Hello, everyone. Thank you for joining us and welcome to Kane Anderson BDC, Inc.'s third quarter 2026 earnings call. As a reminder, this call is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to turn the call over to Andy Wedderburn-Maxwell, Senior Vice President.

Good afternoon and welcome to Kane Anderson BDC, Inc.'s third quarter 2026 earnings call. Today, I'm joined by Doug Goodwillie and Ken Leonard, co-CEOs of KBDC, Frank Karl, President, and Terry Hart, CFO. Following our prepared remarks, we'll be available to take your questions. Today's call may include forward-looking statements. Such statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors, and undue reliance should not be placed thereon. These forward-looking statements are not historical facts, but rather are based on current expectations, estimates and projections about the company, our current and prospective portfolio investments, our industry, our beliefs and our opinions and our assumptions. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and are subject to risks, uncertainties, and other factors, some of which are beyond our control and difficult to predict. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or forecasted in the forward-looking statements. We ask that you refer to the company's most recent filings with the SEC for important risk factors. Any forward-looking statements made today do not guarantee future performance and undue reliance should not be placed on them. The company assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements at any time. Our earnings release, 10Q, and supplemental earnings presentation are available in the financial section of our website at cainbdc.com. Now I'd like to turn the call over to Doug Goodwillie.

Good afternoon, everyone. I will begin with an overview of KBDC's third quarter results and then turn it over to Frank Karl to provide a more detailed overview of our portfolio. and Terry Hart will conclude with KBDC's financial results. For the third quarter of 2026, we generated net investment income of 46 cents per share, up from 42 cents per share in the second quarter and our highest level over the past five years. This represents a dividend coverage ratio of 115% and an annualized return on equity based on net investment income of 11.7%. our board of directors has declared a regular quarterly dividend of 40 cents per share for the fourth quarter, table on January 19th, 2027, the shareholders of record as of December 31st, 2026. This represents an annualized dividend yield of approximately 10.2% based on our quarter end NAV per share. In addition, as of September 30th, we had undistributed net investment income of approximately 32 cents per share. As we communicated on each of our earnings calls this year, we have remained confident in our ability to sustain the 40-cent quarterly dividend through 2026, and we have now delivered on that commitment. A key reason for holding the dividend steady was to provide our shareholders with stability during an uncertain period in the interest rate cycle. Just 12 months ago, the market broadly expected SOFR to decline to approximately 3%, which would have represented a headwind for earnings. Today, SOFR is over 4.1%, with expectations to increase to over 4.5% in the coming quarters, which would represent a strong tailwind to earnings. Given this expectation, combined with our ability to consistently generate above-market spreads, currently averaging 565 basis points over SOFR for the portfolio, we remain confident in our ability to maintain our base dividend going forward. Net asset value per share, as of September 30th was $15.71, a decline of $0.29 per share or approximately 1.8% from $16 at the end of the second quarter. The decline was driven by net realized and unrealized losses of $0.36 per share, partially offset by net investment income in excess of our dividend of $0.06 per share and $0.01 per share from accretive share repurchases. More than 70% of the quarter's net realized and unrealized losses came from three investments, American Soccer, Centerline Communications, and Segal Lake. I want to speak directly about the increase in non-accruals and these realized and unrealized losses, as well as the overall health of the KBDC portfolio. While our watch list is slightly elevated from historical norms, it still represents less than 6% of our overall portfolio at fair market value. recent performance and outlook declines in the three previously mentioned borrowers are idiosyncratic and do not represent any sort of connected credit story that we can see. We feel that we have done a very good job working through our troubled assets historically, as evidenced by the recovery in both Arbor Works and Regiment. While credit events can be difficult to foresee with specificity and our current levels of non-accruals are somewhat elevated to our historical norms, We see overwhelmingly stable performance across the rest of our portfolio and expect that non-accruals will decrease to historical norms in the near future. We will continue to work as hard as we possibly can to maximize value for our shareholders in each of these situations. Digging a little deeper, non-accruals increased to 3.6% of our debt portfolio at fair market value and 5.4% at amortized cost, up from 2.7% and 4.5%, respectively, last quarter. The increase was driven largely by a single new addition, centerline communications. We are currently in the process of restructuring this investment, which we expect to complete in the fourth quarter. Pro forma for the restructuring, we expect a sizable portion of our position to return to accrual status, which, all else being equal, should return our non-accrual rate back in line with last quarter's level. In total, our non-accrual investments are concentrated in eight borrowers across six different industries. In each case, we see company-specific factors at work, not a common sector, macroeconomics, or structural theme running through the portfolio. One point to note, we have very little restructured equity in our portfolio, which includes only two such positions representing approximately 0.7% of KBDC's amortized costs. We expect that this is substantially less than is present in most BDCs. Said in another way, non-accruals are only one way to measure stress in portfolios. As mentioned, our team has worked through challenge investments like these across multiple credit cycles. Our information rights, covenant packages, and long-standing sponsor relationships allow us to engage early and actively, and we are working closely with sponsors and management teams at each of these companies. On a positive note, since quarter end, we have completed the sale of regimen, which all else being equal, will modestly reduce our non-accruals next quarter. We are very pleased with the valuation we received for the business, which resulted in our debt being repaid at a value approximately 10 points higher than last quarter's mark of 75.5% of par. Outside of these situations, the underlying health of the portfolio remains solid. of our 100 portfolio companies, 92 are paying current interest with an average valuation mark of 99.3% of par value. Additionally, the portfolio remains highly diversified with an average position size of approximately 1% of fair value, and our top 10 investments represent approximately 19% of the debt portfolio. Approximately 93% of the portfolio is first lien senior secured, and the weighted average yield on our debt investments, excluding non-accruals, increased to 10.3% from 10.2% and our exposure to software remains insignificant. Frank will walk through our borrower leverage, interest coverage and covenant metrics in more detail, but these have remained broadly consistent with prior quarters, which reinforces our view that this quarter's credit issues are isolated rather than systemic. Turning to investment activity, we made 76.3 million in new commitments across 10 private credit investments during the quarter. The pricing environment for new originations remains attractive with our new floating rate loans averaging 538 basis points over SOFR during the third quarter, compared with 566 basis points in the second quarter. Core middle market spreads have remained in a tight band of approximately 500 to 550 basis points over SOFA this year. The quarter-over-quarter spread tightening is more of a reflection of specific deals we approved rather than fundamental market tightening. Fundings for the quarter totaled $91.9 million, which included both new investments and draws on existing unfunded commitments, while repayments increased to $114.9 million, consistent with the pickup and realizations that Frank previewed on our last call. This resulted in a net funded investment decrease of 23 million. Our balance sheet and liquidity position remains strong. We ended the quarter with a debt to equity ratio of 1.17 times unchanged from the prior quarter and within our target range of one to one and a quarter times. Total liquidity as of September 30th was 508.7 million consisting of 45.7 million in cash and cash equivalents and 463 million in undrawn committed debt capacity. We also continue to repurchase shares at a meaningful discount to NAV buying back approximately 266,000 shares for $3.6 million during the quarter. Across the BDC sector, credit outcomes are becoming more dispersed and investors are understandably focused on credit quality and NAV stability. We share that focus and we are not dismissive of this quarter's credit results. However, we believe a handful of idiosyncratic situations within a diversified portfolio of 100 companies with an average position size of 1% of fair market value is fundamentally different from the broad-based pressure that can arise from concentrated sector exposures. Our value lending approach of lending to established, private equity-backed core middle market companies in stable industries with conservative leverage and financial covenants is designed to limit the impact of any individual credit on the overall portfolio. We believe this quarter's earnings with net investment income comfortably exceeding our dividend demonstrate that strategy at work. In closing, we remain focused on resolving the small number of challenge credits in the portfolio, deploying capital with discipline, and delivering sustainable value for our shareholders. I will now pass the call over to Frank Karl to discuss our portfolio.

