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NEW YORK, April 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- AllianceBernstein L.P. today announced the closing of its first private equity real estate fund, AllianceBernstein U.S. Real Estate Partners, L.P., (the "Fund") with capital commitments of $680 million. Commitments to the Fund were received from several large, global institutional investors, including Temasek, the Singapore-based investment company, Alberta Teachers Retirement Fund, as well as institutions from the U.S., Hong Kong and Japan. In addition, numerous AllianceBernstein private clients and employees made commitments to the Fund. With additional co-investment capital from key strategic investors, the Fund could have approximately $900 million of available equity.

The Fund represents an important milestone for AllianceBernstein, which formed the Real Estate Group in September 2009 in order to build out a preeminent private equity real estate platform by leveraging the firm's current resources and existing infrastructure. The Real Estate Group is led by co-CIO's Brahm Cramer and Jay Nydick as well as managing director, Adam Brooks. Mr. Cramer and Mr. Brooks each spent their careers prior to joining AllianceBernstein with Goldman Sachs. Mr. Cramer co-headed the firm's Real Estate Principal Investment Area and Mr. Brooks built and led the firm's real estate mezzanine investing businesses. Mr. Nydick had most recently been the President of iStar Financial, the NYSE listed real estate specialty finance company, where he built several innovative new credit-based businesses.

"As a first time fund, we are thrilled with the success of our capital raise within a very difficult fundraising environment," said Brahm Cramer, co-CIO of the AllianceBernstein Real Estate Group. "We believe this is a credit to the AllianceBernstein network, the favorable investment environment for real estate and the early investments we have made. We are excited to partner with investors who share our strategic vision of creating value through the resolution of complex restructurings and recapitalizations of distressed real estate assets across the U.S."

To date, the Fund has committed more than $200 million of equity across six separate transactions. These investments include recapitalizations of distressed loans secured by office buildings in San Jose, California and suburban Seattle, a limited service hospitality portfolio and a residential land site in New Jersey. The Fund has also made direct real estate acquisitions including multifamily portfolios in Manhattan and in the Southeast U.S.

"We are pleased with the pace of investments and the make-up of the current portfolio," said Jay Nydick, the Real Estate Group's co-CIO. "We believe the current investments confirm our ability to execute our strategy and to generate attractive risk-adjusted returns through the resolution of situational distress."

The Fund is actively seeking debt and equity investment opportunities across all property types and geographic locations throughout the United States with a current focus on the recapitalization of distressed assets. The Fund is looking to make investments of $20-100 million per transaction and expects to invest in partnership with talented local market operators, existing owners of assets and in conjunction with borrowers seeking to recapitalize assets or entities.

About AllianceBernstein

AllianceBernstein is a leading global investment management firm that offers high-quality research and diversified investment services to institutional investors, individuals and private clients in major world markets.

At March 31, 2012, AllianceBernstein Holding L.P. (NYSE: AB - News) owned approximately37.9% of the issued and outstanding AllianceBernstein Units and AXA, one of the largest global financial services organizations, owned an approximate63.5% economic interest in AllianceBernstein.

Additional information about AllianceBernstein may be found on our internet site, http://www.alliancebernstein.com.

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AllianceBernstein Closes Its First Private Equity Real Estate Fund

REDWOOD SHORES, CA--(Marketwire -04/18/12)- Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL - News)

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About Oracle Communications Only Oracle's software and systems span the communications industry technology landscape -- from carrier-grade servers, storage and IT infrastructure, to mission-critical business and operational support systems and service delivery platforms; from business intelligence applications and retail point-of-sale solutions to the Java platform running on more than three billion mobile and handheld devices. Oracle helps 100 of the world's top 100 service providers innovate and exploit new business models, build strong, profitable customer relationships, and streamline operations. For more information, visit http://www.oracle.com/us/industries/communications/index.html

About OracleOracle engineers hardware and software to work together in the cloud and in your data center. For more information about Oracle (NASDAQ: ORCL - News), visit http://www.oracle.com.

About Oracle in IndustriesOracle industry solutions leverage the company's best-in-class portfolio of products to address complex business processes relevant to the communications industry, helping speed time to market, reduce costs, and gain a competitive edge.

TrademarkOracle and Java are registered trademarks of Oracle and/or its affiliates. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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Oracle Delivers Its Most Advanced Service Fulfillment Suite for Communications Industry

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Ramius LLC (Ramius), the global alternative investment management business of Cowen Group, Inc. (Cowen) (NASDAQ: COWN - News), today announced that Eric Greenhut has joined the firm as a Managing Director and Head of Quantitative Trading. Ramius quantitative trading platform was developed in-house and has been deploying proprietary capital through systematic trading programs since early 2010. Ramius is now seeking to expand and diversify the platform in order to enhance returns to proprietary capital and ultimately create systematic trading products for Ramius clients. In a newly created role, Mr. Greenhut will be responsible for the management and development of the group, including the ongoing search for premier quantitative traders, researchers, and programmers. Mr. Greenhut will report to Thomas W. Strauss, President and CEO of Ramius.

