John Hogan Joins Norwest Mezzanine Partners as Fund's Newest Partner

Business Wire, May 12, 2008

MINNEAPOLIS -- Norwest Mezzanine Partners (NMP), a leading middle market mezzanine investor, is pleased to announce that it has expanded its investment team with the addition of John Hogan as Partner. Hogan joins NMP from Piper Jaffray & Co., where he focused on establishing and developing relationships with private equity firms as Managing Director and Head of the Financial Sponsors Group. Current NMP investment professionals include Carter Balfour, Partner; Shani Graber, Principal; and Neal Sette, Associate.

Since its inception in 2000, NMP has focused on sourcing investment opportunities exclusively from private equity sponsors. Collectively, Hogan's breadth of middle market financial sponsor relationships, industry and transaction experience, as well as an early career in the credit markets, strongly complement NMP's investment team and overall strategy.

Timothy DeVries, NMP Managing General Partner, stated, "NMP strives to be sponsor-friendly and to provide value-added debt solutions. John's credit background, his successful career of building the financial sponsor coverage group at Piper Jaffray, as well as his broad investment banking transaction experience, give him a well-rounded perspective on the market that he'll bring to NMP. John fits the NMP mold, and we are excited to have him on board."

With a growing investment team, a revival of the mezzanine market, and a new fund on the horizon, NMP is moving ahead with strong momentum. Wells Fargo, the fund's major limited partner, granted approval for NMP III, a $500 million fund that will close this year. NMP currently has $650 million in capital under management. Norwest Equity Partners (NEP), NMP's affiliated private equity fund, also received approval from Wells Fargo for $1.2 billion for its next fund, NEP IX.

Hogan is equally enthusiastic about his opportunity at NMP. "I have always been impressed with the Norwest funds - NMP and NEP have solid investment track records and their combined reputation and brand in the market is notable," Hogan stated. "I am flattered to have the opportunity to join the team. Working together to leverage our resources and relationships to find great investments is a very exciting prospect."

In addition to his role focused on financial sponsor coverage, Hogan's 10 year career at Piper Jaffray also included a variety of additional senior level roles. He worked as a senior banker within the Middle Market M&A Group and previously had responsibility for all investment banking activities within the Transportation Equipment & Services sector on the Industrial Growth team. Prior to his years with Piper Jaffray, Hogan worked at Norwest Bank (now Wells Fargo) in several capacities, including arranging private placements and restructuring troubled assets in the bank's portfolio.

Hogan graduated cum laude from Carleton College with a bachelor's degree in economics, and he received his MBA from the Carlson School of Management at the University of Minnesota.

Norwest Mezzanine Partners (NMP) provides value-added growth capital directly to middle market businesses and indirectly to the shareholders and managers of those businesses. Our proven team has the expertise, the innovation and the resources required to make long-term, middle-market investments that lead to solid results. With $650 million in capital under management, NMP is a leading mezzanine debt provider for investments initiated by private equity sponsors. NMP is a standalone investment partnership that is affiliated with Norwest Equity Partners (NEP). Visit www.nmp.com for more information.