Cha Pornea for Business Insider
What do the auction house Sotheby's, the shapewear maker Spanx, and the company behind Fender guitars have in common? They've all borrowed money from firms that lend like banks, earn interest like banks, and work with clients like banks — but aren't banks.
For a midsize company, going to private-equity firms and other money managers — also known as nonbanks, shadow banks, or alternative asset managers — is an increasingly common way to borrow cash.