustee to comply with any applicable tax reporting obligations, including without limitation any cost basis reporting obligations under Section 6045 of the Code. The trustee may rely on the information provided to it and shall have no responsibility to verify or ensure the accuracy of such information.

Certificated Notes

Notes in physical, certificated form will be issued and delivered to each person that DTC identifies as a beneficial owner of the related Notes only if:

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UNDERWRITING

GS BDC is offering the Notes described in this prospectus supplement through a number of underwriters. BofA Securities, Inc. is acting as representative of the underwriters. GS BDC has entered into an underwriting agreement with the underwriters. Subject to the terms and conditions of the underwriting agreement, GS BDC has agreed to sell to the underwriters, and each underwriter has severally agreed to purchase, the aggregate principal amount of notes listed next to its name in the following table:

Subject to the terms and conditions set forth in the underwriting agreement, the underwriters have agreed, severally and not jointly, to purchase all of the Notes sold under the underwriting agreement if any of these Notes are purchased. If an underwriter defaults, the underwriting agreement provides that the purchase commitments of the non-defaulting underwriters may be increased or the underwriting agreement may be terminated.

GS BDC has agreed to indemnify the underwriters against certain liabilities, including liabilities under the Securities Act, or to contribute to payments the underwriters may be required to make in respect of those liabilities.

The underwriters are offering the Notes, subject to prior sale, when, as and if issued to and accepted by them, subject to approval of legal matters by their counsel, including the validity of the Notes, and other conditions contained in the underwriting agreement, such as the receipt by the underwriters of officers’ certificates and legal opinions. The underwriters reserve the right to withdraw, cancel or modify offers to the public and to reject orders in whole or in part.

Commissions and Discounts

The following table shows the per Note and total underwriting discounts and commissions that GS BDC is to pay to the underwriters in connection with this offering.

The underwriters propose to offer some of the Notes to the public at the public offering price set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement and some of the Notes to certain other dealers at the public offering price less a concession not in excess of    % of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes. The underwriters may allow, and the dealers may reallow, a discount not in excess of    % of the aggregate principal amount of the Notes. After the initial offering of the Notes to the public, the public offering price and other selling terms may be changed. No such change shall change the amount of proceeds to be received by GS BDC as set forth on the cover page of this prospectus supplement.

The expenses of the offering, not including the underwriting discount, are estimated at $         million and are payable by GS BDC.

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No Sales of Similar Securities

Subject to certain exceptions, GS BDC has agreed not to directly or indirectly, offer, pledge, sell, contract to sell, grant any option for the sale of or otherwise transfer or dispose of any debt securities issued or guaranteed by GS BDC or any securities convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for debt securities issued or guaranteed by GS BDC or file any registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to any of the foregoing through the closing date without first obtaining the written consent of the representative. This consent may be given at any time without public notice.

Listing

The Notes are a new issue of securities with no established trading market. The Notes will not be listed on any securities exchange or quoted on any automated dealer quotation system.

GS BDC has been advised by certain of the underwriters that they currently intend to make a market in the Notes after completion of the offering as permitted by applicable laws and regulations. The underwriters are not obligated, however, to make a market in the Notes and any such market-making may be discontinued at any time in the sole discretion of the underwriters without any notice. Accordingly, no assurance can be given as to the liquidity of, or development of a public trading market for, the Notes. If an active public trading market for the Notes does not develop, the market price and liquidity of the Notes may be adversely affected.

Price Stabilization, Short Positions

In connection with the offering, the underwriters may purchase and sell Notes in the open market. These transactions may include over-allotment, covering transactions and stabilizing transactions. Over-allotment involves sales of Notes in excess of the aggregate principal amount of Notes to be purchased by the underwriters in the offering, which creates a short position for the underwriters. Covering transactions involve purchases of the Notes in the open market after the distribution has been completed in order to cover short positions. Stabilizing transactions consist of certain bids or purchases of Notes made for the purpose of preventing or retarding a decline in the market price of the Notes while the offering is in progress.

The underwriters also may impose a penalty bid. This occurs when a particular underwriter repays to the underwriters a portion of the underwriting discount received by it because the representative has repurchased Notes sold by or for the account of such underwriter in stabilizing or short covering transactions.

Any of these activities may cause the price of the Notes to be higher than the price that otherwise would exist in the open market in the absence of such transactions. These transactions may be effected in the over-the-counter market or otherwise and, if commenced, may be discontinued at any time without any notice relating thereto.

Neither GS BDC nor any of the underwriters make any representation or prediction as to the direction or magnitude of any effect that the transactions described above may have on the price of the Notes. In addition, neither GS BDC nor any of the underwriters make any representation that the representative will engage in these transactions or that these transactions, once commenced, will not be discontinued without notice.

Other Relationships

The underwriters and their respective affiliates are full service financial institutions engaged in various activities, which may include sales and trading, commercial and investment banking, advisory, investment management, investment research, principal investment, hedging, market making, brokerage, valuation services and other financial and non-financial activities and services. Certain of the underwriters and their respective affiliates have provided, and may in the future provide, a variety of these services to GS BDC and to persons and entities with relationships with GS BDC, for which they received or will receive customary fees and expenses. Additionally, affiliates of certain underwriters are lenders under certain of GS BDC’s credit facilities.

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In the ordinary course of their various business activities, the underwriters and their respective affiliates, officers, directors and employees may purchase, sell or hold a broad array of investments and actively trade securities, derivatives, loans, commodities, currencies, credit default swaps and other financial instruments for their own account and for the accounts of their customers, and such investment and trading activities may involve or relate to GS BDC’s assets, securities or instruments (directly, as collateral securing other obligations or otherwise) or persons and entities with relationships with GS BDC. Certain of the underwriters and their affiliates that have a lending relationship with GS BDC routinely hedge their credit exposure to GS BDC consistent with their customary risk management policies. Typically, such underwriters and their affiliates would hedge such exposure by entering into transactions which consist of either the purchase of credit default swaps or the creation of short positions in GS BDC’s securities, including potentially the Notes. Any such credit default swaps or short positions could adversely affect future trading prices of the Notes. The underwriters and their respective affiliates may also communicate independent investment recommendations, market color or trading ideas or publish or express independent research views in respect of such assets, securities or instruments and may at any time hold, or recommend to clients that they should acquire, long or short positions in such assets, securities and instruments.

An affiliate of BofA Securities, Inc. acted as financial advisor to GSBD in connection with the Merger.

GS BDC intends to use the net proceeds of this offering to pay down a portion of the Revolving Credit Facility on or about the date of the closing of this offering. Affiliates of certain of the underwriters are lenders under the Revolving Credit Facility. An affiliate of Truist Securities, Inc. serves as agent of the Revolving Credit Facility. Accordingly, affiliates of certain of the underwriters may receive more than 5% of the proceeds of this offering to the extent the proceeds are used to pay down outstanding indebtedness under the Revolving Credit Facility.

Settlement

GS BDC expects that delivery of the Notes will be made to investors on or about                , 2020, which will be the third business day following the date of pricing of the notes (such settlement cycle being herein referred to as “T+3”). Under Rule 15c6-1 under the Exchange Act, trades in the secondary market generally are required to settle in two business days, unless the parties to any such trade expressly agree otherwise. Accordingly, purchasers who wish to trade notes on the date of pricing will be required, by virtue of the fact that the notes initially will settle T+3, to specify an alternate settlement cycle at the time of any such trade to prevent a failed settlement. Purchasers of notes who wish to trade notes on the date of pricing should consult their own advisor.

Principal Business Addresses

The principal business address of BofA Securities, Inc. is One Bryant Park, New York, New York 10036.

Other Jurisdictions

Other than in the United States, no action has been taken by GS BDC or the underwriters that would permit a public offering of the Notes offered by this prospectus supplement in any jurisdiction where action for that purpose is required. The Notes offered by this prospectus supplement may not be offered or sold, directly or indirectly, nor may this prospectus supplement or any other offering material or advertisements in connection with the offer and sale of any such securities be distributed or published in any jurisdiction, except under

circumstances that will result in compliance with the applicable rules and regulations of that jurisdiction. Persons into whose possession this prospectus supplement comes are advised to inform themselves about and to observe any restrictions relating to the offering and the distribution of this prospectus supplement. This prospectus supplement does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any Notes offered by this prospectus supplement in any jurisdiction in which such an offer or a solicitation is unlawful.

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Notice to Prospective Investors in Canada

This prospectus constitutes an “exempt offering document” as defined in and for the purposes of applicable Canadian securities laws. No prospectus has been filed with any securities commission or similar regulatory authority in Canada in connection with the offer and sale of the Notes. No securities commission or similar regulatory authority in Canada has reviewed or in any way passed upon this prospectus or on the merits of the Notes and any representation to the contrary is an offence.

Canadian investors are advised that this prospectus has been prepared in reliance on section 3A.3 of National Instrument 33-105 Underwriting Conflicts (“NI 33-105”). Pursuant to section 3A.3 of NI 33-105, the Company and the underwriters in the offering are exempt from the requirement to provide Canadian investors with certain conflicts of interest disclosure pertaining to “connected issuer” and/or “related issuer” relationships as would otherwise be required pursuant to subsection 2.1(1) of NI 33-105.

Resale Restrictions

The offer and sale of the Notes in Canada is being made on a private placement basis only and is exempt from the requirement that the Company prepares and files a prospectus under applicable Canadian securities laws. Any resale of Notes by a Canadian investor in this offering must be made in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws, which may vary depending on the relevant jurisdiction, and which may require resales to be made in accordance with Canadian prospectus requirements, a statutory exemption from the prospectus requirements, in a transaction exempt from the prospectus requirements or otherwise under a discretionary exemption from the prospectus requirements granted by the applicable local Canadian securities regulatory authority. These resale restrictions may under certain circumstances apply to resales of the Notes outside of Canada.

Representations of Purchasers

Each Canadian investor who purchases the Notes will be deemed to have represented to the Company, the underwriters and to each dealer from whom a purchase confirmation is received, as applicable, that the investor is (i) purchasing as principal, or is deemed to be purchasing as principal in accordance with applicable Canadian securities laws; (ii) an “accredited investor” as such term is defined in section 1.1 of National Instrument 45-106 Prospectus Exemptions or, in Ontario, as such term is defined in section 73.3(1) of the Securities Act (Ontario); and (iii) a “permitted client” as such term is defined in section 1.1 of National Instrument 31-103 Registration Requirements, Exemptions and Ongoing Registrant Obligations.

Taxation and Eligibility for Investment

Any discussion of taxation and related matters contained in this prospectus does not purport to be a comprehensive description of all of the tax considerations that may be relevant to a Canadian investor when

deciding to purchase the Notes and, in particular, does not address any Canadian tax considerations. No representation or warranty is hereby made as to the tax consequences to a resident, or deemed resident, of Canada of an investment in the Notes or with respect to the eligibility of the Notes for investment by such investor under relevant Canadian federal and provincial legislation and regulations.

Rights of Action for Damages or Rescission

Securities legislation in certain of the Canadian jurisdictions provides certain purchasers of securities pursuant to an offering memorandum (such as this prospectus), including where the distribution involves an “eligible foreign security” as such term is defined in Ontario Securities Commission Rule 45-501 Ontario Prospectus and Registration Exemptions and in Multilateral Instrument 45-107 Listing Representation and Statutory Rights of Action Disclosure Exemptions, as applicable, with a remedy for damages or rescission, or both, in addition to any other rights they may have at law, where the offering memorandum, or other offering document that constitutes

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an offering memorandum, and any amendment thereto, contains a “misrepresentation” as defined under applicable Canadian securities laws. These remedies, or notice with respect to these remedies, must be exercised or delivered, as the case may be, by the purchaser within the time limits prescribed under, and are subject to limitations and defences under, applicable Canadian securities legislation. In addition, these remedies are in addition to and without derogation from any other right or remedy available at law to the investor.

Upon receipt of this document, each Canadian investor hereby confirms that it has expressly requested that all documents evidencing or relating in any way to the sale of the securities described herein (including for greater certainty any purchase confirmation or any notice) be drawn up in the English language only. Par la réception de ce document, chaque investisseur canadien confirme par les présentes qu’il a expressément exigé que tous les documents faisant foi ou se rapportant de quelque manière que ce soit à la vente des valeurs mobilières décrites aux présentes (incluant, pour plus de certitude, toute confirmation d’achat ou tout avis) soient rédigés en anglais seulement.

Notice to Prospective Investors in the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom

The Notes are not intended to be offered, sold or otherwise made available to and should not be offered, sold or otherwise made available to any retail investor in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) or in the United Kingdom (the “UK”). For these purposes, a retail investor means a person who is one (or more) of: (i) a retail client as defined in point (11) of Article 4(1) of Directive 2014/65/EU (as amended, “MiFID II”); or (ii) a customer within the meaning of Directive (EU) 2016/97 (as amended, the “Insurance Distribution Directive”), where that customer would not qualify as a professional client as defined in point (10) of Article 4(1) of MiFID II; or (iii) not a qualified investor as defined in Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (as amended, the “Prospectus Regulation”). Consequently no key information document required by Regulation (EU) No 1286/2014 (as amended, the “PRIIPs Regulation”) for offering or selling the Notes or otherwise making them available to retail investors in the EEA or in the UK has been prepared and therefore offering or selling the Notes or otherwise making them available to any retail investor in the EEA or in the UK may be unlawful under the PRIIPs Regulation. This prospectus supplement has been prepared on the basis that any offer of Notes in any Member State of the EEA or in the UK will be made pursuant to an exemption under the Prospectus Regulation from the requirement to publish a prospectus for offers of the Notes. This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is not a prospectus for the purposes of the Prospectus Regulation.

References to Regulations or Directives include, in relation to the UK, those Regulations or Directives as they form part of UK domestic law by virtue of the European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 or have been implemented in UK domestic law, as appropriate.

The above selling restriction is in addition to any other selling restrictions set out below.

Notice to Prospective Investors in the United Kingdom

This document is for distribution only to persons who (i) have professional experience in matters relating to investments and who qualify as investment professionals within the meaning of Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (as amended, the “Financial Promotion Order”), (ii) are persons falling within Article 49(2)(a) to (d) (“high net worth companies, unincorporated associations etc.”) of the Financial Promotion Order, (iii) are outside the United Kingdom, or (iv) are persons to whom an invitation or inducement to engage in investment activity (within the meaning of Section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended (“FSMA”)) in connection with the issue or sale of any securities may otherwise lawfully be communicated or caused to be communicated (all such persons together being referred to as “relevant persons”). This document is directed only at relevant persons and must not be acted on or relied on by persons who are not relevant persons. Any investment or investment activity to which this document relates is available only to relevant persons and will be engaged in only with relevant persons.

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Notice to Prospective Investors in Israel

No action has been, or will be, taken in Israel that would permit an offering of the Notes or a distribution of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus to the public in Israel. In particular, neither the prospectus supplement nor the accompanying prospectus has been reviewed or approved by the Israel Securities Authority. The Notes are being offered to a limited number of qualified investors listed on the first addendum of the Securities Law (a “Qualified Investor”), in all cases under the circumstances that will fall within the private placement exemption of the Israeli Securities Law of 1968 (“Securities Law”). This prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus may not be reproduced or used for any other purpose, nor be furnished to any other person other than those to whom copies have been sent. Any investor in the Notes shall be required to declare in writing prior to such purchase that it qualifies as a Qualified Investor, agrees to be deemed a Qualified Investor, and is aware of the consequences of being classified as a Qualified Investor, that it will comply with the guidelines of the Israel Securities Authority with respect to the sale or offer of securities to Qualified Investors (including those published on September 21, 2014), and that it is purchasing the Notes for its own benefit and on its own account and not with the aim or intention of distributing or offering the Notes to other parties. Nothing in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus should be considered ‘investment advice’, or ‘investment marketing’ as defined in the Regulation of Investment Advice, Investment Marketing and Portfolio Management Law of 1995. Any investor who purchases the Notes shall be required to declare in writing that it has the knowledge, expertise and experience in financial and business matters so as to be capable of evaluating the risks and merits of an investment in the Notes, without relying on any of the materials provided.

Notice to Prospective Investors in Saudi Arabia

This prospectus supplement may not be distributed in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia except to such persons as are permitted under the Rules on the Offer of Securities and Continuing Obligations as issued by the board of the Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority (“CMA”) pursuant to resolution number 3-123-2017 dated 9/4/1439H (corresponding to 27/12/2017G) as amended by resolution number 1-104-2019 dated 01/02/1441H (corresponding to 30/09/2019G), as amended. The CMA does not make any representation as to the accuracy or completeness of this prospectus supplement and expressly disclaims any liability whatsoever for any loss arising from, or incurred in reliance upon, any part of this prospectus supplement. Prospective purchasers of the Notes offered hereby should conduct their own due diligence on the accuracy of the information relating to the Notes. If you do not understand the contents of this prospectus supplement, you should consult an authorized financial advisor.

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LEGAL MATTERS

Certain legal matters regarding the securities offered by this prospectus will be passed upon for Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc. by Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP. In addition, Dechert LLP serves as counsel to Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc. and to the Independent Directors. Certain legal matters in connection with the offering will be passed upon for the underwriters by Ropes & Gray LLP.

EXPERTS

The financial statements of Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc. and management’s assessment of the effectiveness of internal control over financial reporting (which is included in Management’s Report on Internal Control over Financial Reporting) incorporated in this prospectus supplement by reference to the annual report on Form 10-K of Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc. for the year ended December 31, 2019 and amendment no. 1 to the registration statement on Form N-14 (No. 333-235856) of Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc. have been so incorporated in reliance on the report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 101 Seaport Boulevard, Suite 500, Boston, Massachusetts 02210, an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.

The financial statements of Goldman Sachs Middle Market Lending Corp. incorporated in this prospectus supplement by reference to amendment no. 1 to the registration statement on Form N-14 (No. 333-235856) of Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc. have been so incorporated in reliance on the report of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 101 Seaport Boulevard, Suite 500, Boston, Massachusetts 02210, an independent registered public accounting firm, given on the authority of said firm as experts in auditing and accounting.

AVAILABLE INFORMATION

GS BDC has filed with the SEC a registration statement on Form N-2, together with all amendments and related exhibits, under the Securities Act, with respect to the Notes offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus. The registration statement contains additional information about GS BDC and the Notes being offered by this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.

GS BDC files with or submits to the SEC periodic and current reports, proxy statements and other information meeting the informational requirements of the Exchange Act. GS BDC maintains a website at www.GoldmanSachsBDC.com and makes all of its annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other publicly filed information available, free of charge, on or through its website. You may also obtain such information by contacting GS BDC, in writing at: 71 S Wacker Drive, Suite 500, Chicago, Illinois 60606, Attention: AI Shareholder Services, or by telephone (collect) at (312) 655-4702. The SEC maintains an Internet site that contains reports, proxy and information statements and other information filed electronically by GS BDC with the SEC which are available on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of these reports, proxy and information statements and other information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following e-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus, and you should not consider that information to be part of this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus.

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INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

This prospectus supplement is part of a registration statement that we have filed with the SEC. We are allowed to “incorporate by reference” the information that we file with the SEC, which means that we can disclose important information to you by referring you to those documents. The information incorporated by reference is considered to comprise a part of this prospectus supplement from the date we file that document. Any reports filed by us with the SEC before the date that any offering of any securities by means of this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is terminated will automatically update and, where applicable, supersede any information contained in this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus or incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus.

We incorporate by reference into this prospectus supplement our filings listed below and any future filings that we may file with the SEC under Section 13(a), 13(c), 14 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act, until all of the securities offered by this prospectus supplement have been sold or we otherwise terminate the offering of these securities; provided, however, that information “furnished” under Item 2.02 or Item 7.01 of Form 8-K or other information “furnished” to the SEC which is not deemed filed is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus supplement.

This prospectus supplement incorporates by reference the documents set forth below that have previously been filed with the SEC:

To obtain a copy of these filings, see “Available Information,” or you may request a copy of these filings (other than exhibits, unless the exhibits are specifically incorporated by reference into these documents) at no cost by writing or calling the following address and telephone number:

Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc.

200 West Street

New York, New York 12082

(212) 902-0300

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You should rely only on the information incorporated by reference or provided in this prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. We have not authorized anyone to provide you with different or additional information, and you should not rely on such information if you receive it. We are not making an offer of or soliciting an offer to buy, any securities in any state or other jurisdiction where such offer or sale is not permitted. You should not assume that the information in this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or in the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein is accurate as of any date other than the date on the front of this prospectus supplement, the accompanying prospectus or those documents.

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GOLDMAN SACHS BDC, INC.

