Blackstone Secured Lending Fund (BXSL) 2024 Q1 法說會逐字稿

Good day and welcome to the Blackstone Secured Lending first quarter 2024 investor call. Today's conference is being recorded. (Operator Instructions) At this time, I'd like to turn the conference over to Stacy Wang, Head of Shareholder Relations. Please go ahead.

美好的一天，歡迎參加 Blackstone 擔保貸款 2024 年第一季投資者電話會議。今天的會議正在錄製中。（操作員指示） 現在，我想將會議轉交給股東關係主管 Stacy Wang。請繼續。

Thank you, Katie. Good morning and welcome to Blackstone Secure Lending Fund's first quarter conference call. Joining me today are Brad Marshall and Jonathan Bock, Co-Chief Executive Officers; Carlos Whitaker, President; and Teddy Desloge, Chief Financial Officer.

謝謝你，凱蒂。早安，歡迎參加 Blackstone Secure Lending Fund 第一季電話會議。今天加入我的還有聯合執行長布拉德馬歇爾 (Brad Marshall) 和喬納森博克 (Jonathan Bock)；卡洛斯·惠特克，總裁；和財務長 Teddy Desloge。

Earlier this morning, we issued a press release and slide presentation of our results and filed our 10-Q, both of which are available on the Shareholders section of our website, www.bxsl.com. We will be referring to that presentation throughout today's call.

今天早些時候，我們發布了一份新聞稿和幻燈片演示了我們的業績，並提交了我們的 10-Q，這兩份文件都可以在我們網站 www.bxsl.com 的股東部分取得。我們將在今天的電話會議中提及該簡報。

I'd like to remind you that today's call may include forward-looking statements, which are uncertain and outside of the firm's control and may differ materially from actual results. We do not undertake any duty to update these statements or some of the risks that could affect results, please see the Risk Factors section of our most recent annual report on Form 10-K. This audiocast is copyrighted material of Blackstone and may not be duplicated without consent.

我想提醒您，今天的電話會議可能包含前瞻性陳述，這些陳述具有不確定性，超出了公司的控制範圍，並且可能與實際結果有重大差異。我們不承擔更新這些聲明或可能影響結果的一些風險的任何責任，請參閱我們最新的 10-K 表年度報告的風險因素部分。此音訊廣播是 Blackstone 受版權保護的資料，未經同意不得複製。

With that, I'd like to turn over the call to Brad Marshall.

說到這裡，我想把電話轉給布萊德馬歇爾。

Thank you, Stacey, and good morning, everyone. Thanks for joining our call this morning.

謝謝你，史黛西，大家早安。感謝您今天早上加入我們的電話會議。

So turning to this morning's agenda, I'm going to start with some high-level thoughts before John Carlos and Teddy go into some more details around our portfolio and this quarter's results. BSXL reported another strong quarter of results, including net investment income or NII, of $0.87 per share, representing a 13.1% annualized return on equity.

因此，轉向今天早上的議程，在約翰·卡洛斯和泰迪詳細介紹我們的投資組合和本季度業績之前，我將從一些高層想法開始。BSXL 公佈了另一個強勁的季度業績，包括每股 0.87 美元的淨投資收入 (NII)，相當於 13.1% 的年化股本回報率。

Our NII per share was impacted by $0.02 per share from accrued capital gains incentive fees. These results reflect continued strong credit performance with a minimal nonaccrual rate of 0.1% at cost and a robust 11.8% weighted average yield on debt investments, benefiting from the current elevated rate environment.

我們的每股 NII 受到應計資本利得激勵費每股 0.02 美元的影響。這些結果反映出信貸表現持續強勁，以成本計算的非應計利率最低為 0.1%，債務投資加權平均收益率高達 11.8%，受益於當前利率上升的環境。

We also had the second-best quarter since our IPO from an earnings standpoint, with net income of $0.96 per share, which resulted in a NAV per share increase to $26.87. Our distribution of $0.77 per share is well covered at 113% and represents an 11.5% annualized distribution yield, one of the highest among our traded BDC peers with as much of their portfolio invested in first-lien senior secured assets with BXSL at 98.5%.

從獲利角度來看，我們也實現了自 IPO 以來第二好的季度，每股淨利潤為 0.96 美元，每股資產淨值增加至 26.87 美元。我們每股0.77 美元的分配覆蓋率為113%，年化分配收益率為11.5%，是我們交易的BDC 同行中最高的之一，他們的投資組合大部分投資於BXSL 的第一留置權高級擔保資產，比率為98.5%。

Moving to slide 5. As we discussed last quarter, we've been positioning BXSL for an anticipated ramp up in deal activity. We saw the start of that cycle in the fourth quarter, which has continued into the fourth quarter of this year, we had nearly $1.2 billion in new investment commitments at par, which was the most active quarter since 2021. Further we had $719 million of fundings, 98% of which were into first-lien senior secured debt and overall had an average LTV of 44.5%.

轉到投影片 5。正如我們上季度所討論的，我們一直在為 BXSL 做好準備，以應對交易活動的預期成長。我們在第四季度看到了這個週期的開始，並一直持續到今年第四季度，按面值計算，我們有近 12 億美元的新投資承諾，這是自 2021 年以來最活躍的季度。此外，我們擁有 7.19 億美元的資金，其中 98% 用於第一留置權優先擔保債務，總體平均 LTV 為 44.5%。

This reflects our continued focus on first-lien debt investments in high-quality companies with what we believe are better risk-adjusted returns. Additionally, new transactions for the quarter had a weighted average spread of approximately 570 basis points with an average OID of 174 basis points in over two years of call protection, representing approximately 11.4% all in yield to maturity.

這反映出我們持續專注於優質公司的第一留置權債務投資，我們認為這些公司的風險調整後報酬會更好。此外，本季新交易的加權平均利差約為 570 個基點，在兩年多的贖回保護中平均 OID 為 174 個基點，相當於到期收益率的約 11.4%。

Our commitment activity during the quarter aligns with the focus on our high-conviction investments teams. We leverage the BXSL size incumbent relationships to originate opportunities in attractive industries, for example, IT services and software. Benefiting from a wide network of an internal source sources, including a public portfolio of over 2,700 credits and from our existing portfolio in BXSL of over 250 private company. And our repayment activity was partially in industries that may experience more cyclicality, including electrical equipment and energy equipment and services, a portfolio rotation that we believe supports ongoing quality.

