425

UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, DC 20549

FORM 8-K

CURRENT REPORT
Pursuant To Section 13 OR 15(d) of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934

Date of Report (Date of earliest event reported): April 25, 2010

STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP.

(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)

Delaware	1-9305	43-1273600
(State or Other Jurisdiction of	(Commission File Number)	(IRS Employer
Incorporation)		Identification No.)

One Financial Plaza
501 North Broadway
St. Louis, Missouri 63102-2102

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip Code)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code (314) 342-2000

N/A

(Former name or former address, if changed since last report)

Check the appropriate box below if the Form 8-K filing is intended to simultaneously satisfy the filing obligation of the registrant under any of the following provisions (see General Instruction A.2. below):

þ Written communications pursuant to Rule 425 under the Securities Act (17 CFR 230.425)

o Soliciting material pursuant to Rule 14a-12 under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14a-12)

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 14d-2(b) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.14d-2(b))

o Pre-commencement communications pursuant to Rule 13e-4(c) under the Exchange Act (17 CFR 240.13e-4(c))

Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

Merger Agreement

     On April 25, 2010, Stifel Financial Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Stifel”), PTAS, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stifel (“Merger Sub”), and Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Thomas Weisel Partners”) entered into an Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”). The Merger Agreement provides that Stifel will acquire all of the outstanding shares of Thomas Weisel Partners common stock in a stock-for-stock merger (the “Merger”) using a fixed exchange ratio of 0.1364 shares of Stifel common stock for each share of Thomas Weisel Partners common stock. The Merger Agreement provides that at the effective time of the Merger, Merger Sub will merge with and into Thomas Weisel Partners, with Thomas Weisel Partners continuing as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stifel.

     Pursuant to the Merger Agreement, each outstanding Thomas Weisel Partners restricted stock unit and will be converted into the right to receive 0.1364 shares of Stifel common stock in accordance with the existing vesting schedule and other terms thereof. Further, each outstanding Thomas Weisel Partners stock option will be converted into the right to acquire 0.1364 shares of Stifel common stock, subject to appropriate adjustment to the exercise price therefor. In addition, each exchangeable share of TWP Acquisition Company (Canada), Inc., a corporation organized under the Ontario Business Corporations Act, and a subsidiary Thomas Weisel Partner’s (“TWP Canada”), which are presently each exchangeable at any time for one share of Thomas Weisel Partners common stock, are expected to remain outstanding following the Merger and become exchangeable for 0.1364 shares of Stifel common stock. Following the closing of the Merger, such exchangeable shares will vote with Stifel’s common stockholders as a single class on all matters voted on by holders of Stifel common stock and will be entitled to 0.1364 votes per share.

     The Merger Agreement contains customary representations, warranties and covenants, including, amount other things, covenants that, subject to certain exceptions: (i) Thomas Weisel Partners will conduct its business in the ordinary course consistent with past practice until the earlier of the effective time of the Merger and termination of the Merger Agreement, (ii) Stifel and Thomas Weisel Partners will each use its reasonable best efforts to take all actions necessary, proper or advisable under applicable laws and regulations to consummate the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by the Merger Agreement, and (iii) Thomas Weisel Partners will not solicit, initiate or knowingly take any action that it knows or reasonably should know would facilitate or encourage the submission of any alternative acquisition proposal.

     Consummation of the Merger is subject to various conditions, including: (i) adoption of the Merger Agreement by Thomas Weisel Partners’ stockholders in accordance with Delaware law, (ii) the absence of any applicable law that prohibits, makes the Merger illegal or enjoins the consummation of the Merger, (iii) the joint Registration Statement and Proxy Statement on Form S-4 (the “S-4”) having been declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), and (iv) the applicable waiting period under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act relating to the Merger having expired or been terminated and certain other regulatory approvals have been obtained.

2

     The Merger Agreement contains certain termination rights for both of Stifel and Thomas Weisel Partners, including the right of Thomas Weisel Partners to terminate the Merger Agreement in order to enter into an alternative business combination that constitutes a “Superior Proposal” (as defined in the Merger Agreement), but only if Stifel does not make a counter offer that is at least as favorable as any such superior proposal within four days. The Merger Agreement further provides that, under specified circumstances, Thomas Weisel Partners may be required to pay Stifel a termination fee of $10 million.

     The foregoing description of the Merger and the Merger Agreement does not purport to be complete and is qualified in its entirety by reference to the Merger Agreement, which is filed as Exhibit 2.1 hereto, and is incorporated by reference into this report.

Voting Agreements

     As a condition to Stifel entering into the Merger Agreement, certain executive officers of Thomas Weisel Partners entered into a voting agreement with Stifel (each, a “Voting Agreement”), in each case with respect to all of the shares of Thomas Weisel Partners common stock and exchangeable shares of TWP Canada beneficially owned by such stockholders (collectively, the “Voting Agreement Shares”). The stockholders party to the voting agreements own approximately 16.5% of the voting power of shares entitled to vote on the Merger and have agreed to take the following actions, among others: (1) vote all Voting Agreement Shares in favor of the Merger; and (2) vote the Voting Agreement Shares against any action, transaction or agreement that would result in a breach in respect of any covenant, representation or warranty or any other obligation or agreement of Thomas Weisel Partners under the Merger Agreement or the Voting Agreement.

     A copy of the Form of Voting Agreement is attached hereto as Exhibit 10.1 and is incorporated herein by reference. The foregoing description of the Voting Agreements is qualified in its entirety by reference to the full text of the Form of Voting Agreement.

Item 7.01 Regulation FD Disclosure.

     On April 26, 2010, Stifel and Thomas Weisel Partners issued a joint press release announcing that they had entered in the Merger Agreement. A copy of the press release is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.1 and is incorporated herein by reference.

     Stifel and Thomas Weisel Partners will host a joint conference call on Monday, April 26, 2010 at 6:00 a.m. (Pacific) and 9:00 a.m. (Eastern). The conference call may include forward-looking statements.

     All interested parties are invited to listen to Stifel’s Chairman, President and CEO, Ronald J. Kruszewski, and Thomas Weisel Partners’ Chairman and CEO, Thomas W. Weisel; by dialing (866) 465-5545 (domestic) or (212) 457-9864 (international). A copy of the related slides is attached hereto as Exhibit 99.2.

3

     The information furnished pursuant to this Item 7.01 shall not be deemed “filed” for purposes of Section 18 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (the “Exchange Act”) or otherwise subject to the liabilities under that Section and shall not be deemed to be incorporated by reference into any filing of the company under the Securities Act of 1933 or the Exchange Act, whether made before or after the date hereof, regardless of any general incorporation language in such filing.

     The information furnished pursuant to this Item 7.01 shall not be deemed to constitute an admission that such information is required to be furnished pursuant to Regulation FD or that such information or exhibits contains material information that is not otherwise publicly available. In addition, Stifel does not assume any obligation to update such information in the future.

     In connection with the proposed Merger, Stifel will be filing a registration statement on Form S-4 that also constitutes a prospectus of Stifel and other relevant documents relating to the acquisition of Thomas Weisel Partners with the SEC. The registration statement on Form S-4 will include a proxy statement of Thomas Weisel Partners, and the final proxy statement/prospectus will be mailed to shareholders of Thomas Weisel Partners. Stifel and Thomas Weisel Partners shareholders are urged to read the registration statement and any other relevant documents filed with the SEC, including the proxy statement/prospectus that will be part of the registration statement, because they will contain important information about Stifel, Thomas Weisel Partners and the proposed transaction. Investors and securityholders will be able to obtain free copies of the registration statement and proxy statement/prospectus (when available) as well as other filed documents containing information about Stifel and Thomas Weisel Partners, without charge, at the SEC’s website (http://www.sec.gov). Free copies of Stifel’s filings also may be obtained by directing a request to Stifel’s Investor Relations by phone to (314) 342-2000, in writing to Stifel Financial Corp., Attention: Investor Relations, 501 North Broadway, St. Louis, Missouri 63102, by email to investorrelations@stifel.com or at Stifel’s website (http://www.stifel.com). Free copies of Thomas Weisel Partners’ filings also may be obtained by directing a request to Thomas Weisel Partners’ Investor Relations by phone to 415-364-2500, in writing to Thomas Weisel Partners, Attention: Investor Relations, One Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94104, by email to investorrelations@tweisel.com or at Thomas Weisel Partners’ website (http://www.tweisel.com).

Proxy Solicitation

     Stifel, Thomas Weisel Partners and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed, under SEC rules, to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of Thomas Weisel Partners with respect to the proposed transaction. More detailed information regarding the identity of the potential participants, and their direct or indirect interests, by securities holdings or otherwise, will be set forth in the registration statement and proxy statement/prospectus and other materials to be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. Information regarding Stifel’s directors and executive officers is also available in Stifel’s definitive proxy statement for its 2010 Annual Meeting of Shareholders filed with the SEC on February 26, 2010. Information regarding Thomas Weisel Partners’ directors and executive officers is also available in Thomas Weisel Partner’s definitive proxy statement for its 2009 Annual Meeting of Shareholders filed with the SEC on April 16, 2009. These

4

documents are available free of charge at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov and from Investor Relations at Thomas Weisel Partners and Stifel.

Cautionary Statement Concerning Forward-Looking Statements

     Statements in this Current Report on Form 8-K that relate to Stifel’s or Thomas Weisel Partners’ future plans, objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Future events, risks and uncertainties, individually or in the aggregate, could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. The material factors and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, without limitation, the following: (1) the inability to close the merger in a timely manner; (2) the inability to complete the merger due to the failure to obtain stockholder approval and adoption of the merger agreement and approval of the merger or the failure to satisfy other conditions to completion of the merger, including required regulatory and court approvals; (3) the failure of the transaction to close for any other reason; (4) the possibility that the integration of Thomas Weisel Partners’ business and operations with those of Stifel may be more difficult and/or take longer than anticipated, may be more costly than anticipated and may have unanticipated adverse results relating to Thomas Weisel Partners’ or Stifel’s existing businesses; (5) the challenges of integrating and retaining key employees; (6) the effect of the announcement of the transaction on Stifel’s, Thomas Weisel Partners’ or the combined company’s respective business relationships, operating results and business generally; (7) the possibility that the anticipated synergies and cost savings of the merger will not be realized, or will not be realized within the expected time period; (8) the possibility that the merger may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events; (9) the challenges of maintaining and increasing revenues on a combined company basis following the close of the merger; (10) diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business concerns; (11) general competitive, economic, political and market conditions and fluctuations; (12) actions taken or conditions imposed by the United States and foreign governments; (13) adverse outcomes of pending or threatened litigation or government investigations; (14) the impact of competition in the industries and in the specific markets in which Stifel and Thomas Weisel Partners, respectively, operate; and (15) other factors that may affect future results of the combined company described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the proxy statement/prospectus to be mailed to Thomas Weisel Partners’ shareholders and in Stifel’s and Thomas Weisel Partners’ respective filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) that are available on the SEC’s web site located at http://www.sec.gov, including the sections entitled “Risk Factors” in Stifel’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, and “Risk Factors” in Thomas Weisel Partners’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009. Readers are strongly urged to read the full cautionary statements contained in those materials. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

Item 9.01 Financial Statements and Exhibits.

(d) Exhibits.

Exhibit Number	Description of Exhibit
2.1	Agreement and Plan of Merger dated April 25, 2010, among Stifel, Thomas Weisel Partners and Merger Sub.
10.1	Form of Voting Agreement.
99.1	Press Release dated April 26, 2010.
99.2	Investor Presentation.

5

SIGNATURE

     Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned hereunto duly authorized.

	STIFEL
Date: April 26, 2010	By: Name:	/s/ Ronald J. Kruszewski Ronald J. Kruszewski
	Title:	President and Chief Executive Officer

6

EXHIBIT INDEX

Exhibit Number	Description of Exhibit
2.1	Agreement and Plan of Merger dated April 25, 2010, among Stifel, Thomas Weisel Partners and Merger Sub.
10.1	Form of Voting Agreement.
99.1	Press Release dated April 26, 2010.
99.2	Investor Presentation.

7

EX-2.1

AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER

dated as of

APRIL 25, 2010

among

STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP.,

PTAS, INC.

and

THOMAS WEISEL PARTNERS GROUP, INC.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

	Page
ARTICLE 1 Definitions		1
Section 1.01 Definitions		1
Section 1.02 Other Definitional and Interpretative Provisions		8
ARTICLE 2 The Merger		9
Section 2.01 The Merger		9
ARTICLE 3 Conversion of the Common Stock; Exchange of Certificates		10
Section 3.01 Effect on Capital Stock		10
Section 3.02 Surrender and Payment		11
Section 3.03 Appraisal Rights.		13
Section 3.04 Adjustments to Prevent Dilution.		13
Section 3.05 Company Stock Options and Other Equity Awards; Warrants; Company Exchangeable Shares		13
ARTICLE 4 The Surviving Corporation		16
Section 4.01 Certificate of Incorporation		16
Section 4.02 Bylaws		16
Section 4.03 Directors and Officers		16
ARTICLE 5 Representations and Warranties of the Company		16
Section 5.01 Corporate Existence and Power		16
Section 5.02 Corporate Authorization		17
Section 5.03 Governmental Authorization		17
Section 5.04 Non-contravention		18
Section 5.05 Capitalization		18
Section 5.06 Subsidiaries		19
Section 5.07 SEC Filings and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act		20
Section 5.08 Financial Statements		22
Section 5.09 Disclosure Documents		22
Section 5.10 Absence of Certain Changes		22
Section 5.11 No Undisclosed Material Liabilities		22
Section 5.12 Litigation		23
Section 5.13 Compliance with Applicable Laws		23

i

	Page
Section 5.14 Material Contracts		23
Section 5.15 Tax Matters		25
Section 5.16 Taxes		25
Section 5.17 Employees and Employee Benefit Plans		27
Section 5.18 Intellectual Property		30
Section 5.19 Information Technology.		31
Section 5.20 Properties		31
Section 5.21 Environmental Matters		32
Section 5.22 Antitakeover Statutes		32
Section 5.23 Foreign Operations		32
Section 5.24 Opinion of Financial Advisor		32
Section 5.25 Finders’ Fees		33
ARTICLE 6 Representations and Warranties of Parent		33
Section 6.01 Corporate Existence and Power		33
Section 6.02 Corporate Authorization		33
Section 6.03 Governmental Authorization		33
Section 6.04 Non-contravention		33
Section 6.05 Capitalization		34
Section 6.06 SEC Filings and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.		35
Section 6.07 Financial Statements		36
Section 6.08 Absence of Certain Changes		36
Section 6.09 No Undisclosed Material Liabilities		36
Section 6.10 Litigation		36
Section 6.11 Compliance with Applicable Laws		37
Section 6.12 Tax Matters		37
Section 6.13 Tax.		37
Section 6.14 Disclosure Documents		38
Section 6.15 Reservation of Stock		38
Section 6.16 Finders’ Fees		38
ARTICLE 7 Covenants of the Company		39
Section 7.01 Conduct of the Company		39
Section 7.02 Stockholder Meeting; Proxy Material		41
Section 7.03 No Solicitation; Other Offers		41
Section 7.04 Access to Information; Confidentiality		44
Section 7.05 Tax Matters		44
Section 7.06 Stockholder Litigation.		44
ARTICLE 8 Covenants of Parent		44
Section 8.01 Conduct of Parent		44
Section 8.02 Obligations of Merger Subsidiary		45
Section 8.03 Voting of Shares		45
Section 8.04 Director and Officer Liability		45
Section 8.05 Employee Matters		46
Section 8.06 Registration Statement		47
Section 8.07 Stock Exchange Listing		47

ii

	Page
Section 8.08 Parent Special Voting Preferred Stock		48
Section 8.09 Voting and Support Agreement Supplement		48
ARTICLE 9 Covenants of Parent and the Company		48
Section 9.01 Efforts		48
Section 9.02 Certain Filings		49
Section 9.03 Public Announcements		50
Section 9.04 Stock Exchange De-listing		50
Section 9.05 Further Assurances		50
Section 9.06 Affiliates		50
Section 9.07 Tax-Free Qualification		51
Section 9.08 Notices of Certain Events		51
Section 9.09 Section 16 Matters		52
ARTICLE 10 Conditions to the Merger		52
Section 10.01 Conditions to the Obligations of Each Party		52
Section 10.02 Conditions to the Obligations of Parent and Merger Subsidiary		53
Section 10.03 Conditions to the Obligations of the Company		54
ARTICLE 11 Termination		54
Section 11.01 Termination		54
Section 11.02 Effect of Termination		56
ARTICLE 12 Miscellaneous		56
Section 12.01 Notices		56
Section 12.02 Survival of Representations and Warranties		57
Section 12.03 Amendments and Waivers		57
Section 12.04 Expenses		57
Section 12.05 Binding Effect; Benefit; Assignment		58
Section 12.06 Governing Law		59
Section 12.07 Jurisdiction		59
Section 12.08 Waiver of Jury Trial		59
Section 12.09 Counterparts; Effectiveness		59
Section 12.10 Entire Agreement		59
Section 12.11 Severability		60
Section 12.12 Specific Performance		60

Exhibit A Form of Affiliate Letter
Annex I to Exhibit A

Schedule A Signatories to Voting Agreements

iii

AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER

     AGREEMENT AND PLAN OF MERGER (this “Agreement”) dated as of April 25, 2010 (the “Signing Date”) among STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP., a Delaware corporation (“Parent”), PTAS, INC., a Delaware corporation and a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (“Merger Subsidiary”) and THOMAS WEISEL PARTNERS GROUP, INC., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”).

     WHEREAS, the Boards of Directors of Parent, Merger Subsidiary and the Company have approved and declared advisable this Agreement and the Merger (as defined below), on the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in this Agreement;

     WHEREAS, simultaneously with the execution and delivery of this Agreement and as a condition to Parent’s willingness to enter into this Agreement, Parent and certain officers of the Company listed on Schedule A hereto entered into agreements (the “Voting Agreements”) pursuant to which such officers agreed to vote in favor of approval of this Agreement and to take certain other actions in furtherance of the consummation of the Merger upon the terms and subject to the conditions set forth in the Voting Agreements; and

     WHEREAS, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, it is intended that the Merger shall qualify as a reorganization within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

     NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and the representations, warranties, covenants and agreements herein contained, the parties hereto agree as follows:

ARTICLE 1
Definitions

     Section 1.01 Definitions.

          (a) As used herein, the following terms have the following meanings:

     “Acquisition Proposal” means, other than the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, any offer or proposal for, or any Third Party indication of interest in, (A) any acquisition or purchase, direct or indirect, of 15% or more of the consolidated assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries or 15% or more of any class of equity or voting securities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries whose assets, individually or in the aggregate, constitute 15% or more of the consolidated assets of the Company, (B) any tender offer or exchange offer that, if consummated, would result in any Person becoming the beneficial owner of 15% or more of any class of equity or voting securities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries whose assets, individually or in the aggregate, constitute 15% or more of the consolidated assets of the Company or (C) a merger, consolidation, share exchange, business combination, sale of substantially all the assets, reorganization, recapitalization, liquidation, dissolution or other similar transaction involving the Company or any of its Subsidiaries whose assets, individually or in the aggregate, constitute 15% or more of the consolidated assets of the Company.

     “Affiliate” means, with respect to any Person, any other Person directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with such Person. If the Person referred to is a natural person, the term “Affiliate” refers to any member of such Person’s immediate family. The term “control” (including, with correlative meaning, the terms “controlled by” and “under common control with”) as used with respect to any Person, means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of such Person, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise.

     “Applicable Law” means, with respect to any Person, any federal, state, provincial, local or foreign law (statutory, common or otherwise), constitution, treaty, convention, ordinance, code, rule, regulation, order, injunction, judgment, decree, ruling or other similar requirement enacted, adopted, promulgated or applied by a Governmental Authority that is binding upon or applicable to such Person, as the same may be amended from time to time unless expressly specified otherwise herein.

     “Business Day” means a day, other than Saturday, Sunday or other day on which commercial banks in New York, New York are authorized or required by Applicable Law to close.

     “CallRightCo” means TWP Holdings Company (Canada), ULC, a Subsidiary of the Company incorporated under the Companies Act (Nova Scotia).

     “Canadian Sub” means TWP Acquisition Company (Canada), Inc., a Subsidiary of the Company continued under the Canada Business Corporations Act.

     “Company 10-K” means the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009.

     “Company Balance Sheet” means the consolidated balance sheet of the Company as of December 31, 2009 included in the Company 10-K.

     “Company Balance Sheet Date” means December 31, 2009.

     “Company Common Stock” means the common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Company.

     “Company Disclosure Schedule” means the disclosure schedule dated as of the date hereof regarding this Agreement that has been made available by the Company to Parent and Merger Subsidiary.

     “Company Exchangeable Shares” means the Non-Voting Exchangeable Shares of Canadian Sub, which are each exchangeable, on a one-for-one basis, at any time into shares of Company Common Stock.

     “Company Restricted Stock Unit” means each stock unit that represents the right to receive shares of Company Common Stock granted pursuant to any equity or compensation plan or arrangement of the Company that is outstanding as of the Effective Time.

2

     “Company Special Voting Preferred Stock” means that certain series of Company Preferred Stock designated as Special Voting Preferred Stock.

     “Contract” means any contract, agreement, obligation, commitment, arrangement, understanding, instrument, permit, lease or license.

     “Delaware Law” means the Delaware General Corporation Law.

     “Environmental Law” means any Applicable Law, or any agreement with any Governmental Authority or other third party, relating to (i) the control of any potential pollutant or protection of the air, water or land, (ii) solid, gaseous or liquid waste generation, handling, treatment, storage, disposal or transportation, (iii) human health and safety, (iv) the environment or (v) Hazardous Substances.

     “Environmental Permits” means all permits, licenses, franchises, certificates, approvals and other similar authorizations of Governmental Authorities relating to or required by Environmental Laws and affecting, or relating to, the business of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries as conducted as of the date of this Agreement.

     “ERISA” means the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, and the regulations promulgated thereunder.

     “ERISA Affiliate” of any entity means any other entity that, together with such entity, would be treated as a single employer under Section 414 of the Code.

     “Exchangeable Share Amendment” means an amendment to the Exchangeable Share Provisions to provide that the Board of Directors of Canadian Sub may determine, at its option, that, despite the Merger, a Redemption Date (as defined in the Exchangeable Share Provisions) has not occurred.

     “Exchangeable Share Documents” means the Support Agreement, dated as of January 2, 2008, by and among the Company, CallRightCo and Canadian Sub, the Voting and Exchange Trust Agreement, dated as of January 2, 2008, by and among the Company, Canadian Sub and the Trustee and the Exchangeable Share Provisions attaching to the Company Exchangeable Shares.

     “Exchangeable Share Provisions” means Schedule “1” to the Articles of Continuance of Canadian Sub, as amended or restated from time to time.

     “FINRA” means the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, including any predecessor entity, including without limitation, the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.

     “GAAP” means the accounting principles generally accepted in the United States, including as set forth in the opinions and pronouncements of the Accounting Principles Board of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and statements and pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and applied consistently throughout the periods involved.

3

     “Governmental Authority” means any transnational, domestic or foreign federal, state, provincial or local governmental, regulatory or administrative authority, department, court, agency, commission or official, including any political subdivision thereof, and any non-governmental self-regulatory agency, commission or authority, including the SEC and FINRA.

     “Hazardous Substance” means any pollutant, contaminant, waste or chemical or any toxic, radioactive, ignitable, corrosive, reactive or otherwise hazardous substance, waste or material, or any substance, waste or material having any constituent elements displaying any of the foregoing characteristics regulated under any Environmental Law.

     “HSR Act” means the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976, as amended.

     “Indebtedness” means, without duplication, (a) all indebtedness for borrowed money or for the deferred purchase price of property or services (other than current trade liabilities incurred in the ordinary course of business), whether or not evidenced by a writing, (b) any other indebtedness that is evidenced by a note, bond, debenture, draft or similar instrument, (c) all obligations under leases accounted for as financing or capital leases under GAAP, (d) all obligations in respect of acceptances issued or created, (e) notes payable and drafts accepted representing extensions of credit, (f) all liabilities secured by any Lien on any property other than Liens relating to equipment leased by the Company not constituting a capital lease, (g) letters of credit and any other agreements relating to the borrowing of money or extension of credit and (h) any guarantee (including by way of a “keep well” or other similar undertaking) of any of the foregoing obligations.

     “Intellectual Property” shall mean (i) trademarks, service marks, brand names, certification marks, trade dress, domain names and other indications of origin, the goodwill associated with the foregoing and registrations in any jurisdiction of, and applications in any jurisdiction to register, the foregoing, including any extension, modification or renewal of any such registration or application; (ii) inventions and discoveries, whether patentable or not, in any jurisdiction; patents, applications for patents (including divisions, continuations, continuations-in-part and renewal applications), and any renewals, reexaminations, extensions or reissues thereof, in any jurisdiction; (iii) trade secrets and confidential information and rights in any jurisdiction to limit the use or disclosure thereof by any person (the “Trade Secrets”); (iv) writings and other works of authorship, whether copyrightable or not, in any jurisdiction, and any and all copyright rights, whether registered or not; and registrations or applications for registration of copyrights in any jurisdiction, and any renewals or extensions thereof; (v) moral rights, database rights, shop rights, design rights, industrial property rights, publicity rights and privacy rights; and (vi) any similar intellectual property or proprietary rights.

     “IT Assets” shall mean computers, computer software, firmware, middleware, servers, workstations, routers, hubs, switches, data communications lines, and all other information technology equipment, and all associated documentation owned by the Company or its Subsidiaries or licensed or leased by the Company or its Subsidiaries pursuant to written agreement (excluding any public networks).

4

     “knowledge” means, with respect to the Company the knowledge of the individuals listed on Section 1.01(a) of the Company Disclosure Schedule after reasonable due inquiry and with respect to Parent, means the knowledge of the individuals listed on Section 1.01(a) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule after reasonable due inquiry.

     “Lien” means, with respect to any property or asset, any mortgage, lien, pledge, charge, security interest, encumbrance or other adverse claim of any kind in respect of such property or asset. For purposes of this Agreement, a Person shall be deemed to own subject to a Lien any property or asset that it has acquired or holds subject to the interest of a vendor or lessor under any conditional sale agreement, capital lease or other title retention agreement relating to such property or asset.

