Lincoln International Hires Joe Radecki to Head U.S. Restructuring and Special Situations Group

NEW YORK, NY, USA, September 14, 2009 – Lincoln International, a leading global, mid-market investment bank, announced today that Joe Radecki has joined the firm as a Managing Director and Head of the Restructuring and Special Situations Group in the United States. He will be based in Lincoln International’s New York office.

Mr. Radecki started his career at Drexel Burnham Lambert in the 1980s, and he has focused full time on the restructuring advisory business for over 20 years. Previously, Mr. Radecki headed the financial restructuring groups at several investment banks, including Jefferies, CIBC and Piper Jaffray. He has led the execution of approximately 100 restructuring transactions over the course of his career, including debtor and creditor assignments, as well as out-of-court and in-court restructurings. Mr. Radecki has been consistently named one of the “Leading Restructuring Advisors” by Turnarounds & Workouts magazine.

At Lincoln International, Mr. Radecki will be joining a Restructuring and Special Situations Group that has a distinguished record of completed distressed M&A and capital raising transactions. During the last several years, Lincoln International has represented publicly traded corporations, privately held businesses, portfolio companies of leading private equity firms, and commercial and institutional lenders in sale, refinancing and restructuring assignments. Lincoln International’s experience includes both consensual, out-of-court transactions, as well as those effected through Chapter 11 or similar in-court proceedings.

Jim Lawson, Co-Chairman of Lincoln International, commented, “Joe brings to Lincoln International his deep experience in both the strategic assessment and tactical implementation phases of restructuring assignments. Lincoln’s historical restructuring efforts primarily focused on the sale or refinancing of distressed or over-levered businesses. By teaming up with Joe, Lincoln will now be able to assist our clients at an earlier stage in assessing their strategic alternatives, including their stand-alone restructuring options, and in implementing their best alternatives, either out-of-court or, when necessary, in-court.”

Rob Barr, President of Lincoln International North America said, “Joe’s capabilities in restructuring advisory services augment Lincoln’s traditional strengths in M&A, capital raising and valuation and opinions. As we continue through the economic cycle, many of our clients will benefit from Joe’s perspective and advice on how to best weather the storm.”

Mr. Radecki added, “Lincoln International is committed to building a global advisory firm with financial restructuring as one of its core competencies. With many of the traditional restructuring advisors focused primarily on the largest restructuring transactions, there is a real need for high quality financial advice in the middle market.”

Patrick Goy, a Managing Director at Lincoln International, will remain Co-Head of the Restructuring and Special Situations Group and will continue to market Lincoln International’s restructuring services and to execute selected distressed M&A assignments. Mr. Goy stated, “Joe’s restructuring execution skills, reputation for getting the best results possible, relationships with bankruptcy professionals and leadership experience are a perfect complement to what we have been doing at Lincoln. I look forward to working with Joe to further build our restructuring effort.”

Franklin Harris, a Managing Director at Lincoln International who focuses on financial sponsor coverage, said, “Coming out of the credit bubble of 2006 and 2007, it is no surprise that a significant number of today’s restructurings involve sponsor-backed companies. By adding Joe’s expertise to Lincoln’s capital raising and industry-specific M&A capabilities, we will be able to best serve our private equity clients as their portfolio companies grapple with the recession and current credit crunch. In addition, Lincoln’s increasing restructuring work is resulting in more investment opportunities for our sponsor clients who are positioned to provide capital for turnaround situations.”

Mr. Radecki attended Georgetown University, where he graduated Magna Cum Laude. Mr. Radecki began his investment banking career in 1983 at Drexel Burnham Lambert in Los Angeles, where he spent much of his time working on restructuring assignments. In 1990, Mr. Radecki and a group of other Drexel executives moved to Jefferies, where he ultimately became head of the Jefferies restructuring group. In 1998, he joined CIBC in New York to lead their restructuring practice. In 2006, Mr. Radecki joined Piper Jaffray in New York to lead and build their restructuring business. In 2008, he started his own independent restructuring advisory firm.

Mr. Radecki’s clients have included American Restaurant Group; Coho Energy, Inc.; Eschelon Telecom; Forman Petroleum; GEO Specialty Chemicals; Grove Worldwide; Harrah’s Jazz Company; Horizon Offshore, Inc.; Lazy Days R.V. Center, Inc.; Maxim Crane Works; National Energy Group; Presidio Oil Company; Radio Unica Corporation; Southern Mineral Corp.; Summit Business Media; Sunshine Mining and Refining; Tesoro Petroleum Corp.; Trump Castle Funding, Inc.; Trump’s Taj Mahal; Universal Trailer Corporation; VICORP Restaurants, Inc.; and World Airways, among others.

In addition to advising companies, Mr. Radecki has advised numerous creditor groups in Chapter 11 cases, including American Rice Inc.; Bucyrus-Erie Corporation; Flagstar Corporation; Marvel Entertainment; Mirant Energy Corp.; Scotia Pacific Corp.; Sleepmaster LLC; and Scotia Pacific Corp. Additionally, Mr. Radecki has advised court-appointed representatives in such high profile asbestos bankruptcies as Congoleum Corporation; Federal-Mogul Corporation; USG Corporation; and W.R. Grace Corp.

About Lincoln International

Lincoln International specializes in merger and acquisition advisory services, debt advisory services, UK pension advisory services and providing fairness opinions and valuations for leading organizations involved in mid-market transactions. With offices in Chicago, Frankfurt, London, Los Angeles, Madrid, New York, Paris, Tokyo and Vienna, and strategic partnerships with China Everbright in China and ICICI Securities, Inc. in India, Lincoln International has strong local knowledge and contacts in the key global economies. The organization provides clients with senior-level attention, in-depth industry expertise and integrated resources. By being focused and independent, Lincoln International serves its clients without conflicts of interest. More information about Lincoln International can be obtained at www.lincolninternational.com.