– Brings more than 30 years of domain expertise –

Birmingham, Alabama 22 May 2012 – Kirchner Private Capital Group (“KPCG” or the “Company”), a leading North American traditional merchant bank, today announced that it has enhanced its Agriculture and Food Integrated Focus Area with the addition of industry leader Paul Schmidt, who joins KPCG as Managing Director.

“The success of our business over the last twenty seven years has been predicated on our ability to bring unparalleled domain expertise to successfully execute client mandates,” said Bud Kirchner, Founder of KPCG. “The addition of Paul enhances our team and unquestionably positions KPCG as a leader in the agriculture space. In addition, we believe that the ability to attract this type of world-class talent further validates our Integrated Focus Area model of pairing domain expertise with process expertise. This model brings together best-in class operators, transaction experts, and investors to solve the unique challenges of early and mid-market companies.”

Mr. Schmidt brings more than thirty years of operational experience to KPCG and is highly regarded in the agriculture space, having served most recently as President of Merck/EMD Crop BioScience until its acquisition by Novozymes. His distinguished career also includes senior roles at Bayer CropScience, Aventis CropScience, Hoechst Schering AgrEvo, and the Government of Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Department. Mr. Schmidt received his degree in Agronomy from the University of Saskatchewan and is based in Raleigh, NC.

“Paul’s domain expertise and robust relationships with global strategics compliments that of our existing team members giving us a platform that we believe is unrivaled in our industry,” said Armand Lavoie, Managing Partner of KPCG Agriculture and Food Integrated Focus Area. “Our Integrated Focus Area model has resonated with the early and mid-market audience resulting in significant activity in the space.”

About Kirchner Private Capital Group
Kirchner Private Capital Group is patterned after the original model for a merchant bank. Our team is comprised of successful business people who now apply their operational, transactional and investment experience to the unique needs of early- and mid-stage companies and their investors. We pride ourselves in both the quality and quantity of the long-term relationships we have built over the last 27 years. www.kirchnergroup.com.

For further information:
Armand Lavoie
Managing Partner
Phone: +1 (306) 651-1066
alavoie@kirchnergroup.com

Cameron Davies
Managing Partner
Phone: +1 (416) 420-2861
cdavies@kirchnergroup.com