     “Material Adverse Effect” means, with respect to any Person, any event, occurrence, fact or change that (i) is, or would reasonably be expected to become, individually or in the aggregate, materially adverse to the condition (financial or otherwise), business, assets or results of operations of such Person and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole, but shall exclude any effect resulting from (A) any changes resulting from general economic, regulatory or political conditions, (B) general changes in the industry in which such Person and its Subsidiaries operate, (C) any changes resulting from the announcement, pendency or Closing of the transactions provided for in this Agreement, including the impact thereof on relationships with customers of the Company or any of its Affiliates, suppliers, vendors, lenders, or joint venture participants or employees, (D) disruptions of supplies or acts of terrorism, war or acts of God, national or international political or social conditions, including the engagement by the United States in hostilities, whether or not pursuant to the declaration of a national emergency or war (E) any act expressly required under this Agreement or for which the consent of Parent is required pursuant to this Agreement and as to which Parent has withheld its consent or (F) any adverse effect that such Person otherwise cures prior to Closing; except with respect to clauses (A), (B) and (D) above, to the extent that such effect or change is disproportionately adverse to such Person and its Subsidiaries as compared to other companies operating in the industries in which such Person and its Subsidiaries operate; or (ii) materially impairs the ability of such Person to perform its obligations hereunder or consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

     “Multiemployer Plan” means any “multiemployer plan,” as defined in Section 3(37) of ERISA.

     “Ownership Evidence” shall mean (i) a Certificate (or affidavit of loss with respect to such Certificate and such other documentation as is described in Section 3.02(h)), together with a properly completed letter of transmittal, or (ii) receipt of an “agent’s message” by the Exchange Agent (or such other evidence, if any, of transfer as the Exchange Agent may reasonably request) in the case of a book-entry transfer of Uncertificated Company Shares.

     “1933 Act” means the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the SEC.

     “1934 Act” means the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the SEC.

5

     “Parent 10-K” means Parent’s annual report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009.

     “Parent Balance Sheet” means the consolidated balance sheet of Parent as of December 31, 2009 included in the Parent 10-K.

     “Parent Disclosure Schedule” means the disclosure schedule dated as of the date hereof regarding this Agreement that has been provided by Parent to the Company.

     “Parent Special Voting Preferred Stock” means that certain series of Parent Preferred Stock to be designated as Parent Special Voting Preferred Stock.

     “Person” means an individual, corporation, partnership, limited liability company, association, trust or other entity or organization, including a government or political subdivision or an agency or instrumentality thereof.

     “Sarbanes-Oxley Act” means the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.

     “SEC” means the Securities and Exchange Commission.

     “Significant Subsidiary” means, with respect to any Person, any Subsidiary of such Person if such Subsidiary would meet the definition of “significant subsidiary” within the meaning of Regulation S-X.

     “Subsidiary” means, with respect to any Person, any entity of which securities or other ownership interests having ordinary voting power to elect a majority of the board of directors or other persons performing similar functions are at any time directly or indirectly owned by such Person.

     “Third Party” means any Person, including as defined in Section 13(d) of the 1934 Act, other than Parent or any of its Affiliates, and the directors, officers, employees, agents and advisors of such Person, in each case, acting in such capacity.

     “Trustee” means CIBC Mellon Trust Company.

     “Voting and Support Agreements” means the Support Agreement, dated as of January 2, 2008, by and among the Company, CallRightCo and Canadian Sub and the Voting and Exchange Trust Agreement, dated as of January 2, 2008, by and among the Company, Canadian Sub and the Trustee.

     “Voting and Support Supplement” means the agreement or agreements to be made as of the Effective Time between Parent, the Company, CallRightCo and Canadian Sub and the Trustee for the holders of the Company Exchangeable Shares, to the extent required by the Voting and Support Agreements, providing for the assignment to and the assumption by Parent of the obligations of the Company under the Voting and Support Agreements and the other matters specified therein.

6

     “WARN Act” means the U.S. Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act and any state or local equivalent.

     “Warrant” means that certain warrant to purchase 486,486 shares of Company Common Stock that was issued to Nomura America Investment, Inc. as of February 7, 2006.

          (b) Each of the following terms is defined in the Section set forth opposite such term:

Term	Section
Action	Section 5.12
Adverse Recommendation Change	Section 7.03
Affected Employees	Section 8.05
Agreement	Preamble
Certificate	Section 3.01
Closing	Section 2.01
Closing Date	Section 2.01
Code	Preamble
Company	Preamble
Company Awards	Section 3.03
Company Board Recommendation	Section 5.02
Company Material Contract	Section 5.14
Company Permits	Section 5.13
Company Preferred Stock	Section 5.05
Company SEC Documents	Section 5.07
Company Securities	Section 5.05
Company Share	Section 3.01
Company Stockholder Approval	Section 5.02
Company Stockholder Meeting	Section 7.02
Company Stock Option	Section 3.03
Company Subsidiary Securities	Section 5.06
Confidentiality Agreement	Section 7.04
Effective Time	Section 2.01
Employee Plans	Section 5.17
End Date	Section 11.01
Exchange Agent	Section 3.01
Exchange Fund	Section 3.02
Exchange Ratio	Section 3.01
Excluded Company Share	Section 3.01
Indemnified Person	Section 8.04
internal controls	Section 5.07
Proxy Statement/Prospectus	Section 5.09
Leased Real Property	Section 5.20
Merger	Section 2.01
Merger Consideration	Section 3.01
Merger Subsidiary	Preamble
NASDAQ	Section 5.03

7

Term	Section
New Company Plans	Section 8.05
NYSE	Section 3.02
Parent	Preamble
Parent Common Stock	Section 3.01
Parent Permits	Section 6.11
Parent Preferred Stock	Section 6.05
Parent Preferred Stock Consideration	Section 3.01
Parent SEC Documents	Section 6.06
Parent Securities	Section 6.05
Payment Event	Section 12.04
Registration Statement	Section 6.14
Representatives	Section 7.03
Required Governmental Authorizations	Section 5.03
Signing Date	Preamble
Superior Proposal	Section 7.03
Surviving Corporation	Section 2.01
Tax	Section 5.16
Taxing Authority	Section 5.16
Tax Return	Section 5.16
Termination Fee	Section 12.04(b)
Uncertificated Company Share	Section 3.01
Voting Agreement	Preamble

     Section 1.02 Other Definitional and Interpretative Provisions. The words “hereof”, “herein” and “hereunder” and words of like import used in this Agreement shall refer to this Agreement as a whole and not to any particular provision of this Agreement. The captions herein are included for convenience of reference only and shall be ignored in the construction or interpretation hereof. References to Articles, Sections, Exhibits and Schedules are to Articles, Sections, Exhibits and Schedules of this Agreement unless otherwise specified. All Exhibits and Schedules annexed hereto or referred to herein are hereby incorporated in and made a part of this Agreement as if set forth in full herein. Any capitalized terms used in any Exhibit or Schedule but not otherwise defined therein, shall have the meaning as defined in this Agreement. Any singular term in this Agreement shall be deemed to include the plural, and any plural term the singular. Whenever the words “include”, “includes” or “including” are used in this Agreement, they shall be deemed to be followed by the words “without limitation”, whether or not they are in fact followed by those words or words of like import. “Writing”, “written” and comparable terms refer to printing, typing and other means of reproducing words (including electronic media) in a visible form. The words “delivered”, “made available”, “furnished”, “provided” and words of like import used in this Agreement include any information referred to that (i) was delivered to Parent prior to 5:00 p.m. Central Time on the Business Day prior to the Signing Date or (ii) is contained in a document filed with the SEC immediately preceding the Signing Date or (iii) is set forth in the Company Disclosure Schedule or the Parent Disclosure Schedule.

     Except as the context may otherwise require, references to any agreement or contract are to that agreement or contract as amended, modified or supplemented from time to time in

8

accordance with the terms hereof and thereof; provided that with respect to any Contract listed on any schedules hereto, all such amendments, modifications or supplements must also be listed in the appropriate schedule. References to any Person include the successors and permitted assigns of that Person. References from or through any date mean, unless otherwise specified, from and including or through and including, respectively. References to “law”, “laws” or to a particular statute or law shall be deemed also to include any Applicable Law. The parties agree that the terms and language of this Agreement were the result of negotiations between the parties and their respective advisors and, as a result, there shall be no presumption that any ambiguities in this Agreement shall be resolved against any party. Any controversy over construction of this Agreement shall be decided without regard to events of authorship or negotiation.

ARTICLE 2
The Merger

     Section 2.01 The Merger.

          (a) At the Effective Time, Merger Subsidiary shall be merged (the “Merger”) with and into the Company in accordance with Delaware Law, whereupon the separate existence of Merger Subsidiary shall cease, and the Company shall be the surviving corporation (the “Surviving Corporation”).

          (b) Subject to the provisions of Article 10, the closing of the Merger (the “Closing”) shall take place in St. Louis, Missouri at the offices of Bryan Cave LLP, 211 North Broadway, Suite 3600, St. Louis, Missouri 63102 as soon as possible, but in any event no later than two Business Days after the date the conditions set forth in Article 10 (other than conditions that by their nature are to be satisfied at the Closing, but subject to the satisfaction or, to the extent permissible, waiver of those conditions at the Closing) have been satisfied or, to the extent permissible, waived by the party or parties entitled to the benefit of such conditions, or at such other place, at such other time or on such other date as Parent and the Company may mutually agree (the “Closing Date”). Notwithstanding the foregoing, either Party may, at its option, if the Closing would otherwise occur within ten (10) days before the last Business Day of a calendar month, defer the Closing to the final Business Day of such month; and the Parties will make all closing deliveries contemplated herein into escrow and will each deliver to the other a certificate signed by a duly authorized executive officer of such Party confirming on behalf of each such Party and its Affiliates that all conditions precedent to the obligations to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement have been satisfied or waived and that the Parties will have irrevocably committed to completing the transaction on the final Business Day of such calendar month.

          (c) Upon the Closing, the Company and Merger Subsidiary shall file a certificate of merger with the Delaware Secretary of State and make all other filings or recordings required by Delaware Law in connection with the Merger. The Merger shall become effective at such time (the “Effective Time”) as the certificate of merger is duly filed with the Delaware Secretary of State (or at such later time as permitted by Delaware Law as Parent and the Company shall agree and shall be specified in the certificate of merger).

9

          (d) From and after the Effective Time, the Surviving Corporation shall possess all the properties, rights, powers, privileges and franchises and be subject to all of the obligations, liabilities, restrictions and disabilities of the Company and Merger Subsidiary, all as provided under Delaware Law.

ARTICLE 3
Conversion of the Common Stock; Exchange of Certificates

     Section 3.01 Effect on Capital Stock. At the Effective Time, as a result of the Merger and without any action on the part of the Company, Merger Subsidiary, Parent or any holder of any shares of the capital stock of the Company, Merger Subsidiary or Parent, the following shall occur:

          (a) Each share of Company Common Stock (each, a “Company Share”, and together, the “Company Shares”) issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time (other than shares of Company Common Stock that are owned by Parent or by the Company or any direct or indirect wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Company and in each case not held on behalf of Third Parties (each an “Excluded Company Share”, and collectively, “Excluded Company Shares”)) shall be converted into the right to receive and shall become exchangeable for 0.1364 (such ratio, the “Exchange Ratio”) shares of common stock, par value $0.15 per share, of Parent (“Parent Common Stock”) (the “Merger Consideration”).

     At the Effective Time, all Company Shares shall no longer be outstanding, shall be cancelled and retired and shall cease to exist, and (i) each certificate (a “Certificate”) formerly representing any of such Company Shares (other than Excluded Company Shares) and (ii) each uncertificated Company Share (an “Uncertificated Company Share”) registered to a holder on the stock transfer books of the Company (other than Excluded Company Shares), shall thereafter represent only the right to receive the Merger Consideration and the right, if any, to receive pursuant to Section 3.02(g) cash in lieu of fractional shares otherwise receivable pursuant to this Section 3.01(a) and any distributions or dividends pursuant to Section 3.02(f), in each case without interest.

          (b) Each Company Share that is owned by Parent or by the Company or any direct or indirect wholly-owned Subsidiary of the Company and, in each case, not held on behalf of Third Parties, shall, by virtue of the Merger and without any action on the part of the holder thereof, cease to be outstanding, shall be cancelled and retired without payment of any consideration therefor and shall cease to exist.

          (c) In the event the holders of the Company Exchangeable Shares approve the Exchangeable Share Amendment, (i) the share of Company Special Voting Preferred Stock issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be converted into the one fully paid and nonasseable share of Parent Special Voting Preferred Stock (the “Parent Preferred Stock Consideration”), which Parent Special Voting Preferred Stock shall have terms that are identical to the Company Special Voting Preferred Stock (except that the issuer thereof shall be Parent rather than the Company and the voting rights described therein shall apply to Parent Common Stock rather than to Company Common Stock); and (ii) as of the Effective Time, such share of Company Special Voting Preferred Stock shall no longer be

10

outstanding and shall automatically be canceled and retired and shall cease to exist, and the certificate representing such Company Special Voting Preferred Stock shall thereafter represent only the right to receive the Parent Preferred Stock Consideration.

          (d) Each share of common stock, par value $0.01 per share, of the Merger Subsidiary outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall be converted into one validly issued, fully paid and nonassessable share of common stock of the Surviving Corporation, with the same rights, powers and privileges as the shares so converted, and which share shall constitute all of the issued and outstanding shares of stock of the Surviving Corporation.

     Section 3.02 Surrender and Payment.

          (a) Prior to the Effective Time, Parent shall appoint (subject to the Company’s prior approval not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed) a commercial bank or trust company (the “Exchange Agent”) for the purpose of exchanging Certificates or Uncertificated Company Shares for the Merger Consideration. As of the Effective Time, Parent shall deposit with the Exchange Agent, for the benefit of the holders of Company Shares, for exchange in accordance with this Section through the Exchange Agent, securities representing shares of Parent Common Stock issuable and payable pursuant to Section 3.01 in exchange for outstanding Company Shares and, after the Effective Time, if applicable, any cash and dividends or other distribution with respect to the Parent Common Stock to be issued or to be paid pursuant to the last sentence of Section 3.01(a) (together, the “Exchange Fund”). Promptly after the Effective Time (and in any event within three Business Days), Parent shall send, or shall cause the Exchange Agent to send, to each holder of Company Shares at the Effective Time a letter of transmittal and instructions (which shall specify that the delivery shall be effected, and risk of loss and title shall pass, only upon proper delivery of the Certificates or transfer of the Uncertificated Company Shares to the Exchange Agent) for use in such exchange.

          (b) Each holder of Company Shares that have been converted into the right to receive the Merger Consideration shall be entitled to receive, upon delivery of the Ownership Evidence, the Merger Consideration in respect of the Company Shares represented by a Certificate or Uncertificated Company Share and any cash and dividends or other distributions with respect to the Parent Common Stock to be issued or to be paid pursuant to the last sentence of Section 3.01(a). Until so surrendered or transferred, as the case may be, each such Certificate or Uncertificated Company Share shall represent after the Effective Time for all purposes only the right to receive such Merger Consideration.

          (c) If any portion of the Merger Consideration is to be paid to a Person other than the Person in whose name the surrendered Certificate or the transferred Uncertificated Company Share is registered, it shall be a condition to such payment that (i) either such Certificate shall be properly endorsed or shall otherwise be in proper form for transfer or such Uncertificated Company Share shall be properly transferred and (ii) the Person requesting such payment shall pay to the Exchange Agent any transfer or other taxes required as a result of such payment to a Person other than the registered holder of such Certificate or Uncertificated Company Share or establish to the satisfaction of the Exchange Agent that such tax has been paid or is not payable.

11

          (d) The stock transfer books of the Company shall be closed immediately upon the Effective Time and there shall be no further registration of transfers of Company Shares thereafter on the records of the Company. If, after the Effective Time, Certificates or Uncertificated Company Shares are presented to Parent, the Surviving Corporation or the Exchange Agent for any reason, they shall be canceled and exchanged for the Merger Consideration and cash, dividends or other distributions to the extent provided for, and in accordance with the procedures set forth, in this Article 3.

          (e) Any portion of the Exchange Fund made available to the Exchange Agent pursuant to Section 3.02(a) that remains unclaimed by the holders of Company Shares six months after the Effective Time shall be delivered to Parent or otherwise on the instruction of Parent, and any such holder who has not exchanged Company Shares for the Merger Consideration in accordance with this Section 3.01 prior to that time shall thereafter look only to Parent for payment of the Merger Consideration, and any cash, dividends and distributions with respect thereto, in respect of such shares without any interest thereon. Notwithstanding the foregoing, Parent shall not be liable to any holder of Company Shares for any amounts paid to a public official pursuant to applicable abandoned property, escheat or similar laws. Any amounts remaining unclaimed by holders of Company Shares two years after the Effective Time (or such earlier date immediately prior to such time when the amounts would otherwise escheat to or become property of any Governmental Authority) shall become, to the extent permitted by Applicable Law, the property of Parent free and clear of any claims or interest of any Person previously entitled thereto.

          (f) Whenever a dividend or other distribution is declared by Parent in respect of Parent Common Stock, the record date for which is at or after the Effective Time, that declaration shall include dividends or other distributions in respect of all shares of Parent Common Stock issuable pursuant to this Agreement. No dividends or other distributions in respect of such Parent Common Stock shall be paid to any holder of any unsurrendered or undelivered Ownership Evidence until such Ownership Evidence is provided to the Exchange Agent or Parent in accordance with this Article 3. Subject to the effect of Applicable Laws, following surrender or delivery, as applicable, of any such Ownership Evidence to the Exchange Agent or Parent in accordance with this Article 3, there shall be issued and/or paid to the holder of the Ownership Evidence representing whole shares of Parent Common Stock issued in exchange therefor, without interest, (A) at the time of such surrender or delivery, as the case may be, the dividends or other distributions with a record date at or after the Effective Time and a payment date on or prior to the date of issuance of such whole shares of Parent Common Stock and not previously paid and (B) at the appropriate payment date, the dividends or other distributions payable with respect to such whole shares of Parent Common Stock with a record date at or after the Effective Time on the Closing Date but with a payment date subsequent to surrender or delivery and not previously paid.

          (g) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, no fractional shares of Parent Common Stock will be issued in respect of any Company Shares (including upon exchange of any Company Exchangeable Shares) and any holder of Company Shares (or Company Exchangeable Shares) entitled to receive a fractional share of Parent Common Stock but for this Section 3.02(g) shall be entitled to receive in lieu thereof an amount in cash (without interest) determined by multiplying such fraction (rounded to the nearest one-hundredth of a

12

share) by the average closing sale prices for a share of Parent Common Stock on the New York Stock Exchange, Inc. (the “NYSE”) Composite Transactions Tape (as reported by The Wall Street Journal (Northeast edition), or, if not reported thereby, as reported by any other authoritative source) for each of the ten consecutive trading days ending with the second complete trading day prior to the Closing Date (not counting the Closing Date).

          (h) Each of the Exchange Agent, Parent and the Surviving Corporation shall be entitled to deduct and withhold from the consideration otherwise payable to any Person pursuant to this Article 3 such amounts as it is required to deduct and withhold with respect to the making of such payment under any provision of any Applicable Law, including federal, state, provincial, local or foreign Tax law. If the Exchange Agent, Parent or the Surviving Corporation, as the case may be, so withholds amounts, such amounts shall be treated for all purposes of this Agreement as having been paid to the holder of the shares of Company Common Stock in respect of which the Exchange Agent, Parent or the Surviving Corporation, as the case may be, made such deduction and withholding.

          (i) In the event any Certificate shall have been lost, stolen or destroyed, upon the making of an affidavit of that fact by the Person claiming such Certificate to be lost, stolen or destroyed and the posting by such Person of a bond in the form customarily required by Parent as indemnity against any claim that may be made against it with respect to such Certificate, and the submission of such other documentation as Parent customarily requires for the replacement of lost, stolen or destroyed certificates, the Exchange Agent (or Parent pursuant to Section 3.02(e)) will deliver a certificate evidencing the ownership of such number of shares of Parent Common Stock and/or any cash, dividends and other distributions in respect thereof issuable and/or payable in exchange for such lost, stolen or destroyed Certificate pursuant to this Agreement.

          (j) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, Company Shares surrendered for exchange by an “affiliate” of the Company that will, after the Effective Time, be an “affiliate” of Parent, in each case as determined pursuant to Section 9.06, shall not be exchanged until Parent has received a written agreement from such Person as provided in Exhibit A.

     Section 3.03 Appraisal Rights. In accordance with Section 262 of the DGCL, no appraisal rights shall be available to holders of Company Shares in connection with the Merger.

     Section 3.04 Adjustments to Prevent Dilution. In the event that prior to the Effective Time there is a change in the number of Company Shares or shares of Parent Common Stock or securities convertible or exchangeable into or exercisable for Company Shares or shares of Parent Common Stock issued and outstanding as a result of a distribution, reclassification, stock split (including a reverse split), stock dividend or distribution, recapitalization, merger, subdivision, issuer tender or exchange offer, or other similar transaction, the Merger Consideration shall be equitably adjusted to eliminate the effects of such event on the Merger Consideration.

     Section 3.05 Company Stock Options and Other Equity Awards; Warrants; Company Exchangeable Shares.

13

          (a) At the Effective Time, each outstanding option to purchase Company Shares (a “Company Stock Option”) under any employee stock option or compensation plan or arrangement of the Company, whether vested or unvested, shall be converted into an option to acquire (subject to the same continued vesting, if applicable) a number of shares of Parent Common Stock equal to the product (rounded down to the nearest whole number) of (i) the number of Company Shares subject to the Company Stock Option immediately prior to the Effective Time and (ii) the Exchange Ratio, at an exercise price per share (rounded up to the nearest whole cent) equal to (A) the exercise price per Company Share of such Company Stock Option immediately prior to the Effective Time divided by (B) the Exchange Ratio; provided, however, that the exercise price and the number of shares of Parent Common Stock purchasable pursuant to the Company Stock Options shall be determined in a manner consistent with the requirements of Section 409A of the Code; and provided, further, that in the case of any Company Option to which Section 422 of the Code applies, the option price, the number of shares purchasable pursuant to such option and the terms and conditions of exercise of such option shall be determined in accordance with the foregoing, subject to such adjustments as are necessary in order to satisfy the requirements of Section 424(a) of the Code. Except as specifically provided above, following the Effective Time, each Company Stock Option shall continue to be governed by the same terms and conditions (including, without limitation, any vesting requirements) as were applicable under such Company Stock Option immediately prior to the Effective Time.

          (b) At the Effective Time, each Company Restricted Stock Unit shall be deemed converted to the right to receive the number of shares of Parent Common Stock equal to the product (rounded down to the nearest whole number) of (i) the number of Company Shares subject to such Restricted Stock Unit immediately prior to the Effective Time and (ii) the Exchange Ratio. Except as specifically provided above, following the Effective Time, each Company Restricted Stock Unit shall continue to be governed by the same terms and conditions as were applicable under such Company Restricted Stock Unit immediately prior to the Effective Time.

          (c) At the Effective Time, each right of any kind, contingent or accrued, to acquire or receive Company Shares or benefits measured by the value of Company Shares, and each award of any kind consisting of Company Shares that may be held, awarded, outstanding, payable or reserved for issuance under any employee stock option or compensation plan or arrangement of the Company other than Company Stock Options and rights granted under Company Restricted Stock Units (the “Company Awards”), shall be deemed to be converted into the right to acquire or receive benefits measured by the value of the number of shares of Parent Common Stock equal to the product of (i) the number of Company Shares subject to such Company Award immediately prior to the Effective Time and (ii) the Exchange Ratio. If any such Company Award provided for an exercise price, such exercise price shall be adjusted as provided in Section 3.05(a) with respect to Company Stock Options, and each such right shall otherwise be subject to the terms and conditions applicable to such right under the relevant employee stock option or compensation plan or arrangement of the Company. Except as specifically provided above, following the Effective Time, each Company Award shall continue to be governed by the same terms and conditions (including, without limitation, any vesting requirements) as were applicable under such Company Award immediately prior to the Effective Time.

14

          (d) At or prior to the Effective Time, the board of directors of the Company shall adopt such resolutions, and the Company shall otherwise take all actions, as are necessary to effectuate the provisions of Sections 3.05(a), (b) and (c).

          (e) At the Effective Time, the Warrant shall be converted into the right to purchase and receive (in lieu of the shares of Company Common Stock purchasable and receivable upon the exercise of the rights represented by the Warrant immediately prior to Closing) a number of shares of Parent Common Stock equal to the product (rounded down to the nearest whole number) of (i) the number of Company Shares subject to the Warrant immediately prior to the Effective Time and (ii) the Exchange Ratio, at an exercise price per share (rounded up to the nearest whole cent) equal to (A) the exercise price per Company Share of such Warrant immediately prior to the Effective Time divided by (B) the Exchange Ratio.

          (f) In the event the holders of the Company Exchangeable Shares approve the Exchangeable Share Amendment, (i) at and following the Effective Time, each of the Company Exchangeable Shares issued and outstanding immediately prior to the Effective Time shall (in lieu of the shares of Company Common Stock issuable upon the exchange therefor immediately prior to Closing) become exchangeable for the number of shares of Parent Common Stock equal to the Exchange Ratio, subject to Section 3.02(g) hereof with respect to the issuance of fractional shares upon conversion thereof; (ii) at or before the Effective Time, Parent shall execute and deliver the Voting and Support Supplement wherein the Parent agrees to be bound by the terms and provisions of the Voting and Support Agreements, in a form reasonably satisfactory to the Trustee and to Parent, and, to the satisfaction of the Trustee, preserving and not impairing in any material respect, any of the rights, duties, powers and authorities of the Trustee or the holders of Company Exchangeable Shares under the Voting and Support Agreements and the parties shall effect any other amendments of the Exchangeable Share Documents necessary to give effect to the provisions hereof; and (iii) at or prior to the Effective Time, Parent shall have authorized the Parent Special Voting Preferred Stock and shall deliver to the Trustee a new certificate evidencing the Parent Special Voting Preferred Stock, to the extent required under the Voting and Support Supplement. In the event the holders of the Company Exchangeable Shares do not approve the Exchangeable Share Amendment at a meeting held or by written consent sought for such purpose, the Company shall take action necessary to (a) cause Canadian Sub to exercise its right to redeem, at the Effective Time, all of the outstanding Company Exchangeable Shares or (b) acquire or cause CallRightCo to acquire at the Effective Time all of the outstanding Company Exchangeable Shares.

