The D. E. Shaw Group Hires Head of Direct Capital Unit; New Unit Expands Scope and Reach of Firm's Activities

301 words
23 February 2004
09:01
Business Wire
English
(c) 2004 Business Wire. All Rights Reserved.

NEW YORK The D. E. Shaw Group announced today that Robert T. Ladd has joined the firm as head of its newly formed Direct Capital unit, which will provide debt and equity capital to businesses in a variety of industry sectors throughout North America. The Direct Capital unit will focus on providing acquisition financing, mezzanine capital, and growth funding. In addition, the unit will be active in rescue finance and will provide financing for enterprises experiencing operational or financial distress. The new unit will be headquartered in Houston, Texas.

Mr. Ladd joins the D. E. Shaw group after serving as President and Chief Executive Officer of Duke Capital Partners and President of Duke Energy North America, both wholly-owned subsidiaries of Duke Energy Corporation. He also previously served as the firmwide managing partner of the Corporate Restructuring Group of Arthur Andersen LLP, and has held executive positions in commercial banking with First City Bancorporation of Texas, Inc.

"I have known Rob Ladd for 19 years," said Max Holmes, Managing Director of D. E. Shaw & Co., L.P. and senior portfolio manager of D. E. Shaw Laminar Portfolios, L.L.C. "He is the gold standard in direct lending and rescue finance, and we are delighted to have him on our team."

Todd Overbergen and Josh Davis, both formerly of Duke Capital Partners and Arthur Andersen LLP, will join Mr. Ladd in founding the Direct Capital unit's Houston headquarters.

The D. E. Shaw Group, headquartered in New York, is a specialized investment and technology development firm that comprises a number of entities with over $7 billion in aggregate capital.

The D. E. Shaw Group Nicholas Gianakouros, 212-478-0000

Document BWR0000020040223e02n003z3