White Oak Group, a specialized investment banking and financial advisory firm, announces the appointment of Peter Arnstein as partner. Mr. Arnstein brings over 25 years of strategic financial advisory, capital formation and principal investing experience to White Oak Group’s investment banking capabilities, and has worked with clients as an investment banker at Lehman Brothers and PaineWebber in New York, at First Union in Charlotte, and at Mesirow Financial in Chicago. He was co-head of the Mezzanine Investment group at GATX Capital. Mr. Arnstein earned a BA in Economics from Stanford University and an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

 Arnstein works with companies in a range of industries including information and marketing services, security, niche manufacturing, media, retailing, consumer products and transportation. He has developed an extensive network within the private equity sponsor, mezzanine and alternative structured capital communities throughout the United States and Canada. His experience includes acquisitions and divestitures, public and private debt and equity financing, and financial restructurings. To his clients Arnstein brings a deep understanding of key components of value when positioning a company for a sale, raising debt and equity capital or evaluating a company as an acquisition. He has a breadth of credit and capital formation experience to draw upon in marketing, structuring and closing financing transactions.

“I’m delighted to be joining forces with Murray Lessinger at White Oak Group,” said Arnstein. “We’ve known each other for many years and we determined that we could better serve our clients by working together. Murray offers his clients high standards of professionalism, thorough subject matter knowledge, tenacity, and strategic vision.”

 “We are pleased to have an investment banking professional with Pete’s breadth of experience and range of transaction capabilities,” said Lessinger. “Clearly this demonstrates our commitment to expanding our firm’s investment banking capabilities.”