          (g) Prior to the Effective Time, the Company shall obtain any consents from holders of Company Stock Options, the Company Restricted Stock Units, the Warrants and the Company Exchangeable Shares and make any amendments to the terms of such equity or compensation plans or arrangements, the Warrants or the plans or arrangements relating to the Company Exchangeable Shares that are necessary to give effect to the transactions contemplated by this Section 3.03 and to ensure compliance with Section 409A of the Code. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, payment may be withheld in respect of any Company Stock Option or Company Restricted Stock Units until such necessary consents are obtained. The Company shall take all necessary action to ensure that the Surviving Corporation will not be bound at the Effective Time by any options, or other rights, awards or arrangements under any employee stock option or compensation plan or arrangement or other third party agreements of

15

the Company that would entitle any Person after the Effective Time to beneficially own any Company Shares or to receive any payments in respect thereof.

          (h) If registration of any interest in Parent’s 2001 Incentive Stock Plan (or other applicable equity incentive plan) or the shares of Parent Common Stock issuable thereunder is required under the 1933 Act, Parent shall file with the SEC within three (3) Business Days after the Effective Time a registration statement on Form S-8 with respect to such interests or Parent Common Stock, and shall use its reasonable best efforts to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement for so long as the relevant stock plans remain in effect and such registration of interests therein or the shares of Parent Common Stock issuable thereunder continues to be required.

          (i) Parent shall file with the SEC within three (3) Business Days after the Effective Time a registration statement on Form S-3 with respect to the resale of the shares of Parent Common Stock issuable upon exchange of Company Exchangeable Shares following Closing and naming such selling shareholders in such Form S-3 who have provided information reasonably requested by Parent, and shall use its reasonable best efforts to maintain the effectiveness of such registration statement for so long as such resale registration continues to be required under the Voting and Support Agreements and the Voting and Support Supplement.

ARTICLE 4
The Surviving Corporation

     Section 4.01 Certificate of Incorporation. The certificate of incorporation of the Merger Subsidiary in effect at the Effective Time shall be the certificate of incorporation of the Surviving Corporation until amended in accordance with Applicable Law.

     Section 4.02 Bylaws. The bylaws of Merger Subsidiary in effect at the Effective Time shall be the bylaws of the Surviving Corporation until amended in accordance with Applicable Law.

     Section 4.03 Directors and Officers. From and after the Effective Time, until successors are duly elected or appointed and qualified in accordance with Applicable Law, (i) the directors of Merger Subsidiary at the Effective Time shall be the directors of the Surviving Corporation and (ii) the officers of Merger Subsidiary at the Effective Time shall be the officers of the Surviving Corporation.

ARTICLE 5
Representations and Warranties of the Company

     Except as set forth in (i) the Company SEC Documents (excluding, in each case, any disclosures set forth in any risk factor section or in any other section to the extent such statements are cautionary, predictive or forward-looking in nature) or (ii) the Company Disclosure Schedule, the Company represents and warrants to Parent that:

     Section 5.01 Corporate Existence and Power. The Company is a corporation duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of the State of Delaware and has all corporate powers required to carry on its business as now conducted. The Company is

16

duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation and is in good standing in each jurisdiction where such qualification is necessary, except for those jurisdictions where failure to be so qualified has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company. Prior to the date of this Agreement, the Company has delivered to Parent true and complete copies of the certificate of incorporation and bylaws of the Company as in effect on the date of this Agreement.

     Section 5.02 Corporate Authorization.

          (a) The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement and the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby are within the Company’s corporate powers and, except for the Company Stockholder Approval in connection with the consummation of the Merger, have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of the Company. The affirmative vote of the holders of a majority of the voting power of the outstanding shares of Common Stock and the Company Special Voting Preferred, voting together as a single class, is the only vote of the holders of any of the Company’s capital stock necessary in connection with the consummation of the Merger (the “Company Stockholder Approval”). This Agreement constitutes a valid and binding agreement of the Company enforceable against the Company in accordance with its terms (subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium and other laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and general principles of equity).

          (b) At a meeting duly called and held, the Company’s Board of Directors has (i) unanimously declared this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby advisable, fair to and in the best interests of the Company and its stockholders, (ii) unanimously approved, adopted and declared advisable this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby, (iii) unanimously resolved to recommend approval and adoption of this Agreement by the Company’s stockholders (such recommendation, the “Company Board Recommendation”) and (iv) directed that this Agreement be submitted to the Company’s stockholders for approval and adoption.

     Section 5.03 Governmental Authorization. The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement and the consummation by the Company of the transactions contemplated hereby require no action by or in respect of, or filing with, any Governmental Authority other than (i) the filing of the certificate of merger with respect to the Merger with the Delaware Secretary of State and appropriate documents with the relevant authorities of other states in which the Company is qualified to do business, (ii) compliance with any applicable requirements of the HSR Act, (iii) compliance with any applicable requirements of the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act and any other applicable state, provincial or federal securities laws and national securities instruments, (iv) compliance with applicable requirements of FINRA, the NYSE, the NASDAQ Global Market (“NASDAQ”), the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada, the Toronto Stock Exchange, the TSX Venture Exchange, the Canadian National Stock Exchange and the Financial Services Authority, if any, (v) those additional consents, approvals, orders, authorizations, registrations, declarations and filings, if any, listed in Section 5.03 of the Company Disclosure Schedule (the consents, approvals, orders, authorizations, registrations, declarations and filings required under or in connection with any of the foregoing clauses (i) through (v) above, the “Required Governmental Authorizations”) and (vi) any actions or

17

filings the absence of which would not be reasonably expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company.

     Section 5.04 Non-contravention. The execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby do not and will not (i) contravene, conflict with or result in any violation or breach of any provision of the certificate of incorporation or bylaws of the Company, (ii) assuming compliance with the matters referred to in Section 5.03, contravene, conflict with or result in a violation or breach of any provision of any Applicable Law, (iii) assuming compliance with the matters referred to in Section 5.03, require any consent or other action by any Person under, constitute a default, or an event that, with or without notice or lapse of time or both, would constitute a default, under, or cause or permit the termination, cancellation, acceleration or other change of any right or obligation or the loss of any benefit to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is entitled under any provision of any agreement or other instrument binding upon the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any license, franchise, permit, certificate, approval or other similar authorization affecting, or relating in any way to, the assets or business of the Company and its Subsidiaries or (iv) result in the creation or imposition of any Lien on any asset of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, with such exceptions, in the case of each of clauses (ii) through (iv), as would not be reasonably expected, individually or in the aggregate, to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company.

     Section 5.05 Capitalization.

          (a) The authorized capital stock of the Company consists of (i) 100,000,000 shares of common stock of the Company, par value $0.01 per share, and (ii) 10,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock, par value $0.01 per share (“Company Preferred Stock”). As of April 22, 2010, there were outstanding (A) 32,930,645 shares of Common Stock (including 6,183,121 Company Exchangeable Shares), (B) one share of Company Preferred Stock, consisting of one share of the Company Special Voting Preferred Stock, (C) employee stock options to purchase an aggregate of 443,549 shares of Company Common Stock (of which options to purchase an aggregate of 268,549 shares of Common Stock were exercisable), (D) 17,631,583 Company Restricted Stock Units which provide the holders thereof the right to receive up to an aggregate of 17,631,583 shares of Company Common Stock (of which Restricted Stock Units, an aggregate of 4,123,285 were vested), and (E) a warrant to purchase 486,486 shares of Company Common Stock at a price equal to $15.00 per share. All outstanding shares of capital stock of the Company have been, and all shares that may be issued pursuant to any employee stock option or other compensation plan or arrangement will be, when issued in accordance with the respective terms thereof, duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and nonassessable. No Subsidiary of the Company and no Affiliate of the Company owns any shares of capital stock of the Company. Section 5.05(a) of the Company Disclosure Schedule contains a complete and correct list of (x) each outstanding Company Stock Option, including with respect to each such option the holder, date of grant, exercise price, vesting schedule and number of shares of Common Stock subject thereto and (y) all outstanding Company Restricted Stock Units, including with respect to each such share the holder, date of grant and vesting schedule.

          (b) There are outstanding no bonds, debentures, notes or other indebtedness of the Company having the right to vote (or convertible into, or exchangeable for, securities having

18

the right to vote) on any matters on which stockholders of the Company may vote. Except as set forth in this Section 5.05 and the Company SEC Documents and for changes since April 22, 2010 resulting from the exercise of employee stock options outstanding on such date, there are no issued, reserved for issuance or outstanding, or obligations whether absolute or contingent, in the future to issue, (i) shares of capital stock or other voting securities of or other ownership interest in the Company, (ii) securities of the Company convertible into or exchangeable for shares of capital stock or other voting securities of or other ownership interest in the Company, (iii) warrants, calls, options or other rights (including conversion or preemptive rights and rights of first refusal or similar rights) to acquire from the Company, or other obligations of the Company to issue, any capital stock, other voting securities or securities convertible into or exchangeable for capital stock or other voting securities of or other ownership interest in the Company, or (iv) restricted shares, stock appreciation rights, performance units, contingent value rights, “phantom” stock or similar securities or rights that are derivative of, or provide economic benefits based, directly or indirectly, on the value or price of, any capital stock of, or other voting securities of or ownership interests in, the Company (the items in clauses (i) though (iv) being referred to collectively as the “Company Securities”). Except pursuant to the Exchangeable Share Documents, there are no outstanding obligations of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any of the Company Securities. Except for the Voting and Support Agreement, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to any voting agreement with respect to the voting of any Company Securities. Except as set forth in Section 5.05(b) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, to the knowledge of the Company, as of the date of this Agreement, no Person or group beneficially owns 5% or more of the Company’s outstanding voting securities, with the terms “group” and “beneficially owns” having the meanings ascribed to them under Rule 13d-3 and Rule 13d-5 under the 1934 Act.

          (c) As of March 31, 2010, the amount of outstanding Indebtedness of the Company and its Subsidiaries (excluding intercompany Indebtedness) does not exceed $25 million in the aggregate.

     Section 5.06 Subsidiaries.

          (a) Each Subsidiary of the Company is a corporation or other entity duly incorporated or organized, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation or organization and has all corporate or other organizational powers, as applicable, required to carry on its business as now conducted. Each such Subsidiary is duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation or other entity, as applicable, and is in good standing in each jurisdiction where such qualification is necessary, except for those jurisdictions where failure to be so qualified has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company. Section 5.06(a) of the Company Disclosure Schedule lists all of the Subsidiaries of the Company together with the federal employer or equivalent identification number of each such Subsidiary.

          (b) Except as contemplated by the Exchangeable Share Documents, all of the outstanding capital stock of, or other voting securities or ownership interests in, each Subsidiary of the Company, is owned by the Company, directly or indirectly, free and clear of any Lien and free of any other limitation or restriction (including any restriction on the right to vote, sell or otherwise dispose of such capital stock or other voting securities or ownership interests). Except

19

as contemplated by the Exchangeable Share Documents, there are no issued, reserved for issuance or outstanding, or obligations whether absolute or contingent, in the future to issue, (i) securities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries convertible into or exchangeable for shares of capital stock or other voting securities of or ownership interests in any Subsidiary of the Company, (ii) warrants, calls, options or other rights (including conversion or preemptive rights and rights of first refusal or similar rights) to acquire from the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or other obligations of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to issue, any capital stock or other voting securities of or ownership interests in, or any securities convertible into or exchangeable for any capital stock or other voting securities of or ownership interests in, any Subsidiary of the Company or (iii) restricted shares, stock appreciation rights, performance units, contingent value rights, “phantom” stock or similar securities or rights that are derivative of, or provide economic benefits based, directly or indirectly, on the value or price of, any capital stock of, or other voting securities of or ownership interests in, any Subsidiary of the Company (the items in clauses (i) through (iii) being referred to collectively as the “Company Subsidiary Securities”). There are no outstanding obligations of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any of the Company Subsidiary Securities. Except for the capital stock or other equity or voting interests of its Subsidiaries and publicly traded securities held for investment which do not exceed 5% of the outstanding securities of any entity, the Company does not own, directly or indirectly, any capital stock or other equity or voting interests in any Person.

     Section 5.07 SEC Filings and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

          (a) Since January 1, 2008, the Company has filed with or furnished to the SEC all reports, schedules, forms, statements, prospectuses, registration statements and other documents required to be filed or furnished by the Company (collectively, together with any exhibits and schedules thereto and other information incorporated therein, the “Company SEC Documents”).

          (b) As of its filing date, each Company SEC Document complied, and each such Company SEC Document filed subsequent to the date of this Agreement will comply, as to form in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, as the case may be.

          (c) As of its filing date (or, if amended or superseded by a filing prior to the date of this Agreement, on the date of such subsequent filing), each Company SEC Document filed pursuant to the 1934 Act did not, and each such Company SEC Document filed subsequent to the date of this Agreement will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements made therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

          (d) Each Company SEC Document that is a registration statement, as amended or supplemented, if applicable, filed pursuant to the 1933 Act, as of the date such registration statement or amendment became effective, did not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading.

20

          (e) The Company and, to the knowledge of the Company, each of its executive officers and directors are in compliance with, and have complied, in each case in all material respects with the applicable listing and corporate governance rules and regulations of NASDAQ.

          (f) The Company has established and maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15 under the 1934 Act). Such disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that material information relating to the Company, including its consolidated Subsidiaries, is made known to the Company’s principal executive officer and its principal financial officer by others within those entities, particularly during the periods in which the periodic reports required under the 1934 Act are being prepared. Such disclosure controls and procedures are effective in alerting in a timely manner the Company’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer to material information required to be included in the Company’s periodic and current reports required under the 1934 Act.

          (g) The Company and its Subsidiaries have established and maintained a system of internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 13a-15 under the 1934 Act) (“internal controls”). Such internal controls are sufficient to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of the Company’s financial reporting and the preparation of the Company’s financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. The Company has disclosed, based on its most recent evaluation of internal controls prior to the date of this Agreement, to the Company’s auditors and audit committee (x) any deficiencies, significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls that are reasonably likely to adversely affect the Company’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information and (y) any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the Company’s internal controls. The Company has made available to Parent prior to the date of this Agreement a summary of any such disclosure made by management to the Company’s auditors and audit committee since January 1, 2008.

          (h) There are no outstanding loans or other extensions of credit, including in the form of a personal loan (within the meaning of Section 402 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act), made by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to any executive officer (as defined in Rule 3b-7 under the 1934 Act) or director of the Company. The Company has not, since the enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, taken any action prohibited by Section 402 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

          (i) Each of the principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the Company (or each former principal executive officer and principal financial officer of the Company, as applicable) have made all certifications required by Rule 13a-14 and 15d-14 under the 1934 Act and Sections 302 and 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and any related rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC and NASDAQ, and the statements contained in any such certifications are complete and correct. For purposes of this Agreement, “principal executive officer” and “principal financial officer” shall have the meanings given to such terms in the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

          (j) The Company SEC Documents describe, and the Company has made available to Parent copies of the documentation creating or governing, all material securitization

21

transactions and other off-balance sheet arrangements (as defined in Item 303 of Regulation S-K of the SEC) that existed or were effected by the Company or its Subsidiaries since January 1, 2008.

     Section 5.08 Financial Statements. The audited consolidated financial statements and unaudited consolidated interim financial statements (including, in each case, any notes thereto) of the Company included or incorporated by reference in the Company SEC Documents fairly present, in conformity with GAAP applied on a consistent basis (except as may be indicated in the notes thereto), the consolidated financial position of the Company and its consolidated Subsidiaries as of the dates thereof and their consolidated results of operations and cash flows for the periods then ended (except for the absence of full footnotes and normal and recurring year-end audit adjustments in the case of any unaudited interim financial statements).

     Section 5.09 Disclosure Documents.

          (a) The proxy statement/prospectus to be filed as part of the Registration Statement with the SEC in connection with the Merger (the “Proxy Statement/Prospectus”) and any amendments or supplements thereto will, when filed, comply as to form in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the 1934 Act. At the time the Proxy Statement/Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto is first mailed to stockholders of Parent, and at the time the Company’s stockholders vote on adoption of this Agreement, and at the Effective Time, the Proxy Statement/Prospectus, as supplemented or amended, if applicable, will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements made therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading. The representations and warranties contained in this Section 5.09 will not apply to statements or omissions included in the Proxy Statement/Prospectus based upon information furnished to the Company in writing by Parent specifically for use therein.

          (b) None of the information provided by the Company for inclusion in the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement thereto, at the time the Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement becomes effective and at the Effective Time, will contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading.

     Section 5.10 Absence of Certain Changes. Since the Company Balance Sheet Date, the business of the Company and its Subsidiaries has been conducted in the ordinary course consistent with past practices, and there has not been any event, occurrence, development or state of circumstances or facts that has had or would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company.

     Section 5.11 No Undisclosed Material Liabilities. There are no liabilities or obligations of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of any kind whatsoever, whether accrued, contingent, absolute, determined, determinable or otherwise, and there is no existing condition, situation or set of circumstances that could reasonably be expected to result in such a liability or obligation, other than (i) liabilities or obligations disclosed and provided for in the Company Balance Sheet or in the notes thereto and (ii) liabilities or obligations that have not had and would not

22

reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company.

     Section 5.12 Litigation. There is no action, suit, investigation or proceeding (each an “Action”) pending against, or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against, the Company, any of its Subsidiaries, any present or former officer, director or employee of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries in their respective capacities as such or any Person for whom the Company or any Subsidiary may be liable or any of their respective properties before (or, in the case of threatened actions, suits, investigations or proceedings, would be before) any arbitrator or Governmental Authority, that has had or would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company or that in any manner challenges or seeks to prevent, enjoin, alter or materially delay the Merger or any of the other transactions contemplated hereby. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is subject to any judgment, decree, injunction, rule or order of any arbitrator or Governmental Authority outstanding against, or, to the knowledge of the Company, investigation by any Governmental Authority involving, the Company or any of its Subsidiaries that has had or would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company.

     Section 5.13 Compliance with Applicable Laws. The Company and each of its Subsidiaries is and, since January 1, 2008, has been in compliance with, and is not under investigation with respect to and, to the knowledge of the Company, has not been threatened to be charged with or given notice or other communication alleging or relating to a possible violation of, Applicable Laws, except for failures to comply or violations that have not had and would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company. The Company and its Subsidiaries hold all material governmental licenses, authorizations, permits, consents, approvals, variances, exemptions and orders necessary for the operation of the businesses of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole (the “Company Permits”). The Company and each of its Subsidiaries is and, since January 1, 2008, has been in compliance with the terms of the Company Permits, except for failures to comply or violations that have not had and would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company.

     Section 5.14 Material Contracts.

          (a) Section 5.14 of the Company Disclosure Schedule lists each of the following Contracts, whether written or oral, to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries is a party or by which it is bound as of the date of this Agreement (each such Contract listed or required to be so listed, a “Company Material Contract”):

          (i) any Contract or series of related Contracts for the purchase, receipt, lease or use of materials, supplies, goods, services, equipment or other assets involving payments by or to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of more than $1 million on an annual basis or $5 million in the aggregate (other than Contracts involving payments to the Company entered into in the ordinary course of business, including investment banking contracts);

23

          (ii) any material sales agency, sales representation, distributorship or franchise agreement;

          (iii) any Contract or series of related Contracts involving payments by or to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of more than $1 million on an annual basis or $5 million in the aggregate that requires consent of or notice to a third party in the event of or with respect to the Merger in order to avoid a breach or termination of, a loss of benefit under, or triggering a price adjustment, right of renegotiation or other remedy under, any such agreement, in each case that would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company;

          (iv) promissory notes, loans, agreements, indentures, evidences of indebtedness or other instruments providing for or relating to the lending of money, whether as borrower, lender or guarantor, in amounts greater than $1 million individually or $5 million in the aggregate;

          (v) any Contract restricting the payment of dividends or the repurchase of stock or other equity;

          (vi) any collective bargaining agreements;

          (vii) any material joint venture, profit sharing, partnership agreements or other similar agreements;

          (viii) any Contracts or series of related Contracts relating to the acquisition or disposition of a material amount of assets outside the ordinary course of business (in each case, whether by merger, sale of stock, sale of assets or otherwise);

          (ix) all leases or subleases for real or personal property involving annual expense in excess of $1 million and not cancelable by the Company (without premium or penalty) within 12 months;

          (x) any Contract that (A) limits in any material respect the freedom of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to engage or compete in any line of business or with any Person or in any area or which would so limit the freedom of Parent, the Company or any of their respective Affiliates after the Effective Time or (B) contains any material exclusivity, “most favored nation”, rights of first refusal, rights of first negotiation or similar obligations or restrictions that are binding on the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or that would be binding on Parent or its Affiliates after the Effective Time;

          (xi) agreements by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries not to acquire assets or securities of a third party (including standstill agreements) or agreements by a third party not to acquire assets or securities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (including standstill agreements), in each case entered into outside the ordinary course of business;

24

          (xii) any material Contract providing for the indemnification by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of any Person or under which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has guaranteed any liabilities or obligations of any other Person, in each case entered into outside the ordinary course of business;

          (xiii) any material Contracts with any (A) officer or director of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries (or any other employee who is one of the twenty most highly compensated employees of the Company and its Subsidiaries); (B) record or beneficial owner of five percent or more of the voting securities of Company; or (C) affiliate (as such term is defined in Rule 12b-2 promulgated under the 1934 Act) or “associates” (or members of any of their “immediate family”) (as such terms are respectively defined in Rule 12b-2 and Rule 16a-1 of the 1934 Act) of any such officer, director or beneficial owner; and

          (xiv) any other Contract required to be filed by the Company pursuant to Item 601(b)(10) of Regulation S-K of the SEC.

          (b) The Company has prior to the date of this Agreement made available to Parent complete and accurate copies of each Company Material Contract listed, or required to be listed, in Section 5.14 of the Company Disclosure Schedule (including all amendments, modifications, extensions and renewals thereto and waivers thereunder). All of the Company Material Contracts are valid and binding and in full force and effect (except those which are cancelled, rescinded or terminated after the date of this Agreement in accordance with their terms), except where the failure to be valid and binding and in full force and effect has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company, and no written notice to terminate and no written notice of an intent to terminate, in whole or part, any of the same has been served. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries nor, to the knowledge of the Company, any other party thereto is in default or breach under the terms of any Company Material Contract except for such instances of default or breach that would not be reasonably likely to result in a Material Adverse Effect on the Company.

     Section 5.15 Tax Matters. As of the date of this Agreement, neither the Company nor any of its Affiliates has taken or agreed to take any action, nor do the executive officers of the Company have any knowledge of any fact or circumstance, that would prevent the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement from qualifying as a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code.

     Section 5.16 Taxes.

          (a) All material Tax Returns required by Applicable Law to be filed with any Taxing Authority by, or on behalf of, the Company or any of its Subsidiaries have been filed on a timely basis in accordance with all Applicable Law, and all such Tax Returns are, true, correct and complete in all material respects.

          (b) The Company and each of its Subsidiaries has duly and timely paid or has duly and timely withheld and remitted to the appropriate Taxing Authority all Taxes due and

25

payable, except with respect to Taxes that are being contested in good faith and disclosed in Section 5.16(b) of the Company Disclosure Schedule. The Company has properly reserved or accrued, in accordance with GAAP, (i) all uncertain tax positions required to be accounted for under FASB Interpretation No. 48, and (ii) all Taxes not due and payable through the date of this Agreement.

          (c) Except as set forth in Section 5.16(c) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, the federal Tax Returns and all material state, local and foreign income, VAT and franchise Tax Returns of the Company and its Subsidiaries through tax years ending on or prior to December 31, 2006 have been examined and closed or are Tax Returns with respect to which the applicable period for assessment under Applicable Law, after giving effect to extensions or waivers, has expired.

          (d) There is no claim, audit, action, suit, proceeding or investigation now pending or, to the Company’s knowledge, threatened in writing against or with respect to the Company or its Subsidiaries in respect of any material Tax or Tax asset.

          (e) During the five-year period ending on the date of this Agreement, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries was a distributing corporation or a controlled corporation in a transaction intended to be governed in whole or in part by Section 355 or Section 361 of the Code.

          (f) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is liable for Taxes of any Person (other than the Company and its Subsidiaries) as a result of being (i) a transferee or successor of such Person or (ii) a member of an affiliated, consolidated, combined or unitary group that includes such Person as a member.

          (g) Except as set forth in Section 5.16(g) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has a material permanent establishment in any foreign country.

          (h) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has participated in any “reportable transactions” within the meaning of Treasury Regulation §1.6011-4 nor has the Company or any of its Subsidiaries been a “material advisor” to any such transactions within the meaning of Section 6111 of the Code.

          (i) The Company and each of its Subsidiaries have materially complied with all reporting and recordkeeping requirements under Section 6038A of the Code.

          (j) Except as set forth in Section 5.16(j) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, neither the Company nor any Subsidiary will be required to include any material item of income in, or exclude any material item of deduction from, taxable income for any taxable period (or portion thereof) ending after the Closing Date as a result of any (i) “closing agreement” as described in Section 7121 of the Code (or any corresponding or similar provision of state, local or non-U.S. income Tax law) executed on or prior to the Closing Date, (ii) installment sale or open transaction disposition made on or prior to the Closing Date, (iii) prepaid amount received on or prior to the Closing Date, (iv) intercompany item under Treasury

26

Regulation section 1.1502-13, or (v) change in accounting method for a taxable period ending on or before the Closing Date.

          (k) Except as set forth in Section 5.16(k) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, neither the Company nor any Subsidiary has requested, received or executed with any Taxing Authority any ruling or binding agreement which could have a material effect in a post-Closing period.

          (l) Except as set forth in Section 5.16(l) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, there is no power of attorney granted by the Company or any Significant Subsidiary relating to Tax that is currently in place.

          (m) The Company was not a United States real property holding corporation within the meaning of Section 897(c)(2) of the Code during the applicable period specified in Section 897(c)(1)(A)(ii) of the Code.

          (n) The Company has adequately disclosed on its Federal income Tax Returns all positions taken therein that could give rise to a substantial understatement of Federal income tax within the meaning of Section 6662 of the Code.

          (o) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries is a party to, is bound by or has any obligation under any material Tax sharing, Tax indemnity or Tax allocation agreement or similar contract or arrangement other than any agreement, contract or arrangement between the Company and its Subsidiaries or which has been filed as an exhibit to the Company SEC Documents.

          (p) There are no material Liens for Taxes (other than for current Taxes not yet due and payable or the Taxes being contested in good faith that are set forth in Section 5.16(p) of the Company Disclosure Schedule) upon the assets of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.

