Travis C. Erdman

Franklin Advisers, Inc. is a mutual fund manager and registered investment advisor headquartered in San Mateo, California. The firm was founded in 1985 and is a subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN), a holding company that, together with its various subsidiaries is referred to as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Advisers provides investment advisory and portfolio management services to US and non-US, registered open-end and closed-end funds and unregistered funds, as well as separate accounts.

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.