Our Knowledge. Our Belief. Our Capital.

Vernon & Park Capital, L.P. is a private equity/venture capital firm that focuses on investments in the Financial Markets Sector (the "sector"). Since 2001, Vernon & Park and affiliated parties have combined industry expertise and experience with thorough financial analysis to successfully deploy its investment capital in the sector. Through its investment activities, Vernon & Park provides capital to its portfolio companies and utilizes is extensive network of industry contacts and deep working knowledge of the financial markets as a strategic resource to help those companies realize their full economic potential.

Put simply, Vernon & Park's primary objectives are:
To become a financial and strategic partner with a select group of high-performing or potentially high-performing companies that will offer investors substantial returns over time.

To team with top private equity/venture capital firms that recognize the potential of the sector and appreciate the added value Vernon & Park's unique industry expertise brings to industry companies.

Uniquely Qualified to Understand and Identify Sector Needs.
About Us

The firm was founded by industry veteran Jim Ginsburg who recognized the significant potential for growth in the sector. The firm's guiding philosophy is to combine deep industry knowledge with transactional expertise. Over the succeeding years, Jim Ginsburg has developed an extensive network of top industry participants from all aspects of the sector and utilizes this network as a strategic resource for its' portfolio companies.

Vernon & Park has a proven ability to draw upon its internal resources or access outside industry experts to provide the necessary transactional, regulatory, financial, or other required skill sets to fulfill portfolio company needs. Consequently, Vernon & Park has a record of uncovering and building value of companies in the sector.


James S. Ginsburg
Managing Partner

Mr. Ginsburg is the Managing Partner at Vernon & Park Capital and a well known investor within the exchange industry. He brings to Vernon & Park significant experience selecting, evaluating and monitoring investments in the sector as well as a valuable network of industry contacts. Mr. Ginsburg's breadth of industry knowledge and contacts, combined with his many years of experience investing in the sector, gives him the perspective necessary to find attractive investment opportunities in this rapidly changing environment. Prior to his fund management activities, Mr. Ginsburg was an active trader at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange ("CME") for over twenty years. Mr. Ginsburg is a Director of the CME PAC. He is or has been a member/shareholder of the CME, the Chicago Board of Trade, the New York Stock Exchange, the Pacific Exchange, the Philadelphia Stock Exchange, the New York Mercantile Exchange and the New York Board of Trade. He is a board observer at the Canadian National Stock Exchange, UNX, Correlix, Currensee and TrumarxData Partners.


Linda B. Ginsburg
Managing Director

Ms. Ginsburg is a Managing Director at Vernon & Park Capital and brings nearly 20 years of experience in the investment banking industry. As a founding principal at Vector Securities International, Inc. ("Vector"), a leading investment bank focused on the healthcare industry, Ms. Ginsburg played a central role in the structuring, negotiation and execution of numerous mergers and acquisitions, public and private offerings, strategic alliances, fairness opinions, corporate valuations and private equity investments. In 1999, Vector was purchased by Prudential Securities where Ms. Ginsburg remained as a Managing Director. Ms. Ginsburg assisted Mr. Ginsburg in the formation of Fund I and in the documentation of investments and other legal matters and now plays a central role at Vernon & Park. Ms. Ginsburg received her BBA from George Washington University in 1982 and her JD/MBA from Stanford in 1986.

Exchange and Financial Markets Insight Gained From Experience.
Why Partner With Us

Vernon & Park recognizes that globalization, technological advances and changes in market structure create significant potential for opportunity and growth in the sector. Over the years, Vernon & Park has developed an extensive network of contacts with broad and deep experience in the areas of trading, exchange operations, financial technology, investment banking and private investing. Vernon & Park also utilizes its industry advisory committee as a resource. This committee is comprised of a number of important industry participants.

Vernon & Park is uniquely suited to exploit investment opportunities in the sector. We offer distinct advantages to the following constituencies:

Entrepreneurs/Managers
Vernon & Park has a deep understanding of the technological and competitive and regulatory dynamics that impact company growth in the sector. We can quickly analyze investment opportunities, thus minimizing the management distraction that usually attends the investment process. In addition, we provide entrepreneurs access to our network of industry contacts, which can accelerate product expansion and partnership opportunities. This network includes access to larger investment pools should the company require significant additional capital. Ultimately, Vernon & Park provides investment capital in addition to informed strategic guidance.

