BDC Q1’26 FV Change Analysis: 135 Investments, $9B Principal With Greater Than 15% Write-Downs; Dental Support Organizations, Entertainment Post-Production, General Corporate Staffing Stand Out

Credit Research: Lexie Wang Relevant Items: Link to Octus’ BDC Database List of Loans Marked Lower Octus has analyzed more than 170 publicly and privately traded business development companies, or BDCs, and pulled out the individual investments that experienced a greater than 15% sequential reduction in fair-value marks as a percentage of par in the calendar first quarter ended March 31, 2026. The data is sourced from BDC public quarterly filings as well as Octus’ BDC Database. Alongside the loans, the file captures lenders, borrowers’ common name, fair-value marks as a percentage of par, and sponsors.   (Subscribers can download the full list HERE.) Octus flagged loans from 135 distinct borrowers where BDC managers reduced the fair value as a percentage of par by more than 15% sequentially. This reflects a significant increase from the 88 borrowers identified in the previous quarter and compared with the 86 identified in the third quarter, indicating a period of heightened credit write-downs. Across this cohort, the total principal of loans being written down reached $9 billion. Note that this analysis is focused exclusively on loans and does not include equity investments. BDC holdings of broadly syndicated loans led to about a quarter of[...]