Ryan Burke Bailes

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.

Nomura Corporate Research & Asset Management, Inc. (NCRAM) is a SEC-registered investment advisor and hedge fund manager headquartered in New York City. The firm was founded in 1991 as a subsidiary of Nomura Holding America, Inc., itself a subsidiary of Nomura Holding, Inc. (TYO: 8604, NYSE: NMR) in Japan. NCRAM provides both discretionary and non-discretionary investment management services to institutional investors in the US and globally.