               “Tax” means any tax, governmental fee or other like assessment or charge of any kind whatsoever (including withholding on amounts paid to or by any Person), together with any interest, penalty, or addition to tax imposed by any Governmental Authority (a “Taxing Authority”) responsible for the imposition of any such tax (domestic or foreign), and any liability for any of the foregoing as transferee, including any obligations to indemnify or otherwise assume or succeed to the Tax liability of another Person. “Tax Return” means any report, return, document, declaration or other information or filing required to be supplied to any Taxing Authority with respect to Taxes, including information returns, any documents with respect to or accompanying payments of estimated Taxes, or with respect to or accompanying requests for the extension of time in which to file any such report, return, document, declaration or other information.

     Section 5.17 Employees and Employee Benefit Plans.

          (a) Section 5.17 of the Company Disclosure Schedule contains a correct and complete list identifying each material “employee benefit plan,” as defined in Section 3(3) of ERISA, each material employment, severance or similar Contract, plan or policy and each other plan or arrangement (written or oral) providing for compensation, bonuses, profit-sharing, stock

27

option or other stock related rights or other forms of incentive or deferred compensation, vacation benefits, insurance (including any self-insured arrangements), health or medical benefits, employee assistance program, disability or sick leave benefits, workers’ compensation, supplemental unemployment benefits, severance benefits and post-employment or retirement benefits (including compensation, pension, health, medical or life insurance benefits) or other forms of benefits which are maintained, administered or contributed to by the Company or any ERISA Affiliate of the Company and covers any employee, director or former employee or director of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or with respect to which the Company or any of its Subsidiaries has any liability. Copies of such plans (and, if applicable, related trust or funding agreements or insurance policies) and all amendments thereto and written interpretations thereof have been furnished to Parent together with the most recent annual report (Form 5500 including, if applicable, Schedule B thereto) and tax return (Form 990) prepared in connection with any such plan or trust. Such plans are referred to collectively herein as the “Employee Plans.”

          (b) To the knowledge of the Company, none of the Company’s employees at the level of Managing Director or higher has indicated to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries that he or she intends to resign or retire as a result of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

          (c) The Company has never made any contributions to any Employee Plan which is subject to the provisions of Title IV of ERISA, the Company has never been a member of a controlled group which contributed to any such Plan, and the Company has never been under common control with an employer which contributed to any such Plan.

          (d) The Company has never made any contributions to any Multiemployer Plan (as defined in ERISA Section 3(37) or 4001(a)(3)), the Company has never been a member of a controlled group which contributed to any such plan, and the Company has never been under common control with an employer which contributed to any such plan.

          (e) During the six year period ending on the Closing Date, neither the Company nor any of its ERISA Affiliates has terminated or taken action to terminate, in part or in whole, any employee benefit plan, as defined in ERISA Section 3(3).

          (f) Each Employee Plan which is intended to be qualified under Section 401(a) of the Code has received a favorable determination letter that it is so qualified, or has pending or has time remaining in which to file, an application for such determination from the Internal Revenue Service, and the Company is not aware of any reason why any such determination letter should be revoked or not be reissued. The Company has made available to Parent prior to date of this Agreement copies of the most recent Internal Revenue Service determination letters with respect to each such Employee Plan. Each Employee Plan has been maintained in substantial compliance with its terms and with the requirements prescribed by any and all statutes, orders, rules and regulations, including ERISA and the Code, which are applicable to such Employee Plan. No events have occurred with respect to any Employee Plan that could result in payment or assessment by or against the Company of any excise taxes under Sections 4972, 4975, 4976, 4977, 4979, 4980B, 4980D, 4980E or 5000 of the Code except for failures to comply that have not had and would not reasonably be expected to have, individually

28

or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company. Each Employee Plan which provides “nonqualified deferred compensation” as defined in Code Section 409A has been administered in accordance with and meets the requirements of Code Section 409A except for failures to comply that have not had and would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company. All contributions with respect to the Employee Plans for all periods ending prior to the Closing Date (including periods from the first day of the current plan year to the Closing Date) will be made prior to the Closing Date by the Company and all Subsidiaries in accordance with past practice and the recommended contribution in the applicable actuarial report. All contributions to the Plans have been made on a timely basis in accordance with ERISA and the Code. All insurance premiums have been paid in full, subject only to normal retrospective adjustments in the ordinary course, with regard to the Employee Plans for policy years or other applicable policy periods ending on or before the Closing Date.

          (g) Except as set forth in Section 5.17(g) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, with respect to each current or former employee or independent contractor of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will not, either alone or together with any other event: (i) entitle any such person to severance pay, bonus amounts, retirement benefits, job security benefits or similar benefits, (ii) trigger or accelerate the time of payment or funding (through a grantor trust or otherwise) of any compensation or benefits payable to any such person, (iii) accelerate the vesting of any compensation or benefits of any such person (including any stock options or other equity-based awards, any incentive compensation or any deferred compensation entitlement) or (iv) trigger any other material obligation to any such person. There is no Contract or plan (written or otherwise) covering any employee or former employee of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries that, individually or collectively, could give rise to the payment of any amount that would not be deductible pursuant to the terms of Section 280G or 162(m) of the Code. Section 5.17(g) of the Company Disclosure Schedule lists all the agreements, arrangements and other instruments which give rise to an obligation to make or set aside amounts payable to or on behalf of the officers of the Company and its Subsidiaries as a result of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and/or any subsequent employment termination (whether by the Company or the officer), true and complete copies of which have been provided to Parent prior to the date of this Agreement.

          (h) Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has any liability in respect of post-retirement health, medical or life insurance benefits for retired, former or current employees of the Company or its Subsidiaries except as required to avoid excise tax under Section 4980B of the Code.

          (i) There has been no amendment to, written interpretation or announcement (whether or not written) by the Company or any of its Affiliates relating to, or change in employee participation or coverage under, an Employee Plan which would increase materially the expense of maintaining such Employee Plan above the level of the expense incurred in respect thereof for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, except as set forth in Section 5.17(g) of the Company Disclosure Schedule.

29

          (j) There is no action, suit, investigation, audit or proceeding pending against or involving or, to the knowledge of the Company, threatened against or involving, any Employee Plan before any Governmental Authority.

          (k) Neither the Company nor any of its ERISA Affiliates maintain any Employee Plan or other benefit arrangement covering any employee or former employee outside of the United States nor has ever been obligated to contribute to any such plan.

          (l) The Company and its Subsidiaries have complied with all Applicable Laws relating to labor and employment, including those relating to wages, hours, collective bargaining, unemployment compensation, worker’s compensation, equal employment opportunity, age and disability discrimination, immigration control, employee classification, information privacy and security, payment and withholding of taxes, and continuation coverage with respect to group health plans, except for failures to comply that have not had and would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company.

          (m) Except as set forth in Section 5.17(m) of the Company Disclosure Schedule, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has been a party to or subject to, or is currently negotiating in connection with entering into, any collective bargaining agreement or other labor agreement with any union or labor organization, and there has not been any activity or proceeding of any labor organization or employee group to organize any such employees. In addition, (i) there are no unfair labor practice charges or complaints against Company or any of its Subsidiaries pending before the National Labor Relations Board; (ii) there are no labor strikes, slowdowns or stoppages actually pending or threatened against or affecting the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; (iii) there are no representation claims or petitions pending before the National Labor Relations Board and there are no questions concerning representation with respect to the employees of the Company or its Subsidiaries; and (iv) there are no grievance or pending arbitration proceedings against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries that arose out of or under any collection bargaining agreement.

          (n) Since the Balance Sheet Date, neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has effectuated (i) a “plant closing” (as defined in the WARN Act) affecting any site of employment or one or more facilities or operating units within any site of employment or facility of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; (ii) a “mass layoff” (as defined in the WARN Act); or (iii) such other transaction, layoff, reduction in force or employment terminations sufficient in number to trigger application of any similar state or local law.

     Section 5.18 Intellectual Property. Except as has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company, and except as identified in Section 5.18 of the Company Disclosure Schedule: (i) the Company and each of its Subsidiaries owns, or is licensed to use (in each case, free and clear of any Liens), all Intellectual Property used in or necessary for the conduct of its business as currently conducted; (ii) neither the Company nor its Subsidiaries has infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated the Intellectual Property rights of any Person; (iii) to the knowledge of the Company, no Person has challenged, infringed, misappropriated or otherwise violated any Intellectual Property right owned by and/or licensed to the Company or its Subsidiaries; (iv)

30

neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has received any written notice or otherwise has knowledge of any pending claim, action, suit, order or proceeding with respect to any Intellectual Property owned by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or alleging that any services provided, processes used or products manufactured, used, imported, offered for sale or sold by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries infringes, misappropriates or otherwise violates any Intellectual Property rights of any Person; (v) the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement will not alter, encumber, impair or extinguish any Intellectual Property right of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or impair the right of Parent to develop, use, sell, license or dispose of, or to bring any action for the infringement of, any Intellectual Property right of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; (vi) the Company and its Subsidiaries have taken reasonable steps in accordance with normal industry practice to maintain the confidentiality of all material Trade Secrets owned, used or held for use by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries and no such Trade Secrets have been disclosed other than to employees, representatives and agents of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries all of whom are bound by written confidentiality agreements; and (vii) neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries has granted any exclusive licenses or other rights, of any kind or nature, in or to any of the Intellectual Property owned by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to any third party and no third party has granted any licenses or other rights, of any kind or nature, to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries for any material Intellectual Property.

     Section 5.19 Information Technology. Except as has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company, and except as identified in Section 5.19 of the Company Disclosure Schedule, (i) the IT Assets operate and perform in all material respects in a manner that permits the Company and its Subsidiaries to conduct their respective businesses as currently conducted and to the knowledge of the Company, no person has gained unauthorized access to the IT Assets, and (ii) the Company and its Subsidiaries have implemented reasonable backup and disaster recovery technology consistent with industry practices.

     Section 5.20 Properties. Neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries owns any real property. Except in any such case as has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company: (i) with respect to the real property leased, subleased or licensed to the Company or its Subsidiaries (the “Leased Real Property”), the lease, sublease or license for such property (true, accurate and complete copies of which have been provided to Parent) is valid, legally binding, enforceable and in full force and effect, and none of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or, to the knowledge of the Company, any lessor or other third party thereto, is in breach of or default under such lease, sublease or license, and no event has occurred which, with notice, lapse of time or both, would constitute a breach or default or permit termination, modification or acceleration by any third party thereunder, or prevent, materially delay or, as of the date of this Agreement, materially impair the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and the execution, delivery and performance by the Company of this Agreement; and (ii) to the knowledge of the Company, there are no facts or conditions (including any covenants, restrictions, easements or similar instruments, and any condemnation proceedings or threats thereof) affecting any of the Leased Real Property that, in the aggregate, would reasonably be expected to interfere with the current use, occupancy or operation thereof. Section 5.20 of the Company Disclosure Schedule contains a true and complete list of all Leased Real Property.

31

     Section 5.21 Environmental Matters. Except as has not had and could not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company: (i) no notice, notification, demand, request for information, citation, summons or order has been received, no complaint has been filed, no penalty has been assessed, and no investigation, action, claim, suit, proceeding or review is pending or, to the knowledge of the Company, is threatened by any Governmental Authority or other Person relating to the Company or any Subsidiary and relating to or arising out of any Environmental Law; (ii) the Company and its Subsidiaries are and have been in compliance with all Environmental Laws and all Environmental Permits; (iii) there are no liabilities or obligations of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries of any kind whatsoever, whether accrued, contingent, absolute, determined, determinable or otherwise arising under or relating to any Environmental Law or any Hazardous Substance and there is no condition, situation or set of circumstances that could reasonably be expected to result in or be the basis for any such liability or obligation; (iv) there has been no spill, discharge, leak, leaching, emission, migration, injection, disposal, escape, dumping, or release of any kind on, beneath, above, or into any property or facility now or previously owned or leased by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or into the environment surrounding any now or previously owned property or facility of any Hazardous Substance; (v) during the term of Company’s or any Subsidiary’s ownership or operation of any facility or property now or previously owned or leased by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, there are and have been no asbestos fibers or materials or polychlorinated biphenyls or underground storage tanks or related piping on or beneath any facility or property now or previously owned or leased by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries; and (vi) the Company has delivered to Parent prior to the date of this Agreement copies of all environmental investigations, studies, audits, tests, reviews or other analyses in its possession relating to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or any property or facility now or previously owned or leased by the Company or any of its Subsidiaries.

     Section 5.22 Antitakeover Statutes. The Company has taken all action necessary to exempt or exclude the Merger, the Voting Agreement, this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby from Section 203 of Delaware Law and, accordingly, neither such Section nor any other antitakeover or similar statute or regulation applies or purports to apply to any such transactions. No other “control share acquisition,” “fair price,” “moratorium” or other antitakeover laws enacted under U.S. state or federal laws apply to this Agreement or any of the transactions contemplated hereby.

     Section 5.23 Foreign Operations. The Company, each of its Subsidiaries, and to the knowledge of the Company each officer, director, employee, agent or other Person acting on behalf of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, has at all times since the Company Balance Sheet Date acted without notice of violation of and in compliance with the requirements of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act of 1977, as amended, any Applicable Law implementing the OECD Convention on Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business or other applicable conventions, and any other applicable anti-corruption law.

     Section 5.24 Opinion of Financial Advisor. The Company has received the opinion of Houlihan, Lokey, Howard & Zukin Financial Advisors, Inc. (“HLHZ”), financial advisor to the Company, to the effect that, as of the date of the approval of this Agreement by the Board of Directors of the Company, the Merger Consideration to be received by the holders of Company Common Stock in the Merger is fair to such holders from a financial point of view.

32

     Section 5.25 Finders’ Fees. Except for HLHZ, a copy of whose engagement agreement has been provided to Parent prior to the date of this Agreement, there is no investment banker, broker, finder or other intermediary that has been retained by or is authorized to act on behalf of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries who might be entitled to any fee or commission in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

ARTICLE 6
Representations and Warranties of Parent

     Except as set forth in (i) the Parent SEC Documents (excluding, in each case, any disclosures set forth in any risk factor section or in any other section to the extent such statements are cautionary, predictive or forward-looking in nature) or (ii) the Parent Disclosure Schedule, Parent represents and warrants to the Company that:

     Section 6.01 Corporate Existence and Power. Each of Parent and Merger Subsidiary is a corporation duly incorporated, validly existing and in good standing under the laws of its jurisdiction of incorporation and has all corporate powers required to carry on its business as now conducted. Since the date of its incorporation, Merger Subsidiary has not engaged in any activities other than in connection with or as contemplated by this Agreement. Parent is duly qualified to do business as a foreign corporation and is in good standing in each jurisdiction where such qualification is necessary, except for those jurisdictions where failure to be so qualified has not had and would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on Parent. Prior to the date of this Agreement, Parent has delivered to the Company true and complete copies of the certificate of incorporation and bylaws of Parent and Merger Subsidiary as in effect on the date of this Agreement.

     Section 6.02 Corporate Authorization. The execution, delivery and performance by Parent and Merger Subsidiary of this Agreement and the consummation by Parent and Merger Subsidiary of the transactions contemplated hereby are within the corporate powers of Parent and Merger Subsidiary and have been duly authorized by all necessary corporate action on the part of Parent and Merger Subsidiary. This Agreement constitutes a valid and binding agreement of each of Parent and Merger Subsidiary enforceable against each of Parent and Merger Subsidiary in accordance with its terms (subject to applicable bankruptcy, insolvency, fraudulent transfer, reorganization, moratorium and other laws affecting creditors’ rights generally and general principles of equity).

     Section 6.03 Governmental Authorization. The execution, delivery and performance by Parent and Merger Subsidiary of this Agreement and the consummation by Parent and Merger Subsidiary of the transactions contemplated hereby require no action by or in respect of, or filing with, any Governmental Authority, other than (i) the Required Governmental Authorizations, (ii) any actions or filings set forth in Section 6.03 of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, and (iii) any actions or filings the absence of which would not be reasonably expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on Parent or Merger Subsidiary.

     Section 6.04 Non-contravention. The execution, delivery and performance by Parent and Merger Subsidiary of this Agreement and the consummation by Parent and Merger Subsidiary of the transactions contemplated hereby do not and will not (i) contravene, conflict

33

with, or result in any violation or breach of any provision of the certificate of incorporation or bylaws of Parent or Merger Subsidiary, (ii) assuming compliance with the matters referred to in Section 6.03, contravene, conflict with or result in a violation or breach of any provision of any Applicable Law, (iii) assuming compliance with the matters referred to in Section 6.03, require any consent or other action by any Person under, constitute a default, or an event that, with or without notice or lapse of time or both, could become a default, under, or cause or permit the termination, cancellation, acceleration or other change of any right or obligation or the loss of any benefit to which Parent or any of its Subsidiaries is entitled under any provision of any agreement or other instrument binding upon Parent or any of its Subsidiaries or any license, franchise, permit, certificate, approval or other similar authorization affecting, or relating in any way to, the assets or business of the Parent and its Subsidiaries or (iv) result in the creation or imposition of any Lien on any asset of the Parent or any of its Subsidiaries, except for such contraventions, conflicts and violations referred to in clause (ii) and for such failures to obtain any such consent or other action, defaults, terminations, cancellations, accelerations, changes, losses or Liens referred to in clauses (iii) and (iv) that would not be reasonably expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on Parent or Merger Subsidiary.

     Section 6.05 Capitalization.

          (a) The authorized capital stock of Parent consists of (i) 97,000,000 shares of common stock of Parent, par value $0.15 per share and (ii) 3,000,000 shares of Preferred Stock, par value $1.00 per share (“Parent Preferred Stock”). As of April 22, 2010, there were outstanding (A) 31,033,701 shares of Parent Common Stock, (B) no shares of Parent Preferred Stock, (C) stock options under Parent’s equity incentive plans to purchase an aggregate of 824,355 shares of Parent Common Stock (of which options to purchase an aggregate of 791,143 shares of Parent Common Stock were exercisable), (D) 7,246,846 restricted stock units which provide the holders thereof the right to receive up to an aggregate of 7,246,846 shares of Parent Common Stock and (E) warrants to purchase an aggregate of 746,474 shares of Parent Common Stock at a price equal to $24.00 per share. All outstanding shares of capital stock of the Parent have been duly authorized and validly issued and are fully paid and nonassessable.

          (b) There are outstanding no bonds, debentures, notes or other indebtedness of Parent having the right to vote (or convertible into, or exchangeable for, securities having the right to vote) on any matters on which stockholders of Parent may vote. Except as set forth in this Section 6.05 and the Parent SEC Documents and for changes since April 22, 2010, resulting from the exercise of employee stock options outstanding on such date, there are no issued, reserved for issuance or outstanding (i) shares of capital stock or other voting securities of or other ownership interest in Parent, (ii) securities of Parent convertible into or exchangeable for shares of capital stock or other voting securities of or other ownership interest in Parent, (iii) warrants, calls, options or other rights to acquire from Parent, or other obligations of Parent to issue, any capital stock, other voting securities or securities convertible into or exchangeable for capital stock or other voting securities of or other ownership interest in Parent or (iv) restricted shares, stock appreciation rights, performance units, contingent value rights, “phantom” stock or similar securities or rights that are derivative of, or provide economic benefits based, directly or indirectly, on the value or price of, any capital stock of, or other voting securities of or ownership interests in, Parent (the items in clauses (i) though (iv) being referred to collectively as the “Parent Securities”). There are no outstanding obligations of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries

34

to repurchase, redeem or otherwise acquire any of the Parent Securities. The shares of Parent Common Stock to be issued as part of the Merger Consideration have been duly authorized and, when issued and delivered in accordance with the terms of this Agreement, will have been validly issued and will be fully paid and nonassessable and the issuance thereof is not subject to any preemptive or other similar right.

     Section 6.06 SEC Filings and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.

          (a) Since January 1, 2008, Parent has filed with or furnished to the SEC all reports, schedules, forms, statements, prospectuses, registration statements and other documents required to be filed or furnished by Parent (collectively, together with any exhibits and schedules thereto and other information incorporated therein, the “Parent SEC Documents”).

          (b) As of its filing date, each Parent SEC Document complied, and each such Parent SEC Document filed subsequent to the date of this Agreement will comply, as to form in all material respects with the applicable requirements of the 1933 Act, the 1934 Act and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, as the case may be.

          (c) As of its filing date (or, if amended or superseded by a filing prior to the date of this Agreement, on the date of such subsequent filing), each Parent SEC Document filed pursuant to the 1934 Act did not, and each such Parent SEC Document filed subsequent to the date of this Agreement will not, contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements made therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

          (d) Parent and, to the knowledge of Parent, each of its executive officers and directors are in compliance with, and have complied, in each case in all material respects with the applicable listing and corporate governance rules and regulations of the NYSE.

          (e) Parent has established and maintains disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 13a-15 under the 1934 Act). Such disclosure controls and procedures are designed to ensure that material information relating to Parent, including its consolidated Subsidiaries, is made known to Parent’s principal executive officer and its principal financial officer by others within those entities, particularly during the periods in which the periodic reports required under the 1934 Act are being prepared. Such disclosure controls and procedures are effective in alerting in a timely manner Parent’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer to material information required to be included in Parent’s periodic and current reports required under the 1934 Act.

          (f) Parent and its Subsidiaries have established and maintained a system of internal controls that are sufficient to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of Parent’s financial reporting and the preparation of Parent’s financial statements for external purposes in accordance with GAAP. Parent has disclosed, based on its most recent evaluation of internal controls prior to the date of this Agreement, to Parent’s auditors and audit committee (x) any deficiencies, significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls that are reasonably likely to adversely affect Parent’s ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information and (y) any fraud, whether or not material, that

35

involves management or other employees who have a significant role in Parent’s internal controls. Parent has made available to the Company prior to the date of this Agreement a summary of any such disclosure made by management to Parent’s auditors or its audit committee since January 1, 2008.

          (g) Each of the principal executive officer and principal financial officer of Parent (or each former principal executive officer and principal financial officer of Parent, as applicable) have made all certifications required by Rule 13a-14 and 15d-14 under the 1934 Act and Sections 302 and 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and any related rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC and the NYSE, and the statements contained in any such certifications are complete and correct.

     Section 6.07 Financial Statements. The audited consolidated financial statements and unaudited consolidated interim financial statements (including, in each case, any notes thereto) of Parent included or incorporated by reference in the Parent SEC Documents fairly present, in conformity with GAAP applied on a consistent basis (except as may be indicated in the notes thereto), the consolidated financial position of Parent and its consolidated Subsidiaries as of the dates thereof and their consolidated results of operations and cash flows for the periods then ended (except for the absence of full footnotes and normal and recurring year-end audit adjustments in the case of any unaudited interim financial statements).

     Section 6.08 Absence of Certain Changes. Since December 31, 2009, the business of Parent and its Subsidiaries has been conducted in the ordinary course consistent with past practices, and there has not been any event, occurrence, development or state of circumstances or facts that has had or would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on Parent.

     Section 6.09 No Undisclosed Material Liabilities. There are no liabilities or obligations of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries of any kind whatsoever, whether accrued, contingent, absolute, determined, determinable or otherwise, and there is no existing condition, situation or set of circumstances that could reasonably be expected to result in such a liability or obligation, other than (i) liabilities or obligations disclosed and provided for in Parent’s Balance Sheet or in the notes thereto and (ii) liabilities or obligations that have not had and would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on Parent.

     Section 6.10 Litigation. There is no Action pending against, or, to the knowledge of Parent, threatened against, Parent, any of its Subsidiaries, any present or former officer, director or employee of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries in their respective capacities as such or any Person for whom Parent or any Subsidiary may be liable or any of their respective properties before (or, in the case of threatened actions, suits, investigations or proceedings, would be before) any arbitrator or Governmental Authority, that has had or would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on Parent or that in any manner challenges or seeks to prevent, enjoin, alter or materially delay the Merger or any of the other transactions contemplated hereby. Neither Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries is subject to any judgment, decree, injunction or order of any arbitrator or Governmental Authority that has had or would reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on Parent.

36

     Section 6.11 Compliance with Applicable Laws. Parent and each of its Subsidiaries is and, since January 1, 2008, has been in compliance with, and to the knowledge of Parent is not under investigation with respect to and has not been threatened to be charged with or given notice or other communication alleging or relating to a possible violation of, Applicable Laws, except for failures to comply or violations that have not had and would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on Parent. Parent and its Subsidiaries hold all material governmental licenses, authorizations, permits, consents, approvals, variances, exemptions and orders necessary for the operation of the businesses of Parent and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole (the “Parent Permits”). Parent and each of its Subsidiaries is and, since January 1, 2008, has been in compliance with the terms of Parent Permits, except for failures to comply or violations that have not had and would not reasonably be expected to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on Parent.

     Section 6.12 Tax Matters. As of the date of this Agreement, neither Parent nor any of its Affiliates has taken or agreed to take any action, nor do the executive officers of Parent have any knowledge of any fact or circumstance, that would prevent the Merger and the other transactions contemplated by this Agreement from qualifying as a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code.

     Section 6.13 Tax.

          (a) All material Tax Returns required by Applicable Law to be filed with any Taxing Authority by, or on behalf of, Parent or any of its Subsidiaries have been filed on a timely basis in accordance with all Applicable Law, and all such Tax Returns are, true, correct and complete in all material respects.

          (b) Parent and each of its Subsidiaries has duly and timely paid or has duly and timely withheld and remitted to the appropriate Taxing Authority all Taxes due and payable, except with respect to Taxes that are being contested in good faith and disclosed in Section 6.13(b) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule. Parent has properly reserved or accrued, in accordance with GAAP, (i) all uncertain tax positions required to be accounted for under FASB Interpretation No. 48, and (ii) all Taxes not due and payable through the date of this Agreement.

          (c) Except as set forth in Section 6.13(c) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, the federal Tax Returns and all material state, local and foreign income, VAT and franchise Tax Returns of Parent and its Subsidiaries through the tax year ending on or prior to December 31, 2006 have been examined and closed or are Tax Returns with respect to which the applicable period for assessment under Applicable Law, after giving effect to extensions or waivers, has expired.

          (d) There is no claim, audit, action, suit, proceeding or investigation now pending or, to Parent’s knowledge, threatened in writing against or with respect to Parent or its Subsidiaries in respect of any material Tax or Tax asset.

