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 which are sourced from the group's extensive relationships in the private equity community.

"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. "In that range we see opportunities to help finance leveraged buyouts, recapitalizations, acquisitions and corporate growth. We look for the following characteristics in our investments, sustainable cash flow, a proven management team, strong relative position in its market and 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.