Execs Buy L.H. Friend

Four top executives of L.H. Friend, Weinress, Frankson & Presson Inc. said they have purchased the Irvine investment banking firm from parent Olympic Cascade Financial Corp. Financial terms were not disclosed.

The investment group is led by Gregory E. Presson, chairman and chief executive of L.H. Friend; Vice Chairman Stephen D. Weinress; President Carl E. Frankson; and Patrick S. Bannister, chief financial officer and chief operating officer. Several other management-level employees also have opted to become private shareholders, the firm said.

The firm, which was founded in 1984, has 42 employees. It was acquired in March 1997 by Chicago-based Olympic Cascade.