Using its services, Lazarus contacted Transition Cos., a Dallas sellside advisor, which promptly hooked up the sponsor with three companies looking to sell. Two of the businesses were in the construction services sector and were located within a mile of Lazarus' Birmingham, Ala., offices. Within a short period, Lazarus closed a deal at the end of December to acquire the majority of all three companies, Sauls Seismic Inc., Nomis Seismographs Inc. and Atlanta-based South Technical Services LLC. The firm, which typically invests in enterprises with $5 million to $25 million in revenue, did not disclose any financial details.

Upstart PE Nexus, founded in 2010 to provide proprietary suitor-matching technology, clearly has at least one satisfied customer in Lazarus.

"PE-Nexus was instrumental in bringing this opportunity to our attention," South, a partner at Lazarus, said in a statement. "The ability to specify specific parameters of an investment target helps cut through the clutter and shorten the lead time."

It was perhaps just a matter of time before social networking platforms such as PE-Nexus would deign to play a role not only in personal mergers but in corporate ones.

Miami-based PE-Nexus was co-founded by CEO Anthony Hill and three other youthful executives who hailed from investment banking and principal investing. Hill was a senior associate at a Fort Lauderdale, Fla., M&A boutique called Cross Keys Capital, as was Matthew Wells, now a managing partner at PE-Nexus. Chief technology officer and co-founder Igor Royzis was previously the director of IT at healthcare technology company Sensei Inc., in Boca Raton, Fla. The COO Kevin Doyle was formerly an associate at H.I.G. Capital LLC.

They believe the service provides an opportunity for midmarket players to transact deals in a speedy, user-friendly fashion.

Lazarus' acquisition was successfully closed in three months, a 25% reduction in the average timeframe for a deal completion, the company said.

"Had it not been for PE-Nexus, that deal would have not happened," said Hill.

PE-Nexus is by no means unique, but it has few known rivals. MergerID, a Financial Times Group unit launched in 2009, claims to have 2,800 corporate, private equity and business advisory clients. It has more than $54 billion of live sell-side mandates, the company said.

So far the business claims to have 1,700 registered users, comprising investment banks, private equity firms, corporations, law firms and other entities. Listing on the website is free, although it isn't clear how often it's used by individual parties.

The service, which relies on a fee-based revenue model, tries to get certain members to upgrade to a premium, subscription-based account.

Anyone who lists on the website has to be approved by one of the four co-founders, Hill said. Deals that run through the PE-Nexus system are kept hidden from the company's staff, Hill said. The only way the staff would know that a deal has beenlisted is if someone contacts the firm.

While those who list on the free version of the website have access to certain information about a company for sale, the premium site provides access to details such as investment bank contact information, which is likely necessary to complete a deal, Hill said.

The site has 572 private equity registered members that it hopes will upgrade to the premium services. Hill said a "large percentage" already has, though he wouldn't go into detail.

The four partners own most of the company, Hill said, with contributions from unidentified outside investors. He declined to provide any financial details.

Hill said he expects deal flow to pick up in 2012.

"It's a very interesting time for private market networks of our caliber," Hill said. "We're going to see rapid member growth."