Paine & Partners Names Angelos J. Dassios and Andrew M. Freeman as Partners

SAN FRANCISCO, NEW YORK and CHICAGO, Jan. 5, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Paine & Partners, LLC ("Paine & Partners") promoted Angelos J. Dassios and Andrew M. Freeman to Partners, effective January 1, 2011.

"We are delighted to welcome Angelos Dassios as our Partner," said Kevin M. Schwartz, Partner. "His extensive industry and investment experience, built through his time at Paine & Partners and Goldman Sachs, makes him an ideal member of our team. Angelos has consistently displayed a high level of energy, focus and commitment, and we expect him to continue leveraging his industry knowledge to identify and develop new opportunities for our firm, portfolio companies and limited partners."  

"We are also pleased to welcome Andy Freeman as our Partner," said Mitchell S. Presser, Partner. "Andy has acquired significant investment experience during his time at Paine & Partners, Fremont Partners and Westbrook Partners. He exemplifies our differentiated approach to identifying and developing promising investment opportunities."

W. Dexter Paine, III, Partner, added, "Our most important assets are our people and our differentiated investment approach. Angelos and Andy are two executives who have done much to enhance our firm, and we look forward to their ongoing contributions as we continue to grow."

Mr. Dassios joined the predecessor firm in 2002 and had responsibility for Fund II investments in Seminis, Inc. and United National Group, Ltd. After pursuing outside interests for two years, he rejoined the predecessor firm in conjunction with the raising of the firm's $1.2 billion Fund III. Before Paine & Partners, Mr. Dassios worked at Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he started as a Financial Analyst in the Investment Banking Division and eventually moved to the Principal Investment Area to help manage a group of private equity funds. Mr. Dassios has an A.B. in Applied Mathematics, summa cum laude from Dartmouth College.

Mr. Freeman joined the predecessor firm in 2005 from Fremont Partners where he evaluated, negotiated, structured and harvested investments in a number of companies. He was previously an associate in private equity at MSD Capital, Michael Dell's private investment firm and an associate at Westbrook Partners, a real estate focused investment firm. Mr. Freeman has a B.A. in History and Economics, cum laude from Duke University and an MBA from Stanford University Graduate School of Business. He currently serves on the Boards of Directors of Capital Z and R360 Environmental Services.

About Paine & Partners, LLC

Paine & Partners provides equity capital for management buyouts, going private transactions, and company expansion and growth programs. Paine & Partners engages exclusively in friendly transactions developed in cooperation with a company's management, board of directors, and shareholders. The firm currently makes investments through its $1.2 billion fund, Paine & Partners Capital Fund III, L. P. For further information, see www.painepartners.com.

SOURCE Paine & Partners, LLC