Common Stock

Preferred Stock

Warrants

Debt Securities

Subscription Rights

We are an externally managed specialty finance company that is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”). We are focused on lending to “middle-market companies,” a term we generally use to refer to companies with between $5 million and $200 million of annual earnings before interest expense, income tax expense, depreciation and amortization (“EBITDA”) excluding certain one-time, and non-recurring items that are outside the operations of these companies. Our investment objective is to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation primarily through direct originations of secured debt, including first lien, unitranche, including last out portions of such loans, and second lien debt, and unsecured debt, including mezzanine debt, as well as through select equity investments.

We are managed by our investment adviser, Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. (“GSAM” or “Investment Adviser”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (“Group Inc.”). Group Inc., together with Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (including its predecessors, “GS & Co.”), GSAM and its other subsidiaries and affiliates, is referred to herein as “Goldman Sachs.”

We may offer, from time to time, in one or more offerings, together or separately, our common stock, preferred stock, warrants, debt securities or subscription rights representing rights to purchase shares of our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities, which we refer to, collectively, as the “securities.” The securities may be offered at prices and on terms to be described in one or more supplements to this prospectus.

Our common stock is traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “GSBD.” On November 17, 2020, the last reported sales price for our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange was $17.42 per share. The net asset value (“NAV”) of our common stock reported by us as of September 30, 2020 was $15.49.

This prospectus describes some of the general terms that may apply to an offering of our securities that a prospective investor ought to know before investing. We will provide the specific terms of these offerings and securities in one or more supplements to this prospectus. We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you in connection with these offerings. The prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus may also add, update, or change information contained in this prospectus. You should carefully read and retain for future reference this prospectus, the applicable prospectus supplement, and any related free writing prospectus, and the documents incorporated by reference, before buying any of the securities being offered. We file annual, quarterly and current reports, proxy statements and other information about us with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), which we incorporate by reference herein. See “Incorporation by Reference.” You may obtain this information or make stockholder inquiries by written or oral request and free of charge by contacting us at 200 West Street, New York, NY 10282, on our website at http://www.goldmansachsbdc.com, or by calling us collect at (212) 902-0300. Information contained on our website is not incorporated by reference into this prospectus, and you should not consider that information to be a part of this prospectus. The SEC also maintains a website at http://www.sec.gov that contains this information.

Shares of closed-end investment companies, including business development companies, that are listed on an exchange frequently trade at a discount to their NAV per share. If our shares trade at a discount to our NAV, it may increase the risk of loss for purchasers in any offering. Investing in our securities involves a high degree of risk, including credit risk and the risk of the use of leverage, and is

highly speculative. Before buying any securities, you should read the discussion of the material risks of investing in our securities in “Risk Factors” in this prospectus, “Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our recent annual report on Form 10-K, “Part II—Item 1A. Risk Factors” in our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q, “Risk Factors” in our joint proxy statement and prospectus that forms a part of a registration statement on Form N-14 filed with the SEC on August 4, 2020, as well as in any of our subsequent SEC filings, for more information.

The securities in which we invest are generally not rated by any rating agency, and if they were rated, they would be below investment grade (rated lower than “Baa3” by Moody’s Investors Service and lower than BBB-” by Fitch Ratings or Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services (“S&P”)). These securities, which may be referred to as “junk bonds,” “high yield bonds” or “leveraged loans,” have predominantly speculative characteristics with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal.

Neither the SEC nor any state securities commission has approved or disapproved of these securities or determined if this prospectus is truthful or complete. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

This prospectus may not be used to consummate sales of securities unless accompanied by a prospectus supplement.

The date of this prospectus is November 19, 2020

TABLE OF CONTENTS

You should rely only on the information contained in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplements, and the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein. We have not authorized any other person to provide you with different information or to make any representations not contained in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplements, and the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein. If anyone provides you with different or inconsistent information, you should not rely on it. We are not making an offer to sell these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted. You should assume that the information appearing in this prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplements, and the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein, is accurate only as of the dates on their respective covers. Our business, financial condition, results of operations, cash flows and prospects may have changed since such dates.

TRADEMARKS

This prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplements, and the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein, contains trademarks and service marks owned by Goldman Sachs. This prospectus, any applicable prospectus supplements, and the documents incorporated by reference herein or therein, may also contain trademarks and service marks owned by third parties.

ABOUT THIS PROSPECTUS

This prospectus is part of an automatic “shelf” registration statement that we have filed with the SEC as a “well-known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”). Under the shelf registration process, we may offer, from time to time, in one or more offerings or series, our common stock, preferred stock, warrants, debt securities or subscription rights representing rights to purchase shares of our common stock, preferred stock or debt securities on the terms to be determined at the time of the offering. The securities may be offered at prices and on terms described in one or more supplements to this prospectus. We may sell our securities through underwriters or dealers, “at-the-market” to or through a market maker, into an existing trading market or otherwise directly to one or more purchasers or through agents or through a combination of methods of sale. The identities of such underwriters, dealers, market makers or agents, as the case may be, will be described in one or more supplements to this prospectus. This prospectus provides you with a general description of the securities that we may offer. Each time we use this prospectus to offer securities, we will provide a prospectus supplement that will contain specific information about the terms of that offering.

We may also authorize one or more free writing prospectuses to be provided to you that may contain material information relating to these offerings. In a prospectus supplement or free writing prospectus, we may also add, update, or change any of the information contained in this prospectus or in the documents we incorporate by reference into this prospectus. This prospectus, together with the applicable prospectus supplement, any related free writing prospectus, and the documents incorporated by reference into this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement, will include all material information relating to the applicable offering. Before buying any of the securities being offered, you should carefully read both this prospectus and the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, together with any exhibits and the additional information described in the sections titled “Available Information,” “Incorporation By Reference,” “Prospectus Summary” and “Risk Factors” before making an investment decision.

This prospectus includes summaries of certain provisions contained in some of the documents described in this prospectus, but reference is made to the actual documents for complete information. All of the summaries are qualified in their entirety by the actual documents. Copies of some of the documents referred to herein have been filed, will be filed, or will be incorporated by reference as exhibits to the registration statement of which this prospectus is a part, and you may obtain copies of those documents as described in the section titled “Available Information.”

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FEES AND EXPENSES

The following table is intended to assist you in understanding the fees and expenses that an investor in our common stock will bear, directly or indirectly, based on the assumptions set forth below. We caution you that some of the percentages indicated in the table below are estimates and may vary. The expenses shown in the table under “annual expenses” are based on estimated amounts for our current fiscal year. The following table should not be considered a representation of our future expenses. Actual expenses may be greater or less than shown. Except where the context suggests otherwise, whenever this prospectus contains a reference to fees or expenses paid by “us” or that “we” will pay fees or expenses, the holders of our common stock will indirectly bear such fees or expenses.

Incentive Fees under our Investment Management Agreement: The incentive fee payable to GSAM consists of two components that are determined independent of each other, with the result that one component may be payable even if the other is not.

A portion of the Incentive Fee is based on income and a portion is based on capital gains, as described below. Our Investment Adviser is entitled to receive the Incentive Fee based on income from us if “Ordinary

Income” (as defined below) exceeds a quarterly “hurdle rate” of 1.75%. For this purpose, the hurdle is

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computed by reference to our NAV and does not take into account changes in the market price of our common stock.

Beginning with the calendar quarter that commenced on January 1, 2015, the Incentive Fee based on income is determined and paid quarterly in arrears at the end of each calendar quarter by reference to our aggregate net investment income, as adjusted as described below, from the calendar quarter then ending and the eleven preceding calendar quarters (the “Trailing Twelve Quarters”). The incentive fee based on capital gains is determined and paid annually in arrears at the end of each calendar year by reference to an Annual Period (as defined below).

The hurdle amount for the Incentive Fee based on income is determined on a quarterly basis, and is equal to 1.75% multiplied by our NAV at the beginning of each applicable calendar quarter comprising the relevant Trailing Twelve Quarters. The hurdle amount is calculated after making appropriate adjustments for subscriptions (which includes all issuances by us of shares of our common stock, including issuances pursuant to our dividend reinvestment plan) and distributions that occurred during the relevant Trailing Twelve Quarters. The incentive fee for any partial period will be appropriately prorated.

For the portion of the Incentive Fee based on income, we pay our Investment Adviser a quarterly Incentive Fee based on the amount by which (A) aggregate net investment income (“Ordinary Income”) in respect of the relevant Trailing Twelve Quarters exceeds (B) the hurdle amount for such Trailing Twelve Quarters. The amount of the excess of (A) over (B) described in this paragraph for such Trailing Twelve Quarters is referred to as the “Excess Income Amount.” For the avoidance of doubt, Ordinary Income is net of all fees and expenses, including the Management Fee but excluding any Incentive Fee.

The Incentive Fee based on income for each quarter is determined as follows:

The amount of the Incentive Fee based on income that will be paid to our Investment Adviser for a particular quarter will equal the excess of the Incentive Fee so calculated minus the aggregate Incentive Fees based on income that were paid in respect of the first eleven calendar quarters (or the portion thereof) included in the relevant Trailing Twelve Quarters but not in excess of the Incentive Fee Cap (as described below).

The Incentive Fee based on income that is paid to our Investment Adviser for a particular quarter is subject to a cap (the “Incentive Fee Cap”). The Incentive Fee Cap for any quarter is an amount equal to (a) 20% of the Cumulative Net Return (as defined below) during the relevant Trailing Twelve Quarters minus (b) the aggregate Incentive Fees based on income that were paid in respect of the first eleven calendar quarters (or the portion thereof) included in the relevant Trailing Twelve Quarters.

“Cumulative Net Return” means (x) the Ordinary Income in respect of the relevant Trailing Twelve Quarters minus (y) any Net Capital Loss, as defined below, if any, in respect of the relevant Trailing Twelve Quarters. If, in any quarter, the Incentive Fee Cap is zero or a negative value, we will pay no Incentive Fee based on income to our Investment Adviser for such quarter. If, in any quarter, the Incentive Fee Cap for such quarter

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is a positive value but is less than the Incentive Fee based on income that is payable to our Investment Adviser for such quarter (before giving effect to the Incentive Fee Cap) calculated as described above, we will pay an Incentive Fee based on income to our Investment Adviser equal to the Incentive Fee Cap for such quarter. If, in any quarter, the Incentive Fee Cap for such quarter is equal to or greater than the Incentive Fee based on income that is payable to our Investment Adviser for such quarter (before giving effect to the Incentive Fee Cap) calculated as described above, we will pay an Incentive Fee based on income to our Investment Adviser equal to the Incentive Fee calculated as described above for such quarter without regard to the Incentive Fee Cap.

“Net Capital Loss” in respect of a particular period means the difference, if positive, between (i) aggregate capital losses, whether realized or unrealized, in such period and (ii) aggregate capital gains, whether realized or unrealized, in such period.

Although not reflected above, the Investment Adviser expects to continue to waive a portion of its management fee payable by us in an amount equal to any management fees it earns as an investment adviser for any affiliated money market funds in which we invest.

Example

The following example demonstrates the projected dollar amount of total cumulative expenses that would be incurred over various periods with respect to a hypothetical investment in our common stock. In calculating the following expense amounts, we have assumed that our annual operating expenses remain at the

levels set forth in the table above, except for the Incentive Fee based on income. Transaction expenses are not included in the following example.

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The foregoing table is to assist you in understanding the various costs and expenses that an investor in our common stock will bear directly or indirectly. While the example assumes, as required by the SEC, a 5% annual return, our performance will vary and may result in a return greater or less than 5%. The Incentive Fee under our Investment Management Agreement, which, assuming a 5% annual return, would either not be payable or would have an insignificant impact on the expense amounts shown above, is not included in the example. The example assumes reinvestment of all distributions at NAV. In addition, while the example assumes reinvestment of all dividends and distributions at NAV, under certain circumstances, reinvestment of dividends and other distributions under our dividend reinvestment plan may occur at a price per share that differs from NAV. See “Dividend Reinvestment Plan” for additional information regarding our dividend reinvestment plan.

This example and the expenses in the table above should not be considered a representation of our future expenses, and actual expenses (including the cost of debt, if any, and other expenses) may be greater or less than those shown.

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RISK FACTORS

Investing in our securities involves certain risks relating to our structure and investment objective. You should carefully consider these the risks and uncertainties in the section titled “Risk Factors” in the applicable prospectus supplement and any related free writing prospectus, and discussed in the sections titled “Item 1A.—Risk Factors” in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, “Item 1A.—Risk Factors” in our most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, “Risk Factors” in our Form N-14, and in any subsequent filings we have made with the SEC that are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, together with other information in this prospectus, the documents incorporated by reference, and any free writing prospectus that we may authorize for use in connection with this offering, before you decide whether to make an investment in our securities. The risks in these documents are not the only risks we face, and we may face other risks that we have not yet identified, which we do not currently deem material or which are not yet predictable. If any of the following risks occur, our business, financial condition and results of operations could be materially adversely affected. In such case, our NAV and the trading price of our securities could decline, and you may lose all or part of your investment.

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POTENTIAL CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

General Categories of Conflicts Associated with the Company

Goldman Sachs (which, for purposes of this “Potential Conflicts of Interest” section, shall mean, collectively, Group Inc., the Investment Adviser and their affiliates, directors, partners, trustees, managers, members, officers and employees) is a worldwide, full-service investment banking, broker-dealer, asset management and financial services organization and a major participant in global financial markets. As such, it provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base. In those and other capacities, Goldman Sachs advises clients in all markets and transactions and purchases, sells, holds and recommends a broad array of investments for its own accounts and for the accounts of clients and of its personnel, through client accounts and the relationships and products it sponsors, manages and advises. Goldman Sachs has direct and indirect interests in the global fixed income, currency, commodity, equities, bank loan and other markets, and the securities and issuers, in which the Company may directly and indirectly invest. As a result, Goldman Sachs’ activities and dealings, including on behalf of the Company, may affect the Company in ways that may disadvantage or restrict the Company and/or benefit Goldman Sachs or other Accounts. In managing conflicts of interest that may arise as a result of the foregoing, GSAM generally will be subject to fiduciary requirements.

The following are descriptions of certain conflicts and potential conflicts of interest that may be associated with the financial or other interests that the Investment Adviser and Goldman Sachs may have in transactions effected by, with or on behalf of the Company. The conflicts herein do not purport to be a complete list or explanation of the conflicts or potential conflicts associated with the financial or other interests the Company or Goldman Sachs may have now or in the future. Additional information about potential conflicts of interest regarding the Investment Adviser and Goldman Sachs is set forth in the Investment Adviser’s Form ADV. A copy of Part 1 and Part 2A of the Investment Adviser’s Form ADV is available on the SEC’s website (www.adviserinfo.sec.gov). A copy of Part 2 of the Investment Adviser’s Form ADV will be provided to investors or prospective investors upon request.

Other Activities of Goldman Sachs, the Sale of the Company’s Stock and the Allocation of Investment Opportunities

Sales Incentives and Related Conflicts Arising from Goldman Sachs’ Financial and Other Relationships with Intermediaries

Goldman Sachs and its personnel, including employees of the Investment Adviser, may receive benefits and earn fees and compensation for services provided to Accounts (including the Company). Moreover, Goldman Sachs and its personnel, including employees of the Investment Adviser, may have relationships (both involving and not involving the Company, and including without limitation placement, brokerage, advisory and board relationships) with distributors, consultants and others who recommend, or engage in transactions with or for, the Company. Such distributors, consultants and other parties may receive compensation from Goldman Sachs or the Company in connection with such relationships. As a result of these relationships, distributors, consultants and other parties may have conflicts that create incentives for them to promote the Company.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Company and Goldman Sachs may make payments to authorized dealers and other financial intermediaries and to salespersons (collectively, “Intermediaries”) from time to time to promote the Company. These payments may be made out of Goldman Sachs’ assets, or amounts payable to Goldman Sachs. These payments may create an incentive for a particular Intermediary to highlight, feature or recommend the Company.

Allocation of Investment Opportunities and Expenses Among the Company and Other Accounts

The Company’s investment objectives and investment strategies are similar to those of other Accounts managed by the Investment Adviser (including GS PMMC and GS PMMC II) (including Accounts in which

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Goldman Sachs and its personnel have an interest), and an investment appropriate for the Company may also be appropriate for those Accounts (including GS PMMC and GS PMMC II). This creates potential conflicts in allocating investment opportunities among the Company and such other Accounts, particularly in circumstances where the availability or liquidity of such investment opportunities is limited or where co-investments by the Company and other Accounts are not permitted under applicable law.

The Company is prohibited under the Investment Company Act from participating in certain transactions with its affiliates without the prior approval of the Independent Directors and, in some cases, of the SEC. Any person that owns, directly or indirectly, five percent or more of the Company’s outstanding voting securities will be an affiliate of the Company for purposes of the Investment Company Act, and the Company is generally prohibited from buying or selling any assets from or to, or entering into certain “joint” transactions (which could include investments in the same portfolio company) with such affiliates, absent the prior approval of the Independent Directors. The Investment Adviser and its affiliates, including persons that control, or are under common control with, the Company or the Investment Adviser, are also considered to be affiliates of the Company under the Investment Company Act, and the Company is generally prohibited from buying or selling any assets from or to, or entering into “joint” transactions with, such affiliates without exemptive relief from the SEC.

Subject to applicable law, we may invest alongside Goldman Sachs and its Accounts. In certain circumstances, negotiated co-investments by us and other Accounts may be made only pursuant to an order from the SEC permitting us to do so. Together with our Investment Adviser, GS PMMC and GS MMLC (which was merged with GS BDC on October 12, 2020), we applied for and received an exemptive order from the SEC that permits us to participate in negotiated co-investment transactions with certain affiliates (including GS PMMC and GS PMMC II), each of whose investment adviser is GSAM, after the date of the exemptive order, subject to certain conditions, such as that co-investments be made in a manner consistent with our investment objectives, positions, policies, strategies and restrictions, as well as regulatory requirements and pursuant to the conditions required by the exemptive relief, and are allocated fairly among participants. As a result of such order, there could be significant overlap in our investment portfolio and the investment portfolios of GS PMMC and GS PMMC II and/or other funds managed by our Investment Adviser. If our Investment Adviser identifies an investment and we are unable to rely on our exemptive relief for that particular opportunity, our Investment Adviser will be required to determine which Accounts should make the investment at the potential exclusion of other Accounts. In such circumstances, the Investment Adviser will adhere to its investment allocation policy in order to determine the Account to which to allocate the opportunity. The policy provides that our Investment Adviser allocate opportunities through a rotation system or in such other manner as our Investment Adviser determines to be equitable. Accordingly, it is possible that we may not be given the opportunity to participate in certain investments made by other Accounts.

The Company may also invest alongside other Accounts advised by the Investment Adviser and its affiliates in certain circumstances where doing so is consistent with applicable law and SEC staff guidance and interpretations. For example, the Company may invest alongside such Accounts consistent with guidance promulgated by the staff of the SEC permitting the Company and such other Accounts to purchase interests in a single class of privately placed securities so long as certain conditions are met. The Company may also invest alongside the Investment Adviser’s other clients as otherwise permissible under SEC staff guidance and interpretations, applicable regulations and the allocation policy of the Investment Adviser.

To address these potential conflicts, the Investment Adviser has developed allocation policies and procedures that provide that personnel of the Investment Adviser making portfolio decisions for Accounts will make purchase and sale decisions for, and allocate investment opportunities among, Accounts consistent with its fiduciary obligations. To the extent permitted by applicable law, these policies and procedures may result in the pro rata allocation of limited opportunities across eligible Accounts managed by a particular portfolio management team, but in many other cases such allocations reflect numerous other factors as described below. Accounts managed outside the GSAM Private Credit Group are generally viewed separately for allocation

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purposes. There will be cases where certain Accounts (including Accounts in which Goldman Sachs and its personnel have an interest) receive an allocation of an investment opportunity when the Company does not and vice versa.

Personnel of the Investment Adviser involved in decision-making for Accounts may make allocation related decisions for the Company and other Accounts by reference to one or more factors, including: the Account’s portfolio and its investment horizons, objectives, guidelines and restrictions (including legal and regulatory restrictions); strategic fit and other portfolio management considerations, including different desired levels of investment for different strategies; client instructions; the expected future capacity of the applicable Accounts; cash and liquidity needs and considerations; the availability of other appropriate or substantially similar investment opportunities; and differences in benchmark factors and hedging strategies among Accounts. Suitability considerations, reputational matters and other considerations may also be considered. The application of these considerations may cause differences in the performance of different Accounts that have similar strategies. In addition, in some cases the Investment Adviser may make investment recommendations to Accounts where the Accounts make the investment independently of the Investment Adviser, which may result in a reduction in the availability of the investment opportunity for other Accounts (including the Company) irrespective of the Investment Adviser’s policies regarding allocation of investments. Additional information about the Investment Adviser’s allocation policies is set forth in Item 6 (“Performance-based Fees and Side-by-Side Management—Side-by-Side Management of Advisory Accounts; Allocation of Opportunities”) of the Investment Adviser’s Form ADV.

