ACG Los Angeles member Gordon Gregory, founder of Mosaic Capital in 1989, had little idea that the competitors he sat next to at the ACG breakfast meetings for years would someday be on his team. The turnabout was no accident. “Several of us got to know each other working on ACG programs, attending ACG functions, and taking advantage of related ACG activity. We weren’t so much exchanging deal information as utilizing the professional venue ACG provided to network,” said Gregory. “Because ACG provides an opportunity to build relationships, we were able to find out things about each other that would not otherwise have surfaced. When you work on a committee you see how others think; it allows you to go beyond small talk and build an in depth relationship.” Despite marathon meetings and negotiations, Gregory assembled in record time four well-regarded investment-banking veterans, two of whom are ACG members and two of whom are good member prospects, all with successful and diversified backgrounds. The four agreed to join Mosaic Capital “virtually overnight,” according to one of the members. In part because of ACG, the newcomers did not have to meet and greet’: they already had established relationships of a decade or more. Asked how this new alignment could happen so quickly, one new director said, “It was luck and timing in an environment that made it easy to get to know each other. I am referring mainly to the ACG events we shared.” When the new directors’ contact databases and 150 tombstones were merged, Mosaic’s new team had collective experience and successful closings in 28 of the 30 major industry sectors, realistically positioning the firm at the forefront of west coast investment banking serving the middle market. With the additional leadership in place, Mosaic claimed 116 collective years of deal-making experience in M&A and capital raising, and an equal amount of providing valuations services. David Cohn and Kevin Shultz, both ACG members, and David Herman and Chuck Troe make up the new group that joined Mosaic in May. They work closely with Gregory and other senior and mid-level staffers at the firm. As one reviews their collective backgrounds, the breadth and depth of expertise and experience become clear. For example, both Cohn and Herman have previously operated sizable middle-market companies as principals and CEOs. In addition, they have bought and sold companies on their own account. Operating Depth “We speak the same language as the client,” said Cohn. “We understand the personal and business concerns that keep him or her up at night. Often deals don’t close because the investment banker only focuses on price and fails to take into account the major personal issues facing the client post transaction.” Herman and Cohn are passionate about educating all parties on the salient issues that will test the integrity of the deal. “The sale of a company with first or second generation ownership will probably be the largest liquidity event in the owner’s life, making preparation for the selling especially critical.” Financial Depth Shultz, who recently served as chief financial officer for a former client after a successfully completed management buyout, is a veteran of the investment banking industry with significant background in raising capital. Starting his career at McKinsey & Co, advising foreign buyers on U.S. acquisition prospects, he next joined the M&A group of Drexel Burnham Lambert during the early 1980s and ultimately directed the firm’s successful corporate sale and divestiture practice. “Kevin has developed a passion and penchant for pulling together the disparate parts of the balance sheet to finance management buyouts, corporate sales and divestitures, and private capital raises including equity,” said Gregory. According to Gregory, maximizing price and transaction terms is the name of the game. “With Chuck Troe the firm gains a veteran with 33 years of dealmaking experience who has worked on transactions of a wide variety of sizes and industries. These deals have involved large and small companies, hostile and friendly environments, complex and family ownership structures, and sophisticated and less sophisticated clients and targets,” said Gregory. Following 21 years as an M&A and corporate finance attorney representing blue- chip and middle-market clients in several firms, including Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, Troe transitioned to full-time investment banking a dozen years ago. Global Reach The firm reaches out internationally as well through its membership in IMAP, a global partnership with 98 offices located in 24 countries. “Not only do we have access to IMAP’s proprietary database of private company transactions,” said Gregory, “but on a confidential basis we can discuss price, deal terms, buyers, and other specifics about these transactions with the actual dealmaker involved. Moreover, when executing a buy- or sell-side mandate we can tap into the expertise and contacts of our IMAP colleagues into every major industry group.” With the help of ACG international venues and related activities, Gregory regards his team as a “powerhouse.” “I suspect the fragmented Southern California investment banking community will be watching closely to see if this model works. If it does, the roll up’ word may very well become attributable to our immediate industry. Our timing is good as the market continues to pick up.” (c) 2005 Mergers and Acquisitions Journal and SourceMedia, Inc. All Rights Reserved. http://www.majournal.com http://www.sourcemedia.com

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