Clairfield Partners (www.clairfield.com) is pleased to announce the addition of a new partner firm in Central and Eastern Europe. Central Europe Trust (www.cet.com.pl) is a major financial advisory firm in Poland specializing in transaction advisory, strategic advisory, organizational consulting, financial modeling, and management of private equity funds. Central Europe Trust (CET) is headquartered in Warsaw.

Since its founding in 1989, CET has closed over 110 M&A transactions and IPOs in industries such as telecommunications & technology, pharmaceuticals, natural resources and energy, retail, financial services, manufacturing, chemicals, food & beverage, and medical services. Recent transactions include the disposal of LIM Medical Centre, the leading clinic operator in Poland; and the disposal of AD Polska, the third largest automotive spare parts distributor.

CET has more than 20 M&A professionals at its Warsaw office. In a survey of the 150 largest Polish companies by Manager Magazin, CET ranked among the top advisory firms, obtaining the highest score in categories such as communication with clients and teamwork.

"Eastern Europe is an increasingly important geography in today’s economy and it was clear that Clairfield needed a strong partner to provide access to recently-privatized companies, family businesses, and multinationals in the region. With CET to represent us, we look forward to opening our doors to Poland and beyond."

"Clairfield Partners, covering all major Western markets, offers access of enormous value to our clients. Well over a third of all Polish transactions in 2008 had a cross-border element and this number will only increase. We look forward to partnering with Clairfield with great optimism and enthusiasm."

Clairfield Partners is an international corporate finance partnership that provides advisory services to clients ranging from family businesses to large multinational corporations and private equity funds. Clairfield Partners has over 200 professionals at firms throughout Europe, North and South America, and Australia. In 2008, Clairfield Partners closed over 50 transactions worth approximately $1 billion, placing at the top of the Thomson Reuters rankings for independent advisory firms.

The current economic climate represents an opportunity for M&A boutiques such as those comprising Clairfield Partners because these firms are led by highly-motivated entrepreneurs with specialized industry knowledge and an ethical, unconflicted approach to doing business for their corporate clients. Clairfield Partners continues to respond to these economic challenges and has expanded the partnership in Europe and the Americas.

In 2009, Clairfield Partners won the "Western European Investment Bank of the Year" award from ACQ Finance magazine.