Aker ASA is a Norway-based industrial investment company engaged in active ownership. Its interests are concentrated on the areas of energy, environment, fisheries and marine biotechnology, and finance. The Company organizes its business activities in three sectors. The Industrial Holdings sector comprises ownership interests in Aker Solutions, Aker Drilling, Det norske oljeselskap, Aker Clean Carbon, and Aker BioMarine. The Financial Holdings sector comprises Aker Asset Management, which manages the hedge fund AAM Absolute Return Fund, and Converto Capital Management, an investment advisor to Converto Capital Fund. Converto Capital Fund holds interests in Aker Seafoods (65.9%), Aker Floating Production (76.2%), Aker Philadelphia Shipyard (50.3%), Bjorge (indirect 39.9%), and American Shipping Company (19.9%). Converto Capital Fund also controls 100% of Ocean Harvest. The Treasury sector manages Aker’s financial instruments: interest-bearing receivables, cash, and cash equivalents.

The Catalyst Group wants to be a catalyst for your investment needs. The Catalyst group provides investment banking services (mergers and acquisitions, divestitures, and corporate partnering) and specializes in midsized companies in the information technology and telecommunications industries. Some of the companies the group has assisted in past transactions include Ericsson (integration into the French market), SSA Global Technologies (European expansion), Peritus Software Services (provided financial advice), and Alcatel-Lucent (formerly Lucent; evaluated strategic partners).

Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides investment banking, equity research, institutional sales and trading, independent brokerage, advisory, and asset management services in the United States. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. offers general investment banking and corporate finance consulting services; underwriting of public equity and debt offerings, including specified purpose acquisition companies underwriting; placement of private debt and equity offerings; merger, acquisition, and divestiture advisory services; rendering fairness and solvency opinions; and financial valuations. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. also provides investment consulting services, private investment management, retirement plan sponsor services, alternative investments, and architect program, as well as an asset management program, which provides centralized management of mutual fund and exchange-traded fund portfolios based on asset allocation models. In addition, Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. offers broker-dealer and investment advisory services to the independent registered representative community. Further, Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. reviews and analyzes general market conditions and other industry groups; issues written reports on companies, with recommendations on specific actions to buy, sell, or hold; furnishes information to retail and institutional customers; and responds to inquires from customers and account executives. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. serves middle market and emerging growth companies, and high net worth individuals. Ladenburg Thalmann Financial Services Inc. was founded in 1876 and is based in Miami, Florida.

The Sacramento Valley Board of Trade (SVBT) provides risk management and related collections information and services for member businesses in the food, beverage, and media industries. Founded in 1980 by sister firm Northern California Collections Service, SVBT helps clients prevent debt losses by compiling and distributing monthly reports containing total due, past due, and returned check information on accounts within the industries. Members can also submit and review credit alerts via the board's Web site.

Alltrue Investments wants investors to trust (and entrust) in them. Alltrue Investments PLC, which offers stock market-related financial services and investment advice, operates primarily through its Falcon Securities and Montague Pitman Stockbrokers subsidiaries. Falcon offers a variety of stock-related brokerage and investment management services to private individuals and small- to midsized companies. Montague, on the other hand, serves as retail broker that provides market reporting and investment management to a variety of clients ranging from first-time investors to day traders. Alltrue Investments and its subsidiaries primarily serve clients in the UK.

Clerical Medical targets the practical and economical, helping to make sure their retirement years are more paradisiacal than ascetical. Clerical Medical, which started out serving clergy members and physicians, today provides middle-class professionals and other clients from all walks of life with tools to build their nest eggs. The company's products include group and individual pension plans and other investment products, such as life insurance, offshore investment funds, and a variety of bonds (flexible growth, income, and others); it has more than $39 billion under management. Clerical Medical is a subsidiary of Lloyds Banking Group.

Founded in 1998, with significant backing from the bank community and from the global logistics industry, Bolero was created as a neutral, trusted third party to develop a comprehensive set of standards that would remove the barriers to global, cross-enterprise business. Bolero implements and enforces these standards in an open platform to enable paperless trading between buyers, sellers, logistics, banks, agencies and customs anywhere in the world, delivering transaction visibility, predictability, speed, accuracy and security.Building on this platform, Bolero delivers applications that enable the merging of the physical and Financial Supply Chains, allowing companies to fundamentally re-engineer the way that business is done and take advantage of electronic trading. Customers and their trade partners are rapidly deploying Bolero solutions delivering significant reductions in cost and working capital, increased visibility and improvements in operating efficiency.

IP Group plc was founded in 2001 and is based in London, United Kingdom. IP Group plc is a principal investment firm specializing in commercializing intellectual property. It seeks to invest in the life sciences and physical sciences sectors. IP Group plc provides seed capital financing to spin out companies from the universities. It also provides support for its university partners' intellectual property commercialization activities, as well as in the identification of intellectual property and in return takes equity positions in its portfolio companies.

In 1980, GTCR pioneered and investment thesis founded on the principle of growth through committed relationships with management partners. GTCR manages more than $8 billion in equity and mezzanine capital invested in a wide range of companies and industries. The firm principally invests in high-growth industries, including financial services and technology, healthcare, and information services and technology. Growth strategies are driven by industry dynamics and generally include a combination of acquisitions and internal growth.Capital under management is primarily provided by pension funds, endowments, and foundations. Portfolio company executives and the principals of GTCR have made significant investments in each of GTCR's funds. The firm's principals have invested in more than 100 companies, and are recognized for their ability to create value consistently throughout the investment life cycle.

Ameritrans Capital Corporation was founded in 1979 and is based in New York, New York. Ameritrans Capital Corporation (Ameritrans) is a closed-end investment company, which makes loans and investments with the goal of generating both current income and capital appreciation. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Elk Associates Funding Corporation (Elk), the Company makes loans to finance the acquisition and operation of small businesses as permitted by the United States Small Business Administration (the SBA) Regulation. Elk was organized primarily to provide long-term loans to businesses eligible for investments (Small Business Concerns) by small business investment companies (SBICs). Ameritrans makes loans, which have primarily been secured by real estate mortgages, senior corporate loans and equity investments which have been in income producing real estate properties, or in real estate construction projects. It operates in five segments: Corporate Loans, Commercial Loans, Life Insurance Settlements, Equity Investments and Taxicab Medallion Finance.

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