We surveyed private equity firms, investment banks and mezzanine lenders to get a pulse on the overall market sentiment surrounding M&A. We wanted to solicit the wisdom-of-the-crowd to report on current conditions and to capture what industry participants collectively think about likely future outcomes.

300 M&A professionals representing 267 unique firms completed the survey that was open for 24 hours – 78% from M&A investment banks and 10% from private equity firms.

Quickly find mezzanine investors and junior, subordinated debt providers for merger and acquisition transactions. See how it works in the video below.

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There are numerous types of business investors and a multitude of names by which they are coined; angel, seed, start-up, venture capital, private equity, mezzanine, leveraged buyout, management buyout, public companies, etc.

Investors are usually more active within a certain bandwidth corresponding to the growth cycle of a company from birth to maturity. A simplistic view is to divide investors into the following main categories, which coincide with the phases of a company’s maturing process:

• Angel – founding
• Venture Capital – early stage
• Private Equity – growth phase
• Mezzanine – growth/maturing
• Public – mature

Mezzanine debt is subordinated debt that ranks between senior debt and equity. It is often a more expensive form of financing because it is unsecured (requiring no collateral) and subordinates to senior debt in case of a default.

Mezzanine debt can be used for a variety of purposes, but is generally used in corporate finance deals for growth capital and acquisitions.

Private Equity Info allows you to search U.S. mezzanine firms by state or industry keyword. You may also keyword search the professional biographies of mezzanine executives to quickly determine the right person to approach at a particular firm.

Senior debt refers to debt that is in first-lien position. In the event of a default and subsequent liquidation, the senior lender (often a commercial bank), has first priority in recouping its investment. When a company goes bankrupt, stake holders divide the proceeds from selling the company’s assets. The senior lender is first to be re-paid, followed by the subordinated debt holders, followed by equity holders. Because senior debt’s first priority repayment presents a lower-risk position compared to subordinated debt or equity investors, the senior debt is expected to have more favorable interest rates associated with it, commensurate with the lower risk assumed.