Collins Stewart focuses on four main areas: advisory, corporate broking, securities, and wealth management. Collins Stewart plc research tool, Quest, is a proprietary online database and valuation model containing about 3,000 European, US, and Asian companies. Collins Stewart traces its roots to 1991. Collins Stewart plc demerged in 2006, and as a result Tullett Prebon also was formed. Following the demerger, Collins Stewart completed its acquisition of corporate finance advisory firm Hawkpoint. In 2010 Collins Stewart announced plans to grow again with the acquisition of independent wealth management firm Andersen Charnley.

Forward Ventures, founded in 1993, has a team of five investment professionals with extensive experience in venture capital and operations. Forward has invested in over 50 companies since it was founded in 1993 and currently has approximately $500 million in capital under management. The most recent fund, Forward V, continues Forward Ventures’ program of life sciences and health care venture investing in companies of all stages. The firm is headquartered in a 40,000 square-foot research building that also serves as an incubator for its portfolio companies.

Austin Ventures has corralled themselves a heapin' helpin' of a whole different breed -- the nerd herd. The venture capital firm offers funding mainly to software, computer hardware, semiconductor, communications, and business services startups. Focused on investment opportunities in the Southwest (and still with a heavy Texas concentration despite looking outward), Austin Ventures typically invests from $100,000 to $20 million per transaction, usually holds its investments long-term, and almost always takes a seat on the acquired firm's board. Austin Ventures also assists clients in hiring management, setting up compensation plans, and going public.

The Yucaipa Companies is a premier investment firm that has established a record of fostering economic value through the growth and responsible development of companies. Founded in 1986 by Ron Burkle, the firm has completed mergers and acquisitions valued at more than $30 billion. As an investor, Yucaipa works with management to strategically reposition businesses and implement operational improvements, resulting in value creation for investors.

Terra Firma Capital Partners Limited was founded in 1994. Terra Firma Capital Partners Limited is a private equity firm specializing in buyouts of large, asset rich, and complex businesses in need of operational and strategic change. It seeks to invest in those companies that are under-performing in some way. The firm typically invests in mature companies based in Europe. It exits its investments by means of sale or listing on a public stock market.

Summit Partners' dough rises a little later rather than earlier. Summit Partners funds later-stage companies, preferring those that are profitable and growing. It invests in a range of industries, including business and financial services, energy, health care, communications, media, industrial and consumer products, software, and semiconductors. Summit Partners' private equity investments range from $30 million to more than $500 million; venture capital investments range between $5 million to $30 million. Summit Partners also provides mezzanine debt financing. Its current portfolio includes stakes in more than 50 firms in North America, Europe, and Asia.

Sealaska Corporation was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Juneau, Alaska. Sealaska Corporation operates as a landowner with surface lands and subsurface lands in the southeast Alaska. Sealaska Corporation company also engages in harvesting and marketing wood products for hardwood outdoor furniture in the Pacific Rim and Pacific Northwest. In addition, it invests in construction and manufacturing aggregates, plastics injection molding, environmental consulting, machining and prototyping, logistics, financial, and information technology markets.

William Blair & Company, L.L.C. was founded in 1935. William Blair & Company, L.L.C. is an employee-owned financial services firm that offers investment banking, equity research, institutional and private brokerage, and asset management to individual, institutional, and issuing clients. The firm’s services include portfolio management, sales and trading, investment banking services, mutual funds, and venture capital financing. In addition, William Blair & Company, L.L.C. also makes private equity investments through its investment arm William Blair Capital Partners.

Downing Corporate Finance Limited was founded in 1986 and is based in London, the United Kingdom. Downing Corporate Finance Limited offers financial services. It engages in launching venture capital trusts. Downing Corporate Finance company also promotes tax based and other investment schemes, including the EIS portfolio service, the Rathbones IHT portfolio services, and enterprise zone trusts. Downing Corporate Finance Limited was formerly known as Downing Corporate Services Limited.

Ampal-American Israel holds interests in half a dozen companies in the chemical, energy, real estate, telecommunications, and leisure industries. Ampal-American Israel Corporation prefers to invest in companies that initially grow in Israel, then expand abroad. Ampal-American Israel often exerts influence after acquiring stakes in companies. Previous investments include Gadot Chemical Tankers and Terminals, one of Israel's leading chemical shippers; East Mediterranean Gas Company, a natural gas exporter; and Bay Heart Limited, a shopping mall owner in Haifa, Israel's third-largest city. Chairman and CEO Yosef A. Maiman and his family own a majority of Ampal-American Israel.

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