          (e) Neither Parent nor any of its Subsidiaries has participated in any “reportable transactions” within the meaning of Treasury Regulation §1.6011-4 nor has Parent or

37

any of its Subsidiaries been a “material advisor” to any such transactions within the meaning of Section 6111 of the Code.

          (f) Except as set forth in Section 6.13(f) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, neither Parent nor any Subsidiary has requested, received or executed with any Taxing Authority any ruling or binding agreement which could have a material effect in a post-Closing period.

          (g) There are no material Liens for Taxes (other than for current Taxes not yet due and payable or Taxes contested in good faith that are set forth in Section 6.13(g) of the Parent Disclosure Schedule) upon the assets of Parent or any of its Subsidiaries.

     Section 6.14 Disclosure Documents.

          (a) None of the information provided by Parent for inclusion in the Proxy Statement/Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto, at the time the Proxy Statement/Prospectus or any amendment or supplement thereto is first mailed to stockholders of the Company and Parent and at the time the Company’s stockholders vote on adoption of this Agreement, will contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact necessary in order to make the statements made therein, in the light of the circumstances under which they were made, not misleading.

          (b) The registration statement of Parent to be filed with the SEC with respect to the offering of Parent Common Stock in connection with the Merger and the Registration Statement (or post-effective amendment) to be filed with respect to any exchange of Company Exchangeable Shares for Parent Common Stock (the “Registration Statements”) and any amendments or supplements thereto, when filed, will comply as to form in all material respects with the requirements of the 1933 Act. At the time each Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement thereto becomes effective and at the Effective Time, such Registration Statement, as amended or supplemented, will not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state any material fact required to be stated therein or necessary in order to make the statements therein not misleading. The representations and warranties contained in this Section 6.14 will not apply to statements or omissions in a Registration Statement or any amendment or supplement thereto based upon information furnished to Parent by the Company specifically for use therein.

     Section 6.15 Reservation of Stock. Parent has reserved a sufficient number of shares of Parent Common Stock in order to fulfill its obligations hereunder, including with respect to the exchange of Company Exchangeable Shares for Parent Common Stock.

     Section 6.16 Finders’ Fees. Except for Sandler, O’Neill + Partners, L.P., the fees and expenses of which will be paid by Parent, there is no investment banker, broker, finder or other intermediary that has been retained by or is authorized to act on behalf of Parent who might be entitled to any fee or commission from the Company or any of its Affiliates upon consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

38

ARTICLE 7
Covenants of the Company

     The Company agrees that:

     Section 7.01 Conduct of the Company. From the date of this Agreement until the Effective Time, the Company shall, and shall cause each of its Subsidiaries to, conduct its business in the ordinary course consistent with past practice and in compliance with all material Applicable Laws and all material governmental authorizations, and use its reasonable best efforts to preserve intact its present business organization, maintain in effect all of its material foreign, federal, state and local licenses, permits, consents, franchises, approvals and authorizations, keep available the services of its directors, officers and employees and maintain existing relations with its customers, lenders, suppliers and others having material business relationships with it. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing and to the fullest extent permitted by Applicable Law, from the date of this Agreement until the Effective Time, except as set forth in Section 7.01 of the Company Disclosure Schedule or as contemplated by this Agreement, or with Parent’s prior written consent (not to be unreasonably withheld or delayed), the Company shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to:

          (a) amend their respective certificates of incorporation, bylaws or other similar organizational documents (whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise);

          (b) (i) split, combine or reclassify any shares of its capital stock, (ii) declare, set aside or pay any dividend or make any other distribution (whether in cash, stock, property or any combination thereof) in respect of any shares of its capital stock or other securities (other than dividends or distributions by any of its wholly-owned Subsidiaries), or (iii) redeem, repurchase, cancel or otherwise acquire or offer to redeem, repurchase, or otherwise acquire, any of its securities or any securities of any of its Subsidiaries, other than the cancellation of Company Stock Options in connection with the exercise thereof and other than in respect of any Company Exchangeable Shares that are exchanged;

          (c) (i) issue, deliver or sell, or authorize the issuance, delivery or sale of, any shares of any Company Securities or Company Subsidiary Securities, other than the issuance of any shares of Company Common Stock upon (A) the exercise of Company Stock Options, (B) the vesting of any Company Restricted Stock Units, in each case that are outstanding on the date of this Agreement in accordance with the terms of those options or award agreements in respect of Company Restricted Stock Units on the date of this Agreement or (c) the exercise of the exchange rights with respect to the Company Exchangeable Shares or (ii) amend any term of any Company Security or any Company Subsidiary Security (in each case, whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise);

          (d) incur any capital expenditures or any obligations or liabilities in respect thereof, in excess of $400,000 individually or $1 million in the aggregate;

          (e) (i) acquire (including by merger, consolidation, or acquisition of stock or assets) any interest in any corporation, partnership, other business organization or any division thereof outside the ordinary course of business or any material amount of assets from any other

39

Person, (ii) merge or consolidate with any other Person or (iii) adopt a plan of complete or partial liquidation, dissolution, recapitalization or restructuring;

          (f) sell, lease, license or otherwise dispose of any material Subsidiary or any material amount of assets, securities or property except (i) pursuant to existing contracts or commitments disclosed on Section 7.01(f) of the Company Disclosure Schedule and (ii) in the ordinary course consistent with past practice in an amount not to exceed $3 million in the aggregate;

          (g) create or incur any material Lien on any material asset;

          (h) make any loan, advance or investment outside the ordinary course of business either by purchase of stock or securities, contributions to capital, property transfers, or purchase of any property or assets of any Person other than investments or capital contributions to any affiliated or unaffiliated investment partnerships pursuant to the terms of the fund documents for such partnerships as of the date of this Agreement;

          (i) create, incur, assume, suffer to exist or otherwise be liable with respect to any Indebtedness, or extend or modify the same outside the ordinary course of business in an amount not to exceed $25 million in the aggregate, provided that all such indebtedness for borrowed money must be prepayable at any time by the Company without penalty or premium;

          (j) enter into capital commitments for new investment partnerships in amounts greater than $500,000 or enter into any agreement to or otherwise agree to accelerate or increase investments in existing investment partnerships in amounts greater than $500,000;

          (k) (i) enter into any Contract that would have been a Company Material Contract were the Company or any of its Subsidiaries a party or subject thereto on the date of this Agreement other than (except with respect to any Contract that would have been a Company Material Contract pursuant to clause (xiii) of Section 5.14) in the ordinary course consistent with past practices or (ii) terminate or amend in any material respect any such Contract or any Company Material Contract or waive any material right thereunder;

          (l) terminate, renew, suspend, abrogate, amend or modify in any material respect any Company Permit;

          (m) (i) grant or increase any severance or termination pay to (or amend any existing arrangement with) any of their respective directors, officers or employees other than as required pursuant to existing Employee Plans, (ii) increase benefits payable under any severance or termination pay policies or employment agreements existing as of the date of this Agreement, (iii) enter into any employment, deferred compensation or other similar agreement (or any amendment to any such existing agreement) with any of their respective directors or officers (iv) establish, adopt or amend (except as required by Applicable Law) any collective bargaining, bonus, profit-sharing, thrift, pension, retirement, deferred compensation, severance, compensation, stock option, restricted stock or other benefit plan or arrangement covering any of their respective directors, officers or employees or (v) increase the compensation, bonus or other benefits payable to any of their respective directors, officers or employees, other than in the ordinary course

40

of business consistent with past practice;

          (n) make any change in any method of accounting or accounting principles or practice, except for any such change required by GAAP or Regulation S-X under the 1934 Act;

          (o) settle, or offer or propose to settle any litigation, investigation, arbitration, proceeding or other claim involving or against the Company or any of its Subsidiaries involving a payment by the Company or its Subsidiaries in excess of $250,000;

          (p) take any action that would make any representation or warranty of the Company hereunder inaccurate in any material respect at, or as of any time before, the Effective Time or would materially delay the Closing;

          (q) fail to use reasonable efforts to maintain existing material insurance policies or comparable replacement policies;

          (r) change, terminate or fail to exercise any right to renew any material lease or sublease of real property listed or required to be listed on the Company Disclosure Schedule pursuant to Section 5.14(a)(ix); or

          (s) agree, resolve or commit to do any of the foregoing.

     Section 7.02 Stockholder Meeting; Proxy Material. The Company shall cause a meeting of its stockholders (the “Company Stockholder Meeting”) to be duly called and held as soon as reasonably practicable for the purpose of voting on the approval and adoption of this Agreement and the Merger. Subject to Section 7.03(b), the Board of Directors of the Company shall recommend approval and adoption of this Agreement and the Merger by the Company’s stockholders. In connection with such meeting, the Company shall (i) promptly prepare and file with the SEC, use its reasonable best efforts to have cleared by the SEC and thereafter mail to its stockholders as promptly as practicable the Proxy Statement/Prospectus (which shall be filed as part of the Registration Statement) and all other proxy materials for such meeting, (ii) use its reasonable best efforts to obtain the Company Stockholder Approval and (iii) otherwise comply with all legal requirements applicable to such meeting. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, this Agreement and the Merger shall be submitted to the Company’s stockholders at the Company Stockholder Meeting as soon as reasonably practicable whether or not (i) an Adverse Recommendation Change shall have occurred or (ii) an Acquisition Proposal shall have been publicly proposed or announced or otherwise submitted to the Company or any of its Representatives.

     Section 7.03 No Solicitation; Other Offers.

          (a) Subject to Section 7.03(b), the Company shall not, and shall cause its Subsidiaries and its and their officers and directors, and shall direct and use reasonable best efforts to cause its employees, investment bankers, attorneys, accountants, consultants and other agents, advisors or representatives (collectively, “Representatives”) not to, directly or indirectly, (i) solicit, initiate, or take any action that it knows or reasonably should know would facilitate or encourage the submission of, any Acquisition Proposal, (ii) enter into or participate

41

in any discussions or negotiations with, furnish any information relating to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or afford access to the business, properties, assets, books or records of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries to, otherwise cooperate in any way with, or knowingly assist, participate in, facilitate or encourage any effort by any Third Party that is seeking to make, or has made, an Acquisition Proposal, (iii) fail to make, withdraw or modify in a manner adverse to Parent or publicly propose to withdraw or modify in a manner adverse to Parent the Company Board Recommendation (it being understood that taking a neutral position or no position with respect to any Acquisition Proposal, other than a statement contemplated by Rule 14d-9(f) under the 1934 Act during the initial period of ten Business Days following the commencement of the Acquisition Proposal, shall be considered an adverse modification, recommend, adopt or approve or publicly propose to recommend, adopt or approve an Acquisition Proposal), or take any action or make any statement inconsistent with the Company Board Recommendation (any of the foregoing in this clause (iii), an “Adverse Recommendation Change”), (iv) grant any waiver or release under any standstill or similar agreement with respect to any class of equity securities of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or (v) enter into any agreement in principle, letter of intent, term sheet, merger agreement, acquisition agreement, option agreement, joint venture agreement, partnership agreement or other similar instrument constituting or relating to an Acquisition Proposal. The Company shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries and their respective Representatives to, cease immediately and cause to be terminated any and all existing activities, discussions or negotiations, if any, with any Third Party conducted prior to the date of this Agreement with respect to any Acquisition Proposal and shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause any such Party (or its agents or advisors) in possession of confidential information about the Company that was furnished by or on behalf of the Company to return or destroy all such information. During the term of this Agreement, the Company shall not take any actions to make any state takeover statute (including any Delaware state takeover statute) or similar statute inapplicable to any Acquisition Proposal.

          (b) Notwithstanding the foregoing, at any time prior to the adoption of this Agreement by the Company’s stockholders (and in no event after the adoption of this Agreement by the Company’s stockholders), the Board of Directors of the Company, directly or indirectly through advisors, agents or other intermediaries, may, subject to compliance with Section 7.03(c), (i) engage in negotiations or discussions with any Third Party that, subject to the Company’s compliance with Section 7.03(a) has made after the date of this Agreement a Superior Proposal or an unsolicited bona fide Acquisition Proposal that the Board of Directors of the Company reasonably believes (after considering the advice of a financial advisor of nationally recognized reputation and outside legal counsel) is reasonably likely to lead to a Superior Proposal, (ii) thereafter furnish to such Third Party nonpublic information relating to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries pursuant to a confidentiality agreement with terms no less favorable to the Company than those contained in the Confidentiality Agreement (a copy of which shall be provided, promptly after its execution, for informational purposes only to Parent), it being understood that such confidentiality agreement need not contain a standstill provision; provided that all such information (to the extent that such information has not been previously provided or made available to Parent) is provided or made available to Parent, as the case may be, prior to or substantially concurrently with the time it is provided or made available to such Third Party) and (iii) following receipt of a Superior Proposal after the date of this Agreement or a development or a change in circumstances occurs or arises after the date of this Agreement that was not known by the Company’s board of directors as of the date of this Agreement (such material

42

development or change in circumstance, an “Intervening Event”), make an Adverse Recommendation Change, but in each case referred to in the foregoing clauses (i) through (iii) only if the Board of Directors of the Company determines in good faith by a majority vote, after considering advice from outside legal counsel to the Company, that in light of such Superior Proposal or Intervening Event, such action is required in order for the Board to comply with its fiduciary duties under Applicable Law. Nothing contained herein shall prevent the Board of Directors of the Company from complying with requirements of Rule 14e-2(a) and Rule 14d-9 under the 1934 Act with regard to an Acquisition Proposal, so long as any action taken or statement made to so comply is consistent with this Section 7.03; provided, that such requirement will in no way eliminate or modify the effect that any action pursuant to such requirement would otherwise have under this Agreement.

          (c) The Board of Directors of the Company shall not take any of the actions referred to in clauses (i) through (iii) of Section 7.03(b) unless the Company shall have delivered to Parent a prior written notice advising Parent that it intends to take such action. The Company shall notify Parent promptly (but in no event later than 24 hours) after receipt by the Company (or any of its Representatives) of any Acquisition Proposal, any indication that a Third Party is considering making an Acquisition Proposal or of any request for information relating to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or for access to the business, properties, assets, books or records of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries by any Third Party that may be considering making, or has made, an Acquisition Proposal, which notice shall be provided orally and in writing and shall identify the Third Party making, and the material terms and conditions of, any such Acquisition Proposal, indication or request (including any changes thereto). The Company shall keep Parent fully informed, on a current basis, of the status and details of any such Acquisition Proposal, indication or request and shall promptly (but in no event later than 24 hours after receipt) provide to Parent copies of all significant correspondence and written materials sent or provided to the Company or any of its Subsidiaries that describes any terms or conditions of any Acquisition Proposal.

               “Superior Proposal” means any bona fide, unsolicited written Acquisition Proposal (it being understood that for purposes of this definition all references to “15% or more” in the definition of Acquisition Proposal shall be deemed to be references to “more than 50%”) on terms that the Board of Directors of the Company determines in good faith by a majority vote, after considering the advice of a financial advisor of nationally recognized reputation and outside legal counsel and taking into account all the terms and conditions of the Acquisition Proposal would result in a transaction (i) that if consummated, is more favorable to Company’s stockholders from a financial point of view than the Merger or, if applicable, any proposal by Parent to amend the terms of this Agreement taking into account all the terms and conditions of such proposal and this Agreement (including the expected timing and likelihood of consummation, taking into account any governmental and other approval requirements, (ii) that is reasonably capable of being completed on the terms proposed, taking into account the identity of the person making the proposal, any approval requirements and all other financial, legal and other aspects of such proposal and (iii) for which financing, if a cash transaction (whether in whole or in part), is then fully committed or reasonably determined to be available by the Board of Directors of the Company.

43

     Section 7.04 Access to Information; Confidentiality. From the date of this Agreement until the Effective Time and subject to Applicable Law, the Company shall, and shall cause its Subsidiaries to, (i) give to Parent, its counsel, financial advisors, auditors and other authorized representatives reasonable access to its offices, properties, books and records during normal business hours, (ii) furnish to Parent, its counsel, financial advisors, auditors and other authorized representatives such financial and operating data and other information as such Persons may reasonably request and (iii) instruct its employees, counsel, financial advisors, auditors and other authorized representatives to cooperate with Parent in its investigation. Any investigation pursuant to this Section shall be conducted in such a manner as not to interfere unreasonably with the conduct of the business of the Company. All information furnished pursuant to this Section shall be subject to the confidentiality agreement, dated as of March 1, 2010, between Parent and the Company as amended by the First Amendment thereto dated as of March 22, 2010 (as so amended, the “Confidentiality Agreement”). No information or knowledge obtained by Parent in any investigation pursuant to this Section 7.04 shall affect or be deemed to modify any representation or warranty made by the Company hereunder.

     Section 7.05 Tax Matters.

          (a) Except in the ordinary course of business or, as required by Applicable Law or with Parent’s prior written consent (such consent not to be unreasonably delayed, conditioned or withheld), neither the Company nor any of its Subsidiaries shall make or change any Tax election, change any annual tax accounting period, adopt or change any method of tax accounting, file any material amended Tax Returns or claims for Tax refunds, settle or resolve any material Tax controversy or surrender any Tax claim, audit or assessment, surrender any right to claim a Tax refund, consent to any extension or waiver of the limitations period applicable to any Tax claim or assessment with respect to a material amount of Taxes.

          (b) The Company and each of its Subsidiaries shall establish or cause to be established in accordance with GAAP on or before the Effective Time an adequate accrual for all Taxes due with respect to any period or portion thereof ending prior to or as of the Effective Time.

     Section 7.06 Stockholder Litigation. The Company shall promptly notify Parent and give Parent the opportunity to participate in the defense or settlement of any Action brought by any stockholder of the Company against the Company and/or its directors relating to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and no settlement of any such Action shall be agreed to without Parent’s prior written consent, which shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.

ARTICLE 8
Covenants of Parent

     Parent agrees that:

     Section 8.01 Conduct of Parent. To the fullest extent permitted by Applicable Law, from the date of this Agreement until the Effective Time, except as set forth on Section 8.01 of the Parent Disclosure Schedule, or with the Company’s prior written consent (not to be

44

unreasonably withheld or delayed), Parent shall not, and shall not permit any of its Subsidiaries to:

          (a) amend their respective certificates of incorporation, bylaws or other similar organizational documents (whether by merger, consolidation or otherwise);

          (b) split, combine or reclassify any shares of its capital stock;

          (c) declare, set aside or pay any dividend or make any other distribution (whether in cash, stock, property or any combination thereof) in respect of any shares of its capital stock or other securities (other than dividends or distributions by any of its wholly-owned Subsidiaries), provided that the foregoing shall not limit the Company in respect of repurchasing its own shares in compliance with Applicable Law;

          (d) take any action that would make any representation or warranty of Parent hereunder inaccurate in any material respect at, or as of any time before, the Effective Time or would materially delay the Closing; or

          (e) agree, resolve or commit to do any of the foregoing with an effective date prior to the Effective Time.

     Section 8.02 Obligations of Merger Subsidiary. Parent shall take all action necessary to cause Merger Subsidiary to perform its obligations under this Agreement and to consummate the Merger on the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement.

     Section 8.03 Voting of Shares. Parent shall vote all shares of Common Stock beneficially owned by it or any of its Subsidiaries in favor of adoption of this Agreement at the Company Stockholder Meeting, if any.

     Section 8.04 Director and Officer Liability.

          (a) From and after the Effective Time, each of Parent and the Surviving Corporation shall indemnify and hold harmless the present and former officers and directors of the Company (each an “Indemnified Person”) in respect of acts or omissions occurring at or prior to the Effective Time to the fullest extent permitted by Delaware Law or any other Applicable Law or provided under the Company’s certificate of incorporation and bylaws in effect on the date of this Agreement; provided that such indemnification shall be subject to any limitation imposed from time to time under Applicable Law and Parent or Surviving Corporation shall also advance expenses as incurred to the fullest extent provided under the Company’s certificate of incorporation and bylaws in effect on the date of this Agreement, provided the Person to whom expenses are advanced provides an undertaking to repay such advances if it is ultimately determined that such Person is not entitled to indemnification in a form reasonably satisfactory to Parent.

          (b) For six years after the Effective Time, Parent or the Surviving Corporation shall provide officers’ and directors’ liability insurance in respect of acts or omissions occurring prior to the Effective Time covering each such Indemnified Person covered as of the date of this Agreement by the Company’s officers’ and directors’ liability insurance policy on terms with

45

respect to coverage and amount no less favorable than those of such policy in effect on the date of this Agreement; provided that, in satisfying its obligation to provide such insurance coverage, the Surviving Corporation shall not be obligated to pay an annual premium in excess of 200% of the Company’s current annual premium for such insurance, which amount the Company has disclosed to Parent prior to the date of this Agreement; provided further, that if the annual premiums of such insurance coverage exceed such amount, Parent or the Surviving Corporation shall be obligated to obtain a policy with the greatest coverage available for a cost not exceeding such amount. Notwithstanding the foregoing, at the Company’s election (prior to the Closing) or Parent’s election (subsequent to the Closing), in lieu of obtaining or providing the officers’ and directors’ liability insurance coverage contemplated above, Company may prior to the Closing or Parent or the Surviving Corporation may subsequent to the Closing purchase a non-cancelable “tail” coverage insurance policy under the Company’s current officers’ and directors’ liability insurance policies (providing coverage not less favorable than provided by such insurance in effect on the date hereof), which tail policy shall be effective for a period from the Effective Time through and including the date six years from the Closing Date, covering each Indemnified Person covered as of the date of this Agreement by the Company’s officers’ and directors’ liability insurance policies in respect of acts or omissions occurring prior to the Effective Time; provided that the Company shall not pay a premium for such tail insurance prior to the Closing in an amount that exceeds 200% of the Company’s current annual premium for such insurance.

          (c) If Parent, the Surviving Corporation or any of its successors or assigns (i) consolidates with or merges into any other Person and shall not be the continuing or the surviving corporation or entity of such consolidation or merger, or (ii) transfers or conveys all or substantially all of its properties and assets to any Person, then, and in each such case, to the extent necessary, proper provision shall be made so that the successors and assigns of Parent or the Surviving Corporation, as the case may be, shall assume the obligations set forth in this Section 8.04.

          (d) The rights of each Indemnified Person under this Section 8.04 shall be in addition to any rights such Person may have under the certificate of incorporation or bylaws of the Company or any of its Subsidiaries, or under Delaware Law or any other Applicable Law or under any agreement of any Indemnified Person with the Company or any of its Subsidiaries. These rights shall survive consummation of the Merger and are intended to benefit, and shall be enforceable by, each Indemnified Person.

     Section 8.05 Employee Matters.

          (a) As of the Effective Time, Parent shall cause to be provided to each individual who is employed by the Company and its Subsidiaries immediately prior to the Effective Time (other than those individuals covered by collective bargaining agreements) and who remain employed with the Surviving Corporation or any of Parent’s Subsidiaries (each an “Affected Employee”) compensation and employee benefits (“Affected Employee Comp and Benefits”) substantially comparable in the aggregate, at Parent’s election, to (i) the compensation and benefits provided to the Affected Employee under the Employee Plans immediately prior to the Effective Time or (ii) the compensation (including base salary and participation in the bonus program(s) for Parent and its Subsidiaries) and benefits provided by Parent under the plans and programs generally made available to similarly situated employees of Parent and its Subsidiaries,

46

it being understood that such bonus program(s) of Parent and its Subsidiaries are subjective in nature.

          (b) With respect to any employee benefit plan in which any Affected Employee first becomes eligible to participate, on or after the Effective Time (the “New Company Plans”), Parent shall: (i) waive all pre-existing conditions, exclusions and waiting periods with respect to participation and coverage requirements applicable to such Affected Employee under any health and welfare New Company Plans in which such Affected Employee may be eligible to participate after the Effective Time and (ii) recognize service of Affected Employees (or otherwise credited by the Company or its Subsidiaries) accrued prior to the Effective Time for purposes of eligibility to participate, vesting and level of benefits (but not for the purposes of benefit accrual under defined benefit pension plans) under any New Company Plan in which such Affected Employees may be eligible to participate after the Effective Time, provided, however, that in no event shall any credit be given to the extent it would result in the duplication of benefits for the same period of service.

          (c) It is understood that Parent’s expressed intention to extend offers of continued employment as set forth in this Section 8.05 shall not constitute any commitment, contract or understanding (expressed or implied) of any obligation on the part of Parent or its Subsidiaries to a post Closing employment relationship of any fixed term or duration or upon any terms or conditions other than the provisions of Sections 8.05(a) and (b); provided that, from the Closing Date through the first anniversary thereof, Parent shall provide, or shall cause to be provided, to Affected Employees who remain employed with Parent or its Subsidiaries compensation and benefits at a level consistent with Section 8.05(a) above. Employment offered by Parent or its Subsidiaries is “at will” and such employment may be terminated by Parent or its Subsidiaries or by an employee at any time for any reason (subject to any written commitments to the contrary made by Parent or its Subsidiaries or an employee and legal requirements). Subject to the proviso in the second preceding sentence, nothing in this Agreement shall be deemed to prevent or restrict in any way the right of Parent to terminate, reassign, promote or demote any of the Affected Employees after the Closing or to change adversely or favorably the title, powers, duties, responsibilities, functions locations, salaries, other compensation or terms or conditions of employment of such employees.

          (d) Prior to the Effective Time, Parent shall establish reasonable severance policies to facilitate the transition of the Company’s operations following Closing, which severance policies shall be reasonably comparable to the severance benefits available to similarly situated employees of Parent and its Subsidiaries.

     Section 8.06 Registration Statement. Parent shall promptly prepare and file with the SEC under the 1933 Act the Registration Statements and shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause the Registration Statements to be declared effective by the SEC as promptly as practicable.

     Section 8.07 Stock Exchange Listing. Parent shall use its best efforts to cause the shares of Parent Common Stock to be issued in connection with the Merger (including those shares of Parent Common Stock required to be reserved for issuance upon exchange of the Company Exchangeable Shares from time to time) to be approved for listing on the NYSE, subject to official notice of issuance.

47

     Section 8.08 Parent Special Voting Preferred Stock. In the event the holders of the Company Exchangeable Shares approve the Exchangeable Share Amendment, Parent shall, prior to the Effective Time, file a Certificate of Designations for the Parent Special Voting Preferred Stock.

     Section 8.09 Voting and Support Agreement Supplement. In the event the holders of the Company Exchangeable Shares approve the Exchangeable Share Amendment, effective at or prior to the Effective Time, and in accordance with the provisions of Section 3.05(f)(ii), Parent shall enter into Voting and Support Supplement and any other instruments required for Parent to assume the Company’s obligations under the Voting and Support Agreements and with respect to the Company Special Voting Preferred Stock, as determined by the parties, to the extent required by the terms of such Voting and Support Agreements and the provisions of the Company Special Voting Preferred Stock, including in each case the instruments and agreements relating thereto.

