Many of the amounts and percentages presented in Part I have been rounded for convenience of presentation and all dollar amounts, excluding share and per share amounts, are presented in thousands unless otherwise noted.presentation.

FS Investment Corporation II, or the Company, which may also be referred to as “we,” “us” or “our,” was incorporated under the general corporation laws of the State of Maryland on July 12, 2011 and formally commenced investment operations on June 18, 2012. We are an externally managed, non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that has elected to be regulated as a business development company, or BDC, under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or the 1940 Act. As such, we are required to comply with certain regulatory requirements. In addition, we have elected to be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and intend to qualify annually, as a regulated investment company, or RIC, under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, or the Code. As of December 31, 2017,2018, we had total assets of approximately $5.1$4.6 billion.

We are managed by FSIC IIFS/KKR Advisor, LLC, or FSIC IIthe Advisor, a registered investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, or the Advisers Act, which oversees the management of our operations and is responsible for making investment decisions with respect to our portfolio. FSIC II Advisor engaged GSO/Blackstone Debt Funds Management LLC, or GDFM, to act as our investment sub-adviser. GDFM currently assists FSIC II Advisor in identifying investment opportunities and makes investment recommendations for approval by FSIC II Advisor, according to guidelines set by FSIC II Advisor. GDFM, a registered investment adviser under the Advisers Act, is a wholly owned subsidiary of GSO Capital Partners LP, or GSO. GSO is the credit platform of The Blackstone Group L.P., or Blackstone, a leading global alternative asset manager and provider of financial advisory services. GSO is one of the world’s largest credit platforms in the alternative asset business with approximately $138.1 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2017.

The senior secured loans, second lien secured loans and senior secured bonds in which we invest generally have stated terms of three to seven years and subordinated debt investments that we make generally have stated terms of up to ten years, but the expected average life of such securities is generally between three and seven years. However, there is no limit on the maturity or duration of any security in our portfolio. Our debt investments may be rated by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization, or NRSRO, and, in such case, generally will carry a rating below investment grade (rated lower than “Baa3” by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., or Moody’s, or lower than “BBB-” by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services, or S&P). We also invest in non-rated debt securities.

To seek to enhance our returns, we employ leverage as market conditions permit and at the discretion of FSIC IIthe Advisor, but in no event will leverage employed exceed 50% of the value of our assets, as requiredmaximum amount permitted by the 1940 Act. With certain limited exceptions, we are only allowed to borrow amounts or issue debt securities if our asset coverage, as calculated pursuant to the 1940 Act, equals at least 200% immediately after such borrowing. The minimum asset coverage requirement applicable to BDCs under the 1940 Act, however, is currently 150% provided that certain disclosure, approval and other requirements are met.

As a BDC, we are subject to certain regulatory restrictions in making our investments. For example, BDCs generally are not permitted to co-invest with certain affiliated entities in transactions originated by the BDC or its affiliates in the absence of an exemptive order from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, or the SEC. However, BDCs are permitted to, and may, simultaneously co-invest in transactions where price is the only negotiated term. In an order dated June 4, 2013, or the Order,April 3, 2018, the SEC granted exemptive relief permitting us, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, to co-invest in certain privately negotiated investment transactions, with certain affiliates of FSIC II Advisor, including FS Investment Corporation, FS Energyinvestments originated and Power Fund, FS Investment Corporation III, FS Investment Corporation IV and any future BDCs that are adviseddirectly negotiated by FSIC IIthe Advisor or its affiliated investment advisers,KKR Credit Advisors (US) LLC, or collectivelyKKR Credit, with our co-investment affiliates. However, in connection with the potential investment advisory relationship with KKR Credit and/or FS/KKR Advisor, and in an effort to mitigate potential future conflicts of interest, our board of directors has authorized and directed that the Company exercise its rights under the Order to decline to participate in any new potential co-investment transaction pursuant to the Order that would be within the then-current investment objectives and strategies of the Company unless sourced by GDFM, KKR Credit or FS/KKR Advisor. We believe this relief has and may continue to enhanceenhances our ability to further our investment objectives and strategy. We believe this relief may also increase favorable investment opportunities for us, in part, by allowing us to participate in larger investments, together with our co-investment affiliates, than would be available to us if such relief had not been obtained. Because we did not seek exemptive relief to engage in co-investment transactions with GDFM and its affiliates, we are permitted to co-invest with GDFM and its affiliates only in accordance with existing regulatory guidance (e.g., where price is the only negotiated term). See “—The Transition of Investment Advisory Services” for information regarding the exemptive relief KKR Credit is seeking with respect to the Company’s potential investment advisory relationship with FS/KKR Advisor.

