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IDD Announces 9th Annual IDD Deals of the Year Awards for 2006 M&A, Private Equity Dominate; ESPN Anchor Dan Patrick to Keynote Awards Reception

NEW YORK, NY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- January 16, 2007 -- Investment Dealers' Digest (IDD), a SourceMedia publication, today announced its selections for the IDD Deals of the Year Awards for 2006. Given the record year for mergers & acquisitions as well as private equity, many of the winning deals were M&A transactions. All award winners are profiled in-depth in this week's issue of IDD and online at www.iddmagazine.com.

The winning investment banks and private equity firms will be recognized at tonight's Deals of the Year Awards Reception at the W Hotel in midtown Manhattan, an invitation-only event that will feature keynote speaker Dan Patrick, ESPN Anchor and host of the Dan Patrick Radio Show.

"Not only was 2006 the year of the mammoth transaction, but it was a year when the largest private equity firms and hedge funds exerted dominance and influence in the capital markets," said Adam Reinebach, publisher of IDD. "While private equity firms had plenty of equity to spend, it was access to capital that really opened the door for the surge in public-to-private deals."

One of those deals was the leveraged buyout of HCA by Bain Capital, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Merrill Lynch. The $33 billion deal won awards in two categories -- M&A Deal of the Year and Healthcare Deal of the Year.

The overall Deal of the Year was the sale of General Motor's GMAC unit. In addition to giving a new life to GM, the deal was significant on several fronts, as it underscored the financial clout of hedge funds, while at the same time demonstrating the new level of sophistication seen in today's capital markets.

The 2006 Banker of the Year is Evercore Partners' Co-Founder Roger Altman, who oversaw and helped spearhead the growth of the bank, which went public in 2006, made important hires to its team, and most importantly continued to win mandates for high-profile transactions.

IDD congratulates all the winners of the 2006 IDD Deals of the Year Awards:

Banker of the Year: Evercore Partners' Roger Altman

Bank of the Year: Merrill Lynch & Co.

Middle Market Banker of the Year: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods' John Duffy

Middle Market Bank of the Year: Robert W. Baird

Overall Deal of the Year: The Cerberus Capital-led acquisition of a majority stake in GM's GMAC unit. (Sponsors: Cerberus, Citigroup, PNC; Buyside advisor: Lazard; Sellside advisors: Evercore Partners, Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, Bear Stearns)

M&A Deal of the Year and Healthcare Deal of the Year: The $33 billion acquisition of HCA by Bain Capital, Kohlberg Kravis Roberts and Merrill Lynch. (Sellside advisors: Credit Suisse, Morgan Stanley; Buyside advisors: Merrill Lynch, Bank of America, JPMorgan)

Private Equity Deal of the Year: The $2.43 billion acquisition of Dunkin' Brands by Bain Capital, The Carlyle Group and Thomas H. Lee Partners. (Debt underwriters: Lehman Brothers, JPMorgan)

FIG Deal of the Year: The merger between BlackRock and Merrill Lynch's Asset Management arm, Merrill Lynch Investment Managers. (Sellside advisors: Citigroup, Credit Suisse)

Telecom Deal of the Year: Sprint Nextel's complete spinoff of its local communications business, Embarq. (Sellside advisors: Goldman Sachs, Lehman Brothers; Underwriter: Bear Stearns)

Real Estate Deal of the Year: The $36 billion proposed buyout of Equity Office Properties. (Sellside advisor: Merrill Lynch; Buyside advisor: Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, Blackstone Group, Morgan Stanley, Bear Stearns, Citigroup)

Energy Deal of the Year: Anadarko's $24 billion bundled acquisitions of Kerr McGee and Western Gas. (Sellside advisors: Lehman Brothers, JPMorgan; Buyside advisors: Credit Suisse, UBS, Goldman Sachs)

Technology Deal of the Year: The acquisition of Royal Philips' semiconductor unit by a consortium made up of Kohlberg Kravis Roberts, Silver Lake Partners, AlpInvest Partners, Bain Capital and Apax Partners. (Advisors: Credit Suisse, Bank of America, ABN AMRO, Morgan Stanley)

Underdog Deal of the Year: The $90 million IPO of Thomas Weisel Partners. (Underwriters: Thomas Weisel, Keefe Bruyette & Woods, Fox-Pitt Kelton)

For information on advertising in IDD, please call Associate Publisher Naz Bayazit at 212-803-8638. For information on reprints, call Denise Petratos at 212-803-6557. For a free trial or to subscribe to IDD, please call Paul Berardino at 212-803-6053.

Corporate Contact: Anne O'Brien SourceMedia (212) 803 8280 [email protected]

SOURCE: SourceMedia