Thanks, Doug. As of September 30th, our portfolio includes 100 companies with a fair value of $2.2 billion plus $281 million of unfunded commitments. Since quarter end, we have closed or a visibility to nearly $50 million of new commitments. Traditionally, the fourth quarter is busy as sponsors look to close transactions before the end of the year. We expect realizations to be similar to the third quarter and leverage to remain largely unchanged. Underlying deal activity remains strong across the core middle market sectors that we focus on. Pricing has remained range-bound for most of this year, between 500 to 550 basis points over SOFR, while the upper middle market is seeing a greater degree of spread widening. Investments in KBDC's portfolio, excluding those on our watch list and opportunistic investments, have a weighted average leverage of 4.6 times, interest coverage 2.4 times, and loan-to-enterprise value of approximately 43%, broadly in line with last quarter. Thank you for joining us. Our top five industry sectors, healthcare, commercial services and supplies, distributors, food products, and containers and packaging, account for approximately 56% of the portfolio and have remained consistent quarter over quarter as we focus on avoiding sector concentration risks. Approximately 95% of our debt investments or floating rate match by predominantly floating rate liabilities. Our only material fixed rate investment is the SG credit loan at an 11% coupon. The SD credit platform continues to perform well, and the equity position was marked up modestly this quarter. Non-accruals represented 3.6% of debt investments at fair value versus 2.7% last quarter. Centerline was the only new addition and represents approximately $28 million of the $78.4 million of non-accrual investments at fair value. During the quarter, we completed the restructuring of American Soccer, whereby a portion of our existing debt was exchanged for new debt and preferred equity. The position remains on non-accrual. Regiment was marked up by $1.9 million this quarter. As Doug mentioned, we completed the sale of regiment after quarter end. This restructuring to sale over the course of five quarters shows the strength of our workout team and our commitment to producing positive outcomes in challenging situations. Pick income represented 4.9% of total interest income for the quarter compared to 4.5% last quarter. weighted average yield was 10.3% on fair value, excluding non-accruals, up from 10.2% last quarter. While we are disappointed with the credit decline in a small subset of the portfolio this quarter, we view them as isolated situations. We continue to monitor every borrower closely through monthly financial reviews and weekly watchlist discussions, and our focus on borrowers with strong interest coverage and conservative leverage continues to provide meaningful cushion across the broader portfolio. We remain patient and disciplined in deploying capital, and our longstanding sponsor relationships continue to provide us with attractive opportunities that meet our standards. We believe the market will increasingly reward BDCs like KBDC that demonstrate consistent earnings, discipline, and defensive positioning. With that, I'll turn it over to Terry.