We invest primarily in the debt of private middle market U.S. companies. Investments in private companies pose significantly greater risks than investments in public companies. First, private companies have reduced access to the capital markets, resulting in diminished capital resources and ability to withstand financial distress. As a result, these companies, which may present greater credit risk than public companies, may be unable to meet the obligations under their debt securities that we hold. Second, the investments themselves may often be illiquid. The securities of most of the companies in which we invest are not publicly-traded or actively-traded on the secondary market and are, instead, traded on a privately negotiated over-the-counterOTC secondary market for institutional investors. In addition, our directly originated investments generally will not be traded on any secondary market and a trading market for such investments may not develop. These securities may also be subject to legal and other restrictions on resale. As such, we may have difficulty exiting an investment promptly or at a desired price prior to maturity or outside of a normal amortization schedule. These investments may also be difficult to value because little public information generally exists about private companies, requiring an experienced due diligence team to analyze and value the potential portfolio company. Finally, these companies often may not have third-party debt ratings or audited financial statements. We must therefore rely on the ability of FSIC IIthe Advisor and/or GDFM to obtain adequate information through theirits due diligence efforts to evaluate the creditworthiness of, and risks involved in, investing in these companies, and to determine the optimal time to exit an investment. These companies and their financial information will also generally not be subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, and other rules and regulations that govern public companies that are designed to protect investors.

Our principal focus is to invest in senior secured and second lien secured loans of private middle market U.S. companies, and to a lesser extent, subordinated loans of private U.S. companies. Although we do not expect a significant portion of our portfolio to be comprised of subordinated loans, there is no limit on the amount of such loans in which we may invest. We may purchase interests in loans or make other debt investments, including investments in senior secured bonds, through secondary market transactions in the “over-the-counter”OTC market or directly from our target companies as primary market or directly originated investments. In connection with our debt investments, we may on occasion receive equity interests such as warrants or options as additional consideration. We may also purchase or otherwise acquire minority interests in the form of common or preferred equity or equity-related securities, such as rights and warrants that may be converted into or exchanged for common stock or other equity or the cash value of common stock or other equity, in our target companies, generally in conjunction with one of our debt investments or through a co-investment with a financial sponsor, such as an institutional investor or

FSIC IIThe Advisor and GDFM believebelieves that theirits broad expertise and experience investing at all levels of a company’s capital structure enable us to manage risk while affording us the opportunity for significant returns on our investments. We attempt to capitalize on this expertise in an effort to produce and maintain an investment portfolio that will perform in a broad range of economic conditions.

The TransitionAdvisor leverages the intellectual capital, industry experience and global network of Investment Advisory Services” for information regarding GDFM’s resignation as ourKKR & Co.’s Capital Markets team to support the origination of new private credit investment sub-adviseropportunities. Through KKR & Co.’s Capital Markets franchise, the Advisor benefits from expanded sources of deal flow, real-time market intelligence on pricing trends and our potential investment advisory relationshipcontinuous dialogue with issuers and sponsors to provide holistic financing solutions to current and prospective portfolio companies. In addition, KKR Credit and/or FS/KKR Advisor.

We have contracted with State Street Bank and Trust Company or State Street, to provide various accounting and administrative services, including, but not limited to, preparing preliminary financial information for review by FSIC IIthe Advisor, preparing and monitoring expense budgets, maintaining accounting and corporate books and records, processing trade information provided by us and performing testing with respect to RIC compliance. Prior to April 1, 2015, we had contracted with Vigilant Compliance, LLC to provide the services of Salvatore Faia as our chief compliance officer.

As a BDC, we are required to comply with certain regulatory requirements. Also, while we are permitted to finance investments using debt, our ability to use debt will be limited in certain significant respects pursuant to the 1940 Act. Within the limits of existing regulation, we will adjust our use of debt, according to market conditions, to the level we believe will allow us to generate maximum risk-adjusted returns. See “—Regulation.” We have elected to be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and intend to qualify annually, as a RIC under Subchapter M of the Code.

While we intend to maintain our focus on investments in debt securities, from time to time, when we see the potential for extraordinary gain, or in connection with securing particularly favorable terms in a debt investment, we may enter into investments in preferred or common equity, typically in conjunction with a private equity sponsor we believe to be sophisticated and seasoned. In addition, we typically receive the right to make equity investments in a portfolio company whose debt securities we hold in connection with the next equity financing round for that company. This right may provide us with the opportunity to further enhance our returns over time through equity investments in our portfolio companies. In addition, we may hold equity-related securities, such as rights and warrants that may be converted into or exchanged for common stock or other equity or the cash value of common stock or other equity, generally obtained in conjunction with one of our debt investments or through a co-investment with a financial sponsor, such as an institutional investor or private equity firm. In the future, we may achieve liquidity through a merger or acquisition of a portfolio company, a public offering of a portfolio company’s stock or by exercising our right, if any, to require a portfolio company to repurchase the equity-related securities we hold. With respect to any

We may invest in convertible securities, such as bonds, debentures, notes, preferred stocks or other securities that may be converted into, or exchanged for, a specified amount of common equity investments, we expect to target an annual investment returnstock of the same or different issuer within a particular period of time at least 15%.a specified price or formula.

We may maintain a certain level of cash or equivalent instruments, including money market funds, to make follow-on investments, if necessary, in existing portfolio companies or to take advantage of new opportunities.

