BNY Mellon Investment Manager Sees Activity in Hillside Project

PLYMOUTH MEETING, PA, May 24, 2010 — URDANG, the real estate investment specialist for BNY Mellon Asset Management, and Ridgeback Partners announced that 17 homes in the Hillside development in Las Vegas, NV, have been sold to a single investor. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.

The 17 homes, along with 291 finished lots, were acquired from a consortium of banks on February 12, 2010, by Ridgeback Partners. URDANG provided acquisition financing to Ridgeback Partners through Urdang Value-Added Fund II L.P., a private real estate fund managed by Urdang Capital Management Inc.

"In addition to the timely disposition of the 17 homes, the remaining 291 finished lots in Hillside have generated significant interest from national and local homebuilders since acquisition," David Rabin, managing director, private real estate, for Urdang Capital Management. "Ridgeback Partners is working with qualified homebuilders seeking to acquire the lots either in bulk or through a lot option program."

"The quick sale of the homes was executed well ahead of our business plan," said Jeff Barcy, chief executive officer of Ridgeback Partners. "We are excited to achieve net proceeds close to retail pricing in a bulk transaction."

Hillside marks the second participating loan made by an URDANG fund to an entity owned and controlled by Ridgeback Partners. URDANG made a participating loan in August 2009 to Ridgeback Partners for its acquisition of Monte Sereno, a gated community comprising 60 estate-sized finished lots in Palm Springs, CA.

Ridgeback Partners is an investment management firm formed in 2007 by Jeff Barcy and Marcus Buerosse to take advantage of compelling distressed residential opportunities in the US market.

Founded in 1987 with an exclusive focus on institutional investment grade real estate, URDANG offers a variety of strategies and products, managing approximately $1.7 billion in public real estate securities through Urdang Securities Management, Inc. and approximately $1.6 billion in debt and private equity real estate investments through Urdang Capital Management, Inc. for institutional investors and high net worth individuals throughout global markets and across public and private capital sectors. URDANG's research-driven process combines top down economic analysis and market/country selection with bottom up underwriting of properties, companies and management teams to seek high, risk-adjusted returns. It is one of the investment boutiques of BNY Mellon Asset Management.

BNY Mellon Asset Management is the umbrella organization for BNY Mellon's affiliated investment management firms and global distribution companies.

BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. BNY Mellon is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 34 countries and serving more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services, clearing services and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has $22.4 trillion in assets under custody and administration, $1.1 trillion in assets under management, services $11.8 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.5 trillion per day. Additional information is available at www.bnymellon.com.