AMENDED AND RESTATED ADMINISTRATION AGREEMENT BETWEEN TPG SPECIALTY LENDING, INC. AND TSL ADVISERS, LLC

Exhibit 10.16

AMENDED AND RESTATED

ADMINISTRATION AGREEMENT

BETWEEN

TPG SPECIALTY LENDING, INC.

AND

TSL ADVISERS, LLC

This Agreement (“Agreement”) is made as of February 22, 2017 by and between TPG SPECIALTY LENDING, INC. a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and TSL ADVISERS, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Administrator”), amending and restating, in its entirety the initial administration agreement, dated as of  March 15, 2011, by and between the Company and the Administrator (the “Initial Agreement”).  

WHEREAS, the Company is a closed-end management investment fund that intends to elect to be treated as a business development company (“BDC”) under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “Investment Company Act”);

WHEREAS, the Company retained the Administrator to provide administrative services to the Company in the manner and on the terms set forth in the Initial Agreement;

WHEREAS, the Administrator is willing to continue to provide administrative services to the Company on the terms and conditions set forth in the Initial Agreement;

WHEREAS, the Company has entered into an Investment Advisory Management Agreement by and between the Company and the Adviser, as amended from time to time (the “Advisory Agreement”);

WHEREAS, the Company bears all costs and expenses incurred in its operation, administration and transactions which are not specifically assumed by the Adviser pursuant to the Advisory Agreement or the Initial Agreement;

WHEREAS, the Advisory Agreement and the Initial Agreement each set forth a non-exclusive list of expenses to be borne by the Company; and

WHEREAS, the Company and the Administrator wish to amend and restate the Initial Agreement in its entirety to make certain clarifications to the agreement, including with respect to the scope of the costs and expenses of the Administrator’s services, pursuant to the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth.  

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the premises and the covenants hereinafter contained and for other good and valuable consideration, the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged, the Company and the Administrator hereby agree as follows:

 

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(a)Employment of Administrator.  The Company hereby employs the Administrator to act as administrator of the Company, and to furnish, or arrange for others to furnish, the administrative services, personnel and facilities described below, subject to review by and the overall control of the Board of Directors of the Company (the “Board”), for the period and on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement.  The Administrator hereby accepts such employment and agrees during such period to render, or arrange for the rendering of, such services and to assume the obligations herein set forth subject to the reimbursement of costs and expenses provided for below.  The Administrator and such others shall for all purposes herein be deemed to be independent contractors and shall, unless otherwise expressly provided or authorized herein, have no authority to act for or represent the Company in any way or otherwise be deemed agents of the Company.

(b)Services.  The Administrator shall perform (or oversee, or arrange for, the performance of) the administrative services necessary for the operation of the Company.  Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, the Administrator shall provide the Company with office facilities, equipment, clerical, bookkeeping and record keeping services at such facilities and such other services as the Administrator, subject to review by the Board, shall from time to time determine to be necessary or useful to perform its obligations under this Agreement.  The Administrator shall also, on behalf of the Company, conduct relations with custodians, depositories, transfer agents, dividend disbursing agents, other stockholder servicing agents, accountants, attorneys, underwriters, brokers and dealers, corporate fiduciaries, insurers, banks and such other persons in any such other capacity deemed to be necessary or desirable.  The Administrator shall make reports to the Board of its performance of obligations hereunder and furnish advice and recommendations with respect to such other aspects of the business and affairs of the Company as it shall determine to be desirable; provided that nothing herein shall be construed to require the Administrator to, and the Administrator shall not, in its capacity as Administrator pursuant to this Agreement, provide any advice or recommendation relating to the securities and other assets that the Company should purchase, retain or sell or any other investment advisory services to the Company.  The Administrator shall be responsible for the financial and other records that the Company is required to maintain and shall prepare, print and disseminate reports to stockholders, and reports and other materials filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).  The Administrator will provide on the Company’s behalf significant managerial assistance to those portfolio companies to which the Company is required to provide such assistance.  In addition, the Administrator will assist the Company in determining and publishing (as necessary or appropriate) the Company’s net asset value, overseeing the preparation and filing of the Company’s tax returns, and generally overseeing the payment of the Company’s expenses and the performance of administrative and professional services rendered to the Company by others.

