8-K

HERCULES CAPITAL, INC.

February 10, 2026

/s/ Seth H. Meyer

Seth H. Meyer

Chief Financial Officer

Exhibit 1.1

Execution Version

$300,000,000 Aggregate Principal Amount 5.350% Notes Due 2029

Hercules Capital, Inc.

UNDERWRITING AGREEMENT

February 5, 2026

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc.,

As Representatives of the several Underwriters

c/o	Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

200 West Street

New York, New York 10282

c/o	SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc.

277 Park Avenue

New York, New York 10172

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Hercules Capital, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), proposes to issue and sell to the several Underwriters named in Schedule A hereto (each, an “Underwriter” and, collectively the “Underwriters,” which term shall also include any underwriter substituted as hereinafter provided in Section 9 hereof), for whom Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. are acting as the representatives (in such capacity, the “Representatives”) $300,000,000 aggregate principal amount of 5.350% Notes due 2029 (the “Securities”) of the Company set forth in Schedule A hereto.

The Securities will be issued under an indenture dated as of March 6, 2012 (the “Base Indenture”), as supplemented by the Tenth Supplemental Indenture to be dated February 10, 2026 (the “Tenth Supplemental Indenture,” and together with the Base Indenture, the “Indenture”) by and between the Company and U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as trustee (the “Trustee”). The Securities will be issued to Cede & Co. as nominee of the Depository Trust Company (“DTC”) pursuant to a blanket letter of representations (the “DTC Agreement”) between the Company and DTC.

The Company has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) an automatic shelf registration statement on Form N-2 (No. 333-283735), and a related prospectus covering the registration of the Securities and certain of the Company’s other securities under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the related rules and regulations of the Commission thereunder (the “Securities Act Rules and Regulations”), and the offer and sale thereof from time to time in accordance with Rule 415 of

the Securities Act Rules and Regulations. Such registration statement became effective immediately upon its filing with the Commission on December 11, 2024. The Company has also filed with the Commission a preliminary prospectus supplement, dated February 5, 2026, together with the base prospectus, dated December 11, 2024 (collectively, the “Preliminary Prospectus”). Promptly after execution and delivery of this agreement (the “Agreement”), the Company will prepare and file a final prospectus supplement in accordance with the provisions of Rule 430B (“Rule 430B”) of the Securities Act Rules and Regulations and Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act Rules and Regulations. The information included or incorporated by reference in such prospectus supplement that was omitted from such registration statement at the time it became effective but that is deemed to be part of such registration statement at the time it became effective pursuant to Rule 430B is referred to as “Rule 430B Information.” Unless the context otherwise requires, such registration statement, including all documents filed as part thereof and any Rule 430B Information contained in a prospectus supplement subsequently filed with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act and deemed to be part of the registration statement and also including any registration statement filed pursuant to Rule 462(b) of the Securities Act Rules Regulations, is herein called the “Registration Statement.” The final prospectus supplement in the form filed by the Company with the Commission pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act on or before the second business day after the date hereof (or such earlier time as may be required under the Securities Act) (the “Prospectus Supplement”) which will include the base prospectus, dated December 11, 2024, together with the Prospectus Supplement, is herein called the “Prospectus.” All references in this Agreement to amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, including those made pursuant to Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act or such other rule under the Securities Act as may be applicable to the Company, shall be deemed to mean and include, without limitation the filing of any document under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”), which is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference in or otherwise to be a part of or included in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, as the case may be, as of any specified date. For purposes of this Agreement, all references to the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement to any of the foregoing shall be deemed to include the copy filed with the Commission pursuant to its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval system or any successor system (“EDGAR”).

All references in this Agreement to financial statements and schedules and other information which is “included” or “stated” in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus (and all other references of like import) shall be deemed to mean and include all such financial statements and schedules and other information which is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference in or otherwise deemed to be a part of or included in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be, as of any specified date; and all references in this Agreement to amendments or supplements to the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, including those made pursuant to Rule 424, shall be deemed to mean and include, without limitation, the filing of any document under the Exchange Act, which is or is deemed to be incorporated by reference in or otherwise deemed to be a part of or included in the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus or the Prospectus, as the case may be, as of any specified date.

The Indenture has been qualified under the Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (the “1939 Act”).

As used in this Agreement:

“Applicable Time” means 12:30 P.M., New York City time, on February 5, 2026 or such other time as agreed by the Company and the Representatives.

1.	Representations and Warranties.

(a)

The Company represents and warrants to, and agrees with, the Underwriters that:

(i)

The Company meets the requirements for use of Form N-2 under the Securities Act and the Securities Act Rules and Regulations. At the time the Registration Statement became effective and on the date hereof, the Registration Statement complied in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Securities Act Rules and Regulations and did not and does not include any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading; the Preliminary Prospectus together with the pricing terms and other information set forth on Schedule B and Annex A hereto, all considered together (collectively, the “General Disclosure Package”), complied, as of its date, in all material respects, with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Securities Act Rules and Regulations, and the General Disclosure Package, as of the Applicable Time, did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; the Prospectus, as of the date of the Prospectus Supplement and the Closing Date (as defined herein), will comply in all material respects with the requirements of the Securities Act and the Securities Act Rules and Regulations, and the Prospectus, as of the date of the Prospectus Supplement and the Closing Date, did not and will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading; provided, however, that the representations and warranties in this subsection shall not apply to statements in or omissions from the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or Prospectus or any amendments or supplements thereto made in reliance upon and in conformity with information relating to any Underwriter furnished to the Company in writing by any Underwriter expressly for use in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or Prospectus, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the following information in the Prospectus Supplement furnished on behalf of each Underwriter: (i) the names of the Underwriters set forth in the table following the first paragraph under the heading “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest),” and (ii) the first and second sentences under the second paragraph under the caption “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest)—Commission and Discounts,” the first sentence in the second paragraph under the caption “Underwriting

(Conflicts of Interest)—Listing,” the first and second sentences in the first paragraph under the caption “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest)—Price Stabilizations, Short Positions” and the first sentence in the second paragraph under the caption “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest)—Price Stabilizations, Short Positions.”

(ii)

The Registration Statement has become effective; the Commission has not issued, and is not, to the knowledge of the Company, threatening to issue, any stop order under the Securities Act or other order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement (as amended or supplemented).

(iii)

The Company has elected to be regulated by the Commission as a business development company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Investment Company Act”), and has not withdrawn that election, and the Commission has not ordered that such election be withdrawn nor to the best of the Company’s knowledge have proceedings to effectuate such withdrawal been initiated or threatened by the Commission. All required action has or will have been taken under the Securities Act and the Securities Act Rules and Regulations, the Investment Company Act and any state securities laws and regulations to make the public offering and the issuance and sale of the Securities by the Company, and the provisions of the Company’s articles of incorporation and bylaws comply as to form in all material respects with the requirements of the Investment Company Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

(iv)

Intentionally Omitted.

(v)

To the Company’s knowledge, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the accounting firm that audited the financial statements of the Company set forth in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and Prospectus, is an independent registered accounting firm as required by the Securities Act and the Securities Act Rules and Regulations and the rules and regulations of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board.

(vi)

The consolidated financial statements, together with the related schedules and notes thereto, of the Company filed with the Commission as a part of, or incorporated by reference in, the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus fairly present in all material respects the financial condition of the Company and its Subsidiaries (as defined below) as of the dates indicated and the results of their operations for the respective periods specified, and are prepared in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles, except as may be expressly stated in the related notes thereto, and the selected financial information and data included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus have been prepared on a basis consistent with that of the books and records of the Company.

(vii)

The Company (A) has been duly incorporated and is validly existing as a corporation in good standing under the laws of the State of Maryland, has full corporate power and authority to conduct its business as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; (B) has full power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement, the Indenture, the Securities and the DTC Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby and thereby; and (C) is duly licensed or qualified to do business as a foreign corporation and in good standing in the District of Columbia and the States of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Massachusetts, and New York, and these are the only jurisdictions where the Company is required to be qualified or licensed or in good standing except where the failure to be so qualified or licensed or to be in good standing would not result in a material adverse effect upon the financial condition, prospects, business or results of operations of the Company (“Material Adverse Effect”).

(viii)

All of the Company’s wholly owned subsidiaries are set forth in Schedule I hereto (the “Subsidiaries”) and each entity listed on Schedule I has been duly formed under the laws of, is licensed or qualified to do business, and is in good standing in, each jurisdiction listed respectively on Schedule I. Each of the Subsidiaries set forth on Schedule I is duly licensed or qualified to do business as a foreign entity that is in good standing in each jurisdiction where the conduct of its business requires such license or qualification except where the failure of the Subsidiaries to be so qualified or licensed or to be in good standing would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(ix)

Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is, or with the giving of notice or lapse of time or both would be, in default or violation with respect to its respective charter or bylaws or governing documents. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is, or with the giving of notice or lapse of time or both would be, in default in the performance or observance of any obligation, agreement, covenant or condition contained in any indenture, mortgage, deed of trust, loan agreement, lease or other agreement or instrument to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or by which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is bound or to which any of the properties or assets of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is subject, or in violation of any statutes, laws, ordinances or governmental rules or regulations or any orders or decrees to which it is subject (collectively, the “Agreements and Instruments”) except for such defaults that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(x)

The Company’s authorized capitalization is as set forth in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus; the outstanding shares of the common stock of the Company, par value $0.001 per share (the “Common Stock”) have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and non-assessable and conform in all material respects to the description thereof in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under the heading “Description of Capital Stock.”

(xi)

The stockholders of the Company have no preemptive rights with respect to the Securities and none of the outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been issued in violation of any preemptive rights of any security holder. The Securities have been duly authorized by all requisite corporate action on the part of the Company for the issuance and sale of the Securities to the Underwriters pursuant to this Agreement and, when the Securities are issued and delivered by the Company and authenticated by the Trustee pursuant to the provisions of this Agreement and the Indenture relating thereto, against payment of the consideration set forth in this Agreement, on the Closing Date such Securities will be valid and legally binding obligations of the Company enforceable in accordance with their terms, except as the enforcement thereof may be subject to the effect of (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws now or thereafter in effect relating to creditors’ rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity and the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought, and will be entitled to the benefits of the Indenture relating thereto; and the Securities and the Indenture conform in all material respects to the statements relating thereto contained in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

(xii)

Except as set forth in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, (A) the Company and its Subsidiaries have not incurred any liabilities or obligations, direct or contingent, or entered into any transactions, other than in the ordinary course of business, that are material to the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole, (B) there has not been any material change in the capital stock of the Company, or any material adverse change, or, to the Company’s knowledge, any development involving a prospective material adverse change, in the condition (financial or otherwise), business, net worth, property or results of operations of the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole (excluding changes due to investment activities in the ordinary course of business), (C) there has been no dividend or distribution declared or paid in respect of the Company’s capital stock and (D) the Company and its Subsidiaries have not incurred any short-term debt or long-term debt that is, in either case, material with respect to the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole (excluding debt resulting from a draw down on the Company’s credit facilities).

(xiii)

There is no pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened action, suit or proceeding, legal or governmental, to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party, before or by any court or governmental agency or body, that is required to be described in the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus and is not so described.

(xiv)

There are no contracts, agreements or understandings of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries that are required to be filed as exhibits to the Registration Statement by the Securities Act or by the Securities Act Rules and Regulations that have not been so filed or incorporated by reference therein as permitted by the Securities Act Rules and Regulations.

(xv)

This Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company.

(xvi)

The Base Indenture has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and constitutes a valid and binding agreement of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as the enforcement thereof may be subject to (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws now or hereafter in effect relating to creditors’ rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity and the discretion of the court before which any proceeding thereof may be brought; the Tenth Supplemental Indenture has been duly authorized, and on the Closing Date, will be executed and delivered by the Company and when executed and delivered by the Trustee, will constitute a valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as the enforcement thereof may be subject to (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws now or hereafter in effect relating to creditors’ rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity and the discretion of the court before which any proceeding thereof may be brought.

(xvii)

The DTC Agreement has been duly authorized, executed and delivered by the Company and is a valid and binding obligation of the Company, enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms, except as the enforcement thereof may be subject to (i) bankruptcy, insolvency, reorganization, moratorium or other similar laws now or thereafter in effect relating to creditors’ rights generally and (ii) general principles of equity and the discretion of the court before which any proceeding therefor may be brought.

(xviii)

The execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement, the Indenture, the Securities and the DTC Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated herein and therein and in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus (including the issuance and sale of the Securities and the use of the proceeds from the sale of the Securities as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus under the caption “Use of Proceeds”) and compliance by the Company with its obligations hereunder and thereunder do not and will not, whether with or without the giving of notice or passage of time or both, conflict with or result in a breach or violation of any of the terms and provisions of, constitute a default or Repayment Event (as defined below) under, or result in the creation or imposition of any lien, charge or encumbrance upon any

properties or assets of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries pursuant to, the Agreements and Instruments, except for such conflicts, breaches, defaults or Repayment Events that would not result in a Material Adverse Effect, nor will such action result in any violation of the Company’s or any of its Subsidiaries’ charter, bylaws or other organizational documents, or any order, law, statute, rule, regulation, judgment, order, writ or decree of any government, government instrumentality or court, domestic or foreign, having jurisdiction over the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any of their respective assets, properties or operations. As used herein, a “Repayment Event” means any event or condition which gives the holder of any note, debenture or other evidence of indebtedness (or any person acting on such holder’s behalf) the right to require the repurchase, redemption or repayment of all or a portion of such indebtedness by the Company or any of the Subsidiaries.

(xix)

No consent, approval, authorization, notification or order of, or filing with, any court or governmental agency or body is required for the consummation by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, except such as may be required by the securities or Blue Sky laws of the various states, the rules and regulations of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (“FINRA”) or the securities laws of any jurisdiction outside of the United States in connection with the offer and sale of the Securities.