The Investment Adviser, including the GSAM Credit Alternatives investment team, may, from time to time, develop and implement new trading strategies or seek to participate in new investment opportunities and trading strategies. These opportunities and strategies may not be employed in all Accounts or pro rata among Accounts where they are employed, even if the opportunity or strategy is consistent with the objectives of such Accounts. Further, a trading strategy employed for the Company that is similar to, or the same as that of, another Account may be implemented differently, sometimes to a material extent. For example, the Company may invest in different securities or other assets, or invest in the same securities and other assets but in different proportions, than another Account with the same or similar trading strategy. The implementation of the Company’s trading strategy will depend on a variety of factors, including the portfolio managers involved in managing the trading strategy for the Account, the time difference associated with the location of different portfolio management teams, and the factors described above.

During periods of unusual market conditions, the Investment Adviser may deviate from its normal trade allocation practices. For example, this may occur with respect to the management of unlevered and/or long-only Accounts that are typically managed on a side-by-side basis with levered and/or long-short Accounts.

The Company may receive opportunities referred by Goldman Sachs businesses and affiliates, but in no event does the Company have any rights with respect to such opportunities. Subject to applicable law, including the Investment Company Act, such opportunities or any portion thereof may be offered to other Accounts, Goldman Sachs, all or certain investors in the Company, or such other persons or entities as determined by Goldman Sachs in its sole discretion. The Company will have no rights and will not receive any compensation related to such opportunities. Certain of such opportunities may be referred to the Company by employees or other personnel of GS & Co., or by third-parties. If the Company invests in any such opportunities, GS & Co. or such third-parties may be entitled, to the extent permitted by applicable law, including the limitations set forth in Section 57(k) of the Investment Company Act, to compensation from the Company or from the borrowers in connection with such investments. Any compensation the Company pays in connection with such referrals will be an operating expense and will accordingly be borne by the Company (and will not serve to offset any Management Fee or Incentive Fee payable to the Investment Adviser). For a further explanation of the allocation of opportunities and other conflicts and the risks related thereto, please see “Risk Factors.”

Expenses are generally allocated to Accounts (including the Company) based on whose behalf the expenses are incurred. Where the Company and one or more other Accounts participate in a particular investment

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or collectively incur other expenses, the Investment Adviser generally allocates investment-related and other expenses in a manner the Investment Adviser determines to be fair and equitable, which may be pro rata or on a different basis.

The Company and other Accounts may contract for and incur expenses in connection with certain services provided by third parties, including valuation agents, rating agencies, attorneys, accountants and other professional service providers, while other Accounts that did not contract for such services may not incur such expenses even though they directly or indirectly receive benefit from such services. For example, the work of valuation firms retained by us at the request of the our Board of Directors benefit certain Accounts that invest in the same assets as us, but because such other Accounts did not request such services they are not allocated any costs associated therewith. While it is generally expected that the Accounts requesting third party services will bear the full expense associated therewith, GSAM may in its sole discretion determine to bear the portion of such expenses that would be allocable to the non-requesting Accounts had such Accounts requested the services.

Goldman Sachs’ Financial and Other Interests May Incentivize Goldman Sachs to Promote the Sale of Our Common Stock or Favor Other Accounts.

The Investment Adviser receives performance-based compensation in respect of its investment management activities on the Company’s behalf, which rewards the Investment Adviser for positive performance of the Company’s investment portfolio. As a result, the Investment Adviser may make investments for the Company that present a greater potential for return but also a greater risk of loss or that are more speculative than would be the case in the absence of performance-based compensation. In addition, the Investment Adviser may simultaneously manage other Accounts (including other BDCs (including GS PMMC and GS PMMC II)) for which the Investment Adviser may be entitled to receive greater fees or other compensation (as a percentage of performance or otherwise) than it receives in respect of us. In addition, subject to applicable law, Goldman Sachs may invest in other Accounts (including other BDCs (including GS PMMC and GS PMMC II)), and such investments may constitute substantial percentages of such other Accounts’ outstanding equity interests. Therefore, the Investment Adviser may have an incentive to favor such other Accounts over us. To address these types of conflicts, the Investment Adviser has adopted policies and procedures under which investment opportunities will be allocated in a manner that it believes is consistent with its obligations as an investment adviser. However, the amount, timing, structuring or terms of an investment by the Company may differ from, and performance may be different than, the investments and performance of other Accounts.

Management of the Company by the Investment Adviser

Considerations Relating to Information Held by Goldman Sachs

Goldman Sachs has established certain information barriers and other policies to address the sharing of information between different businesses within Goldman Sachs. As a result of information barriers, the Investment Adviser generally will not have access, or will have limited access, to information and personnel in other areas of Goldman Sachs, and generally will not be able to manage the Company with the benefit of information held by such other areas. Such other areas, including without limitation, Goldman Sachs’ prime brokerage and administration businesses, will have broad access to detailed information that is not available to the Investment Adviser, including information in respect of markets and investments, which, if known to the Investment Adviser, might cause the Investment Adviser to seek to dispose of, retain or increase interests in investments held by the Company or acquire certain positions on the Company’s behalf, or take other actions. Goldman Sachs will be under no obligation or fiduciary or other duty to make any such information available to the Investment Adviser or personnel of the Investment Adviser involved in decision-making for the Company. There may be circumstances in which, as a result of information held by certain of the Investment Adviser’s portfolio management teams, the Investment Adviser limits an activity or a transaction for the Company, including if the team holding such information is not managing the Company. In addition, regardless of the existence of information barriers, Goldman Sachs will not have any obligation or other duty to make available

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any information regarding its trading activities, strategies or views, or the activities, strategies or views used for other Accounts, for the benefit of the Company. Different areas of the Investment Adviser and Goldman Sachs may take views, and make decisions or recommendations, that are different than those of other areas of the Investment Adviser and Goldman Sachs. Different portfolio management teams within the Investment Adviser may make decisions based on information or take (or refrain from taking) actions with respect to Accounts they advise in a manner that may be different than with respect, or adverse, to the Company. Such teams may not share information with the Company’s portfolio management team, including as a result of certain information barriers and other policies and will not have any obligation to do so.

Valuation of the Company’s Investments

The Investment Adviser performs certain valuation services related to securities and assets held in the Company. The Investment Adviser, pursuant to delegated authority, and subject to the supervision of the Board of Directors, values the Company’s securities and assets according to the Company’s valuation policies, and may value an identical asset differently than another division or unit within Goldman Sachs or another Account values the asset, including because such other division or unit or Account has information or uses valuation techniques and models that it does not share with, or that are different than those of, the Investment Adviser or the Company. This is particularly the case in respect of difficult-to-value assets. The Investment Adviser may face a conflict with respect to valuations generally because of their effect on the Investment Adviser’s fees and other compensation.

Goldman Sachs’ and the Investment Adviser’s Activities on Behalf of Other Accounts

The Investment Adviser’s decisions and actions on behalf of the Company may differ from those on behalf of other Accounts. Advice given to, or investment or voting decisions made for, one or more Accounts, may compete with, affect, differ from, conflict with, or involve timing different from, advice given to or investment or voting decisions made for the Company.

Goldman Sachs engages in a variety of activities in the global financial markets. The extent of Goldman Sachs’ activities in the global financial markets, including without limitation in its capacity as an investment banker, market maker, financier, lender, investor, prime broker, derivatives dealer, adviser, counterparty, agent, principal and research provider, may have potential adverse effects on the Company. Goldman Sachs, the clients it advises, and its personnel have interests in and advise Accounts which have investment objectives or portfolios similar to, related to or opposed to those of the Company.

Goldman Sachs (including GSAM), the clients it advises, and its personnel have interests in and advise Accounts that have investment objectives or portfolios similar to, related to or opposed to those of the Company. Goldman Sachs may receive greater fees or other compensation (including performance-based fees) from such Accounts than it does from the Company. In addition, Goldman Sachs (including GSAM), the clients it advises, and its personnel may engage (or consider engaging) in commercial arrangements or transactions with Accounts, and/or may compete for commercial arrangements or transactions in the same types of companies, assets, securities and other instruments, as the Company. Decisions and actions of the Investment Adviser on behalf of the Company may differ from those by Goldman Sachs (including the Investment Adviser) on behalf of other Accounts. Advice given to, or investment or voting decisions made for, the Company may compete with, affect, differ from, conflict with, or involve timing different from, advice given to, or investment or voting decisions made for, other Accounts. Transactions by, advice to and activities of such Accounts may involve the same or related companies, securities or other assets or instruments as those in which the Company invests, and such Accounts may engage in a strategy while the Company is undertaking the same or a differing strategy, any of which could directly or indirectly disadvantage the Company (including its ability to engage in a transaction or other activities) or the prices or terms at which the Company’s transactions or other activities may be effected. For example, Goldman Sachs may be engaged to provide advice to an Account that is considering entering into a transaction with the Company, and Goldman Sachs may advise the Account not to pursue the transaction with the

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Company, or otherwise in connection with a potential transaction provide advice to the Account that would be adverse to the Company. Additionally, the Company may buy a security and Goldman Sachs may establish a short position in that same security or in similar securities. This short position may result in the impairment of the price of the security that the Company holds or may be designed to profit from a decline in the price of the security. The Company could similarly be adversely impacted if it establishes a short position, following which Goldman Sachs takes a long position in the same security or in similar securities. To the extent the Company engages in transactions in the same or similar types of securities or other investments as other Accounts, the Company and other Accounts may compete for such transactions or investments, and transactions or investments by such other Accounts may negatively affect the investments of the Company (including the ability of the Company to engage in such a transaction or investment or other activities), or the price or terms at which the Company’s transactions or investments or other activities may be effected. Moreover, Goldman Sachs or Accounts, on the one hand, and the Company, on the other hand, may vote differently on or take or refrain from taking different actions with respect to the same security, which may be disadvantageous to the Company.

Goldman Sachs (including, as applicable, the Investment Adviser) and its personnel, when acting as an investment banker, market maker, financier, lender, investor, prime broker, derivatives dealer, adviser, counterparty, agent, principal or research provider, or in other capacities, may advise on transactions, may make investment decisions or recommendations, provide differing investment views or have views with respect to research or valuations that are inconsistent with, or adverse to, the Company’s interests and activities. Members may be offered access to advisory services through several different Goldman Sachs advisory businesses (including GS & Co. and GSAM). Different advisory businesses within Goldman Sachs manage Accounts according to different strategies and may also apply different criteria to the same or similar strategies and may have differing investment views in respect of an issuer or a security or other investment. Similarly, within the Investment Adviser, certain portfolio management teams may have differing or opposite investment views in respect of an issuer or a security, and the actions the Company’s portfolio management team takes in respect of the Company’s investments may be inconsistent with, or adversely affected by, the interests and activities of the Accounts advised by other portfolio management teams of the Investment Adviser. Research analyses or viewpoints may be available to clients or potential clients at different times. Goldman Sachs will not have any obligation or other duty to make available to the Company any research or analysis prior to its public dissemination. The Investment Adviser is responsible for making investment decisions on the Company’s behalf, and such investment decisions can differ from investment decisions or recommendations by Goldman Sachs on behalf of other Accounts. Goldman Sachs may, on behalf of other Accounts and in accordance with its management of such Accounts, implement an investment decision or strategy ahead of, or contemporaneously with, or behind similar investment decisions or strategies made for the Company. The relative timing for the implementation of investment decisions or strategies among Accounts and the Company may disadvantage the Company. Certain factors, for example, market impact, liquidity constraints, or other circumstances, could result in the Company receiving less favorable trading results or incurring increased costs associated with implementing such investment decisions or strategies, or being otherwise disadvantaged.

Subject to applicable law, the Investment Adviser may cause the Company to invest in securities, loans or other obligations of companies affiliated with Goldman Sachs or in which Goldman Sachs or Accounts have an equity, debt or other interest, or to engage in investment transactions that may result in other Accounts being relieved of obligations or otherwise divesting of investments, which may enhance the profitability of Goldman Sachs’ or other Accounts’ investments in and activities with respect to such companies.

Goldman Sachs may, in its discretion, recommend that the Company have ongoing business dealings, arrangements or agreements with persons who are former employees of Goldman Sachs. The Company may bear, directly or indirectly, the costs of such dealings, arrangements or agreements. These recommendations and recommendations relating to continuing any such dealings, arrangements or agreements may pose conflicts of interest.

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Potential Conflicts Relating to Follow-On Investments

To the extent permitted by law, from time to time, the Investment Adviser may provide opportunities to Accounts (including potentially the Company) to make investments in companies in which certain Accounts have already invested. Such follow-on investments can create conflicts of interest, such as the determination of the terms of the new investment and the allocation of such opportunities among Accounts (including the Company). Follow-on investment opportunities may be available to the Company notwithstanding that the Company has no existing investment in the issuer, resulting in the assets of the Company potentially providing value to, or otherwise supporting the investments of, other Accounts. Accounts (including the Company) may also participate in releveraging, recapitalization, and similar transactions involving companies in which other Accounts have invested or will invest. Conflicts of interest in these and other transactions may arise between Accounts (including the Company) with existing investments in a company and Accounts making subsequent investments in the company, which may have opposing interests regarding pricing and other terms. The subsequent investments may dilute or otherwise adversely affect the interests of the previously-invested Accounts (including the Company).

Diverse Interests

The various types of investors in and beneficiaries of the Company, including to the extent applicable the Investment Adviser and its affiliates, may have conflicting investment, tax and other interests with respect to their interest in the Company. When considering a potential investment for the Company, the Investment Adviser will generally consider the investment objectives of the Company, not the investment objectives of any particular investor or beneficiary. The Investment Adviser may make decisions, including with respect to tax matters, from time to time that may be more beneficial to one type of investor or beneficiary than another, or to the Investment Adviser and its affiliates than to investors or beneficiaries unaffiliated with the Investment Adviser. In addition, Goldman Sachs may face certain tax risks based on positions taken by the Company, including as a withholding agent. Goldman Sachs reserves the right on behalf of itself and its affiliates to take actions adverse to the Company or other Accounts in these circumstances, including withholding amounts to cover actual or potential tax liabilities.

Selection of Service Providers

The Company expects to engage service providers (including attorneys and consultants) that may also provide services to other Goldman Sachs affiliates. The Investment Adviser intends to select these service providers based on a number of factors, including expertise and experience, knowledge of related or similar products, quality of service, reputation in the marketplace, relationships with the Investment Adviser, Goldman Sachs or others, and price. These service providers may have business, financial, or other relationships with Goldman Sachs, which may or may not influence the Investment Adviser’s selection of these service providers for the Company. In such circumstances, there may be a conflict of interest between Goldman Sachs (acting on behalf of the Company) and the Company, if the Company determines not to engage or continue to engage these service providers. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the selection of service providers for the Company will be conducted in accordance with the Investment Adviser’s fiduciary obligations to the Company. The service providers selected by the Investment Adviser may charge different rates to different recipients based on the specific services provided, the personnel providing the services, or other factors. As a result, the rates paid to these service providers by the Company, on the one hand, may be more or less favorable than the rates paid by Goldman Sachs or other Accounts, on the other hand. Goldman Sachs (including GSAM) may hold investments in companies that provide services to entities in which the Company invests generally, and, subject to applicable law, GSAM may refer or introduce such companies’ services to entities that have issued securities held by the Company.

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Investments in Goldman Sachs Funds

To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Company may invest in money market and other funds sponsored, managed or advised by Goldman Sachs. Advisory fees paid to the Investment Adviser by the Company will not be reduced by any fees payable by the Company to Goldman Sachs as manager of such money market funds (i.e., there could be “double fees” involved in making any such investment because Goldman Sachs could receive fees with respect to both the Company’s management and such money market fund), other than in certain specified cases. In such circumstances, as well as in all other circumstances in which Goldman Sachs receives any fees or other compensation in any form relating to the provision of services, no accounting or repayment to the Company will be required.

Goldman Sachs May In-Source or Outsource

Subject to applicable law, Goldman Sachs, including the Investment Adviser, may from time to time and without notice to investors in-source or outsource certain processes or functions in connection with a variety of services that it provides to the Company in its administrative or other capacities. Such in-sourcing or outsourcing may give rise to additional conflicts of interest.

Potential Merger with or Asset Sale to Another Fund Managed by GSAM

Our Investment Adviser recommended the Merger to our Board of Directors and may in the future recommend to the Board of Directors that we merge with or acquire all or substantially all of the assets of one or more funds including a fund that could be managed by our Investment Adviser (including another BDC). We do not expect that our Investment Adviser would recommend any such merger or asset purchase unless it determines that it would be in our best interests, with such determination dependent on factors it deems relevant, which may include historical and projected financial performance of us and any proposed merger partner, portfolio composition, potential synergies from the merger or asset purchase, available alternative options and market conditions. In addition, no such merger or asset sale would be consummated absent the meeting of various conditions required by applicable law or contract, at such time, which may include approval of the board of directors and common equity holders of both funds and/or accounts. If our Investment Adviser is the investment adviser of both funds, as is the case in the Merger, various conflicts of interest exist with respect to such transaction. Such conflicts of interest may potentially arise from, among other things, differences between the compensation payable to the Investment Adviser by us and by the entity resulting from such a merger or asset purchase or efficiencies or other benefits to our Investment Adviser as a result of managing a single, larger fund or account instead of two separate funds and/or accounts.

Goldman Sachs May Act in a Capacity Other Than Investment Adviser to the Company

Investments in Different Parts of an Issuer’s Capital Structure

When permitted by applicable law, Goldman Sachs or Accounts, on the one hand, and the Company, on the other hand, may invest in or extend credit to different classes of securities or different parts of the capital structure of a single issuer. As a result, Goldman Sachs (including GSAM) or Accounts may take actions that adversely affect the Company. In addition, when permitted by applicable law, Goldman Sachs (including GSAM) may advise Accounts with respect to different parts of the capital structure of the same issuer, or classes of securities that are subordinate or senior to securities, in which the Company invests. Goldman Sachs (including GSAM) may pursue rights, provide advice or engage in other activities, or refrain from pursuing rights, providing advice or engaging in other activities, on behalf of itself or other Accounts with respect to an issuer in which the Company has invested, and such actions (or refraining from action) may have a material adverse effect on the Company.

For example, in the event that Goldman Sachs (including GSAM) or an Account holds loans, securities or other positions in the capital structure of an issuer that ranks senior in preference to the holdings of the

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Company in the same issuer, and the issuer experiences financial or operational challenges, Goldman Sachs (including GSAM), acting on behalf of itself or the Account, may seek a liquidation, reorganization or restructuring of the issuer, or terms in connection with the foregoing, that may have an adverse effect on or otherwise conflict with the interests of the Company’s holdings in the issuer. In connection with any such liquidation, reorganization or restructuring, the Company’s holdings in the issuer may be extinguished or substantially diluted, while Goldman Sachs (including GSAM) or another Account may receive a recovery of some or all of the amounts due to them. In addition, in connection with any lending arrangements involving the issuer in which Goldman Sachs (including GSAM) or an Account participates, Goldman Sachs (including GSAM) or the Account may seek to exercise its rights under the applicable loan agreement or other document, which may be detrimental to the Company. Alternatively, in situations in which the Company holds a more senior position in the capital structure of an issuer experiencing financial or other difficulties as compared to positions held by other Accounts (which may include those of Goldman Sachs, including GSAM), the Investment Adviser may determine not to pursue actions and remedies that may be available to the Company or particular terms that might be unfavorable to the Accounts holding the less senior position. In addition, in the event that Goldman Sachs (including GSAM) or the Accounts hold voting securities of an issuer in which the Company holds loans, bonds or other credit-related assets or securities, Goldman Sachs (including GSAM) or the Accounts may vote on certain matters in a manner that has an adverse effect on the positions held by the Company. Conversely, Accounts may hold voting securities of an issuer in which Goldman Sachs (including GSAM) or Accounts hold credit-related assets or securities, and the Investment Adviser may determine on behalf of the Accounts not to vote in a manner adverse to Goldman Sachs (including GSAM) or the Accounts. These potential issues are examples of conflicts that Goldman Sachs (including GSAM) will face in situations in which the Company and Goldman Sachs (including GSAM) or other Accounts invest in or extend credit to different parts of the capital structure of a single issuer. Goldman Sachs (including GSAM) addresses these issues based on the circumstances of particular situations. For example, Goldman Sachs (including GSAM) may determine to rely on information barriers between different Goldman Sachs (including GSAM) business units or portfolio management teams. Also in connection with a conflicted situation regarding the Company, or an Account other than the Company or its own account, Goldman Sachs may determine to rely on the actions of similarly situated holders of loans or securities rather than, or in connection with, taking such actions itself on behalf of the Account. As a result of the various conflicts and related issues described in this paragraph, the Company could sustain losses during periods in which Goldman Sachs and other Accounts achieve profits generally or with respect to particular holdings, or could achieve lower profits or higher losses than would have been the case had the conflicts described above not existed. The negative effects described above may be more pronounced in connection with transactions in, or the Company’s use of, small capitalization, emerging market, distressed or less liquid strategies.

