MEMPHIS, Tenn., (August 8, 2008) – Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc. today announced two additions to the firm’s Investment Banking Group office in New York – Jeff Pranaitis, managing director in the security and safety practice; and Ezra Lightman, senior vice president in the financial sponsors practice.
Jeff Pranaitis joins Morgan Keegan from Lehman Brothers, where he was a senior coverage officer responsible for developing and leading an investment banking practice focused on the global security industry. Pranaitis has advised on numerous merger, acquisition and capital-raising assignments across a broad range of sectors, including homeland security, alarm monitoring, corrections, guarding, biometrics, access control and video surveillance. Morgan Keegan’s Security and Safety practice was established in 2000, at which time the firm became the first major investment bank with a dedicated team of professionals focused exclusively on the security and safety markets. Led by industry veteran Alper Cetingok, Morgan Keegan’s Security and Safety team is comprised of seasoned professionals committed to providing unparalleled capital raising and strategic advisory services.
Ezra Lightman, a 13-year veteran of corporate finance, mergers & acquisitions and other financial advisory work, comes to Morgan Keegan from Jefferies & Company, Inc., where he was a senior vice president of its financial sponsors group. Lightman joins an established financial sponsors coverage team at Morgan Keegan, led by Randy Karchmer and Scott Garfinkel. Morgan Keegan's middle market mergers and acquisitions group actively tracks the activities and interests of its private equity clients. The effort includes bringing unique acquisition ideas to private equity investors as well as providing sell-side advisory and capital raising services for their portfolio companies.
About Morgan Keegan & Company, Inc.
Morgan Keegan & Company Inc., one of the nation’s largest regional full-service brokerage and investment banking firms, is the securities brokerage arm of Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF). Headquartered in Memphis, Tenn., Morgan Keegan has over 4,000 employees providing services in some 400 offices. Additional information about Morgan Keegan can be found at www.morgankeegan.com.
Morgan Keegan’s Investment Banking Group provides comprehensive merger and acquisition advisory and public equity and private capital raising services to middle-market companies including family-owned business, divisions of large corporations or portfolio companies of private equity groups. With offices in Memphis, Nashville, Atlanta, Houston and New York and more than 100 professionals, Morgan Keegan’s Investment Banking Group is one of the largest investment banks focused on serving the middle market.
About Regions Financial Corporation
Regions Financial Corporation (NYSE: RF) is a member of the S&P 100 Index and Forbes Magazine's "Platinum 400" list of America's best big companies. With $144 billion in assets, Regions is one of the nation's largest full-service providers of consumer and commercial banking, trust, securities brokerage, mortgage and insurance products and services. Regions serves customers in 16 states across the South, Midwest and Texas, and through its subsidiary, Regions Bank, operates over 1,900 banking offices and nearly 2,400 ATMs. Its investment and securities brokerage and asset management division, Morgan Keegan & Company Inc., provides services from some 400 offices. Additional information about Regions and its full line of products and services can be found at www.regions.com.
Contact:
Gail Rimer
Morgan Keegan
901/524-4183