Thank you, Frank. I'll begin by reviewing our financial results. During the third quarter we earned net income per share of $0.10 and net investment income per share of $0.46 compared to $0.42 in the prior quarter and $0.06 above our dividend. Total investment income for the third quarter was $59 million as compared to $55.7 million in the prior quarter. The increase in investment income was primarily the result of higher prepayment fees and accelerated accretion from realization activity during the quarter. and higher average outstanding private credit investment balances. Non-recurring interest income, which includes prepayment premiums and accelerated accretion of upfront fees from unscheduled pay downs, was approximately 1.7 million during the quarter. Additionally, our weighted average yield on debt investments at fair value, excluding non-accruals, increased 10 basis points to 10.3%. Total expenses for the third quarter were 28.8 million compared to 28.2 million for the prior quarter. The increase was primarily the result of a 1.1 million increase in interest expense on higher average borrowings during the third quarter, partially offset by 0.7 million of lower incentive fees. During the quarter, our incentive management fees were reduced by the 12-quarter look-back incentive fee cap. During the third quarter, we had realized losses of 14.9 million related to the restructuring of our investment in American soccer, whereby a portion of our existing debt was exchanged for new debt and preferred equity. During the quarter, we had net unrealized losses on the portfolio of $8.5 million compared to unrealized losses of $4.6 million in the prior quarter. The unrealized losses were largely the result of negative fair value changes to our watch list investments, including American soccer, center line, seagull egg, and four over, partially offset by 1.9 million unrealized gain on regiment and a reversal of a 14.9 million unrealized loss on American soccer that was realized this quarter following its restructuring. Additionally, we had deferred income tax expense of 0.2 million related to unrealized gains on equity investments held in our taxable subsidiary. As of September 30th, total assets were 2.3 billion and net assets were 1.1 billion As of that date, our net asset value was $15.71 per share. The decrease of $0.29 from $16 per share as of June 30th was comprised of $0.36 per share related to net realized and unrealized losses, partially offset by $0.06 of net investment income in excess of our dividend, and $0.01 related to accretive share repurchases during the quarter. At the end of the third quarter, we had debt outstanding of $1,212,000,000, consisting of $937 million drawn on our credit facilities and $275 million of senior unsecured notes. Our debt to equity ratio was 1.17 times unchanged from the end of the second quarter and our asset coverage ratio was 186%. We continue to manage leverage within our target debt to equity range of one times to one and a quarter times with some quarters higher or lower depending on realization activity. During the quarter, we repurchased 265,761 shares for 3.6 million at an average price of $13.61 per share pursuant to our 100 million share repurchase program.

Now turning to distributions.

On November 4th, our board of directors declared a dividend for the fourth quarter of 40 cents per share Payable on January 19th, 2027 to shareholders of record on December 31st, 2026. As of September 30th, our undistributed net investment income was approximately 32 cents per share. As we close out 2026, we plan to remain focused on our value lending strategy, the active management of a small number of challenge credits in our portfolio, and the discipline management of our balance sheet. With that, operator, please open the line for questions.

We will now begin the question and answer session. If you would like to ask a question, please press star 1 to raise your hand. To withdraw your question, press star 1 again. We ask that you pick up your handset when asking a question to allow for optimum sound quality. If you are muted locally, please remember to unmute your device. Please stand by while we compile the Q&A roster. A reminder that if you would like to ask a question, please press star one to raise your hand. Your first question comes from the line of Melissa Weddle with UBS. Melissa, please go ahead.

Good afternoon. Thanks for taking my questions today. I had a lot initially prepared to talk about sort of the near term I think maybe we can pivot to sort of the opportunity in 4Q. It sounds like the repayment activity is likely to be similar to 3Q, but hearing that it could still be a net outflow order. Is that fair to say?