The Administrator agrees to maintain and keep all books, accounts and other records of the Company that relate to activities performed by the Administrator hereunder and will maintain and keep such books, accounts and records in accordance with the Investment Company Act.  In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the Investment Company Act, the

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Administrator agrees that all records which it maintains for the Company shall at all times remain the property of the Company, shall be readily accessible during normal business hours, and shall be promptly surrendered upon the termination of the Agreement or otherwise on written request.  The Administrator further agrees that all records which it maintains for the Company pursuant to Rule 31a-1 under the Investment Company Act will be preserved for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the Investment Company Act unless any such records are earlier surrendered as provided above.  Records shall be surrendered in usable machine-readable form.  The Administrator shall have the right to retain copies of such records subject to observance of its confidentiality obligations under this Agreement.

The parties hereto agree that each shall treat confidentially the terms and conditions of this Agreement and all information provided by each party to the other regarding its business and operations.  All confidential information provided by a party hereto, including nonpublic personal information (regulated pursuant to Regulation S-P of the SEC), shall be used by any other party hereto solely for the purpose of rendering services pursuant to this Agreement and, except as may be required in carrying out this Agreement, shall not be disclosed to any third party, without the prior consent of such providing party.  The foregoing shall not be applicable to any information that is publicly available when provided or thereafter becomes publicly available other than through a breach of this Agreement, or that is required to be disclosed by any regulatory authority, any authority or legal counsel of the parties hereto, by judicial or administrative process or otherwise by applicable law or regulation.

In full consideration of the provision of the services of the Administrator, the Company shall reimburse the Administrator for the costs and expenses incurred by the Administrator in performing its obligations and providing personnel and facilities hereunder, it being understood and agreed that, except as otherwise provided herein or in the Advisory Agreement, the Administrator shall be solely responsible for the compensation of its investment professionals and its allocable portion of the compensation of any personnel that provide it operational or administrative services, as well as the allocable portion of overhead expenses (including rent, office equipment and utilities) attributable thereto.  The Company will bear all costs and expenses that are incurred in its operation, administration and transactions and not specifically assumed by the Adviser pursuant to the Advisory Agreement.  

Costs and expenses to be borne by the Company include, but are not limited to, those relating to: calculating the Company’s net asset value (including the cost and expenses of any independent valuation firm); expenses incurred by the Adviser payable to third parties, including agents, consultants or other advisors, in monitoring financial and legal affairs for the Company and in providing operational and administrative services, monitoring the Company’s investments and performing due diligence on its prospective portfolio companies; interest payable on debt, if any, incurred to finance the Company’s investments; sales and purchases of the Company’s common stock and other securities; investment advisory and management fees; administration fees, if any, payable under this Agreement or the Advisory Agreement; fees payable to third parties, including agents, consultants or other advisors, relating to, or associated with, evaluating

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and making or holding investments; transfer agent and custodial fees; federal and state registration fees; all costs of registration and listing the Company’s shares on any securities exchange; federal, state and local taxes; independent directors’ fees and expenses; costs of preparing financial statements and maintaining books and records and filing reports or other documents with the SEC (or other regulatory bodies) and other reporting, legal and compliance costs; costs of any reports, proxy statements or other notices to stockholders, including printing and mailing costs and the costs of any stockholders’ meetings; the Company’s allocable portion of the fidelity bond, directors and officers/errors and omissions liability insurance, and any other insurance premiums; direct costs and expenses of administration, including printing, mailing, long distance telephone, copying, secretarial and other staff, independent auditors and outside legal costs; the Company’s allocable portion of the compensation of any personnel that provide it operational or administrative services hereunder, as well as the allocable portion of overhead expenses (including rent, office equipment and utilities) attributable thereto; and all other expenses incurred by the Company or the Administrator in connection with making investments, overseeing administrators, and administering the Company’s business not otherwise expressly payable by the Administrator pursuant to the Advisory Agreement or pursuant hereto.  

