Aperçu

Private capital is reshaping the investment landscape.

In an era where capital markets are converging, and traditional boundaries between debt, equity, and hybrid instruments are dissolving, Mayer Brown’s Private Capital Solutions practice stands at the vanguard of this transformation. Our globally integrated platform brings together market-leading practitioners across finance, funds, M&A, tax, regulatory, restructuring, and capital markets to architect and execute the most sophisticated capital solutions for sponsors, investors, lenders, and corporations navigating an increasingly complex financing landscape.

We are strategic partners who engage early, shape transaction architecture, and deliver coordinated counsel from origination through execution and exit.

The Market Opportunity

As institutional investors pursue scalable yield strategies across asset classes, the demand for innovative, bespoke financing solutions has never been greater. We think across the capital structure to advocate for clients, and we understand that today’s preferred equity solution may become tomorrow’s control position—and that liability management and growth financing require the same integrated approach.

Our multidisciplinary teams operate seamlessly across practice areas and jurisdictions, ensuring that legal strategy aligns with commercial objectives. We deliver solutions that perform in both stable and volatile markets, for transactions of any size and complexity.

Who We Advise

Our clients represent the full spectrum of participants in the private capital ecosystem:

Private Equity & Asset Managers: From flagship mega-funds to emerging managers, we advise sponsors on deploying capital across the full range of financing strategies, from origination through exit.
Private Credit Funds & Direct Lenders: We counsel the world’s leading credit platforms on structuring and documenting complex credit investments, liability management transactions, and portfolio management strategies.
Sovereign Wealth Funds & Pension Funds: We advise the largest institutional allocators on direct investments, co-investment programs, and bespoke arrangements that meet their specific return, risk, and governance requirements.
Insurance Companies & Institutional Allocators: We help insurers and other yield-focused investors access opportunities across asset classes while navigating complex regulatory and capital considerations.
Family Offices & Private Investors: We provide sophisticated counsel to family offices and high-net-worth investors pursuing direct and co-investment opportunities across private markets.
Corporates & Sponsored Issuers: We advise companies—both sponsored and independent—on accessing private capital solutions to fund growth, manage capital structures, and execute strategic transactions.

Experience

Our Private Capital Solutions practice is built around four core products, each representing areas where we have developed market-defining skills and a reputation for executing the most challenging transactions.

Hybrid Capital

Mayer Brown delivers strategic guidance built on deep experience in leveraged finance, private credit, corporate, restructuring, and capital markets. We help lenders, issuers and borrowers with products ranging from unitranche facilities to structured equity across the full capital structure. This enables us to to structure defensively and maximize risk-adjusted returns in both sponsor-backed and non-sponsored deals:

Direct lending and senior credit, including unitranche and asset-based lending (ABL)
Second lien and subordinated debt
Mezzanine and junior capital
Preferred equity (HoldCo/OpCo) and convertible debt instruments
HoldCo PIK
FILO and LIFO structures
Private placements and private investment in public equity (PIPE)
High-yield bond financings, including private high-yield
Equity co-invests, warrants, and other equity instruments

Preferred Equity: Funds

Mayer Brown’s Private Capital Solutions practice helps clients navigate complex capital deployment and capital-raising strategies across all market cycles. Our team works closely with investors to assess the full spectrum of financing options and determine which partnership structures most effectively align with their investment objectives and risk profile. Because no two transactions or capital needs are identical, we take a tailored and strategic approach to equity capitalization:

Fund-level preferred equity establishing priority distribution rights across a portfolio of assets
Preferred equity with defined exit mechanics, including issuer call rights and redemption provisions
Back leverage structures combining preferred equity with NAV facilities
HoldCo- and OpCo-level preferred equity and hybrid instruments, including convertible and participating preferred
NAV and hybrid facilities with over 20 years of experience
Subscription credit facilities with familiarity across 14,000+ limited partners
Unsecured/unencumbered credit facilities with experience in real estate assets
Management company lines of credit and partner loan programs

With professionals positioned across key jurisdictions, we pair deep market knowledge with local insight-connecting investors with equity opportunities across every major global market.

Joint Ventures & Co-investments

We help structure, negotiate, and manage partnerships that move fast, protect clients’ interests, and create lasting value across industries and jurisdictions:

Joint venture planning and strategy
Formation and negotiation of durable, flexible ventures
Business building, governance, and dispute resolution
Exits and monetizations
Co-investments with discretion, transparency, and control
Complex, customized structures keeping investor and GP interests aligned
Tax, regulation, and corporate governance for smooth execution and rapid turnaround
Reliable documentation for both sponsor-backed and founder-led deals

Distressed Capital Solutions

Mayer Brown's Distressed Capital Solutions group is a premier, integrated platform purpose-built for banks, private credit funds, and alternative investors navigating the full credit lifecycle—from origination through distress and recovery. We unite the firm's market-leading restructuring, finance, corporate, and litigation capabilities into a single, seamless offering: one team, one strategy, one point of accountability.

We deliver end-to-end strategic counsel across event-driven and opportunistic transactions—designing innovative financing structures, defending lender economics, advising on liability management exercises, executing complex restructurings, and driving recoveries in every market environment.

From middle-market to multibillion-dollar capital structures, we cover origination, structuring, syndications, workout, foreclosure, and reorganization—helping clients deploy capital, manage risk, take ownership when necessary, and maximize recoveries.