Cross Transactions

When permitted by applicable law and the Investment Adviser’s and the Company’s policies, the Investment Adviser, acting on behalf of the Company, may enter into transactions in securities and other instruments with or through Goldman Sachs or in Accounts managed by the Investment Adviser or its affiliates, and may (but is under no obligation or other duty to) cause the Company to engage in transactions in which the Investment Adviser, advises both sides of a transaction (cross transactions) and acts as broker for, and receives a commission from, the Company on one side of a transaction and a brokerage account on the other side of the transaction (agency cross transactions). There may be potential conflicts of interest or regulatory restrictions relating to these transactions which could limit the Investment Adviser’s decision to engage in these transactions for the Company. Goldman Sachs will have potentially conflicting division of loyalties and responsibilities to the parties in such transactions, including with respect to a decision to enter into such transactions as well as with respect to valuation, pricing and other terms. The Investment Adviser has developed policies and procedures in relation to such transactions and conflicts. However, there can be no assurance that such transactions will be effected, or that such transactions will be effected in the manner that is most favorable to the Company as a party to any such transaction. Cross transactions may disproportionately benefit some Accounts relative to other

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Accounts, including the Company, due to the relative amount of market savings obtained by the Accounts. Cross or agency cross transactions will be effected in accordance with fiduciary requirements and applicable law.

Goldman Sachs May Act in Multiple Commercial Capacities

To the extent permitted by applicable law, Goldman Sachs may act as broker, dealer, agent, lender or advisor or in other commercial capacities for the Company or issuers of securities held by the Company. Goldman Sachs may be entitled to compensation in connection with the provision of such services, and the Company will not be entitled to any such compensation. Goldman Sachs will have an interest in obtaining fees and other compensation in connection with such services that are favorable to Goldman Sachs, and may take commercial steps in its own interests, or may advise the parties to which it is providing such services to take steps or engage in transactions, that negatively affect the Company. For example, Goldman Sachs may require repayment of all or part of a loan at any time and from time to time or declare a default under an agreement with the Company or a portfolio company of the Company, liquidate the Company’s assets or redeem positions more rapidly (and at significantly lower prices) than might otherwise be desirable. In addition, due to its access to and knowledge of funds, markets and securities based on its other businesses, Goldman Sachs may make decisions based on information or take (or refrain from taking) actions with respect to interests in investments of the kind held directly or indirectly by the Company in a manner that may be adverse to the Company. Goldman Sachs may also derive benefits from providing services to the Company, which may enhance Goldman Sachs’ relationships with various parties, facilitate additional business development and enable Goldman Sachs to obtain additional business and generate additional revenue.

Goldman Sachs has acted in the past, and is expected to act in the future, as an underwriter, placement agent, dealer or in other capacities in connection with fundraising by the Company. Goldman Sachs has been compensated by the Company for such activities in the past and would be compensated by the Company for any such activities undertaken in the future. For example, Goldman Sachs served as joint bookrunning manager in an offering of the Company’s common stock in May 2017, for which Goldman Sachs received underwriting discounts and commissions of $0.675 per share with respect to its allocation of 260,000 shares plus its allocable portion of the option to purchase additional shares of our common stock, in July 2016 and October 2016, Goldman Sachs served as joint bookrunning manager in offerings of our Convertible Notes, and in February 2020, Goldman Sachs served as joint bookrunning manager in the offering of our 2025 Notes.

Goldman Sachs’ activities on behalf of its clients may also restrict investment opportunities that may be available to the Company. For example, Goldman Sachs is often engaged by companies as a financial advisor, or to provide financing or other services, in connection with commercial transactions that may be potential investment opportunities for the Company. There may be circumstances in which the Company is precluded from participating in such transactions as a result of Goldman Sachs’ engagement by such companies. Goldman Sachs reserves the right to act for these companies in such circumstances, notwithstanding the potential adverse effect on the Company. Goldman Sachs may also represent creditor or debtor companies in proceedings under Chapter 11 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code (and equivalent non-U.S. bankruptcy laws) or prior to these proceedings. From time to time, Goldman Sachs may serve on creditor or equity committees. These actions, for which Goldman Sachs may be compensated, may limit or preclude the flexibility that the Company may otherwise have to buy or sell securities issued by those companies, as well as certain other assets. Please also refer to “—Management of the Company by the Investment Adviser—Considerations Relating to Information Held by Goldman Sachs” above and “—Potential Limitations and Restrictions on Investment Opportunities and Activities of the Investment Adviser and the Company” below.

Subject to applicable law, Goldman Sachs or Accounts may invest in the Company and such investments may constitute substantial percentages of the Company’s outstanding equity interests.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, Goldman Sachs may create, write, sell, issue, invest in or act as placement agent or distributor of derivative instruments related to the Company, or with respect to the

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Company’s underlying securities or assets, or which may be otherwise based on or seek to replicate or hedge the Company’s performance. Such derivative transactions, and any associated hedging activity, may differ from and be adverse to the interests of the Company.

Goldman Sachs may make loans or enter into margin, asset-based or other credit facilities or similar transactions that may be secured by a client’s assets or interests, including the Company’s equity, interests in an Account or assets in which the Company or an Account has an interest. Some of these borrowers may be public or private companies, or founders, officers or shareholders in companies in which the Company (directly or indirectly) invests, and such loans may be secured by securities of such companies, which may be the same as, pari passu with, or more senior or junior to, interests held (directly or indirectly) by the Company. In connection with its rights as lender, Goldman Sachs may take actions that adversely affect the Account and which may in turn adversely affect the Company (e.g., if the Company holds the same type of security that is providing the credit support to the borrower Account, such holding may be disadvantaged when the borrower Account liquidates assets in response to an action taken by Goldman Sachs).

Code of Ethics and Personal Trading

Each of the Company, GSAM, as the Company’s investment adviser, and GS & Co. and Goldman Sachs International, as principal underwriters (if applicable), has adopted a Code of Ethics (the “Code of Ethics”) in compliance with Section 17(j) of the Investment Company Act designed to provide that the Company’s directors, personnel of the Investment Adviser, and certain additional Goldman Sachs personnel who support the Investment Adviser, comply with applicable federal securities laws and place the interests of clients first in conducting personal securities transactions. The Code of Ethics imposes certain restrictions on securities transactions in the personal accounts of covered persons to help avoid conflicts of interest. Subject to the limitations of the Code of Ethics, covered persons may buy and sell securities or other investments for their personal accounts, including investments in the Company, and may also take positions that are the same as, different from, or made at different times than, positions taken by the Company. Additionally, Goldman Sachs personnel, including personnel of the Investment Adviser, are subject to firm-wide policies and procedures regarding confidential and proprietary information, information barriers, private investments, outside business activities and personal trading.

Related Party Transaction Review Policy

The Audit Committee will review any potential related party transactions brought to its attention and, during these reviews, will consider any conflicts of interest brought to its attention pursuant to the Company’s Code of Ethics. Each of the Company’s directors and executive officers completes a questionnaire on an annual basis designed to elicit information about any potential related party transactions.

Proxy Voting by the Investment Adviser

The Investment Adviser has implemented processes designed to prevent conflicts of interest from influencing proxy voting decisions that it makes on behalf of advisory clients, including the Company, and to help ensure that such decisions are made in accordance with its fiduciary obligations to its clients. Notwithstanding such proxy voting processes, proxy voting decisions made by the Investment Adviser with respect to securities held by the Company may benefit the interests of Goldman Sachs and Accounts other than the Company.

Potential Limitations and Restrictions on Investment Opportunities and Activities of the Investment Adviser and the Company

The Investment Adviser may restrict its investment decisions and activities on behalf of the Company in various circumstances, including as a result of applicable regulatory requirements, information held by Goldman

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Sachs, Goldman Sachs’ roles in connection with other clients and in the capital markets (including in connection with advice it may give to such clients or commercial arrangements or transactions that may be undertaken by such clients or by Goldman Sachs), Goldman Sachs’ internal policies and/or potential reputational risk or disadvantage to Accounts, including the Company, and Goldman Sachs. The Investment Adviser might not engage in transactions or other activities for, or enforce certain rights in favor of, the Company due to Goldman Sachs’ activities outside services provided to the Company and regulatory requirements, policies and reputational risk assessments.

In addition, the Investment Adviser may restrict or limit the amount of the Company’s investment, or restrict the type of governance or voting rights it acquires or exercises, where the Company (potentially together with Goldman Sachs and other Accounts) exceeds a certain ownership interest, or possesses certain degrees of voting or control or have other interests. For example, such limitations may exist if a position or transaction could require a filing or license or other regulatory or corporate consent, which could, among other things, result in additional costs and disclosure obligations for, or impose regulatory restrictions on, Goldman Sachs, including GSAM, or on other Accounts, or where exceeding a threshold is prohibited or may result in regulatory or other restrictions. In certain cases, restrictions and limitations will be applied to avoid approaching such threshold. Circumstances in which such restrictions or limitations may arise include, without limitation: (i) a strict prohibition against owning more than a certain percentage of an issuer’s securities; (ii) a “poison pill” that would have a material dilutive impact on the holdings of the Company in the issuer should a threshold be exceeded; (iii) provisions that would cause Goldman Sachs to be considered an “interested stockholder” of an issuer should a threshold be exceeded; (iv) provisions that may cause Goldman Sachs to be considered an “affiliate” or “control person” of the issuer; and (v) the imposition by an issuer (through charter amendment, contract or otherwise) or governmental, regulatory or self-regulatory organization (through law, rule, regulation, interpretation or other guidance) of other restrictions or limitations.

When faced with the foregoing limitations, Goldman Sachs will generally avoid exceeding the threshold because exceeding the threshold could have an adverse impact on the ability of Goldman Sachs to conduct its business activities. The Investment Adviser may also reduce the Company’s interest in, or restrict the Company from participating in, an investment opportunity that has limited availability or where Goldman Sachs has determined to cap its aggregate investment in consideration of certain regulatory or other requirements so that other Accounts that pursue similar investment strategies may be able to acquire an interest in the investment opportunity. The Investment Adviser may determine not to engage in certain transactions or activities which may be beneficial to the Company because engaging in such transactions or activities in compliance with applicable law would result in significant cost to, or administrative burden on, the Investment Adviser or create the potential risk of trade or other errors. In circumstances in which the Company and one or more registered investment funds are permitted under applicable law to make side-by-side investments, Goldman Sachs, acting on behalf of the Company, may be limited in the terms of the transactions that it may negotiate under applicable law. This may have the effect of limiting the ability of the Company from participating in certain transactions or result in terms to the Company that are less favorable than would have otherwise been the case.

The Investment Adviser is not permitted to use material non-public information in effecting purchases and sales in public securities transactions for the Company. The Investment Adviser may limit an activity or transaction (such as a purchase or sale transaction) which might otherwise be engaged in by the Company, including as a result of information held by Goldman Sachs (including information held by a portfolio management team in GSAM other than the team managing the Company). For example, directors, officers and employees of Goldman Sachs may take seats on the boards of directors of, or have board of directors observer rights with respect to, companies in which Goldman Sachs invests on behalf of the Company. To the extent a director, officer or employee of Goldman Sachs were to take a seat on the board of directors of, or have board of directors observer rights with respect to, a public company, the Investment Adviser (or certain of its investment teams) would be limited and/or restricted in its or their ability to trade in the securities of the company.

The Investment Adviser may also limit the activities and transactions engaged in by the Company, and may limit its exercise of rights on the Company’s behalf or in respect of the Company, for reputational or other

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reasons, including where Goldman Sachs is providing (or may provide) advice or services to an entity involved in such activity or transaction, where Goldman Sachs or an Account is or may be engaged in the same or a related activity or transaction to that being considered on behalf of the Company, where Goldman Sachs or an Account has an interest in an entity involved in such activity or transaction, or where such activity or transaction or the exercise of such rights on behalf of the Company or in respect of the Company could affect Goldman Sachs, the Investment Adviser or their activities.

Furthermore, GSAM operates a program reasonably designed to ensure compliance generally with economic and trade sanctions-related obligations applicable directly to its activities (although such obligations are not necessarily the same obligations that the Company may be subject to). Such economic and trade sanctions prohibit, among other things, transactions with and the provision of services to, directly or indirectly, certain countries, territories, entities and individuals. These economic and trade sanctions, and the application by GSAM of its compliance program in respect thereof, may significantly restrict or limit the Company’s intended investment activities.

In light of the BHCA and the Volcker Rule, the Investment Adviser may be required to, or may choose to, dispose of certain investments on behalf of the Company earlier or at a different time than the Investment Adviser would otherwise have determined to do so (or earlier or at a different time than may be the case for Accounts that are not pooled investment vehicles).

In order to engage in certain transactions on behalf of the Company, the Investment Adviser will also be subject to (or cause the Company to become subject to) the rules, terms and/or conditions of any venues through which it trades securities, derivatives or other instruments. This includes, but is not limited to, where the Investment Adviser and/or the Company may be required to comply with the rules of certain exchanges, execution platforms, trading facilities, clearinghouses and other venues, or may be required to consent to the jurisdiction of any such venues. The rules, terms and/or conditions of any such venue may result in the Investment Adviser and/or the Company being subject to, among other things, margin requirements, additional fees and other charges, disciplinary procedures, reporting and recordkeeping, position limits and other restrictions on trading, settlement risks and other related conditions on trading set out by such venues.

From time to time, the Company, the Investment Adviser or its affiliates and/or their service providers or agents may be required, or may determine that it is advisable, to disclose certain information about the Company, including, but not limited to, investments held by the Company, and the names and percentage interest of beneficial owners thereof, to third parties, including local governmental authorities, regulatory organizations, taxing authorities, markets, exchanges, clearing facilities, custodians, brokers and trading counterparties of, or service providers to, the Investment Adviser or the Company. The Investment Adviser generally expects to comply with requests to disclose such information as it so determines, including through electronic delivery platforms; however, the Investment Adviser may determine to cause the sale of certain assets for the Company rather than make certain required disclosures, and such sale may be at a time that is inopportune from a pricing or other standpoint.

Pursuant to the BHCA, for so long as GSAM acts as Investment Adviser of the Company or in certain other capacities, the periods during which certain investments may be held are limited. As a result, the Company may be required to dispose of investments at an earlier date than would otherwise have been the case had the BHCA not been applicable. In addition, under the Volcker Rule, the size of Goldman Sachs’ and Goldman Sachs’ personnel’s ownership interest in certain types of funds is limited, and as a result, Goldman Sachs and Goldman Sachs’ personnel may be required to dispose of all or a portion of its investment in the Company, if applicable, including at times that other investors in the Company may not have the opportunity to dispose of their investments in the Company. Any such sale of Company interests by Goldman Sachs and Goldman Sachs’ personnel could reduce the alignment of interest of Goldman Sachs with other investors in the Company.

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Goldman Sachs may become subject to additional restrictions on its business activities that could have an impact on the Company’s activities. In addition, to the extent permitted by law, the Investment Adviser may restrict its investment decisions and activities on behalf of the Company and not other Accounts.

Brokerage Transactions

The Investment Adviser may select broker-dealers (including affiliates of the Investment Adviser) that furnish the Investment Adviser, the Company, their affiliates and other Goldman Sachs personnel with proprietary or third-party brokerage and research services (collectively, “brokerage and research services”) that provide, in the Investment Adviser’s view, appropriate assistance to the Investment Adviser in the investment decision-making process. The Investment Adviser may pay for such brokerage and research services with “soft” or commission dollars.

Subject to applicable law, brokerage and research services may be used to service the Company and any or all other Accounts, including Accounts that do not pay commissions to the broker-dealer relating to the brokerage and research service arrangements. As a result, the brokerage and research services (including soft dollar benefits) may disproportionately benefit other Accounts relative to the Company based on the amount of commissions paid by the Company in comparison to such other Accounts. The Investment Adviser does not attempt to allocate soft dollar benefits proportionately among clients or to track the benefits of brokerage and research services to the commissions associated with a particular Account or group of Accounts.

Since the Company will generally acquire and dispose of investments in privately negotiated transactions, it will infrequently use brokers in the normal course of its business. Subject to policies established by the Company’s Board of Directors, the Investment Adviser will be primarily responsible for the execution of the publicly traded securities portion of its portfolio transactions and the allocation of brokerage commissions. The Investment Adviser does not expect to execute transactions through any particular broker or dealer, but will seek to obtain the best net results for the Company, taking into account such factors as price (including the applicable brokerage commission or dealer spread), size of order, difficulty of execution, and operational facilities of the firm and the firm’s risk and skill in positioning blocks of securities. While the Investment Adviser generally will seek reasonably competitive trade execution costs, the Company will not necessarily pay the lowest spread or commission available. Subject to applicable legal requirements, the Investment Adviser may select a broker based partly upon brokerage or research services provided to the Investment Adviser and the Company and any other Accounts. In return for such services, the Company may pay a higher commission than other brokers would charge if the Investment Adviser determines in good faith that such commission is reasonable in relation to the services provided.

Aggregation of Trades by the Investment Adviser

The Investment Adviser follows policies and procedures pursuant to which, subject to applicable law, it may combine or aggregate purchase or sale orders for the same security or other instrument for multiple clients (sometimes referred to as “bunching”) (including Accounts that are proprietary to Goldman Sachs), so that the orders can be executed at the same time and block trade treatment of any such orders can be elected when available. The Investment Adviser aggregates orders, when subject to applicable law, the Investment Adviser considers doing so appropriate and in the interests of its clients generally and may elect block trade treatment when available. In addition, under certain circumstances and subject to applicable law, trades for the Company may be aggregated with Accounts that contain Goldman Sachs assets.

When a bunched order or block trade is completely filled, or, if the order is only partially filled, at the end of the day, the Investment Adviser generally will allocate the securities or other instruments purchased or the proceeds of any sale pro rata among the participating Accounts, based on the Company’s relative size order. If an order is filled at several different prices, through multiple trades (whether at a particular broker-dealer or among multiple broker-dealers), generally all participating Accounts will receive the average price and pay the average

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commission. However, this may not always be the case (due to, e.g., odd lots, rounding, market practice or constraints applicable to particular Accounts).

Although it may do so in certain circumstances, the Investment Adviser does not always bunch or aggregate orders for different Accounts, elect block trade treatment or net buy and sell orders for the same Account, if portfolio management decisions relating to the orders are made separately, or if bunching, aggregating, electing block trade treatment or netting is not appropriate or practicable from the Investment Adviser’s operational or other perspective. The Investment Adviser may be able to negotiate a better price and lower commission rate on aggregated trades than on trades that are not aggregated, and incur lower transaction costs on netted trades than trades that are not netted. Where transactions for an Account are not aggregated with other orders, or not netted against orders for the Company or other Accounts, the Company may not benefit from a better price and lower commission rate or lower transaction cost. Aggregation and netting of trades may disproportionately benefit some Accounts relative to other Accounts, including the Company, due to the relative amount of market savings obtained by the Accounts.

Other present and future activities of Goldman Sachs may give rise to additional conflicts of interest.

Certain Business Relationships

Certain of our current directors and officers are directors or officers of affiliated Goldman Sachs entities.

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USE OF PROCEEDS

Unless otherwise specified in a prospectus supplement, we intend to use the net proceeds from the sale of our securities pursuant to this prospectus to invest in portfolio companies in accordance with our investment objective and strategies and for general corporate purposes. We may also use a portion of the net proceeds from any sale of our securities to repay amounts outstanding under our Revolving Credit Facility, which bore a weighted average annual interest rate of 2.69% as of September 30, 2020 and matures on February 25, 2025.

We anticipate that substantially all of the net proceeds of an offering of securities pursuant to this prospectus will be used for the above purposes within six months after the completion of any offering of our securities, depending on the availability of appropriate investment opportunities consistent with our investment objective and market conditions. We cannot assure you that we will achieve our targeted investment pace.

Until appropriate investment opportunities can be found, we may also invest the net proceeds of any offering of our securities primarily in cash, cash equivalents, U.S. government securities and high-quality debt investments that mature in one year or less from the date of investment. These temporary investments may have lower yields than our other investments and, accordingly, may result in lower distributions, if any, during such period. Our ability to achieve our investment objective may be limited to the extent that the net proceeds from an offering, pending full investment, are held in lower yielding interest-bearing deposits or other short-term instruments.

The supplement to this prospectus relating to an offering will more fully identify the use of the proceeds from such offering.