Loans to private companies are debt instruments that can be compared to corporate bonds to aid an investor’s understanding. As with corporate bonds, loans to private companies can range in credit quality depending on security-specific factors, including total leverage, amount of leverage senior to the security in question, variability in the issuer’s cash flows, the quality of assets securing debt and the degree to which such assets cover the subject company’s debt obligations. As is the case in the corporate bond market, we will require greater returns for securities that we perceive to carry increased risk. The companies in which we invest may be leveraged, often as a result of leveraged buyouts or other recapitalization transactions, and, in many cases, will not be rated by national rating agencies. When our targeted debt investments do carry ratings from a NRSRO, we believe that such ratings generally will be below investment grade (rated lower than “Baa3” by Moody’s or lower than “BBB-” by S&P). To the extent we make unrated investments, we believe that such investments would likely receive similar ratings if they were to be examined by a NRSRO. Compared to below-investment grade corporate bonds that are typically available to the public, our targeted senior secured and second lien secured loan investments are higher in the capital structure, have priority in receiving payment, are secured by the issuer’s assets, allow the lender to seize collateral if necessary, and generally exhibit higher rates of recovery in the event of default. Corporate bonds, on the other hand, are often unsecured obligations of the issuer.

The market for loans to private companies possesses several key differences compared to the corporate bond market. For instance, due to a possible lack of debt ratings for certain middle market firms, and also due to the reduced availability of information for private companies, investors must conduct extensive due diligence investigations before committing to an investment. This intensive due diligence process gives the investor significant access to management, which is often not possible in the case of corporate bondholders, who rely on underwriters, debt rating agencies and publicly available information for due diligence reviews and monitoring of corporate issuers. While holding these investments, private debt investors often receive monthly or quarterly updates on the portfolio company’s financial performance, along with possible representation on the company’s board of directors, which allows the investor to take remedial action quickly if conditions happen to deteriorate. Due to reduced liquidity, the relative scarcity of capital and extensive due diligence and expertise required on the part of the investor, we believe that private debt securities typically offer higher returns than corporate bonds of equivalent credit quality.

In addition to investing in senior secured and subjectsecond lien secured loans generally, we believe that the market for lending to regulatory constraintsprivate companies, particularly middle market private companies within the United States, is underserved and presents a compelling investment opportunity. We believe that the allocation policiesfollowing characteristics support our belief:

Middle market companies represent, we believe, a significant portion of GDFMthe growth segment of the U.S. economy and its affiliates, as applicable, through GSO’s direct origination channels. With respectoften require substantial capital investment to syndicate and club deals, GDFM has builtgrow their businesses. Middle market companies have generated a networksignificant number of relationships with commercialinvestment opportunities for us and investment banks, finance companiesprograms managed by our affiliates over the past several years, and we believe that this market segment will continue to produce significant investment opportunities for us.

Despite the size of the market, we believe that regulatory changes and other investment fundsfactors have diminished the role of traditional financial institutions in providing financing to middle market companies. As tracked by S&P Capital IQ LCD, U.S. banks’ share of senior secured loans to middle market companies represented approximately 4% of overall middle market loan volume in 2018 and 1% of overall middle market loan volume in 2017, down from nearly 25% in 2000. However, the continuation of lower levels of participation by traditional financial institutions in the middle market is uncertain as a result of the long track record of itschanging investment professionalsopportunities in the leveraged finance marketplace. GDFM may compensate certain brokers or other financial servicesbroader market and a potentially changing regulatory landscape.

We also believe that lending and originating new loans to middle market companies, which are often private, generally requires a greater dedication of the lender’s time and resources compared to lending to larger companies, due in part to the smaller size of each investment and the often fragmented nature of information available from these companies. Further, many investment firms out of its own profits or revenues for services providedlack the breadth and scale necessary to identify investment opportunities, particularly in connection with the identification of appropriate investment opportunities. With respectregards to GDFM’s origination channel, FSIC II Advisor currently seeks to leverage the global presence of GSO to generate access to a substantial amount of directly originated transactions withinvestments in middle market companies, and thus we believe that attractive investment characteristics. opportunities are often overlooked. In addition, middle market companies may require more active monitoring and participation on the lender’s part. We believe that many large financial organizations, which often have relatively high cost structures, are not suited to deal with these factors and instead emphasize services and transactions to larger corporate clients with a consequent reduction in the availability of financing to middle market companies.

We believe that the broad networkunderserved nature of GDFM currently providessuch a large segment of the market can at times create a significant pipelineopportunity for investment. In many environments, we believe that middle market companies are more likely to offer attractive economics in terms of investment opportunities for us.

Portfolio Monitoring. FSIC II Advisor, currently withWe invest primarily in the helpdebt of GDFM, monitorsprivate middle market U.S. companies. Investments in private companies pose significantly greater risks than investments in public companies. First, private companies have reduced access to the capital markets, resulting in diminished capital resources and ability to withstand financial distress. As a result, these companies, which may present greater credit risk than public companies, may be unable to meet the obligations under their debt securities that we hold. Second, the investments themselves may often be illiquid. The securities of most of the companies in which we invest are not publicly-traded or actively-traded on the secondary market and are, instead, traded on a privately negotiated OTC secondary market for institutional investors. In addition, our portfolio withdirectly originated investments generally will not be traded on any secondary market and a focus toward anticipating negative credit events. To maintain portfolio company performance and helptrading market for such investments may not develop. These securities may also be subject to ensure a successful exit, FSIC II Advisor and GDFM currently work closely with, as applicable, the lead equity sponsor, loan syndicator, portfolio company management, consultants, adviserslegal and other security holdersrestrictions on resale. As such, we may have difficulty exiting an investment promptly or at a desired price prior to discussmaturity or outside of a normal amortization schedule. These investments may also be difficult to value because little public information generally exists about private companies, requiring an experienced due diligence team to analyze and value the potential portfolio company. Finally, these companies often may not have third-party debt ratings or audited financial position, compliance with covenants, financial requirements and executionstatements. We must therefore rely on the ability of the company’s business plan. In addition, depending onAdvisor to obtain adequate information through its due diligence efforts to evaluate the size, naturecreditworthiness of, and performancerisks involved in, investing in these companies, and to determine the optimal time to exit an investment. These companies and their financial information will also generally not be subject to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, or the transaction, we may occupy a seat or serve as an observer on a portfolio company’s board of directors or similar governing body.

