Matthew Ryan Stoner

Ares Management Corp (Ares Management) is a private equity firm, a subsidiary of Ares Capital Management LLC founded in 1997 by Michael J Arougheti. The firm is headquartered in Los Angeles, California.

Ares Management LLC is a SEC-registered investment advisor and global alternative investment manager headquartered in Los Angeles, California. The firm was founded in 1997 by Merritt Hooper, John Kissick and Antony Ressler. They are a subsidiary of Ares Management Holdings LP and their ultimate parent is Ares Management Corp. (NYSE: ARES). Ares Management provides investment advice to various pooled investment vehicles, other separately managed accounts and other institutional clients.

Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith, Inc. (MLPFS) is the SEC-registered broker/dealer subsidiary of Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc., ultimately held by Charlotte-based Bank of America Corp. (NYSE: BAC). The firm was founded in 1958 and is headquartered in New York City. In 2010, Banc of America Securities LLC merged with MLPFS and the firm uses the trade name Bank of America Merrill Lynch. MLPFS's global strategy and economics team serves institutional and individual investors using a wide range of macroeconomic disciplines. Their analysis of global issues provides clients with investment ideas, market forecasts, macro overviews and specific sector recommendations across asset classes, regions and disciplines. Their equity research team conducts fundamental analysis on companies globally and provides institutional and retail clients with industry-specific and in-depth research and analysis on numerous industries. The firm's global fixed-income and equity-linked research focuses on fixed-income and equity derivatives, fixed-income strategy, convertibles, commodities, high-yield, mortgages, municipals and global foreign exchange.