Weeden & Co. works to weed out information so it can provide clients with institutional equities trading, fixed income sales and trading, and research services. Weeden & Co. LP specializes in difficult-to-execute transactions, serving some 1,500 institutional clients. Weeden's research division, which includes The Leuthold Group, produces a variety of analytical reports on equity and fixed-income markets. Research affiliates cover such sectors as technology, health care, biotechnology, and REITs. Brothers Frank and Norman Weeden founded the company in 1922, and the company has been employee-owned (more than 80%) since 1986. Weeden & Co. LP has offices in Boston; Chicago; Greenwich, Connecticut; Minneapolis; and San Francisco.

Versant Venture is a leading healthcare-focused venture capital firm specializing in early-stage investments in medical devices, biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, healthcare services, and healthcare information technology. The firm, founded in 1999, consists of a seasoned team of twelve managing directors with more than 130 years of venture capital investing experience and more than 150 years of operating experience. Versant Ventures currently manages over $1.6 billion in committed capital having recently raised its fourth fund in July 2008, and is currently managing over 75 companies in its portfolio.

ASX Limited (ASX) was created by the merger of the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) and SFE (Sydney Futures Exchange) Corporation. As of June 30, 2009, the ASXL’s principal activities include securities exchange and ancillary services; derivatives exchange and ancillary services; central counterparty clearing services, and registry, settlement and delivery versus payment clearing of financial products. ASX functions as a market operator, supervisor, clearing house and payments system facilitator. The diverse domestic and international customer base of ASX includes issuers (such as corporations and trusts) of a variety of listed securities, investment and trading banks, fund managers, hedge funds, commodity trading advisers, proprietary and retail traders, and retail investors.

Summit Partners' dough rises a little later rather than earlier. Summit Partners funds later-stage companies, preferring those that are profitable and growing. It invests in a range of industries, including business and financial services, energy, health care, communications, media, industrial and consumer products, software, and semiconductors. Summit Partners' private equity investments range from $30 million to more than $500 million; venture capital investments range between $5 million to $30 million. Summit Partners also provides mezzanine debt financing. Its current portfolio includes stakes in more than 50 firms in North America, Europe, and Asia.

iStar Financial Inc. operates as a finance company focusing on the commercial real estate industry. iStar Financial Inc. provides custom-tailored financing to high-end private and corporate owners of real estate. iStar Financial Inc. financing products include senior and mezzanine real estate debt, senior and mezzanine corporate capital, corporate net lease financing, and equity. iStar Financial Inc. also involves in corporate tenant leasing business, which provides capital to corporations and others who control facilities leased primarily to single creditworthy customers. As of December 31, 2008, iStar Financial owned 362 office, industrial, entertainment, hotel, and retail facilities in 39 states. iStar Financial Inc. qualifies as a REIT for federal income tax purposes. As a REIT, it generally would not be subject to federal corporate income taxes if it distributes at least 90% of its taxable income to its stockholders. iStar Financial Inc. was founded in 1993 and is based in New York, New York.

Multi Service was established in the late 1970s to provide credit cards to the trucking industry. The Multi Service card allows truckers to purchase fuel and oil at more than 3,100 truck stops across North America. Multi Service's transaction processing programs and specialized software help trucking companies control purchases, plan their budgets, and report fuel taxes. Multi Service has operations in Australia, the Netherlands, Mexico, and the US. Multi Service also provides fleet card services for small to midsized trucking companies, consolidated billing and reporting services for after-market parts, and processing services for trucking companies that utilize toll roads and tunnels in Europe.

Bruckmann, Rosser, Sherrill & Co., L.L.C. ("BRS") is a New York-based private equity investment firm with approximately $1.4 billion in funds under management. Founded in 1995 by former senior executives of Citicorp Venture Capital, Ltd., BRS specializes in management buyouts and recapitalizations of high quality, middle market companies with strong market positions and/or growth potential. BRS's philosophy is to back the management of its portfolio companies, allowing them operational freedom with long-term equity incentives and support. BRS provides expertise to portfolio companies in the areas of financing, acquisitions and strategic long-term planning focused upon realization of value.The founders of BRS have had extensive experience since the mid 1980's in initiating, negotiating, financing, closing and overseeing numerous private equity investments in diverse industries throughout a range of economic cycles and financial market conditions. They have undertaken management buyouts of public companies, private companies, and divisions of larger companies; recapitalizations of closely held companies providing both liquidity and continual ownership to existing owners; build-ups of significant enterprises through acquisitions; and equity investments in growth companies.

MSD Capital, L.P. was founded in 1998 and is based in New York, New York. MSD Capital, L.P. is a private equity firm specializing in investments in publicly traded securities, private equity activities, real estates, special opportunities, and forming partnerships with third-party managers in the private and public markets. It seeks to invest in leveraged and management buyouts, going private transactions, mezzanine debt, PIPEs, growth equity financings, platform acquisitions and roll-ups, bridge loans, and recapitalization. The firm actively pursues investment opportunities in both public and private companies. It invests in both United States and foreign securities. It does not concentrate its investments in any particular industry. The firm’s Public Equities Group typically invests as a minority owner of publicly traded companies. In addition to investing in equities, it also makes debt investments including the maintenance of convertible bond portfolio. The Private Equity Group invests in established public and private companies through privately-negotiated transactions, including buyouts of private companies and divisions of public or private companies; acquisitions of public companies through going private transactions; and purchases of equity or mezzanine securities from public or private companies seeking equity capital or persons, families, and funds seeking liquidity on existing investments. It seeks to make both growth and control investments.

Ameriprise Financial, Inc. was founded in 1894 and is headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Ameriprise Financial, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides financial planning, products, and services primarily in the United States. The company operates in four principal segments: Advice & Wealth Management, Asset Management, Annuities, and Protection. The Advice & Wealth Management segment offers financial planning and advice, as well as full service brokerage and banking services to retail clients through its affiliated financial advisors. The Asset Management segment provides investment advice and products to retail and institutional clients. The Annuities segment offers variable and fixed annuity products to retail customers primarily through financial advisors. The Protection segment provides various protection products through financial advisors to address the protection and risk management needs of retail clients, including life, disability income, and property-casualty insurance. The company was formerly known as American Express Financial Corporation and changed its name to Ameriprise Financial, Inc. in September 2005.

ARQUES Industries AG was founded in 2003 and is based in Munich, Germany. ARQUES Industries AG is a private equity firm specializing in the acquisition, turnaround, and restructuring of companies in distress or generating losses. The firm seeks to invest in the acquisition of companies in special situations such as unresolved successor issues, modernization, and corporate spin-offs. It also invests in situations such as successional issues, technological change: economic problems due to neglect of important investments in the modernization of the enterprise, and classical turnaround situations due to inefficient structures/processes or incorrect management. The firm prefers to buy and build companies in difficult transitional situation through direct or indirect equity investments in corporate spinoffs and though the acquisition of small to medium sized companies. It has no specific industry preference and seeks to invest in relevant opportunities in all industries. The firm prefers to invest in companies with revenues between €30 million ($39.64 million) to €1000 million ($1321.58 million).

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