(xx)

This Agreement conforms as to form in all material respects with all applicable provisions of the Investment Company Act of 1940.

(xxi)

Except as disclosed in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there are no contracts, agreements or understandings between the Company and any person granting such person the right to require the Company to file a registration statement under the Securities Act with respect to any securities of the Company or to require the Company to include such securities with the Securities registered pursuant to the Registration Statement.

(xxii)

There are no material restrictions, limitations or regulations with respect to the ability of the Company or its Subsidiaries to invest its assets as described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, other than as described therein.

(xxiii)

Any third-party statistical and market-related data included in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus are based on or derived from sources that the Company believes to be reliable and accurate.

(xxiv)

Except as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company and each of its Subsidiaries have all necessary licenses, authorizations, consents and approvals and have made all necessary filings required under any federal, state or local law, regulation or rule, and have obtained all necessary licenses, authorizations, consents and approvals from other persons, required in order to conduct their business as described in the Registration Statement, General Disclosure Package and Prospectus, except to the extent that any failure to have any such licenses, authorizations, consents or approvals, to make any such filings or to obtain any such authorizations, consents or approvals is not, alone or in the aggregate, reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Effect; neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is in violation of, or in default under, any such license, authorization, consent or approval of any federal, state or local law, regulation or rule or any decree, order or judgment applicable to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, the effect of which is reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Effect; and neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has received any notification or communication from any agency or department of federal, state, or local government or any regulatory authority or the staff thereof threatening to revoke or modify any license, authorization, consent or approval, which alone or in the aggregate, if the subject of an unfavorable decision, ruling or finding, would be reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Effect.

(xxv)

Except as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company and its Subsidiaries have not entered into any transaction with any person which would be required to be disclosed under Item 404 of Regulation S-K under the Securities Act.

(xxvi)

Except as otherwise disclosed in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, as of the date thereof, no extension of credit has been made by the Company to an executive officer or director of the Company in violation of Section 402 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 (“SOX”).

(xxvii)

Except with respect to the Underwriters or as disclosed in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, the Company has not incurred any liability for any finder’s fees or similar payments in connection with the issuance and sale of the Securities.

(xxviii)

The Company has not taken, directly or indirectly, any action designed to cause or to result in, or that has constituted or which might reasonably be expected to constitute, the stabilization or manipulation of the price or any security of the Company to facilitate the issuance or the sale or resale of the Securities.

(xxix)

Except as described in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, since January 1, 2006, the Company has been organized and operated, and currently is organized and operated, in conformance with the requirements to be taxed as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (“Subchapter M of the Code”).

(xxx)

The Company has been organized and operated as, and currently is organized and operated, in material conformance with the requirements of the Investment Company Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder applicable to business development companies.

(xxxi)

The provisions of the corporate charter and by-laws of the Company and the investment objective, policies and restrictions described in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus are not inconsistent with the requirements of the Investment Company Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder applicable to a business development company, and the provisions of the organizational documents of each of the Subsidiaries and the operations of each of the Subsidiaries allow the Company to be in compliance in all material respects with the requirements of the Investment Company Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder applicable to a business development company.

(xxxii)

The Company maintains a system of internal accounting controls sufficient to provide reasonable assurance that (A) transactions are executed in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; (B) transactions are recorded as necessary to permit preparation of financial statements in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles and to maintain accountability for assets; (C) access to assets is permitted only in accordance with management’s general or specific authorization; and (D) the recorded accountability for assets is compared with existing assets at reasonable intervals and appropriate action is taken with respect to any differences. Since the Company’s most recent audited fiscal year, there have been, to the Company’s knowledge, no changes in the Company’s internal controls over financial reporting that could significantly affect internal controls over financial reporting, including any corrective actions with regard to significant deficiencies and material weaknesses.

(xxxiii)

The Company has established and maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as such term is defined in Rules 13a-14 and 15d-14 under the Exchange Act) designed to ensure that information required to be disclosed by the Company in the reports that it files or submits under the Exchange Act is recorded, processed, summarized and reported, within the time periods specified in the Commission’s rules and forms, and is accumulated and communicated to the Company’s management, including its principal executive officers or officers and principal financial officer or officers, as appropriate to allow timely decisions regarding disclosure.

(xxxiv)

The Company and its Subsidiaries carry or are entitled to the benefits of insurance covering their respective properties, operations, personnel, and businesses, including business interruption insurance, which insurance is in amounts and insures against such losses and risks as the Company reasonably believes are adequate to protect the Company and its Subsidiaries and their respective businesses; and neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has any reason to believe that it will not be able to renew its existing insurance coverage as and when such coverage expires or to obtain similar coverage at reasonable cost from similar insurers as may be necessary to continue its business, except, in each case, as would not, individually or in the aggregate, have a Material Adverse Effect.

(xxxv)

The Company and its officers and directors, in their capacities as such, are in compliance in all material respects with the applicable provisions of the SOX and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder.

(xxxvi)

Neither the Company nor any Subsidiary, nor, to the Company’s knowledge, any director, officer, employee, or agent of the Company or any Subsidiary has (a) used any corporate funds for any unlawful contribution, gift, entertainment or other unlawful expense relating to political activity, (b) made any direct or indirect unlawful payment to any foreign or domestic government official or employee or any other Person from corporate funds, (c) violated or is in violation of any provision of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended (the “FCPA”), the U.K. Bribery Act, or any other applicable Law relating to bribery or corruption (collectively, “Anti-Corruption Laws”), (d) made any bribe, rebate, payoff, influence payment, kickback or other unlawful payment, or (e) received or retained any funds in violation of any law, rule or regulation. The Company and its Subsidiaries have instituted and maintain policies and procedures designed to ensure compliance with all applicable Anti-Corruption Laws. Neither the Company nor any Subsidiaries will, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the offering of the Securities hereunder in violation of any applicable Anti-Corruption Laws.

(xxxvii)

Neither the Company nor the Subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any director, officer, agent, employee or affiliate of the Company or the Subsidiaries (i) is currently subject to or, to the knowledge of the Company or Subsidiaries, the target of any U.S. or applicable foreign sanctions, including those administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control of the U.S. Department of the Treasury (“OFAC”) and the U.S. Department of State, or the United Nations Security Counsel, the European Union, His Majesty’s Treasury, or other relevant sanctions authority (collectively, “Sanctions” and a person subject thereto, a “Sanctioned Person”), or (ii) located, organized, or resident in any country or territory that is itself the subject or, to the knowledge of the Company or Subsidiaries, target of Sanctions (including, without limitation, the so-called Donetsk People’s Republic, the so-called Luhansk People’s

Republic, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, the Crimea Region of Ukraine, the non-Ukrainian government controlled areas of Kherson and Zaporizhzhia or any other region of Ukraine identified pursuant to Executive Order 14065) (a “Sanctioned Country”); and neither the Company nor the Subsidiaries will, directly or indirectly, use the proceeds of the offering of the Securities hereunder, or lend, contribute or otherwise make available such proceeds to any subsidiary, joint venture partner or other person or entity, for the purpose of financing or facilitating the activities of any Sanctioned Person or in any Sanctioned Country, or in any other manner that will result in a violation by any person or entity (including any party to this Agreement) of any Sanctions. Neither the Company nor the Subsidiaries has engaged in any dealings or transactions with or for the benefit of a Sanctioned Person, or with or in a Sanctioned Country, in the preceding three years, nor do the Company or the Subsidiaries have any plans to engage in dealings or transactions with or for the benefit of a Sanctioned Person, or with or in a Sanctioned Country, in each case in a manner that would result in a violation of U.S. or applicable foreign sanctions.

(xxxviii)

The operations of the Company and the Subsidiaries are and have been conducted at all times in compliance with applicable financial recordkeeping and reporting requirements of the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act of 1970, as amended, the money laundering statutes of all applicable jurisdictions, the rules and regulations thereunder and any related or similar rules, regulations or guidelines issued, administered or enforced by any governmental agency (collectively, the “Money Laundering Laws”), and no action, suit or proceeding by or before any court or governmental agency, authority or body or any arbitrator involving the Company or the Subsidiaries with respect to the Money Laundering Laws is pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, after due inquiry, threatened.

(xxxix)

The Company’s wholly-owned, small business investment company subsidiaries, Hercules Capital IV, L.P. and Hercules SBIC V, L.P. have been organized and operated, and currently are organized and operated, in material conformance with the requirements of the Small Business Investment Act of 1958 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder applicable to small business investment companies.

(xl)

The Company (including its agents and representatives, other than the Underwriters in their capacity as such) has not made, used, prepared, authorized, approved or referred to and will not prepare, make, use, authorize, approve or refer to any “written communication” (as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act) that constitutes an offer to sell or solicitation of an offer to buy the Securities (each such communication by the Company or its agents and representatives (other than a communication referred to in clauses (i), (ii), (iii) and (iv) below) an “Issuer Free Writing Prospectus”) other than (i) any document not constituting a prospectus

pursuant to Section 2(a)(10)(a) of the Securities Act or Rule 134 under the Securities Act, (ii) the Registration Statement, (iii) any preliminary prospectus, (iv) the Prospectus, (v) the documents listed on Schedule B hereto, including a Term Sheet substantially in the form of Annex A hereto; and (vi) any electronic road show or other written communications, in each case approved in writing in advance by the Representatives, such approval not to be unreasonably withheld. Each such Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, if any, complies in all material respects with the Securities Act, has been or will be (within the time period specified in Rule 433 or, with respect to an “advertisement” as defined in Rule 482 under the Securities Act, in Rule 497 under the Securities Act) filed in accordance with the Securities Act (to the extent required thereby). No Issuer Free Writing Prospectus conflicts or will conflict with the information contained in the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, and any preliminary or other prospectus deemed to be a part thereof that has not been superseded or modified.

(xli)

The Company (i) has not alone engaged in any Testing-the-Waters Communication other than Testing-the-Waters Communications with the consent of the Representatives with entities that are qualified institutional buyers within the meaning of Rule 144A under the Securities Act or institutions that are accredited investors within the meaning of Rule 501 under the Securities Act and (ii) has not authorized anyone to engage in Testing-the-Waters Communications. The Company has not distributed any Written Testing-the-Waters Communications. “Testing-the-Waters Communication” means any oral or written communication with potential investors undertaken in reliance on Rule 163B under the Act. “Written Testing-the-Waters Communication” means any Testing-the-Waters Communication that is a written communication within the meaning of Rule 405.

(xlii)

The documents incorporated by reference in each of the Registration Statement, the Prospectus and the Preliminary Prospectus, when they became effective or were filed with the Commission, as the case may be, conformed or will conform in all material respects to the requirements of the Exchange Act.

(xliii)

(i) At the time of filing the Registration Statement, (ii) at the time of the most recent amendment thereto for the purposes of complying with Section 10(a)(3) of the Securities Act (whether such amendment was by post-effective amendment, incorporated report filed pursuant to Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act or form of prospectus), (iii) at the time the Company or any person acting on its behalf (within the meaning, for this clause only, of Rule 163(c) of the Securities Act) made any offer relating to the Securities in reliance on the exemption of Rule 163 of the Securities Act, and (iv) as of the date hereof, the Company was and is a “well known seasoned issuer” as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act. The Registration Statement is an “automatic shelf registration statement,” as

defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act, that automatically became effective not more than three years prior to the date hereof; the Company has not received from the Commission any notice pursuant to Rule 401(g)(2) of the Securities Act objecting to use of the automatic shelf registration statement form and the Company has not otherwise ceased to be eligible to use the automatic shelf registration form.

(b)

Any certificate required by this Agreement that is signed by any officer of the Company and delivered to the Underwriters or counsel for the Underwriters shall be deemed a representation and warranty by the Company to the Underwriters, as to the matters covered thereby.

Agreements to Sell and Purchase. The Company hereby agrees to sell to the Underwriters, and each Underwriter, upon the basis of the representations, warranties and covenants herein contained, but subject to the conditions hereinafter stated, agrees to purchase, severally and not jointly, from the Company, the aggregate principal amount of Securities set forth opposite the name of each Underwriter on Schedule A hereof, at a price of 98.272% of the aggregate principal amount thereof (“Purchase Price”).

3.	Public Offering of Securities. The Underwriters advise the Company that they propose to make a public offering of their respective portions of the Securities as soon after this Agreement has been executed and delivered as in its judgment is advisable.

The Company is further advised by you that the Securities are to be offered to the public initially at 99.272% of the aggregate principal amount thereof plus accrued interest, if any, from the date of issuance (the “Public Offering Price”) and to certain dealers selected by the Representatives at a price that represents a concession not in excess of 0.60% under the Public Offering Price, and the Underwriters may allow, and the dealers may reallow, a discount not in excess of 0.25% under the Public Offering Price.

Payment and Delivery. Payment for the Securities shall be made to the Company by the wire transfer of immediately available funds to the order of the Company against delivery of such Securities through the facilities of DTC for the respective accounts of the several Underwriters at 10:00 a.m., New York City time, on February 10, 2026, or at such other time on the same or such other date, no later than three business days after the date of this Agreement as the Underwriters and the Company may agree upon in writing. The time and date of such payment are hereinafter referred to as the “Closing Date.”

The Securities shall be transferred electronically and registered in such names and in such denominations as the Representatives shall request in writing not later than one full business day prior to the Closing Date. The Securities shall be delivered through the facilities of DTC.

