April 28, 2010 –Darby Overseas Investments, Ltd. (“Darby”), the private equity arm of Franklin Templeton Investments, announced that the Brazil Mezzanine Infrastructure Fund (“BMIF”), managed by Darby’s joint venture with the Stratus Group, has invested R$35 million (US$20 million) in T-Grão Cargo Terminal de Granéis S.A.(“T-Grão”). Transaction details were not disclosed. This transaction is the second investment for BMIF.

T-Grão operates a port terminal specialized in grain handling in the right bank of the Port of Santos, the largest and the most active port in South America. T-Grão is the only independent grain terminal operator not associated with a trading company in the Port of Santos. The investment will increase T-Grão’s storage capacity and add export-related equipment. The investment will transform T-Grão from an import terminal focused on handling wheat into a bi-directional terminal that handles both imports and exports, including wheat, soybean and maize.

David Hudson, Darby’s Senior Managing Director – Asia, Global Infrastructure and Latin America Mezzanine, commented, “We are pleased to add T-Grão to our BMIF portfolio. The company fits well into our investment strategy of supplying risk capital to medium-sized companies with high quality management and good growth prospects.”

Fernando Gentil, Darby’s Managing Director responsible for Brazil, commented, “Brazil is a core market for Darby and this second investment by BMIF reinforces our long-term commitment to the country.”

BMIF closed to new investors in 2008 at a total of R$387.5 million (US$236 million) in committed capital. BMIF makes investments in Brazilian infrastructure companies for either new or expansions of existing, medium-sized infrastructure assets.

Stratus Group is a leading Brazilian private equity manager. The Group was founded in 1999 as a private partnership and has a series of private equity funds positioned in the middle market. For more information, please visit stratusbr.com.

Darby Overseas Investments, Ltd. was founded in 1994 by The Honorable Nicholas F. Brady, who served as U.S. Secretary of the Treasury between 1988 and 1993. Richard Frank joined the firm as CEO in 1997 after his career at the International Finance Corporation (IFC)/ World Bank. In 2003 Darby became a fully owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN), a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. For more information please visit darbyoverseas.com.

Franklin Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment management solutions managed by its Franklin, Templeton, Mutual Series, Fiduciary Trust, Darby and Bissett investment teams. The San Mateo, CA-based company has more than 60 years of investment experience and US$586.8 billion in assets under management as of March 31, 2010. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.com.

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