We are a Delaware statutory trust and a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that intends to elect to be regulated as a business development company (BDC) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended and to be treated as a regulated investment company (RIC) under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.

We seek to invest primarily in newly originated senior secured debt and other securities of private U.S. companies within the upper-middle market. We are externally managed by HPS Investment Partners, LLC (HPS).

HPS Investment Partners, LLC is our external investment adviser. HPS is a leading global alternative investment manager with $101 billion of total assets under management as of April 1, 2023. HPS invests primarily in non-investment grade credit and manages various strategies across the capital structure that include privately negotiated senior secured debt and junior credit investments, syndicated leveraged loans, high yield bonds, asset-based leasing, real estate and private equity.

Established in 2007, HPS has approximately 190 investment professionals, 580 total employees, and fifteen offices across four continents as of March 31, 2023.

Between its formation and December 31, 2022, HPS invested more than $115 billion in private credit transactions across more than 690 companies.

Our investment objective is to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns, predominately in the form of current income, with select investments exhibiting the ability to capture long-term capital appreciation.

Our investment strategy focuses primarily on newly originated, privately negotiated senior credit investments in high-quality, established upper-middle market companies (generally companies with $75M - $1B in EBITDA or $250M - $5B in revenue at the time of investment). We may from time to time invest in smaller or larger companies if the opportunity presents attractive investment characteristics and risk-adjusted returns. While our investment strategy primarily focuses on companies in the United States, we also intend to leverage HPS’s global presence to invest in companies in Europe, Australia, and other locations outside the U.S., subject to compliance with BDC requirements to invest at least 70% of assets in “eligible portfolio companies.”

Our investment strategy will also include a smaller allocation to more liquid credit investments such as broadly syndicated loans and corporate bonds. We intend to use these investments to maintain liquidity for our share repurchase program and manage cash before investing subscription proceeds into originated loans, while also seeking attractive investment returns.

We seek to invest primarily in first lien senior secured debt and unitranche loans but may also invest in second lien and subordinated debt. The loans within the portfolio are typically floating-rate instruments that often pay current income on a quarterly basis. Although not expected to be a primary component of our investment strategy, we may also make certain opportunistic investments in instruments other than secured debt with a view to enhancing returns. We may also invest in preferred equity, or our debt investments may be accompanied by equity-related securities.

Our liquid credit instruments may include senior secured loans, senior secured bonds, high yield bonds, and structured credit instruments.

We seek to invest in upper-middle market companies that we believe have market-leading businesses. These are large, established companies, typically with more than $500 million in revenue. They tend to have long operating histories, diversified supply networks and customer bases, and experienced management teams. We look to invest in companies that are in industries that we believe are non-cyclical, meaning they have historically performed irrespective of the economic environment.

Yes, we seek to pay regular monthly distributions. Any distributions we make will be at the discretion of our Board of Trustees, who will consider, among other things, our earnings, cash flow, capital needs, and general financial condition, as well as our desire to comply with the RIC requirements, which generally require us to make aggregate annual distributions to our shareholders of at least 90% of our net investment income.

The per-share amount of distributions on Class S, Class D, Class I, and Class F shares will generally differ because of different class-specific shareholder servicing and/or distribution fees that are deducted from the gross distributions for each share class.

We cannot guarantee that we will make distributions, and if we do, we may fund such distributions from sources other than cash flow from operations, including, without limitation, the sale of assets, borrowings, return of capital or offering proceeds, and we have no limits on the amounts we may pay from such sources. A return of capital (1) is a return of the original amount invested, (2) does not constitute earnings or profits and (3) will have the effect of reducing the basis such that when a shareholder sells its shares the sale may be subject to taxes even if the shares are sold for less than the original purchase price. Distributions may also be funded, directly or indirectly, from temporary waivers or expense reimbursements borne by the fund’s adviser or its affiliates that may be subject to reimbursement to the adviser or its affiliates. We have not established limits on the amounts we may fund from such sources.

Yes, dividends or distributions paid by HLEND will generally be taxable to U.S. shareholders as either ordinary income or long-term capital gains in the year in which they are declared. We will provide our U.S. shareholders with a Form 1099-DIV as promptly as possible following year-end that will set forth the breakdown of distributions paid in the preceding year by taxable income category.

Because each investor’s tax position is different, you should consult with your tax advisor on the tax consequences to you of investing in HLEND. In particular, non-U.S. investors should consult their tax advisors regarding potential withholding taxes on distributions that they receive.

Congress created the business development company, or "BDC", through the Small Business Investment Incentive Act of 1980 to facilitate capital investment in small and middle market companies. Closed-end investment companies organized in the U.S. that elect to be treated as BDCs under the 1940 Act are subject to specific provisions of the law, most notably that at least 70% of their total assets must be “qualifying assets”. Qualifying assets are generally defined as privately offered debt or equity securities of U.S. private companies or U.S. publicly traded companies with market capitalizations less than $250 million.

BDCs may be exchange-traded, public non-exchange traded, or private placements. They can be internally or externally managed. BDCs typically elect to be treated as “regulated investment companies” for U.S. tax purposes, which are generally not subject to entity-level taxes on distributed income.

A non-exchange traded BDC’s shares are not listed for trading on a stock exchange or other securities market. The term “perpetual-life” is used to differentiate our structure from other BDCs that have a finite offering period and/or have a predefined time period to pursue a liquidity event or to wind down. In contrast, in a perpetual-life BDC structure like ours, we expect to offer common shares continuously at a price equal to the monthly net asset value (NAV) per share and we have an indefinite duration, with no obligation to effect a liquidity event at any time.

We generally intend to offer our common shareholders an opportunity to have their shares repurchased on a quarterly basis, subject to an aggregate cap of 5% of fund shares outstanding. However, the determination to repurchase shares in any given quarter is fully at the Board of Trustee’s discretion, so investors may not always have access to liquidity when they desire it.

Our transfer agent is U.S. Bank Global Fund Services, LLC. They can be contacted at HPS Corporate Lending Fund c/o U.S. Bank Global Fund Services 615 East Michigan Street Milwaukee, WI 53202, or at 1-888-484-1944.

Individual investors with questions about HLEND should contact their financial advisor for more information. Financial advisors can submit an inquiry using this form or contact us at hlend@hpspartners.com.