- Jed and Chris Laird of Laird Squared Join Petsky Prunier To Lead Information Services Practice

Information Industry Veterans to Expand Firm`s Reach in Market Research, Software Services, and Data-driven Marketing Services

February 10, 2009 (New York, NY) - Petsky Prunier LLC, an investment bank serving the marketing, advertising, and digital media industries, is pleased to announce that Joseph E. ("Jed") Laird, Jr. and Christine Balcius Laird have joined the firm to lead its information services practice. Prior to joining Petsky Prunier, Jed and Chris Laird were founders and partners of Laird Squared, LLC, providing investment banking, research, and strategic advisory services to owners/entrepreneurs and investors in three key segments of the business information economy: database information services, consulting, and web-based software services. Their clients have been well managed, entrepreneurial business information services companies serving a Global 5000 client base in one of four key corporate functions - marketing, financial, human resources, and technology - or are aligned vertically in areas such as healthcare, energy, and media. The Lairds will continue and expand this information services practice at Petsky Prunier.

"By adding the Laird Squared information services practice to Petsky Prunier`s industries of focus, we expect to expand significantly our activities in traditional and digital market research, marketing technology and web-based software services, and data-driven marketing services," commented John Prunier, partner at Petsky Prunier.

Mr. Laird has worked in the database information services industry since 1986, when he created the first template for the analysis of the industry as a senior securities analyst at Hambrecht & Quist. Prior to founding Laird Squared in 1999, he was managing director of the Database Information Strategic Industry Group at Veronis Suhler Stevenson for ten years. In the financial information services sector, Mr. Laird serves on the Board of FactSet Research Systems (NYSE: FDS). He also serves on the Board of privately owned INPUT.

Ms. Laird has been an investment banker to the media and information industries since 1994. Prior to founding Laird Squared in 1999, she was director of the Database Information Strategic Industry Group at Veronis Suhler Stevenson.

"Petsky Prunier has an outstanding reputation for transaction advisory services in the marketing, advertising, and digital media industries," said Jed Laird. "Chris and I look forward to leveraging the firm`s investment banking platform and leading Petsky Prunier`s activities in information services, where we expect to be active in M&A; transactions, joint ventures, and financings, with a focus on representing entrepreneurial, emerging growth companies with revenues between $10 million and $100 million."

Over the past fifteen years, Jed and Chris Laird have helped more than sixty entrepreneurs, management teams, and financial backers to grow their businesses and ultimately maximize their enterprise value, with aggregate transaction values exceeding $1 billion. Representative Laird Squared transactions include:

The acquisition of My InnerView, a leading provider of quality and performance improvement solutions to over 8,000 senior care providers throughout the United States, housing the largest dataset of senior care satisfaction metrics in the nation, by National Research Corporation (Nasdaq: NRCI), a leading provider of performance measurement, improvement services and governance education to the healthcare industry in the United States and Canada;
The sale of SDG Life Sciences, a leading provider of strategic consulting services to the life sciences industry, to IMS Health, the leading global provider of pharmaceutical market intelligence; The sale of SDG Oil & Gas, a leading provider of strategic consulting services to the oil and gas industry, to IHS Inc., a global provider of information and decision support tools and services to the energy, defense, aerospace, construction, electronics, and automotive industries;
The sale of Current Analysis West, the leading provider of competitive response data, tools, and analysis to IT manufacturers, resellers, and buyers, by Current Analysis to The NPD Group, the leading provider of consumer and retail market research information for a wide range of industries;
The sale of ARBOR, Inc. Market Research & Consulting, a leading provider of brand health tracking and allied marketing research services in several industry verticals, to GfK AG, a global market research leader headquartered in Nuremberg, Germany;
The sale of GHS, LLC, a leading provider of health risk assessment and health outcomes research to the health insurance industry, to National Research Corporation (Nasdaq: NRCI);
The sale of the database assets of Sheldon I. Dorenfest & Associates, Ltd., the premier source of sales and marketing information for healthcare information technology vendors, to HIMSS Analytics, the for-profit subsidiary of the Healthcare Information Management Systems Society (HIMSS);
The sale of the RADAR assets of Statistical Research, Inc. ("SRI"), a leader in media audience measurement, to Arbitron, Inc. (NYSE: ARB); as well as the sale of SRI`s custom research assets to Knowledge Networks, Inc.

Mr. Laird holds an AB from Franklin & Marshall College and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Ms. Laird holds a BS (summa cum laude) in Television, Radio, Film, and Marketing Management from Syracuse University and an MBA (summa cum laude) from Fordham University. The Lairds participate in functions associated with the Software and Information Industry Association ("SIIA"), the Advertising Research Foundation ("ARF"), the Direct Marketing Association ("DMA"), and Healthcare Information Management Systems Society ("HIMSS").

ABOUT PETSKY PRUNIER LLC
Petsky Prunier (www.petskyprunier.com) is a leading investment bank serving the marketing, advertising, and digital media industries. Our M&A; advisory practice is driven by expertise and commitment to achieve the maximum results for our clients. Petsky Prunier`s depth of knowledge and tailored approach to M&A; counsel has earned us a distinguished reputation among entrepreneurs, strategic acquirers, and investors. That reputation is further enhanced by a unique commitment to research and the development of unparalleled advisory resources, capabilities, and talent. Winterberry Group (www.winterberrygroup.com), a Petsky Prunier affiliate, is the industry`s preeminent strategic consulting firm, offering clients perspectives on growth grounded in market insight and operating expertise. Together, Petsky Prunier and Winterberry Group represent the largest and most accomplished organizations providing advice and transactional services to the marketing, advertising, and digital media industries. For more information, please visit www.petskyprunier.com.