Alfred Victor Tobia

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.

Smith Barney, Inc. is a broker/dealer located in New York City. The firm is a subsidiary of Citigroup Global Markets Holdings, Inc. and their ultimate parent is Citigroup, Inc. The firm provides an array of trading and execution services for their clients. They do not provide any internal research

Sidus Investment Management LLC (Sidus) is an independent, SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded by Michael Barone and Alfred Tobia in 2000. Sidus provides investment advisory services to pooled investment vehicles that operate as private investment funds and is a sub advisor for a large, strategic investor.