我們在本季的承諾活動與我們堅定信念的投資團隊的重點一致。我們利用 BXSL 規模的現有關係在有吸引力的產業（例如 IT 服務和軟體）中創造機會。受益於廣泛的內部資源網絡，包括超過 2,700 個學分的公共投資組合以及我們現有的 BXSL 投資組合中超過 250 家私人公司的投資組合。我們的還款活動部分集中在可能經歷更多週期性的行業，包括電氣設備、能源設備和服務，我們認為這種投資組合輪換可以支持持續的品質。

Just looking at the past two quarters, collectively, we have seen more commitment activity than the preceding seven quarters combined and see this momentum carrying through into the second quarter as BXSCI utilizes our global platform, including the exercise, expanded European credit platform and seeks to create what we believe to be a quality deal flow for our Investors. And despite a period of slower M&A activity, we see our continued deal flow being driven from four primary factors. First, BXSL benefits from having positions across 210 portfolio companies that in the absence of being sold may look to grow through debt and equity finance acquisitions.

僅從過去兩個季度的總體來看，我們看到的承諾活動比前七個季度的總和還多，並且隨著BXSCI 利用我們的全球平台（包括此次演習、擴大的歐洲信貸平台）並尋求將這種勢頭延續到第二季​​度為我們的投資者創造我們認為的優質交易流程。儘管併購活動在一段時間放緩，但我們看到我們持續的交易流是由四個主要因素推動的。首先，BXSL 受益於在 210 家投資組合公司中擁有的頭寸，這些公司在沒有被出售的情況下可能會透過債務和股權融資收購尋求成長。

Second, with BXC's eyes incumbency across over 4,500 issuers globally. We believe our scale and existing relationships helped to drive deal flow. In fact, approximately 65% of BXSL Q1 fundings were to incumbent borrowers of the Axia.

其次，BXC 的目標是覆蓋全球 4,500 多家發行人。我們相信我們的規模和現有關係有助於推動交易流。事實上，大約 65% 的 BXSL 第一季資金都流向了 Axia 的現有借款人。

Third, we have deepened our focus on specialization across sectors that we believe have long-term tailwinds. For example, in April, we opened a new credit office alongside our Life Science private equity colleagues in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where our Global Head of Healthcare, Brad Coleman, along with colleagues, Johns in Bremen, will expand our presence. This is an area that is highly specialized and in great need of knowledgeable expertise.

第三，我們加深了對我們認為具有長期優勢的行業專業化的關注。例如，四月份，我們與生命科學私募股權同事一起在馬薩諸塞州劍橋開設了一家新的信貸辦公室，我們的全球醫療保健主管 Brad Coleman 和不萊梅的同事 Johns 將在那裡擴大我們的業務。這是一個高度專業化且非常需要知識淵博的專業知識的領域。

Finally, we continue to hear from companies that seek services offered by DXC guy's value creation program during a period of heightened inflation. While the services we provide are not a silver bullet, it can be quite additive. And as such, we believe a partnership with Blackstone is valued by sponsors in the market. You'll hear more from the team, but I am particularly excited about the overall quality of our earnings, the continued improvement in NAV and our ability to lean into pipeline to drive income for our investors.

最後，我們不斷聽到一些公司在通貨膨脹加劇期間尋求 DXC 價值創造計劃提供的服務。雖然我們提供的服務並不是靈丹妙藥，但它可以起到很好的附加作用。因此，我們相信與 Blackstone 的合作關係受到市場贊助商的重視。您會從團隊中聽到更多信息，但我對我們盈利的整體品質、資產淨值的持續改善以及我們利用管道為投資者帶來收入的能力感到特別興奮。

With that, I'll pass it over to my colleague, Jon.

這樣，我會將其轉交給我的同事喬恩。

Thank you, Brad. And let's jump to slide 6. We ended the quarter with $10.4 billion of investments, an increase from $9.9 billion in Q4. This resulted in a modest increase in ending leverage of 1.03 times and an average leverage of approximately 0.98 times given the timing of some of our investment fundings. We maintain our strong liquidity position at $1.4 billion comprised of cash and available borrowing capacity across our revolving credit facilities, including ABL.s to lean into that expanded pipeline that Brad mentioned.

謝謝你，布拉德。讓我們跳到幻燈片 6。本季結束時，我們的投資額為 104 億美元，高於第四季的 99 億美元。考慮到我們部分投資資金的時間安排，這導致期末槓桿小幅增加 1.03 倍，平均槓桿約為 0.98 倍。我們維持 14 億美元的強勁流動性頭寸，包括現金和循環信貸設施的可用借貸能力，包括 ABL.s，以利用布拉德提到的擴大管道。

The weighted average base rates over the quarter extended approximately 50 bps on our nearly 99% floating rate debt portfolio compared to Q1 last year as rates remained elevated, while spreads have modestly compressed weighted average all-in yield on debt investments at fair value remains attractive at 11.8% this quarter compared to 12% last quarter. New investments continued to be accretive to our net investment income yield on new debt investment fundings and assets sold and repaid during the quarter averaged 11.4% and 11.9%, respectively.

與去年第一季相比，我們近99% 的浮動利率債務投資組合的本季加權平均基本利率延長了約50 個基點，因為利率仍然較高，而利差則小幅壓縮了以公允價值計算的債務投資的加權平均總收益率仍具有吸引力本季為 11.8%，而上季為 12%。新投資繼續增加我們本季新債務投資資金以及出售和償還資產的淨投資收益率，平均分別為 11.4% 和 11.9%。

And let's take a look at the portfolio jump to slide 7, approximately 99% of BXSL investments are in first lien senior secured loans and 99% of those loans are to companies owned by financial sponsors who have significant equity value in these capital structures demonstrated by an average loan to value of 47.8%. And as Brad noted, our non-accruals are still at only 0.1% at cost. Our portfolio also start from a strong LTM EBITDA base, averaging $193 million, a 6% increase from last year.