Our principal focus is to invest in senior secured and second lien secured loans of private middle market U.S. companies, and to a quarterly basis from our portfoliolesser extent, subordinated loans of private U.S. companies. FSIC II Advisor and GDFM use this data, combined with due diligence gained through contact with the company’s customers, suppliers, competitors, market research and other methods, to conduct an ongoing, rigorous assessment of the company’s operating performance and prospects. GDFM may rely on brokers or other financial services firms that may help identify potential investments from time to time for assistance in monitoring those investments.

When identifying prospective portfolio companies, and providing other organizational and financial guidance. Dependingwe focus primarily on the natureattributes set forth below, which we believe will help us generate higher total returns with an acceptable level of risk. While these criteria provide general guidelines for our investment decisions, we caution investors that, if we believe the benefits of investing are sufficiently strong, not all of these criteria necessarily will be met by each prospective portfolio company in which we choose to invest. These attributes are:

We believe that the breadth and depth of the Transitionexperience of the Advisor’s senior management team, which is dedicated to sourcing, structuring, executing, monitoring and harvesting a broad range of private investments, provide us with a significant competitive advantage in sourcing and analyzing attractive investment opportunities.

Our long-term investment horizon gives us great flexibility, which we believe allows us to maximize returns on our investments. Unlike most private equity and venture capital funds, as well as many private debt funds, we are not required to return capital to our stockholders once we exit a portfolio investment. We currently receivebelieve that freedom from such capital return requirements, which allows us to invest using a longer-term focus, provides us with the opportunity to increase total returns on invested capital, compared to other private company investment advisoryvehicles.

The Advisor employs a defensive investment approach focused on long-term credit performance and administrative services from FSIC II Advisor pursuant to theprincipal protection. This investment advisory and administrative services agreement. GDFM actsapproach involves a multi-stage selection process for each investment opportunity, as ourwell as ongoing monitoring of each investment sub-adviser pursuant to the investment sub-advisory agreement. As we previously announcedmade, with particular emphasis on December 11, 2017,early

The Advisor leverages the intellectual capital, industry experience and global network of KKR & Co.’s Capital Markets team to support the origination of new private credit investment opportunities. Through KKR & Co.’s Capital Markets franchise, the Advisor benefits from expanded sources of deal flow, real-time market intelligence on pricing trends and continuous dialogue with issuers and sponsors to provide holistic financing solutions to current and prospective portfolio companies. In connectionaddition, KKR & Co.’s Capital Markets franchise gives us the ability to access and originate larger transactions and enhances the Advisor’s ability to manage risk.

The Advisor believes that there is an expansive and growing opportunity to create customized solutions in underserved and mispriced asset classes, including across the aircraft, consumer finance, real estate and auto and equipment finance sectors. The Advisor will seek to identify investments with GDFM’s resignation as the investment sub-adviserstrong collateral protection, a low correlation to the Company, FS Investmentsbroader markets and KKR Credit desire to enter into a relationship whereby FS Investmentsequity-like upside potential.

Our investment activities are managed by them. Accordingly, FSIC II Advisor, together with FB Income Advisor, LLC, FSIC III Advisor, LLC and FSIC IV Advisor, LLC, collectively the FS Advisor Entities, and KKR Credit and certain other parties have entered into a master transaction agreement setting out the terms of the relationship between FSIC II Advisor and KKR Credit. In furtherance thereof, we desire to enter into (i) an investment advisory and administrative services agreement with FSIC II Advisor and an investment advisory agreement with KKR Credit, or collectively, the investment co-advisory agreements, pursuant to which FSIC II Advisor and KKR Credit would act assupervised by our investment co-advisers, and/or (ii) an investment advisory and administrative services agreement with FS/KKR Advisor or the joint advisor investment advisory agreement, pursuant to which FS/KKR Advisor would act as our investment adviser. In addition, prior to the effectivenessboard of the investment co-advisory agreements or the joint advisor investment advisory agreement, we may enter into an interim investment advisory agreement pursuant to Rule 15a-4directors, a majority of the 1940 Act with KKR Credit.

From time to time, the Advisor may enter into sub-advisory relationships with registered investment advisers that possess skills or attributes that the Advisor believes will aid it in achieving our investment objectives. The Advisor oversees our day-to-day operations, including the provision of general ledger accounting, fund accounting, legal services, investor relations, certain government and regulatory affairs activities, and other administrative services. The Advisor also performs, or oversees the performance of, our corporate operations and required administrative services, which includes being responsible for the financial records that we are required to maintain and preparing reports for our stockholders and reports filed with the SEC. In addition, the Advisor assists us in calculating our net asset value, overseeing the preparation and filing of tax returns and the investment sub-advisory agreement.

