Wall Street Veteran Dealmaker Lisbeth Barron Joins Berenson & Company

NEW YORK, May 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Berenson & Company, a leading private investment bank, today announced that Wall Street veteran Lisbeth Barron has joined the firm as Managing Director and Head of its Media, Entertainment and Leisure Advisory Practice.  Based in New York, Barron will focus her talents on advising clients on the acquisition of strategic businesses, the sale of non-core assets, raising debt and equity capital on a private placement basis, and refinancing and restructuring their balance sheets.  Barron will continue to work extensively with Film and Television programmers, Record companies and Music Publishers, Location-based Entertainment companies such as Movie Exhibitors and Theme Park Operators, Branded Licensing & Merchandising companies, Television and Radio Broadcasters and Cable Networks, Advertisers, and Sports-related businesses.

"We are extremely excited to have someone of Lisbeth's caliber join the Berenson & Company team," said Jeffrey L. Berenson, president and CEO.  "She brings a wealth of media and entertainment industry expertise and is a leading advisor to many top corporations and CEOs as the architect of deals that shape their strategic direction.  Our clients stand to benefit tremendously from her leadership, contacts, insight and tenacity."

"The highly-regarded team at Berenson & Company has the same strong commitment to its clients and their needs that I have valued my entire career," said Ms. Barron.  "I am pleased to be joining at a time when media, entertainment and leisure companies are looking more and more to their advisors to identify proprietary strategic opportunities and to finance them creatively.  In addition, as many traditional financial institutions continue to redefine their direction and value proposition, Berenson will be the beneficiary of these trends, enabling the firm to accelerate its growth prospects and build upon its strong platform."

Barron has covered the Media & Entertainment industry on Wall Street for over 20 years and comes to Berenson & Company from Centerview Partners where she led the firm's M&A advisory practice for clients in the sector.  Prior to Centerview, she had been a Partner and Senior Managing Director at Bear Stearns for 11 years, responsible for leading its Investment Banking practice for clients in the Entertainment industry.  Barron joined Bear Stearns from SBC Warburg Inc., where she had been the head of its Media & Entertainment Corporate Finance team for North America and Latin America, having joined its predecessor as a senior equity research analyst covering Entertainment companies.

During her career, Barron has consummated over $60 billion in strategic advisory assignments and capital raising transactions.  Some of her more notable transactions include the recent sale of Cherry Lane Music Publishing to KKR and BMG; the sale of DIC Entertainment to Cookie Jar; the purchase of Emeril Lagasse's company on behalf of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia; the $4.4 billion sale of SFX Entertainment to Clear Channel Communications; the acquisition and financing of Elvis Presley Enterprises and 19 Entertainment (owner of American Idol) and subsequent IPO by parent company CKX Inc.; advising the Cisneros Group on its $1.74 billion stake in Univision as part of the $13.7 billion sale of the company; the sale of NEP Broadcasting to American Securities Capital; the sale of Claxson Cable Networks to Time Warner; the establishment of the Sprout Network as advisor to Sesame Workshop as part of its partnership with PBS, Comcast, and HIT Entertainment; and the $11.7 billion sale of USA Networks to Vivendi.

Barron holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BBA in International Business and Finance from Florida Atlantic University.

About Berenson & Company (www.berensonco.com)

Founded in 1990, Berenson & Company is an independent investment banking firm that provides high quality financial advice to a broad range of public and private corporations, financial institutions, equity sponsors and entrepreneurs.  The firm's investment banking capabilities include a comprehensive suite of traditional mergers & acquisitions advisory, private financings of debt and equity, leveraged and management buyouts, Board advisory services including fairness opinions and valuations, counsel regarding proxy contests and takeover defense, divestitures and exclusive sales, financial restructuring and recapitalizations, and capital structure advisory.  Its business philosophy is characterized by an objective, client-focused approach toward developing long-term relationships and creative problem-solving.

SOURCE Berenson & Company