讓我們來看看跳到幻燈片7 的投資組合，大約99% 的BXSL 投資是第一留置權高級擔保貸款，其中99% 的貸款發放給金融贊助商擁有的公司，這些金融贊助商在這些資本結構中擁有重大股權價值，如下所示：平均貸款價值比為 47.8%。正如 Brad 所指出的那樣，我們的非應計費用以成本計算仍僅為 0.1%。我們的投資組合也以強大的 LTM EBITDA 為基礎，平均為 1.93 億美元，比去年增長 6%。

This is more than two times larger than the private credit market, where we also see continued strength of performance from larger companies, the bedrock of our portfolio relative to their smaller EBITDA counterparts of both growth and defaults. This is our portfolio as compared to the broader private credit market measured by the Lincoln International Private Markets database has seen growth rates in line with the broader market and over 15% more profitability on an LTM EBITDA margin basis. Now we continue to stress the importance of interest coverage.

這比私人信貸市場大兩倍多，我們也看到較大公司的業績持續強勁，相對於成長和違約的較小 EBITDA 同行，這是我們投資組合的基石。這是我們的投資組合，與林肯國際私人市場資料庫衡量的更廣泛的私人信貸市場相比，成長率與更廣泛的市場一致，並且基於 LTM EBITDA 利潤率的盈利能力提高了 15% 以上。現在我們繼續強調利息保障的重要性。

The LTM EBITDA coverage based on average LTM EBITDA for BXSL portfolio companies over the last 12 months. That was 1.6 times in Q1, which again compares favorably to the Lincoln database for the broader private credit market at 1.4 times average coverage in Q1. On an LTM basis, only 2.4% of the portfolio has interest coverage below one times versus 16% for the broader private credit market, of which 75% of this population represents companies with EBITDA less than $50 million.

LTM EBITDA 涵蓋範圍是基於 BXSL 投資組合公司過去 12 個月的平均 LTM EBITDA。第一季的覆蓋率是 1.6 倍，這再次與林肯資料庫的更廣泛的私人信貸市場平均覆蓋率的 1.4 倍相比。以 LTM 為基礎，只有 2.4% 的投資組合的利息覆蓋率低於一倍，而更廣泛的私人信貸市場的這一比例為 16%，其中 75% 的公司的 EBITDA 低於 5,000 萬美元。

And further flide 8 focuses on our industry exposure. In Q1. The number of portfolio companies in PSSL increased to 210, while we maintain nearly 90% of exposure to historically low default rate industries, including nearly 40% of funded deals to new portfolio companies and software and IT services, our top conviction areas as we continue to build out expertise, as Brad mentioned.

flide 8 進一步關注我們的產業曝光。在第一季。PSSL 的投資組合公司數量增加至210 家，同時我們仍保留近90% 的違約率處於歷史低點的行業，其中包括近40% 的新投資組合公司以及軟體和IT 服務的融資交易，這是我們繼續深信不疑的領域。

Now I'll conclude with a point on amendment active amendment activity continues to be relatively benign as the performance of the portfolio remained strong. And in the first quarter, there were 45 amendments for DXL private investments. The vast majority of which were associated with add-on DTL. extensions or other technical matters.

現在我要總結一點，由於投資組合的表現仍然強勁，主動修正活動仍然相對溫和。第一季度，DXL私人投資有45項修訂。其中絕大多數與附加 DTL 相關。擴展或其他技術問題。

With that, I'd like to turn it over to Carlos.

有了這個，我想把它交給卡洛斯。

Thanks, Jon. To expand on Brad's point regarding deal activity. I'd like to take a few minutes to dive into a new deal for the quarter, a $2 billion debt financing for Park PLace, a leading provider of third-party maintenance for data centers and an incumbent portfolio company that we knew this marked one of the largest private financings to take out syndicated debt in the quarter.

謝謝，喬恩。擴展佈拉德關於交易活動的觀點。我想花幾分鐘時間深入探討本季的一項新交易，為Park PLAce 提供20 億美元的債務融資，Park PLAce 是資料中心第三方維護的領先提供商，也是我們知道這標誌著一個現有的投資組合公司本季最大的私人融資來承擔銀團債務。

BXCI, I not only lead, but also committed along with third parties, 90% of the total financing package across the capital structure. We believe several key differentiating factors have allowed BXCI to win the deal. First, scale. BXCI has the ability to commit quickly and size taking down the vast majority of a very scaled loan package, something we believe few in the market can match.

BXCI，我不僅牽頭，還與第三方一起承諾整個資本結構融資方案總額的 90%。我們認為，有幾個關鍵的差異化因素使 BXCI 贏得了這筆交易。第一，規模。BXCI 有能力快速做出承諾並縮減規模非常大的貸款計劃中的絕大多數，我們相信市場上很少有人能與之匹敵。

Second incumbency. We leverage BXCI's existing anchor position and the syndicated loan and strong relationship with the sponsor. Third value creation as an existing position for BXCI Park Place has been a telling story for our value creation program. The borrower was introduced to Blackstone portfolio companies through cross sell as a preferred provider and became active in a number of portfolio companies and had already experienced the benefits of our partnership approach.

第二任。我們利用 BXCI 現有的錨定地位、銀團貸款以及與贊助商的牢固關係。第三個價值創造作為 BXCI Park Place 的現有位置，一直是我們價值創造計畫的生動故事。借款人透過交叉銷售作為首選供應商被介紹給 Blackstone 投資組合公司，並活躍於多家投資組合公司，並且已經體驗到了我們合作方式的好處。

Fourth, deep diligence and sector knowledge, we utilized our internal Blackstone expertise technologists and differentiated market insights and data centers, along with strong prior institutional knowledge of Park Place. In fact, digital infrastructure, particularly data centers, is one of our highest conviction investment themes across Blackstone with $50 billion of data centers owned or under construction globally, which also includes QTS, the largest data center company in North America today.

第四，深入的盡職調查和行業知識，我們利用了 Blackstone 內部的專業技術人員和差異化的市場洞察力和數據中心，以及 Park Place 先前的豐富機構知識。事實上，數位基礎設施，特別是資料中心，是 Blackstone 最堅定的投資主題之一，全球擁有或建造的資料中心價值 500 億美元，其中還包括當今北美最大的資料中心公司 QTS。

Finally, flexibility, BXCI offered a one-stop service with multiple tranches of debt, creating ample flexibility, best suited for Park places needs in an increasingly competitive private credit market. We believe we differentiate ourselves as not just a lender, but also a value-added partner, helping credits grow equity value. BXSL. borrowers are offered full access to BXCI.'s value creation program through cross-sell opportunities cost savings, procurement and capabilities, including cybersecurity and data science, all at no additional cost because we understand the end benefit to the investment portfolio.

