Persuant to Axial’s Terms of Service, Users are required to provide true and accurate information regarding their Member Accounts. A Member Account on the Platform must be truthfully and accurately categorized as defined by one of the following Company Type descriptions:
- Corporation (Strategic Acquirer): an operating business that seeks to acquire other operating businesses that can be integrated with its existing main operations primarily using capital from the business’s balance sheet, not including debt.
- Family Office: an entity in which the primary capital base to be deployed comes from a single family’s wealth, and where a member affiliated with the firm is authorized to invest the primary capital owned by the investing entity. The entity invests the assets of one family and does not typically raise capital from outside investors, not including debt.
- Holding Company: a company, usually a corporation, that owns a controlling interest in one or more companies, called subsidiaries, and typically operates as an umbrella or parent company where the primary capital used to acquire other assets comes from the parent company’s balance sheet, not including debt.
- Independent Sponsor: a private investment firm that has soft, deal-by-deal arrangements in which arm’s length limited partners (LPs) can elect to participate in a transaction. Independent sponsors are formed with the intent to acquire and/or invest in more than one company; the firm’s general partners (GPs) typically have a track record working in committed capital private equity, investment banking, or have at least 1 portfolio company under the entity in which they operate. An independent sponsor does not have a committed pool of capital.
- Individual Accredited Investor: meets the requirements of “Accredited Investor” within the meaning of Rule 501 of Regulation D under the Securities Act. Does not invest through a formal entity for the purposes of investing, and does not have a corporate email domain name.
- Junior / Mezz Lender: a lender that provides subordinated debt, typically a hybrid financing of debt and equity that gives them the right to convert loans to a business into an equity interest in the company over time.
- Private Equity Firm: a private investment firm with legally enforceable commitments to call capital at their sole discretion from a group of LPs in a dedicated fund who have granted full discretion to the firm’s GPs as to how and when to deploy capital. Unlike an Independent Sponsor, a Private Equity Firm has a committed pool of capital.
- Search Fund: a private investment firm formed for the sole purpose of acquiring a single, privately-held business, at which point the vehicle set up to acquire the business with cease to exist and the GP will take over senior management operations at the company. Unlike an Independent Sponsor or Private Equity Firm, a Search Fund intends to acquire and operate a single business, regardless of whether the Search Fund entity has raised a dedicated fund.
- Senior Lender: a lender that provides debt to companies or investors for the purpose of acquiring companies with the expectation that the funds will be repaid with interest. Senior debt is prioritized for repayment in the case of bankruptcy, therefore the lowest risk, which typically offers lower interest rates.