Private equity firms are finding inventive ways to make money while the debt pipeline that feeds their core buy-out business stays pinched. But to compete for big assets when financing slowly seeps back into the markets, they will need to offer not just a pile of cash, but certainty – and that may require some sacrifices.

During the buy-out boom, choosing between a private equity bidder and an industry rival was a no-brainer for many executives. They could surrender to a competitor, or sell to a buy-out firm for an almost illogically handsome pay-out and then exit the fickle public equity markets.