Wednesday, July 15, 2009

Bailey & Elizondo, LLC (www.baileyelizondo.com), a San Francisco based global financial advisory firm, and Avant Advisory Group (www.AvantAdvisory.com), a premier management consulting firm, have partnered to provide world class financial and operational restructuring and capital markets financing solutions to their clients. The firm, Bailey|Elizondo, and its principals, Howard Bailey and Carlos Elizondo, are established experts in providing creative solutions for complex or troubled company situations and transactions across a variety of industries. Additional services include corporate finance, transaction advisory, litigation support and due diligence. Avant Advisory Group provides specialty services relating to: turnarounds, restructurings, crisis, insolvency and bankruptcy management; merger and acquisition advisory; and forensics and litigation support. The firm also offers strategic, operational, and financial expertise to its clients with its CFO and C-Suite services. The complementary, combined capabilities of the two firms position them to provide even greater value and superior service to their clients than they could individually.

"Avant Advisory's complementary strategic and operational services are ideal in helping us be even more effective in resolving difficult, complicated client issues and distressed situations," said Carlos Elizondo, Principal of Bailey|Elizondo. "We are very excited about this alliance with Avant Advisory, which brings great benefit to our clients as well as to our firms. Given the current sate of the economy, we see this as an increased opportunity to bring further breadth of experience and expertise to often underserved middle-market companies facing stagnate capital markets and complicated financial decisions."

Jim Davidson, managing director of Avant Advisory Group, said "Bailey|Elizondo brings financing and credit skills, knowledge, and perspective obtained through stints with the nation's largest lenders, capital providers, and professional service firms. They are seasoned restructuring professionals with 40 years combined experience in capital structures, financial structuring, underwriting, portfolio management, workouts, recapitalizations, and financial products. We could not be more proud of our alliance with the firm as well as our relationships with Carlos and Howard as individuals. We are excited about our complementary strengths and the deepened expertise. More importantly, together we bring unsurpassed capabilities and resources to our clients throughout the entire state."

About Bailey|Elizondo



Bailey & Elizondo, LLC is a global financial advisory firm focused on corporate finance, liquidity solutions, restructuring/turnaround, transaction advisory, portfolio services, litigation support, forensics and due diligence engagements to middle-market companies, financial institutions, private equity, and other parties. The credibility of their professionals and deep domain expertise enable the firm to assist their clients with a differentiated value-added deliverable utilized to evaluate strategic alternatives when facing their most complex financial decisions or transactions.

Clients include public and private companies, banks, financial services companies, mezzanine lenders, private equity funds, venture capital firms, institutional investors, secured and unsecured creditors, trustees, receivers, management teams, boards of directors, special committees, state and federal courts, law firms, accounting firms, and other intermediaries.

To learn more about Bailey|Elizondo, please refer to www.baileyelizondo.com or call Howard Bailey (415) 272 5860.

About Avant Advisory Group

Avant Advisory Group is a professional services consulting firm with offices in Los Angeles, Newport Beach, and Santa Barbara, California. The firm is comprised of highly skilled strategic, operating, and financial executives. Avant's consultants have decades of combined business, executive, and consulting experience and thousands of successful case studies. Its professionals come from some of the most prestigious consulting firms and companies.

Avant Advisory Group specializes in:

• Turnarounds, restructurings, insolvency, and bankruptcy of companies in crisis

• C-Suite executive and transition management: CFO, CRO, COO, CEO, and board of directors

• Mergers, acquisitions, and capital transactions

• Forensics, fraud investigations, and litigation support

Clients include public, middle-market, and emerging-growth companies across the country. Their management teams, investors, capital providers, and other professionals, including attorneys, trustees, creditor committees, secured lenders, and other parties in interest, all benefit from the firm's services. Whether serving in interim management or advisory roles, Avant Advisory draws on its deep operational financial and operational experience to provide comprehensive services across the investment lifecycle. Front-end due diligence and acquisition support, portfolio company evaluation, turnaround management, and exit advisory are only a few of these services.

Avant Advisory Group's mission is to leverage trust and confidence in its services, create value, and enhance each client's success. The firm accomplishes this by helping clients improve profits, EBITDA, cash flows, and asset management. There is also no stronger advocate for each client than Avant whether it is by its forensics and litigation support services, turnaround, restructuring, and crisis management expertise, merger and acquisition advisory services, or its profitability and operational improvement capabilities.

To learn more about Avant Advisory Group, please refer to www.AvantAdvisory.com or call James F. Davidson, CTP, CPA/CFF, CM&AA at (714) 924 7888.

Media Contacts:

Howard Bailey

Principal

Bailey|Elizondo

San Francisco, CA

415) 272 5860

howard.bailey@baileyelizondo.com

Martin S. McDermut, CPA, CM&AA, CFS

Managing Director

Avant Advisory Group

Los Angeles, CA

213) 943 1308

MMcDermut@AvantAdvisory.com