For the avoidance of doubt, the Company will bear its allocable portion of the costs of the compensation, benefits, and related administrative expenses (including travel expenses) of the Company’s officers who provide operational and administrative services hereunder, their respective staffs and other professionals who provide services to the Company (including, in each case, employees of the Administrator or an affiliate) who assist with the preparation, coordination, and administration of the foregoing or provide other “back office” or “middle office” financial or operational services to the Company.  Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the Company shall reimburse the Adviser (or its affiliates) for an allocable portion of the compensation paid by the Adviser (or its affiliates) to such individuals (based on a percentage of time such individuals devote, on an estimated basis, to the business and affairs of the Company and in acting on behalf of the Company).

The Administrator (and its members, managers, officers, employees, agents, controlling persons and any other person or entity affiliated with it) shall not be liable to the Company for any action taken or omitted to be taken by the Administrator in connection with the performance of any of its duties or obligations under this Agreement or otherwise as administrator for the Company.  As permitted by Article VIII of the Certificate of Incorporation, the Company shall, to the fullest extent permitted by law, provide indemnification and the right to the advancement of expenses, to each person who was or is made a party or is threatened to be made a party to or is involved (including, without limitation, as a witness) in any actual or threatened action, suit or proceeding, whether civil, criminal, administrative or investigative, by reason of the fact that he/she is or was a member, manager, officer, employee, agent, controlling person or any other person or entity affiliated with the Administrator (each such person hereinafter an “Indemnitee”), on the same general terms set forth in Article VIII of the Certificate of Incorporation, the terms of which are incorporated herein mutatis mutandi as applied to the Indemnitees.  

 

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The services of the Administrator to the Company are not to be deemed to be exclusive, and the Administrator and each affiliate is free to render services to others.  It is understood that directors, officers, employees and stockholders of the Company are or may become interested in the Administrator and its affiliates, as directors, officers, members, managers, employees, partners, stockholders or otherwise, and that the Administrator and directors, officers, members, managers, employees, partners and stockholders of the Administrator and its affiliates are or may become similarly interested in the Company as stockholders or otherwise.

(a)This Agreement shall continue in effect for one year from the date hereof, and thereafter shall continue automatically for successive annual periods, provided that such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by:

(i)the vote of the Board, or by the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Company; and

(ii)the vote of a majority of the Company’s directors who are not parties to this Agreement or “interested persons” (as such term is defined in Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act) of any such party, in accordance with the requirements of the Investment Company Act.

(b)The Agreement may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, upon not more than 60 days’ written notice, by the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Company, or by the vote of the Board or by the Administrator.

(c)This Agreement may not be assigned by a party without the consent of the other party; provided, however, that the rights and obligations of the Company under this Agreement shall not be deemed to be assigned to a newly formed entity in the event of the merger of the Company into, or conveyance of all of the assets of the Company to, such newly formed entity; provided, further, however, that the sole purpose of that merger or conveyance is to effect a mere change in the Company’s legal form into another limited liability entity.  The provisions of Section 5 of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect, and the Administrator shall remain entitled to the benefits thereof, notwithstanding any termination of this Agreement.

This Agreement may be amended pursuant to a written instrument by mutual consent of the parties.

This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware and the applicable provisions of the Investment Company Act, if any.  In such case, to the extent

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the applicable laws of the State of Delaware, or any of the provisions herein, conflict with the provisions of the Investment Company Act, the latter shall control.

This Agreement contains the entire agreement of the parties and supersedes all prior agreements, understandings and arrangements with respect to the subject matter hereof.

Any notice under this Agreement shall be given in writing, addressed and delivered or mailed, postage prepaid, to the other party at its principal office.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have executed and delivered this Agreement as of the date first above written.