Why this search matters
The "PE-backed companies" view is one of the most-used slices in Mergr. It defines the universe of companies currently owned by financial sponsors — and that universe is the starting point for several distinct workflows:
Sourcing PE-owned targets in your sector for a buy-side mandate or add-on hunt.
Sell-side BD — banks and advisors pitch sell-side mandates to PE owners; this is the prospect list.
Vendor and service-provider BD — service firms selling into the PE ecosystem (insurance, integration consultants, portfolio operations tech, sourcing tools, recruiting services) target PE-backed companies as a defined buying universe.
Strategic intel — corp dev teams tracking which competitors are PE-owned (and therefore on a sponsor timeline).
Market mapping — analysts and consultants sizing the PE-owned segment of an industry.
Step 1
Navigate to the Company Search page.
Step 2
Once on the Company Search page - expand the Search Menu at the top of the page by selecting More Options.
Step 3
With the Company Search menu fully expanded, locate the Ownership Status section in the left column. All companies in the Mergr database are categorized as Public, Private, Acquired, or PE Backed.
To filter for PE Backed companies, select the PE Backed (Current) checkbox.
Step 4
Select Search.
Your search will filter for companies currently owned by PE Firms. Companies owned by PE firms are identified with the PE Backed label and also show who the current PE owner is and when the company was acquired.
Additional filters to try
Add a Sector filter to focus on PE-backed companies in your industry — e.g., PE-backed healthcare, PE-backed software.
Add a Country, State, or City filter to narrow geographically.
Combine Sector + Country for the cleanest BD slice — e.g., *"PE-backed industrial companies in the Midwest US."
Sort by Acquired Date to see freshest acquisitions first, or by Buy M&A Count to surface platforms most actively rolling up add-ons.
Export or Save Records to List
Click Download at the top of the results to export the first 250 records as a CSV. You can also select individual records and add to a curated list.
Going further
For lookalike PE-backed companies based on a reference (e.g., "show me companies that look like this PE-backed platform") — see Prospector.
For PE-backed platforms with active add-on velocity right now — see Roll-Up Tracker.
For one specific PE firm's full portfolio with a focused view — search the firm directly and use the Portfolio tab. See How to View a PE Firm's Portfolio on Mergr.
For likely buyers of a PE-backed target you're shopping — use Buyer Match.