Jim Duffy

Stifel, Nicolaus & Co., Inc. (Stifel) is a dual-registered broker-dealer and investment adviser headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1890, the firm is a subsidiary of Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF), a financial service holding company. Stifel provides full-service brokerage and investment advisory services to individuals and their families, institutions and businesses, and financial advisors.

Founded in 1998, Thomas Weisel Partners (TWP) is a broker/dealer headquartered in San Francisco with offices in New York City, Boston, Denver, Colorado and Palo Alto, California. The firm is a subsidiary of Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: TWPG), a San Francisco-based investment banking firm. Their ultimate parent is Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF). TWP's investment banking, brokerage and equity research divisions serve emerging growth companies and institutional investors around the world. They are a member of the NYSE, the SIPC and FINRA. TWP specializes in the growth sectors of the economy with a particular focus on the consumer, energy, healthcare, Internet, media/telecommunications, metals/mining and technology sectors. Within the consumer sector, the firm focuses on: financial products, gaming/lodging, interactive market services, lifestyles/sports retailers, restaurants and hardlines and softlines retailing. TWP's global energy research is provided by analysts in three countries and covers the following trends: (1) fast-growing oil and natural gas producers in North America and worldwide (2) domestic and international energy service companies and (3) alternative energy technology and resource developers. Within the healthcare sector, TWP focuses on: biotechnology, diagnostics, healthcare information technology, pharmaceutical services, life science technology, medical devices and specialty pharmaceuticals. The firm's interest in the Internet, media and telecommunications sector include: Internet services, media, broadcasting and telecommunications services. Their focus within the metals and mining sector include: base metals, gold, precious metals and uranium. TWP's technology research focuses on: (1) applied technologies (2) communications components (3) core and wireless communications equipment (4) IP networking communications equipment (5) electronic supply chain (6) enterprise hardware (7) information and financial technology services (8) semiconductor capital equipment (9) broadline and specialty semiconductors (10) applications and communications software and (11) infrastructure software. TWP also provides value-added equities analysis across a variety of sectors including: industrials, financials, consumer, technology and healthcare.

J. Walter Thompson Co. provided advertising and related services. The firm provided creative ad development, campaign management, and strategic planning services to clients including Ford, Kraft, and Nestle. It also offered brand development and specialized marketing services, including customer relationship marketing, event marketing, and sponsorships. The company was founded by James Walter Thompson in 1864 and was headquartered in New York, NY.

Young & Rubicam Brands, Inc. provides advertising services. It primarily operates through its flagship creative ad agency Y&R Advertising. The firm offer consulting and marketing services through Wunderman, and public relations services through Burson-Marsteller and Cohn & Wolfe. The company was founded by Raymond Rubicam and John Orr Young in 1923 and is headquartered in New York, NY.

Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Banc of America Securities (BAS) is the investment banking subsidiary of Bank of America Corp (NYSE: BAC). The firm provides both the domestic and international equity and investment banking markets, and pursues a strategy pioneered by Citigroup that combines corporate lending with investment banking advice and services. They provide high-yield debt underwriting and leveraged finance, in addition to industry coverage groups such as healthcare, media and telecom, financial institutions, real estate and gaming. BAS also does a significant amount of work for Financial Sponsors, or private equity firms, often financing leveraged transactions. Following the strategy of Goldman Sachs, the firm lacks a standalone mergers and acquisitions department, instead employing mergers and acquisitions senior bankers throughout the industry coverage groups. The firm is registered as a broker/dealer with the SEC, is a member of the NYSE, and the NASD. The use of Banc in the BAS's name is indicative of the fact that the company is not a bank, and their deposits and other holdings are not insured by the FDIC.