Avondale Partners Enters Asset Management Business; Acquires 50% Interest in Conquest Capital.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Conquest Founder, Hunter Ziesing, Joins Avondale

Avondale Partners, a national investment banking firm headquartered in Nashville, today announced it has acquired 50% interest in Conquest Capital Management LLC, which manages and is the general partner of a long/short domestic equity hedge fund, The Bonanza Fund, LP. The Bonanza Fund invests primarily in small and mid capitalization companies with an emphasis on fundamental research.

As a result of the acquisition, the management company will be renamed Avondale-Conquest and the fund will be renamed Conquest I. Hunter Ziesing, a general partner of Conquest Capital, will join Avondale Partners as head of its investment management division. He will be based in Conquest's San Francisco Bay area office and will spend a portion of his time in Avondale's Nashville headquarters. Timothy Kelly, CFA, will remain a principal of the renamed Avondale-Conquest and the portfolio manager for the Conquest I fund.

According to Pat Shepherd, Avondale Partners Sr. Managing Partner, the acquisition marks Avondale's entrance into the asset management business. "This is a great fit for our firm," said Shepherd. "Conquest and Avondale have focused on generally the same market cap names, and this synergy allows us to offer a product that dovetails nicely with the other services we offer. As the portfolio evolves, Avondale-Conquest intends to leverage the trading and research resources of Avondale Partners."

The Bonanza fund's return objective is to double its investors' capital every 6-8 years with a lower volatility profile than the market and with emphasis on absolute rather than market-relative returns. "We have been impressed with the fund's track record over the last three years, with the total net returns to investors in excess of 40%," said Shepherd.

According to Shepherd, this will be the first time Avondale has offered a product to non-institutional investors. "Our primary investors will be high net worth individuals, family offices and small endowments and institutions."

Ziesing has been involved in Conquest Capital Management LLC since its inception and has 20 years of investment experience. He formerly served as managing director at Banc of America Securities, where he ran capital markets for their prime brokerage operation. He also spent 17 years in institutional sales at Montgomery Securities. He received a bachelor's degree in business from the University of Denver.

Kelly has 10+ years of investment experience and has managed the Bonanza Fund for three years. He formerly served as managing director and senior portfolio manager for small cap equities at Dresdner RCM Global Investors, where he managed a global small cap fund and a tax advantaged small cap composite, and he co-managed several institutional accounts. Kelly earned an MBA in finance from The University of Chicago and was listed in Barron's Top 100 Fund Managers Rankings (#27) in 2002. He became a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) in 1991.

Avondale Partners, LLC is a leading, full-service institutional investment bank headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., with offices in Boston, Philadelphia, San Diego, Minneapolis and Baltimore. The firm focuses on providing high-quality equity research, sales and trading and investment banking services to institutional clients throughout the U.S., Canada and Europe. Since its inception in the summer of 2001, Avondale Partners has executed approximately 60 investment banking transactions and assignments for its clients, exceeding a total value of $4 billion, including public debt and equity offerings, private placements and merger and acquisition transactions. More information on Avondale Partners can be found at its web site, www.avondalepartnersllc.com.