5.	Covenants of the Company. The Company covenants with each Underwriter as follows:

(a)

To notify the Underwriters promptly following the issuance by the Commission of any stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement or the initiation of any proceedings for that purpose, and the suspension of the qualification of the Securities for offering or sale in any jurisdiction. The Company

will make every reasonable effort to prevent the issuance of any stop order described in this subsection hereunder and, if any such stop order is issued, to use commercially reasonable efforts to obtain the lifting thereof at the earliest possible moment, and to advise the Underwriters promptly of any examination pursuant to Section 8(e) of the Securities Act or of the Company becoming the subject of a proceeding under Section 8A of the Securities Act in connection with any offering of the Securities.

(b)

To give the Underwriters notice of any intention to file any amendment to the Registration Statement (including any post-effective amendment) or any amendment or supplement to the Prospectus (including any revised prospectus proposed for use by the Underwriters in connection with the offering, which differs from the prospectus on file at the Commission at the time the Registration Statement becomes effective, whether such revised prospectus is required to be filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act Rules and Regulations), whether required to be filed pursuant to the Securities Act or otherwise, and to furnish the Underwriters with copies of any such amendment or supplement a reasonable amount of time prior to such proposed filing or use, as the case may be, and to not file any such amendment or supplement to which the Underwriters or counsel for the Underwriters shall reasonably object, except as may be required by applicable law; provided, however, in the event of any such objection, the Underwriters agree to cooperate with the Company to ensure that an acceptable filing can be promptly made.

(c)

To furnish, upon request and without charge, to the Underwriters a signed copy of the Registration Statement (including exhibits thereto) and for delivery to each other Underwriter a conformed copy of the Registration Statement (without exhibits thereto) and to furnish to you in New York City, without charge, prior to 10:00 a.m. New York City time on the business day next succeeding the date of this Agreement and during the period mentioned in Section 5(d) below, as many copies of the Preliminary Prospectus and Prospectus and any supplements and amendments thereto or to the Registration Statement as you may reasonably request.

(d)

Before amending or supplementing the Registration Statement or the Prospectus, to furnish to you a copy of each such proposed amendment or supplement and not to file any such proposed amendment or supplement to which you reasonably object in writing within two business days after receipt, and to file with the Commission within the applicable period specified in Rule 424(b) under the Securities Act any prospectus required to be filed pursuant to such rule.

(e)

If any event shall occur or a condition exist as a result of which it is necessary, in the reasonable opinion of counsel for the Company in consultation with counsel for the Underwriters, to amend or supplement the Registration Statement or the Prospectus in order to make the statements therein not misleading in the light of the circumstances existing at the time the Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, to

forthwith amend or supplement the Registration Statement or Prospectus by preparing and filing with the Commission (and furnishing to the Underwriters a reasonable number of copies of) an amendment or amendments of the Registration Statement or an amendment or amendments of or a supplement or supplements to, the Prospectus (in form and substance satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters), at the Company’s expense, which will amend or supplement the Registration Statement or the Prospectus so that the statements in the Prospectus, as so amended or supplemented, will not, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, be misleading when the Prospectus is delivered to a purchaser, and the Underwriters and their counsel agree to cooperate with the Company to ensure that an acceptable filing can be promptly made.

(f)

If at any time following the distribution of any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication there has occurred or occurs an event or development as a result of which such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication included or would include an untrue statement of a material fact or omitted or would omit to state a material fact necessary in order to make the statements therein, in the light of the circumstances existing at that subsequent time, not misleading, the Company will promptly notify the Representatives and will promptly amend or supplement, at its own expense, such Written Testing-the-Waters Communication to eliminate or correct such untrue statement or omission.

(g)

The Company represents and agrees that, without the prior consent of the Representative (i) it will not distribute any offering material other than the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus or the information set forth on Schedule B hereto, and (ii) it has not made and will not make any offer relating to the Securities that would constitute a “free writing prospectus” as defined in Rule 405 under the Securities Act (other than for the information set forth on Schedule B hereto), and which the parties agree, for the purposes of this Agreement, includes (x) any “advertisement” as defined in Rule 482 under the Securities Act; and (y) any sales literature, materials or information provided to investors by, or with the approval of, the Company in connection with the marketing of the offering of the Securities, including any in-person roadshow or investor presentations (including slides and scripts relating thereto) made to investors by or on behalf of the Company.

(h)

To endeavor, in cooperation with the Underwriters and their counsel, to assist such counsel to qualify the Securities for offer and sale under the applicable securities laws of such states and other jurisdictions of the United States as the Underwriters may designate; provided, however, that the Company shall not be obligated to file any general consent to service of process, or to qualify as a foreign corporation or as a dealer in securities in any jurisdiction in which it is not now so qualified. The Company will file such statements and reports as may be required to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby by the laws of each jurisdiction in which the Securities have been qualified as above provided.

(i)

During the period beginning on and including the date of this Agreement through and including the Closing Date, to not, without the prior consent of the Representatives, directly or indirectly sell, offer to sell, enter into any agreement to sell, or otherwise dispose of, any debt securities of the Company which are substantially similar to the Securities or securities convertible into such debt securities which are substantially similar to the Securities.

(j)

To apply the net proceeds received by the Company from the sale of the Securities sold by it as set forth under “Use of Proceeds” in the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

(k)

To use its best efforts to maintain its status as a business development company under the Investment Company Act, except unless authorized by the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Company as defined by the Investment Company Act.

(l)

To use its best efforts to conform with the applicable requirements to be treated as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Code for so long as the Company is a business development company under the Investment Company Act.

(m)

Except for the authorization of actions permitted to be taken by the Underwriters as contemplated herein or in the Prospectus, not to take, directly or indirectly, any action designed to cause or to result in, or which might reasonably be expected to constitute, the stabilization or manipulation of the price of any security of the Company to facilitate the issuance of the sale or resale of the Securities.

(n)

Whether or not the transactions contemplated in this Agreement are consummated or this Agreement is terminated, to pay or cause to be paid all expenses incident to the performance of its obligations under this Agreement, including: (i) the fees, disbursements and expenses of counsel for the Company and the Company’s accountants in connection with the registration and delivery of the Securities under the Securities Act and all other fees or expenses in connection with the preparation and filing of the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus and the Prospectus, and any amendments and supplements to any of the foregoing, including all printing costs associated therewith, and the mailing and delivering of copies thereof to the Underwriters, in the quantities hereinabove specified, (ii) the printing and delivery to the Underwriters of this Agreement, the Indenture, the DTC Agreement and such other documents as may be required in connection with the offering, purchase, sale, issuance and delivery of the certificates for the Securities (iii) all costs and expenses related to the transfer and delivery of the Securities to the Underwriters, including any transfer or other taxes payable thereon, (iv) the cost of printing or producing any Blue Sky memorandum in connection with the offer and sale of the Securities under state securities laws and all expenses in connection with the qualification of the Securities for offer and sale under state securities laws, including filing fees and the reasonable fees and disbursements of counsel for the Underwriters in connection with such qualification and in connection with the Blue Sky memorandum, (v) all filing fees, reasonable disbursements and up to $10,000

in reimbursement of Underwriters’ counsel fees incurred in connection with the review and qualification of the offering of the Securities by FINRA, if any, (vi) any fees charged by the rating agencies for the rating of the Securities, (vii) the fees and expenses of the trustee and any transfer agent, registrar or depositary in connection with the issuance of the Securities, (viii) the costs and expenses of the Company relating to investor presentations on any “road show” undertaken in connection with the marketing of the offering of the Securities, including, without limitation, expenses associated with the production of road show slides and graphics, fees and expenses of any consultants engaged in connection with the road show presentations with the prior approval of the Company, travel and lodging expenses of the representatives and officers of the Company and any such consultants, and, with the prior approval of the Company, the cost of any aircraft chartered in connection with the road show and (ix) all other costs and expenses incident to the performance of the obligations of the Company hereunder for which provision is not otherwise made in this Section. It is understood, however, that except as provided in this Section and in Section 7, entitled “Indemnification and Contribution,” the Underwriters will pay all of their costs and expenses, including fees and disbursements of their counsel, stock transfer taxes payable on resale of any of the Securities by them and any advertising expenses connected with any offers they may make.

(o)

To make generally available to the Company’s security holders and to you, as soon as reasonably practicable, an earnings statement for the purposes of and to provide the benefits contemplated by Section 11(a) of the Securities Act and the Securities Act Rules and Regulations.

(p)

To cooperate with the Representatives and use its commercially reasonable efforts to permit the Securities to be eligible for clearance and settlement through the facilities of DTC.

Conditions of the Underwriters’ Obligations; Additional Covenants. The obligations of the Underwriters hereunder are subject to the accuracy of the representations and warranties of the Company contained herein, to the accuracy of the statements of the Company’s officers made in each certificate furnished pursuant to the provisions hereof and to the performance and observance by the Company of all covenants and agreements herein or its part to be performed and observed, and to the following further conditions:

(a)

Subsequent to the execution and delivery of this Agreement and prior to the Closing Date, there shall not have occurred any change in the condition, financial or otherwise, or in the earnings, business or operations of the Company, taken as a whole, from that set forth in the Prospectus that, in your judgment, is material and adverse and that makes it, in your judgment, impracticable to market the Securities as contemplated hereby.

(b)

On the Closing Date, the Underwriters shall have received:

(i)

The opinion, dated the Closing Date, of Dechert LLP, counsel for the Company, in the form reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters, and their negative assurance letter dated the Closing Date, in the form reasonably satisfactory to counsel for the Underwriters. In rendering such opinion, Dechert LLP may rely as to matters of fact, to the extent they deem proper, on certificates of responsible officers of the Company and public officials;

(ii)

Such opinion or opinions, dated the Closing Date, of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP, counsel for the Underwriters, in form and substance satisfactory to the Representatives, and the Company shall have furnished to such counsel such documents as they reasonably request for the purpose of enabling them to pass upon such matters.

(c)

The Company shall have furnished to the Underwriters on the Closing Date, a certificate of the Company, signed by the President or other senior officer of the Company, dated the Closing Date, to the effect set forth in Section 6(a) above and to the effect that the signer of such certificate has carefully examined the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, any supplement to the Prospectus and this Agreement and that, to the best of his knowledge:

(i)

the representations, warranties and covenants of the Company contained in this Agreement are true and correct in all material respects as of the date of the Agreement (except to the extent that any of such representations and warranties are already qualified as to materiality herein, in which case, such representations and warranties shall be true and correct without further qualification) and the Closing Date, and the Company has complied with all the agreements and satisfied all the conditions on its part to be performed or satisfied in all material respects hereunder on or before the Closing Date;

(ii)

no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement has been issued and no proceedings for that purpose have been instituted or, to his or her knowledge, threatened; and

(iii)

since the date of the most recent balance sheet included in the Prospectus, there has been no material adverse change in the condition (financial or other), earnings, business, net worth, results of operations or prospects of, the Company and its Subsidiaries taken as a whole (excluding changes due to investment activities in the ordinary course of business), except as set forth in or contemplated in the Prospectus.

The officer signing and delivering such certificate may rely upon the best of his or her knowledge as to proceedings threatened.

(d)

On each of the date hereof and the Closing Date, the Underwriters shall have received from PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a letter, dated hereof and the Closing Date, in the form and substance reasonably satisfactory to the Representatives, and stating the conclusions and findings of such firm with respect to the financial information and certain financial information contained in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus ordinarily covered by accountants’ “comfort letters” in connection with registered public offerings; provided, however, that the letter delivered on the Closing Date shall use a “cut-off date” not earlier than the date hereof.

(e)

Subsequent to the respective dates as of which information is given in the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus, there shall not have been (i) any change or decrease specified in the letter or letters referred to in paragraph (d) of this Section 6, or (ii) any change in or affecting the business or properties of the Company, the effect of which, in any case referred to in clause (i) or (ii) above, is, in the judgment of the Representatives, so material and adverse as to make it impractical or inadvisable to proceed with the offering as contemplated by the Registration Statement, the General Disclosure Package and the Prospectus.

(f)

Prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall have furnished to the Representatives such further appropriate information, certificates and documents as the Representatives may reasonably request.

(g)

All filings with the Commission required by Rule 424(b) of the Securities Act to have been filed by the Closing Date, shall have been made within the applicable time period prescribed for such filing by such rule.

(h)

On the Closing Date, the Company and the Trustee shall have executed and delivered the Indenture (including the Tenth Supplemental Indenture), which shall be in full force and effect on the Closing Date.

(i)

On the Closing Date, the Securities shall have been issued by the Company.

(j)

On or prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall have executed and delivered the DTC Agreement.

(k)

Between the Applicable Time and the Closing Date, there shall not have been any decrease in or withdrawal of the rating of any debt of the Company or any Subsidiaries by any “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” (as defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act), or any notice given of any intended or potential decrease in or withdrawal of any such rating or of a possible change in any such rating that does not indicate the direction of the possible change, and no such organization shall have publicly announced it has under surveillance or review any such rating.

(l)

The Company shall have furnished or caused to be furnished to the Underwriters on the date of this Agreement and the Closing Date a certificate of the Chief Financial Officer of the Company, dated the date hereof and the Closing Date, in form and substance satisfactory to Underwriters.

If any of the conditions specified in this Section 6 shall not have been fulfilled when and as provided in this Agreement, or if any of the opinions and certificates mentioned above or elsewhere in this Agreement shall not be satisfactory in the form and substance to the Representatives and counsel to the Underwriters, this Agreement and all obligations of the Representatives hereunder may be canceled at, or at any time prior to, the Closing Date by the Representatives. Notice of such cancellation shall be given to the Company in writing or by telephone or telegraph and confirmed in writing.

