We established the Mezzanine Finance strategy in 2001 to capitalize on our skills in credit analysis, private equity and workouts. We seek high current return and long-term capital appreciation, emphasizing fundamental credit analysis with a bias toward risk control. We focus on middle market transactions sourced from a broad group of private equity firms and have the flexibility to invest at any layer of the capital structure.

"Most providers of mezzanine capital emphasize transactions below $30 million, and the minimum to access the public high yield bond market has increased to $150 million. We target the deals sized in between," says Bill Sacher, who manages the strategy along with Gary Trabka. "In that range we see opportunities to help finance leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, acquisitions and corporate growth."

The managers have over 40 years of combined experience in leveraged finance and corporate lending. "We look for the following characteristics in our investments," says Trabka, "sustainable cash flow, a proven management team, strong relative position in its market and a well-developed business strategy."

The key elements of our approach include working with experienced management teams and strong equity sponsors, conducting thorough due diligence for every transaction, avoiding overpriced transactions, targeting conservative deal structures, participating in company governance (through board seats or observer rights) and actively monitoring investments to stay ahead of potential credit issues.

Click here for information regarding risk disclosures associated with the strategy.