Independent sponsor deals in private equity are getting bigger, according to John J. Koeppel, partner and leader of Lippes Mathias' private equity & independent sponsor practice teams, in a recent episode of 51 Labs' Investors & Operators Podcast.

"I closed a $140 million independent sponsor deal earlier this year. Five years ago, the market would have laughed. Nobody [was doing] an independent sponsor deal over a hundred million," Koeppel said.

In the episode, Koeppel walks first- and second-time independent sponsors through the mechanics of a deal, including closing and advisory fees, tiered carry (carried interest), QSBS and bonus depreciation, and the day-45 proof-of-funds checkpoint unique to independent sponsor deals.