7.	Indemnification and Contribution.

(a)

The Company will indemnify and hold harmless each Underwriter, its partners, members, directors, officers, employees, agents, affiliates and each person, if any, who controls such Underwriter within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act (each, an “Indemnified Party”), against any and all losses, claims, damages or liabilities, joint or several, to which such Indemnified Party may become subject, under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, other Federal or state statutory law or regulation or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of any material fact contained in any part of the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package, the Prospectus, any Issuer Free Writing Prospectus, any Written Testing-the-Waters Communication, or any materials or information provided to investors in connection with the marketing of the offering of the Securities, including any road show or investor presentations made to investors, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, and will reimburse each Indemnified Party for any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Indemnified Party in connection with investigating or defending against any loss, claim, damage, liability, action, litigation, investigation or proceeding whatsoever (whether or not such Indemnified Party is a party thereto), whether threatened or commenced, and in connection with the enforcement of this provision with respect to any of the above as such expenses are incurred; provided, however, that the Company will not be liable in any such case to the extent that any such loss, damage or liability arises out or is based upon an untrue statement or alleged untrue statement in or omission or alleged omission from any of such documents in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by an Underwriter through the Representatives specifically for use in the Registration Statement (or any amendment thereto), the part of the Registration Statement that constitutes the Statement of Eligibility and Qualification under the 1939 Act (Form T -1) of the Trustee under the Indenture, the Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the information described as such in subsection (b) below.

(b)

Each Underwriter will severally and not jointly indemnify and hold harmless the Company, each of its directors and each of its officers who signs a Registration Statement and each person, if any, who controls the Company within the meaning of Section 15 of the Securities Act or Section 20 of the Exchange Act (each, an “Underwriter Indemnified Party”), against any losses, claims, damages or liabilities to which such Underwriter Indemnified Party may become subject, under the Securities Act, the Exchange Act, other Federal or state statutory law or regulation or otherwise, insofar as such losses, claims, damages or liabilities (or actions in respect thereof) arise out of or are based upon any untrue statement or alleged untrue statement of any material fact contained in any part of the Registration Statement, the Preliminary Prospectus, the General Disclosure Package or the Prospectus, or arise out of or are based upon the omission or alleged omission of a material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, in each case to the extent, but only to the extent, that such untrue statement or alleged untrue statement or omissions or alleged omission was made in reliance upon and in conformity with written information furnished to the Company by such Underwriter through the Representatives specifically for use therein, and will reimburse any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such Underwriter Indemnified Party in connection with investigation or defending against any such loss, claim, damage, liability, action, litigation, investigation or proceeding whatsoever (whether or not such Underwriter Indemnified Party is a party thereto), whether threatened or commenced, based upon any such untrue statement or omission, or any such alleged untrue statement or omission as such expenses are incurred, it being understood and agreed that the only such information furnished by any Underwriter consists of the following information in the Prospectus Supplement furnished on behalf of each Underwriter: (i) the names of the Underwriters set forth in the table following the first paragraph under the heading “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest),” and (ii) the first and second sentences under the second paragraph under the caption “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest)—Commission and Discounts,” the first sentence in the second paragraph under the caption “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest)—Listing,” the first and second sentences in the first paragraph under the caption “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest)—Price Stabilizations, Short Positions” and the first sentence in the second paragraph under the caption “Underwriting (Conflicts of Interest)—Price Stabilizations, Short Positions.”

(c)

Actions against Parties; Notification. Promptly after receipt by an indemnified party under this Section of notice of the commencement of any action, such indemnified party will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against the indemnifying party under subsection (a) or (b) above, notify the indemnifying party of the commencement thereof; but the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have under subsection (a) or (b) above, except to the extent that it has been materially prejudiced (through the forfeiture of substantive rights or defenses) by such failure; and provided further that the failure to notify the indemnifying party shall not relieve it from any liability that it may have to an indemnified party otherwise than under subsection (a) or (b) above. In case any such action is brought against any indemnified party and it notifies the

indemnifying party of the commencement thereof, the indemnifying party will be entitled to participate therein and, to the extent that it may wish, jointly with any other indemnifying party similarly notified, to assume the defense thereof, with counsel satisfactory to such indemnified party (who shall not, except with the consent of the indemnified party, be counsel to the indemnifying party), and after notice from the indemnifying party to such indemnified party of its election so to assume the defense thereof, the indemnifying party will not be liable to such indemnified party under this Section for any legal or other expenses subsequently incurred by such indemnified party in connection with the defense thereof other than reasonable costs of investigation. No indemnifying party shall, without the prior written consent of the indemnified party, effect any settlement of any pending or threatened action in respect of which any indemnified party is or could have been a party and indemnity could have been sought hereunder by such indemnified party unless such settlement (i) includes an unconditional release of such indemnified party from all liability on any claims that are the subject matter of such action and (ii) does not include a statement as to, or an admission of, fault, culpability or a failure to act by or on behalf of an indemnified party.

(d)

Contribution. If the indemnification provided for in this Section is unavailable or insufficient to hold harmless an indemnified party under subsection (a) or (b) above, then each indemnifying party shall contribute to the amount paid or payable by such indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to in subsection (a) or (b) above (i) in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect the relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other from the offering of the Securities or (ii) if the allocation provided by clause (i) above is not permitted by applicable law, in such proportion as is appropriate to reflect not only the relative benefits referred to in clause (i) above but also the relative fault of the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other in connection with the statements or omissions which resulted in such losses, claims, damages or liabilities as well as any other relevant equitable considerations. The relative benefits received by the Company on the one hand and the Underwriters on the other shall be deemed to be in the same proportion as the total net proceeds from the offering (before deducting expenses) received by the Company bear to the total underwriting discounts and commissions received by the Underwriters. The relative fault shall be determined by reference to, among other things, whether the untrue or alleged untrue statement of a material fact or the omission or alleged omission to state a material fact relates to information supplied by the Company or the Underwriters and the parties’ relative intent, knowledge, access to information and opportunity to correct or prevent such untrue statement or omission. The amount paid by an indemnified party as a result of the losses, claims, damages or liabilities referred to in the first sentence of this Section 7(d) shall be deemed to include any legal or other expenses reasonably incurred by such indemnified party in connection with investigating or defending any action or claim which is the subject of this Section 7(d). Notwithstanding the provisions of this Section 7(d), no Underwriter shall be required to contribute any amount in excess of the amount by which the total price at which the Securities underwritten by it and distributed to the public were offered to the public exceeds the amount of any

damages which such Underwriter has otherwise been required to pay by reason of such untrue or alleged untrue statement or omission or alleged omission. No person guilty of fraudulent misrepresentation (within the meaning of Section 11(f) of the Securities Act) shall be entitled to contribution from any person who was not guilty of such fraudulent misrepresentation. The Underwriters’ obligations in this Section 7(d) to contribute are several in proportion to their respective underwriting obligations and not joint. The Company and the Underwriters agree that it would not be just and equitable if contribution pursuant to this Section 7(d) were determined by pro rata allocation (even if the Underwriters were treated as one entity for such purpose) or by any other method of allocation which does not take account of the equitable considerations referred to in this Section 7(d).

(e)

Notwithstanding any other provision of this Section 7, no party shall be entitled to indemnification and contribution under this Agreement in violation of Section 17(i) of the Investment Company Act.

8.	Termination of Agreement.

(a)

The obligations of the Underwriters under this Agreement may be terminated at any time on or prior to the Closing Date, by notice given to the Company if, prior to the delivery and payment for the Securities there shall have occurred (i) any change, or any development or event involving a prospective change, in the condition (financial or otherwise), results of operations, earnings, business, net worth, or properties of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, which, in the judgment of the Representatives, is material and adverse and makes it impractical or inadvisable to market the Securities; (ii) any change in U.S. or international financial, political or economic conditions or currency exchange rates or exchange controls the effect of which is such as to make it, in the judgment of the Representatives, impractical to market or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Securities, whether in the primary market or in respect of dealings in the secondary market; (iii) any suspension or material limitation of trading in securities generally on the New York Stock Exchange, the NYSE MKT LLC or the Nasdaq, or any setting of minimum or maximum prices for trading on such exchange; (iv) any suspension of trading of any securities of the Company on any securities exchange or in the over-the-counter market; (v) any banking moratorium declared by any U.S. federal or New York authorities; (vi) any major disruption of settlements of securities, payment, or clearance services in the United States; or (vii) any attack on, outbreak or escalation of hostilities or act of terrorism involving the United States, any declaration of war by the United States Congress or any other national or international calamity or emergency if, in the judgment of the Representatives, the effect of any such attack, outbreak, escalation, act, declaration, calamity or emergency is such as to make it impractical or inadvisable to market the Securities or to enforce contracts for the sale of the Securities.

9.	Default of Underwriters.

(a)

If any Underwriter or Underwriters default in their obligations to purchase Securities hereunder on the Closing Date, and the aggregate principal amount of Securities that such defaulting Underwriter or Underwriters agreed but failed to purchase does not exceed 10.0% of the aggregate principal amount of Securities the Underwriters are obligated to purchase on such Closing Date, the Representatives may make arrangements satisfactory to the Company for the purchase of such Securities by other persons, including any of the Underwriters, but if no such arrangements are made by such Closing Date, the non-defaulting Underwriters shall be obligated severally, and not jointly, in proportion to their respective commitments hereunder, to purchase the Securities that such defaulting Underwriters agreed but failed to purchase on such Closing Date. If any Underwriter or Underwriters so default and the aggregate principal amount of Securities with respect to which such default or defaults occur exceeds 10.0% of the aggregate Principal amount of Securities that the Underwriters are obligated to purchase on such Closing Date, and arrangements satisfactory to the Representatives and the Company for the purchase of such Securities by other persons are not made within 36 hours after such default, this Agreement will terminate without liability on the part of any non-defaulting Underwriter or the Company, except as provided in Section 10 (provided that if such default occurs with respect to Securities after the Closing Date, this Agreement will not terminate as to the Securities purchased prior to termination). As used in this Agreement, the term “Underwriter” also includes any person substituted for an Underwriter under this Section. Nothing herein will relieve a defaulting Underwriter from liability for its default.

10.	Survival of Certain Representations and Obligations.

(a)

The respective indemnities, agreements, representations, warranties and other statements of the Company or its officers and of the several Underwriters set forth in or made pursuant to this Agreement will remain in full force and effect regardless of any investigation or statement as to the results thereof, made by or on behalf of any Underwriter, the Company or any of their respective representatives, officers or directors or any controlling person, and will survive delivery of and payment for the Securities. If the purchase of the Securities by the Underwriters is not consummated for any reason other than solely because of the termination of this Agreement pursuant to Section 9 hereof, Section 8(a)(ii), Section 8(a)(iii), Section 8(a)(v), Section 8(a)(vi) or Section 8(a)(vii), the Company will reimburse the Underwriters for all out-of-pocket expenses (including fees and disbursements of counsel) reasonably incurred by them in connection with the offering of the Securities, and the respective obligations of the Company and the Underwriters pursuant to Section 7 hereof shall also remain in effect. In addition, if any Securities have been purchased hereunder, the representations and warranties in Section 1 and all obligations under Section 5 shall remain in effect.

11.	Notices. All communications hereunder will be in writing and effective only on receipt, and, if sent to the Underwriters, will be mailed, delivered or telegraphed and confirmed to:

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

200 West Street

New York, New York 10282-2198

Attn: Registration Department

Email: [email protected]

SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc.

277 Park Avenue

New York, New York 10172

Attention: Debt Capital Markets

Email: [email protected]

as Representatives of the several Underwriters with a copy, which shall not constitute notice, to:

Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP

320 South Canal Street

Chicago, Illinois 60606

Attention: Kevin T. Hardy, Esq.

and if sent to the Company:

Hercules Capital, Inc.

1 North B Street, Suite 2000

San Mateo, California 94401

Attention: Seth Meyer

12.

Successors. This Agreement will inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective successors and will inure to the benefit of the officers and directors and controlling persons referred to in Section 7 hereof, and no other person will have any right or obligation hereunder. The term “successors and assigns” as used in this Agreement shall not include a purchaser, as such purchaser, of Securities from the Underwriters.

13.	Absence of Fiduciary Relationship. The Company acknowledges and agrees that:

(a)

No Other Relationship. The Underwriters have been retained solely to act as underwriters in connection with the sale of the Securities and that no fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship between the Company and the Underwriters has been created in respect of any of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or the Prospectus, irrespective of whether the Underwriter has advised or is advising the Company on other matters;

(b)

Arms’ Length Negotiations. The price of the Securities set forth in this Agreement was established by the Company following discussions and arms-length negotiations with the Underwriters and the Company is capable of evaluating and understanding and understands and accepts the terms, risks and conditions of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;

(c)

Absence of Obligation to Disclose. The Company has been advised that the Underwriters and their affiliates are engaged in a broad range of transactions which may involve interests that differ from those of the Company and that the Underwriters have no obligation to disclose such interests and transactions to the Company by virtue of any fiduciary, advisory or agency relationship; and

(d)

Waiver. The Company waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any claims it may have against the Underwriters for breach of fiduciary duty or alleged breach of fiduciary duty and agrees that the Representatives shall have no liability (whether direct or indirect) to the Company in respect of such a fiduciary duty claim or to any person asserting a fiduciary duty claim on behalf of or in right of the Company, including stockholders, employees or creditors of the Company. If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding agreement between the Company and the Underwriters.

14.

USA Patriot Act. In accordance with the requirements of the USA Patriot Act (Title III of Pub. L, 107-56 (signed into law October 26, 2001)), the Underwriters are required to obtain, verify and record information that identifies their clients, which may include the name and address of their clients, as well as other information that will allow the underwriters to properly identify their clients.

15.

Governing Law; Construction. This Agreement and any claim, counterclaim or dispute of any kind or nature whatsoever arising out of or in any way relating to this Agreement (“Claim”), directly or indirectly, shall be governed by, and construed in accordance with, the laws of the State of New York, without regard to the conflict of law provisions thereof to the extent such principles or rules would require or permit the application of the laws of another jurisdiction. The Section headings in this Agreement have been inserted as a matter of convenience of reference and are not a part of this Agreement.

