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JEFFERIES EXPANDS HEALTHCARE EQUITY RESEARCH

Bruce Cranna, Raj Denhoy, Stephan Gasteyger and Omotayo Okusanya
Extend Firm's Global Equities Platform

NEW YORK and LONDON, December 8, 2009 – Jefferies announced today the expansion of its Healthcare Equity Research effort with the hiring of four Senior Equity Research Analysts. Bruce Cranna will cover Diversified Medical Supply and Diagnostic companies, Raj Denhoy will cover Medical Devices, Stephan Gasteyger will focus on European Medical Technology and Services, and Omotayo Okusanya, CFA, CPA will cover REITs across a variety of sectors with an initial focus on Healthcare REITs. Mr. Cranna, based in Boston, and Messrs. Denhoy and Okusanya, based in New York, join as Managing Directors, and Mr. Gasteyger joins as a Senior Vice President based in London. Jefferies' global equity and high yield research coverage of the Healthcare sector now includes 20 senior analysts.

"The addition of these four senior research analysts demonstrates Jefferies' deep commitment to the healthcare sector and expands the firm's overall securities research coverage," commented Steven R. Black, Director of Equity Research at Jefferies. "Their broad and diverse experience and relationships significantly extend Jefferies' reach and add immediate value for our clients."

Jefferies' Healthcare research team, one of the largest in the world, now covers Biotechnology, Pharmaceuticals, Specialty Pharmaceuticals, Contract Research Organizations (CROs), Medical Devices, Medical Diagnostics, Life Sciences Tools, Healthcare Supplies, Healthcare Information Technology, Medical Technology, Healthcare Services, Facilities and REITs. Jefferies has over 140 equity research professionals globally who currently cover more than 850 companies. In 2009, Jefferies analysts have won 23 research analyst awards in surveys by Institutional Investor, The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times / StarMine and Forbes / Zack's.

Mr. Cranna joins Jefferies after more than seven years at Leerink Swann, where he was a Managing Director and Senior Analyst covering Diversified Medical Supply and Diagnostic companies. He was a Wall Street Journal All-Star in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 "Best on the Street" surveys, and earned a #1 ranking for his coverage of medical products in both the 2008 Financial Times "World's Best Analysts" and Forbes "Best Brokerage Analysts" Awards. Previously, he was a Director and Senior Analyst in Equity Capital Markets at ABN Amro. Mr. Cranna received an MBA from Northeastern University cum laude and a BA from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst cum laude.

Mr. Denhoy joins Jefferies from Thomas Weisel Partners, where he was a Senior Analyst covering Medical Devices. He has covered the device sector for over 10 years and was previously a Senior Research Analyst at Bear Stearns and Piper Jaffray. He received an MBA from Cornell University, a MS in Human Physiology from Georgetown University and a BA in Biology from the University of California, Berkeley.

Mr. Gasteyger joins Jefferies from Piper Jaffray, where he was a Senior Research Analyst covering European Medical Technology. Previously, he was a Research Analyst at Credit Suisse, where he was part of the consistently top-ranked European healthcare and pharmaceutical research team. Mr. Gasteyger received a Masters degree in Economics and Finance from the University of St. Gallen.

Mr. Okusanya joins Jefferies from UBS Investment Bank, where he worked for seven years and was most recently a Senior Analyst covering REITs across the Healthcare, Office, Self-Storage, Mortgage and Specialty REIT sectors. He was ranked #2 in the REIT category in The Wall Street Journal 2008 "Best on the Street" survey, and earned a #4 ranking covering REITs in the 2009 Forbes / Zack's "Best Brokerage Analysts" special report. Mr. Okusanya received an MBA from Harvard Business School and a BS from Rutgers University in Accounting and Computer Science summa cum laude. He is also a holder of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, and a Chartered Public Accountant (CPA).

Jefferies, a major global securities and investment banking firm, has served companies and their investors for more than 45 years. Jefferies & Company, Inc. is the principal operating subsidiary of Jefferies Group, Inc. (NYSE: JEF: www.jefferies.com).

For further information, please contact:

Tom Tarrant, Jefferies & Company, Inc., 212-284-2389, ttarrant@jefferies.com
Desiree Maghoo, Jefferies International Ltd, 44 20 7029 8085, dmaghoo@jefferies.com
Josh Passman, CJP Communications, 212 279 3115, x203, jpassman@cjpcom.com