Middle Market Buyout Pros Contemplating Debt Funds

The big surprise from my evening with a group of middle market buyout pros assembled by Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business and Management was that two out of the three had discussed launching debt funds. Something like a quarter of all middle market buyout deals done are financed by GE Capital, the panelists told nearly 200 in the audience. But GE has told PE investors it is closed for new deals for the rest of the year.

Who will emerge as a dominant player in mid-market debt? At least two buyout firms have thought about doing it themselves, but did not go through with their plans. Listen to the discussion below it’s in seven parts. PE Week subscribers will be able to get the full story in Monday’s issue.

I recorded the panel with my new Pure Digital Flip Video Mino Series Camcorder. It records well, but the audio is a little low, because I was filming from 20 feet away. The device looks a lot like an iPod and garnered a lot of interest at the event. Pure Digital is a Sequoia Capital-backed company.

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