For a sell-side advisor, PitchBook is the most complete private equity buyer database, and Grata is the best for strategic buyers found by what they do. Private Equity Info and Mergr are the low-cost choices, from $150 a month. No database tells you who is buying today. Use one to build the long list, then confirm each buyer's current criteria before you send a teaser.
Compare the databases
| Database | Best for | Coverage it states | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| PitchBook | PE firms, portfolio companies, and deal history | 12.75M companies, 600,000 investors, 3M deals | Per user; not published |
| Grata | Strategic buyers and add-on platforms by what they do | 22M+ companies, 100,000+ strategic buyers and sponsors | Not published |
| Private Equity Info | PE acquisition criteria and add-on history | 5,500 PE firms, 42,000 add-ons | From $3,900 a year |
| Mergr | Low-cost PE and M&A contact lookup | 4,900+ PE firms, 226,000+ transactions | $150 a month |
| Preqin | Funds and their investors | 16,638 investors, 68,822 funds | Not published |
Sources: PitchBook's July 2026 release, Grata, Private Equity Info, Mergr, and Preqin, as of September 2026.
PitchBook vs Grata: which is better for a buyer list?
PitchBook, if your buyers are mostly private equity. It links each firm to its funds, its portfolio companies, and its past deals. You can see who bought what, and when.
Grata, if your buyers are mostly operating companies. It finds companies by what they sell and who they serve, which is how you find a strategic acquirer with no deal history. Datasite, which owns Grata, is merging SourceScrub into it.
Buy both only if you run several processes a year. PitchBook prices by licensed user, and neither vendor publishes a list price.
Skip Preqin for buyer lists
Preqin tracks funds and the investors in them. That serves fundraising, not a sell-side process.
BlackRock completed its purchase of Preqin in March 2025. Unless your client is raising a fund, spend the budget elsewhere.
Search the portfolio companies, not only the firms
About 6,000 private equity firms operate in the U.S., according to an EY study for the American Investment Council. Most do not buy a lower-middle-market company directly. Their portfolio companies do.
Add-ons were 72.9% of U.S. buyouts in 2025, according to PitchBook data cited by Cherry Bekaert.
For a $3 million EBITDA company, the likely buyer is a platform in the same trade, not the fund's deal team. Filter for portfolio companies in your client's industry, then list the sponsor next to each one.
Our guide to finding strategic acquirers covers the operating buyers a PE filter misses.
Pick a database by budget
Budget rule for a sell-side buyer list
- Under $5,000 a year: Mergr for contacts, plus Private Equity Info for stated criteria and add-on history.
- One or two processes a year: one seat of PitchBook or Grata. Pick PitchBook if most buyers are sponsors, Grata if most are strategics.
- Several processes a year: both, with one person who owns the list.
- Any budget: confirm every name before outreach. A deal from 2023 is a lead, not a mandate.
What no database tells you
Each database records what a buyer did. None tells you what the buyer wants today, or whether its fund has capital left. A list built only from past deals sends your teaser to firms that stopped buying in your space.
Rank the list before you send anything. Our guide to how investment banks rank potential acquirers turns the long list into tiers.
Where PrivSource fits
AI Buyer List turns a deal description into a list of buyers who fit, each with a reason to buy: a live mandate on PrivSource, stated criteria, a track record, or profile fit. It does not replace PitchBook's fund data. It shows you which buyers want a deal like yours now, and you choose who sees it.