Concurrently with seeking stockholder approval of the investment co-advisory agreements and the joint advisor investment advisory agreement, KKR Credit is seeking exemptive relief, or the KKR exemptive relief, in the form of a new co-investment exemptive relief order issued by the SECPursuant to KKR Credit that would permit us, following the effectiveness of the joint advisor investment advisory agreement, to co-invest in privately negotiated investment transactions with certain accounts managed by KKR Credit. There can be no assurance of the timing of the approval of the application or whether the requested KKR exemptive relief will be granted. Receipt of KKR exemptive relief is one of the conditions to the effectiveness of the joint advisor investment advisory agreement.

We have contracted with KKR Credit or one of its affiliates,State Street Bank and Trust Company to provide various accounting and administrative services, including, FS/KKR Advisor. The sourcing agreement will terminatebut not limited to, preparing preliminary financial information for review by the Advisor, preparing and monitoring expense budgets, maintaining accounting and corporate books and records, processing trade information provided by us and performing testing with respect to FSIC II AdvisorRIC compliance.

We believe that the breadth and depth of the experience of the Advisor’s senior management team, which is dedicated to sourcing, structuring, executing, monitoring and harvesting a broad range of private investments, provide us with a significant competitive advantage in sourcing and analyzing attractive investment opportunities.

Our investment activities are managed by the Advisor and supervised by our board of directors, a majority of whom are independent. Under the investment advisory and administrative services agreement, we have agreed to pay the Advisor an annual base management fee based on the average weekly value of our gross assets and an incentive fee based on our performance. See Notes 2 and 4 to our consolidated financial statements included in this annual report on Form 10-K for a description of the fees we pay to the Advisor.

Pursuant to our investment advisory and administrative services agreement, we reimburse the Advisor for expenses necessary to perform services related to our administration and operations, including the Advisor’s allocable portion of the compensation and related expenses of certain personnel of FS Investments and KKR Credit providing administrative services to us on behalf of the Advisor. We reimburse the Advisor no less than monthly for expenses necessary to perform services related to our administration and operations. The amount of this reimbursement is set at the lesser of  (1) the Advisor’s actual costs incurred in providing such services and (2) the amount that we estimate we would be required to pay alternative service providers for comparable services in the same geographic location. The Advisor allocates the cost of such services to us based on factors such as total assets, revenues, time allocations

We may co-invest with third parties through partnerships, joint ventures or other entities, thereby acquiring jointly-controlled or non-controlling interests in certain investments in conjunction with participation by one or more third parties in such investment. Such joint venture partners or third party managers may include former personnel of the Advisor or its fundaffiliates or associated persons.

The market for loans to private companies possesses several key differences compared to the corporate bond market. For instance, due to a possible lack of debt ratings for certain middle market firms, and also due to the reduced availability of information for private companies, investors must conduct extensive due diligence investigations before committing to an investment. This intensive due diligence process gives the investor significant access to management, which is often not possible in the case of corporate bondholders, who rely on underwriters, debt rating agencies and providespublicly available information for due diligence reviews and monitoring of corporate issuers. While holding these investments, private debt investors often receive monthly or quarterly updates on the portfolio company’s financial performance, along with possible representation on the company’s board of directors, which allows the investor to take remedial action quickly if conditions happen to deteriorate. Due to reduced liquidity, the relative scarcity of capital markets servicesand extensive due diligence and expertise required on the part of the investor, we believe that private debt securities typically offer higher returns than corporate bonds of equivalent credit quality.

The relationships of the Advisor and its affiliates provide us with access to a robust and established pipeline of investment opportunities sourced from a variety of different investment channels, including private equity sponsors, non-sponsored corporates, financial advisors, banks, brokers and family offices. In addition, access to KKR & Co., its’s Capital Markets and KKR’s Principal Finance strategies provide us with additional origination opportunities.

Managerial Assistance. As a BDC, we must offer, and provide upon request, managerial assistance to certain of our portfolio companies. This assistance could involve, among other things, monitoring the operations of our portfolio companies, participating in board and management meetings, consulting with and advising officers of portfolio companies and third parties. Throughout KKR & Co.’s history, KKR & Co. has consistently beenproviding other organizational and financial guidance. Depending on the nature of the assistance required, the Advisor will provide such managerial assistance on our behalf to portfolio companies that request this assistance. To the extent fees are paid for these services, we, rather than the Advisor, will retain any fees paid for such assistance.

While we attempt to invest in securities that may be sold in a leaderprivately negotiated OTC market, providing us a means by which we may exit our positions, we expect that a large portion of our portfolio may not be sold on this secondary market. For any investments that are not able to be sold within this market, we focus primarily on investing in companies whose business models and growth prospects offer attractive exit possibilities, including repayment of our investments, an initial public offering of equity securities, a merger, a sale or a recapitalization, in each case with the potential for capital gains.

We have elected to be regulated as a BDC under the 1940 Act. The 1940 Act contains prohibitions and restrictions relating to transactions between BDCs and their affiliates, principal underwriters and affiliates of those affiliates or underwriters. The 1940 Act requires that a majority of our directors be persons other than “interested persons,” as that term is defined in the private equity industry.1940 Act. In addition, the 1940 Act provides that we may not change the nature of our business so as to cease to be, or to withdraw our election as, a BDC unless approved by a majority of our outstanding voting securities.