We welcome Eric to the firm and believe that his experience and skillset will be a valuable asset as we expand and advance our quantitative trading platform, said Mr. Strauss. Over the last two years, this platform has been generating superior results for Ramius own proprietary trading activities. As a result, we intend to grow the group substantially, both to enhance returns on our proprietary capital and to develop systematic trading products that will meet the ever evolving needs of our clients. We look forward to Erics contributions as we continue to build out Ramius quantitative trading group.

Mr. Greenhut brings 16 years of financial services experience with him to Ramius. Prior to joining the firm, he served as Managing Member of quantitative trading firms Hut Trading LLC & Hut Capital LLC since 2003. Previous to that, he was Managing Director, Portfolio Manager, and a Director of Research at BNP Paribas/Cooper Neff. Mr. Greenhut is an honors graduate of Harvard College and Phillips Academy.

About Cowen Group, Inc.

Cowen Group, Inc. is a diversified financial services firm and, together with its consolidated subsidiaries, provides alternative investment management, investment banking, research, and sales and trading services through its two business segments: Ramius and its affiliates makes up the Company's alternative investment management segment, while Cowen and Company is its broker-dealer segment. Its alternative investment management products, solutions and services include hedge funds, replication products, managed futures funds, fund of funds, real estate, health care royalty funds and cash management services. Cowen and Company offers industry focused investment banking for growth-oriented companies, domain knowledge-driven research and a sales and trading platform for institutional investors. Founded in 1918, the firm is headquartered in New York and has offices located in major financial centers around the world.

About Ramius LLC

Ramius offers a broad range of investment solutions to institutions and private clients worldwide. Founded in 1994, Ramius and affiliates manage $10.3 billion* (as of January 1, 2012) across multiple asset classes and investing styles. Ramius is headquartered in New York City with offices located in London, Tokyo, Luxembourg and Munich.

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Eric Greenhut Joins Ramius as Head of Quantitative Trading Group

SAKONNET AREA The state cant afford to properly care for its roads and bridges and needs the estimated $27 million that tolling the new Sakonnet River Bridge might provide each year.

So says Michael P. Lewis, director of the state Department of Transportation, who visited this newspaper last week to defend the toll proposal.

Governor Lincoln Chafees 2013 budget includes a plan that would hand over the Sakonnet River and Jamestown-Verrazzano bridges to the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority and allow RITBA to place tolls on the Sakonnet span when it is finished.

He is aware that people in this corner of the state feel strongly about the subject, Mr. Lewis said, but the state has about run out of transportation funding options.

We dont have the money, plain and simple, to maintain our bridges, he said. And he predicted that, with the present climate in Washington, the situation will only get worse. There isnt a status quo option. Without tolls, the day the new bridge opens, we wont be able to adequately maintain it it will go the way of the old Sakonnet Bridge.

The administration is pushing the toll issue now because there is a window of opportunity that will close forever in about 12 months, he said. Once the new bridge is complete and the old one removed (the Coast Guard permit requires that the old bridge be gone within 18 months after the new bridge is done), it will be too late to add tolls.

Mr. Lewis said the DOT thinks the Sakonnet River Bridge is the best candidate for tolls in part because it sees one-and-a-half times more traffic than the Newport Bridge. He said there would be no need for toll booths since tolling could be automatic.

Local lawmakers have already pledged to fight tolls either on the Sakonnet River Bridge or the Mount Hope Bridge. Rep. Raymond E. Gallison Jr., Rep. John G. Edwards and Sen. Walter S. Felag Jr. introduced bills earlier this year aimed at preventing the Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority from instituting tolls on the Mount Hope and Sakonnet River bridges.

And Senator Louis DiPalma told the Senate Finance Committee recently that another toll would isolate Aquideck Island and hit county businesses hard.

Mr. Lewis acknowledged that people in Newport and Bristol counties believe it is unfair to toll only bridges here while their tax dollars have assisted projects throughout the state like the Iway.

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DOT chief pushes Sakonnet Bridge toll

SHES as much an institution at Olympians as the inspiration behind the clubs name is and this year will see Dot Burgess surpass a half-century of service.

Burgess has been there almost from the clubs beginnings and is a testament to longevity, with this season her 51st of grade hockey in Tamworth and for Olympians.

We (family) came up here in 1956 (from Mayfield), Burgess recalled.

I played juniors down at No. 3 Oval in those days (now Bicentennial Park).

Then in 1961, Beryl Griffiths, who had founded the Olympians club a few years earlier, asked her to play for Olympians.

Dot was still a teenager at the time and over the years has enjoyed her share of success with the club, winning a handful of titles in the 20 plus years she played in first grade.

There were a few years too they were minor premiers but beaten at the final hurdle.

We had two or three years when we went through undefeated and got beaten in the grand final, Burgess said.

It was a different game back then rules, equipment and even the competition.

We used to go to carnivals, Burgess recalled.

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Dot's a sticker for her sport