Members of our management team previously operated Trinity Capital Investment, LLC, the fund manager, since 2008 through January 16, 2020 when the assets of the legacy funds were acquired by Trinity.
A Business Development Company (“BDC”), is a type of corporate structure made possible by regulation introduced by Congress in 1980. Under the structure, a BDC typically also elects to be treated as a Regulated Investment Company, or “RIC” for short. Often, these companies are referred to as "BDC/RICs" or most often just "BDCs" because in almost all cases within our coverage universe a BDC will also be a RIC.
Congress created the BDC structure to encourage the flow of public equity capital to private businesses in the United States. BDCs have a requirement to invest at least 70% of their assets in private U.S. companies (or very small public U.S. companies), and a requirement to make available significant managerial assistance to their portfolio companies. Much like a Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT), BDCs must distribute 90% of their taxable income to shareholders as dividends, and in doing so avoid double-taxation.
Trinity’s investment objective is to generate current income and, to a lesser extent, capital appreciation through investments consisting primarily of term debt and equipment financings and, to a lesser extent, working capital loans, equity and equity-related investments.
Venture debt, also known as venture lending, refers to a variety of debt financing products offered to early and growth-stage venture capital-backed companies. Provided by technology banks and dedicated venture debt funds, venture debt generally consists of a three to four-year term loan or equipment lease.
When structured appropriately, venture debt can be an attractive financing option for the following reasons:
- It results in less equity dilution for entrepreneurs and investors.
- It does not require a valuation to be set for the business.
- Venture lenders do not require board seats.
Trinity Capital has produced a short video, The Value of Venture Debt Explained, to help illustrate the value of venture debt to startup companies and their venture capital investors.
Equipment financing is the use of a loan or lease to purchase or borrow hard assets for your business. This type of financing might be used to purchase or borrow any physical asset, such as a manufacturing equipment or IT servers. There is an enormous number of variations on equipment financing that cater to specific types of businesses and equipment.
Trinity’s common stock trades on the NASDAQ Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol “TRIN.”
You can buy shares of Trinity Capital common stock at any time through a registered brokerage firm.
Trinity intends to pay a quarterly dividend but there is no guarantee that we can generate sufficient income to pay a dividend and any dividend distributions are subject to approval by our Board of Directors.
You will receive a Form-1099.
American Stock Transfer & Trust Company
Address:
59 Maiden Lane
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New York, NY 10038
Phone: 718-921-8200
Email: info@amstock.com
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Ben Malcolmson
Head of Investor Relations
ir@trincapinvestment.com