ARTICLE 9
Covenants of Parent and the Company

     The parties hereto agree that:

     Section 9.01 Efforts

          (a) Subject to the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the Company and Parent shall use their reasonable best efforts to take, or cause to be taken, all actions and to do, or cause to be done, all things necessary, proper or advisable under Applicable Law to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including (i) preparing and filing as promptly as practicable with any Governmental Authority or other third party all documentation to effect all necessary filings, notices, petitions, statements, registrations, submissions of information, applications and other documents necessary, or in the reasonable judgment of Parent or the Company, advisable to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, (ii) obtaining and maintaining all approvals, consents, registrations, permits, authorizations and other confirmations required to be obtained from any Governmental Authority or other third party that are necessary, proper or advisable to consummate the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, and (iii) cooperating to the extent reasonable with the other parties hereto in their efforts to comply with their obligations under this Agreement.

          (b) In furtherance and not in limitation of the foregoing, each of Parent and the Company shall make an appropriate filing of a Notification and Report Form pursuant to the HSR Act with respect to the transactions contemplated hereby as promptly as practicable and in any event within 10 Business Days of the date of this Agreement and to supply as promptly as practicable any additional information and documentary material that may be requested pursuant to the HSR Act and to use their reasonable best efforts to take all other actions necessary to cause the expiration or termination of the applicable waiting periods under the HSR Act as soon as practicable; provided, however, that nothing in this Agreement shall require, or be construed to require, Parent to proffer to, or agree to, sell, divest, lease, license, transfer, dispose of or otherwise hold separate or encumber, before or after the Effective Time, any assets, licenses, operations, rights, product lines, businesses or interest therein of Parent or any Affiliate (or to consent to any sale, divestiture, lease, license, transfer, disposition or other encumbrance by

48

Parent, the Company or the Surviving Corporation of any of their respective assets, licenses, operations, rights, product lines, businesses or interest therein or to consent to any agreement to take any of the foregoing actions) or to agree to any material changes (including through a licensing arrangement) or restriction on, or other impairment of Parent’s ability to own or operate, any such assets, licenses, operations, rights, product lines, businesses or interests therein or Parent’s ability to vote, transfer, receive dividends or otherwise exercise full ownership rights with respect to the stock of the Surviving Corporation if any such action is reasonably likely to have a Material Adverse Effect on Parent or the Company or materially diminish the benefits reasonably anticipated to be achieved through the completion of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

          (c) The Parties shall use commercially reasonable efforts to: (i) take all other actions necessary to cause the expiration or termination of any applicable waiting periods under Applicable Law as soon as practicable; (ii) resolve any objections which may be asserted by any Governmental Authority with respect to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement; and (iii) take, or cause to be taken, all actions necessary to obtain each consent, approval or waiver (if any) required to be obtained (pursuant to any applicable law or contract, or otherwise) by such Party in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and to make effective such transactions. If any Governmental Authority, including any antitrust authority, seeks amendments to the transactions contemplated by this Agreement or commitments to be undertaken by any Party as a condition to refraining from seeking to block such transactions, allowing the applicable waiting period to expire or releasing such Governmental Authority’s consent with respect to such transactions, the Parties shall commence and conduct good faith negotiations with each other for no less than fifteen (15) days and use their reasonable best efforts to agree upon amendments to this Agreement which are necessary in order to resolve the issues raised by such Governmental Authority and permit the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary herein, neither Party shall be required to agree to any material divestiture, sale, license or Lien of any properties, assets or businesses by any Party or any of their respective Affiliates, or the imposition of any material limitation on the ability of any of the foregoing to conduct their respective businesses or to own or exercise control of their respective assets and properties.

     Section 9.02 Certain Filings.

          (a) The Company and Parent shall cooperate with one another (i) in connection with the preparation of the Proxy Statement/Prospectus and the Registration Statements, (ii) in determining whether any action by or in respect of, or filing with, any Governmental Authority is required, or any actions, consents, approvals or waivers are required to be obtained from parties to any material Contracts, in connection with the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and (iii) in taking such actions or making any such filings, furnishing information required in connection therewith or with the Proxy Statement/Prospectus or the Registration Statements and seeking timely to obtain any such actions, consents, approvals or waivers.

          (b) The Company and its counsel shall be given a reasonable opportunity to review and comment on the Registration Statements and the Company and its counsel and Parent and its counsel shall be given a reasonable opportunity to review and comment on the Proxy

49

Statement/Prospectus, in each case each time before either such document (or any amendment thereto) is filed with the SEC, and reasonable and good faith consideration shall be given to any comments made by such party and its counsel. Each of Parent and the Company shall provide the other party and its counsel with (i) any comments or other communications, whether written or oral, that it or its counsel may receive from time to time from the SEC or its staff with respect to the Proxy Statement/Prospectus or the Registration Statements promptly after receipt of those comments or other communications and (ii) a reasonable opportunity to participate in the response to those comments and to provide comments on that response (to which reasonable and good faith consideration shall be given), including by participating in any discussions or meetings with the SEC.

          (c) The Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause to be delivered to Parent and its directors a letter of its independent auditors, dated (i) the date on which the Registration Statement shall become effective and (ii) the Closing Date, and addressed to Parent and its directors, in form and substance customary for “comfort” letters delivered by independent public accountants in connection with registration statements similar to the Registration Statement.

     Section 9.03 Public Announcements. Parent and the Company shall consult with each other before issuing any press release, making any other public statement or scheduling any press conference or conference call with investors or analysts with respect to this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby and, except as may be required by Applicable Law or any listing agreement with or rule of any national securities exchange or association, shall not issue any such press release, make any such other public statement or schedule any such press conference or conference call before such consultation.

     Section 9.04 Stock Exchange De-listing. Prior to the Closing Date, the Company shall cooperate with Parent and use reasonable best efforts to take, or cause to be taken, all actions, and do or cause to be done all things, reasonably necessary, proper or advisable on its part under Applicable Laws and rules and policies of NASDAQ to enable the de-listing by the Surviving Corporation of the Common Stock from NASDAQ and the deregistration of the Common Stock under the 1934 Act as promptly as practicable after the Effective Time, and in any event no more than ten days after the Closing Date.

     Section 9.05 Further Assurances. At and after the Effective Time, the officers and directors of the Surviving Corporation shall be authorized to execute and deliver, in the name and on behalf of the Company or Merger Subsidiary, any deeds, bills of sale, assignments or assurances and to take and do, in the name and on behalf of the Company or Merger Subsidiary, any other actions and things to vest, perfect or confirm of record or otherwise in the Surviving Corporation any and all right, title and interest in, to and under any of the rights, properties or assets of the Company acquired or to be acquired by the Surviving Corporation as a result of, or in connection with, the Merger.

     Section 9.06 Affiliates. Section 9.06 of the Company Disclosure Schedule contains a list of those Persons who, as of the date of this Agreement, may be deemed as of the date of the Company Stockholder Meeting to be affiliates of the Company for purposes of Rule 145 under the 1933 Act. Prior to the date of the Company Stockholder Meeting, the Company shall update

50

Section 9.06 of the Company Disclosure Schedule as necessary to reflect changes from the date hereof. The Company shall provide to Parent such information and documents as Parent shall reasonably request for purposes of reviewing such list. The Company shall use its reasonable best efforts to cause each person identified on such list to deliver to Parent, not later than five business days prior to Closing, a written agreement substantially in the form attached as Exhibit A hereto.

     Section 9.07 Tax-Free Qualification.

          (a) Each of the Company and Parent shall use its reasonable best efforts to and to cause each of its respective Subsidiaries to, (i) cause the Merger to qualify as a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code and (ii) obtain the opinions of counsel referred to in Section 10.02(c) and Section 10.03(c) of this Agreement, including the execution and delivery of the tax representation letters referred to therein.

          (b) If the opinion conditions contained in Section 10.02(c) and Section 10.03(c) of this Agreement have been satisfied, each of the Company and Parent shall report the Merger for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a “reorganization” within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code.

     Section 9.08 Notices of Certain Events. Each of the Company and Parent shall promptly notify the other of:

          (a) any notice or other communication from any Person alleging that the consent of such Person is or may be required in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;

          (b) any notice or other communication from any Governmental Authority in connection with the transactions contemplated by this Agreement, including notices and communications related to Tax matters;

          (c) any actions, suits, claims, investigations or proceedings commenced or, to its knowledge, threatened against, including as to Tax matters, relating to or involving or otherwise affecting the Company or any of its Subsidiaries or Parent and any of its Subsidiaries, as the case may be, that, if pending on the date of this Agreement, would have been required to have been disclosed pursuant to any Section of this Agreement or that relate to the consummation of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement;

          (d) any inaccuracy of any representation or warranty contained in this Agreement at any time during the term of this Agreement that could reasonably be expected to cause the conditions set forth in Section 10.02(a), Section 10.02(b), Section 10.03(a) or Section 10.03(b) not to be satisfied; and

          (e) any failure of that party to comply with or satisfy any covenant, condition or agreement to be complied with or satisfied by it hereunder;

provided, however, that the delivery of any notice pursuant to this Section 9.08 shall not limit or otherwise affect the remedies available hereunder to the party receiving that notice.

51

     Section 9.09 Section 16 Matters. The board of directors of each of the Company and Parent shall, prior to the Effective Time, take all such actions as may be necessary or appropriate pursuant to Rule 16b-3(d) and Rule 16b-3(e) under the Exchange Act to exempt any dispositions of Company Shares (including derivative securities with respect to Company Shares) or acquisitions of Parent Common Stock (including derivative securities with respect to Parent Common Stock) pursuant to the terms of this Agreement by officers and directors of the Company subject to the reporting requirements of Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act (the “Company Insiders”) or by officers, directors or employees of the Company who may become an officer or director of Parent subject to the reporting requirements of Section 16(a) of the Exchange Act (the “Parent Insiders”). In furtherance of the foregoing, prior to the Effective Time, the board of directors of the Company, with respect to Company Insiders, and the board of directors of Parent, with respect to Parent Insiders, shall adopt resolutions in a timely manner that specify (i) the name of each such Company Insider and Parent Insider, (ii) in the case of Company Insiders, the number of Company Shares (including Company Options, Company Restricted Stock Units and Company Awards and their material terms) and, in the case of Parent Insiders, the number of shares of Parent Common Stock (including options, restricted stock units and awards of Parent and their material terms), involved for each such individual, and (iii) that the approval is granted for purposes of exempting such actions from Section 16(b) of the Exchange Act under Rule 16b-3(e) of the Exchange Act, in the case of dispositions by Company Insiders, and under rule 16b-3(d) of the Exchange Act, in the case of acquisitions by Parent Insiders. Parent and the Company shall cooperate in good faith and provide to counsel of the other party for its review copies of such resolutions to be adopted by the respective boards of directors prior to such adoption and the parties shall provide each other with such information as shall be reasonably necessary for its respective board of directors to set forth the information required in such resolutions.

ARTICLE 10
Conditions to the Merger

     Section 10.01 Conditions to the Obligations of Each Party. The obligations of the Company, Parent and Merger Subsidiary to consummate the Merger are subject to the satisfaction (or, to the extent permissible, waiver) of the following conditions:

          (a) the Company Stockholder Approval shall have been obtained in accordance with Delaware Law;

          (b) no Applicable Law currently in effect or adopted subsequent to the date hereof and prior to the Effective Time shall prohibit, make illegal or enjoin the consummation of the Merger in a manner that would have or would reasonably be likely to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company or Parent;

          (c) the shares of Parent Common Stock issuable to the stockholders of the Company pursuant to the Merger shall have been approved for listing on the NYSE, subject to official notice of issuance;

52

          (d) the Registration Statement shall have been declared effective and no stop order suspending the effectiveness of the Registration Statement shall be in effect and no proceedings for such purpose shall be pending before or threatened by the SEC;

          (e) any applicable waiting period under the HSR Act relating to the Merger shall have expired or been terminated; and

          (f) such authorizations, consents, orders, declarations or approvals of, or filings with, or terminations or expirations of waiting periods imposed by, Governmental Authority as set forth on Schedule 10.01(f) shall have been obtained, made or occurred to the extent that any failure to obtain such authorizations, consents, orders, declarations or approvals of, or to make filings with, or to have terminations or expirations of waiting periods occur that would have or would reasonably be likely to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company or Parent.

     Section 10.02 Conditions to the Obligations of Parent and Merger Subsidiary. The obligations of Parent and Merger Subsidiary to consummate the Merger are subject to the satisfaction (or, to the extent permissible, waiver by Parent) of the following further conditions:

          (a) (i) the Company shall have performed in all material respects all of its obligations hereunder required to be performed by it at or prior to the Effective Time, (ii) the representations and warranties of the Company contained in this Agreement shall be true and correct at and as of the date of this Agreement and the Effective Time as if made at and as of such time, except to the extent that the failure of any such representations and warranties to be so true and correct (having eliminated any qualifications by reference to materiality or Material Adverse Effect therein) does not have, and would not reasonably be likely to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on the Company; provided that the representations and warranties set forth in Sections 5.01, 5.02 and 5.05 shall be true and correct in all material respects at and as of the date of this Agreement and the Effective Time as if made as of such date and (iii) Parent shall have received a certificate signed by the chief executive officer or chief financial officer of the Company to the foregoing effect;

          (b) there shall not have occurred and be continuing as of or otherwise arisen before the Effective Time any event, occurrence, revelation or development of a state of circumstances or facts which, individually or in the aggregate, has had or would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on the Company;

          (c) Parent shall have received the opinion of Bryan Cave LLP, counsel to Parent, dated the Closing Date, or other counsel reasonably acceptable to Parent, to the effect that the Merger will be treated for Federal income tax purposes as a reorganization within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code, and that each of Parent, Merger Subsidiary and the Company will be a party to that reorganization within the meaning of Section 368(b) of the Code; it being understood that in rendering such opinion, such counsel shall be entitled to rely on tax representation letters delivered to it by the Company and Parent containing customary representations with respect to such matters;

53

          (d) Parent shall have received, in form and substance reasonably satisfactory to Parent, from Deloitte & Touche LLP the “comfort” letter described in Section 9.02; and

          (e) the Company shall have delivered a certificate in a form reasonably satisfactory to Parent dated not more than 30 days prior to the Effective Time and signed by the Company to the effect that the Company is not, nor has it been within five years of the date of the certification, a “United States real property holding corporation” as defined in Section 897 of the Code.

     Section 10.03 Conditions to the Obligations of the Company. The obligations of the Company to consummate the Merger are subject to the satisfaction (or, to the extent permissible, waiver by the Company) of the following further conditions:

          (a) (i) each of Parent and Merger Subsidiary shall have performed in all material respects all of its obligations hereunder required to be performed by it at or prior to the Effective Time; (ii) the representations and warranties of Parent contained in this Agreement and in any certificate or other writing delivered by the Parent pursuant hereto shall be true and correct in all material respects at and as of the date of this Agreement and the Effective Time as if made at and as of such time, except to the extent that the failure of any such representations and warranties to be so true and correct (having eliminated any qualifications by reference to materiality or Material Adverse Effect therein) does not have, and would not reasonably be likely to have, individually or in the aggregate, a Material Adverse Effect on Parent; and (iii) the Company shall have received a certificate signed by the chief executive officer or chief financial officer of Parent to the foregoing effect;

          (b) subsequent to the date of this Agreement, there shall not have occurred and be continuing as of or otherwise arisen before the Effective Time any event, occurrence, revelation or development of a state of circumstances or facts which, individually or in the aggregate, has had or would reasonably be expected to have a Material Adverse Effect on Parent; and

          (c) the Company shall have received the opinion of Sullivan & Cromwell LLP, counsel to the Company, or other counsel reasonably acceptable to the Company, dated the Closing Date, to the effect that the Merger will be treated for Federal income tax purposes as a reorganization within the meaning of Section 368(a) of the Code, and that each of Parent, Merger Subsidiary and the Company will be a party to that reorganization within the meaning of Section 368(b) of the Code; it being understood that in rendering such opinion, such counsel shall be entitled to rely on tax representation letters delivered to it by the Company, Merger Subsidiary and Parent containing customary representations with respect to such matters.

ARTICLE 11
Termination

     Section 11.01 Termination. This Agreement may be terminated and the Merger may be abandoned at any time prior to the Effective Time (notwithstanding any approval of this Agreement by the stockholders of the Company):

          (a) by mutual written agreement of the Company and Parent;

54

          (b) by either the Company or Parent, if:

               (i) the Merger has not been consummated on or before December 31, 2010 (the “End Date”); provided, that the right to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 11.01(b)(i) shall not be available to any party whose breach of any provision of this Agreement results in the failure of the Merger to be consummated by such time;

               (ii) there shall be any Applicable Law that (A) makes consummation of the Merger illegal or otherwise prohibited or (B) enjoins the Company or Parent from consummating the Merger and such enjoinment shall have become final and nonappealable; or

               (iii) at the Company Stockholder Meeting (including any adjournment or postponement thereof), the Company Stockholder Approval shall not have been obtained; or

          (c) by Parent, if:

               (i) (A) as permitted by Section 7.03, an Adverse Recommendation Change shall have occurred or (B) the Board of Directors of the Company shall have failed to publicly confirm the Company Board Recommendation within five Business Days of a written request by Parent that it do so; or

               (ii) a breach of any representation or warranty or failure to perform any covenant or agreement on the part of the Company set forth in this Agreement shall have occurred that would cause the condition set forth in Section 10.02(a) not to be satisfied, and such condition is incapable of being satisfied by the End Date; or

          (d) by the Company if:

               (i) the Board of Directors of the Company authorizes the Company, subject to complying with the terms of this Agreement, to enter into a written agreement concerning a Superior Proposal; provided, that the Company shall have paid any amounts due pursuant to Section 12.04(b) in accordance with the terms, and at the times, specified therein; and provided, further, that, prior to any such termination, (A) the Company notifies Parent in writing of its intention to terminate this Agreement and to enter into a binding written agreement concerning an Acquisition Proposal that constitutes a Superior Proposal, attaching the most current version of such agreement (or a description of all material terms and conditions thereof), and (B) Parent does not make, within four days of receipt of such written notification, an offer that is at least as favorable to the stockholders of the Company as such Superior Proposal (it being understood that the Company shall not terminate this Agreement or enter into any such binding agreement during such four day period, and that any amendment to the financial terms or other material terms of such Superior Proposal shall require a new written notification from the Company and an additional three day period); or

               (ii) a breach of any representation or warranty or failure to perform any covenant or agreement on the part of Parent or Merger Subsidiary set forth in this

55

Agreement shall have occurred that would cause the condition set forth in Section 10.03(a) not to be satisfied, and such condition is incapable of being satisfied by the End Date.

The party desiring to terminate this Agreement pursuant to this Section 11.01 (other than pursuant to Section 11.01(a)) shall give notice of such termination to the other party.

     Section 11.02 Effect of Termination. If this Agreement is terminated pursuant to Section 11.01, this Agreement shall become void and of no effect without liability of any party (or any stockholder, director, officer, employee, agent, consultant or representative of such party) to the other party hereto (except as provided in Section 12.04(b)); provided that, if such termination shall result from the (i) failure of either party to fulfill a condition to the performance of the obligations of the other party, (ii) failure of either party to perform a covenant hereof or (iii) willful or reckless breach by any party of any representation or warranty contained herein, such party shall be fully liable for any and all liabilities and damages incurred or suffered by the other party as a result of such failure. The provisions of this Section 11.02 and Article 12 (other than Section 12.12) shall survive any termination hereof pursuant to Section 11.01.

ARTICLE 12
Miscellaneous

     Section 12.01 Notices. All notices, requests and other communications to any party hereunder shall be in writing (including facsimile transmission) and shall be given,

     if to Parent or Merger Subsidiary, to:

Stifel Financial Corp.
501 N. Broadway
St. Louis, Missouri 63102
Attention:       President and Chief Executive Officer
                        General Counsel

Fax: (314) 342-2115

     with a copy to:

Bryan Cave LLP
One Metropolitan Square, Suite 3600
211 N. Broadway
St. Louis, Missouri 63102
Attention: James L. Nouss, Jr. and Robert J. Endicott
Facsimile No.: (314) 259-2020

     if to the Company, to:

Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc.
One Montgomery Plaza, 37th Floor
San Francisco, California 94104
Attention:       Chief Executive Officer

                            General Counsel
Facsimile No.: (415) 364 2618

56

     with a copy to:

Sullivan & Cromwell LLP
1870 Embarcadero Road
Palo Alto, California 94022
Attention: Scott D. Miller and Sarah P. Payne
Facsimile No.: (650) 461-5700

or to such other address or facsimile number as such party may hereafter specify for the purpose by notice to the other parties hereto. All such notices, requests and other communications shall be deemed received on the date of receipt by the recipient thereof if received prior to 5:00 p.m. on a Business Day in the place of receipt. Otherwise, any such notice, request or communication shall be deemed to have been received on the next succeeding Business Day in the place of receipt.

     Section 12.02 Survival of Representations and Warranties. The representations and warranties contained herein and in any certificate or other writing delivered pursuant hereto shall not survive the Effective Time.

     Section 12.03 Amendments and Waivers.

          (a) Any provision of this Agreement may be amended or waived prior to the Effective Time if, but only if, such amendment or waiver is in writing and is signed, in the case of an amendment, by each party to this Agreement or, in the case of a waiver, by each party against whom the waiver is to be effective; provided that, after the Company Stockholder Approval there shall be no amendment or waiver that pursuant to Delaware Law requires further Company Stockholder Approval without their further approval.

          (b) No failure or delay by any party in exercising any right, power or privilege hereunder shall operate as a waiver thereof nor shall any single or partial exercise thereof preclude any other or further exercise thereof or the exercise of any other right, power or privilege. The rights and remedies herein provided shall be cumulative and not exclusive of any rights or remedies provided by Applicable Law.

     Section 12.04 Expenses.

          (a) Except as otherwise provided herein, all costs and expenses incurred in connection with this Agreement shall be paid by the party incurring such cost or expense; provided however, Parent and the Company shall each bear and pay one half of (i) the filing fee for filing the Registration Statement with the SEC, and the costs and expenses incurred in connection with the filing, printing and mailing of the Proxy Statement/Prospectus and the Registration Statement (other than attorneys and accountants’ fees and expenses, which shall be paid by the party incurring such expense), and (ii) the filing fees for the Notification and Report Forms filed with the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the Antitrust Division under the HSR

57

Act and any premerger notification and reports formed under similar applicable antitrust law of any non-United States governmental antitrust authority.

          (b) If a Payment Event (as hereinafter defined) occurs, the Company shall pay Parent (by wire transfer of immediately available funds), within two Business Days following such Payment Event, a fee equal to $10,000,000 (the “Termination Fee”).

               “Payment Event” means the termination of this Agreement pursuant to (x) Section 11.01(d)(i), (y) Section 11.01(b)(i) (if a vote of the stockholders of the Company at the Company Stockholder Meeting to obtain the Company Stockholder Approval shall not have been held prior to such termination) or (z) Section 11.01(c)(i) but only if, (A) in the case of clause (y), both (1) after the date hereof and prior to the Company Stockholder Meeting, or the date of termination, as the case may be, an Acquisition Proposal shall have been made, and (2) within 12 months following the date of such termination: (I) the Company merges with or into, or is acquired, directly or indirectly, by merger or otherwise by, the Person making such Acquisition Proposal; (II) such Person, directly or indirectly, acquires more than 50% of the total assets of the Company and its Subsidiaries, taken as a whole; or (III) such Person, directly or indirectly, acquires more than 50% of the outstanding Company Shares (or in any of clauses (I) through (III) the Company shall have entered into any contract or agreement providing for such action, in which case the Payment Event shall be the later date on which such action is completed) and (B) in the case of clause (z) such Adverse Recommendation Change or failure to confirm the Company Board Recommendation was not solely the result of the occurrence of a Material Adverse Effect on Parent.

          (c) The Company acknowledges that the agreements contained in this Section 12.04 are an integral part of the transactions contemplated by this Agreement and that, without these agreements, Parent and Merger Subsidiary would not enter into this Agreement. Accordingly, if the Company fails promptly to pay any amount due to Parent or Merger Subsidiary pursuant to this Section 12.04, it shall also pay any costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by Parent or Merger Subsidiary in connection with a legal action to enforce this Agreement that results in a judgment against the Company for such amount, together with interest on any amount of the Termination Fee at a rate per annum equal to 3% over the prime rate (as published in The Wall Street Journal) in effect on the date such payment should have been made.

     Section 12.05 Binding Effect; Benefit; Assignment.

          (a) The provisions of this Agreement shall be binding upon and, except as provided in Section 8.04, shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns. Except as provided in Section 8.04, no provision of this Agreement is intended to confer any rights, benefits, remedies, obligations or liabilities hereunder upon any Person other than the parties hereto and their respective successors and assigns.

58

          (b) No party may assign, delegate or otherwise transfer any of its rights or obligations under this Agreement without the consent of each other party hereto, except that Parent or Merger Subsidiary may transfer or assign its rights and obligations under this Agreement, in whole or from time to time in part, to (i) one or more of their Affiliates at any time and (ii) after the Effective Time, to any Person; provided that such transfer or assignment shall not relieve Parent or Merger Subsidiary of its obligations hereunder or enlarge, alter or change any obligation of any other party hereto or due to Parent or Merger Subsidiary.

     Section 12.06 Governing Law. This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to the conflicts of law rules of such state, except to the extent that Delaware Law is mandatorily applicable to the Merger.

     Section 12.07 Jurisdiction. The parties hereto agree that any suit, action or proceeding seeking to enforce any provision of, or based on any matter arising out of or in connection with, this Agreement or the transactions contemplated hereby shall be brought in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York or any New York State court sitting in the City of New York, so long as one of such courts shall have subject matter jurisdiction over such suit, action or proceeding, and that any cause of action arising out of this Agreement shall be deemed to have arisen from a transaction of business in the State of New York, and each of the parties hereby irrevocably consents to the jurisdiction of such courts (and of the appropriate appellate courts therefrom) in any such suit, action or proceeding and irrevocably waives, to the fullest extent permitted by law, any objection that it may now or hereafter have to the laying of the venue of any such suit, action or proceeding in any such court or that any such suit, action or proceeding brought in any such court has been brought in an inconvenient forum. Process in any such suit, action or proceeding may be served on any party anywhere in the world, whether within or without the jurisdiction of any such court. Without limiting the foregoing, each party agrees that service of process on such party as provided in Section 12.01 shall be deemed effective service of process on such party.