16.

Submission to Jurisdiction. Except as set forth below, no Claim may be commenced, prosecuted or continued in any court other than the courts of the State of New York located in the City and County of New York or in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, which courts shall have jurisdiction over the adjudication of such matters, and the Company consents to the jurisdiction of such courts and personal service with respect thereto. The Company hereby consents to personal jurisdiction, service and venue in any court in which any Claim arising out of or in any way relating to this Agreement is brought by any third party against the Underwriter or any indemnified party. Each of the Underwriters and the Company (on its behalf and, to the extent permitted by applicable law, on behalf of its stockholders and affiliates) waives all right to trial by jury in any action, proceeding or counterclaim (whether based upon contract, tort or otherwise) in any way arising out of or relating to this Agreement. The Company agrees that a final judgment in any such action, proceeding or counterclaim brought in any such court shall be conclusive and binding upon the Company and may be enforced in any other courts to the jurisdiction of which the Company is or may be subject, by suit upon such judgment.

17.	Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in one or more counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

18.	Severability. In case any provision in this Agreement shall be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.

19.	Recognition of the U.S. Special Resolution Regimes.

(a)

In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, the transfer from such Underwriter of this Agreement, and any interest and obligation in or under this Agreement, will be effective to the same extent as the transfer would be effective under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement, and any such interest and obligation, were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.

(b)

In the event that any Underwriter that is a Covered Entity or a BHC Act Affiliate of such Underwriter becomes subject to a proceeding under a U.S. Special Resolution Regime, Default Rights under this Agreement that may be exercised against such Underwriter are permitted to be exercised to no greater extent than such Default Rights could be exercised under the U.S. Special Resolution Regime if this Agreement were governed by the laws of the United States or a state of the United States.

For purposes of this Section 19(b), a “BHC Act Affiliate” has the meaning assigned to the term “affiliate” in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 U.S.C. § 1841(k). “Covered Entity” means any of the following: (i) a “covered entity” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 252.82(b); (ii) a “covered bank” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 47.3(b); or (iii) a “covered FSI” as that term is defined in, and interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. § 382.2(b). “Default Right” has the meaning assigned to that term in, and shall be interpreted in accordance with, 12 C.F.R. §§ 252.81, 47.2 or 382.1, as applicable. “U.S. Special Resolution Regime” means each of (i) the Federal Deposit Insurance Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder and (ii) Title II of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

If the foregoing is in accordance with your understanding of our agreement, please so indicate in the space provided below for that purpose, whereupon this letter shall constitute a binding agreement between the Company and the Underwriters.

[Signature Pages Follow]


Very truly yours,

By:		/s/ Scott Bluestein
		Name: Scott Bluestein
		Title: Chief Executive Officer

The foregoing Agreement is hereby

confirmed and accepted as of the date first

above written by


GOLDMAN SACHS & CO. LLC
SMBC NIKKO SECURITIES AMERICA, INC.

GOLDMAN SACHS & CO. LLC
By:		/s/ Kyle Fischer
		Name: Kyle Fischer
		Title: Managing Director

SMBC NIKKO SECURITIES AMERICA, INC.

By:		/s/ Michael Lazar
		Name: Michael Lazar
		Title: Managing Director

SCHEDULE A


Underwriter	Aggregate Principal Amount of Securities to be Purchased
Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC	$	114,000,000
SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc.	$	114,000,000
MUFG Securities Americas Inc.	$	30,000,000
DZ Financial Markets LLC	$	9,000,000
RBC Capital Markets, LLC	$	9,000,000
Synovus Securities, Inc.	$	9,000,000
Zions Direct, Inc.	$	9,000,000
Citizens JMP Securities, LLC	$	6,000,000
Total:	$	300,000,000

SCHEDULE B

[Intentionally Omitted]

SCHEDULE I

HERCULES CAPITAL, INC.

SUBSIDIARIES


Name		Jurisdiction
Hercules Capital IV, L.P.		Delaware
Hercules SBIC V L.P.		Delaware
Hercules Funding IV LLC		Delaware
Hercules Capital Funding 2022-1 LLC		Delaware
Hercules Capital Funding Trust 2022-1		Delaware
Hercules Technology Management LLC		Delaware
Hercules Technology Management Co II, Inc.		Delaware
Hercules Technology Management Co IV LLC		Delaware
Hercules Technology SBIC Management, LLC		Delaware
HTGC UK Limited		United Kingdom


*Unconsolidated Subsidiaries*

Gibraltar Business Capital, LLC		Delaware
Gibraltar Equipment Finance, LLC		Delaware
Gibraltar Acquisition LLC		Delaware
HercGBC LLC		Delaware
Hercules Capital Management LLC		Delaware
Hercules Adviser LLC		Delaware
Hercules Partner Holdings, LLC		Delaware
Hercules Private Global Venture Growth Fund GP I LLC		Delaware
Hercules Venture Growth Credit Opportunities Fund GP I LLC		Delaware
Hercules Growth Lending Fund IV GP LLC		Delaware
Hercules Evergreen Fund GP LLC		Delaware

Exhibit 4.2

Execution Version

TENTH SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURE

between

HERCULES CAPITAL, INC.

and

U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION,

as Trustee

Dated as of February 10, 2026

TENTH SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURE

THIS TENTH SUPPLEMENTAL INDENTURE (this “Tenth Supplemental Indenture”), dated as of February 10, 2026, is between Hercules Capital, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Company”), and U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association (as successor in interest to U.S. Bank National Association), as trustee (the “Trustee”). All capitalized terms used herein shall have the meaning set forth in the Base Indenture (as defined below).

RECITALS OF THE COMPANY

The Company and the Trustee executed and delivered an Indenture, dated as of March 6, 2012 (the “Base Indenture” and, as amended and supplemented by this Tenth Supplemental Indenture, the “Indenture”), to provide for the issuance by the Company from time to time of the Company’s unsecured debentures, notes or other evidences of indebtedness (the “Securities”), to be issued in one or more series as provided in the Indenture.

The Company previously entered into the First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of April 17, 2012, the Second Supplemental Indenture, dated as of September 24, 2012, the Third Supplemental Indenture, dated as of July 14, 2014, the Fourth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of October 23, 2017, the Fifth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of April 26, 2018, the Sixth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of September 24, 2018, the Seventh Supplemental Indenture, dated as of September 16, 2021, the Eighth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of January 20, 2022 and the Ninth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of June 16, 2025 (collectively, the “Prior Supplemental Indentures”), each of which amended and supplemented the Base Indenture. The Prior Supplemental Indentures are not applicable to the Notes (as defined below).

The Company desires to issue and sell $300,000,000 in aggregate principal amount of the Company’s 5.350% Notes due 2029 (the “Notes”).

Sections 9.01(iv) and 9.01(vi) of the Base Indenture provide that without the consent of Holders of the Securities of any series issued under the Indenture, the Company, when authorized by or pursuant to a Board Resolution, and the Trustee, at any time and from time to time, may enter into one or more indentures supplemental to the Base Indenture to (i) change or eliminate any of the provisions of the Indenture when there is no Security Outstanding of any series created prior to the execution of the supplemental indenture that is entitled to the benefit of such provision and (ii) establish the form or terms of Securities of any series as permitted by Section 2.01 and Section 3.01 of the Base Indenture.

The Company desires to establish the form and terms of the Notes and to modify, alter, supplement and change certain provisions of the Base Indenture for the benefit of the Holders of the Notes (except as may be provided in a future supplemental indenture to the Indenture (a “Future Supplemental Indenture”)).

The Company has duly authorized the execution and delivery of this Tenth Supplemental Indenture to provide for the issuance of the Notes and amendment of certain provisions of the Base Indenture as herein provided and all acts and things necessary to make this Tenth Supplemental Indenture a valid, binding, and legal obligation of the Company and to constitute a valid agreement of the Company, in accordance with its terms, have been done and performed.

NOW, THEREFORE, for and in consideration of the premises and the purchase of the Notes by the Holders thereof, it is mutually agreed, for the equal and proportionate benefit of all Holders of the Notes, as follows:

ARTICLE I

TERMS OF THE NOTES

Section 1.01 Terms of the Notes. The following terms relating to the Notes are hereby established:

(a) The Notes shall constitute a series of Senior Securities having the title “5.350% Notes due 2029.” The Notes shall bear a CUSIP number of 42711MAA1 and an ISIN number of US42711MAA18.

(b) The aggregate principal amount of the Notes that may be initially authenticated and delivered under the Indenture (except for Notes authenticated and delivered upon registration of, transfer of, or in exchange for, or in lieu of, other Notes pursuant to Sections 3.04, 3.05, 3.06, 9.06, 11.07 or 13.05 of the Base Indenture, and except for any Securities that, pursuant to Section 3.03 of the Base Indenture, are deemed never to have been authenticated and delivered under the Indenture) shall be $300,000,000. Under a Board Resolution, Officers’ Certificate pursuant to Board Resolutions or an indenture supplement, the Company may from time to time, without the consent of the Holders of Notes, issue additional Notes (in any such case “Additional Notes”) having the same ranking and the same interest rate, maturity and other terms as the Notes. Any Additional Notes and the existing Notes will constitute a single series under the Indenture and all references to the relevant Notes herein shall include the Additional Notes unless the context otherwise requires.

(c) The entire outstanding principal of the Notes shall be payable on February 10, 2029, unless earlier redeemed or repurchased in accordance with the provisions of this Tenth Supplemental Indenture.

(d) The rate at which the Notes shall bear interest shall be 5.350% per annum (the “Applicable Interest Rate”). The date from which interest shall accrue on the Notes shall be February 10, 2026, or the most recent Interest Payment Date to which interest has been paid or provided for; the Interest Payment Dates for the Notes shall be February 10 and August 10 each year, commencing August 10, 2026 (if an Interest Payment Date falls on a day that is not a Business Day, then the applicable interest payment will be made on the next succeeding Business Day and no additional interest will accrue as a result of such delayed payment); the initial interest period will be the period from and including February 10, 2026, to, but excluding, the initial Interest Payment Date, and the subsequent interest periods will be the periods from and including an Interest Payment Date to, but excluding, the next Interest Payment Date or the Stated Maturity, as the case may be; the interest so payable, and punctually paid or duly provided for, on any Interest Payment Date, will be paid to the Person in whose name the Note (or one or more Predecessor Securities) is registered at the close of business on the Regular Record Date for such interest, which shall be January 26 or July 26 (whether or not a Business Day), as the case may be, next preceding such Interest Payment Date. Payment of principal of (and premium, if any, on) and any such interest on the Notes will be made at the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee or at such other address as designated by the Trustee, in such coin or currency of the United States of America as at the time of payment is legal tender for payment of public and private debts; provided, however, that at the option of the Company payment of interest may be made by check mailed to the address of the Person entitled thereto as such address shall appear in the Security Register; provided, further, however, that so long as the Notes are registered to Cede & Co., such payment will be made by wire transfer in accordance with the procedures established by The Depository Trust Company and the Trustee. Interest on the Notes will be computed on the basis of a 360-day year of twelve 30-day months.

(e) The Notes shall be initially issuable in global form (each such Note, a “Global Note”). The Global Notes and the Trustee’s certificate of authentication thereon shall be substantially in the form of Exhibit A to this Tenth Supplemental Indenture. Each Global Note shall represent the outstanding Notes as shall be specified therein and each shall provide that it shall represent the aggregate amount of outstanding Notes from time to time endorsed thereon and that the aggregate amount of outstanding Notes represented thereby may from time to time be reduced or increased, as appropriate, to reflect exchanges and redemptions. Any endorsement of a Global Note to reflect the amount of any increase or decrease in the amount of outstanding Notes represented thereby shall be made by the Trustee or the Security Registrar, in accordance with Sections 2.03 and 3.05 of the Base Indenture.

(f) The depositary for such Global Notes (the “Depositary”) shall be The Depository Trust Company, New York, New York. The Security Registrar with respect to the Global Notes shall be the Trustee.

(g) The Notes shall be defeasible pursuant to Section 14.02 or Section 14.03 of the Base Indenture. Covenant defeasance contained in Section 14.03 of the Base Indenture shall apply to the covenants contained in Sections 10.06, 10.08 and 10.09 of the Indenture.

(h) The Notes shall be redeemable pursuant to Section 11.01 of the Base Indenture and as follows:

(i) Prior to January 10, 2029, (one month prior to their maturity date) (the “Par Call Date”), the Company may redeem the Notes at its option, in whole or in part, at any time and from time to time, at a Redemption Price (expressed as a percentage of principal amount and rounded to three decimal places) equal to the greater of:

(1) (a) the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest thereon discounted to the Redemption Date (assuming the Notes matured on the Par Call Date) on a semi-annual basis (assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) at the Treasury Rate plus 35 basis points less (b) interest accrued to, but not including, the Redemption Date, and

(2) 100% of the principal amount of the Notes to be redeemed, plus, in either case, accrued and unpaid interest thereon to, but not including, the Redemption Date.

(ii) Notwithstanding the foregoing, on or after the Par Call Date, the Company may redeem the Notes, in whole or in part, at any time and from time to time, at a Redemption Price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Notes being redeemed plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon to, but not including, the Redemption Date.

(iii) For purposes of calculating the Redemption Price in connection with the redemption of the Notes, on any Redemption Date, the following terms have the meanings set forth below:

(1) “Treasury Rate” means, with respect to any Redemption Date, the yield determined by the Company in accordance with the following two paragraphs.