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PRICE RANGE OF COMMON STOCK AND DISTRIBUTIONS

Our common stock is traded on the NYSE under the symbol “GSBD.” Our common stock has historically traded at prices both above and below our NAV per share. It is not possible to predict whether our common stock will trade at, above or below NAV in the future. See “Risk Factors.”

The following table sets forth, for each fiscal quarter beginning January 1, 2018, the NAV per share of our common stock, the range of high and low closing sales prices of our common stock reported on the NYSE, the closing sales price as a premium (discount) to NAV and distributions declared by us. On November 17, 2020, the last reported closing sales price of our common stock on the NYSE was $17.42 per share, which represented a premium of approximately 12.5% to the NAV per share reported by us as of September 30, 2020.

We intend to continue to pay quarterly distributions to our stockholders out of assets legally available for distribution. Future quarterly distributions, if any, will be determined by our Board of Directors. All future distributions will be subject to lawfully available funds therefor, and no assurance can be given that we will be able to declare such distributions in future periods.

We have elected to be treated, and expect to qualify annually, as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code, commencing with our taxable year ended December 31, 2013. To maintain our tax treatment as a RIC, we must, among other things, timely distribute to our stockholders at least 90% of our investment company taxable income for each taxable year. We intend to timely distribute to our stockholders substantially all of our annual taxable income for each year, except that we may retain certain net capital gains (i.e., realized net long-term capital gains in excess of realized net short-term capital losses) for reinvestment and, depending upon the level of taxable

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income earned in a year, we may choose to carry forward taxable income for distribution in the following year and pay any applicable U.S. federal excise tax. We generally will be required to pay such U.S. federal excise tax if our distributions during a calendar year do not exceed the sum of (1) 98.0% of our net ordinary income (taking into account certain deferrals and elections) for the calendar year, (2) 98.2% of our capital gains in excess of capital losses for the one-year period ending on October 31 of the calendar year and (3) any net ordinary income and capital gains in excess of capital losses for preceding years that were not distributed during such years. We will not be subject to excise taxes on amounts on which we are required to pay corporate income taxes (such as retained net capital gains). If we retain net capital gains, we may treat such amounts as deemed distributions to our stockholders. In that case, you will be treated as if you had received an actual distribution of the capital gains we retained and then you reinvested the net after-tax proceeds in our common stock. In general, you also will be eligible to claim a tax credit (or, in certain circumstances, obtain a tax refund) equal to your allocable share of the tax we paid on the capital gains deemed distributed to you. Stockholders should read carefully any written disclosure accompanying a distribution from us and should not assume that the source of any distribution is our net ordinary income or capital gains. The distributions we pay to our stockholders in a year may exceed our net ordinary income and capital gains for that year and, accordingly, a portion of such distributions may constitute a return of capital for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The specific tax characteristics of our distributions will be reported to stockholders after the end of the calendar year. Please refer to “Certain U.S. Federal Income Tax Considerations” for further information regarding the tax treatment of our distributions and the tax consequences of our retention of net capital gains. See also “Risk Factors.”

Unless our stockholders elect to receive their distributions in cash, we intend to make such distributions in additional shares of our common stock under our dividend reinvestment plan. Distributions paid in the form of additional shares of our common stock will generally be subject to U.S. federal, state and local taxes in the same manner as cash distributions; however, investors participating in our dividend reinvestment plan will not receive any corresponding cash with which to pay any such applicable taxes. If you hold shares of our common stock through a broker or financial intermediary, you may elect to receive distributions in cash by notifying your broker or financial intermediary of your election to receive distributions in cash in lieu of shares of our common stock. Any distributions reinvested through the issuance of shares through our dividend reinvestment plan will increase our assets on which the Management Fee and the Incentive Fee are determined and paid to the Investment Adviser. See “Dividend Reinvestment Plan.”

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The following table lists the quarterly distributions that we have declared per share of our common stock since January 1, 2018.

In connection with the consummation of the Merger, we announced special distributions aggregating to $0.15 per share which will be payable in $0.05 increments on March 15, 2021, June 15, 2021 and September 15, 2021, to shareholders of record as of February 15, 2021, May 14, 2021, and August 16, 2021, respectively.

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SELECTED CONSOLIDATED HISTORICAL FINANCIAL DATA OF GOLDMAN SACHS BDC, INC.

The information in “Selected Consolidated Historical Financial Data of Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc.” of our Form N-14 and in “Item 6–Selected Financial Data” of our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, are incorporated by reference herein.

SELECTED CONSOLIDATED HISTORICAL FINANCIAL DATA OF GOLDMAN SACHS MIDDLE MARKET LENDING CORP.

The information in “Selected Consolidated Historical Financial Data of Goldman Sachs Middle Market Lending Corp.” of our Form N-14 is incorporated by reference herein.

UNAUDITED PRO FORMA CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED FINANCIAL DATA

The information in “Unaudited Pro Forma Condensed Consolidated Financial Statements” in Exhibit 99.2 of our Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on November 19, 2020 is incorporated by reference herein.

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FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS

This prospectus, including the documents that we incorporate by reference herein, contains forward-looking statements that involve substantial risks and uncertainties. You can identify these statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “project,” “target,” “estimate,” “intend,” “continue” or “believe” or the negatives of, or other variations on, these terms or comparable terminology. You should read statements that contain these words carefully because they discuss our plans, strategies, prospects and expectations concerning our business, operating results, financial condition and other similar matters. We believe that it is important to communicate our future expectations to our investors. Our forward-looking statements include information in this prospectus regarding general domestic and global economic conditions, our future financing plans, our ability to operate as a BDC and the expected performance of, and the yield on, our portfolio companies. In particular, there are forward-looking statements under “Prospectus Summary—Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc.,” “Business” and “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.” There may be events in the future, however, that we are not able to predict accurately or control. The factors listed under “Risk Factors,” as well as any cautionary language in this prospectus, provide examples of risks, uncertainties and events that may cause our actual results to differ materially from the expectations we describe in our forward-looking statements. The occurrence of the events described in these risk factors and elsewhere in this prospectus could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial position. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this prospectus speaks only as of the date of this prospectus. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ from our forward-looking statements may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them. We undertake no obligation to update or revise publicly any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. You are advised to consult any additional disclosures that we may make directly to you or through reports that we have filed or in the future may file with the SEC, including our joint proxy statement and prospectus that forms part of a registration statement on Form N-14, filed with the SEC on August 4, 2020, and our annual reports on Form 10-K, registration statements on Form N-2, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K. Under Section 27A(b)(2)(B) and (D) of the Securities Act and Section 21E(b)(2)(B) and (D) of the Exchange Act, the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 do not apply to statements made in connection with any offering of securities pursuant to this prospectus or in the periodic reports we file under the Exchange Act.

The following factors are among those that may cause actual results to differ materially from our forward-looking statements:

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MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS OF GOLDMAN SACHS BDC, INC.

The information in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc.” of our Form N-14, in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q and in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations” of our most recent annual report on Form 10-K is incorporated by reference herein.

MANAGEMENT’S DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS OF FINANCIAL CONDITION AND RESULTS OF OPERATIONS OF GOLDMAN SACHS MIDDLE MARKET LENDING CORP.

The information in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of Goldman Sachs Middle Market Lending Corp.” of our Form N-14 and in “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations of Goldman Sachs Middle Market Lending Corp.” of Exhibit 99.1 of our Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on September 17, 2020 is incorporated by reference herein.

SENIOR SECURITIES OF GOLDMAN SACHS BDC, INC.

The information in “Senior Securities of Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc.” of our Form N-14 is incorporated by reference herein. For a further explanation of the effects of our use of leverage, please see “Risks Relating to GSBD’s Business and Structure—GSBD borrows money, which may magnify the potential gain or loss and may increase the risk of investing in GSBD” in our Form N-14, which is incorporated by reference herein.

SENIOR SECURITIES OF GOLDMAN SACHS MIDDLE MARKET LENDING CORP.

The information in “Senior Securities of Goldman Sachs Middle Market Lending Corp.” of our Form N-14 is incorporated by reference herein. For a further explanation of the effects of GS MMLC’s use of leverage, please see “Risks Relating to MMLC’s Business and Structure—MMLC borrows money, which may magnify the potential gain or loss and may increase the risk of investing in MMLC” in our Form N-14, which is incorporated by reference herein.

BUSINESS OF GOLDMAN SACHS BDC, INC.

Our business is described in “Business of Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc.” of our Form N-14 and in “Item 1—Business” of our most recent annual report on Form 10-K, which are incorporated by reference herein.

BUSINESS OF GOLDMAN SACHS MIDDLE MARKET LENDING CORP.

GS MMLC’s business is described in “Business of Goldman Sachs Middle Market Lending Corp.” of our Form N-14, which is incorporated by reference herein.

MANAGEMENT

Please refer to “Management of Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc.” in our Form N-14 and to our most recent definitive proxy statement, which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, for information relating to the management of the Company.

On October 12, 2020, Timothy J. Leach, Richard A. Mark and Carlos E. Evans (the “Appointed Directors”) were appointed to our Board of Directors, which increased the size of our Board of Directors by three directors (to a total size of eight directors), effective upon the closing of the Merger. Mr. Leach will hold office

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as a Class I director until the date of GS BDC’s 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and until his successor shall be elected and qualified or until his earlier death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal. Mr. Mark will hold office as a Class II director until the date of GS BDC’s 2022 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and until his successor shall be elected and qualified or until his earlier death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal. Mr. Evans will hold office as a Class I director until the date of GS BDC’s 2021 Annual Meeting of Stockholders and until his successor shall be elected and qualified or until his earlier death, resignation, retirement, disqualification or removal. The Appointed Directors also serve on the Audit, Compliance, Compensation, Contract Review and Governance and Nominating Committees of our Board of Directors. Mr. Mark now serves as chairperson of the Audit Committee.

RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS AND CERTAIN RELATIONSHIPS

Please refer to “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions of Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc.” in our Form N-14 and to our most recent definitive proxy statement, which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, for information relating to our related party transactions.

GS MMLC was party to similar agreements with GSAM and other affiliates of Group Inc., other than the 10b5-1 plan and the common stock repurchase plans described “Certain Relationships and Related Party Transactions of Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc.” in our Form N-14. GSAM and other affiliates of Group Inc. also perform services for other clients, which creates various conflicts of interest. See “Potential Conflicts of Interest” and “Risk Factors.”

CONTROL PERSONS AND PRINCIPAL STOCKHOLDERS

Please refer to “Control Persons and Principal Stockholders of Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc.” in our Form N-14 and to our most recent definitive proxy statement, which are incorporated by reference into this prospectus, for information relating to the control persons and principal stockholders of the Company.

PORTFOLIO COMPANIES OF GOLDMAN SACHS BDC, INC.

Please refer to “Portfolio Companies of Goldman Sachs BDC, Inc.” in our Form N-14 and to “Consolidated Schedule of Investments” in our most recent quarterly report on Form 10-Q for certain information as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 regarding each portfolio company in which we had a debt or equity investment, which are incorporated by reference herein.

PORTFOLIO COMPANIES OF GOLDMAN SACHS MIDDLE MARKET LENDING CORP.

Please refer to “Portfolio Companies of Goldman Sachs Middle Market Lending Corp.” in our Form N-14 and to “Consolidated Schedule of Investments” in Exhibit 99.1 of our Form 8-K, filed with the SEC on November 19, 2020 for certain information as of September 30, 2020 and December 31, 2019 regarding each portfolio company in which GS MMLC had a debt or equity investment, which is incorporated by reference herein.

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DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE

In accordance with the procedures adopted by our Board of Directors, the NAV per share of our outstanding shares of common stock is determined by dividing the value of total assets minus liabilities by the total number of shares outstanding.

As a BDC, we generally invest in illiquid securities including debt and equity investments of middle-market companies. Under procedures adopted by our Board of Directors market quotations are generally used to assess the value of our investments for which market quotations are readily available. We obtain these market values from independent pricing services or at the bid prices obtained from at least two brokers/dealers if available, otherwise by a principal market maker or a primary market dealer. If the Board of Directors or its delegate has a bona fide reason to believe any such market quotation does not reflect the fair value of an investment, it may independently value such investments by using the valuation procedure that it uses with respect to assets for which market quotations are not readily available.

Currently, the majority of our investments fall within Level 3 of the fair value hierarchy. See “Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations—Critical Accounting Policies—Valuation of Portfolio Investments” in our most recent annual report on Form 10-K We do not expect that there will be readily available market values for most of the investments which are in our portfolio, and we value such investments at fair value as determined in good faith by or under the direction of our Board of Directors using a documented valuation policy, described below, and a consistently applied valuation process. The factors that may be taken into account in pricing our investments at fair value include, as relevant, the nature and realizable value of any collateral, the portfolio company’s ability to make payments and its earnings and discounted cash flow, and the markets in which the portfolio company does business, comparison to publicly traded securities and other relevant factors. Available current market data are considered such as applicable market yields and multiples of publicly traded securities, comparison of financial ratios of peer companies, and changes in the interest rate environment and the credit markets that may affect the price at which similar investments would trade in their principal market, and other relevant factors. When an external event such as a purchase transaction, public offering or subsequent equity sale occurs, we consider the pricing indicated by the external event to corroborate or revise our valuation. Under current auditing standards, the notes to our financial statements refer to the uncertainty with respect to the possible effect of such valuations, and any change in such valuations, on our financial statements. For more information, see “Risk Factors—Risks Relating to Our Portfolio Company Investments—Many of our portfolio securities do not have a readily available market price and we value these securities at fair value as determined in good faith under procedures adopted by our Board of Directors. Valuation is inherently subjective and may not reflect what we may actually realize for the sale of the investment” our most recent annual report on Form 10-K

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

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ASC 820 defines fair value as the price that would be received to sell an asset or paid to transfer a liability in an orderly transaction between market participants at the measurement date. Fair value is a market-based measurement, not an entity-specific measurement. For some assets and liabilities, observable market transactions or market information might be available. For other assets and liabilities, observable market transactions and market information might not be available. However, the objective of a fair value measurement in both cases is the same—to estimate the price when an orderly transaction to sell the asset or transfer the liability would take place between market participants at the measurement date under current market conditions (that is, an exit price at the measurement date from the perspective of a market participant that holds the asset or owes the liability).

ASC 820 establishes a hierarchal disclosure framework which ranks the observability of inputs used in measuring financial instruments at fair value. The observability of inputs is impacted by a number of factors, including the type of financial instruments and their specific characteristics. Financial instruments with readily available quoted prices, or for which fair value can be measured from quoted prices in active markets, generally will have a higher degree of market price observability and a lesser degree of judgment applied in determining fair value. The levels used for classifying investments are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in these securities.

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DIVIDEND REINVESTMENT PLAN

We have adopted a dividend reinvestment plan, pursuant to which we will reinvest all cash distributions declared by our Board of Directors on behalf of investors who do not elect to receive their cash distributions in cash as provided below. As a result, if our Board of Directors declares a cash distribution, then our stockholders who have not elected (or have not previously been deemed to have elected) to “opt out” of our dividend reinvestment plan will have their cash distributions automatically reinvested in additional shares of our common stock as described below. We intend to continue to pay quarterly distributions to our stockholders out of assets legally available for distribution. Future quarterly distributions, if any, will be determined by our Board of Directors. All future distributions will be subject to lawfully available funds therefor, and no assurance can be given that we will be able to declare such distributions in future periods.

Each registered stockholder may elect to have distributions distributed in cash rather than participate in the plan. For any registered stockholder that does not so elect, distributions on such stockholder’s shares will be reinvested by Computershare Trust Company, N.A., as the plan agent, in additional shares. The number of shares to be issued to the stockholder will be determined based on the total dollar amount of the cash distribution payable, net of applicable withholding taxes. The plan agent maintains all participants’ accounts in the plan and furnishes written confirmation of all transactions in the accounts. Shares in the account of each participant are held by the plan agent on behalf of the participant in book entry form in the plan agent’s name or the plan agent’s nominee. Those stockholders whose shares are held through a broker or other nominee may receive cash distributions in cash by notifying their broker or nominee of their election.

The shares are acquired by the plan agent for the participants’ accounts either through (i) newly issued shares or (ii) by purchase of outstanding shares on the open market. If, on the payment date for any distribution, the most recently computed NAV per share as of the dividend payment date is equal to or less than the closing market price plus estimated per share fees (which include any applicable brokerage commissions the plan agent is required to pay) (such condition often referred to as a “premium”), the plan agent will invest the distribution amount in newly issued shares on behalf of the participants. The number of newly issued shares to be credited to a participant’s account will be determined by dividing the dollar amount of the distribution by the most recently computed NAV per share as of the dividend payment date; provided that, if the most recently computed NAV per share as of the dividend payment date is less than or equal to 95% of the closing market price on the dividend payment date, the dollar amount of the distribution will be divided by 95% of the closing market price per share on the dividend payment date. If on the dividend payment date, the most recently computed NAV per share as of that date is greater than the closing market price per share plus per share fees (such condition referred to as a “market discount”), the plan agent will invest the dividend amount in shares acquired on behalf of the participants by purchasing shares on the open market. Such open market purchases will continue on each successive business day until the entire dividend amount has been invested pursuant to open market purchases; provided, however, that if (a) the market discount shifts to a market premium, or (b) the open market purchases have not been completed by the last business day before the next date on which the common stock trades on an “ex-dividend” basis or 30 days after the dividend payment date, whichever is sooner, the plan agent will cease making open market purchases and will invest the entire uninvested portion of the dividend amount in newly issued common stock in the manner contemplated above.

Open-market purchases may be made on any securities exchange where shares are traded, in the over-the-counter market or in negotiated transactions, and may be on such terms as to price, delivery and otherwise as the plan agent will determine. Shares purchased in open market transactions by the plan agent will be allocated to a participant based on the average purchase price, excluding any brokerage charges or other charges, of all shares purchased in the open market with respect to any such distribution. The number of shares of our common stock to be outstanding after giving effect to payment of the distribution cannot be established until the value per share at which additional shares will be issued has been determined and elections of our stockholders have been tabulated.

If a participant elects by telephone, Internet, or written notice to the plan agent to have the plan agent sell all or a part of his or her shares and remit the proceeds to the participant, the plan agent will process all sale

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instructions received no later than five business days after the date on which the order is received. Such sale will be made through the plan agent’s broker on the relevant market and the sale price will not be determined until such time as the broker completes the sale. In each case, the price to each participant will be the weighted average sale price obtained by the plan agent’s broker net of fees for each aggregate order placed by the plan agent and executed by the broker.

The plan agent’s fees for the handling of the reinvestment of distributions will be paid by us. However, each participant will pay a per share fee (currently $0.05) incurred in connection with open market purchases. If a participant elects by telephone, Internet, or written notice to the plan agent to have the plan agent sell all or a part of his or her shares and remit the proceeds to the participant, the plan agent is authorized to deduct a $15 sales fee per trade and a per share fee of $0.12 from such proceeds. All per share fees include any applicable brokerage commissions the plan agent is required to pay.

Participation in the plan is completely voluntary and may be terminated or resumed at any time without penalty. Participants may terminate their accounts under the plan by notifying the plan agent by telephone, Internet, or written notice prior to the distribution record date. Such termination will be effective immediately if received by the plan agent prior to a distribution record date; otherwise such termination or resumption will be effective with respect to any subsequently declared dividend or other distribution. The plan agent seeks to process termination notices received after the dividend record date but before the dividend payment date prior to such dividend payment date to the extent practicable but may in its sole discretion reinvest the participant’s dividends in common stock, as described above. If such dividends are reinvested, the plan agent will process the late termination notice as soon as practicable, but in no event later than five business days after the reinvestment is completed.

A stockholder who does not opt out of the dividend reinvestment plan will generally be subject to the same U.S. federal, state and local tax consequences as a stockholder who elects to receive its distributions in cash, and, for this purpose, a stockholder receiving a distribution in the form of additional shares will generally be treated as receiving a distribution in the amount of cash that the stockholder would have received if it had elected to receive the distribution in cash. If we issue additional shares with a fair market value equal to or greater than net asset value, however, stockholders will be treated as receiving a distribution in the amount of the fair market value of the distributed shares. Because a stockholder that participates in the dividend reinvestment plan will not actually receive any cash, such a stockholder will not have such cash available to pay any applicable taxes on the deemed distribution. A stockholder that participates in the dividend reinvestment plan and thus is treated as having invested in additional shares of our stock will have a basis in such additional shares of stock equal to the total dollar amount treated as a distribution for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The stockholder’s holding period for such stock will commence on the day following the day on which the shares are credited to the stockholder’s account. Stockholders that participate in the dividend reinvestment plan will receive tax information annually for their personal records and to help them prepare their federal income tax return. For further information as to tax consequences of participation in the plan, participants should consult with their own tax advisers.

