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Debt Management

What Is Mezzanine Debt and How Does It Work? With Examples

Reading Time: 3 minutes Business financing can be complex, especially for small and medium-sized businesses. From all the financing means available to businesses, mezzanine debt emerges as one available funding option for acquisitions and buyouts. But it’s important to understand what mezzanine debt is and how it works before considering it as a financing option.  In this article, we’ll explore mezzanine debt, its types, how it works, and examples of how it has been used successfully before. What Is Mezzanine Debt? Mezzanine debt is a hybrid form of financing that lies between senior debt and equity. It combines debt and equity financing features, giving businesses more flexibility in their financing options. Mezzanine debt is generally used by companies that need additional capital to fund their growth but don’t want to dilute their ownership or control. Compared to other types of financing options, mezzanine debt is far riskier but generates higher returns – usually 12% to 20%.  Types of Mezzanine Debt There are two types of mezzanine debt: unsecured and secured. Unsecured mezzanine debt is not backed by any collateral, and its repayment is based on the business’s success. On the other hand, secured mezzanine debt is backed by collateral, such as assets or property, which can be seized if the business fails to repay the debt. Mezzanine debt also differs in the types of equity included in the debt, including embedded options (stocks, warrants, rights).  How Does Mezzanine Debt Work? Mezzanine debt is usually structured as a loan, but it also includes an equity component in the form of warrants or options. Warrants give the lender the right to buy equity in the company at a future date and at a predetermined price. Options give the lender the right to buy equity in the company at a future date but at market prices. The interest rate on mezzanine debt is higher than senior debt but lower than equity. The repayment of mezzanine debt is usually deferred until the senior debt is paid off, allowing the business to prioritize its other financial obligations. Mezzanine debt typically has a maturity of five to seven years. Examples of Mezzanine Debt Let’s see a few examples of mezzanine debt to get the whole picture. Mezzanine Debt Example #1 One notable example of mezzanine debt is the acquisition of the popular fashion brand Jimmy Choo by Labelux in 2011. Labelux used mezzanine financing to acquire the brand, allowing it to preserve its equity and control over the company while providing the necessary capital for growth. Mezzanine Debt Example #2 Another example of mezzanine debt is the financing of the $26 billion acquisition of Hilton Hotels by the Blackstone Group in 2007. Blackstone used mezzanine debt to finance the transaction, preventing it from diluting its company ownership. These are two of the most popular examples of the use of mezzanine debt. But these examples don’t give us a conclusive image of how mezzanine debt is used.  Mezzanine Debt Example #3 The final mezzanine debt example is a made-up one for clarification purposes.  Mary owns a successful SaaS startup and is interested in expanding her business by adding new features to her software. However, she lacks the capital to fund the development. So, she decides to use mezzanine debt to finance the expansion.  Mary approaches a mezzanine lender who agrees to provide her with $1 million in financing in exchange for warrants that give the lender the option to buy equity in the company at a later date. With the additional capital, Mary can now fund the development of the new features, which will help her company grow faster. But she must repay the mezzanine debt lender, so they decide on a 10% yearly repayment. So instead of forking $1 million of her own money, Mary will only pay $100,000 in interest for the mezzanine loan each year.  Conclusion Mezzanine debt can be a useful financing option for businesses needing additional capital but not wanting to dilute their ownership or control. It offers a flexible form of financing that combines debt and equity financing features. By understanding how mezzanine debt works and its types, businesses can make informed decisions about whether it’s the right financing option for them. FAQs