The Treasury Rate shall be determined by the Company after 4:15 p.m., New York City time (or after such time as yields on U.S. government securities are posted daily by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System), on the third Business Day preceding the Redemption Date based upon the yield or yields for the most recent day that appear after such time on such day in the most recent statistical release published by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System designated as “Selected Interest Rates (Daily)-H.15” (or any successor designation or publication) (“H.15”) under the caption “U.S. government securities-Treasury constant maturities-Nominal” (or any successor caption or heading) (“H.15 TCM”). In determining the Treasury Rate, the Company shall select, as applicable: (1) the yield for the Treasury constant maturity on H.15 exactly equal to the period from the Redemption Date to the Par Call Date (the “Remaining Life”); or (2) if there is no such Treasury constant maturity on H.15 exactly equal to the Remaining Life, the two yields—one yield corresponding to the Treasury constant maturity on H.15 immediately shorter than and one yield corresponding to the Treasury constant maturity on H.15 immediately longer than the Remaining Life—and shall interpolate to the Par Call Date on a straight-line basis (using the actual number of days) using such yields and rounding the result to three decimal places; or (3) if there is no such Treasury constant maturity on H.15 shorter than or longer than the Remaining Life, the yield for the single Treasury constant maturity on H.15 closest to the Remaining Life. For purposes of this paragraph, the applicable Treasury constant maturity or maturities on H.15 shall be deemed to have a maturity date equal to the relevant number of months or years, as applicable, of such Treasury constant maturity from the Redemption Date.

If on the third Business Day preceding the Redemption Date H.15 TCM is no longer published, the Company shall calculate the Treasury Rate based on the rate per annum equal to the semi-annual equivalent yield to maturity at 11:00 a.m., New York City time, on the second Business Day preceding such Redemption Date of the United States Treasury security maturing on, or with a maturity that is closest to, the Par Call Date, as applicable. If there is no United States Treasury security maturing on the Par Call Date but there are two or more United States Treasury securities with a maturity date equally distant from the Par Call Date, one with a maturity date preceding the Par Call Date and one with a maturity date following the Par Call Date, the Company shall select the United States Treasury security with a maturity date preceding the Par Call Date. If there are two or more United States Treasury securities maturing on the Par Call Date or two or more United States Treasury securities meeting the criteria of the preceding sentence, the Company shall select from among these two or more United States Treasury securities the United States Treasury security that is trading closest to par based upon the average of the bid and asked prices for such United States Treasury securities at 11:00 a.m., New York City time. In determining the Treasury Rate in accordance with the terms of this paragraph, the semi-annual yield to maturity of the applicable United States Treasury security shall be based upon the average of the bid and asked prices (expressed as a percentage of principal amount) at 11:00 a.m., New York City time, of such United States Treasury security, and rounded to three decimal places.

(iv) The Company’s actions and determinations in determining the Redemption Price shall be conclusive and binding for all purposes, absent manifest error. For the avoidance of doubt, the Trustee shall have no duty to calculate the Redemption Price nor shall it have any duty to review or verify the Company’s calculations of the Redemption Price.

(v) Notice of any redemption will be mailed or electronically delivered (or otherwise transmitted in accordance with the depositary’s procedures) at least 10 days but not more than 60 days before the Redemption Date to each holder of Notes to be redeemed. All notices of redemption shall contain the information set forth in Section 11.04 of the Base Indenture.

(vi) Any exercise of the Company’s option to redeem the Notes will be done in compliance with the Indenture and the Investment Company Act, to the extent applicable.

(vii) If the Company elects to redeem only a portion of the Notes, selection of the Notes for redemption will be made pro rata, by lot or by such other method as the Trustee in its sole discretion deems appropriate and fair and subject to and otherwise in accordance with the procedures of the applicable depository. No Notes of a principal amount of $2,000 or less will be redeemed in part. If any note is to be redeemed in part only, the notice of redemption that relates to the note will state the portion of the principal amount of the note to be redeemed. A new note in a principal amount equal to the unredeemed portion of the note will be issued in the name of the holder of the note upon surrender for cancellation of the original note. For so long as the Notes are held by DTC, the redemption of the Notes shall be done in accordance with the policies and procedures of the depositary.

(viii) Unless the Company defaults in payment of the Redemption Price, on and after the Redemption Date, interest will cease to accrue on the Notes called for redemption hereunder.

(i) The Notes shall not be subject to any sinking fund pursuant to Section 12.01 of the Base Indenture.

(j) The Notes shall be issuable in denominations of $2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof.

(k) Holders of the Notes will not have the option to have the Notes repaid prior to the Stated Maturity other than in accordance with Article Thirteen of the Indenture.

(l) The Notes are hereby designated as “Senior Securities” under the Indenture.

ARTICLE II

DEFINITIONS AND OTHER PROVISIONS OF GENERAL APPLICATION

Section 2.01 Except as may be provided in a Future Supplemental Indenture, for the benefit of the Holders of the Notes but no other series of Securities under the Indenture, whether now or hereafter issued and Outstanding, Article One of the Base Indenture shall be amended by adding the following defined terms to Section 1.01 in appropriate alphabetical sequence, as follows:

“Below Investment Grade Rating Event” means the Notes are downgraded below Investment Grade by each of the Rating Agencies on any date from the date of the public notice of an arrangement that results in a Change of Control until the end of the 60-day period following public notice of the occurrence of a Change of Control (which period shall be extended so long as the rating of the Notes is under publicly announced consideration for possible downgrade by either of the Rating Agencies); provided that a Below Investment Grade Rating Event otherwise arising by virtue of a particular reduction in rating shall not be deemed to have occurred in respect of a particular Change of Control (and thus shall not be deemed a Below Investment Grade Rating Event for purposes of the definition of Change of Control Repurchase Event hereunder) if the Rating Agency or Rating Agencies making the reduction in rating to which this definition would otherwise apply do not announce or publicly confirm or inform the Trustee in writing at its request that the reduction was the result, in whole or in part, of any event or circumstance comprised of or arising as a result of, or in respect of, the applicable Change of Control (whether or not the applicable Change of Control shall have occurred at the time of the Below Investment Grade Rating Event).

“Change of Control” means the occurrence of any of the following:

(1) the direct or indirect sale, lease, transfer, conveyance or other disposition (other than by way of merger or consolidation) in one or a series of related transactions, of all or substantially all of the assets of the Company and its Controlled Subsidiaries taken as a whole to any “person” or “group” (as those terms are used in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act), other than to any Permitted Holders; provided that, for the avoidance of doubt, a pledge of assets pursuant to any secured debt instrument of the Company or its Controlled Subsidiaries shall not be deemed to be any such sale, lease, transfer, conveyance or disposition;

(2) the consummation of any transaction (including, without limitation, any merger or consolidation) the result of which is that any “person” or “group” (as those terms are used in Section 13(d)(3) of the Exchange Act) (other than any Permitted Holders) becomes the “beneficial owner” (as defined in Rules 13d-3 and 13d-5 under the Exchange Act), directly or indirectly, of more than 50% of the outstanding Voting Stock of the Company, measured by voting power rather than number of shares; or

(3) the approval by the Company’s stockholders of any plan or proposal relating to the liquidation or dissolution of the Company.

“Change of Control Repurchase Event” means the occurrence of a Change of Control and a Below Investment Grade Rating Event.

“Controlled Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary of the Company, 50% or more of the outstanding equity interests of which are owned by the Company and its direct or indirect Subsidiaries and of which the Company possesses, directly or indirectly, the power to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies, whether through the ownership of voting equity interests, by agreement or otherwise.

“Corporate Trust Office” means the principal office of the Trustee at which at any time its corporate trust business shall be administered, which office at the date hereof for purposes of transfer, registration, surrender or presentment only is located at 111 Fillmore Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55107, Attention: Hercules Capital, Inc. (5.350% Notes due 2029), and for all other purposes is located at 60 Livingston Ave, Saint Paul, MN 55107, Attention: Hercules Capital, Inc. (5.350% Notes due 2029), or such other address as the Trustee may designate from time to time by notice to the Holders and the Company, or the principal corporate trust office of any successor Trustee (or such other address as such successor Trustee may designate from time to time by notice to the Holders and the Company).

“Exchange Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and any statute successor thereto.”

“Fitch” means Fitch Ratings, Inc., or any successor thereto.

“GAAP” means generally accepted accounting principles in the United States set forth in the opinions and pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the opinions and pronouncements of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board and the statements and pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board or in such other statements by such other entity as have been approved by a significant segment of the accounting profession in the United States, which are in effect from time to time.”

“Investment Company Act” means the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules, regulations and interpretations promulgated thereunder, to the extent applicable, and any statute successor thereto.

“Investment Grade” means a rating of Baa3 or better by Moody’s (or the equivalent rating under any successor rating categories of Moody’s) and a rating of BBB- or better by Fitch (or the equivalent rating under any successor rating categories of Fitch) (or, in each case, if such Rating Agency ceases to rate the Notes for reasons outside of the Company’s control, the equivalent investment grade credit rating from any Rating Agency selected by the Company as a replacement Rating Agency).

“Moody’s” means Moody’s Investors Services, Inc. or any successor thereto.

“Permitted Holders” means (i) the Company or (ii) one or more of the Company’s Controlled Subsidiaries.

“Rating Agency” or “Rating Agencies” means:

(1) each of Moody’s and Fitch; and

(2) if either of Moody’s or Fitch ceases to rate the Notes or fails to make a rating of the Notes publicly available for reasons outside of the control of the Company, a “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” within the meaning of Section 3(a)(62) of the Exchange Act, selected by the Company as a replacement agency for Moody’s or Fitch, or both, as the case may be.

“Significant Subsidiary” means any Subsidiary that would be a “significant subsidiary” as defined in Article 1, Rule 1-02 of Regulation S-X under the Exchange Act, as such regulation is in effect on the date of this Indenture (but excluding any Subsidiary which is (a) a non-recourse or limited recourse Subsidiary, (b) a bankruptcy remote special purpose vehicle or (c) is not consolidated with the Company for purposes of GAAP).

“Voting Stock” as applied to stock of any Person, means shares, interests, participations or other equivalents in the equity interest (however designated) in such Person having ordinary voting power for the election of a majority of the directors (or the equivalent) of such Person, other than shares, interests, participations or other equivalents having such power only by reason of the occurrence of a contingency.

ARTICLE III

SECURITIES FORMS

Section 3.01 Except as may be provided in a Future Supplemental Indenture, for the benefit of the Holders of the Notes but no other series of Securities under the Indenture, whether now or hereafter issued and Outstanding, Article Two of the Base Indenture shall be amended by adding the following new Section 2.04 thereto, as set forth below:

“Section 2.04. Certificated Notes. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in the Indenture, Notes in physical, certificated form will be issued and delivered to each person that the Depositary identifies as a beneficial owner of the related Notes only if:

(a)

the Depositary notifies the Company at any time that it is unwilling or unable to continue as depositary for the Notes in global form and a successor depositary is not appointed within 90 days;

(b)

the Depositary ceases to be registered as a clearing agency under the Exchange Act and a successor depositary is not appointed within 90 days; or

(c)

an Event of Default with respect to the Notes has occurred and is continuing and such beneficial owner requests that its Notes be issued in physical, certificated form.”

ARTICLE IV

EXECUTION OF SECURITIES

Section 4.01 Except as may be provided in a Future Supplemental Indenture, for the benefit of the Holders of the Notes but no other series of Securities under the Indenture, whether now or hereafter issued and Outstanding, Section 3.03 of the Base Indenture shall be amended by replacing the first paragraph thereof with the following:

“The Securities shall be executed on behalf of the Company by any one of the Chairman of the Board, the Chief Executive Officer, the Chief Financial Officer or one of its Co-Presidents and attested by its Secretary. The signature of any of these officers on the Securities may be manual or facsimile signatures of the present or any future such authorized officer and may be imprinted or otherwise reproduced on the Securities.”

ARTICLE V

REMEDIES

Section 5.01 Except as may be provided in a Future Supplemental Indenture, for the benefit of the Holders of the Notes but no other series of Securities under the Indenture, whether now or hereafter issued and Outstanding, Section 5.01 of the Base Indenture shall be amended by replacing clauses (ii) and (iv) thereof with the following:

“(ii) default in the payment of the principal of (or premium, if any, on) any Note when it becomes due and payable at its Maturity, including upon any Redemption Date or required repurchase date; or”

“(iv) the Company’s failure for 60 consecutive days after written notice from the Trustee or the Holders of at least 25% in principal amount of the Notes then Outstanding has been received to comply with any of the Company’s other agreements contained in the Notes or this Indenture; or”

Section 5.02 Except as may be provided in a Future Supplemental Indenture, for the benefit of the Holders of the Notes but no other series of Securities under the Indenture, whether now or hereafter issued and Outstanding, Section 5.01 of the Base Indenture shall be amended by adding the following language as clause (ix):

“default by the Company or any of its Significant Subsidiaries, with respect to any mortgage, agreement or other instrument under which there may be outstanding, or by which there may be secured or evidenced, any indebtedness for money borrowed in excess of $50 million in the aggregate of the Company and/or any such Significant Subsidiary, whether such indebtedness now exists or shall hereafter be created (i) resulting in such indebtedness becoming or being declared due and payable or (ii) constituting a failure to pay the principal or interest of any such debt when due and payable at its stated maturity, upon required repurchase, upon declaration of acceleration or otherwise, unless, in either case, such indebtedness is discharged, or such acceleration is rescinded, stayed or annulled, within a period of 30 calendar days after written notice of such failure is given to the Company by the Trustee or to the Company and the Trustee by the Holders of at least 25% in aggregate principal amount of the Notes then Outstanding.”