最後，靈活性方面，BXCI 提供了多批次債務的一站式服務，創造了充足的靈活性，最適合競爭日益激烈的私人信貸市場中的園區需求。我們相信，我們不僅是貸款人，也是增值合作夥伴，幫助信貸增加股權價值。BXSL。借款人可以透過交叉銷售機會、成本節約、採購和能力（包括網路安全和資料科學）全面參與 BXCI. 的價值創造計劃，所有這些都無需額外成本，因為我們了解投資組合的最終收益。

And with that, I'll turn it to Terry.

接下來，我會將其轉給特里。

Thanks, Carlos. I'll start with our operating results on slide 10. In the first quarter, BXSL's net investment income was $166 million and $0.87 per share. While our total investment income remained consistent with Q4, net investment income on a dollar basis decreased primarily as a result of a full quarter impact of the fee waiver, which expired near the end of October and capital gains-based incentive fees accrued in the first quarter.

謝謝，卡洛斯。我將從幻燈片 10 上的營運結果開始。第一季度，BXSL的淨投資收益為1.66億美元，每股收益0.87美元。While our total investment income remained consistent with Q4, net investment income on a dollar basis decreased primarily as a result of a full quarter impact of the fee waiver, which expired near the end of October and capital gains-based incentive fees accrued in the first四分之一.

BXSL recorded its highest quarterly GAAP net income and second highest in per-share terms since IPO at $184 million and $0.96 per share, respectively, up 12% from a year ago. Total investment income for the quarter was up $39 million or 15% year-over-year, driven by increased interest income, primarily due to higher interest rates. It is important to highlight the high quality of our earnings as interest income, excluding ticket fees and dividends, represented approximately 93% of total investment income in the quarter.

BXSL 錄得自 IPO 以來最高的季度 GAAP 淨利潤和第二高的每股淨利潤，分別為 1.84 億美元和每股 0.96 美元，比去年同期增長 12%。本季總投資收入成長 3,900 萬美元，年增 15%，主要是由於利率上升導致利息收入增加。重要的是要強調我們收入的高品質，因為利息收入（不包括門票費和股息）約佔本季總投資收入的 93%。

Turning to the balance sheet on slide 11, we ended the quarter with $10.4 billion of total portfolio investments at fair value, $5.3 billion of outstanding debt and approximately $5.2 billion of total net assets. With our strong earnings in excess of the distribution in the quarter as well as healthy fundamentals and tightening spreads supporting asset values, NAV per share increased to $26.87 up from $26.66 last quarter. This represented the sixth consecutive quarter of NAV per share growth.

轉向投影片 11 上的資產負債表，本季結束時，以公允價值計算的投資組合投資總額為 104 億美元，未償債務為 53 億美元，淨資產總額約為 52 億美元。由於我們強勁的盈利超過本季度的分配，以及健康的基本面和收緊的利差支撐著資產價值，每股資產淨值從上季度的 26.66 美元增至 26.87 美元。這代表每股資產淨值連續第六個季度成長。

Moving to slide 12. In addition, we saw the fourth consecutive quarter of commitment growth, as Brad outlined, with BXSL committing to nearly $1.2 billion in the quarter, funding $719 million and an estimated additional $347 million committed by BXCI and earmarked for BXSL as of March 31. We expect to see continued momentum through the second quarter and into the back half of the year. Repayments remained relatively muted at $181 million in the quarter or 7% annualized repayment rate.

轉到投影片 12。此外，正如Brad 概述的那樣，我們看到承諾金額連續第四個季度增長，BXSL 在本季度承諾投入近12 億美元，融資7.19 億美元，截至3 月31 日，BXCI 預計額外承諾投入3.47 億美元並指定給BXSL。我們預計第二季和下半年將繼續保持強勁勢頭。本季還款額相對較低，為 1.81 億美元，年化還款率為 7%。

Next, slide 13 outlines what we believe to be our attractive and diverse liability profile, which includes 53% of drawn debt in unsecured bonds. Our unsecured bonds have a weighted average fixed coupon of less than 3%, which we view as a key advantage in this elevated rate environment and contributed to an overall weighted average interest rate on our borrowings of 5.1%. This compares to a weighted average yield at fair value on our debt investments of 11.8%.

接下來，投影片 13 概述了我們認為有吸引力且多樣化的負債狀況，其中包括 53% 的無擔保債券提取債務。我們的無擔保債券的加權平均固定息票低於 3%，我們認為這是在這種高利率環境下的關鍵優勢，並導致我們借款的整體加權平均利率達到 5.1%。相較之下，我們的債務投資以公允價值計算的加權平均收益率為 11.8%。

Additionally, we have no maturities on our liabilities until 2026. And our debt and funding facilities have an overall weighted average maturity of 3.2 years. The strength of BXSL's funding profile has been recognized by rating agencies as well. We previously noted that the BXSL earned improved outlook for Moody's to B double A. three positive. And this quarter, we earned notch upgrade from Fitch to triple-B flat.

此外，我們的負債在 2026 年之前都沒有到期日。我們的債務和融資便利性的總體加權平均期限為 3.2 年。BXSL 的資金實力也得到了評級機構的認可。我們之前註意到，BXSL 獲得了穆迪評級為 B、雙 A、三積極的前景改善。本季度，我們的評級從惠譽評級升級為 3B 級。

We ended the quarter with $1.4 billion of liquidity in cash and undrawn debt available to borrow, providing us with significant capacity for continued portfolio growth ending leverage at March 31 was 1.03 times, up from 1 times at year end. We have positioned our balance sheet to have what we believe is ample capital to deploy into what we expect will be a growing opportunity set through year end.

本季結束時，我們擁有14 億美元的現金流動性和可藉入的未提取債務，這為我們提供了持續投資組合增長的強大能力，截至3 月31 日的槓桿率為1.03 倍，高於去年末的1 倍。我們已將資產負債表定位為擁有充足的資本，可用於我們預計到年底將持續成長的機會。

In closing, we are moving forward from what we believe is a position of strength with underlying earnings, power, credit performance and investment capabilities and an optimized balance sheet that distinguishes us distinguish us in the market. We will strive to remain laser focused on delivering returns and protecting investors' capital.

最後，我們正在從我們認為具有基礎盈利、實力、信用表現和投資能力的優勢地位以及優化的資產負債表中向前邁進，這使我們在市場上脫穎而出。我們將努力繼續專注於提供回報和保護投資者的資本。

With that, I'll ask the operator to open up for questions.