Yeah, thanks, Melissa. Our debt to equity ratio is currently at about 1.17, which is unchanged from the second quarter. Our target's been in that one-to-one-and-a-quarter range. Because we're inside that range, we're sizing new investments equivalent to portfolio runoff, and we expect the fourth quarter to be roughly equivalent to realizations with leverage in that same range. So we do view share repurchases and new investments as different competing priorities. We do have $500 million of liquidity and we can fund our pipeline and repurchases at a meaningful level to a discount to NAB, which is accretive shareholders. So we're continuing to see good deal flow, but obviously the market's been a little off this year. We saw an increase in third quarter over second quarter and the fourth quarter. is generally a pretty big quarter, although we expect it to be down vis-a-vis prior years. So our strategy will be to continue to deploy assets as we have realizations.

Okay, that's really helpful. And then you mentioned the repurchase activity. You guys have had a few quarters here at roughly $3.5 million level, $4 million level. I would think, is there anything, any reason we shouldn't be thinking that the appetite for share repurchases given the balance sheet capacity and given your outlook for sort of the investment opportunities that the appetite for repurchases would be any different than what we've seen more recently?

No, you know, we're still obviously, you know, very bullish on the company. We continue to have a to buy since quarter end. We have roughly 93 million remains available under our 10B51 plan. And so we'll continue to support the stock per that programmatic repurchase program.

Yes. Okay. Great. Thank you.

Your next question comes from the line of Paul Johnson with KBW. Paul, please go ahead.

Good afternoon. Thanks for taking my questions. In terms of the regiment security sale post-quarter end or the exit, is that a full exit from that company or does the debt essentially stay port over with the new owner? How will that business be coming off of non-accrual?

No, thanks, Paul. No, it's a full exit with a small escrow Thank you very much.

And then in terms of the remaining companies that are still in non-accrual that were not necessarily identified as potential removals next quarter, where do you think you are in terms of the pathway of removing those from non-accrual? Do you believe that there's a restructuring path where those idiosyncratic issues, I guess, can be fixed or It's going to take just more time, more work to kind of search through the business, what can be done from the lender's perspective. But yeah, just kind of wondering, since they are idiosyncratic, I guess, what can you do with the lender to kind of help rectify the situation?

Yeah, thanks, Paul. I mean, we tend to be very active in terms of our restructurings. Take Centerline, for instance. That's $28 million of the $78.4 million of non-accruals at fair value. We expect to complete a Centerline restructuring in the fourth quarter. And pro forma for that restructuring, we should expect a sizable portion of that to return to accrual status. And all things being equal, that should bring us back in line to last quarter. So that's one example. And I would also add on Centerline, since it is the biggest chunk there, It still has substantial EBITDA, and it still has sponsor involvement from a Tier 1 sponsor, and it has a strong competitive moat. So we do believe that situation, for instance, is more of a push to the right on revenues, and we remain very positive on the company fully recovering. And I think the story is similar for many of the assets. There's probably three assets that, you know, are sort of moving in one direction right now but are stabilized. But we think they're going to take a little more time. But I think we've tended in the past to be very quick to try to exit situations we don't think we're going to have recoveries on. So all the non-accruals that we have, we believe in our ability to turn those assets and some more than others. But we think the majority of those dollars we feel very constructive about.

Got it. Okay. Thank you very much. I appreciate it. It's all for me.

Your next question comes from the line of Derek Hewitt with Bank of America. Derek, please go ahead.

Good afternoon, everyone. So could you provide some additional color on the dividend stability guide? Specifically, like what are some of the underlying assumptions, whether are you looking at the forward SOFR curve, Are you just looking at new origination spreads, improving credit, or maybe just the willingness to dip into the spillover to cover any temporary shortfalls?

Sure, thanks. I mean, we're looking at all those things you mentioned, and we don't have any approval or guidance from the board at this stage for 2027. But with the declaration of our fourth quarter dividend, we did deliver on our commitment to pay the base dividend throughout 2026. As you know, third quarter investment income came in at 46 cents. So we had a significant dividend coverage there. And even setting aside the 1.7 of non-recurring income during the quarter, our net investment income comfortably exceeded the dividend. So looking forward, our income producing portfolio earns an average spread of 587. basis points over SOFR. That spread combined with the recent increases in reference rates and overall health of the portfolio puts us in a position where we're confident we can maintain our base rate going forward. All the factors you mentioned are part of that, and we think we're taking a relatively conservative approach there in terms of fees, in terms of spread, in terms of the future SOFR increases.

Great, thank you.

There are no further questions at this time. I'll now turn the call back to Ken Leonard for closing remarks.

Thank you, operator. We appreciate the continued support and engagement from all our shareholders and analysts. We feel very good about where the business is positioned today and our ability to have consistent and reliable earnings supported by a strong asset base that continues to support our This concludes today's call. Thank you for attending. You may now disconnect.