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William Blair & Company Honored in Annual Restructuring Awards

Geoff Richards named middle-market restructuring financial advisor of the year

William Blair & Company wins award for cross-border special situation deal of the year


CHICAGO, June 30, 2010 - Geoffrey A. Richards, head of William Blair & Company’s Special Situations and Restructuring Group, was named middle-market restructuring financial advisor of the year by Global M&A Network. The award recognizes Richards’s work in 2009 to execute restructuring solutions for financially distressed companies, both in and out of bankruptcy.

“Geoff and the Special Situations and Restructuring team showed relentless effort and ingenuity to help our clients achieve the best possible solutions in 2009’s challenging environment,” said Brent Gledhill, global head of Corporate Finance for William Blair & Company. “By drawing upon his experience as both a banker and an attorney, Geoff is able to help clients quickly navigate financial and legal considerations. This allows our clients to maximize value and, in many cases, preserve jobs.”

Global M&A Network also recognized William Blair & Company’s work helping Emerisque navigate and finance a Section 363 acquisition of Hartmarx as the cross-border special situation M&A deal of the year. The William Blair & Company team, which included Special Situations and Debt Advisory bankers from the firm’s Chicago and London offices, guided a joint venture led by India-based S. Kumars Nationwide Limited through the complexities of the U.S. bankruptcy process and secured financing in the distressed-lending market. The transaction allowed Hartmarx to keep open its Chicago-area garment manufacturing plant, saving hundreds of jobs.

The Turnaround Atlas Awards were presented by Global M&A Network at a ceremony in Chicago on June 17. “Winners should take pride for completing an impressive variety of turnarounds during tough economic conditions; it is a testament to their resourcefulness, persistence, and leadership,” said Global M&A Network CEO Shanta Kumari.

This is the second consecutive year Richards has received the restructuring financial advisor of the year award from Global M&A Network. He has 15 years of complex transaction experience in an extensive range of more than 125 restructuring and distressed merger-and-acquisition engagements, both in and outside Chapter 11, involving total debt outstanding of more than $28 billion. These engagements have involved public and private companies, private-equity sponsors, hedge funds, purchasers of distressed assets and businesses, key secured and unsecured creditors, DIP lenders, and creditors’ committees. His broad industry experience includes manufacturing, distribution, airlines, retail, foodservices, consumer products, real estate, and broadcasting.

William Blair & Company, L.L.C. is a global investment firm offering investment banking, asset management, equity research, institutional and private brokerage, and private capital to individual, institutional, and issuing clients. Since 1935, we have been committed to helping clients achieve their financial objectives. As an independent, employee-owned firm, our philosophy is to serve our clients' interests first and foremost. We place a high value on the enduring nature of our client relationships, the quality of our products and services, and the continuity and integrity of our people. William Blair & Company is based in Chicago, with office locations including Boston, London, New York, San Francisco, Shanghai, Tokyo, and Zurich.


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