接下來，我將請接線生提出問題。

(Operator Instructions)

（操作員說明）

Melissa Wedel, JPMorgan.

梅麗莎‧韋德爾，摩根大通。

Good morning. Thanks for taking my questions today. Definitely take your point about the higher volume level of activity in the first quarter and that you're looking for that to continue into the second quarter a point of clarification on that or is that on a gross basis or are you also expecting net originations to remain elevated as certainly noting that repayment activity was particularly low it seems in relation to gross originations in the first quarter.

早安.感謝您今天回答我的問題。絕對接受您關於第一季度活動量較高的觀點，並且您希望這種情況持續到第二季​​度，對此進行澄清，或者是在總量基礎上，還是您也期望淨發起量仍然處於高位，因為肯定注意到還款活動相對於第一季的總發放額來說特別低。

And Melissa, it's Brad. I'll take that question. When we talk about origination, obviously we're talking about both on a gross basis, but really what grows the portfolio's net as you point out on a net basis. And we continue to expect that the portfolio will grow on a net basis and on deals that are repaying and that feels somewhat muted or we're kind of extending our exposure. There's a little bit less turnover in the market right now. And on the gross basis, we're just seeing more and more capital solutions that we're able to provide for issuers right now.

梅麗莎，是布拉德。我來回答這個問題。當我們談論起源時，顯然我們是在總量的基礎上談論兩者，但正如您在淨值的基礎上指出的那樣，真正增加投資組合淨值的是什麼。我們繼續預計，該投資組合將在淨額基礎上成長，並在有回報的交易上成長，但感覺有些溫和，或者我們正在擴大我們的風險敞口。目前市場成交量略有減少。從總量來看，我們現在能夠為發行人提供越來越多的資本解決方案。

Okay. Appreciate that. And following up on the level of activity during the quarter, I'm wondering if there was anything in terms of a timing impact that we should think about whether originations were skewed towards the end of the quarter, or it was more evenly distributed versus timing of repayments? Thanks so much.

好的。感謝。跟進本季度的活動水平，我想知道在時間影響方面是否存在任何問題，我們應該考慮起源是否偏向於本季度末，或者與時間相比分佈是否更均勻還款額？非常感謝。

Yes, no, you hit the nail on that. It was definitely skewed to the end of the quarter, which is why you saw leverage on it at quarter end higher than what the average leverage was and some of the commitments spilled over into the second quarter.

是的，不，你說到重點了。它肯定偏向季度末，這就是為什麼你看到季度末的槓桿率高於平均槓桿率，並且一些承諾溢出到第二季度。

Got it. Is there any -- have you quantified for us the estimate on what the impact to NII might have been from that timing during the quarter?

知道了。您是否為我們量化了本季該時間點對 NII 可能產生的影響的估計值？

No, we haven't quantified it.

不，我們還沒有量化它。

Okay. Thank you.

好的。謝謝。

Mark Hughes, Truist.

馬克‧休斯，真理主義者。

Yes, thank you very much. You talked about those spreads being compressed a bit. I wonder if you could quantify that at all on of the kind of your typical spread in Q1 versus what you might anticipate on the deals that are in the pipeline now?

是的謝謝你。您談到這些價差被壓縮了一點。我想知道您是否可以量化第一季的典型利差與您對目前正在進行的交易的預期？

Yes, I would say on spread, you've seen some spread compression in some areas and you've seen no spread compression. And other areas really depends on the type of deal, whether it's clubbed up or whether it's a proprietary deal that's kind of driving the spread. And so if you look at the fourth quarter, we're about 11.7% on new deals. This quarter we were 11.4%. And by the way, if you look at that on a more of a yield to three year basis, it gets closer to 12%. And if you look at kind of the assets that we did during the quarter, they ranged from 11% to 13%.

是的，我想說的是，關於價差，您在某些區域看到了價差壓縮，但沒有看到價差壓縮。其他領域實際上取決於交易類型，無論是聯合交易還是專有交易，都會推動價差。因此，如果你看看第四季度，我們的新交易比例約為 11.7%。本季我們的成長率為 11.4%。順便說一句，如果你更多地從三年期收益率的角度來看，它會接近 12%。如果你看看我們在本季所做的資產類型，你會發現它們的範圍在 11% 到 13% 之間。

Speaking to my point earlier, really depends on the type of deal on the one thing that we don't kind of highlight and which probably had do a better job of this, but the spread for your risk has actually come down. If you look at it on a comparative basis to let's say 2021. So companies just because rates are higher, companies are taking a little bit less leverage and some deals are set up with a lower loan to value. So spread pre-interest is fairly constant on. And in terms of on a go forward basis, you'll continue to see this range. You'll see deals that will be closer to 11% and you'll see deals that kind of are north of 12%. And but overall, I would say the market putting us aside the market is seeing something like 50 to 75 basis points of spread compression since the start of the year.

早些時候談到我的觀點時，實際上取決於交易的類型，我們沒有強調的一件事可能在這方面做得更好，但風險的利差實際上已經下降。如果你以比較的方式來看的話，比如說 2021 年。因此，公司只是因為利率較高，才會採取較少的槓桿作用，而有些交易是以較低的貸款價值進行的。因此，預息利差相當穩定。就未來而言，您將繼續看到這個範圍。您會看到接近 11% 的交易，也會看到高於 12% 的交易。但總的來說，我想說的是，自今年年初以來，市價差壓縮了 50 到 75 個基點。

Thank you for that. And then you'd mentioned that more of your existing portfolio companies are doing M&A, that is that part of the strong pipeline that even existing companies are borrowing increasing borrowing for M&A purposes, is that is that part of this?

謝謝你。然後您提到，您現有的投資組合公司中有更多正在進行併購，這是強大管道的一部分，甚至現有公司也在為併購目的而增加借款，這是其中的一部分嗎？

Or is that just kind of an ongoing dynamic I think what you're seeing is sponsors are holding that onto their assets for longer. And so you seeing less sale processes. So they're looking at their existing assets and trying to find ways to grow them either operationally or through acquisition. So we've seen more companies and you'll look for growth capital in order to and or to grow their businesses. So I expect that to continue for the balance of the year. And but the other part of kind of what we're trying to do is look across our broader portfolio and see where private capital solutions are better, a better solution for the Company versus the public debt that they may have some trading in the market today. So that was the example.

