Avondale Partners Establishes New Equity Research Office in Atlanta; Expands Coverage With Prominent Retail Analyst Patrick McKeever.

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 Atlanta, announced Pat Snell, director of research.

The equity research effort in Atlanta will be led by Patrick McKeever, who joins Avondale as a senior analyst, focused on the retail sector. The Atlanta office is Avondale's seventh location, adding to the company's other offices in Nashville, Boston, Philadelphia, San Diego, Minneapolis and Baltimore.

McKeever joins Avondale from SunTrust Robinson Humphrey in Atlanta, where he served for five years as a senior analyst focusing on broadlines retailing, and for two years as a research associate. Prior to that, he was a junior analyst focusing on hardlines retail at ABN Amro in New York. He began his career in equity research at Credit Suisse First Boston in New York in 1997.

McKeever represents Avondale's continued expansion of its research coverage of the consumer space as he is Avondale's fifth senior analyst in the consumer area. He joins analysts Doug Lane, direct selling and consumer products; Kathryn Thompson, leisure; Matt Laing, restaurants; and Frank Gristina, eCommerce. "Patrick is a great addition to our growing equity research department," said Pat Snell, director of research at of Avondale Partners. "He has been quoted by a number of national financial publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Business Week and Barron's, and he has made regular appearances on CNBC and Bloomberg TV. His franchise has ranked among the top-performing franchises within STRH as measured by the Greenwich survey, he has received recognition in the Institutional Investor Magazine poll, and he was awarded "Top Stock Picker in Multiline Retail" for 2002 by Starmine. We are delighted to have Patrick join our team."

Pat Shepherd, Avondale Partners senior managing partner, said the firm will continue to add to its growing number of office locations. "With the opening of the Atlanta location as an equity research office, we see an opportunity to expand our growing investment banking franchise in the Atlanta area, as well," said Shepherd. "We look forward to having Patrick in Atlanta to lead the growth of our office there."

McKeever earned his B.A. from Boston College and his M.A., with honors, from the University College Dublin, Ireland.

About Avondale Partners LLC 

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