NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - February 3, 2011) - Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference LLP (SRFF) has again earned the title of leading PIPE issuer law firm in the nation, as ranked by the industry-standard PIPEs Report and Placement Tracker. This top position is not new to SRFF, as the close of 2010 marked the 7th consecutive year the firm has ranked #1. The Firm was also the 6th leading firm, by the number of deals advised, in the representation of Placement Agents.
The PIPES Report ranking reflects the strong growth SRFF has continued to demonstrate over the past year. In 2010, the firm represented 34 issuers in transactions totaling $174.4 million for an average of $5.1 million per transaction. Since 2004 when the firm was initially ranked as the #1 PIPE law firm nationwide, the Firm has completed approximately 350 such transactions valued at more than $2 billion. In the category of Placement Agent representation, the Firm was credited with having represented Placement Agents on 8 transactions totaling $197.7 million for an average of $24.7 million per transaction.
While the 2010 totals are still less than the 62 PIPEs transactions the Firm completed in 2007 or the 70 transactions recorded in 2006, it is an impressive accomplishment and marks a definite rebound from the lows of 2008. "Over the past year, we have seen companies engage in an increasing amount of public and registered direct offerings, especially among Chinese issuers, as investors demand for these companies, as well as transactions that provide more liquidity, has risen. This increase in these other forms of financing offset the decrease in PIPEs activity for the year."
In addition to the PIPEs Report's top standing, SRFF was also ranked 1st in 2010 for issuer counsel transactions by PlacementTracker, a project of Sagient Research. According to Sagient, SRFF's PIPE transactions overall reached $143 Million with a total of 27 transactions in 2010. Sagient's rankings also indicate that SRFF has now completed over $2 Billion in PIPEs transactions for its clients.
"We view this recognition both as a symbol of our firm's achievement and as evidence of our status as the premier law firm for corporate finance transactions," Sichenzia concluded. "As the economy continues to recover and the types of financing available to companies evolves, including the expansion of the PIPEs market to larger companies as well as the availability of public and registered direct offerings to emerging and growing companies, we anticipate that 2011 will provide us with further opportunities to assist businesses in their capital-raising activities."
Sichenzia Ross Friedman Ference LLP (SRFF) is headquartered in New York and offers a full range of financial and business legal services. SRFF specializes in advising corporations on all securities matters including public offerings, private investment in public entities (PIPEs) deals and international reverse merger transactions. The Firm is a recognized leader in PIPEs transactions for publicly traded companies and has completed over 350 deals to date, totaling over $2.0 billion since 2001. SRFF maintains dedicated Asian and Israeli corporate practice groups and is acknowledged for legal excellence, sectoral expertise and a strong commitment to innovation and client service. For more information, visit www.srff.com.
* PIPEs Rankings are measured by the number of placements advised according to The PIPEs Report and Privateraise.com. The rankings include only PIPE transactions that have a value of at least $1.0 million. For more information about PIPE rankings, go to www.privateraise.com.
Contact Information:
For interview and media requests, contact:
Richard Friedman
212-930-9700