As a BDC, we are subject to certain regulatory restrictions in making our investments. For example, BDCs generally are not permitted to co-invest with certain affiliated entities in transactions originated by the BDC or its affiliates in the absence of an exemptive order from the SEC. However, BDCs are permitted to, and may, simultaneously co-invest in transactions where price is the only negotiated term. In an order dated April 3, 2018, the SEC granted exemptive relief permitting us, subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, to co-invest in certain privately negotiated investment transactions, including investments originated and directly negotiated by the Advisor or KKR & Co.Credit, with our co-investment affiliates. Under the terms of this relief, a “required majority” (as defined in Section 57(o) of the 1940 Act) of our independent directors must make certain conclusions in connection with a co-investment transaction, including that (1) the terms of the proposed transaction, including the consideration to be paid, are reasonable and fair to us and our stockholders and do not involve overreaching of us or our stockholders on the part of any person concerned and (2) the transaction is consistent with the interests of our stockholders and is consistent with our investment objectives and strategy and any criteria established by our board of directors.

Because any original issue discount or other amounts accrued will be included in our investment company taxable income for the tax year of the joint advisoraccrual, we may be required to make a distribution to our stockholders in order to satisfy the Annual Distribution Requirement, even though we will not have received any corresponding cash amount. As a result, we may have difficulty meeting the Annual Distribution Requirement necessary to maintain RIC tax treatment under Subchapter M of the Code. We may have to sell or otherwise dispose of some of our investments at times and/or at prices we would not consider advantageous, raise additional debt or equity capital or forgo new investment advisory agreement, FS/KKR Advisor will registeropportunities for this purpose. If we are not able to obtain cash from other sources, we may fail to qualify for RIC tax treatment and thus become subject to corporate-level income tax.

Although we do not presently expect to do so, we are authorized to borrow funds and to sell or otherwise dispose of assets in order to satisfy distribution requirements. However, under the 1940 Act, we are not permitted to make distributions to our stockholders while our debt obligations and other senior securities are outstanding unless certain “asset coverage” tests are met. See “—Regulation—Senior Securities.” Moreover, our ability to sell or otherwise dispose of assets to meet the Annual Distribution Requirement may be limited by (1) the illiquid nature of our portfolio and/or (2) other requirements relating to our status as a RIC, including the Diversification Tests. If we sell or otherwise dispose of assets in order to meet the Annual Distribution Requirement or the Excise Tax Avoidance Requirement, we may make such dispositions at times that, from an investment adviserstandpoint, are not advantageous.

Some of the income that we might otherwise earn, such as fees for providing managerial assistance, certain fees earned with respect to our investments, income recognized in a work-out or restructuring of a portfolio investment, or income recognized from an equity investment in an operating partnership, may not satisfy the SEC under90% Income Test. To manage the Advisers Act. FS/KKR Advisorrisk that such income might disqualify us as a RIC for failure to satisfy the 90% Income Test, one or more subsidiary entities treated as U.S. corporations for entity-level income tax purposes may be employed to earn such income and (if applicable) hold the related asset. Such subsidiary entities will be jointly operated by FS Adviserrequired to pay U.S. federal income tax on their earnings, which ultimately will reduce the yield to our stockholders on such fees and KKR Credit. The Company’s chairmanincome.

Our primary competitors for investments include other BDCs and chief executive officer, Michael C. Forman,investment funds (including private equity funds, mezzanine funds and CLO funds). In addition, alternative investment vehicles, such as hedge funds, have begun to invest in areas in which they have not traditionally invested, including making investments in middle market private U.S. companies. We also compete with traditional financial services companies such as commercial banks. We believe we will serve as FS/KKR Advisor’s chairman and chief executive officer, and Todd C. Builione,be able to compete with these entities for financing opportunities on the presidentbasis of, KKR Credit, will serve as FS/KKR Advisor’s president.

Because we have no employees, we depend on the investment expertise, skill and network of dedicatedbusiness contacts of the Advisor. The Advisor evaluates, negotiates, structures, executes, monitors and services our investments. Our future success depends to a significant extent on the continued service of the Advisor as well as its senior management team. The departure of any members of the Advisor’s senior management team could have a material adverse effect on our ability to achieve our investment objectives.

Our ability to achieve our investment objectives depends on the Advisor’s ability to identify, analyze, invest in, finance and monitor companies that meet our investment criteria. The Advisor’s capabilities in structuring the investment process, providing competent, attentive and efficient services to us, and facilitating access to financing on acceptable terms depend on the employment of investment professionals consistingin an adequate number and of personnel fromadequate sophistication to match the corresponding flow of transactions. To achieve our investment objectives, the Advisor may need to hire, train, supervise and manage new investment professionals to participate in our investment selection and monitoring process. The Advisor may not be able to find investment professionals in a timely manner or at all. Failure to support our investment process could have a material adverse effect on our business, financial condition and results of operations.