或者這只是一種持續的動態，我認為你所看到的是贊助商將其資產持有的時間更長。所以你會看到更少的銷售流程。因此，他們正在審視現有資產，並試圖找到透過營運或收購來成長資產的方法。因此，我們看到了更多的公司，您將尋找成長資本來發展他們的業務。因此，我預計這種情況將持續到今年剩餘時間。但我們正在嘗試做的另一部分是審視我們更廣泛的投資組合，看看私人資本解決方案在哪裡更好，對公司來說，與他們今天可能在市場上進行一些交易的公共債務相比，這是一個更好的解決方案。這就是例子。

Carlos went through with Park Place, we just came up with a better our mousetrap and better capital structure for their long-term growth objectives. And that's kind of where that's what's driving a lot of our deal flow. This ability to use our scale go into the market, create deals. So while maybe others are seeing more muted deal activity, our deal activity is really starting to accelerate.

卡洛斯（Carlos）與帕克廣場（Park Place）進行了合作，我們只是為他們的長期成長目標想出了更好的捕鼠器和更好的資本結構。這就是推動我們大量交易流程的原因。利用我們的規模進入市場、創造交易的能力。因此，雖然其他人可能看到交易活動更加平淡，但我們的交易活動確實開始加速。

Appreciate that. Thank you.

感謝。謝謝。

Paul Johnson, KBW.

保羅·約翰遜，KBW。

Yes, good morning.

是的，早安。

Thanks for taking the questions of your last quarter of calendar last question here. But last quarter, you kind of talked about another 100 deals or so that you'd identify in the market. You know, there were two potential repricing opportunities here kind of away from syndicated Arcus, you know, sounds like you've capitalized on some of those. How many of those deals do you think you could have executed on this quarter and do you still feel you have a number of those opportunities?

感謝您在此提出日曆最後一個季度最後一個問題的問題。但上個季度，您談到了另外 100 筆左右的交易，您可以在市場上找到這些交易。你知道，這裡有兩個潛在的重新定價機會，有點遠離聯合 Arcus，你知道，聽起來你已經利用了其中的一些機會。您認為本季可以執行多少筆此類交易？

Yes.

是的。

Hey, Paul, this is Bob. So I would say if we're if we're thinking about the tighter spread environment and you recall comments from the prior call. This is essentially where we're using incumbency to our advantage, right? And the goal is to retain the assets that are more susceptible to repayments as a result of the tightening spread environment. And those are loans that have either been above market spreads, they've outperformed and it's where we have call protection generally, that's rolled off now in those situations will often agree to new terms for an existing portfolio company and that includes market or above current liquid market spreads and also receive extended call protection among a few other improvements. And so to get to the question, this quarter is about less than 4% of the portfolio had some spread tightening as a result of that at around 50 to 60 basis points on average, and we received an additional 1.5 years of call protection. So still well within the range of new unitranche financings on companies that we know and like. And I would say that that was rather muted. And more importantly, as we continue to drive additional flows throughout our broad origination framework, it's a nice complement to ensure that we're retaining attractive assets at the same time to Brad's comment growing into new portfolio companies as well and maybe just stuck with the pipeline.

嘿，保羅，這是鮑伯。所以我想說的是，如果我們正在考慮更嚴格的傳播環境，並且您還記得之前電話會議的評論。這本質上就是我們利用在職者的優勢的地方，對嗎？目標是保留因利差環境收緊而更容易償還的資產。這些貸款要么高於市場利差，要么表現優於市場利差，這就是我們通常有呼叫保護的地方，現在在這種情況下滾動的貸款通常會同意現有投資組合公司的新條款，其中包括市場或高於當前水平流動性市場價差，並獲得延長的看漲期權保護以及其他一些改進。因此，為了回答這個問題，本季約有不到 4% 的投資組合因利差收緊而平均收緊約 50 至 60 個基點，並且我們獲得了額外 1.5 年的看漲期權保護。因此，仍然完全在我們所了解和喜歡的公司的新單一融資範圍之內。我想說的是，這相當低調。更重要的是，隨著我們繼續在整個廣泛的創始框架中推動額外的流量，這是一個很好的補充，以確保我們保留有吸引力的資產，同時布拉德的評論也成長為新的投資組合公司，也許只是堅持管道。

So and so we go through this exercise of trying to identify deals like Park Place and maybe it's in our public portfolio, maybe it's somewhere else our private portfolio and create those what we call reverse kind of origination. So ideas that we're reversing into the sponsor of the company. And at the start of the year, we had 98 of those that we are working through and we're still chipping our way through that list. And not all of them will resonate. None of them will work out like our place did, but there's a pretty healthy kind of backlog of those deals that we're doing diligence on and negotiating with private equity swaps.

我們嘗試找出像 Park Place 這樣的交易，也許它在我們的公共投資組合中，也許它在我們的私人投資組合的其他地方，並創建那些我們稱之為反向起源的交易。因此，我們正在將想法轉變為公司的贊助商。今年年初，我們正在處理其中的 98 個問題，並且仍在努力完成該清單。並非所有這些都會引起共鳴。這些交易都不會像我們那樣成功，但我們正在盡職調查並與私募股權互換進行談判，這些交易的積壓量相當健康。

I'd say that.

我想說的是。

That's very helpful. And then last one for me is just I guess kind of general outlook on net leverage or for the year, our activity is obviously hard to predict and have a lot of capacity for growth, but kind of given environment do you and have any preferences in terms of where you're sort of operating at in terms of at your leverage rates?

這非常有幫助。最後一個對我來說只是我猜對淨槓桿率或今年的總體前景，我們的活動顯然很難預測，並且有很大的增長能力，但是在給定的環境中，您有什麼偏好嗎？您的槓桿率而言，您的經營狀況如何？

Yes.

是的。

So we ended the quarter right above one turns near the low end of the range. I would say we've taken some intentional steps here to build capacity to deploy and what we see as a growing growing opportunity set both from a volume standpoint and the fact that, you know, at 11.4% new investment yield, that's very accretive to our dividend. So we have quite a bit of capacity to deploy. And I don't think there's any any change in message in terms of in terms of leverage target. Sort of one to one in a quarter is what we've said historically, and I don't expect that we're in that range. That's for the back half of the year.

