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Finalists Named for 6th Annual M&A Advisor Financing Awards

NEW YORK, April 8, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The M&A Advisor has named over 130 finalist companies in 22 different categories in preparation for its annual tribute to the outstanding achievements in the middle market financing industry. The winners will be announced at the 6th Annual Financing Awards Gala on the evening of Monday, May 16 at The Drake Hotel in Chicago, Illinois.

An independent body of experts, who represent a cross-section of the middle market financing industry, will judge the finalists' deals in the security of Merrill DataSite's(TM) Virtual Data Room. This secure time saving service allows judges to review finalists' submissions online, maximizing the amount of time for evaluating each award candidate.

"We are very impressed with the quality of the nominations for the 2011 Financing Awards and the range of leading and emerging firms who are finalists candidates. As we continue through this period of recovery, the activity clearly demonstrates the importance of the financing industry to the overall health of the economy." says Roger Aguinaldo, CEO of The M&A Advisor.

This year's finalists represent a number of leading firms, including Kirkland and Ellis; Sun Capital Partners; BMO Capital Markets; JP Morgan Securities; White & Case; Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co.; Ernst and Young; GTCR; R W Baird; Barclays Capital; Houlihan Lokey; Fifth Street Capital and The Blackstone Group, and the most significant transactions of the year including ESOP buyout of Burnett Companies Consolidated; Acquisition of Terra Industries, Inc. by CF Industries Holdings, Inc.; Acquisition of Loans and Properties from FDIC by Oaktree Capital and Initial Public Offering of Vera Bradley.

To qualify, the Finalists' transactions had to close between March 1, 2010 and February 28, 2011 and be over $10 million in transaction value.

The M&A Advisor's 6th Annual Middle-Market Financing Awards Gala is a premier feature of the M&A Advisor's Alternative Investing and Financing Summit. This exclusive symposium brings together leading institutional investors, hedge fund managers, private equity fund managers, lenders and financial advisors for an exclusive symposium. The Summit offers an exclusive venue for industry "thought leaders" to present their views before an informed influential audience and the news media.

Finalists for the 6th Annual Financing Awards can be accessed at www.maadvisor.com.

THE M&A ADVISOR

Since 1998, The M&A Advisor has been the preeminent organization facilitating connections and recognizing achievement in the top performers of the M&A, turnaround and financing industries through its leading Awards, Summits, M&A ALERTS(TM) newsletters, M&A LINKS (TM) social network, M&A MARKET INTEL(TM) research and publishing service and M&A CONNECTS(TM) business development services. For more information, please visit www.maadvisor.com.

SOURCE The M&A Advisor