Section 5.03 Except as may be provided in a Future Supplemental Indenture, for the benefit of the Holders of the Notes but no other series of Securities under the Indenture, whether now or hereafter issued and Outstanding, Section 5.02 of the Base Indenture shall be amended by replacing the first paragraph of Section 5.02 with the following:

“If an Event of Default with respect to the Notes occurs and is continuing, then and in every such case (other than an Event of Default specified in Section 5.01(v) or 5.01(vi)), the Trustee or the Holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of the Outstanding Notes may declare the principal of all the Outstanding Notes to be due and payable immediately, by a notice in writing to the Company (and to the Trustee if given by the Holders), and upon any such declaration such principal or specified portion thereof shall become immediately due and payable; provided that 100% of the principal of, and accrued and unpaid interest on, the Notes will automatically become due and payable in the case of an Event of Default specified in Section 5.01(v) or 5.01(vi) hereof.

Section 5.04 Except as may be provided in a Future Supplemental Indenture, for the benefit of the Holders of the Notes but no other series of Securities under the Indenture, whether now or hereafter issued and Outstanding, Section 5.12 of the Base Indenture shall be amended by replacing clause (iii) thereof with the following:

“the Trustee need not take any action that it determines in good faith may involve it in personal liability or be unjustly prejudicial to the Holders of Notes not consenting.”

ARTICLE VI

COVENANTS

Section 6.01 Except as may be provided in a Future Supplemental Indenture, for the benefit of the Holders of the Notes but no other series of Securities under the Indenture, whether now or hereafter issued and Outstanding, Article Ten of the Base Indenture shall be amended by adding the following new Sections 10.08 and 10.09 thereto, each as set forth below:

“Section 10.08 Section 18(a)(1)(A) of the Investment Company Act.

The Company hereby agrees that for the period of time during which Notes are Outstanding, the Company will not violate (whether or not it is subject to) Section 18(a)(1)(A) as modified by Section 61(a) of the Investment Company Act or any successor provisions thereto of the Investment Company Act, as such obligations may be amended or superseded, giving effect to any exemptive relief granted to the Company by the Commission (even if the Company is no longer subject to such provisions of the Investment Company Act).”

“Section 10.09. Section 18(a)(1)(B) of the Investment Company Act.

The Company hereby agrees that for the period of time during which the Notes are Outstanding, the Company will not violate Section 18(a)(1)(B) as modified by Section 61(a)(2) and the definitional provisions of the Investment Company Act or any successor provisions thereto of the Investment Company Act, whether or not the Company is subject to such provisions of the Investment Company Act, and after giving effect to (i) any exemptive relief granted to the Company by the Commission and (ii) any no-action relief granted by the Commission to another business development company or to the Company if it determines to seek such similar no-action or other relief), except that the Company may declare a cash dividend or distribution, notwithstanding the prohibition contained in Section 18(a)(1)(B) as modified by Sections 61(a)(1) and (2) and the definitional provisions of the Investment Company Act, but only up to such amount as is necessary in order for the Company to maintain its status as a regulated investment company under Subchapter M of the Code; provided, however, that the prohibition in this Section 10.09 shall not apply until such time as the Company’s asset coverage has been below the minimum asset coverage required pursuant to Section 18(a)(1)(B) as modified by Section 61(a)(2) and the definitional provisions of the Investment Company Act or any successor provisions thereto of the Investment Company Act (after giving effect to any exemptive relief granted to the Company by the Commission) for more than six (6) consecutive months.”

“Section 10.10 Commission Reports and Reports to Holders.

If, at any time, the Company is not subject to the reporting requirements of Sections 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act to file any periodic reports with the Commission, the Company agrees to furnish to the Holders of Notes and the Trustee for the period of time during which the Notes are Outstanding: (i) within 90 days after the end of the each fiscal year of the Company, audited annual consolidated financial statements of the Company and (ii) within 45 days after the end of each fiscal quarter of the Company (other than the Company’s fourth fiscal quarter), unaudited interim consolidated financial statements of the Company. All such financial statements shall be prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with GAAP, as applicable.”

ARTICLE VII

OFFER TO REPURCHASE UPON A CHANGE OF CONTROL REPURCHASE EVENT

Section 7.01 Except as may be provided in a Future Supplemental Indenture, for the benefit of the Holders of the Notes but no other series of Securities under the Indenture, whether now or hereafter issued and Outstanding, Article Thirteen of the Base Indenture shall be amended by replacing Sections 13.01 to 13.05 with the following:

“Section 13.01 Change of Control.

If a Change of Control Repurchase Event occurs, unless the Company shall have exercised its right to redeem the Notes in full, the Company shall make an offer to each Holder of the Notes to repurchase all or any part (in minimum denominations of $2,000 and integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof) of that Holder’s Notes at a repurchase price in cash equal to 100% of the aggregate principal amount of Notes repurchased plus any accrued and unpaid interest on the Notes repurchased to, but not including, the date of repurchase. Within 30 days following any Change of Control Repurchase Event or, at the Company’s option, prior to any Change of Control, but after the public announcement of the Change of Control, the Company will mail a notice to each Holder describing the transaction or transactions that constitute or may constitute the Change of Control Repurchase Event and offering to repurchase Notes on the payment date specified in the notice, which date will be no earlier than 30 days and no later than 60 days from the date such notice is mailed. The notice shall, if mailed prior to the date of consummation of the Change of Control, state that the offer to purchase is conditioned on the Change of Control Repurchase Event occurring on or prior to the payment date specified in the notice. The Company shall comply with the requirements of Rule 14e-1 under the Exchange Act and any other securities laws and regulations thereunder to the extent those laws and regulations are applicable in connection with the repurchase of the Notes as a result of a Change of Control Repurchase Event.

To the extent that the provisions of any securities laws or regulations conflict with this Section 13.01, the Company shall comply with the applicable securities laws and regulations and shall not be deemed to have breached its obligations under this Section 13.01 by virtue of such conflict.

On the Change of Control Repurchase Event payment date, subject to extension if necessary to comply with the provisions of the Investment Company Act, the Company shall, to the extent lawful:

(1)

accept for payment all Notes or portions of Notes properly tendered pursuant to its offer;

(2)

deposit with the Paying Agent an amount equal to the aggregate purchase price in respect of all Notes or portions of Notes properly tendered; and

(3)

deliver or cause to be delivered to the Trustee the Notes properly accepted, together with an Officers’ Certificate stating the aggregate principal amount of Notes being purchased by the Company.

The Paying Agent will promptly remit to each Holder of Notes properly tendered the purchase price for the Notes, and the Trustee will promptly authenticate and mail (or cause to be transferred by book-entry) to each Holder a new Note equal in principal amount to any unpurchased portion of any Notes surrendered; provided that each new Note will be in a minimum principal amount of $2,000 or an integral multiple of $1,000 in excess thereof.

If any Repayment Date upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event falls on a day that is not a Business Day, then the required payment will be made on the next succeeding Business Day and no additional interest will accrue as a result of such delayed payment.

The Company will not be required to make an offer to repurchase the Notes upon a Change of Control Repurchase Event if a third party makes an offer in respect of the Notes in the manner, at the time and otherwise in compliance with the requirements for an offer made by the Company and such third party purchases all Notes properly tendered and not withdrawn under its offer.”

ARTICLE VIII

CONSOLIDATION, MERGER, CONVEYANCE, OR TRANSFER

Section 8.01 Except as may be provided in a Future Supplemental Indenture, for the benefit of the Holders of the Notes but no other series of Securities under the Indenture, whether now or hereafter issued and Outstanding, Article Eight of the Base Indenture shall be amended by replacing Section 8.01 with the following:

“Section 8.01 Company May Consolidate, Etc., Only on Certain Terms.

Unless otherwise provided in the terms of such Notes, the Company shall not merge or consolidate with or into any other Person (other than a merger of a wholly owned subsidiary of the Company into the Company), or sell, transfer, lease, convey or otherwise dispose of all or substantially all of the property of the Company (provided that, for the avoidance of doubt, a pledge of assets pursuant to any secured debt instrument of the Company or its Controlled Subsidiaries shall not be deemed to be any such sale, transfer, lease, conveyance or disposition) in any one transaction or series of related transactions, unless:

(i) the Company is the surviving person (the “Surviving Person”) or the Surviving Person (if other than the Company) formed by such merger or consolidation or to which such sale, transfer, lease, conveyance or disposition is made shall be a statutory trust, corporation or limited liability company organized and existing under the laws of the United States of America or any state or territory thereof;

(ii) the Surviving Person (if other than the Company) expressly assumes, by supplemental indenture in form reasonably satisfactory to the Trustee, executed and delivered to the Trustee by such Surviving Person, the due and punctual payment of the principal of, and premium, if any, and interest on, all the Notes outstanding, and the due and punctual performance and observance of all the covenants and conditions of the Indenture to be performed by the Company;

(iii) immediately before and immediately after giving effect to such transaction or series of related transactions, no Default or Event of Default shall have occurred and be continuing; and

(iv) the Company and the successor Person have delivered to the Trustee an Officers’ Certificate and an Opinion of Counsel each stating that such transaction and the supplemental indenture, if any, in respect thereto, comply with this Article and that all conditions precedent herein relating to such transaction have been complied with.”

ARTICLE IX

MISCELLANEOUS

Section 9.01 This Tenth Supplemental Indenture and the Notes shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of the State of New York, without regard to principles of conflicts of laws that would cause the application of laws of another jurisdiction. This Tenth Supplemental Indenture is subject to the provisions of the Trust Indenture Act that are required to be part of the Indenture and shall, to the extent applicable, be governed by such provisions. If any provision of the Indenture limits, qualifies or conflicts with the duties imposed by Section 318(c) of the Trust Indenture Act, the imposed duties will control.

Section 9.02 In case any provision in this Tenth Supplemental Indenture or in the Notes shall be invalid, illegal or unenforceable, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions shall not in any way be affected or impaired thereby.

Section 9.03 This Tenth Supplemental Indenture may be executed in counterparts, each of which will be an original, but such counterparts will together constitute but one and the same Tenth Supplemental Indenture. The exchange of copies of this Tenth Supplemental Indenture and of signature pages by facsimile, .pdf transmission, email or other electronic means shall constitute effective execution and delivery of this Tenth Supplemental Indenture for all purposes. Signatures of the parties hereto transmitted by facsimile, .pdf transmission, email or other electronic means shall be deemed to be their original signatures for all purposes. For the avoidance of doubt, all notices, approvals, consents, requests and any communications hereunder or with respect to the Notes must be in writing (provided that any communication sent to Trustee hereunder must be in the form of a document that is signed manually or by way of a digital signature provided by DocuSign or Adobe (or such other digital signature provider as specified in writing to Trustee by the authorized representative)), in English. The Company agrees to assume all risks arising out of the use of using digital signatures and electronic methods to submit communications to Trustee, including without limitation the risk of Trustee acting on unauthorized instructions, and the risk of interception and misuse by third parties.

Section 9.04 The Base Indenture, as supplemented and amended by this Tenth Supplemental Indenture, is in all respects ratified and confirmed, and the Base Indenture and this Tenth Supplemental Indenture shall be read, taken and construed as one and the same instrument with respect to the Notes. All provisions included in this Tenth Supplemental Indenture supersede any conflicting provisions included in the Base Indenture with respect to the Notes, unless not permitted by law. The Trustee accepts the trusts created by the Base Indenture, as supplemented by this Tenth Supplemental Indenture, and agrees to perform the same upon the terms and conditions of the Base Indenture, as supplemented by this Tenth Supplemental Indenture.

Section 9.05 The provisions of this Tenth Supplemental Indenture shall become effective as of the date hereof.

Section 9.06 Notwithstanding anything else to the contrary herein, the terms and provisions of this Tenth Supplemental Indenture shall apply only to the Notes and shall not apply to any other series of Securities under the Indenture and this Tenth Supplemental Indenture shall not and does not otherwise affect, modify, alter, supplement or change the terms and provisions of any other series of Securities under the Indenture, whether now or hereafter issued and Outstanding.

Section 9.07 The recitals contained herein and in the Notes shall be taken as the statements of the Company, and the Trustee assumes no responsibility for their correctness. The Trustee makes no representations as to the validity or sufficiency of this Tenth Supplemental Indenture, the Notes or any Additional Notes, except that the Trustee represents that it is duly authorized to execute and deliver this Tenth Supplemental Indenture, authenticate the Notes and any Additional Notes and perform its obligations hereunder. The Trustee shall not be accountable for the use or application by the Company of the Notes or any Additional Notes or the proceeds thereof. All rights, protections, privileges, indemnities, immunities and benefits granted or afforded to the Trustee under the Indenture shall be deemed incorporated herein by this reference and shall be deemed applicable to all actions taken, suffered or omitted by the Trustee in each of its capacities hereunder.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Tenth Supplemental Indenture to be duly executed as of the date first above written.


HERCULES CAPITAL, INC.

By:		/s/ Seth H. Meyer
Name:		Seth H. Meyer
Title:		Chief Financial Officer


U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION , as Trustee

By:		/s/ Quinton M. DePompolo
Name:		Quinton M. DePompolo
Title:		Vice President

[Signature page to Tenth Supplemental Indenture]

Exhibit A – Form of Global Note

This Security is a Global Note within the meaning of the Indenture hereinafter referred to and is registered in the name of The Depository Trust Company or a nominee thereof. This Security may not be exchanged in whole or in part for a Security registered, and no transfer of this Security in whole or in part may be registered, in the name of any Person other than The Depository Trust Company or a nominee thereof, except in the limited circumstances described in the Indenture.

Unless this certificate is presented by an authorized representative of The Depository Trust Company to the issuer or its agent for registration of transfer, exchange or payment and such certificate issued in exchange for this certificate is registered in the name of Cede & Co., or such other name as requested by an authorized representative of The Depository Trust Company, any transfer, pledge or other use hereof for value or otherwise by or to any person is wrongful, as the registered owner hereof, Cede & Co., has an interest herein.

Hercules Capital, Inc.