We reserve the right to amend or terminate the plan upon notice in writing to each participant at least 30 days prior to any record date for the payment of any dividend or distribution by us. There is no direct transaction fee to participants with regard to purchases in the plan; however, we reserve the right to amend the plan to include a transaction fee payable by the participants. Notice will be sent to participants of any amendments as soon as practicable after such action by us.

All correspondence concerning the plan should be directed to the plan agent at Computershare Trust Company, N.A, P.O. Box 505000, Louisville, KY 40233, with overnight correspondence being directed to the plan agent at Computershare Trust Company, N.A, 462 South 4th Street, Suite 1600, Louisville, KY 40202; by calling 855-807-2742; or through the plan agent’s website at www.computershare.com/investor. Participants who hold their shares through a broker or other nominee should direct correspondence or questions concerning the dividend reinvestment plan to their broker or nominee.

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CERTAIN U.S. FEDERAL INCOME TAX CONSIDERATIONS

The following discussion is a general summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations applicable to us and an investment in shares of our common stock or preferred stock. The discussion is based upon the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, which we refer to as the “Code,” the regulations of the U.S. Department of Treasury promulgated thereunder, which we refer to as the “Treasury regulations,” the legislative history of the Code, current administrative interpretations and practices of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, which we refer to as the “IRS” (including administrative interpretations and practices of the IRS expressed in private letter rulings which are binding on the IRS only with respect to the particular taxpayers that requested and received those rulings) and judicial decisions, each as of the date of this prospectus and all of which are subject to change or differing interpretations, possibly retroactively, which could affect the continuing validity of this discussion. Subsequent developments and changes in the tax laws of the United States and any countries in which we directly or indirectly invest could have a material effect on the tax consequences to us, beneficial owners of shares of our common stock or preferred stock, which we refer to as “stockholders,” and/or any intermediate vehicle through which we invest. We have not sought, and will not seek, any ruling from the IRS or any other U.S. federal, state, local, or non-U.S. taxing authority with respect to any of the tax issues affecting us, or our stockholders, or regarding any other matter discussed in this summary, and this summary is not binding on the IRS. Accordingly, there can be no assurance that the IRS or any other taxing authority will not assert, and a court will not sustain, a position contrary to any of the tax considerations discussed below.

You should note that this summary is necessarily general and does not purport to be a complete description of all the tax aspects affecting us or our stockholders. For example, this summary does not describe all of the U.S. federal income tax consequences and other considerations that may be relevant to certain types of stockholders subject to special treatment under the U.S. federal income tax laws, including stockholders subject to the alternative minimum tax, tax-exempt organizations, insurance companies, partnerships or other pass-through entities and their owners, Non-U.S. stockholders (as defined below) engaged in a trade or business in the United States or entitled to claim the benefits of an applicable income tax treaty, persons who have ceased to be U.S. citizens or to be taxed as residents of the United States, U.S. stockholders (as defined below) whose functional currency is not the U.S. dollar, persons holding our common stock or preferred stock in connection with a hedging, straddle, conversion or other integrated transaction, dealers in securities, traders in securities that elect to use a mark-to-market method of accounting for securities holdings, pension plans, trusts, and financial institutions. This summary assumes that our stockholders hold shares of our common stock or preferred stock as capital assets for U.S. federal income tax purposes (generally, assets held for investment). This summary does not discuss any aspects of U.S. estate or gift taxation, U.S. state or local taxation or non-U.S. taxation. It does not discuss the special treatment under U.S. federal income tax laws that could result if we invest in tax-exempt securities or certain other investment assets.

U.S. stockholders that use an accrual method of accounting for U.S. federal income tax purposes generally are required to include certain amounts in income no later than the time such amounts are reflected on certain applicable financial statements. The application of this rule may require the accrual of income earlier than would be the case under the general U.S. federal income tax rules described below, although it is not clear to what types of income this rule applies. U.S. stockholders that use an accrual method of accounting for U.S. federal income tax purposes should consult with their tax advisers regarding the potential applicability of this rule to their particular situation.

For purposes of this discussion, a “U.S. stockholder” is a beneficial owner of shares of our common stock or preferred stock that is, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:

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For purposes of this discussion, a “Non-U.S. stockholder” is a beneficial owner of shares of our common stock or preferred stock that is not a U.S. stockholder and not a partnership (or an entity or arrangement treated as a partnership) for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

If a partnership (or other entity or arrangement treated as a partnership) for U.S. federal income tax purposes holds shares of our common stock or preferred stock, the U.S. federal income tax treatment of a partner in the partnership generally will depend on the status of the partner, the activities of the partnership and certain determinations made at the partner level. A stockholder that is a partnership holding shares of our common stock or preferred stock, and each partner in such a partnership, should consult his, her or its own tax adviser with respect to the tax consequences of the purchase, ownership and disposition of shares of our common stock or preferred stock.

If we issue preferred stock that may be convertible into or exercisable or exchangeable for securities or other property or preferred stock with other terms that may have different U.S. federal income tax consequences than those described in this summary, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of such preferred stock will be described in the relevant prospectus supplement. This summary does not discuss the consequences of an investment in our subscription rights, debt securities or warrants representing rights to purchase shares of our preferred stock, common stock or debt securities. The U.S. federal income tax consequences of such an investment will be discussed in the relevant prospectus supplement.

Tax matters are very complicated and the tax consequences to each stockholder of the ownership and disposition of shares of our common stock or preferred stock will depend on the facts of his, her or its particular situation. You should consult your own tax adviser regarding the specific tax consequences of the ownership and disposition of shares of our common stock or preferred stock to you, including tax reporting requirements, the applicability of U.S. federal, state and local tax laws and non-U.S. tax laws, eligibility for the benefits of any applicable income tax treaty and the effect of any possible changes in the tax laws.

We intend to pay quarterly distributions to our stockholders out of assets legally available for distribution, but will reinvest distributions on behalf of those investors that do not elect to receive their distributions in cash. See “Price Range of Common Stock and Distributions” and “Dividend Reinvestment Plan” for a description of our dividend policy and obligations.

Election to be Taxed as a RIC

We have elected to be treated, and expect to qualify annually, as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code. As a RIC, we generally will not be required to pay corporate-level U.S. federal income taxes on any net ordinary income or capital gains that we timely distribute to our stockholders as dividends. Rather, dividends we distribute generally will be taxable to our stockholders, and any net operating losses, foreign tax credits and other of our tax attributes generally will not pass through to our stockholders, subject to special rules for certain items such as net capital gains and qualified dividend income we recognize. See “—Taxation of U.S. Stockholders” and “—Taxation of Non-U.S. Stockholders” below.

To maintain our status as a RIC, we must, among other things, meet certain source-of-income and asset diversification requirements (as described below). In addition, to maintain our status as a RIC, we must timely distribute to our stockholders at least 90% of our investment company taxable income (determined without

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regard to the dividends paid deduction), which is generally our net ordinary income plus the excess of realized net short-term capital gains over realized net long-term capital losses, if any, for each taxable year (the “Annual Distribution Requirement”).

Taxation as a RIC

If we maintain our status as a RIC and satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, then we will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of our investment company taxable income and net capital gain (generally, realized net long-term capital gain in excess of realized net short-term capital loss) that we timely distribute (or are deemed to timely distribute) to our 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 generally will be subject to a 4% nondeductible U.S. federal excise tax on certain undistributed income for a calendar year unless we distribute in a timely manner an amount at least equal to the sum of (1) 98% of our net ordinary income (taking into account certain deferrals and elections) for the calendar year, (2) 98.2% of our capital gains in excess of capital losses for the one-year period ending October 31 in that calendar year and (3) any net ordinary income and capital gains in excess of capital losses recognized, but not distributed, in preceding years (the “Excise Tax Avoidance Requirement”). We will not be subject to the U.S. federal excise tax on amounts on which we are required to pay U.S. federal income tax (such as retained net capital gains). Depending upon the level of taxable income and net capital gain earned in a year, we may retain certain net capital gain for reinvestment and carry forward taxable income for distribution in the following year and pay any applicable tax.

In order to maintain our status as a RIC for U.S. federal income tax purposes, we must, among other things:

For U.S. federal income tax purposes, we will include in our taxable income certain amounts that we have not yet received in cash. For example, if we hold debt obligations that are treated under applicable U.S. federal income tax rules as having original issue discount (such as debt instruments with PIK interest or, in

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certain cases, that have increasing interest rates or are issued with warrants), we must include in our taxable income in each year a portion of the original issue discount that accrues over the life of the obligation, regardless of whether we receive cash representing such income in the same taxable year. We may also be required to include in our taxable income other amounts that we have not yet received in cash, such as accruals on a contingent payment debt instrument, accruals of interest income and/or original issue discount on defaulted debt or deferred loan origination fees that are paid after origination of the loan or are paid in non-cash compensation such as warrants or stock. Moreover, under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, we generally will be required to take certain amounts in income no later than the time such amounts are reflected on our financial statements. Because such original issue discount or other amounts accrued will be included in our investment company taxable income for the year of accrual, we may be required to make distributions to our stockholders in order to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement and/or the Excise Tax Avoidance Requirement, even though we will have not received any corresponding cash payments. Accordingly, to enable us to make distributions to our stockholders that will be sufficient to enable us to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, we may need to sell some of our assets at times and/or at prices that we would not consider advantageous, we may need to raise additional equity or debt capital or we may need to forego new investment opportunities or otherwise take actions that are disadvantageous to our business (or be unable to take actions that are advantageous to our business). If we are unable to obtain cash in the amount required for us to make, or if we are restricted from making, sufficient distributions to our stockholders to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, we may fail to qualify for the U.S. federal income tax benefits allowable to RICs and, thus, become subject to a corporate-level U.S. federal income tax (and any applicable state and local taxes).

Because we expect to use debt financing, we may be prevented by covenants contained in our debt financing agreements from making distributions to our stockholders in certain circumstances. In addition, under the Investment Company Act, we are generally 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. See “Regulation—Indebtedness and Senior Securities.” Restrictions on our ability to make distributions to our stockholders may prevent us from satisfying the Annual Distribution Requirement and, therefore, may jeopardize our qualification for taxation as a RIC, or subject us to the 4% U.S. federal excise tax.

Although we do not presently expect to do so, we may borrow funds and sell assets in order to make distributions to our stockholders that are sufficient for us to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement. However, our ability to dispose of assets 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 and/or values that, from an investment standpoint, are not advantageous. Alternatively, although we currently do not intend to do so, to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, we may declare a taxable dividend payable in our stock or cash at the election of each stockholder. In such case, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, the amount of the dividend paid in our common stock will generally be equal to the amount of cash that could have been received instead of our stock. See “—Taxation of U.S. Stockholders” below for a discussion of the tax consequences to stockholders upon receipt of such dividends.

A RIC is limited in its ability to deduct expenses in excess of its investment company taxable income. If our expenses in a given year exceed our investment company taxable income, we would experience a net operating loss for that year. However, a RIC is not permitted to carry forward net operating losses to subsequent years and such net operating losses do not pass through to its stockholders. In addition, expenses can be used only to offset investment company taxable income, not net capital gain. A RIC may not use any net capital losses (that is, realized capital losses in excess of realized capital gains) to offset the RIC’s investment company taxable income, but may carry forward such losses, and use them to offset future capital gains, indefinitely. As a result of these limits on the deductibility of expenses and net capital losses, we may for tax purposes have aggregate taxable income for several years that we are required to distribute and that is taxable to our stockholders even if such income is greater than the aggregate net income we actually earned during those years. In addition, if future capital gains are offset by carried forward capital losses, such future capital gains are not subject to any

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corporate-level U.S. federal income tax, regardless of whether they are distributed to our stockholders. Accordingly, we do not expect to distribute any such offsetting capital gains.

Distributions we make to our stockholders may be made from our cash assets or by liquidation of our investments, if necessary. We may recognize gains or losses from such liquidations. In the event we recognize net capital gains from such transactions, you may receive a larger capital gain distribution than you would have received in the absence of such transactions.

Failure to Qualify as a RIC

If we were to fail to satisfy the 90% Income Test for any taxable year or the Diversification Tests for any quarter of a taxable year, we might nevertheless continue to qualify as a RIC for such year if certain relief provisions of the Code applied (which might, among other things, require us to pay certain corporate-level U.S. federal taxes or to dispose of certain assets). If we were to fail to qualify for treatment as a RIC and such relief provisions did not apply to us, we would be subject to U.S. federal income tax on all of our taxable income at regular corporate U.S. federal income tax rates (and we also would be subject to any applicable state and local taxes), regardless of whether we make any distributions to our stockholders. We would not be able to deduct distributions to our stockholders, nor would distributions to our stockholders be required to be made for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Any distributions we make generally would be taxable to our U.S. stockholders as ordinary dividend income and, subject to certain limitations under the Code, would be eligible for the 20% maximum rate applicable to individuals and other non-corporate U.S. stockholders, to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits. Subject to certain limitations under the Code, U.S. stockholders that are corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes 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 that would reduce the stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in its common stock or preferred stock (and correspondingly increase such stockholder’s gain, or reduce such stockholder’s loss, on disposition of such common stock or preferred stock), and any remaining distributions in excess of the stockholder’s adjusted tax basis would be treated as a capital gain.

Subject to a limited exception applicable to RICs that qualified as such under Subchapter M of the Code for at least one year prior to disqualification and that requalify as a RIC no later than the second year following the non-qualifying year, we could be subject to U.S. federal income tax on any unrealized net built-in gains in the assets held by us during the period in which we failed to qualify as a RIC that are recognized during the 5-year period after our requalification as a RIC, unless we made a special election to pay corporate-level U.S. federal income tax on such net built-in gains at the time of our requalification as a RIC. We may decide to be taxed as a regular corporation even if we would otherwise qualify as a RIC if we determine that treatment as a corporation for a particular year would be in our best interests.

Our Investments—General

Certain of our investment practices may be subject to special and complex U.S. federal income tax provisions that may, among other things, (1) treat dividends that would otherwise constitute qualified dividend income as non-qualified dividend income, (2) disallow, suspend or otherwise limit the allowance of certain losses or deductions, (3) convert lower-taxed long-term capital gain into higher-taxed short-term capital gain or ordinary income, (4) convert an ordinary loss or a deduction into a capital loss (the deductibility of which is more limited), (5) cause us to recognize income or gain without receipt of a corresponding cash payment, (6) adversely affect the time as to when a purchase or sale of stock or securities is deemed to occur, (7) adversely alter the characterization of certain complex financial transactions and (8) produce income that will not be qualifying income for purposes of the 90% Income Test. We intend to monitor our transactions and may make certain tax elections to mitigate the potential adverse effect of these provisions, but there can be no assurance that we will be eligible for any such tax elections or that any adverse effects of these provisions will be mitigated.

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Gain or loss recognized by us from warrants or other securities 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 or security.

A portfolio company in which we invest may face financial difficulties that require us to work-out, modify or otherwise restructure our investment in the portfolio company. Any such transaction could, depending upon the specific terms of the transaction, result in unusable capital losses and future non-cash income. Any such transaction could also result in our receiving assets that give rise to non-qualifying income for purposes of the 90% Income Test or otherwise would not count toward satisfying the Diversification Tests.

Our investment in non-U.S. securities may be subject to non-U.S. income, withholding and other taxes. In that case, our yield on those securities would be decreased. Stockholders generally will not be entitled to claim a U.S. foreign tax credit or deduction with respect to non-U.S. taxes paid by us.

If we purchase shares in a “passive foreign investment company” (a “PFIC”), we may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a portion of any “excess distribution” received on, or any gain from the disposition of, such shares even if we distribute such income as a taxable dividend to our stockholders. Additional charges in the nature of interest generally will be imposed on us in respect of deferred taxes arising from any such excess distribution or gain. If we invest in a PFIC and elect to treat the PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” under the Code (a “QEF”), in lieu of the foregoing requirements, we will be required to include in income each year our proportionate share of the ordinary earnings and net capital gain of the QEF, even if such income is not distributed by the QEF. Alternatively, we may be able to elect to mark-to-market at the end of each taxable year our shares in a PFIC; in this case, we will recognize as ordinary income any increase in the value of such shares, and as ordinary loss any decrease in such value to the extent that any such decrease does not exceed prior increases included in our income. Our ability to make a QEF election will depend on factors beyond our control, and is subject to restrictions which may limit the availability of the benefit of this election. Under either election, we may be required to recognize in a year income in excess of any distributions we receive from PFICs and any proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock during that year, and such income will nevertheless be subject to the Annual Distribution Requirement and will be taken into account for purposes of determining whether we satisfy the Excise Tax Avoidance Requirement. See “—Taxation as a RIC” above.

Under Section 988 of the Code, gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates between the time we accrue income, expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time we actually collect such income or pay such expenses or liabilities are generally treated as ordinary income or loss. Similarly, gains or losses on foreign currency forward contracts and the disposition of debt obligations denominated in a foreign currency, to the extent attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates between the acquisition and disposition dates, are also treated as ordinary income or loss.

Some of the income that we might otherwise earn, such as fees for providing managerial assistance, certain fees earned with respect to our investments, income recognized in a work-out or restructuring of a portfolio investment or income recognized from an equity investment in an operating partnership, may not be qualifying income for purposes of the 90% Income Test. To manage the risk that such income might disqualify us as a RIC for failure to satisfy the 90% Income Test, one or more subsidiary entities treated as U.S. corporations for U.S. federal income tax purposes may be employed to earn such income and (if applicable) hold the related asset. Such subsidiary entities will be required to pay U.S. federal income tax on their earnings, which ultimately will reduce the yield to our stockholders on such fees and income.

The remainder of this discussion assumes that we qualify as a RIC for each taxable year.

Taxation of U.S. Stockholders

The following discussion only applies to U.S. stockholders. Prospective stockholders that are not U.S. stockholders should refer to “—Taxation of Non-U.S. Stockholders” below.

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Distributions

Distributions by us (including distributions where stockholders can elect to receive cash or stock) generally are taxable to U.S. stockholders as ordinary income or capital gains. Distributions of our investment company taxable income will be taxable as ordinary income to U.S. stockholders to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits, whether paid in cash or stock. To the extent that such distributions paid by us to non-corporate U.S. stockholders (including individuals) are attributable to dividends from U.S. corporations and certain qualified foreign corporations, such distributions (“Qualifying Dividends”) may be eligible for a reduced maximum U.S. federal income tax rate of 20%. In this regard, it is anticipated that our distributions generally will not be attributable to dividends received by us and, therefore, generally will not qualify for the 20% maximum rate applicable to Qualifying Dividends. Distributions of net capital gain (which is generally realized net long-term capital gains in excess of realized net short-term capital losses) properly reported by us as “capital gain dividends” will be taxable to U.S. stockholders as long-term capital gains (currently taxable at a maximum U.S. federal income tax rate of 20% in the case of non-corporate U.S. stockholders (including individuals)), regardless of the U.S. stockholder’s holding period for his, her or its common stock or preferred stock and regardless of whether paid in cash or stock. Distributions in excess of our earnings and profits first will reduce a U.S. stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in such stockholder’s common stock or preferred stock and, after the adjusted tax basis is reduced to zero, will constitute capital gains to such U.S. stockholder.

We may decide to retain some or all of our net capital gain for reinvestment, but designate the retained net capital gain as a “deemed distribution.” In that case, among other consequences, (i) we will pay tax on the retained amount, (ii) each U.S. stockholder will be required to include his, her or its share of the deemed distribution in income as if it had been actually distributed to the U.S. stockholder and (iii) the U.S. stockholder will be entitled to claim a credit equal to his, her or its allocable share of the tax paid thereon by us. Because we expect to pay tax on any retained net capital gains at the regular corporate U.S. federal income tax rate, and because that rate is in excess of the maximum U.S. federal income tax rate currently payable by individuals (and other non-corporate U.S. stockholders) on long-term capital gains, the amount of tax that individuals (and other non-corporate U.S. stockholders) will be treated as having paid will exceed the tax they owe on the capital gain distribution. Such excess generally may be claimed as a credit against the U.S. stockholder’s other federal income tax obligations or may be refunded to the extent it exceeds the U.S. stockholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability. The amount of the deemed distribution net of such tax will be added to the U.S. stockholder’s tax basis for his, her or its common stock or preferred stock. In order to utilize the deemed distribution approach, we must provide written notice to our stockholders prior to the expiration of 60 days after the close of the relevant taxable year. We cannot treat any of our investment company taxable income as a “deemed distribution.”