The Advisor is a recently-formed investment adviser jointly operated by an affiliate of FS Investments and KKR Credit with limited prior experience acting as an investment adviser to a BDC. The 1940 Act and the Code impose numerous constraints on the operations of BDCs that do not apply to other investment vehicles. While both affiliates of FS Investments and KKR Credit have individually acted as investment advisers to BDCs previously, the Advisor’s limited experience in managing a portfolio of assets under the constraints of the 1940 Act and the Code may hinder the Advisor’s ability to take advantage of attractive investment opportunities and, as a result, may adversely affect our ability to achieve our investment objectives. FS Investments’ and KKR Credit’s individual track records and achievements are not necessarily indicative of the future results they will achieve as a joint investment adviser. Accordingly, we can offer no

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, as amended, or the Dodd-Frank Act, made broad changes to the OTC derivatives market, granted significant new authority to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, or CFTC, and the SEC to regulate OTC derivatives (swaps and security-based swaps) and participants in these markets. The Dodd-Frank Act is intended to regulate the OTC derivatives market by requiring many derivative transactions to be cleared and traded on an exchange, expanding entity registration requirements, imposing business conduct requirements on dealers and requiring banks to move some derivatives trading units to a non-guaranteed affiliate separate from the deposit-taking bank or divest them altogether. The CFTC has implemented mandatory clearing and exchange-trading of certain OTC derivatives contracts including many standardized interest rate swaps and credit default index swaps. The CFTC continues to approve contracts for establishingcentral clearing. Exchange-trading and monitoringcentral clearing are expected to reduce counterparty credit risk by substituting the Company’s investment program, developingclearinghouse as the counterparty to a swap and increase liquidity, but exchange-trading and central clearing do not make swap transactions risk-free. Uncleared swaps, such as non-deliverable foreign currency forwards, are subject to certain margin requirements that mandate the posting and collection of minimum margin amounts. This requirement may result in the portfolio settingand its counterparties posting higher margin amounts for uncleared swaps than would otherwise be the case. Certain rules require centralized reporting of detailed information about many types of cleared and uncleared swaps. Reporting of swap data may result in greater market transparency, but may subject a portfolio to additional administrative burdens, and the safeguards established to protect trader anonymity may not function as expected. Future CFTC or SEC rulemakings to implement the Dodd-Frank Act requirements could potentially limit or completely restrict our ability to use these instruments as a part of our investment strategy, increase the costs of using these instruments or make them less effective. Limits or restrictions applicable to the counterparties with which we engage in derivative transactions could also prevent us from using these instruments or affect the pricing or other factors relating to these instruments, or may change availability of certain investments. The SEC has also indicated that it may adopt new policies on the use of derivatives by registered investment companies. Such policies could affect the nature and extent of our use of derivatives.

In addition, any incentive fee payable by us that relates to our net investment income may be computed and paid on income that may include interest that has been accrued but not yet received. If a portfolio company defaults on a loan that is structured to provide accrued interest, it is possible that accrued interest previously included in the calculation of the incentive fee will become uncollectible. The Advisor is not under any obligation to reimburse us for any part of the incentive fee it received that was based on accrued income that we never received as a result of a default by an entity on the obligation that resulted in the accrual of such income, and such circumstances would result in our paying an incentive fee on income we never received.

For U.S. federal income tax purposes, we are required to recognize taxable income (such as deferred interest that is accrued as original issue discount) in some circumstances in which we do not receive a corresponding payment in cash and to make distributions with respect to such income to maintain our status as a RIC. Under such circumstances, we may have difficulty meeting the Annual Distribution Requirement necessary to maintain RIC tax treatment under the Code. This difficulty in making the required distribution may be reducedamplified to the extent that we are required to pay an incentive fee with respect to such accrued income. As a result, we may have to sell some of our investments at times and/or at prices we would not consider advantageous, raise additional debt or equity capital, or forgo new investment opportunities for this purpose. If we are not able to obtain cash from 1.75%other sources, we may fail to qualify for RIC tax treatment and thus become subject to corporate-level income tax.

Pursuant to the investment advisory and administrative services agreement, providesthe Advisor and its officers, managers, partners, members (and their members, including the owners of their members), agents, employees, controlling persons and any other person or entity affiliated with, or acting on behalf of, the Advisor will not be liable to us for their acts under the investment advisory and administrative services agreement, absent willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of their duties. We have agreed to indemnify, defend and protect the Advisor and its officers, managers, partners, members (and their members, including the owners of their members), agents, employees, controlling persons and any other person or entity affiliated with, or acting on behalf of, the Advisor with respect to all damages, liabilities, costs and expenses resulting from acts of the Advisor not arising out of willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence in the performance of their duties under the investment advisory and administrative services agreement. These protections may lead the Advisor to act in a riskier manner when acting on our behalf than it would when acting for its own account.

Derivatives. We may invest from time to time in derivatives, including total return swaps, interest rate swaps, credit default swaps and foreign currency forward contracts. Derivative investments have risks, including: the imperfect correlation between the value of such instruments and our underlying assets, which creates the possibility that the loss on such instruments may be greater than the gain in the value of the underlying assets in our portfolio; the loss of principal; the possible default of the other party to the transaction; and illiquidity of the derivative investments. If a counterparty becomes bankrupt or otherwise fails to perform its obligations under a derivative contract due to financial difficulties, we may experience significant delays in obtaining any recovery under the derivative contract in a bankruptcy or other reorganization proceeding, or may not recover at all. In addition, in the event of the insolvency of a counterparty to a derivative transaction, the derivative contract would typically be terminated at its fair market value. If we are owed this fair market value in the termination of the derivative contract and our claim is unsecured, we will be treated as a general creditor of such counterparty and will not have any claim with respect to the underlying security. Certain of the derivative investments in which we may invest may, in certain circumstances, give rise to a form of financial leverage, which may magnify the risk of owning such instruments. The ability to successfully use derivative investments depends on the ability of the Advisor to predict pertinent market movements, which cannot be assured. In addition, amounts paid by us as premiums and cash or other assets held in margin accounts with respect to our derivative investments would not be available to it for other investment purposes, which may result in lost opportunities for gain.