因此，我們在本季結束時正好高於該範圍低端附近的一圈。我想說的是，我們已經採取了一些有意的步驟來建立部署能力，我們認為，從數量的角度來看，這是一個不斷增長的機會，事實上，你知道，以11.4% 的新投資收益率，這對我們的股息。所以我們有相當多的部署能力。我認為槓桿目標方面的資訊沒有任何變化。我們過去曾說過，四分之一比一比，但我預期我們不會在這個範圍內。這是下半年的情況。

Thank you.

謝謝。

We'll go next.

我們接著去。

Ken Lee with RBC.

加拿大皇家銀行的肯李。

Hey, good morning. Thanks for taking my question just one on the liability side. How do you think about the outlook for the potential funding mix on the liability side, especially given the Reach outlook?

嗨，早安。感謝您回答我的問題，只是關於責任的一個問題。您如何看待負債方面潛在融資組合的前景，特別是考慮到 Reach 的前景？

I just wanted to see some of the thoughts there.

我只是想看看那裡的一些想法。

Yes.

是的。

We have a lot of optionality today and Bob mentioned at 1.4 billion of liquidity and no major, no maturities this year, and we have 53% of our exposure today. That's an unsecured bonds. We have seen quite a bit of tightening in the market. And for example, our five year bonds, is that sort of one 60 over treasury today that's in 65 bps versus the BDC index of closer to 15. So that is relative just to even secure liabilities and is historically kind of near all-time tights And just from a spread perspective, so significant optionality, we'll be opportunistic with it. And we do have liabilities that were put in place a couple of years ago at an average cost of capital of sub, so for plus 200. And so we have that to grow into as well.

我們今天有很多選擇權，鮑伯提到今年有 14 億流動性，沒有重大、沒有到期日，而我們今天的曝險為 53%。那是無擔保債券。我們已經看到市場出現相當程度的緊縮。例如，我們的五年期債券比今天的國債高出 60 個基點，即 65 個基點，而 BDC 指數則接近 15 個基點。因此，這只是相對於安全負債而言，而且從歷史上看，這幾乎是歷史上最緊縮的。我們確實有幾年前以子公司平均資本成本設定的負債，所以加 200。所以我們也需要成長。

Got Jeff. Great.

得到了傑夫。偉大的。

And just one follow up on in terms of the pipeline and what you're seeing broadly across the BXCI. platform. I'm wondering if you just get a little bit more color around that activity. Is it fair to say that most of it is around growth capital? Or is it just you're seeing a lot of refi activity? I just want to get a little bit more granularity around?

僅就管道和您在 BXCI 中廣泛看到的情況進行一項跟進。平台。我想知道你是否對這項活動有了更多的了解。可以公平地說，大部分都是圍繞著成長資本嗎？還是只是您看到了大量的再融資活動？我只是想獲得更多的粒度？

Thanks.

謝謝。

I'm sure can yes, it's a mix of public to private add-on activity in existing portfolio companies, some refinancings out of public markets and some refinancing out of the the private markets. I would say it's a pretty healthy balance between all of those. I would say what's lagging is just regular way sponsor to sponsor M&A activity. And but even that we've seen an inflection point probably about three weeks ago in terms of that volume starting to pick up, you won't see it takes a while for these deals to happen for another quarter or so. But and that activity is really starting to pick up as well.

我確信可以，這是現有投資組合公司的公共到私人附加活動、一些來自公開市場的再融資和一些來自私人市場的再融資的混合體。我想說這是所有這些之間非常健康的平衡。我想說的是，落後的只是贊助商贊助併購活動的常規方式。但即使我們在大約三週前看到了交易量開始回升的拐點，你也不會看到這些交易需要一段時間才能在另一個季度左右發生。但這種活動也確實開始回升。

Got you.

明白你了。

Very helpful there. Thanks again.

那裡非常有幫助。再次感謝。

We'll go next to Robert Dodd with Raymond James.

接下來我們將和雷蒙德·詹姆斯一起去羅伯特·多德。

Hi, guys.

嗨，大家好。

Following up on a question on credit. So picked this quarter stepped up again, it's about little more than 6.5% total investment income roughly on slightly less than double.

跟進有關信用的問題。所以本季又開始加大力度，大約佔總投資收益的6.5%多一點，略低於一倍。

What should go.

應該去什麼。

Can you give us any color on the drivers that I mean, how much of that is structured as pick versus modified community Benefit Street, this modified that up to Alico on certain regions? Or any color on the drivers for that direction?

您能給我們關於驅動程式的任何顏色嗎？或是那個方向的司機有什麼顏色嗎？

Yes, you're right.

你是對的。

6.5% of income in Q1 was picked those up modestly over last quarter. Nearly all of that was driven by one issuer that previously did have picks flexibility through Q3, and that was that was part of the original deal. We did agree to extend that beginning in Q1. And that company, by the way, has has almost tripled EBITDA since since we closed. And if you look at our peak concentration, five companies represent about 85% of tech exposure. All of those were originally set up with partial pick flexibility, and we would characterize as performing during March sort of high 90s of 97 a.m. So I think it's a tool in certain cases that we will use and to differentiate versus the syndicated market and that concomitant in a couple of different forms. But overall, our pick activity was was was fairly concentrated to performing us.

第一季營收的 6.5% 較上季小幅回升。幾乎所有這些都是由一家發行人推動的，該發行人此前在第三季確實具有選擇靈活性，而這也是原始交易的一部分。我們確實同意從第一季開始延長這一期限。順便說一句，自從我們關閉以來，該公司的 EBITDA 幾乎增加了兩倍。如果你看看我們的峰值集中度，你會發現五家公司約佔科技敞口的 85%。所有這些最初都是採用部分選擇靈活性來設定的，我們將其描述為在3 月份上午97 點的90 點左右的表現。市場和隨之而來的工具。但總的來說，我們的選秀活動相當集中在表現我們身上。

And on that.

關於這一點。

Thank you, Robert, though, because wherever those companies that are picking and they're not 100% tech. So if their coupon is 12% and 80% of that is being paid in cash and more like 20% is picked Got it.

