For any dealmaker looking to network this week, Boston is the place to be.

Bean Town is the setting for one of the largest M&A events on the east coast. The three-day Buyouts East conference, hosted by Thomson Reuters, will be held April 3 through 5, and Mergers & Acquisitions will be on the ground April 3, covering the event.

Assistant managing editor Anthony Noto will be filing articles from the Seaport Hotel, where hundreds of deal professionals, including leading corporate development officers, and middle-market CEOs, are expected to attend.

Featured keynote speakers include David Rubenstein (pictured) co-CEO and co-founder of the Carlyle Group (Nasdaq: CG); Jane Mendillo president and CEO Harvard Management Co.; and Mark Yusko, CEO and chief investment officer of Morgan Creek Capital Management.

Once the Mendillo keynote interview concludes on Wednesday afternoon, there’s “The AM&AA Symposium,” during which private equity firms and institutional investors will be given a chance to hear about deal opportunities in the lower-middle market.

Rob Slee of investment bank Robertson & Foley will kick off the event as keynote speaker, followed by a panel session titled “Generating a Better Deal: Nurturing a Company to Become a Credible Acquisition.” The panel will address the scope of deals valued under $10 million and offer insights into how buyers can best position themselves for an acquisition.

“Over the last five years, there’s been a view that private equity funds are not generating the kinds of returns everyone expected,” says panel participant Jeffrey Kadlic, one of the founders and managing partners of Cleveland-based Evolution Capital Partners. The discussion is expected “to show the buyout community that there’s opportunities down at this end of the market and there’s a whole new world for them to put capital to work.”

Jay Jester, managing director of Audax Group, and Brett Palmer, president of the Small Business Investor Alliance, are also panelists. The panel will be moderated by Kenneth Marks, founder of High Rock Partners.

Be sure to visit www.themiddlemarket.com throughout the conference for articles, and follow us on Twitter for daily updates: @TheMiddleMarket @MKFlynn @_A_Collins @Noto1031