Upfront: Torrent of Capital Streams Through PIPEs

Private investments in public equity (PIPEs) have been around for over a decade, and for much of that time they've had the unsavory reputation of being a funding vehicle of last resort for small companies in desperate need of money. But the last few years have seen the growing maturity of the PIPE market. A new crop of industry newsletters, conferences and databases has sprung up, and a growing number of midsize companies are turning to PIPEs to fund growth.