SMH Capital Expands Equity Research Coverage of Oil and Gas Industry

Firm attracts two award-winning research analysts to cover the Oil Services &
Equipment sector
HOUSTON--(Business Wire)--
SMH Capital Markets continues to expand its oil and gas investment banking
practice with the recent addition of two leading industry analysts -- Douglas L.
Becker, CFA, and David C. Smith -- to initiate firm coverage of the Oil Services
& Equipment sector. Their inaugural reports were issued this morning and cover
more than 26 companies in the category.

"We are pleased to have two highly recognized and respected analysts in Doug
Becker and David Smith join SMH Capital`s research team," said William W.
Sprague, President of SMH Capital Markets. "We continue to build a leading
practice in the oil and gas sector by actively recruiting top talent to both the
institutional equity research and investment banking sides of the house." Becker
and Smith will be based in Houston and join a team of 9 other research analysts
located in New York, New Orleans, Dallas and Houston.

Managing Director Doug Becker joined SMH Capital earlier this year from Banc of
America Securities LLC, where he spent more than 10 years covering multiple
sectors, including Exploration & Production companies and the Integrated Oils.
Previously, he was at Credit Suisse First Boston. Becker was ranked first by
Forbes.com in 2008 for his coverage of the sector, based on his stock-picking
abilities and the accuracy of his earnings estimates. He is a Chartered
Financial Analyst and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from Indiana
University.

David C. Smith joined SMH Capital recently as vice president to support
institutional equity research coverage of the Oil Services & Equipment. He
brings more than 10 years of experience to the firm. Prior to SMH Capital, Smith
served as a research analyst at J.P. Morgan, covering the oilfield services
sector. Smith was named "Best on the Street" 2009 in the Oil Equipment, Services
& Distribution category by the Wall Street Journal. In addition, Smith ranked
third earlier this year in the Financial Times/StarMine`s "World`s Top Analysts
Awards" for industry stock picking in the Energy Equipment & Services category.
Smith holds a B.S. degree in Finance from the University of Houston and an M.S.
degree in Finance from Texas A&M University.

About SMH Capital

SMH Capital Inc. (member FINRA/SIPC) is a registered broker-dealer and a
subsidiary of Sanders Morris Harris Group Inc. (NASDAQ:SMHG). The firm has
offices in Houston, New York, Dallas and New Orleans. SMH Capital Inc.`s Capital
Markets division provides a full suite of investment banking services including
private placements and public offerings of equity and debt securities,
financial-advisory services in connection with mergers, acquisitions,
divestitures, restructurings and recapitalizations, as well as institutional
equity sales, trading, research, prime brokerage services for hedge funds and
fixed income securities sales and trading. Additional information is available
at http://www.smhcapital.com.

Sanders Morris Harris Group is a financial services holding company
headquartered in Houston that manages approximately $8 billion in client assets.
The subsidiaries and affiliates of Sanders Morris Harris Group deliver superior
wealth advisory, asset management, and capital markets services to individual
and institutional investors and middle-market companies. Its operating entities
are SMH Capital, SMH Capital Advisors, The Edelman Financial Center, Dickenson
Group, Leonetti & Associates, Miller-Green Financial Services, The Rikoon Group
and Select Sports Group. Sanders Morris Harris Group has over 610 employees in
21 states. Additional information is available at http://www.smhgroup.com.

For SMH Capital
Gretchen Weis, 713-385-8912

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