Investment Criteria
Mesirow Financial Private Equity (MFPE) provides capital to companies and their management teams to help grow or acquire businesses. We accomplish this through two related channels:
- Acting as Lead Sponsor
- MFPE is focused on strong partnerships with management teams. Acquisition financing, growth financing and management buyouts in the small-cap marketplace make up the majority of MFPE's lead investments.
- Active Partnering
- Through our proprietary relationships with top-tier venture capital and mid-cap/large-cap buyout funds, MFPE actively partners with other sponsors to facilitate early-stage venture capital transactions as well as larger buyouts.
In selecting our direct investment companies, we seek the following qualifications:
- High-quality management team
- Sustainable competitive advantage
- Clear and growing market opportunity
- Clear path to value creation and realization
- Quality and experience of investment partners
- Capital-efficient business model
- Acceptable financial risk profile
- Attractive initial valuation
- At least two years of operating experience
- Annual revenues of $5 million or greater
- Profitable or near break-even operating results
The MFPE Direct Investment Program typically invests between $3 million and $7 million per transaction.
