WhiteHorse Finance

What WhiteHorse Finance does

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. (NASDAQ: WHF) is an externally managed, non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that has elected to be treated as a business development company (BDC) under the Investment Company Act of 1940. The firm originates and invests in senior secured loans to performing privately held companies in the lower middle market, generally those with enterprise values between $50 million and $350 million. At Q1 2026, the portfolio at fair value totaled $543 million across 128 positions in 65 portfolio companies, with 72.7% deployed in first lien secured loans and a weighted average effective yield of 10.8% on income-producing debt investments. Since its December 2012 IPO, WhiteHorse Finance has invested $2.91 billion across 275 transactions and maintained uninterrupted quarterly dividend payments for over 15 years.

WhiteHorse Finance generates revenue primarily through interest income on its loan portfolio, supplemented by dividend income from the WHF STRS Ohio Senior Loan Fund LLC joint venture (with State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio, ~$106M at Q1 2026) and net realized/unrealized mark-to-market gains and losses. The company distributes substantially all taxable income as quarterly cash dividends (currently $0.25 per share quarterly), and pays base management fees plus incentive fees to H.I.G. WhiteHorse Advisers, LLC, an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital. The advisor voluntarily reduced the incentive fee on net investment income from 20.00% to 17.50% for the quarter ending June 30, 2026. Operational go-to-market is exclusively institutional and originates through a three-tier sourcing platform comprising (1) a dedicated direct lending team of 75+ professionals, (2) a business development team leveraging H.I.G.'s proprietary database, and (3) deal flow from 500+ investment professionals across H.I.G.'s $74 billion global platform. The company operates exclusively in the United States with corporate headquarters in Miami, Florida.

The firm's competitive positioning is structurally defined by its affiliation with H.I.G. Capital, which manages $74 billion of capital across multiple alternative asset funds and led the December 2012 IPO. WhiteHorse Finance is led by CEO Stuart Aronson (also Group Head of H.I.G. Capital's U.S. direct lending platform since February 2016, previously an officer of General Electric Company and president/CEO of GSF), CFO Joyson Thomas (since August 2019), Chief Compliance Officer Marco Collazos, and Chairman John Bolduc (an Executive Managing Director of H.I.G. Capital leading its $19 billion credit platform). FY2025 total investment income was approximately $72.67 million and net asset value was $259.8 million ($11.68 per share) at year-end 2025. Stock traded at approximately $6.59 with 21.48 million shares outstanding (~ $141 million market capitalization) as of late June 2026, implying a notable discount to NAV.

Name

WhiteHorse Finance

Legal name

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc.

Website

https://whitehorsefinance.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

WhiteHorse Finance is an externally managed BDC that originates senior secured loans to privately held lower middle market companies with enterprise values of $50M-$350M, operating under advisor H.I.G. WhiteHorse Advisers (affiliate of H.I.G. Capital) and publicly traded on NASDAQ under WHF.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Miami

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Interest Income from Loan Portfolio: WhiteHorse Finance generates the majority of its revenue from interest income on its senior secured loan portfolio. As of Q1 2026, the portfolio had a weighted average effective yield of 10.8% on income-producing debt investments. The portfolio consists primarily of first lien secured loans (72.7%), with most loans being variable rate investments indexed to SOFR with interest rate floors.
2. Management and Incentive Fees: The company pays base management fees and performance-based incentive fees to its advisor H.I.G. WhiteHorse Advisers, LLC. For Q1 2026, base management fees were approximately $2.6 million quarterly. The advisor voluntarily reduced the incentive fee rate from 20% to 17.5% for 2026.
3. Dividend Income from Joint Ventures: Income from the company's investment in WHF STRS Ohio Senior Loan Fund LLC (STRS JV), a joint venture with the State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio. The STRS JV generated $3.6 million in income for Q1 2026.
4. Net Realized and Unrealized Gains/Losses: Realized gains/losses from investment exits and mark-to-market valuation changes on the portfolio. Q1 2026 recorded $6.3 million in net realized and unrealized losses driven by markdowns in Honors Holdings, Outward Hound, and Lumen Latam.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

WhiteHorse Finance, Inc. is an externally managed, non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that has elected to be treated as a business development company (BDC) under the Investment Company Act of 1940. It originates and invests in senior secured loans (primarily first lien) to performing lower middle market companies with enterprise values generally between $50 million and $350 million. The company is externally managed by H.I.G. WhiteHorse Advisers, LLC, an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital, and distributes returns to shareholders through quarterly cash dividends.

Product overview

WhiteHorse Finance is a business development company (BDC) that operates as a single product offering focused on originating and investing in senior secured loans to privately held lower middle market companies. The company is externally managed by H.I.G. WhiteHorse Advisers, LLC, an affiliate of H.I.G. Capital. As a BDC, WhiteHorse Finance provides debt financing solutions to target companies with enterprise values generally between $50 million and $350 million, across a broad range of industries. The investment strategy is executed through a differentiated three-tier sourcing platform comprising direct lending professionals, a business development team utilizing H.I.G.'s proprietary database, and global platform-wide deal sourcing from over 500 investment professionals. The company also maintains an investment in the WHF STRS Ohio Senior Loan Fund LLC (STRS JV), an unconsolidated joint venture with State Teachers Retirement System of Ohio.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Senior Secured Loan Portfolio

Quantifiable outcome

• Portfolio yield of 10.8% on income-producing debt investments (Q1 2026)
• +2 more outcomes

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Saratoga Investment Corp: Publicly traded BDC (NYSE: SAR) providing senior secured loans to middle market companies. Comparable target borrower size and senior debt focus.
• PennantPark Floating Rate Capital: Publicly traded BDC (NYSE: PFLT) focused primarily on first lien senior secured floating rate loans to middle market companies. Closely comparable in first-lien focus and floating rate exposure.
• Sixth Street Specialty Lending: Publicly traded BDC (NYSE: TSLX) originating senior secured loans to middle market companies. Comparable in lending strategy, target borrower profile, and BDC structure.
• Ares Capital Corporation: Largest publicly traded BDC (NASDAQ: ARCC), originates senior secured loans to middle market companies. Direct peer sharing business model, regulatory structure (RIC/BDC), and target borrower segment.
• New Mountain Finance Corporation: Externally managed BDC (NASDAQ: NMFC) providing senior secured loans to defensive growth middle market companies. Comparable BDC structure and middle market focus.
• Golub Capital BDC: Publicly traded BDC (NASDAQ: GBDC) focused on senior secured one-stop loans to middle market companies sponsored by private equity. Comparable target segment and senior secured loan focus.
• Oaktree Specialty Lending Corporation: Externally managed BDC (NASDAQ: OCSL) focused on senior secured loans to middle market companies. Comparable target borrower segment and externally managed structure by a major alternative asset manager.
• FS KKR Capital Corp: Externally managed BDC (NYSE: FSK) providing senior secured loans to middle market borrowers. Comparable in target segment, first-lien focus, and external management by a major alternative asset manager.
• Blackstone Private Credit Fund: Non-traded BDC managed by Blackstone Credit providing senior secured loans to middle market companies. Comparable lending strategy and target borrower segment, though structurally non-traded.
• Main Street Capital Corporation: Publicly traded BDC (NYSE: MAIN) focused on senior debt and equity investments to lower middle market companies. Closely comparable in target borrower size and BDC structure.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/whitehorse-capital

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about WhiteHorse Finance