Andrew Bednar Joins Banc of America Securities as Head of U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions

NEW YORK, May 23 /PRNewswire/ -- Banc of America Securities (BAS) today announced that Andrew Bednar has joined the company as a managing director and head of U.S. Mergers & Acquisitions (M&A) - a newly created position.

Bednar is reporting to Tony Magro, global head of mergers & acquisitions at BAS and head of the company's Global Industries investment banking group. Both Bednar and Magro are based in New York.

"We are extremely pleased that Andrew has joined us in this important new M&A position," Magro said. "Andrew will play a key leadership role here - working with M&A bankers across all of our industry groups to deliver integrated products and services that meet the specific needs of our many clients. He also will be working to drive continued organic growth and market share gains for our M&A business," Magro added.

In addition, Bednar is working closely with Stefan Selig, vice chairman and managing director of Banc of America Securities. Selig, who also is based in New York, continues to leverage his extensive relationships and experience to work on key M&A deals across all BAS industry groups.

Bednar previously was a managing director and senior M&A investment banker at Goldman, Sachs & Co. Before joining Goldman Sachs in 1998, Bednar spent several years in M&A with Salomon Brothers and as an attorney with Cravath, Swaine & Moore.

Bednar has advised on numerous M&A transactions in a broad range of industries, including technology, energy and real estate, and was advisor in several large-scale mergers, including International Steel Group's merger with Ispat International and LNM Group, Phillips Petroleum's merger with Conoco and Monsanto's merger with Pharmacia.

Bednar received his BA and MBA degrees from Cornell University and a JD degree from Columbia University.

Banc of America Securities continues to grow its M&A business and has acted as financial advisor in numerous major transactions during the past year. Some examples of those transactions include:

- MetLife's pending acquisition of Citigroup's Travelers Life & Annuity for $11.5 billion - MGM Mirage Inc.'s $7.9 billion acquisition of Mandalay Resort Group - The $4.8 billion acquisition of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc. by an investor group led by Sony Corp. and Comcast Corp. - The $6.6 billion pending acquisition of Toys "R" Us by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., Bain Capital Partners LLC and Vornado Realty Trust - General Growth Properties Inc.'s acquisition of Rouse Co. for $12.6 billion - Fresenius Medical Care's pending acquisition of Renal Care Group for $4 billion About Bank of America

Bank of America is one of the world's leading financial services companies. The company's Global Capital Markets and Investment Banking group (GCIB) provides investment banking, equity and debt capital raising, research, trading, risk management, treasury management and financial advisory services. Through offices in 35 countries, GCIB serves domestic and international corporations, institutional investors, financial institutions and government entities. Many of the bank's services to corporate and institutional clients are provided through its U.S. and UK subsidiaries, Banc of America Securities LLC and Banc of America Securities Limited. For additional information, visit http://www.bankofamerica.com/ .