     Section 12.08 Waiver of Jury Trial. EACH OF THE PARTIES HERETO HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVES ANY AND ALL RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY IN ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT OR THE TRANSACTIONS CONTEMPLATED HEREBY.

     Section 12.09 Counterparts; Effectiveness. This Agreement may be signed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be an original, with the same effect as if the signatures thereto and hereto were upon the same instrument. This Agreement shall become effective when each party hereto shall have received a counterpart hereof signed by all of the other parties hereto. Until and unless each party has received a counterpart hereof signed by the other party hereto, this Agreement shall have no effect and no party shall have any right or obligation hereunder (whether by virtue of any other oral or written agreement or other communication).

     Section 12.10 Entire Agreement. This Agreement and the Confidentiality Agreement constitute the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter thereof and supersede all prior agreements and understandings, both oral and written, between the parties with respect to the subject matter thereof.

59

     Section 12.11 Severability. If any term, provision, covenant or restriction of this Agreement is held by a court of competent jurisdiction or other Governmental Authority to be invalid, void or unenforceable, the remainder of the terms, provisions, covenants and restrictions of this Agreement shall remain in full force and effect and shall in no way be affected, impaired or invalidated so long as the economic or legal substance of the transactions contemplated hereby is not affected in any manner materially adverse to any party. Upon such a determination, the parties shall negotiate in good faith to modify this Agreement so as to effect the original intent of the parties as closely as possible in an acceptable manner in order that the transactions contemplated hereby be consummated as originally contemplated to the fullest extent possible.

     Section 12.12 Specific Performance. The parties hereto agree that irreparable damage would occur if any provision of this Agreement were not performed in accordance with the terms hereof and that the parties shall be entitled to an injunction or injunctions to prevent breaches of this Agreement or to enforce specifically the performance of the terms and provisions hereof in any court specified in Section 12.07, in addition to any other remedy to which they are entitled at law or in equity.

60

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be duly executed by their respective authorized officers as of the day and year first above written.

STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP.
By:	/s/ Ronald J. Kruszewski
	Name:	Ronald J. Kruszewski
	Title:	Chairman of the Board, CEO and President
PTAS, INC.
By:	/s/ Ronald J. Kruszewski
	Name:	Ronald J. Kruszewski
	Title:	President
THOMAS WEISEL PARTNERS GROUP, INC.
By:	/s/ Thomas W. Weisel
	Name:	Thomas W. Weisel
	Title:	Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

EXHIBIT A
FORM OF AFFILIATE LETTER

_____________________

_____________________

_____________________

Ladies and Gentlemen:

     I have been advised that as of the date hereof I may be deemed to be an “affiliate” of THOMAS WEISEL PARTNERS GROUP, INC. (the “Company”), as the term “affiliate” is defined for purposes of paragraphs (c) and (d) of Rule 145 (“Rule 145”) of the rules and regulations (the “Rules and Regulations”) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Act”).

     I have been further advised that, pursuant to the terms of the Agreement and Plan of Merger, dated as of _____________, 2010 (the “Merger Agreement”), by and among the Company, STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP. (“Parent”) and PTAS, INC. (“Merger Subsidiary”), Merger Subsidiary will be merged with and into the Company (the “Merger”), and I may be eligible to receive shares of common stock of Parent (“Parent Common Stock”) in exchange in part for shares of common stock of the Company owned by me. Capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined have the meanings assigned to them in the Merger Agreement.

     I hereby represent, warrant and covenant to Parent that, in the event I receive any Parent Common Stock pursuant to the Merger:

     1. I shall not make any sale, transfer or other disposition of the Parent Common Stock to be received by me pursuant to the Merger or any other securities that may be paid as a dividend or otherwise distributed thereon or with respect thereto or issued or delivered in exchange or substitution thereof (all such shares being referred as “Control Securities”) in violation of the Act or the Rules and Regulations.

     2. I have carefully read this letter and the Merger Agreement and discussed their requirements and other applicable limitations upon my ability to sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of Control Securities to the extent I believed necessary with my counsel or with counsel for the Company.

     3. I have been advised that any issuance of Parent Common Stock to me pursuant to the Merger Agreement will be registered with the SEC on a registration statement on Form S-4 (the “Parent S-4”). However, I have also been advised that, since at the time the Merger is submitted to the stockholders of the Company for approval, I may be deemed to be an “affiliate” of the Company, any sale or disposition by me of any of the Control Securities may only be made, in accordance with the provisions of paragraph (d) of Rule 145 under the Act, pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Act or pursuant to an exemption thereunder. I agree that I will not sell, transfer or otherwise dispose of Control Securities unless (i) such sale,

transfer or other disposition has been registered under the Act for resale (and that the Parent S-4 will not provide such registration); (ii) I provide evidence of compliance with Rule 145(d)(1), in a letter in the form of Annex I hereto, or such sale, transfer or other disposition is otherwise made in conformity with the provisions of Rule 145 promulgated by the SEC under the Act; or (iii) in the written opinion of counsel, which opinion and counsel shall be reasonably acceptable to Parent, such sale, transfer or other disposition is otherwise exempt from registration under the Act.

     4. I understand that Parent is under no obligation to register the sale, transfer or other disposition of the Control Securities by me or on my behalf.

     5. I understand that stop transfer instructions will be given to Parent’s transfer agent with respect to the Control Securities and that there will be placed on any certificates for the Control Securities issued to me, or any substitutions therefor, a legend stating in substance:

“The shares represented by this certificate were issued in a transaction to which Rule 145 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, applies. The shares represented by this certificate may only be sold or otherwise transferred in accordance with the terms of a letter agreement between the registered holder hereof and Stifel Financial Corp., a copy of which agreement is on file at the principal offices of Stifel Financial Corp.”

     6. I also understand that, unless the transfer by me of my Control Securities has been registered under the Act or is a sale made in conformity with the provisions of Rule 145(d), Parent reserves the right to put the following legend on the certificates issued to my transferee:

“The sale of the shares represented by this certificate has not been registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the shares were acquired from a person who received such shares in a transaction to which Rule 145 promulgated under the Securities Act applies. The shares have been acquired by the holder not with a view to, or for resale in connection with, any distribution thereof within the meaning of the Securities Act and may not be sold, pledged or otherwise transferred except in accordance with an exemption from the registration requirements of the Securities Act.”

     It is understood and agreed that this letter agreement shall terminate and be of no further force or effect and the legends set forth in paragraphs (5) or (6), as the case may be, above shall be removed by delivery of substitute certificates without such legend, and the related stop transfer restrictions shall be lifted forthwith, if (i) any such Control Securities shall have been registered under the Act for sale, transfer or other disposition by me or on my behalf and are sold, transferred or otherwise disposed of; (ii) I provide evidence that any such Control Securities are sold in accordance with the provisions of Rule 145(d)(1) promulgated under the Act in the form of a letter in the form of Annex I hereto; (iii) if Parent meets the requirements of Rule 144(c) under the Securities Act, if I provide a letter to the effect I am not and have not been for at least three months at the time an affiliate of Parent and have been the beneficial owner of the Parent Common Stock for at least six months (or such other period as may be prescribed by the Act and the Rules and Regulations); or (iv) if I provide a letter that I am not and have not

2

been for at least three months an affiliate of Parent and have been the beneficial owner of the Parent Common Stock for at least one year (or such other period as may be prescribed by the Act and the Rules and Regulations); or (v) Parent shall have received a letter from the staff of the SEC, or a written opinion of counsel, which opinion and counsel shall be reasonably acceptable to Parent, or other evidence reasonably satisfactory to Parent, to the effect that the stock transfer restrictions and the legend are not required.

     My execution of this letter shall not be considered an admission on my part that I am an “affiliate” of the Company as described in the first paragraph of this letter or as a waiver of any rights I may have to object to any claim that I am such an affiliate on or after the date of this letter.

     This letter shall terminate and be of no further force and effect if the Merger Agreement is terminated in accordance with its terms.

     This letter shall be governed by the laws of the State of New York.

Sincerely,
 

Name:  

Dated: 

Accepted this ___ day of                     , 2010

STIFEL FINANCIAL CORP.
By:
	Name:
	Title:

3

ANNEX I
TO EXHIBIT A

[Name]

[Date]

     On ___________________, the undersigned sold the securities of Stifel Financial Corp. (“Parent”) described below in the space provided for that purpose (the “Securities”). The Securities were received by the undersigned in connection with the merger of Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc. with and into Stifel Financial Corp.

     Based upon the most recent report or statement filed by Parent with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Securities sold by the undersigned were within the prescribed limitations set forth in paragraph (e) of Rule 144 promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”).

     The undersigned hereby represents that the Securities were sold in “brokers’ transactions” within the meaning of Section 4(4) of the Securities Act or in transactions directly with a “market maker” as that term is defined in Section 3(a)(38) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. The undersigned further represents that the undersigned has not solicited or arranged for the solicitation of orders to buy the Securities, and that the undersigned has not made any payment in connection with the offer or sale of the Securities to any person other than to the broker who executed the order in respect of such sale.

Very truly yours

4

Schedule A

TWPG Shareholders Entering into Voting Agreements
Share Totals (as of 4/1/2010)
Common Stock (Unvested RSUs Not Reflected)

Name	Total Ownership
Thomas Carbeau		19,469
Lionel Conacher		1,362,578
Richard K. Gay		129,539
William L. McLeod		186,459
Charles B. Raymond		163,112
Paul C. Slivon		415,832
Tony V. Stais		228,734
Shaugn Stanley		113,952
Thomas W. Weisel		2,607,412
Total		5,227,087

EX-10.1

Exhibit 10.1

VOTING AGREEMENT

     THIS VOTING AGREEMENT (this “Agreement”), dated as of April 25, 2010, by and among Stifel Financial Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Parent”), and the individual holder of shares of common stock, par value $0.01 per share (the “Company Common Stock”), of Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Company”), and/or non-voting exchangeable shares (the “Exchangeable Shares”) of TWP Acquisition Company (Canada), Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company (“Canadian Sub”), listed on Schedule I attached hereto (the “Stockholder”).

Recitals:

     WHEREAS, contemporaneously with the execution of this Agreement, Parent, PTAS, Inc., a Delaware corporation and a direct, wholly-owned subsidiary of Parent (“Merger Subsidiary”), and the Company are entering into an Agreement and Plan of Merger of even date herewith, pursuant to which Merger Subsidiary will be merged with and into the Company with the Company surviving such merger (the “Merger”); and

     WHEREAS, the Stockholder is the beneficial owner (as defined in Rule l3d-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) of a number of outstanding shares of Company Common Stock and/or Exchangeable Shares, as indicated on Schedule I attached hereto;

     WHEREAS, CIBC Mellon Trust Company, a trust company incorporated under the laws of Canada, acts as voting trustee (the “Voting Trustee”) with respect to the share of Special Voting Preferred Stock of the Company (the “Voting Share”) and has the right to exercise the voting rights attached to the Voting Share;

     WHEREAS, each holder of Exchangeable Shares has the right to instruct the Voting Trustee to cast and exercise the number of votes comprised in the voting rights of the Voting Share equal to the number of votes which would attach to the shares of Company Common Stock receivable upon the exchange of the Exchangeable Shares held by such holder;

     WHEREAS, the Stockholder is entering into this Agreement in order to induce Parent to enter into the Merger Agreement; and

     WHEREAS, capitalized terms used herein shall, unless this Agreement or the context requires otherwise, have the same meanings in this Agreement as in the Merger Agreement.

     NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the foregoing and the mutual premises, representations, warranties, covenants and agreements contained herein, the parties hereto, intending to be legally bound, hereby agree as follows:

     1. Voting Provisions.

          (a) Agreement to Vote Shares of Parent Common Stock. The Stockholder hereby agrees that during the Term (as defined in Section 3 below) of this Agreement to vote or cause to be voted all shares of Company Common Stock (and in the case of any Exchangeable

Shares owned by the Stockholder, to instruct the Voting Trustee to cast votes in respect of all of such Exchangeable Shares) identified on Schedule I as owned of record and/or beneficially (as defined in Rule 13d-3 of the Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) by the Stockholder (such Stockholder’s shares of Company Common Stock and/or Exchangeable Shares, the “Shares”) (a) in favor of the Merger and (b) to approve the Merger Agreement (to be executed and delivered concurrently herewith in substantially the form attached hereto) and the transactions contemplated thereunder at every meeting of stockholders of the Company at which such matter is considered (and at every adjournment thereof) and in connection with any written consent of the stockholders of the Company with respect thereto. Additionally, the Stockholder agrees that it shall vote the Shares owned by the Stockholder against any action, transaction or agreement that would result in a breach in any respect of any covenant, representation or warranty or any other obligation or agreement of the Company under the Merger Agreement or this Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Stockholder shall remain free to vote (or execute consents or proxies with respect thereto) the Stockholder’s Shares with respect to any matter not covered by this Section 1(a) in any manner such Stockholder deems appropriate.

          (b) On or after the date of this Agreement and during the Term hereof, the Stockholder agrees not to, directly or indirectly, transfer, sell, offer, exchange, pledge or otherwise dispose of or encumber any of the Stockholder’s Shares, unless the transferee agrees in writing, reasonably acceptable to Parent, to be bound by the terms of this Agreement; provided that nothing contained herein shall restrict the Stockholder’s right to exchange all or any portion of the Stockholder’s Exchangeable Shares for shares of Company Common Stock; provided further that any shares of Company Common Stock received by the Stockholder as the result of such exchange shall be subject to this Section 1(b).

          (c) The Stockholder hereby agrees that the Stockholder shall not enter into any agreement or understanding with any other Person the effect of which would be to violate the provisions and agreements contained in this Section 1.

          (d) Granting of Irrevocable Proxy and Voting Instructions. During the Term, to facilitate the agreements referred to in Section 1(a) above, the Stockholder hereby appoints Ronald J. Kruszewski and James M. Zemlyak, or any one of them, the true and lawful attorneys in fact, agents and proxies of the Stockholder to represent the Stockholder at any meeting of the stockholders of the Company at which the Merger is being considered, and at any postponements and adjournments of such meeting, or to execute on behalf of the Stockholder any action by consent of the stockholders of the Company, and with respect to any Exchangeable Shares held by the Stockholder, to represent the Stockholder before the Voting Trustee in connection with the consideration of stockholders of Canadian Sub of the Merger, and to vote (or execute a written consent on behalf of), and with respect to any Exchangeable Shares held by the Stockholder, to instruct the Voting Trustee to cast votes in respect of all of the Shares on the books of the Company and/or Canadian Sub, as applicable, in the name of the Stockholder in accordance with Section 1(a) of this Agreement. The Stockholder affirms that the irrevocable proxy is coupled with an interest and until the termination of this Agreement may not be revoked. The proxy and power of attorney granted hereunder shall terminate upon the termination of this Agreement.

     2. Other Proxies Revoked. The Stockholder represents and warrants that any

2

proxies heretofore given in respect of the Stockholder’s Shares are not irrevocable, and that all such proxies have been or are hereby revoked.

     3. Term of Agreement. The term of this Agreement shall commence on the date of the Company’s execution and delivery of the Merger Agreement and shall remain in full force and effect until the earlier of (i) the day following the date on which a Company Stockholder Meeting is held and at which meeting the stockholders of the Company consider approval of the matters set forth in Section 1(a) above (or any adjournment or postponement thereof), and (ii) the effective date of any termination of the Merger Agreement in accordance with Article 11 thereof (the “Term”), but in no event later than December 31, 2010.

     4. Representations and Warranties of each Stockholder. The Stockholder hereby represents and warrants to Parent as follows:

          (a) Authority, etc. The Stockholder has all necessary power and authority to execute and deliver this Agreement and to consummate the transactions contemplated hereby. The execution and delivery of this Agreement and the consummation of the transactions contemplated hereby by the Stockholder have been duly authorized by all necessary action on the part of the Stockholder and, assuming the due authorization, execution and delivery by Parent, constitutes a legal, valid and binding obligation of such Stockholder, enforceable against such Stockholder in accordance with its terms.

          (b) Ownership of Shares. As of the date hereof, the Stockholder is the beneficial owner of the Shares listed beside such Stockholder’s name on Schedule I attached hereto. As of the date hereof, the Stockholder, with respect to any Company Common Stock held by the Stockholder, has sole voting power, and with respect to any Exchangeable Shares held by the Stockholder, sole power to instruct the Voting Trustee to vote the Voting Share with respect to such Exchangeable Shares and sole power to issue instructions to the Voting Trustee with respect to such Exchangeable Shares with respect to the matters set forth in Section 1 hereof, and sole power of disposition, sole power of conversion and sole power to agree to all of the matters set forth in this Agreement, in each case with respect to all of the Shares, with no limitations, qualifications or restrictions on such rights, subject only to applicable securities laws and the terms of this Agreement.

          (c) No Conflicts. No filing with, and no permit, authorization, consent or approval of, any Governmental Authority is necessary for the execution of this Agreement by the Stockholder and the consummation by such Stockholder of the transactions contemplated hereby. None of the execution and delivery of this Agreement by such Stockholder, the consummation by the Stockholder of the transactions contemplated hereby or compliance by the Stockholder with any of the provisions hereof shall (A) conflict with or result in any breach of any applicable documents to which such Stockholder is a party, or (B) violate any order, writ, injunction, decree, judgment, order, statute, rule or regulation applicable to such Stockholder in each case in a manner that would adversely affect the Stockholder’s ability to perform any of its obligations hereunder.

          (d) No Encumbrances. The Shares listed beside the Stockholder’s name on Schedule I hereto and the certificates representing such Shares are now, and except as permitted by Section 1(b), at all times during the term hereof will be, held by the Stockholder, or by a

3

nominee or custodian for the benefit of such Stockholder, free and clear of all liens, claims, security interests, proxies, voting trusts or agreements, understandings or arrangements or any other encumbrances whatsoever, in each case that would restrict or otherwise affect its legal power authority or right to vote, except for any such encumbrances or proxies arising hereunder.

          (e) Reliance by Parent and the Company. The Stockholder understands and acknowledges that Parent and the Company have entered into the Merger Agreement in reliance upon such Stockholder’s execution and delivery of this Agreement.

     5. Covenants of the Stockholder.

          (a) The Stockholder covenants and agrees that, during the Term, the Stockholder shall not (i) grant any proxies or powers of attorney, deposit any of the Shares into a voting trust or enter into a voting agreement with respect to any of the Shares (other than as may be required in order to effect the vote of any Exchangeable Shares held by the Stockholder); or (ii) take any action that would make any representation or warranty of the Stockholder contained herein untrue or incorrect or have the effect of preventing, disabling or delaying such Stockholder from performing the Stockholder’s obligations under this Agreement.

          (b) The Stockholder agrees to permit Parent and Merger Subsidiary to publish and disclose in a Registration Statement on Form S-4, Proxy Statement, or other publicly-filed document relating to the Merger, Stockholder’s identity and ownership of the Shares as set forth in Schedule I hereto, and the nature of Stockholder’s obligations under this Agreement.

     6. Miscellaneous.

          (a) Further Assurances. From time to time, at any other Party’s written request and without further consideration, each Party hereto shall execute and deliver such additional documents and take all such further lawful action as may be necessary or desirable to consummate and make effective, in the most expeditious manner practicable, the transactions contemplated by this Agreement.

          (b) Entire Agreement. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all other prior agreements and understanding, both written and oral, between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof.

          (c) Assignment. This Agreement shall not be assigned by operation of law or otherwise without the prior written consent of the other party, provided that Parent may assign and transfer, at its sole discretion, its rights and obligations hereunder to any of its affiliates.

          (d) Amendments, Waivers, Etc. This Agreement may not be amended, changed, supplemented, waived or otherwise modified or terminated, except upon the execution and delivery of a written agreement executed by all of the relevant parties hereto.

          (e) Notices. All notices, requests, claims, demands and other communications hereunder shall be in writing and shall be given (and shall be deemed to have been duly received if so given) by hand delivery, telegram, telex or telecopy, or by mail (registered or certified mail,

4

postage prepaid, return receipt requested) or by any courier service, such as Federal Express, providing proof of delivery. All communications hereunder shall be delivered to the respective parties at the following addresses:

          If to the Stockholder:

At the address set forth beside the Stockholder’s
name listed on Schedule I attached hereto

          If to Parent:

Stifel Financial Corp.
501 North Broadway
St. Louis, Missouri 63102
Attention: General Counsel
Facsimile No.: (312) 342-2115

          With a copy to:

Bryan Cave LLP
211 North Broadway, Suite 3600
St. Louis, Missouri 63102
Attention: Robert J. Endicott, Esq.
Facsimile: (314) 259-2020

or to such other address as the Person to whom notice is given may have previously furnished to the others in writing in the manner set forth above.

          (f) Severability. Whenever possible, each provision or portion of any provision of this Agreement will be interpreted in such manner as to be effective and valid under applicable law but if any provision or portion of any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect under any applicable law or rule in any jurisdiction, such invalidity, illegality or unenforceability will not affect any other provision or portion of any provision in such jurisdiction, and this Agreement will be reformed, construed and enforced in such jurisdiction as if such invalid, illegal or unenforceable provision or portion of any provision had never been contained herein.

          (g) Specific Performance. Each of the parties hereto recognizes and acknowledges that a breach by it of any covenants or agreements contained in this Agreement will cause the other party to sustain damages for which it would not have an adequate remedy at law for money damages, and therefore each of the parties hereto agrees that in the event of any such breach the aggrieved party shall be entitled to the remedy of specific performance of such covenants and agreements and injunctive and other equitable relief in addition to any other remedy to which it may be entitled, at law or in equity.

          (h) Remedies Cumulative. All rights, powers and remedies provided under this Agreement or otherwise available in respect hereof at law or in equity shall be cumulative and not alternative, and the exercise of any thereof by any party shall not preclude the

5

simultaneous or later exercise of any other such right, power or remedy by such party.

          (i) No Waiver. The failure of any party hereto to exercise any right, power or remedy provided under this Agreement or otherwise available in respect hereof at law or in equity, or to insist upon compliance by any other party hereto with its obligations hereunder, and any custom or practice of the parties at variance with the terms hereof shall not constitute a waiver by such party of its right to exercise any such or other right, power or remedy or to demand such compliance.

          (j) No Third Party Beneficiaries. This Agreement is not intended to be for the benefit of, and shall not be enforceable by, any Person who or which is not a party hereto.

          (k) Governing Law. This Agreement, and the legal relations between the parties hereto, shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware.

          (l) Waiver of Jury Trial. EACH OF THE PARTIES HEREBY KNOWINGLY, VOLUNTARILY, AND INTENTIONALLY WAIVES ANY RIGHTS THEY MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY IN RESPECT OF ANY LITIGATION BASED HEREON, OR ARISING OUT OF, UNDER, OR IN CONNECTION WITH, THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY OTHER DOCUMENTS ENTERED INTO IN CONNECTION HEREWITH, OR ANY COURSE OF CONDUCT, COURSE OF DEALING, STATEMENTS (WHETHER VERBAL OR WRITTEN), OF ANY PARTY.

          (m) Descriptive Headings. The descriptive headings used herein are inserted for convenience of reference only and are not intended to be part of or to affect the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.

          (n) Counterparts. This Agreement may be executed in two or more counterparts, and by the different parties hereto in separate counterparts, each of which when executed shall be deemed to be an original but all of which taken together shall constitute one and the same agreement. Delivery of an executed counterpart of a signature page to this Agreement by telecopier shall be effective as delivery of a manually executed counterpart of this Agreement.

     7. Termination. This Agreement shall terminate, and neither Parent nor the Stockholder shall have any rights or obligations hereunder and this Agreement shall become null and void and have no effect upon the termination of the Merger Agreement in accordance with its terms, except nothing in this Section 7 shall relieve any party of liability for breach of this Agreement.

*   *   *   *   *

6

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF, each of the Parent, and the Stockholder identified on Schedule I hereto, has caused this Voting Agreement to be duly executed as of the day and year first above written.

STIFEL, FINANCIAL CORP.

By:

Name:

Title:

Stockholder Signature appears on the following page

STOCKHOLDER

Print Name:

SCHEDULE I

	Number of Shares
	of Company	Number of
	Common Stock	Exchangeable
Name of Stockholder	Owned	Shares Owned	Notice Address

EX-99.1

One Financial Plaza | 501 North Broadway | St. Louis. Missouri 63102 | (314) 342-2000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

STIFEL FINANCIAL AND THOMAS WEISEL PARTNERS ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC MERGER

Building the Premier Middle-Market Investment Bank

St. Louis and San Francisco, April 26, 2010 – Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF) and Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc. (NASDAQ: TWPG) today announced that they have entered into a definitive agreement to build the premier middle-market investment bank with significantly enhanced investment banking, research and wealth management capabilities. An investor and analyst conference call has been scheduled for today, April 26, at 6:00 a.m. (Pacific) and 9:00 a.m. (Eastern).

The terms of the agreement, approved by the boards of both companies, call for each TWPG share to be exchanged for 0.1364 shares of SF common stock. Thomas Weisel Partners has approximately 32.8 million shares outstanding as of March 31, 2010. The deal is valued at more than $300 million, which includes the outstanding shares and restricted stock units and warrants.

Estimated annual revenues for the combined company are approximately $1.6 billion, derived from consensus estimates, with a pro forma market capitalization of approximately $2.0 billion and $1.0 billion in pro forma equity capital. Thomas Weisel Partners will be merged into a subsidiary of Stifel and become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Stifel. The merger is subject to approval by Thomas Weisel Partners shareholders and customary regulatory approvals. The transaction is expected to close on or about June 30, 2010.

“I am very pleased to announce Stifel’s strategic merger with Thomas Weisel Partners. We expect the combined firm to benefit from the investment banking, research, and sales and trading platforms of both firms, as well as the brokerage services offered by Stifel’s Global Wealth Management Division and the strong venture capital relationships and expertise in growth companies of Thomas Weisel Partners. With the merger, Stifel’s revenue mix remains balanced between its Institutional Group and Global Wealth Management segments,” said Ronald J. Kruszewski, Chairman, President and CEO of Stifel Financial Corp.

Thomas W. Weisel, Chairman and CEO of Thomas Weisel Partners added, “There is virtually no overlap in investment banking and less than a 10% overlap in research coverage. Our platform adds key growth sectors to Stifel’s investment banking business, particularly in technology, healthcare and energy. Stifel has one of the largest global wealth management groups with nearly $100 billion in client assets, which is a great complement to the combined investment bank.”

