Mezzanine Finance is a debt capital that gives the lender the option of converting the debt to an ownership or equity in the company in the event of the borrower defaulting on the loan. Mezzanine Finance is often a hybrid of debt and equity financing and can often be unsecured or is a secondary debt. Mezzanine Finance can be provided in a relatively short period of time and often with little due diligence but as such the rates for Mezzanine Finance are often quite high. Mezzanine Finance can be raised for established companies that require capital for expansion or diversification. Many companies use Mezzanine Finance for acquisition of other companies or leveraged buy outs. Early stage companies can also use Mezzanine Finance is they do not have sufficient assets to collateralize.