So far in this special series we've examined the implications of lending to companies owned by private equity sponsors - and those that aren't. But there's a third category of owners that don't get much attention, and growing in importance.

So-called "fundless" sponsors - also called independent, or non-traditional sponsors - act as a hybrid of three parties. They combine the deal sourcing of investment bankers with the targeted allocation of capital by limited partners, and the expertise of GPs who perform a multitude of functions...