Illustration. The following table illustrates the effect of leverage on returns from an investment in shares of our common stock assuming various annual returns, net of expenses. The calculations in the table below are hypothetical and actual returns may be higher or lower than those appearing below. The calculation assumes (i) $5.2 billion in total assets, (ii) a weighted average cost of funds of 5.42%, (iii) $2.5 billion in debt outstanding (i.e., assumes that the full $2.5 billion available to us as of December 31, 2018 under our financing arrangements as of such date is outstanding) and (iv) $2.7 billion in stockholders’ equity. In order to compute the “Corresponding return to stockholders,” the “Assumed Return on Our Portfolio (net of expenses)” is multiplied by the assumed total assets to obtain an assumed return to us. From this amount, the interest expense is calculated by multiplying the assumed weighted

We are externally managed by the Advisor pursuant to the investment advisory and administrative services agreement and supervised by our board of directors, a majority of whom are independent. On April 9, 2018, GSO/Blackstone Debt Funds Management LLC, or GDFM, resigned as our investment sub-adviser and terminated its investment sub-advisory agreement effective March 5, 2015,April 9, 2018. In connection with GDFM’s resignation as our investment sub-adviser, on April 9, 2018, we entered into the investment advisory and administrative services agreement with the Advisor, which replaced an investment advisory and administrative services agreement, or the FSIC II Advisor contractually agreedinvestment advisory and administrative services agreement with our former investment adviser, FSIC II Advisor, LLC, or FSIC II Advisor.

Our investment objectives are to permanently waive 0.25%generate current income and, to a lesser extent, long-term capital appreciation. We pursue our investment objective by investing primarily in the debt of middle market U.S. companies with a focus on originated transactions sourced through the network of the base management fee so thatAdvisor and its affiliates. We define direct originations as any investment where the fee received equals 1.75%Advisor or its affiliates negotiates the terms of the transaction beyond just the price, which, for example, may include negotiating financial covenants, maturity dates or interest rate terms. These directly originated transactions include participation in other originated transactions where there may be third parties involved, or a bank acting as an intermediary, for a closely held club, or similar transactions.

Our portfolio is comprised primarily of investments in senior secured loans and second lien secured loans of private middle market U.S. companies and, to a lesser extent, subordinated loans of private U.S. companies. Although we do not expect a significant portion of our portfolio to be comprised of subordinated loans, there is no limit on the amount of such loans in which we may invest. We may purchase interests in loans or make other debt investments, including investments in senior secured bonds, through secondary market transactions in the OTC market or directly from our target companies as primary market or directly originated investments. In connection with our debt investments, we may on occasion receive equity interests such as warrants or options as additional consideration. We may also purchase or otherwise acquire interests in the form of common or preferred equity or equity-related securities, such as rights and warrants that may be converted into or exchanged for common stock or other equity or the cash value of common stock or other equity, in our target companies, generally in conjunction with one of our debt investments, including through the restructuring of such investments, or through a co-investment with a financial sponsor, such as an institutional investor or private equity firm. In addition, a portion of our portfolio may be comprised of corporate bonds, structured products, other debt securities and derivatives, including total return swaps and credit default swaps. The Advisor will seek to tailor our investment focus as market conditions evolve. Depending on market conditions, we may increase or decrease our exposure to less senior portions of the capital structure or otherwise make opportunistic investments, such as where the market price of loans, bonds or other securities reflects a lower value than deemed warranted by the

The senior secured loans, second lien secured loans and senior secured bonds in which we invest generally have stated terms of three to seven years and subordinated debt investments that we make generally have stated terms of up to ten years, but the expected average weeklylife of such securities is generally between three and seven years. However, there is no limit on the maturity or duration of any security in our portfolio. Our debt investments may be rated by a NRSRO and, in such case, generally will carry a rating below investment grade (rated lower than “Baa3” by Moody’s, or lower than “BBB-” by S&P). We also invest in non-rated debt securities.

Our estimated gross assets.portfolio yield may be higher than a stockholder’s yield on an investment in shares of our common stock. Our estimated gross portfolio yield does not reflect operating expenses that may be incurred by us. In addition, our estimated gross portfolio yield and total return figures disclosed above do not consider the effect of any sales commissions or charges that may have been incurred in connection with the sale of shares of our common stock. Our estimated gross portfolio yield, total return and annualized distribution rate to stockholders do not represent actual investment returns to stockholders, are subject to change and, in the future, may be greater or less than the rates set forth above. See the section entitled “Item 1A. Risk Factors” for a discussion of the uncertainties, risks and assumptions associated with these statements. See footnote 6 to the financial highlights table included in Note 12 to our consolidated financial statements contained in this annual report on Form 10-K for information regarding the calculations of our total return.