For purposes of determining (1) whether the Annual Distribution Requirement is satisfied for any year and (2) the amount of capital gain dividends paid for that year, under certain circumstances, we may elect to treat a dividend that is paid during the following taxable year as if it had been paid during the taxable year in question. If we make such an election, U.S. stockholders will still be treated as receiving the dividend in the taxable year in which the distribution is made. However, any dividend declared by us in October, November or December of any calendar year, payable to stockholders of record on a specified date in such a month and actually paid during January of the following year, will be treated as if it had been received by our U.S. stockholders on December 31 of the year in which the dividend was declared.

Although we currently do not intend to do so, we have the ability to declare a large portion of a distribution in shares of our stock. We are not subject to restrictions on the circumstances in which we may declare a portion of a distribution in shares of our stock, but would generally anticipate doing so only in unusual situations, such as, for example, if we did not have sufficient cash to meet our RIC distribution requirements under the Code. Generally, were we to declare such a distribution, we would allow stockholders to elect payment in cash and/or shares of equivalent value. Under published IRS guidance, the entire distribution will generally be treated as a taxable distribution for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and count towards our RIC distribution requirements under the Code, if certain conditions are satisfied. Among other things, the aggregate amount of

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cash available to be distributed to all stockholders is required to be at least 20% (or, under recently published IRS guidance, for distributions declared on or after April 1, 2020, and on or before December 31, 2020, at least 10%) of the aggregate declared distribution. If too many stockholders elect to receive cash, the cash available for distribution is required to be allocated among the stockholders electing to receive cash (with the balance of the distribution paid in stock) under a formula provided in the applicable IRS guidance. Each stockholder electing to receive cash would be entitled to receive cash in an amount equal to at least the lesser of (i) the portion of the distribution such stockholder elected to receive in cash and (ii) such stockholder’s entire distribution multiplied by the percentage limitation on cash available for distribution. The number of shares of our stock distributed would thus depend on the applicable percentage limitation on cash available for distribution, the stockholders’ individual elections to receive cash or stock, and the value of the shares of stock. Each U.S. stockholder generally would be treated as having received a taxable distribution on the date the distribution is received in an amount equal to the cash that such U.S. stockholder would have received if the entire distribution had been paid in cash, even if such U.S. stockholder received all or most of the distribution in shares of our stock. This may result in a U.S. stockholder having to pay tax on such distribution, even if no cash is received.

We expect to be treated as a “publicly offered regulated investment company” (within the meaning of Section 67 of the Code) as a result of either (i) shares of our stock being held by at least 500 persons at all times during a taxable year or (ii) shares of our stock being treated as regularly traded on an established securities market. However, we cannot assure you that we will be treated as a publicly offered regulated investment company for all years. If we are not treated as a publicly offered regulated investment company for any calendar year, for purposes of computing the taxable income of U.S. stockholders that are individuals, trusts or estates, (i) our earnings and profits will be computed without taking into account such U.S. stockholders’ allocable shares of the management and incentive fees paid to our Investment Adviser and certain of our other expenses, (ii) each such U.S. stockholder will be treated as having received or accrued a dividend from us in the amount of such U.S. stockholder’s allocable share of these fees and expenses for the calendar year, (iii) each such U.S. stockholder will be treated as having paid or incurred such U.S. stockholder’s allocable share of these fees and expenses for the calendar year, and (iv) each such U.S. stockholder’s allocable share of these fees and expenses will be treated as miscellaneous itemized deductions by such U.S. stockholder. Miscellaneous itemized deductions of a U.S. stockholder that is an individual, trust or estate are disallowed under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act for tax years beginning before January 1, 2026, and thereafter generally are (i) deductible by such U.S. stockholders only to the extent that the aggregate of such U.S. stockholder’s miscellaneous itemized deductions exceeds 2% of such U.S. stockholder’s adjusted gross income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, (ii) not deductible for purposes of the alternative minimum tax and (iii) subject to the overall limitation on itemized deductions under Section 67 of the Code.

If an investor purchases shares of our common stock or preferred stock shortly before the record date of a distribution, the price of the shares will include the value of the distribution, and the investor will be subject to tax on the distribution, even though economically it may represent a return of his, her or its investment. We have the potential to build up large amounts of unrealized gain which, when realized and distributed, could have the effect of a taxable return of capital to U.S. stockholders.

The IRS currently requires that a RIC that has two or more classes of stock allocate to each such class proportionate amounts of each type of its income (such as ordinary income and capital gains) based upon the percentage of total dividends paid to each class for the tax year. Accordingly, if we issue preferred stock, we intend each year to allocate capital gain dividends, if any, between our common shares and shares of preferred stock in proportion to the total dividends paid to each class with respect to such tax year.

Each U.S. stockholder will receive, as promptly as possible after the end of each calendar year, a notice reporting the amounts includible in such U.S. stockholder’s taxable income for such year as ordinary income and as long-term capital gain. In addition, the U.S. federal tax status of each year’s distributions from us generally will be reported to the IRS (including the amount of any distributions that are Qualifying Dividends eligible for the 20% maximum capital gains tax rate). Dividends paid by us generally will not be eligible for the dividends-

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received deduction or the preferential tax rate applicable to Qualifying Dividends because our income generally will not consist of dividends. Distributions may also be subject to additional state, local and non-U.S. taxes depending on a U.S. stockholder’s particular situation.

We have adopted a dividend reinvestment plan under which stockholders who do not “opt out” will receive distributions in the form of additional shares instead of in cash. If a U.S. stockholder reinvests distributions in additional shares, such U.S. stockholder will generally be subject to the same U.S. federal, state and local tax consequences as if it had received a distribution in cash and, for this purpose, a U.S. stockholder receiving a distribution in the form of additional shares will generally be treated as receiving a distribution in the amount of cash that the U.S. stockholder would have received if it had elected to receive the distribution in cash. If we issue additional shares with a fair market value equal to or greater than net asset value, however, stockholders will be treated as receiving a distribution in the amount of the fair market value of the distributed shares. Any such additional shares will have a tax basis equal to the amount treated as a distribution for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The additional shares will have a new holding period commencing on the day following the day on which the shares are credited to the U.S. stockholder’s account.

We or your financial intermediary is also generally required by law to report to each U.S. stockholder and to the IRS cost basis information for shares of our stock sold by or redeemed from the U.S. stockholder. This information includes the adjusted cost basis of the shares, the gross proceeds from disposition and whether the gain or loss is long-term or short-term. The adjusted cost basis of shares will be based on the default cost basis reporting method selected by us, unless a U.S. stockholder, before the sale or redemption, informs us that it has selected a different IRS-accepted method offered by us. These requirements, however, will not apply for investments through an IRA or other tax-advantaged account. U.S. stockholders should consult their financial intermediaries and tax advisers to determine the best cost basis method for their tax situation, and to obtain more information about how these cost basis reporting requirements apply to them.

Dispositions

A U.S. stockholder generally will recognize taxable gain or loss if the U.S. stockholder sells or otherwise disposes of his, her or its shares of our common stock or preferred stock. The amount of gain or loss will be measured by the difference between such stockholder’s adjusted tax basis in the common stock or preferred stock sold and the amount of the proceeds received in exchange for such stock. Any gain or loss arising from such sale or disposition generally will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss if the U.S. stockholder has held his, her or its shares for more than one year; otherwise, any such gain or loss will be classified as short-term capital gain or loss. However, any capital loss arising from the sale or disposition of shares of our common stock or preferred stock held for six months or less will be treated as long-term capital loss to the extent of the amount of capital gain dividends received, or undistributed capital gain deemed received, with respect to such shares. In addition, all or a portion of any loss recognized upon a disposition of shares of our common stock or preferred stock may be disallowed if other shares of such common stock or preferred stock are purchased (whether through reinvestment of distributions or otherwise) within 30 days before or after the disposition.

In general, non-corporate U.S. stockholders (including individuals) currently are subject to a maximum U.S. federal income tax rate of 20% on their net capital gain (i.e., the excess of realized net long-term capital gains over realized net short-term capital losses), including any long-term capital gain derived from an investment in shares of our common stock or preferred stock. Such rate is lower than the maximum rate on ordinary income currently payable by individuals. Corporate U.S. stockholders currently are subject to U.S. federal income tax on net capital gain at the maximum 21% rate also applied to ordinary income. Non-corporate U.S. stockholders (including individuals) with net capital losses for a year (i.e., capital losses in excess of capital gains) generally may deduct up to $3,000 of such losses against their ordinary income each year; any net capital losses of a non-corporate U.S. stockholder (including an individual) in excess of $3,000 generally may be carried forward and used in subsequent years as provided in the Code. Corporate U.S. stockholders generally may not deduct any net capital losses for a year, but may carry back such losses for three years or carry forward such losses for five years.

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Medicare Tax on Net Investment Income

A U.S. stockholder that is an individual or estate, or a trust that does not fall into a special class of trusts that is exempt from such tax, will generally be subject to a 3.8% tax on the lesser of (i) the U.S. stockholder’s “net investment income” (or “undistributed net investment income” for an estate or trust) for a taxable year and (ii) the excess of the U.S. stockholder’s modified adjusted gross income for such taxable year, over a certain threshold, which for individuals is $200,000 in the case of single filers ($250,000 in the case of joint filers). For these purposes, “net investment income” will generally include taxable distributions and deemed distributions paid with respect to stock, including our common stock or preferred stock, and net gain attributable to the disposition of stock, including our common stock or preferred stock (in each case, unless such stock is held in connection with certain trades or businesses), but will be reduced by any deductions properly allocable to such distributions or net gain.

Tax Shelter Reporting Regulations

Under applicable Treasury regulations, if a U.S. stockholder recognizes a loss with respect to our common stock or preferred stock of $2 million or more for a non-corporate U.S. stockholder or $10 million or more for a corporate U.S. stockholder in any single taxable year (or a greater loss over a combination of years), the U.S. stockholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct U.S. stockholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but, under current guidance, U.S. stockholders of a RIC are not excepted. Future guidance may extend the current exception from this reporting requirement to U.S. stockholders of most or all RICs. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Significant monetary penalties apply to a failure to comply with this reporting requirement. States may also have a similar reporting requirement. U.S. stockholders should consult their own tax advisers to determine the applicability of these Treasury regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

Backup Withholding

The relevant withholding agent may be required to withhold U.S. federal income tax (“backup withholding”), at a current rate of 24%, from any taxable distribution to a U.S. stockholder (other than a corporation, a financial institution or a stockholder that otherwise qualifies for an exemption) (1) that fails to provide a correct taxpayer identification number or a certification that such stockholder is exempt from backup withholding or (2) with respect to whom the IRS notifies the withholding agent that such stockholder has failed to properly report certain interest and dividend income to the IRS and to respond to notices to that effect. An individual’s taxpayer identification number is his or her social security number. Backup withholding is not an additional tax, and any amount withheld under the backup withholding rules is allowed as a credit against the U.S. stockholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability (which may entitle the U.S. stockholder to a refund), provided that proper information is timely provided to the IRS.

Withholding and Information Reporting on Foreign Financial Accounts

Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act rules of the Code and applicable Treasury regulations (collectively referred to as “FATCA”), the applicable withholding agent generally will be required to withhold 30% of (a) any dividends on our common stock or preferred stock and (b) the gross proceeds from a sale or other disposition of our common stock or preferred stock, in each case, paid to (i) a non-U.S. financial institution (whether such financial institution is the beneficial owner or an intermediary) unless such non-U.S. financial institution agrees to verify, report and disclose its U.S. accountholders and meets certain other specified requirements or (ii) a non-financial non-U.S. entity (whether such entity is the beneficial owner or an intermediary) unless such entity certifies that it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or provides the name, address and taxpayer identification number of each substantial U.S. owner and such entity meets certain other specified requirements. Proposed Treasury regulations that may be relied on pending finalization provide that

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FATCA withholding on gross proceeds will be eliminated and, consequently, this withholding tax on gross proceeds is not currently expected to apply. An intergovernmental agreement between the United States and an applicable foreign country, or future Treasury regulations or other guidance, may modify these requirements. We will not pay any additional amounts in respect of any amounts withheld.

Taxation of Non-U.S. Stockholders

The following discussion applies only to Non-U.S. stockholders. Whether an investment in shares of our common stock or preferred stock is appropriate for a Non-U.S. stockholder will depend upon that stockholder’s particular circumstances. An investment in shares of our common stock or preferred stock by a Non-U.S. stockholder may have adverse tax consequences to such Non-U.S. stockholder. Non-U.S. stockholders should consult their own tax advisers before investing in our common stock or preferred stock.

Distributions; Dispositions

Subject to the discussion below, distributions of our investment company taxable income to a Non-U.S. stockholder that are not effectively connected with the Non-U.S. stockholder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States will be subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax at a 30% rate (or lower rate provided by an applicable income tax treaty) to the extent paid out of our current or accumulated earnings and profits.

Certain properly reported distributions are generally exempt from withholding of U.S. federal income tax where they are paid in respect of our (i) “qualified net interest income” (generally, U.S.-source interest income, other than certain contingent interest and interest from obligations of a corporation or partnership in which we or the Non-U.S. stockholder are at least a 10% shareholder, reduced by expenses that are allocable to such income) or (ii) “qualified short-term capital gains” (generally, the excess of net short-term capital gain over net long-term capital loss for such taxable year), and certain other requirements are satisfied. No assurance can be given as to whether any of our distributions will be eligible for this exemption from withholding of U.S. federal income tax or, if eligible, will be reported as such by us. In particular, this exemption will not apply to our distributions paid in respect of our non-U.S. source interest income or our dividend income (or any other type of income other than generally our non-contingent U.S.-source interest income received from unrelated obligors and our qualified short-term capital gains). In the case of our common stock or preferred stock held through an intermediary, the intermediary may withhold U.S. federal income tax even if we report the payment as qualified net interest income or qualified short-term capital gain.

Distributions of our investment company taxable income to a Non-U.S. stockholder that are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. stockholder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a U.S. permanent establishment of the Non-U.S. stockholder) generally will not be subject to withholding of U.S. federal income tax if the Non-U.S. stockholder complies with applicable certification and disclosure requirements, although the distributions (to the extent of our current or accumulated earnings and profits) will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net basis at the rates and in the manner applicable to U.S. stockholders generally.

Actual or deemed distributions of our net capital gains to a Non-U.S. stockholder, and gains realized by a Non-U.S. stockholder upon the sale of our common stock or preferred stock, will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax or any withholding of such tax, unless (a) the distributions or gains, as the case may be, are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. stockholder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, are attributable to a U.S. permanent establishment of the Non-U.S. stockholder), in which case the distributions or gains will be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net basis at the rates and in the manner applicable to U.S. stockholders generally, or (b) the Non-U.S. stockholder is an individual who has been present in the United States for 183 days or more during the taxable year and satisfies certain other conditions, in which case, except as otherwise provided by an applicable income tax treaty, the

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distributions or gains, which may be offset by certain U.S.-source capital losses, generally will be subject to a flat 30% U.S. federal income tax, even though the Non-U.S. stockholder is not considered a resident alien under the Code.

If we distribute our net capital gains in the form of deemed rather than actual distributions, a Non-U.S. stockholder will be entitled to a U.S. federal income tax credit or tax refund equal to the stockholder’s allocable share of the tax we pay on the capital gains deemed to have been distributed. In order to obtain the refund, the Non-U.S. stockholder must obtain a U.S. taxpayer identification number and file a U.S. federal income tax return, even if the Non-U.S. stockholder would not otherwise be required to obtain a U.S. taxpayer identification number or file a U.S. federal income tax return.

For a corporate Non-U.S. stockholder, both distributions (actual or deemed) and gains realized upon the sale of our common stock or preferred stock that are effectively connected with the Non-U.S. stockholder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States may, under certain circumstances, be subject to an additional “branch profits tax” at a 30% rate (or at a lower rate if provided for by an applicable income tax treaty).

Although we currently do not intend to do so, we have the ability to declare a large portion of a distribution in shares of our stock. We are not subject to restrictions on the circumstances in which we may declare a portion of a distribution in shares of our stock, but would generally anticipate doing so only in unusual situations, such as, for example, if we did not have sufficient cash to meet our RIC distribution requirements under the Code. Generally, were we to declare such a distribution, we would allow stockholders to elect payment in cash and/or shares of equivalent value. Under published IRS guidance, the entire distribution will generally be treated as a taxable distribution for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and count towards our RIC distribution requirements under the Code, if certain conditions are satisfied. Among other things, the aggregate amount of cash available to be distributed to all stockholders is required to be at least 20% (or, under recently published IRS guidance, for distributions declared on or after April 1, 2020, and on or before December 31, 2020, at least 10%) of the aggregate declared distribution. If too many stockholders elect to receive cash, the cash available for distribution is required to be allocated among the stockholders electing to receive cash (with the balance of the distribution paid in stock) under a formula provided in the applicable IRS guidance. Each stockholder electing to receive cash would be entitled to receive cash in an amount equal to at least the lesser of (i) the portion of the distribution such stockholder elected to receive in cash and (ii) such stockholder’s entire distribution multiplied by the percentage limitation on cash available for distribution. The number of shares of our stock distributed would thus depend on the applicable percentage limitation on cash available for distribution, the stockholders’ individual elections to receive cash or stock, and the value of the shares of stock. Each Non-U.S. stockholder generally would be treated as having received a taxable distribution (including for purposes of the application of the withholding tax rules discussed above) on the date the distribution is received in an amount equal to the cash that such Non-U.S. stockholder would have received if the entire distribution had been paid in cash, even if such Non-U.S. stockholder received all or most of the distribution in shares of our stock. In such a circumstance, all or substantially all of the cash that would otherwise be distributed to a Non-U.S. stockholder may be withheld or shares of our stock may be withheld and sold to fund the applicable withholding.

We have adopted a dividend reinvestment plan under which stockholders who do not “opt out” receive distributions in the form of additional shares instead of in cash. If a Non-U.S. stockholder reinvests distributions in additional shares, such Non-U.S. stockholder will generally be subject to the same U.S. federal, state and local tax consequences as if it had received a distribution in cash and, for this purpose, a Non-U.S. stockholder receiving a distribution in the form of additional shares will generally be treated as receiving a distribution in the amount of cash that the Non-U.S. stockholder would have received if it had elected to receive the distribution in cash. If we issue additional shares with a fair market value equal to or greater than net asset value, however, a Non-U.S. stockholder will be treated as receiving a distribution in the amount of the fair market value of the distributed shares. If the distribution is subject to withholding tax as described above, only the net after-tax amount will be reinvested in additional shares. If the distribution is effectively connected with a U.S. trade or

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business of the Non-U.S. stockholder (and, if required by an applicable income tax treaty, is attributable to a U.S. permanent establishment of the Non-U.S. stockholder), and the Non-U.S. stockholder complies with the applicable certification and disclosure requirements, the full amount of the distribution generally will be reinvested in additional shares and will nevertheless be subject to U.S. federal income tax at the rates and in the manner applicable to U.S. stockholders generally. The Non-U.S. stockholder will have an adjusted tax basis in the additional shares of our common stock purchased through the dividend reinvestment plan equal to the total dollar amount treated as a distribution for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The additional shares will have a new holding period commencing on the day following the day on which the shares are credited to the Non-U.S. stockholder’s account.

Jurisdiction of Tax Residence

The tax treatment of a Non-U.S. stockholder in its jurisdiction of tax residence will depend entirely on the laws of such jurisdiction, and may vary considerably from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Depending on (i) the laws of such Non-U.S. stockholder’s jurisdiction of tax residence, (ii) how we are treated in such jurisdiction, and (iii) our activities, an investment in us could result in such Non-U.S. stockholder recognizing adverse tax consequences in its jurisdiction of tax residence, including with respect to any generally required or additional tax filings and/or additional disclosure required in such filings in relation to the treatment for tax purposes in the relevant jurisdiction of an interest in us and/or of distributions from us and any uncertainties arising in that respect (our not being established under the laws of the relevant jurisdiction), the possibility of taxable income significantly in excess of cash distributed to a Non-U.S. stockholder, and possibly in excess of our actual economic income, the possibilities of losing deductions or the ability to utilize tax basis and of sums invested being returned in the form of taxable income or gains, and the possibility of being subject to tax at unfavorable tax rates. A Non-U.S. stockholder may also be subject to restrictions on the use of its share of our deductions and losses in its jurisdiction of tax residence. Each Non-U.S. stockholder is urged to consult its own tax advisers with respect to the tax and tax filing consequences, if any, in its jurisdiction of tax residence of an investment in us, as well as any other jurisdiction in which such Non-U.S. stockholder is subject to taxation.

Backup Withholding

A Non-U.S. stockholder generally will be subject to information reporting and may be subject to backup withholding of U.S. federal income tax on taxable distributions unless the Non-U.S. stockholder provides the applicable withholding agent with an IRS Form W-8BEN or W-8BEN-E or an acceptable substitute form or otherwise establishes an exemption from backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax, and any amount withheld under the backup withholding rules is allowed as a credit against the Non-U.S. stockholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability (which may entitle the Non-U.S. stockholder to a refund), provided that proper information is timely provided to the IRS.

