Marlin & Associates Earns Four "M&A Advisor" Awards

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - December 13, 2007) - "The M&A Advisor," a conference producer and newsletter publisher serving the middle market finance industry, announced the winners of the 2007 M&A Advisor Awards at its 6th annual awards dinner.

Marlin & Associates New York LLC ("Marlin") was recognized as the Middle Market Investment Banking Firm of the Year.

In addition, Marlin took top honors in three deal categories:

-- Middle Market International/Cross Border Deal of the Year (Below $100M)

-- Middle Market Financial Services Deal of the Year (Below $100M)

-- Middle Market Computer and Information Technology Deal of the Year (Below $100M)

In July, "The M&A Advisor" recognized Marlin as the Middle Market Financing Agent of the Year - Equity, and also awarded Marlin & Associates honors in three Middle Market Financing "Deal of the Year" categories. In 2006, Marlin was recognized for leading the Financial Technology Deal of the Year and was a finalist in three other categories.

"The M&A Advisor" recognizes top deal-making professionals serving the $10 million - $1 billion (sales) market in fields such as investment banking, private equity, legal services and accounting. The awards are made on the basis of creativity and resourcefulness, persistence, business savvy, and value-added. Other finalists included Houlihan Lokey Howard & Zukin, Harris Williams and Co., FT Partners, Morgan Joseph & Co., and Robert W. Baird & Co.

"2007 has proven to be another banner year for Marlin & Associates. We are honored to repeat as award winners and to be recognized for our role in assisting middle market firms successfully transact," said Ken Marlin, founder and Managing Partner of Marlin & Associates. "At the same time, we are humbled to be among such distinguished company."

About Marlin & Associates

Founded in 2002, Marlin & Associates New York LLC is a boutique investment banking and strategic consulting firm focused on providing highly strategic, transaction-related services to U.S. and international middle-market firms engaged in technology, information, on-line media and business-services. The firm is based in New York City with a Washington, DC office and has been the recipient of numerous awards.

Marlin & Associates' professionals have advised on over 200 successfully completed transactions in the technology and information services sector. Recent Marlin & Associates transactions include:

-- StarMine of San Francisco, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to Reuters (LSE: RTR). M&A initiated the transaction, helped to manage the process, assisted in the negotiations and acted as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to StarMine.

-- Applied Financial Technology of San Francisco, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to Fidelity National Information Services (NYSE: FIS). M&A initiated the transaction, helped to manage the process, assisted in the negotiations and acted as strategic and financial advisor to AFT.

-- Global Energy Decisions of Boulder, Colorado, which recently was acquired by Ventyx, Inc., an affiliate of Vista Equity Partners of San Francisco. Vista is a leading private equity firm focused on investing in software and technology-enabled services. Marlin & Associates identified Global Energy as a potential opportunity, helped Vista conduct a thorough review of Global Energy's business and financial results and worked with Vista to assess Global Energy's strategic fit within Vista's portfolio.

-- Xcitek LLC market data of New York, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to Interactive Data Corporation (NYSE: IDC). M&A initiated the transaction, helped to manage the process, assisted in the negotiations and acted as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Xcitek.

-- Hugin ASA of Oslo, Norway, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to Euronext NV of Amsterdam, Netherlands (ENXTPA: NXT). M&A initiated the transaction, helped to manage the process, assisted in the negotiations and acted as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Hugin.

-- Triple Point Technology of Westport, Connecticut, which Marlin & Associates advised on the sale of a majority interest to ABRY Partners, one of the most experienced and successful private equity firms in North America. M&A initiated the transaction, helped to manage the process, assisted in the negotiations and acted as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Triple Point Technology.

-- Brainpower N.V. of Lugano, Switzerland, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to Bloomberg L.P. M&A initiated the transaction, helped to manage the process, assisted in the negotiations and acted as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Brainpower.

-- Cameron Systems (Vic) of Sydney, Australia, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to Orc Software of Stockholm, Sweden (STKM: ORC). M&A initiated the transaction, helped to manage the process, assisted in the negotiations and acted as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Cameron.

-- Derivative Solutions, of Chicago, which Marlin & Associates advised on its sale to FactSet Research Systems (NYSE: FDS). M&A initiated the transaction, helped to manage the process, assisted in the negotiations and acted as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Derivative Solutions.

-- Beauchamp Financial Technology Ltd. of London, England, which Marlin and Associates advised on its sale to Linedata Services of Paris, France (PARIS: LIN). M&A initiated the transaction, helped to manage the process, assisted in the negotiations and acted as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to BFT.

-- Global Securities Information, Inc. of Washington, DC which Marlin and Associates advised on its sale to the Thomson Corporation (NYSE: TOC). M&A initiated the transaction, helped to manage the process, assisted in the negotiations and acted as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to GSI.

Contact Information: CONTACT: Michael Maxworthy (646) 495-5141 www.MarlinLLC.com