Willow Tree Capital

Willow Tree Capital Corporation is a business development company (BDC) that filed a voluntary registration statement on Form 10 with the Securities and Exchange Commission to elect to be regulated under the Investment Company Act of 1940, establishing itself as a regulated investment company with SEC reporting obligations and the oversight framework applicable to BDCs. The company's investment objectives are to maximize total return to shareholders in the form of current income and capital appreciation — the dual-return framework that characterizes most BDC investment mandates, which seek to generate regular distribution income from interest earned on lending portfolios while also creating the potential for capital appreciation from equity co-investments and appreciation in loan portfolio values. Willow Tree Capital Corporation is managed by Willow Tree Capital Corp Advisors LLC and operates within an organizational platform that includes Willow Tree Credit Partners LP and Willow Tree Credit Partners SBIC Management LP — a small business investment company (SBIC) license holder that can provide government-backed leverage through the SBA's SBIC program.<br><br>The investment adviser entities associated with the Willow Tree Capital platform reported aggregate assets under management of approximately $2.66 billion as of September 30, 2023, reflecting a substantial private credit investment management business that has developed expertise in direct lending, credit origination, and structured credit investing prior to the establishment of the publicly registered BDC. The presence of an existing $2.66 billion AUM advisory platform as the foundation for Willow Tree Capital Corporation provides the BDC with access to the origination relationships, credit infrastructure, portfolio management expertise, and operational capabilities that a well-established private credit manager has developed, rather than building these capabilities from scratch within the newly registered public fund. This back-end infrastructure advantage is significant in the competitive direct lending market where deal flow, speed of execution, and credit quality are critical competitive factors.<br><br>Willow Tree Capital Corporation files periodic reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission including quarterly Form 10-Q filings, and has also received SEC Federal Register notice in connection with relief applications for investment company exemptions. The Federal Register application process for BDC relief orders — which allow affiliated BDCs and their related funds to co-invest in transactions, enabling the deployment of larger total capital commitments than would be possible for a single fund acting alone — reflects Willow Tree Capital's multi-fund platform architecture and the regulatory framework governing affiliated entity co-investment in the BDC industry. As a registered BDC within an established private credit platform, Willow Tree Capital Corporation provides public market access to the direct lending investment strategies that the broader Willow Tree organization has developed and deployed through its private credit funds.