不過，謝謝你，羅伯特，因為無論在哪裡，那些正在挑選的公司都不是 100% 的科技公司。因此，如果他們的優惠券是 12%，其中 80% 是用現金支付的，而更像是 20% 的選擇，那就明白了。

Thank you all. And since you brought up complex, how governance is $2 billion facility now three years ago? Obviously they've made acquisitions since, but could you walk us through in terms of like three years ago, it was a first-lien second-lien billion dollars with a blended spread like five 75. Now it's $2 billion with a dividend taken out with a blended spread, I think five, 25. So could you given year because I don't think the leverage is high, but what's the thought process which you entered during the second lien before them, what's the thought process again to unitranche for that particular structure?

謝謝你們。既然你提出了複雜的問題，那麼三年前 20 億美元的設施現在是如何治理的？顯然，他們從那時起就進行了收購，但是您能否向我們介紹一下三年前的情況，這是第一留置權第二留置權十億美元，混合利差約為五比七十五。現在是 20 億美元，加上混合利差後的股息，我想是 5、25。那麼你能否給出年份，因為我認為槓桿率不高，但是你在他們之前的第二個留置權期間進入的思維過程是什麼，對於該特定結構的統一管理又是什麼思維過程？

I mean to them more for you, I mean, honestly, features in terms of that because it's gone to all all Uni with a dividend taken out with a lower spread. And let's say, Why do I presume as well? So is it just that much better business today than it was three years ago?

我對他們來說更重要的是，我的意思是，老實說，這方面的特點是因為它以較低的利差分配給了所有大學。讓我們說，為什麼我也這麼認為？那麼今天的生意比三年前好很多嗎？

Yes, that's not exactly accurate, Robert. So it's actually a first lien and pref capital structure. So what you had was an all cash pay for a second lien capital structure of the Company continues to grow. It wants growth capital. So we approached the company and said, why don't we do a first lien security and put a big press that's 100% tech behind that. So free up your cash flow in order to continue to grow will give you some additional growth capital to do some acquisitions and so is highly strategic to them on two fronts. One, gain more flexible capital structure to freed up a lot of cash flow in the junior part of that capital structure sits in kind of higher risk oriented funds and the first lien sits in our lower risk strategy. So I would not characterize that as a unitranche first lien plus pick pref got. And by the way, the momentum, Rick, I'll just add that the momentum in data centers is an incredible opportunity and Carl's hit on this. But your Blackstone across QTS and Digital Realty owns and something like $100 billion in equity in data centers. So we are highly strategic to assets like Park Place. And we think the long-term tailwinds in this sector are enormous. It's one of Blackstone's key investment thesis is if you've kind of listened to John Gray kind of highlight this on previous earnings calls, but it is something that we're very bullish on.

是的，這並不完全準確，羅伯特。所以它實際上是第一留置權和優先資本結構。因此，您所擁有的是公司第二留置權資本結構的全部現金支付，並且持續成長。它需要成長資本。所以我們聯繫該公司並說，為什麼我們不做第一留置權擔保並放置一個 100% 技術支援的大型媒體。因此，釋放現金流以繼續成長將為您提供一些額外的成長資本來進行一些收購，因此對他們來說在兩個方面都具有高度戰略意義。第一，獲得更靈活的資本結構，以釋放大量現金流，該資本結構的初級部分位於較高風險導向的基金中，而第一個留置權位於我們的較低風險策略中。因此，我不會將其描述為單一優先留置權加優先選擇權。順便說一下，Rick，我只想補充一點，資料中心的勢頭是一個令人難以置信的機會，而 Carl 對此也很感興趣。但 Blackstone 在 QTS 和 Digital Realty 擁有約 1000 億美元的資料中心股權。因此，我們對 Park Place 等資產具有高度戰略意義。我們認為該行業的長期推動力是巨大的。這是 Blackstone 的關鍵投資論點之一，如果您聽過 John Gray 在先前的財報電話會議上強調這一點，但這是我們非常看好的事情。

Thank you.

謝謝。

Thank you.

謝謝。

And we'll take our final question from Casey Alexander with Compass Point.

我們將接受 Compass Point 的 Casey Alexander 提出的最後一個問題。

Yes, good morning.

是的，早安。

Thanks for taking my questions.

感謝您回答我的問題。

This is just more of a curiosity. You know, over the last couple of years there when when the deal activity was was more prevalent, you guys were expanding in software. There was a lot of software around the market. I'm just curious if the composition industry wise of deals being introduced, what has changed?

這只是更多的好奇心。你知道，在過去的幾年裡，當交易活動更加普遍時，你們正在軟體領域進行擴張。市面上有很多軟體。我只是好奇，合成物產業在引入交易方面發生了什麼變化？

And if so, what kind of industries are you guys seeing opportunities?

如果是這樣，你們看到了哪些產業的機會？

And what kind of industries does it look like? Private equity seems to be centered on if we're kind of starting a new cycle of deal flow here.

它是什麼樣的行業？私募股權似乎集中於我們是否在這裡開始新的交易流程週期。

Yes. I think I wouldn't say that a material change over the last couple of years is where we're focused. What you see is is more of an intentional focus on on on quality right, larger companies in the right parts parts of the market. We're in this period where we've seen inflation abate a little bit, but we are seeing seeing accelerated deceleration of growth it really across the economy. And if you look at default rates, for instance, in direct lending, you see some of the cyclical, more capital-intensive businesses at the higher end of the range north of 4% default rates, whereas services and software are less than 2%. I think that's where the majority of the capital is going, both from a credit perspective, and in equity?

是的。我想我不會說過去幾年的重大變化是我們關注的重點。你看到的是更多的是有意關注品質正確、市場正確部分的大公司。在這個時期，我們看到通貨膨脹略有減弱，但我們看到整個經濟的成長加速減速。如果你看看直接貸款中的違約率，你會發現一些週期性的、資本密集的企業的違約率在 4% 以上，而服務和軟體的違約率則低於 2% 。我認為這就是大部分資本的去向，無論是從信貸角度還是股權角度？

Yes.

是的。

Okay. That's my only question.

好的。這是我唯一的問題。

Thank you.

謝謝。

With no additional questions in queue at this time, I'd like to turn the call back over to Ms. Lynn for any additional or closing remarks, and that would be all thank you all for joining us this quarter as we look to speak, and we look forward to speaking to you next quarter.

目前沒有其他問題在排隊，我想將電話轉回給林恩女士，請其發表任何補充或結束語，這將感謝大家在本季度加入我們，我們希望發言，我們期待下個季度與您交談。

Thanks, everyone.

感謝大家。