Established in 2002, the European Mezzanine Investments group invests capital in mezzanine loans and PIK notes. In 2004, the group successfully completed the raising of the €750 million Lehman Brothers European Mezzanine Fund which invests in opportunities that typically offer a high contractual yield and an additional return component consisting of warrants whose value is related to the equity value of the company. European mezzanine and PIK securities have principally been used by private equity funds to help finance leveraged buyouts but are increasingly being used as expansion and acquisition capital and to finance recapitalizations.