Act Broke to Stay Rich: The Secret to Building Wealth

Reading Time: 4 minutes One of the lesser-known money-management tips is to act broke to stay rich. Unfortunately, acting broke to stay rich is something billionaires aren’t telling you about. Why? Because it works flawlessly. You might be wondering, how? It all comes down to one simple thing; rich people stay rich by living like they’re broke. Although this doesn’t apply to every rich person, it makes sense in multiple ways. That’s why we will tell you several ways to act broke to stay rich. But before that, is there a reason why billionaires are acting broke to stay rich? Why Should You Act Broke to Stay Rich? To explain why everyone should try this money-management tip, we must outline the benefits. No benefit of this tip more perfectly encapsulates the meaning than Keanu Reeves.  Namely, there’s a reason why everyone’s favorite actor doesn’t show off his wealth. As a matter of fact, Keanu Reeves doesn’t even own mansions, expensive cars, or jets.  He lives a simple life. Some even say he lives a broke life. After all, we’ve seen numerous examples of Reeves’ lifestyle. Not only does he ride the bus, but he lives an extremely frugal lifestyle.  So what could be the benefits of acting broke to stay rich? Here are a few: Acting Broke to Stay Rich Keeps You Focused  Not everyone is comfortable grinding their way to wealth. That’s what separates wealthy people from others. Unless you’ve been born into wealth, you either need to find that next big thing or grind your way to wealth. But what happens once you get there? Do you start flashing your cash and living like a king, or do you tone it down and keep the focus on what’s important? Of course, there is no wrong answer, but we can make a case for the latter. Namely, acting broke puts your entire focus on making more money. After all, you have to work more to make more. So by acting like you’re broke, you’re putting yourself in the grind mindset.  Acting Broke to Stay Rich Keeps You Thinking When you’re broke, you think about ways to make money. But if you’re rich, your money problems go away. So by this logic, rich people choose purposely to act broke to keep them thinking about how to be rich. Again, this way of thinking puts rich people in the grind mindset. But instead of focusing on the objective, you also think about ways to get there. Being “focused” and “thinking” are two separate things, but they get you to the final destination nonetheless. Acting Broke to Stay Rich Keeps Your Money Safe The easiest way to go broke is to spend your money. But if you’re rich and act like you’re broke, you put your money away and keep them safe. That way, the risk of spending all your money and going broke doesn’t exist. If you don’t spend any of your money, could you lose your wealth?  How to Act Broke to Stay Rich? Now to the fun part. Let’s explore the ways to act broke to stay rich. Act Broke to Stay Rich Tip #1: Don’t Spend Needlessly Needless spending puts you on a one-way train to “broke town.” That’s because plenty of people start spending needlessly once they acquire wealth. But these people don’t understand that every well can go dry. Our first way or tip to act broke to stay rich is to stop spending your money on things you don’t need.  Act Broke to Stay Rich Tip #2: Put Your Money Away Acting broke to stay rich is a money-management tip. And what better way to accomplish your goal than to put your money away? That doesn’t mean putting your money in a savings account. Instead, you could invest it in real estate, buy shares, precious metals, commodities, etc. The point is to put your money away, so you don’t have much to spend. Allocate enough money to live a modest life and a life free of financial headaches.  Act Broke to Stay Rich Tip #3: Don’t Bring Attention If there is one thing that every “act broke to stay rich” person does is keep a low profile. Some rich people don’t want the attention of the Benjamins. They want to live a good life and don’t want 10 ft walls around their three-story mansion. Doing this has the opposite effect of acting broke to stay rich. After all, the whole point is to paint a facade around the fact that you have money but choose not to show it to anyone. Conclusion That concludes this guide on ways to act broke to stay rich. If there is one thing that we can take from this lifestyle is that people choose to do it. They don’t want others to know about their wealth and decide the best way to hide it is by acting broke. So let’s end it with this one question: should everyone act like they’re broke if it helps them to stay rich? FAQs How to Act Broke to Stay Rich? You can act broke to stay rich by not spending money needlessly, putting your money away, and not bringing attention to your money. These three practices will help you preserve and build on your accumulated wealth. Is It Clever to Act Broke When Rich? Acting broke is a clever way to hide your wealth. More importantly, it’s a clever way to preserve and continuously accumulate wealth.