Former Equitable, J. C. Bradford Executives Establish Avondale Partners LLC; Nashville Firm to Offer Investment Banking and Brokerage Services

Business Wire, June 6, 2001

Business Editors

NASHVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 6, 2001

Six former executives of Equitable Securities Corporation and J. C. Bradford & Co. have established a new, independently-owned, Nashville-based financial services firm dedicated to equity research, investment banking activities and equity capital markets.

Founders of Avondale Partners LLC describe the new partnership as a "boutique" investment banking firm initially offering merger and acquisition and investment advisory services.

Avondale Partners becomes Nashville's first locally-headquartered investment banking and brokerage services firm to be established since the local offices of Equitable Securities and J. C. Bradford & Co. were sold.

"The creation of Avondale Partners is a reflection of global consolidation in the securities industry and the increased ownership of investment banks by commercial banks," explained Raymond Pirtle, 59, a founder of Avondale Partners. "The founders of Avondale Partners believe that public and private companies have been adversely impacted by these trends. They are in dire need of trusted advisors who will provide unbiased and knowledgeable advice for raising capital, as well as for mergers and acquisitions."

Pirtle said Avondale Partners expects to employ up to 40 investment banking and brokerage services professionals in its first year of operation. The firm will provide capital raising and advisory services for public and private corporations and sales and trading services for institutional investors and high net worth individuals.

Founders and managing partners of Avondale Partners include Pirtle and Stephen S. Riven, Philip D. Krebs, Richard W. Henderson, Jeffrey C. Nahley, and R. Patrick Shepherd. Pirtle and Riven are both former managing directors and board members with Equitable Securities and general partners with J. C. Bradford & Co. Krebs, Henderson and Nahley are all former managing directors of Equitable Securities, and Shepherd is a former general partner of J. C. Bradford & Co.

In addition to the founders and managing partners, Randall R. Harness, 58, a former general partner of J. C. Bradford & Co., and Joel D. Oertling, 41, a former limited partner of J. C. Bradford & Co., have joined Avondale Partners as chief financial officer and vice president-finance, respectively.

"Nashville was once regarded as the `Wall Street of the South' and enjoyed an excellent reputation for providing financing services, particularly to Southern-based corporations," Riven said. "We believe that corporations and individuals in Nashville and the mid-south will support a locally-headquartered securities company that will keep bright and creative people here."

Both J. C. Bradford & Co., formed in 1927, and Equitable Securities Corporation, founded in 1930, provided investment banking and brokerage services from their Nashville headquarters to individuals, corporations and institutions throughout the country. Equitable was sold to Atlanta's SunTrust Bank to become SunTrust Equitable Securities in 1998 and J. C. Bradford was sold to PaineWebber in New York last year.

"The breadth of talent scattered by the purchase of Equitable and Bradford, combined with the entrepreneurial spirit in Nashville, provides Avondale Partners with an excellent opportunity to build a strong, financial services firm," Riven, 63, continued.

Riven and Pirtle have provided institutional sales and service to international clients throughout their careers. Their combined 70 years of services with Equitable and J. C. Bradford & Co. have primarily been in institutional equity sales to clients in the USA, UK and Canada.

Krebs, 44, who will head the operating committee of Avondale Partners, came to Nashville in 1996 from Lehman Brothers in New York where he was a managing director. He was most recently head of SunTrust Equitable's investment banking department and was a management committee member of the firm's equity division.

Nahley, 37, who will direct the firm's investment banking group, was previously a managing director with Equitable Securities and ING Barings. Prior to joining Equitable in 1993, he was vice president of mergers and acquisitions with BT Securities in New York.

Krebs and Nahley have been investment bankers for more than 30 years. The two have executed over 100 transactions exceeding $15 billion in value.

Henderson, 42, who will be responsible for equity capital markets, was with J. C. Bradford & Co. prior to coming to SunTrust Equitable. There he was head of equity sales, trading and syndication, and was also a management committee member of the firm's equity division.

Shepherd, 45, who will be chief administrative officer of Avondale Partners, was most recently general counsel of J. C. Bradford & Co. While with the firm, he was a member of its management committee.

"We now have securities professionals who could work with any firm in the country," Riven pointed out, "but they are seeking to work with a Nashville-based firm that has a strong entrepreneurial business style and a personal, hands-on approach to service."