Source: Sagient Research Systems PlacementTracker Publishes PIPE Market League Tables SAN DIEGO, July 23, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Sagient Research Systems, a leading publisher of independent research for the financial services and institutional investment communities, today announced that Rodman & Renshaw, LLC ranked as the number one most active investment bank and Iroquois Capital, L.P. ranked as the number one most active institutional investor in the PIPE market during the first half of 2007. PlacementTracker also announced that Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference, LLP ranked as the number one most active issuer counsel and Schulte Roth & Zabel, LLP ranked as the number one most active investor counsel in the PIPE market during the first two quarters of 2007. PlacementTracker, a flagship product of Sagient Research Systems, is well recognized as the leading provider of research, data, and analytics covering the PIPE market. Commenting on the League Tables, Robert F. Kyle, executive vice president of Sagient Research said, "The amount raised in the first half of 2007 was the largest ever in the history of the PIPE market. During the first six months, we recorded 645 PIPE transactions totaling $22.42 billion in equity and equity-linked capital raised (excluding Structured Equity Lines and Canadian issuers). Although the number of transactions dipped slightly versus the first half of last year, the amount raised represents an astounding 38% increase over the total amount raised during the first half of 2006 and puts the market on track to smash last year's record volume of PIPE activity. As always, we congratulate all of the active agents, investors, and legal counsel in the PIPE market for a tremendous first half, especially those leaders who topped the League Tables. Many of these firms are long-time clients of PlacementTracker, and we look forward to continuing to provide them with industry leading data, research, and analytics to help keep them on top of this market." PlacementTracker's dynamically updating League Tables are available online at: http://www.sagientresearch.com/pt/leaguetables.cfm. The 2007 PIPE Market Investment Banking League Table By Number of Transactions (through 6/30/07): Transaction Total Amount Placement Agent Name Count Placed -------------------- ----------- ----------------- Rodman & Renshaw, LLC 30 $ 544,019,737.00 Roth Capital Partners, LLC 16 $ 178,679,991.00 Lazard 10 $ 255,104,904.00 Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. 10 $ 216,382,607.00 UBS Investment Bank 8 $2,605,346,799.00 Jefferies & Company, Inc. 8 $ 527,767,553.00 Canaccord Adams, Inc. 8 $ 203,762,001.00 Piper Jaffray & Co. 8 $ 154,785,634.00 Lehman Brothers, Inc. 7 $ 853,253,469.00 Banc of America Securities LLC 7 $ 305,302,200.00 Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC 6 $1,447,601,674.00 ThinkEquity Partners, LLC 6 $ 257,519,305.00 Cowen and Company, LLC 6 $ 183,326,312.00 Sanders Morris Harris Inc. 6 $ 106,007,388.00 Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. 5 $ 838,959,871.00 RBC Capital Markets, Inc. 5 $ 353,133,991.00 A.G. Edwards, Inc. 5 $ 178,121,519.00 First Albany Capital 5 $ 175,527,109.00 Thomas Weisel Partners, LLC 5 $ 161,029,000.00 National Securities Corporation 5 $ 145,750,269.00 Halter Financial Group 5 $ 119,050,001.00 C.E. Unterberg, Towbin 5 $ 95,011,325.00 First Montauk Securities, Inc. 5 $ 15,880,000.00 Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co. 4 $ 705,775,827.00 Merrill Lynch & Co. 4 $ 300,759,270.00 Investment Banking rankings exclude all Equity Line of Credit transactions and all PIPE transactions conducted by Canadian issuers. On transactions where an investment banking firm has acted solely as Financial Advisor, that transaction has been excluded from that firm's ranking. Co-agented transactions award full transaction credit to all agents participating (regardless of status of lead agent or co-agent). Data is as reported as of 7/19/07. The 2007 PIPE Market Institutional Investor League Table By Number of Transactions (through 6/30/07): Transaction Total Amount Investor Name Count Invested ------------- ----------- ----------------- Iroquois Capital L.P. 38 $ 26,531,671.00 Enable Capital Management 32 $ 73,312,645.00 Heights Capital Management, Inc. 29 $ 97,446,946.00 Lehman Brothers Inc. 27 $ 147,263,905.00 Downsview Capital, Inc. 27 $ 16,643,258.00 UBS Capital Americas, LLC 26 $ 60,704,957.00 Highbridge International, LLC 24 $ 421,283,571.00 Nite Capital Management, LLC 23 $ 6,740,255.00 Hudson Bay Capital Management L.P. 20 $ 30,338,394.00 Atoll Asset Management, LLC 19 $ 20,060,516.00 Cantara (Switzerland) SA 19 $ 