Mr. Kruszewski concluded, “Both Stifel and Thomas Weisel Partners have very strong, highly entrepreneurial associates, and both firms’ areas of expertise will be quite complementary. Together we expect to continue to grow the core businesses, expand our offerings and add depth to our focus sectors to increase our market share.”

1

Upon the completion of the merger, Mr. Kruszewski and Mr. Weisel will be Co-Chairmen of the Board and Mr. Kruszewski will remain President and CEO of Stifel Financial Corp. Stifel Financial Corp. will remain headquartered in St. Louis, MO with significant presence in Baltimore, New York, San Francisco and Toronto.

Stifel was advised by its own wholly-owned subsidiary, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated and was represented by Bryan Cave LLP. Sandler O’Neill + Partners, L.P. rendered a fairness opinion to the Board of Directors of Stifel Financial Corp. Thomas Weisel Partners was advised by its own wholly-owned subsidiary, Thomas Weisel Partners LLC and was represented by Sullivan & Cromwell. Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin Financial Advisors, Inc. rendered a fairness opinion to the Board of Directors of Thomas Weisel Partners.

Conference Call Information

Stifel and Thomas Weisel Partners will host a joint conference call today, April 26, at 6:00 a.m. (Pacific) and 9:00 a.m. (Eastern). The conference call may include forward-looking statements.

All interested parties are invited to listen to Stifel’s Chairman, President and CEO, Ronald J. Kruszewski, and Thomas Weisel Partners’ Chairman and CEO, Thomas W. Weisel; by dialing (866) 465-5545 (domestic) or (212) 457-9864 (international).

A live audio webcast of the call will be available through both companies’ Investor Relations/Webcasts section of their websites. Stifel’s can be accessed at www.stifel.com and Thomas Weisel Partners can be accessed at www.tweisel.com. To listen to the live audio webcast of the call, please go to the website at least 15 minutes early to register, download and install any necessary audio software.

For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, a replay of the broadcast will be available through the above-referenced website beginning one hour following the completion of the call through May 10, 2010.

Earnings Announcements

On Wednesday, April 28^th, Thomas Weisel Partners will issue its financial results for the first quarter 2010, ended March 31, 2010, after the close of the market. As a result of this transaction, Thomas Weisel Partners no longer plans on hosting a conference call after the market close on that same day.

On Thursday, April 29^th, Stifel will issue its financial results for the first quarter 2010, ended March 31, 2010, before the market opens. Stifel will also hold a conference call to review the results at 6:00 a.m. (Pacific) and 9:00 a.m. (Eastern) that same day. Interested parties can join a conference call to review financial results of the quarter by dialing (888) 676 – 3684. The confirmation code is: 71678906.

A live audio webcast of the call, as well as the Stifel’s results, will be available through Stifel’s Investor Relations/Webcasts section of their website, which can be accessed at www.stifel.com. To listen to the live audio webcast of the call, please go to the website at least 15 minutes early to register, download and install any necessary audio software.

For those who cannot listen to the live broadcast, a replay of the broadcast will be available through the above-referenced website beginning one hour following the completion of the call.

Company Information

Stifel Financial Corp. (NYSE: SF) is a financial services holding company headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri. Stifel Financial has approximately 4,600 associates in 294 offices in 42 states and the District of Columbia through its principal subsidiary, Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, Incorporated, and three European offices through Stifel Nicolaus Limited. Stifel Nicolaus provides securities brokerage, investment banking, trading, investment advisory, and related financial services, primarily to individual investors, professional money managers,

2

businesses, and municipalities. Stifel Bank & Trust offers a full range of consumer and commercial lending solutions. To learn more about Stifel Financial, please visit the Company’s web site at www.stifel.com.

Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc. is an investment bank, founded in 1998, focused principally on the growth sectors of the economy. Thomas Weisel Partners generates revenues from three principal sources: investment banking, brokerage and asset management. The investment banking group is composed of two disciplines: corporate finance and strategic advisory. The brokerage group provides equity and convertible debt securities sales and trading services to institutional investors, and offers brokerage, advisory and cash management services to high-net-worth individuals and corporate clients. The asset management group consists of: private equity, public equity and distribution management. Thomas Weisel Partners is headquartered in San Francisco with additional offices in Baltimore, Boston, Calgary, Chicago, Dallas, Denver, New York, Portland, Toronto, London and Zurich. For more information, please visit www.tweisel.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

Statements in this press release that relate to Stifel or Thomas Weisel Partners’ future plans, objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Future events, risks and uncertainties, individually or in the aggregate, could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. The material factors and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, without limitation, the following: (1) the inability to close the merger in a timely manner; (2) the inability to complete the merger due to the failure to obtain stockholder approval and adoption of the merger agreement and approval of the merger or the failure to satisfy other conditions to completion of the merger, including required regulatory and court approvals; (3) the failure of the transaction to close for any other reason; (4) the possibility that the integration of Thomas Weisel Partners’ business and operations with those of Stifel may be more difficult and/or take longer than anticipated, may be more costly than anticipated and may have unanticipated adverse results relating to Thomas Weisel Partners’ or Stifel’s existing businesses; (5) the challenges of integrating and retaining key employees; (6) the effect of the announcement of the transaction on Stifel’s, Thomas Weisel Partners’ or the combined company’s respective business relationships, operating results and business generally; (7) the possibility that the anticipated synergies and cost savings of the merger will not be realized, or will not be realized within the expected time period; (8) the possibility that the merger may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events; (9) the challenges of maintaining and increasing revenues on a combined company basis following the close of the merger; (10) diversion of management’s attention from ongoing business concerns; (11) general competitive, economic, political and market conditions and fluctuations; (12) actions taken or conditions imposed by the United States and foreign governments; (13) adverse outcomes of pending or threatened litigation or government investigations; (14) the impact of competition in the industries and in the specific markets in which Stifel and Thomas Weisel Partners, respectively, operate; and (15) other factors that may affect future results of the combined company described in the section entitled “Risk Factors” in the proxy statement/prospectus to be mailed to Thomas Weisel Partners’ shareholders and in Stifel’s and Thomas Weisel Partners’ respective filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) that are available on the SEC’s web site located at www.sec.gov, including the sections entitled “Risk Factors” in Stifel’s Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, and “Risk Factors” in Thomas Weisel Partners’ Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009. Readers are strongly urged to read the full cautionary statements contained in those materials. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made.

3

Additional Information

In connection with the proposed merger, Stifel will be filing a registration statement on Form S-4 that will include a proxy statement of Thomas Weisel Partners that also constitutes a prospectus of Stifel and other relevant documents relating to the acquisition of Thomas Weisel Partners with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Stifel and Thomas Weisel Partners shareholders are urged to read the registration statement and any other relevant documents filed with the SEC, including the proxy statement/prospectus that will be part of the registration statement, because they will contain important information about Stifel, Thomas Weisel Partners and the proposed transaction. The final proxy statement/prospectus will be mailed to shareholders of Thomas Weisel Partners. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the registration statement and proxy statement/prospectus (when available) as well as other filed documents containing information about Stifel and Thomas Weisel Partners, without charge, at the SEC’s website (www.sec.gov). Free copies of Stifel’s SEC filings are also available on Stifel’s website (www.stifel.com), and free copies of Thomas Weisel Partners’ SEC filings are available on Thomas Weisel Partners’ website (www.tweisel.com). Free copies of Stifel’s filings also may be obtained by directing a request to Stifel’s Investor Relations by phone to (314) 342-2000 or in writing to Stifel Financial Corp., Attention: Investor Relations, 501 North Broadway, St. Louis, Missouri 63102. Free copies of Thomas Weisel Partners’ filings also may be obtained by directing a request to Thomas Weisel Partners’ Investor Relations by phone to 415-364-2500, in writing to Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc., Attention: Investor Relations, One Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94104, or by email to investorrelations@tweisel.com.

This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction.

Proxy Solicitation

Stifel, Thomas Weisel Partners and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed, under SEC rules, to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of Thomas Weisel Partners with respect to the proposed transaction. More detailed information regarding the identity of the potential participants, and their direct or indirect interests, by securities holdings or otherwise, will be set forth in the registration statement and proxy statement/prospectus and other materials to be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. Information regarding Stifel’s directors and executive officers is also available in Stifel’s definitive proxy statement for its 2010 Annual Meeting of Shareholders filed with the SEC on February 26, 2010. Information regarding Thomas Weisel Partners’ directors and executive officers is also available in Thomas Weisel Partners’ definitive proxy statement for its 2009 Annual Meeting of Shareholders filed with the SEC on April 16, 2009. These documents are available free of charge at the SEC’s web site at www.sec.gov and from Investor Relations at Thomas Weisel Partners and Stifel Financial.

Stifel Financial Corp.

Tim Beecher
314.982.8621
tim.beecher@fleishman.com

Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc.

Investor Relations Contact	Media Contact
Sarah Anderson	Rosemary Smith
415-364-2500	415-364-2500
investorrelations@tweisel.com	rosemarysmith@tweisel.com

4

EX-99.2

Building the Premier Middle-Market Investment Bank Ronald J. Kruszewski Chairman of the Board, President, and CEO Stifel Financial Corp. Presentation to Investors April 26, 2010 Thomas W. Weisel Chairman of the Board and CEO Thomas Weisel Partners

Statements in this presentation that relate to Stifel Financial Corp., as well as Stifel, Nicolaus and Company, Inc. and its other subsidiaries (collectively, "Stifel" or the "Company") and Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc. ("Thomas Weisel Partners") future plans, objectives, expectations, performance, events and the like may constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Future events, risks and uncertainties, individually or in the aggregate, could cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward-looking statements. The material factors and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, without limitation, the following: (1) the inability to close the merger in a timely manner; (2) the inability to complete the merger due to the failure to obtain stockholder approval and adoption of the merger agreement and approval of the merger or the failure to satisfy other conditions to completion of the merger, including required regulatory and court approvals; (3) the failure of the transaction to close for any other reason; (4) the possibility that the integration of Thomas Weisel Partners' business and operations with those of Stifel may be more difficult and/or take longer than anticipated, may be more costly than anticipated and may have unanticipated adverse results relating to Thomas Weisel Partners' or Stifel's existing businesses; (5) the challenges of integrating and retaining key employees; (6) the effect of the announcement of the transaction on Stifel's, Thomas Weisel Partners' or the combined company's respective business relationships, operating results and business generally; (7) the possibility that the anticipated synergies and cost savings of the merger will not be realized, or will not be realized within the expected time period; (8) the possibility that the merger may be more expensive to complete than anticipated, including as a result of unexpected factors or events; (9) the challenges of maintaining and increasing revenues on a combined company basis following the close of the merger; (10) diversion of management's attention from ongoing business concerns; (11) general competitive, economic, political and market conditions and fluctuations; (12) actions taken or conditions imposed by the United States and foreign governments; (13) adverse outcomes of pending or threatened litigation or government investigations; (14) the impact of competition in the industries and in the specific markets in which Stifel and Thomas Weisel Partners, respectively, operate; and (15) other factors that may affect future results of the combined company described in the section entitled "Risk Factors" in the proxy statement/prospectus to be mailed to Thomas Weisel Partners' shareholders and in Stifel's and Thomas Weisel Partners' respective filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC") that are available on the SEC's web site located at www.sec.gov, including the sections entitled "Risk Factors" in Stifel's Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009, and "Risk Factors" in Thomas Weisel Partners' Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2009. Readers are strongly urged to read the full cautionary statements contained in those materials. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect events that occur or circumstances that exist after the date on which they were made. Forward-Looking Statements

Additional Information and Where to Find It In connection with the proposed merger, Stifel will be filing a registration statement on Form S-4 that will include a proxy statement of Thomas Weisel Partners that also constitutes a prospectus of Stifel and other relevant documents relating to the acquisition of Thomas Weisel Partners with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"). Stifel and Thomas Weisel Partners shareholders are urged to read the registration statement and any other relevant documents filed with the SEC, including the proxy statement/prospectus that will be part of the registration statement, because they will contain important information about Stifel, Thomas Weisel Partners and the proposed transaction. The final proxy statement/prospectus will be mailed to shareholders of Thomas Weisel Partners. Investors and security holders will be able to obtain free copies of the registration statement and proxy statement/prospectus (when available) as well as other filed documents containing information about Stifel and Thomas Weisel Partners, without charge, at the SEC's website (www.sec.gov). Free copies of Stifel's SEC filings are also available on Stifel's website (www.stifel.com), and free copies of Thomas Weisel Partners' SEC filings are available on Thomas Weisel Partners' website (www.tweisel.com). Free copies of Stifel's filings also may be obtained by directing a request to Stifel's Investor Relations by phone to (314) 342-2000 or in writing to Stifel Financial Corp., Attention: Investor Relations, 501 North Broadway, St. Louis, Missouri 63102. Free copies of Thomas Weisel Partners' filings also may be obtained by directing a request to Thomas Weisel Partners' Investor Relations by phone to 415-364-2500, in writing to Thomas Weisel Partners Group, Inc., Attention: Investor Relations, One Montgomery Street, San Francisco, CA 94104, or by email to investorrelations@tweisel.com. This communication shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy securities, nor shall there be any sale of securities in any jurisdiction in which such solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. Participants in the Solicitation Stifel, Thomas Weisel Partners and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed, under SEC rules, to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the shareholders of Thomas Weisel Partners with respect to the proposed transaction. More detailed information regarding the identity of the potential participants, and their direct or indirect interests, by securities holdings or otherwise, will be set forth in the registration statement and proxy statement/prospectus and other materials to be filed with the SEC in connection with the proposed transaction. Information regarding Stifel's directors and executive officers is also available in Stifel's definitive proxy statement for its 2010 Annual Meeting of Shareholders filed with the SEC on February 26, 2010. Information regarding Thomas Weisel Partners' directors and executive officers is also available in Thomas Weisel Partners' definitive proxy statement for its 2009 Annual Meeting of Shareholders filed with the SEC on April 16, 2009. These documents are available free of charge at the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov and from Investor Relations at Thomas Weisel Partners and Stifel Financial.

Stifel and TWP Today Full-service, publicly traded investment bank (NYSE:SF) More than 4,600 associates in 294 offices Investment Banking 159 investment banking professionals 14 industry focused investment banking groups Specialty groups provide coordinated financial sponsors coverage and private placement expertise Extensive advisory and capital raising experience Stifel-advised M&A transactions continue to win industry accolades Research 61 senior research analysts 862 companies under coverage (excluding closed end funds) Institutional Sales and Trading 159 equity sales & trading professionals 181 fixed income sales & trading professionals Global Wealth Management 1,900 financial advisors with nearly $100B of AUM Stifel Bank & Trust - $1.1 billion in assets at 12/31/09 Asset Management Stifel Capital Advisors, Washington Crossing, Choice Investment Advisors & Missouri Valley Partners Global growth-focused investment bank (Nasdaq: TWPG) Approximately 450 associates in 4 countries and 12 offices Investment Banking 106 investment banking professionals Five growth verticals: Tech, Healthcare, Consumer, Mining & Energy Market leader in venture-backed IPOs Book/Lead manage approximately 25% of equity deals Completed multiple large (>$1B) M&A transactions Research 32 senior research analysts 479 companies under research coverage (U.S. and Canada) Institutional Sales and Trading Powerful distribution in the U.S., CAN and Europe for North American stocks 88 sales and trading professionals Wealth Management Approximately $5.5 billion in assets under advisement Asset Management Private equity; Venture; SMID-cap growth AUM totaling $1.6 billion

Summary of Key Transaction Terms Stifel to acquire 100% of TWP's common stock in a tax-free exchange Transaction Consideration Fixed exchange ratio of 0.1364 Stifel shares for each TWPG share No caps or collars $7.60 per share based on an SF price of $55.74 (at 4/23/10) $318 million of aggregate consideration (fully diluted shares includes restricted stock units, net of taxes) Management Thomas Weisel to join Stifel as Co-Chairman with Ron Kruszewski Combined senior leadership of both Stifel and TWP in the Institutional Group (formerly Capital Markets) Synergy Opportunities Closing Conditions Estimated annualized pre-tax cost efficiencies of $62 million, or approximately 5% of combined 2009 expenses Minimal client facing changes / Cost savings principally from redundancies No revenue enhancements assumed TWP shareholder approval Regulatory approvals and other customary conditions Board Seats Thomas Weisel + up to 3 additional TWP Directors to join Stifel Board

Transaction Financials ($ in 000s, except per share) The transaction is accretive to both EPS(2) and Book Value per share. (1) Based on 32.8 million common shares as of 12/31/09, 486,486 warrants that are automatically converted during a change-in-control, and 8.5 million converted RSUs (net of taxes and including 3 million gross additional RSUs issued by TWPG for employee retention). (2) Based upon First Call consensus estimates. Assumes $62 million in annual cost savings and excludes one-time charges.

Why this Combination Makes Sense Highly Complementary Investment Banking, Research and Sales and Trading Platforms Additive, not duplicative: 623 combined offerings completed between 2005 - 2009 and only 4 overlap 1,143 unique U.S. companies under research coverage. Only 8% overlap Expands institutional equity business both domestically and internationally Fast Tracks Stifel's Investment Banking Growth, Which Would Otherwise Take Years to Achieve Expands Stifel's Investment Banking business in key growth sectors of the global economy Strengthens Stifel's profile within the venture capital community where TWP maintains key relationships Enhances Stifel's lead manager credentials Geography: Expands Stifel's west coast market presence & provides strong market entry point in Canada Enhances and Complements Stifel's Existing Business Platform Furthers Stifel's diversification plan: Pro forma revenue mix is approximately 50% / 50% (Institutional Group and GWM) Builds the premier full service middle-market investment bank TWP's Core Verticals Appear Poised to Benefit From a Market Rebound Capital markets activity is returning to more normalized levels TMT in cyclical lull since 2007 IPO market impacted by financial crisis and recession VC-backed IPO market rebounding along with growth sector activity in general M&A activity highly correlated to economic growth, poised to accelerate; TWP has well documented M&A practice TWP's Asset Management Business Complements Stifel's Global Wealth Management Division Combined Senior Management Teams Reflect Strong Cultural Fit Increased Revenue Opportunities and Cost Savings Create Opportunity for Enhanced Profitability Note: TMT refers to technology, media and telecom.

Building the Premier Full Service Middle-Market Investment Bank $2.0+ billion combined market capitalization $1.5 billion - $1.6 billion in combined 2010E revenues (1) $1.0 billion in combined equity capital as of 12/31/09 Coast-to-coast Institutional Equity and Fixed Income Complementary product capabilities and investment banking coverage across broad industry groups #1 U.S. equity research platform with 1,143 unique companies under research coverage (2) Growing international presence, using TWP Canadian presence and both firms' European capabilities ~ 1,900 private client group financial advisors with over $100 billion in combined client assets with a national presence (1) Based upon First Call consensus estimates as of April 23, 2010. (2) Source: Thomson Reuters for the combined company.

Core Verticals are Poised to Benefit from Rebounding Economy Capital Markets Appear Headed Back to More Normalized Levels TMT has historically been approximately 40% of TWP business and was down 75% over the past two years TWP core verticals are poised to accelerate from any market rebound Note: TMT refers to technology, media and telecom. Source: Equidesk, Private Raise, FPinfomart and TWP Capital Markets. Transaction fees include U.S. and Canadian equity transactions. Excludes IPOs and follow-ons less than $15 million, non-agented PIPE's and those less than $10 million and CEF's and includes ADR's. TMT refers to technology, media and telecom. North American Equity Capital Markets Transaction Fees ($ in M)

U.S. IPO Market is Cyclical; Pronounced in Growth Sectors Market turned at the beginning of 2003, 2010 shows similar trends Average # IPOs between ('01-'03) were 80/year compared with 247/year between ('04-'07) Average # TMT IPOs between ('01-'03) were 18/year compared with 51/year between ('04-'07) Note: TMT refers to technology, media and telecommunications. Source: Dealogic, FactSet, ThomsonOne and TWP Capital Markets.

Technology M&A Environment - Announced U.S. Targets M&A Activity, Highly Correlated to U.S. GDP, Appears Poised to Accelerate Note: Includes Securities Data Corporation designated Technology Industries (e.g. Computer Related, Electronics, IT Services, Semiconductors, Software). Announced transactions with disclosed values of $20 million or more involving U.S. targets only. Excludes spinoffs and repurchases and withdrawn transactions. Source: Securities Data Corp/Thomson One. Txn Value ($B) '90 4.5 56 '91 6.6 46 '92 6.5 59 '93 6.2 60 '94 18.4 98 '95 27.9 140 '96 34.4 213 '97 49 266 '98 106.2 341 '99 166.1 496 '00 345.087 679 '01 73.426 299 '02 33.773 229 '03 42.327 219 '04 56.736 273 '05 94.431 327 '06 112.364 348 '07 126.225 349 '08 67.887 269 08 RR 85.931 302 2009YTD 21.529 73 '09 53.291 171 '10 33.213 168 Volume $B Deals Deals Volume RR

Dramatically Increases Investment Banking Footprint Number of Offerings 2005 - 2009 M&A Transactions 2005 - 2009 # of Transactions $ Volume (M) Source: Dealogic, Capital IQ, TWP internal and SF internal. Stifel's transactions include the Capital Markets Division of Legg Mason Wood Walker, Inc. (acquired on December 1, 2005) and Ryan Beck & Co., Inc. (acquired on February 28, 2007) and their respective affiliates. TWP's transactions include Westwind transactions. (1) Total is adjusted for 4 overlapping transactions. Average 5-Year Lead Managed Transaction % SF: 16.5% TWP: 24.5% SF TWP Enhances scope and scale with low level of overlap rarely available

Highly Complementary Investment Banking Industry Coverage Capital Markets Activity Between 2005 - 2009 Source: Dealogic, Stifel internal and TWP internal. Includes all equity and preferred offerings. Note: Overlapping transactions include: Orbitz Worldwide (OWW), AeroVironment (AVAV), TRX (TRXI) and NutriSystem (NTRI). Of the 623 combined offerings completed between 2005 - 2009 ONLY 4 overlap (1)

Highly Complementary Investment Banking Industry Coverage Completed M&A Transactions Between 2005 - 2009 For disclosed deal values only. Source: Capital IQ.

Creates the Largest U.S. Equity Research Platform Pro Forma U.S. Research Coverage (1) Source: Thomson Reuters rankings and research coverage as of 4/23/10 for Stifel and TWP. Rankings exclude 87 closed end funds for Stifel. 100 equities in total overlap. (2) Small Cap includes market caps less than $1.0 billion USD. 1,143 unique U.S. companies under coverage. Only 8% overlap(1) 93 senior research analysts #1 U.S. equities coverage #1 U.S. Small Cap. equities coverage (2) Cover approximately 50% of the S&P 500 Combination gets Stifel to market weight for 3 critical growth engines of the U.S. economy: Technology, Healthcare and Energy U.S. Research Coverage (1) Rank Firm # Companies Stifel (pro forma, ex. overlap) 1,143 1. JPMorgan 1,064 2. BofA Merrill Lynch 961 3. Barclays Capital 914 4. Stifel 862 24. TWP 381 Small Cap. U.S Research Coverage (1)(2) Rank Firm # Companies Stifel (pro forma, ex. overlap) 423 1. Stifel 386 2. Virtua Research 339 3. Sidoti & Company 332 4. Raymond James 284 23. TWP 137 Financials 0.18 Technology 0.179 Consumer 0.149 Energy 0.146 Healthcare 0.104 REITs 0.075 Bus. Svcs. 0.023 Media 0.057 Transport. 0.036 AD&GS 0.037 Educ. 0.014

Enhances a Top Tier Sales and Trading Platform Powerful combined research presence, with excellent sales and trading relationships across regions #11 YTD AutEx volume among investment banks on a combined basis Strong content, combined with excellent electronic trading team and products TWP relationships with growth managers, combined with Stifel coverage depth with both growth and value investors Combines sales and trading groups Leverages Stifel's Fixed Income capabilities with TWP client base

Enhances Global Wealth Management Global Wealth Management 1,900 financial advisors TWP advisors bring deep access to Silicon Valley clients Private Equity Group Global Growth Partners: $890 million growth-oriented fund of funds Healthcare Venture Partners: $122 million device-focused venture capital fund Venture Partners: $253 million early-stage venture capital fund Strategic Opportunities Fund: $82 million venture strategic opportunities/venture capital fund Stifel Capital Advisors: Over $7 billion of assets under management (1) Investment Management Manages small and mid-cap growth equity portfolios for institutions and high net worth individuals Bank & Trust Provides lending products and services to private client customers and corporate clients (1) Assets under management reflect assets managed by Stifel Capital Advisors' affiliate, FSI Capital Holdings, LLC and its subsidiaries. Assets under management are calculated based on the aggregate principal balance of assets as of March 3, 2010. The calculation of assets under management may differ from the calculation of other asset managers, and as a result this measure may not be comparable to similar measures presented by other asset managers. Had assets under management been calculated using the method used for purposes of calculating asset management fees the result would be less than the measure reported herein.

Coast to Coast Institutional Group Presence Global Wealth Management Combined Institutional Group Presence TWPG SF TWPG SF

Stifel's Track Record in Integrating Transactions: Low Risk Opportunity Successfully integrated Legg's sales and trading, research and investment banking platforms to Stifel's platform Majority of Legg Mason Investment Banking Managing Directors remain with Stifel today Achieved cost savings objectives Remains core of Institutional Capital Markets business Closed December 1, 2005 Successfully integrated Ryan Beck's private client group and investment banking platforms to Stifel's platform Achieved cost savings objectives Closed February 28, 2007 Successfully integrated UBS' private client group platform to Stifel's platform Revenue production in-line with expectations Achieving synergy objectives Last closing October 16, 2009 (56 branches from UBS Financial Services) (Capital Markets Division)

Driving Value for Stakeholders Clients Greater access to resources of both firms Senior management and leadership provides broader platform to attract and retain talent Strong cultural fit between firms Expands services across Institutional Group and Global Wealth Management platforms Broader industry focus Deeper talent pool for serving clients Complementary investment banking and research platforms with almost no overlap provide continuity of client facing personnel Continued investment in Investment Banking fully leverages firm strengths Stifel remains over 40% owned by "insiders" on a fully diluted basis, creating direct alignment of interest with shareholders Increased revenue opportunities and cost savings create opportunity for enhanced profitability Proven successful integrators Building the Premier Growth-Focused Middle-Market Investment Bank Associates Shareholders