No.		$300,000,000
		CUSIP No. 42711MAA1
		ISIN No. US42711MAA18

5.350% Notes due 2029

Hercules Capital, Inc., a corporation duly organized and existing under the laws of Maryland (herein called the “Company”, which term includes any successor Person under the Indenture hereinafter referred to), for value received, hereby promises to pay to Cede & Co., or registered assigns, the principal sum of U.S. DOLLARS (U.S.$ ) on February 10, 2029, and to pay interest thereon from February 10, 2026 or from the most recent Interest Payment Date to which interest has been paid or duly provided for, on February 10 and August 10 in each year, commencing August 10, 2026, at the rate of 5.350% per annum, until the principal hereof is paid or made available for payment. The interest so payable, and punctually paid or duly provided for, on any Interest Payment Date will, as provided in such Indenture, be paid to the Person in whose name this Security is registered at the close of business on the Regular Record Date for such interest, which shall be January 26 and July 26 (whether or not a Business Day), as the case may be, next preceding such Interest Payment Date. Any such interest not so punctually paid or duly provided for will forthwith cease to be payable to the Holder on such Regular Record Date and may either be paid to the Person in whose name this Security is registered at the close of business on a Special Record Date for the payment of such Defaulted Interest to be fixed by the Trustee, notice whereof shall be given to Holders of Securities of this series not less than 10 days prior to such Special Record Date, or be paid at any time in any other lawful manner not inconsistent with the requirements of any securities exchange on which the Securities of this series may be listed, and upon such notice as may be required by such exchange, all as more fully provided in said Indenture. This Security may be issued as part of a series.

Payment of the principal of (and premium, if any, on) and any such interest on this Security will be made at the Corporate Trust Office of the Trustee or at such other address as designated by the Trustee, in such coin or currency of the United States of America as at the time of payment is legal tender for payment of public and private debts; provided, however, that at the option of the Company payment of interest may be made by check mailed to the address of the Person entitled thereto as such address shall appear in the Security Register; provided, further, however, that so long as this Security is registered to Cede & Co., such payment will be made by wire transfer in accordance with the procedures established by The Depository Trust Company and the Trustee.

Reference is hereby made to the further provisions of this Security set forth on the reverse hereof, which further provisions shall for all purposes have the same effect as if set forth at this place.

Unless the certificate of authentication hereon has been executed by the Trustee referred to on the reverse hereof by manual signature, this Security shall not be entitled to any benefit under the Indenture or be valid or obligatory for any purpose.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Company has caused this instrument to be duly executed.

Dated:


HERCULES CAPITAL, INC.

By:
		Name:
		Title:


Attest

By:
		Name:
		Title:

This is one of the Securities of the series designated therein referred to in the within-mentioned Indenture.

Dated:


U.S. BANK TRUST COMPANY, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION as Trustee

By:
		Authorized Signatory

Hercules Capital, Inc.

5.350% Notes due 2029

This Security is one of a duly authorized issue of Senior Securities of the Company (herein called the “Securities”), issued and to be issued in one or more series under an Indenture, dated as of March 6, 2012 (herein called the “Base Indenture”), between the Company and U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association, as Trustee (herein called the “Trustee”, which term includes any successor trustee under the Base Indenture), and reference is hereby made to the Base Indenture for a statement of the respective rights, limitations of rights, duties and immunities thereunder of the Company, the Trustee, and the Holders of the Securities and of the terms upon which the Securities are, and are to be, authenticated and delivered, as amended and supplemented by the Tenth Supplemental Indenture relating to the Securities, dated as of February 10, 2026, by and between the Company and the Trustee (herein called the “Tenth Supplemental Indenture”; and together with the Base Indenture, the “Indenture”). In the event of any conflict between the Base Indenture and the Tenth Supplemental Indenture, the Tenth Supplemental Indenture shall govern and control.

This Security is one of the series designated on the face hereof, which series is initially limited in aggregate principal amount to $300,000,000. Under a Board Resolution, Officers’ Certificate pursuant to Board Resolutions or an indenture supplement, the Company may from time to time, without the consent of the Holders of Securities, issue additional Securities of this series (in any such case “Additional Securities”) having the same ranking and the same interest rate, maturity and other terms as the Securities. Any Additional Securities and the existing Securities will constitute a single series under the Indenture and all references to the relevant Securities herein shall include the Additional Securities unless the context otherwise requires. The aggregate amount of outstanding Securities represented hereby may from time to time be reduced or increased, as appropriate, to reflect exchanges and redemptions.

The Securities of this series are subject to redemption pursuant to Section 11.01 of the Base Indenture and as follows:

Prior to January 10, 2029 (one month prior to their maturity date) (the “Par Call Date”), the Company may redeem the Securities at its option, in whole or in part, at any time and from time to time, at a Redemption Price (expressed as a percentage of principal amount and rounded to three decimal places) equal to the greater of:

(i) (a) the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest thereon discounted to the Redemption Date (assuming the Securities matured on the Par Call Date) on a semi-annual basis (assuming a 360-day year consisting of twelve 30-day months) at the Treasury Rate plus 35 basis points less (b) interest accrued to, but not including, the Redemption Date, and

(ii) 100% of the principal amount of the Securities to be redeemed, plus, in either case, accrued and unpaid interest thereon to, but not including, the Redemption Date.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, on or after the Par Call Date, the Company may redeem the Securities, in whole or in part, at any time and from time to time, at a Redemption Price equal to 100% of the principal amount of the Securities being redeemed plus accrued and unpaid interest thereon to, but not including, the Redemption Date.

For purposes of calculating the Redemption Price in connection with the redemption of the Securities, on any Redemption Date, the following terms have the meanings set forth below:

“Treasury Rate” means, with respect to any Redemption Date, the yield determined by the Company in accordance with the following two paragraphs.

successor caption or heading) (“H.15 TCM”). In determining the Treasury Rate, the Company shall select, as applicable: (1) the yield for the Treasury constant maturity on H.15 exactly equal to the period from the Redemption Date to the Par Call Date (the “Remaining Life”); or (2) if there is no such Treasury constant maturity on H.15 exactly equal to the Remaining Life, the two yields—one yield corresponding to the Treasury constant maturity on H.15 immediately shorter than and one yield corresponding to the Treasury constant maturity on H.15 immediately longer than the Remaining Life—and shall interpolate to the Par Call Date on a straight-line basis (using the actual number of days) using such yields and rounding the result to three decimal places; or (3) if there is no such Treasury constant maturity on H.15 shorter than or longer than the Remaining Life, the yield for the single Treasury constant maturity on H.15 closest to the Remaining Life. For purposes of this paragraph, the applicable Treasury constant maturity or maturities on H.15 shall be deemed to have a maturity date equal to the relevant number of months or years, as applicable, of such Treasury constant maturity from the Redemption Date.

The Company’s actions and determinations in determining the Redemption Price shall be conclusive and binding for all purposes, absent manifest error. For the avoidance of doubt, the Trustee shall have no duty to calculate the Redemption Price nor shall it have any duty to review or verify the Company’s calculations of the Redemption Price.

Notice of any redemption will be mailed or electronically delivered (or otherwise transmitted in accordance with the depositary’s procedures) at least 10 days but not more than 60 days before the Redemption Date to each holder of Securities to be redeemed. All notices of redemption shall contain the information set forth in Section 11.04 of the Base Indenture.

Any exercise of the Company’s option to redeem the Securities will be done in compliance with the Indenture and the Investment Company Act, to the extent applicable.

If the Company elects to redeem only a portion of the Securities of this series, selection of the Securities for redemption will be made pro rata, by lot or by such other method as the Trustee in its sole discretion deems appropriate and fair and subject to and otherwise in accordance with the procedures of the applicable depository. No Securities of a principal amount of $2,000 or less will be redeemed in part. If any note is to be redeemed in part only, the notice of redemption that relates to the note will state the portion of the principal amount of the note to be redeemed. A new note in a principal amount equal to the unredeemed portion of the note will be issued in the name of the holder of the note upon surrender for cancellation of the original note. For so long as the Securities are held by DTC, the redemption of the Securities shall be done in accordance with the policies and procedures of the depositary.

Unless the Company defaults in payment of the Redemption Price, on and after the Redemption Date, interest will cease to accrue on the Securities called for redemption hereunder.

Holders will have the right to require the Company to repurchase their Securities upon the occurrence of a Change of Control Repurchase Event as set forth in the Indenture.

The Indenture contains provisions for defeasance at any time of the entire indebtedness of this Security or certain restrictive covenants and Events of Default with respect to this Security, in each case upon compliance with certain conditions set forth in the Indenture.

If an Event of Default with respect to Securities of this series shall occur and be continuing (other than Events of Default related to certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization as set forth in the Indenture), the principal of the Securities of this series may be declared due and payable in the manner and with the effect provided in the Indenture. In the case of certain events of bankruptcy, insolvency or reorganization described in the Indenture, 100% of the principal of and accrued and unpaid interest on the Securities will automatically become due and payable.

The Indenture permits, with certain exceptions as therein provided, the amendment thereof and the modification of the rights and obligations of the Company and the rights of the Holders of the Securities of each series to be affected under the Indenture at any time by the Company and the Trustee with the consent of the Holders of not less than a majority in principal amount of the Securities at the time Outstanding of each series to be affected. The Indenture also contains provisions permitting the Holders of specified percentages in principal amount of the Securities of each series at the time Outstanding, on behalf of the Holders of all Securities of such series, to waive compliance by the Company with certain provisions of the Indenture and certain past defaults under the Indenture and their consequences. Any such consent or waiver by the Holder of this Security shall be conclusive and binding upon such Holder and upon all future Holders of this Security and of any Security issued upon the registration of transfer hereof or in exchange herefor or in lieu hereof, whether or not notation of such consent or waiver is made upon this Security.

As provided in and subject to the provisions of the Indenture, the Holder of this Security shall not have the right to institute any proceeding with respect to the Indenture or for the appointment of a receiver or trustee or for any other remedy thereunder, unless such Holder shall have previously given the Trustee written notice of a continuing Event of Default with respect to the Securities of this series, the Holders of not less than 25% in principal amount of the Securities of this series at the time Outstanding shall have made written request to the Trustee to institute proceedings in respect of such Event of Default as Trustee and offered the Trustee indemnity, security, or both against the costs, expenses and liabilities to be incurred in compliance with such request, and the Trustee shall not have received from the Holders of a majority in principal amount of Securities of this series at the time Outstanding a direction inconsistent with such request, and shall have failed to institute any such proceeding, for sixty (60) days after receipt of such notice, request and offer of indemnity and/or security. The foregoing shall not apply to any suit instituted by the Holder of this Security for the enforcement of any payment of principal hereof or any premium or interest hereon on or after the respective due dates expressed herein.

No reference herein to the Indenture and no provision of this Security or of the Indenture shall alter or impair the obligation of the Company, which is absolute and unconditional, to pay the principal of and any premium and interest on this Security at the times, place and rate, and in the coin or currency, herein prescribed.

As provided in the Indenture and subject to certain limitations therein set forth, the transfer of this Security is registrable in the Security Register, upon surrender of this Security for registration of transfer at the office or agency of the Company in any place where the principal of and any premium and interest on this Security are payable, duly endorsed by, or accompanied by a written instrument of transfer in form satisfactory to the Company and the Security Registrar duly executed by, the Holder hereof or his attorney duly authorized in writing, and thereupon one or more new Securities of this series and of like tenor, of authorized denominations and for the same aggregate principal amount, will be issued to the designated transferee or transferees.

The Securities of this series are issuable only in registered form without coupons in denominations of $2,000 and any integral multiples of $1,000 in excess thereof. As provided in the Indenture and subject to certain limitations therein set forth, Securities of this series are exchangeable for a like aggregate principal amount of Securities of this series and of like tenor of a different authorized denomination, as requested by the Holder surrendering the same.

No service charge shall be made for any such registration of transfer or exchange, but the Company or Trustee may require payment of a sum sufficient to cover any tax or other governmental charge payable in connection therewith.

Prior to due presentment of this Security for registration of transfer, the Company, the Trustee and any agent of the Company or the Trustee may treat the Person in whose name this Security is registered as the owner hereof for all purposes, whether or not this Security be overdue, and neither the Company, the Trustee nor any such agent shall be affected by notice to the contrary.

All terms used in this Security which are defined in the Indenture shall have the meanings assigned to them in the Indenture.

To the extent any provision of this Security conflicts with the express provisions of the Indenture, the provisions of the Indenture shall govern and be controlling.

The Indenture and this Security shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York, without regard to principles of conflicts of laws.


Maryland	814-00702	74-3113410
(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation)	(Commission File No.)	(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.)


1 North B Street, Suite 2000 San Mateo, CA		94401
(Address of principal executive offices)		(Zip Code)


Title of each class	Trading Symbol(s)	Name of each exchange on which registered
Common Stock, par value $0.001 per share	HTGC	New York Stock Exchange
6.25% Notes due 2033	HCXY	New York Stock Exchange


Number		Exhibit

1.1*		Underwriting Agreement, dated February 5, 2026, by and among Hercules Capital, Inc. and Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and SMBC Nikko Securities America, Inc. as representatives of the several underwriters named on Schedule A.

4.1		Indenture, dated as of March 6, 2012, between the Registrant and U.S. Bank National Association (Incorporated by reference to Exhibit (d)(7) of the Company’s Post-Effective Amendment No. 1 to the Registration Statement on Form N-2, File No. 333-179431, filed on April 17, 2012).

4.2		Tenth Supplemental Indenture, dated as of February 10, 2026, between the Registrant and U.S. Bank Trust Company, National Association.

4.3		Form of 5.350% Note due 2029 (included in Exhibit 4.2 hereto).

5.1		Opinion of Dechert LLP.

23.1		Consent of Dechert LLP (included in Exhibit 5.1 hereto).

104		Cover Page Interactive Data File (embedded within the Inline XBRL document).