Strategic Investors
Vernon & Park has a history of working with top strategic/financial investors in the sector. For those strategic investors who might find regulatory constraints on ownership a limiting factor or who recognize the value of a financial partner in a consortium environment, Vernon & Park is the ideal partner. We understand the industry and can quickly navigate the due diligence process. We can also bring an added dimension in terms of contacts and corporate governance that a strategic investor alone might be unable to provide.

Large Private Equity Funds
Large private equity funds with a more generalist financial services focus benefit from Vernon & Park's domain expertise. We are an excellent partner in the due diligence process and ultimately as a co-investor. Likewise, our deal-sourcing capabilities sometimes unearth investments that exceed our capital base, which creates significant co-investment opportunities for larger funds.

Blending New Perspectives and Globally Respected Leadership.
Advisory Board

Leo Melamed
Mr. Melamed is widely recognized as the "father of financial futures." He brings Bourse Partners II his vast experience, vision and leadership that built the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) into the world's premier futures market. He also brings Fund II a network of contacts that have been developed through his leadership role in the growth of the financial markets around the world. Mr. Melamed has served as a director of CME for more than 30 years and serves as a director and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of CME Holdings since its formation in 2001. He currently serves as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Melamed & Associates, Inc., a global markets consulting firm. Recently, Mr. Melamed, with former Senator Adlai Stevenson, founded HuaMei Capital Company, Inc., a consulting firm that focuses on cross-border mergers and joint ventures between American and Chinese companies.

David Goone
Mr. Goone is Senior Vice President, Chief Strategic Officer of the Intercontinental Exchange ("ICE"). He joined the ICE in 2001 and is responsible for the expansion of ICE's product line, including futures products and trading capabilities for the ICE electronic platform. Mr. Goone played a central role in ICE's recently completed merger with the New York Board of Trade. He brings VPC over twenty years of experience in the exchange and futures trading industry. An expert on strategy, product and business development and sales, as well as electronic platforms and global financial markets, he will be a valuable resource for VPC and its portfolio companies. Mr. Goone received his B.S. degree in Accountancy from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1986.

David Salomon
David Salomon co-founded, with former NYMEX Chairman Vincent Viola, EWT LLC and Madison Tyler, two of the most successful algorithmic-based trading companies in the securities industry. He also recently co-founded FATTOC LLC, a trading company and developer of next-generation trading-related applications for major financial institutions. Mr. Salomon began his career in finance in the risk arbitrage department at Goldman Sachs, where he ran the equity strategy group and reported directly to Robert E. Rubin. Mr. Salomon spent 15 years of his career as a trader in the energy markets. He was a founding member of the oil-trading department at J. Aron & Company. He went on to help found the energy derivatives business at both Banker's Trust and American International Group, Inc. (AIG). In 1978, Mr. Salomon received his B.S. degree in politics and psychology from Princeton University graduating summa cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa. In 1982, Mr. Salomon graduated with distinction from the Wharton School.

Nathan Laurell
Nathan Laurell is the Director of Business Development, Director of Marketing Making and a partner at Infinium Capital Management. Infinium, through electronic and open-outcry execution, makes markets and uses arbitrage strategies to globally trade cash and derivative products in the following asset classes: equities, fixed-income, energies, foreign exchange and precious metals. As Director of Business Development, he is responsible for overall firm strategy. In addition, Nathan has written software, traded, engineered, and managed nearly all aspects of Infinium as the firm has grown. Nathan holds a Masters of Science degree in Electrical & Computer Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. He has a strong and varied background in software and business and has led the development of a variety of patented technologies and start-up companies.