10,626,163.00 LH Financial Services Corporation 19 $ 6,010,688.93 Cornell Capital Partners, L.P. 18 $ 62,926,545.00 Chestnut Ridge Partners, L.P. 17 $ 3,860,469.55 SF Capital Partners, Inc. 16 $ 44,608,599.00 Bristol Capital Advisors, LLC 16 $ 11,196,080.00 Vision Capital Advisors LLC 15 $ 39,588,416.00 Fort Mason Capital 15 $ 38,554,423.00 Heller Capital Partners 15 $ 10,338,832.00 RBC Dominion Securities Inc. 14 $ 242,699,372.00 Zimmer Lucas Partners, LLC 14 $ 64,775,025.00 Roswell Capital Partners, LLC 14 $ 19,065,819.00 Ramius Capital Group, LLC 13 $ 331,256,003.00 Whitebox Advisors, LLC 13 $ 31,942,816.00 Credit Suisse Asset Management, LLC 13 $ 15,517,252.00 Investor rankings exclude all Equity Line of Credit transactions and all PIPE transactions conducted by Canadian issuers. Investors classified as Corporate Investors and Insurance Companies have been excluded from this ranking. Data is as reported as of 7/19/07 The 2007 PIPE Market Issuer Counsel League Table By Number of Transactions (through 6/30/07): Transaction Total Amount Legal Counsel Count Advised Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference, LLP 20 $ 106,133,155.00 Greenberg Traurig, LLP 12 $ 103,726,436.00 Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, LLP 10 $ 329,087,341.00 Haynes and Boone, LLP 10 $ 311,810,371.00 Vinson & Elkins, LLP 9 $3,220,981,782.00 Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis LLP 9 $ 74,809,267.00 Thelen Reid Brown Raysman & Steiner LLC 8 $ 142,200,003.00 Cooley Godward Kronish LLP 8 $ 133,132,575.00 Hogan & Hartson, LLP 7 $ 109,956,132.00 Richardson & Patel, LLP 7 $ 77,652,432.00 Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, LLP 6 $ 304,651,974.00 DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary US, LLP 6 $ 184,711,006.00 Maslon Edelman Borman & Brand, LLP 6 $ 97,589,161.00 Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky & Popeo, PC 6 $ 51,861,000.00 Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati 5 $1,105,000,001.00 Latham & Watkins, LLP 5 $ 710,851,594.00 Loeb & Loeb, LLP 5 $ 77,925,003.00 Morrison & Foerster, LLP 5 $ 56,948,900.00 Troy & Gould, PC 5 $ 47,653,015.00 Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr, LLP 4 $ 85,363,877.00 Stradling, Yocca, Carlson & Rauth, PC 4 $ 62,374,016.00 Gottbetter & Partners, LLP 4 $ 51,509,995.00 Goodwin Procter, LLP 4 $ 50,234,802.00 Ropes & Gray 4 $ 48,121,112.00 Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, LLP 4 $ 36,900,000.00 Legal counsel rankings exclude all Equity Line of Credit transactions and all PIPE transactions conducted by Canadian issuers. Data is as reported as of 7/19/07 The 2007 PIPE Market Investor Counsel League Table By Number of Transactions (through 6/30/07): Transaction Total Amount Legal Counsel Count Advised Schulte Roth & Zabel, LLP 64 $5,865,121,456.00 Feldman Weinstein, LLP 14 $ 72,732,166.00 Grushko & Mittman, PC 10 $ 37,055,000.00 Dorsey & Whitney, LLP 8 $ 91,207,785.00 Peter J. Weisman, PC 8 $ 38,578,831.00 Pillsbury, Winthrop, Shaw & Pittman, LLP 7 $ 777,752,174.00 Proskauer Rose, LLP 6 $ 122,400,000.00 Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, LLP 6 $ 47,928,975.00 Greenberg Traurig, LLP 6 $ 29,599,996.00 Simpson Thacher Bartlett, LLP 5 $1,711,458,987.00 Baker Botts, LLP 5 $ 862,000,220.00 Lowenstein Sandler, PC 5 $ 34,185,000.00 Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP 3 $ 643,000,000.00 Cravath, Swaine & Moore 3 $ 395,000,000.00 Vinson & Elkins, LLP 3 $ 160,000,070.00 Bryan Cave, LLP 3 $ 52,550,000.00 Barack, Ferrazzano, Kirschbaum, Perlman, & Nagelberg, LLP 3 $ 38,925,001.00 Cooley Godward Kronish LLP 3 $ 37,473,766.00 Ropes & Gray 2 $ 350,000,000.00 Jenner & Block LLP 2 $ 249,999,992.00 Abrams Anton, PA 2 $ 205,467,158.00 Shearman & Sterling, LLP 2 $ 104,048,500.00 Latham & Watkins, LLP 2 $ 83,888,500.00 Olshan Grundman Frome Rosenzweig & Wolosky 2 $ 9,353,000.00 Krieger & Prager, LLP 2 $ 8,196,250.00 Legal counsel rankings exclude all Equity Line of Credit transactions and all PIPE transactions conducted by Canadian issuers. Data is as reported as of 7/19/07 About Sagient Research Systems Sagient Research Systems is a publisher of independent research. We develop, produce, and sell proprietary research products to mutual funds, hedge funds, and investment banks. Our business strategy is to continue to leverage our development, technology, and marketing expertise to solidify our position as a leading provider of independent research to the financial services and institutional investment communities. For more information, please visit the Sagient Research Systems website at www.sagientresearch.com. CONTACT: PlacementTracker Tassanee Sukramule, Vice President 858-200-2395 .