Withholding and Information Reporting on Foreign Financial Accounts

Under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act rules of the Code and applicable Treasury regulations (collectively referred to as “FATCA”), the applicable withholding agent generally will be required to withhold 30% of (a) any dividends on our common stock or preferred stock and (b) the gross proceeds from a sale or other disposition of our common stock or preferred stock, in each case, paid to (i) a non-U.S. financial institution (whether such financial institution is the beneficial owner or an intermediary) unless such non-U.S. financial institution agrees to verify, report and disclose its U.S. accountholders and meets certain other specified requirements or (ii) a non-financial non-U.S. entity (whether such entity is the beneficial owner or an intermediary) unless such entity certifies that it does not have any substantial U.S. owners or provides the name, address and taxpayer identification number of each substantial U.S. owner and such entity meets certain other specified requirements. Proposed Treasury regulations that may be relied on pending finalization provide that FATCA withholding on gross proceeds will be eliminated and, consequently, this withholding tax on gross proceeds is not currently expected to apply. An intergovernmental agreement between the United States and an

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applicable foreign country, or future Treasury regulations or other guidance, may modify these requirements. If payment of this withholding tax is made, Non-U.S. stockholders that are otherwise eligible for an exemption from, or a reduction in, withholding of U.S. federal income taxes with respect to such dividends or proceeds will be required to seek a credit or refund from the IRS to obtain the benefit of such exemption or reduction. We will not pay any additional amounts in respect of any amounts withheld.

Each Non-U.S. stockholder should consult its own tax advisers with respect to the U.S. federal income and withholding tax consequences, and state, local and non-U.S. tax consequences, of an investment in shares of our common stock or preferred stock.

Change in Tax Laws

Each prospective investor should be aware that tax laws and regulations are changing on an ongoing basis, and such laws and/or regulations may be changed with retroactive effect. Moreover, the interpretation and/or application of tax laws and regulations by certain tax authorities may not be clear, consistent or transparent. Uncertainty in the tax law may require us to accrue potential tax liabilities even in situations in which we and/or our stockholders do not expect to be ultimately subject to such tax liabilities. In that regard, accounting standards and/or related tax reporting obligations may change, giving rise to additional accrual and/or other obligations.

Developments in the tax laws of the United States or other jurisdictions could have a material effect on the tax consequences to the stockholders, us, and/or our direct and indirect subsidiaries, and stockholders may be required to provide certain additional information to us (which may be provided to the IRS or other taxing authorities) and may be subject to other adverse consequences as a result of such change in tax laws. In the event of any such change in tax law, each stockholder is urged to consult its own advisors.

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DESCRIPTION OF OUR CAPITAL STOCK

The following description of our capital stock is based on relevant portions of the DGCL and on our certificate of incorporation and bylaws. This summary is not necessarily complete, and we refer you to the DGCL and our certificate of incorporation and bylaws for a more detailed description of the provisions summarized below.

Capital Stock

As of the date of this prospectus, our authorized stock consists of 200,000,000 shares of common stock, par value $0.001 per share, and 1,000,000 shares of preferred stock, par value $0.001 per share. Our common stock is traded on the NYSE under the symbol “GSBD.” There are no outstanding options or warrants to purchase our stock. Under Delaware law, our stockholders will generally not be personally liable for our debts or obligations.

Unless our Board of Directors determines otherwise, we will issue all shares of our capital stock in uncertificated form.

The following table sets forth information on our capital stock as of November 11, 2020:

Common Stock

All shares of our common stock have equal rights as to earnings, assets, dividends and other distributions and voting and, when they are issued, will be duly authorized, validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable. Distributions may be made or paid to the holders of our common stock if, as and when declared by our Board of Directors out of funds legally available therefor, subject to the rights of holders of shares of any series of our preferred stock then outstanding. Shares of our common stock have no exchange, conversion or redemption rights. Shares of our common stock are subject to the transfer restrictions set forth in our certificate of incorporation, as described more fully below, as well as any restrictions on transfer arising under federal and state securities laws or by contract. Following the time at which the transfer restrictions contained in our certificate of incorporation terminate, shares of our common stock will be freely transferable, except when their transfer is restricted by federal and state securities laws or by contract. In the event of our liquidation, dissolution or winding up, each share of our common stock would be entitled to share ratably in all of our assets that are legally available for distribution after we pay all debts and other liabilities and subject to any preferential rights of holders of shares of any series of our preferred stock then outstanding. Each share of our common stock is entitled to one vote on all matters submitted to a vote of stockholders generally, including the election of directors elected by a vote of stockholders generally. Except as provided with respect to any other class or series of stock, including our preferred stock, as more fully described below, the holders of our common stock possess exclusive voting power. There is no cumulative voting in the election of our Board of Directors, which means that holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote in the election of such directors are entitled to elect that number of nominees equal to the number of directors to be elected by such holders, and holders of less than a majority of such shares will be unable to elect one or more specific directors for any available directorship. In addition, holders of our common stock may participate in our dividend reinvestment plan.

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In connection with the Merger, we adopted an amended and restated certificate of incorporation that became effective upon the closing of the Merger that generally restricted all stockholders who received shares of our common stock in the Merger (the “Affected Stockholders”) from transferring their respective shares of our common stock for at least 90 days following the date of the closing of the Merger (the “Closing Date”), subject to a modified lock-up schedule thereafter (lock-up restrictions on 1/3 of the Affected Stockholders’ shares will lapse after 90 days from the Closing Date, lock-up restrictions on an additional 1/3 of the Affected Stockholders’ shares will lapse after 180 days from the Closing Date, and lock-up restrictions on the remaining 1/3 of the Affected Stockholders’ shares will lapse after 270 days from the Closing Date).

Preferred Stock

Our certificate of incorporation authorizes our Board of Directors to create and issue one or more series of preferred stock to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act. Prior to the issuance of shares of each series of preferred stock, our Board of Directors will be required by Delaware law and by our certificate of incorporation to establish the voting powers (full or limited, or no voting powers), and the designations, preferences and relative, participating, optional or other special rights, and the qualifications, limitations and restrictions thereof, of each series of our preferred stock. Thus, to the extent permitted by the Investment Company Act, the Board of Directors could authorize the issuance of shares of a series of our preferred stock with terms and conditions which could have the effect of delaying, deferring or preventing a transaction or a change in control that might involve a premium price for holders of our common stock or otherwise be in their best interest.

Any issuance of preferred stock must comply with the requirements of the Investment Company Act. The Investment Company Act requires, among other things, that (1) immediately after issuance and before any dividend or other distribution is made with respect to our common stock and before any purchase of common stock is made, such preferred stock together with all other senior securities must not exceed an amount equal to 66 2/3% of our total assets after deducting the amount of such dividend, distribution or purchase price, as the case may be, and (2) the holders of shares of preferred stock, if any are issued, must be entitled as a class voting separately 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 full years or more. Certain matters under the Investment Company Act require the affirmative vote of the holders of at least a majority of the outstanding shares of preferred stock (as determined in accordance with the Investment Company Act), including any outstanding perpetual preferred stock, voting together as a separate class. For example, the vote of such holders of preferred stock would be required to approve a proposal involving a plan of reorganization adversely affecting such securities.

Provisions of the DGCL and Our Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws

Limitation on Liability of Directors; Indemnification and Advancement of Expenses

The indemnification of our officers and directors is governed by Section 145 of the DGCL and our certificate of incorporation and bylaws. Section 145(a) of the DGCL empowers the Company to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative (other than an action by or in the right of the Company) by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company, or is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise, against expenses (including attorneys’ fees), judgments, fines and amounts paid in settlement actually and reasonably incurred by the person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding if (1) such person acted in good faith, (2) in a manner such person reasonably believed to be in or not opposed to the best interests of the Company and (3) with respect to any criminal action or proceeding, such person had no reasonable cause to believe the person’s conduct was unlawful.

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Section 145(b) of the DGCL empowers the Company to indemnify any person who was or is a party or is threatened to be made a party to any threatened, pending or completed action or suit by or in the right of the Company to procure a judgment in its favor by reason of the fact that the person is or was a director, officer, employee or agent of the Company, or is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with the defense or settlement of such action or suit if such person acted in good faith and in a manner the person reasonably believed to be in, or not opposed to, the best interests of the Company, and except that no indemnification may be made in respect of any claim, issue or matter as to which such person has been adjudged to be liable to the Company unless and only to the extent that the Delaware Court of Chancery or the court in which such action or suit was brought determines upon application that, despite the adjudication of liability but in view of all the circumstances of the case, such person is fairly and reasonably entitled to indemnity for such expenses which the Court of Chancery or such other court deems proper.

Section 145(c) of the DGCL provides that to the extent that a present or former director or officer of the Company has been successful, on the merits or otherwise, in defense of any action, suit or proceeding referred to in subsections (a) and (b) of Section 145, or in defense of any claim, issue or matter therein, such person shall be indemnified against expenses (including attorneys’ fees) actually and reasonably incurred by such person in connection with such action, suit or proceeding.

Section 145(d) of the DGCL provides that in all cases in which indemnification is permitted under subsections (a) and (b) of Section 145 (unless ordered by a court), it will be made by the Company only if it is consistent with the Investment Company Act and as authorized in the specific case upon a determination that indemnification of the present or former director, officer, employee or agent is proper in the circumstances because the person to be indemnified has met the applicable standard of conduct set forth in those subsections. Such determination must be made, with respect to a person who is a director or officer at the time of such determination, (1) by a majority vote of the directors who are not parties to such action, suit or proceeding, even though less than a quorum, or (2) by a committee of such directors designated by majority vote of such directors, even though less than a quorum, or (3) if there are no such directors, or if such directors so direct, by independent legal counsel in a written opinion or (4) by the stockholders.

Section 145(e) authorizes the Company to pay expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by an officer or director of the Company in defending any civil, criminal, administrative or investigative action, suit or proceeding in advance of the final disposition of such action, suit or proceeding upon receipt of an undertaking by or on behalf of the person to whom the advancement will be made to repay the advanced amounts if it is ultimately determined that he or she was not entitled to be indemnified by the Company as authorized by Section 145. Section 145(e) also provides that such expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by former directors and officers or other employees and agents of the Company, or persons serving at the request of the Company as directors, officers, employees or agents of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise may be so paid upon such terms and conditions, if any, as the Company deems appropriate.

Section 145(f) provides that indemnification and advancement of expenses provided by, or granted pursuant to, the other subsections of such Section are not to be deemed exclusive of any other rights to which those seeking indemnification or advancement of expenses may be entitled under any bylaw, agreement, vote of stockholders or disinterested directors, or otherwise.

Section 145(g) authorizes the Company to purchase and maintain insurance on behalf of its current and former directors, officers, employees and agents (and on behalf of any person who is or was serving at the request of the Company as a director, officer, employee or agent of another corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust or other enterprise) against any liability asserted against such person and incurred by such person in any such capacity, or arising out of such person’s status as such, regardless of whether the Company would have the power to indemnify such persons against such liability under Section 145.

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Section 102(b)(7) of the DGCL allows the Company to provide in its certificate of incorporation a provision that limits or eliminates the personal liability of a director of the Company to the Company or its stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director, provided that such provision may not limit or eliminate the liability of a director (1) for any breach of the director’s duty of loyalty to the Company or its stockholders, (2) for acts or omissions not in good faith or which involve intentional misconduct or a knowing violation of law, (3) under Section 174 of the DGCL, relating to unlawful payment of dividends or unlawful stock purchases or redemption of stock or (4) for any transaction from which the director derived an improper personal benefit. Our certificate of incorporation will provide that our directors will not be liable to us or our stockholders for monetary damages for breach of fiduciary duty as a director to the fullest extent permitted by the current DGCL or as the DGCL may hereafter be amended.

Our certificate of incorporation requires us to indemnify to the full extent permitted by Section 145 of the DGCL all persons whom we may indemnify under that section. Our certificate of incorporation also provides that expenses incurred by our officers or directors in defending any action, suit or proceeding for which they may be entitled to indemnification under our certificate of incorporation shall be paid in advance of the final disposition of the action, suit or proceeding. However, any indemnification or payment or reimbursement of expenses made pursuant to such provisions of our certificate of incorporation will be subject to the applicable requirements of the Investment Company Act. In addition, our bylaws provide that, except for certain proceedings initiated by our directors or officers, we must indemnify, and advance expenses to, our current and former directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted by the DGCL, but provide that any indemnification or reimbursement of expenses thereunder is subject to the applicable requirements of the Investment Company Act.

Delaware Anti-Takeover Law

The DGCL contains, and our certificate of incorporation and bylaws also contain, provisions that could make it more difficult for a potential acquirer to acquire us by means of a tender offer, proxy contest or otherwise. These provisions are expected to discourage certain coercive takeover practices and inadequate takeover bids and to encourage persons seeking to acquire control of us to negotiate first with our Board of Directors. These measures may delay, defer or prevent a transaction or a change in control that might otherwise be in the best interests of our stockholders. We believe, however, that the benefits of these provisions outweigh the potential disadvantages of discouraging any such acquisition proposals because the negotiation of such proposals may improve their terms.

We have elected in our certificate of incorporation not to be subject to Section 203 of the DGCL, an antitakeover law. However, our certificate of incorporation contains provisions that, at any point in time in which our common stock is registered under Section 12(b) or Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act, have the same effect as Section 203, except that it exempts Group Inc. and its affiliates, and certain of its or their respective direct or indirect transferees and any group as to which such persons are a party, from the effect of those provisions. In general, these provisions will prohibit us from engaging in any “business combination” with any “interested stockholder” for a period of three years following the date that the stockholder became an interested stockholder, unless:

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These provisions define “business combination” to include the following:

In general, these provisions define an “interested stockholder” as any entity or person that is the beneficial owner of 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock or is an affiliate or associate of us and was the beneficial owner of 15% or more of our outstanding voting stock at any time within the three-year period immediately prior to the relevant date, and the affiliates or associates of any such entity or person, but Group Inc. and its affiliates and certain of its or their respective direct or indirect transferees and any group as to which such persons are a party are excluded from the definition of interested stockholder.

These provisions could prohibit or delay mergers or other takeover or change in control attempts and, accordingly, may discourage attempts to acquire us.

Election of Directors

Our bylaws provide that, unless otherwise provided in our certificate of incorporation (including with respect to the special rights of holders of one or more series of our preferred stock to elect directors), our directors are elected by the affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the votes cast by stockholders entitled to vote thereon present in person or by proxy at a meeting of stockholders called for the purpose of electing directors. Under our certificate of incorporation, our Board of Directors has the power to amend our bylaws, including the provisions specifying the vote required to elect directors. Under Section 216 of the DGCL, however, a bylaw amendment adopted by stockholders which specifies the votes that shall be necessary for the election of directors shall not be further amended or repealed by the Board of Directors.

Classified Board of Directors

Under our certificate of incorporation, subject to the special right of the holders of one or more series of preferred stock to elect additional preferred directors, our directors are divided into three classes of directors,

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serving staggered three-year terms, with the term of office of directors in only one of the three classes expiring each year. As a result, one-third of such directors will then be elected each year. A classified board may render a change in control of us or removal of our incumbent management more difficult. We believe, however, that, the longer time required to elect a majority of a classified Board of Directors will help to ensure the continuity and stability of our management and policies.

Number of Directors; Removal; Vacancies

Our certificate of incorporation provides that, subject to any rights of holders of one or more series of preferred stock to elect additional preferred directors, the total number of directors is fixed from time to time exclusively pursuant to a resolution adopted by the Board of Directors. Under the DGCL, unless the certificate of incorporation provides otherwise (which our certificate of incorporation does not), directors on a classified board may be removed only for cause. Our certificate of incorporation provides that our directors are divided into classes serving staggered three-year terms and such directors may only be removed for cause, and only upon the affirmative vote of holders of at least two-thirds of the outstanding shares entitled to vote generally in the election of directors. Under our certificate of incorporation, subject to the applicable requirements of the Investment Company Act and the rights of the holders of one or more series of preferred stock, any vacancy on the Board of Directors resulting from the death, resignation, retirement, removal or disqualification of a director or other cause, or any vacancy resulting from an increase in the number of directors, may be filled only by vote of a majority of the directors then in office, even though less than a quorum, or by a sole remaining director; provided that when the holders of any class or series of our stock are entitled under the certificate of incorporation to elect directors, vacancies in directorships elected by such class, classes or series may be filled by a majority of the remaining directors so elected. Any such limitations on the ability of our stockholders to remove directors and fill vacancies could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire, or discourage a third party from seeking to acquire, control of us.

Action by Stockholders

Our certificate of incorporation provides that our stockholders are only able to take action at an annual or special meeting of stockholders and may not take action by written consent of stockholders in lieu of a meeting. This may have the effect of delaying consideration of a stockholder proposal until the next annual meeting.

Advance Notice Provisions for Stockholder Nominations and Stockholder Proposals

Our bylaws provide that with respect to an annual meeting of stockholders, nominations of persons for election to the Board of Directors and the proposal of other business to be considered by stockholders may be made only (1) by or at the direction of the Board of Directors (or a duly authorized committee thereof), (2) pursuant to our notice of meeting or (3) by a stockholder who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has complied with the advance notice procedures of the bylaws. For any nomination or business proposal to be properly brought by a stockholder for a meeting, such stockholder will have to comply with advance notice requirements and provide us with certain information. Generally, to be timely, a stockholder’s notice must be received at our principal executive offices not less than 90 days nor more than 120 days prior to the first anniversary date of the immediately preceding annual meeting of stockholders. Our bylaws specify requirements as to the form and content of any such stockholder’s notice. Our bylaws also allow the presiding officer at a meeting of the stockholders to adopt rules and regulations for the conduct of meetings which may have the effect of precluding the conduct of certain business at a meeting if the rules and regulations are not followed. Our bylaws further provide that nominations of persons for election to the Board of Directors at a special meeting may be made only by or at the direction of the Board of Directors, and provided that the Board of Directors has determined that directors will be elected at the meeting, by a stockholder who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has complied with the advance notice provisions of the bylaws.

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The purpose of requiring stockholders to give us advance notice of nominations and other business is to afford our Board of Directors a meaningful opportunity to consider the qualifications of the proposed nominees and the advisability of any other proposed business and, to the extent deemed necessary or desirable by our Board of Directors, to inform stockholders and make recommendations about such qualifications or business, as well as to provide a more orderly procedure for conducting meetings of stockholders. Although our bylaws do not give our Board of Directors any power to disapprove stockholder nominations for the election of directors or proposals recommending certain action that are made in compliance with applicable advance notice procedures, they may have the effect of precluding a contest for the election of directors or the consideration of stockholder proposals if proper procedures are not followed and of discouraging or deterring a third party from conducting a solicitation of proxies to elect its own slate of directors or to approve its own proposal without regard to whether consideration of such nominees or proposals might be harmful or beneficial to us and our stockholders.

Stockholder Meetings

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that any action required or permitted to be taken by stockholders at an annual meeting or special meeting of stockholders may only be taken if it is properly brought before such meeting. Stockholders at an annual meeting may only consider proposals or nominations specified in the notice of meeting or brought before the meeting by or at the direction of the Board of Directors, or by a stockholder of record on the record date for the meeting who is entitled to vote at the meeting and who has delivered timely written notice in proper form to the secretary of the stockholder’s intention to bring such business before the meeting. These provisions could have the effect of delaying until the next stockholder meeting stockholder actions that are favored by the holders of a majority of our outstanding voting securities.

Calling of Special Meetings of Stockholders

Our certificate of incorporation and bylaws provide that special meetings of stockholders may be called by our Board of Directors, the chairman of the Board of Directors and our chief executive officer, and not by any other person.

Amendments to the Certificate of Incorporation and Bylaws

Section 242 of the DGCL generally provides any amendment to the certificate of incorporation must be approved and declared advisable by the Board of Directors and adopted by the affirmative vote of holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of capital stock entitled to vote thereon, and by a majority of the outstanding stock of each class entitled to vote thereon as a class. Section 109 of the DGCL provides that, after a corporation has received payment for its capital stock, the power to adopt, amend or repeal the bylaws shall be in the stockholders entitled to vote, but any corporation may, in its certificate of incorporation, confer the power to adopt, amend or repeal bylaws upon the directors. Our certificate of incorporation provides our Board of Directors with such power. The DGCL provides that the certificate of incorporation may contain provisions requiring for any corporate action the vote of a larger portion of the stock or of any class or series thereof than is required by the DGCL. Our certificate of incorporation provides that the following provisions, among others, may be amended by our stockholders only by a vote of at least two-thirds of the outstanding shares of our capital stock entitled to vote thereon:

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