James Sprayregen
James Sprayregen is a Restructuring partner in the Chicago and New York offices of Kirkland & Ellis LLP. Mr. Sprayregen is recognized as one of the country's outstanding restructuring lawyers. Mr. Sprayregen has extensive experience representing major U.S. and international companies in and out of court as well as buyers and sellers of assets in distressed situations. He also has experience advising boards of directors, and generally representing domestic and international debtors and creditors in workout, insolvency, restructuring, and bankruptcy matters. Mr. Sprayregen returned to Kirkland & Ellis in December 2008. He rejoined the Firm after nearly three years with Goldman Sachs, where he was co-head of Goldman Sach's Americas Restructuring Group and helped lead Goldman Sach's practice advising clients in restructuring and distressed situations. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Mr. Sprayregen spent 16 years at Kirkland & Ellis, where he led some of the most complex chapter 11 bankruptcy cases in recent history, including for United Airlines, Conseco, NRG Energy, and TWA Corp., among others. Mr. Sprayregen is a frequent lecturer, speaker, and panel moderator and has also published numerous articles on insolvency, fiduciary duty and distressed M&A issues. He earned a J.D. from the University of Illinois College of Law and a B.A. from the University of Michigan.

David Quinlan
David Quinlan is an Executive Managing Director of BNY ConvergEx Group, LLC as well as President of Eze Castle Software LLC and Eze Castle Transaction Services LLC. Eze Castle Software is a leading OMS provider with nearly 400 clients worldwide. Mr. Quinlan joined Eze Castle Software in 1999. In his current role, he is responsible for sales, marketing, product management and business development for Eze Castle Software and manages Eze Castle Transaction Services. Mr. Quinlan is also a member of the board of directors at Code Red Inc. He has been a director since 2005. Mr. Quinlan holds a B.S. in Finance from Providence College.

Seeking Opportunities For Growth While Keeping Our Focus.
Investments

Sector Overview
The Financial Markets Sector consists of firms that support trading in the capital markets. Target companies include market centers and exchanges, trading platforms, broker-dealers and FCMs, education and research providers, clearing and settlement services, market data information companies, trading groups as well as financial technology providers that service the industry.

Market Trends
The sector is large and growing. Trading volumes have exploded in recent years as economic growth, market structure changes and product innovation have increased the number of participants on a global scale. At the same time, technological advances have given rise to an abundance of new trading products and services that have increased the speed, volume and complexity of financial transactions for investors. In addition, cross-border consolidation and more homogenized regulatory frameworks should continue to fuel global expansion and, ultimately, volume growth in financial transactions.

Barriers To Entry
From an investment perspective, the sector has substantial barriers to entry. Competitive dynamics, regulatory changes and rapid technological innovation require considerable domain expertise when navigating investment opportunities. At the same time, the rapid growth of the sector has created a favorable environment for investors who can anticipate market trends and source investments. Vernon & Park believes that the sector has entered a prolonged period of global growth, consolidation and innovation, creating attractive opportunities for its investment capital.

Investment Strategy
While many private equity funds focus on companies at a particular growth stage, Vernon & Park invests in sector companies all along the maturity continuum. For early stage companies, we have the ability to partner with strategic investors, which can accelerate growth and limit downside risk. For later stage companies, we can access larger pools of capital from firms who seek exposure to the sector but lack the requisite domain expertise. Ultimately, Vernon & Park is sector focused and growth stage agnostic.


Current Investments

Currensee: Invested 2010
currensee.com

UNX: Invested 2009
unx.com

Firm58: Invested 2009
firm58.com

Correlix: Invested 2009
correlix.com

CNSX: Invested 2008
cnsx.ca

Quadriserv: Invested 2007
quadriserv.com


Past Investments
New York Mercantile Exchange (2007)
Intercontinental Exchange (2006)
New York Board of Trade (2006)
Philadelphia Stock Exchange (2005)
New York Stock Exchange (2004)
Pacific Exchange (2004)
Deutsche Bourse (2004)
Chicago Board of Trade (2002)
Chicago Mercantile Exchange (2001)

Contact Vernon & Park Capital

Vernon & Park Capital, L.P.
One North LaSalle
Suite 2475
Chicago, IL 60602
(312) 262-6210
contact@vernonpark.com