Washington, D.C. and Los Angeles, CA (April 13, 2009) – FOCUS LLC, a national middle market investment banking firm providing merger, acquisition, divestiture and corporate finance services, announces that Brent Costello has joined the Los Angeles office as a managing director.

“Brent has more than 30 years of experience as an investment banker and mergers, acquisition and finance attorney, and will be a tremendous asset to the West Coast team,” said Paul Richey, regional managing director of FOCUS’ Los Angeles office.

Mr. Costello has represented a wide range of clients in cross-border and domestic transactions, including small to mid-capitalization enterprises and public and private companies that also include family-owned entities. His clients represent various industries, including manufacturing and distribution, pharmaceutical, entertainment, aerospace, information systems, publishing, insurance, and hi-tech.

Prior to joining FOCUS, Mr. Costello was the Managing Partner of Sun West M&A Advisors, a firm specializing in M&A advisory services to private middle market companies. Previously, Mr. Costello was a partner with the international law firm Kaye Scholer LLP where he was responsible for handling billions of dollars of corporate and finance transactions for major firm clients in its New York City and Los Angeles offices. He started his career as an associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, an international law firm headquartered in New York City.

Mr. Costello holds a J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center; and he graduated with a B.A. (cum laude) from Yale University.

About FOCUS LLC

FOCUS LLC provides a range of middle market investment banking services with an emphasis on mergers, acquisitions, divestitures and corporate finance. FOCUS is headquartered in Washington, D.C. with regional offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco. FOCUS specializes in business units with transactions or revenues in the $5-300 million range, serving entrepreneurs, corporate owners and various types of investors across a broad range of industries, throughout the U.S. and worldwide. FOCUS bankers are seasoned operating and financial executives with extensive transaction experience. Securities transactions conducted by Wm. H. Murphy & Co., Inc. registered Broker Dealer member FINRA/SIPC. For more information on FOCUS, visit www.focusbankers.com.

Kahla Cooper is the Director of Marketing at FOCUS. In this role, Ms. Cooper designs and implements the overall marketing strategy. Ms. Cooper works with each industry team leader to define programs in order to promote and brand FOCUS’ suite of capabilities.