Avondale Partners Establishes New Equity Research Office In Minneapolis; Brooks O'Neil Joins Firm as a Director and Sr. Healthcare Services Analyst.

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Avondale Partners, a national investment banking firm headquartered in Nashville, has expanded its operations with the opening of a new equity research office in Minneapolis, announced Pat Snell, director of research.

The equity research effort in Minneapolis will be led by Brooks O'Neil, who joins Avondale as a director and senior healthcare services analyst. The Minneapolis office is Avondale's fifth location, adding to the company's other offices in Nashville, Boston, Philadelphia and San Diego.

O'Neil brings 20 years of sell-side experience to Avondale and most recently served as senior healthcare analyst with Dougherty & Co. in Minneapolis, covering emerging healthcare sectors such as chronic care management, outpatient surgery, specialty pharmacy and pharmacy benefit management. O'Neil also has served as director of research and in managing director positions for Think Equity and Piper Jaffray in Minneapolis, and in sales and marketing roles at Proctor & Gamble, General Mills and American Express. He earned his B.A. from the University of Connecticut and his MBA from The Amos Tuck School of Business Administration at Dartmouth College.

Pat Shepherd, Avondale Partners CEO said the firm will continue to add to its growing equity research coverage. "We are excited about the opportunity to make Minneapolis an integral part of our growing investment banking and equity research franchise," said Shepherd. "Healthcare is an important focus of Avondale's research product, and Brooks O'Neil brings deep experience and an excellent reputation in healthcare coverage. He is the ideal person to open and lead the growth of our office in Minneapolis."

Avondale Partners, LLC is a leading, full-service institutional investment bank headquartered in Nashville, Tenn., with offices in Boston, Philadelphia, San Diego and Minneapolis. 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.