(peHUB) December 14, 2011 – Darby Private Equity (”Darby”), the private equity arm of Franklin Templeton Investments, announced that the Brazil Mezzanine Infrastructure Fund (“BMIF”) has invested R$58 million (US$30 million) in Bioenergy Geradora de Energia S.A. (“Bioenergy”) and R$58 million (US$30 million) in Produman Engenharia S.A. (“Produman”). Transaction details were not disclosed.

Founded in 2002, Bioenergy has structured several wind-energy projects in the Northeast of Brazil. The Company sold energy in the regulated market, through long term Power Purchase agreements, at auctions held by Brazil’s federal agency, ANEEL, and are one of the first to sell wind energy in the open market. The Darby investment is funding wind parks that will be operational by year-end and that are part of Bioenergy’s planned portfolio of 1,500 MW.

Produman provides engineering solutions for the oil & gas sector in Brazil and is a market leader in the maintenance and overhaul of refineries.  The industry is expected to profit from the large oil & gas investments in Brazil. The investment will fund the development of Produman’s backlog of contracts.

David Hudson, Darby’s Senior Managing Director – Asia and Global Infrastructure and Latin America Mezzanine, commented, “We are seeing intense activity in Brazilian infrastructure. Renewable energy and oil and gas are very attractive areas in Brazil and fit perfectly with BMIF’s portfolio and strategy.”

BMIF closed to new investors in 2008 with R$387.5 million (US$236 million) in committed capital. BMIF makes investments in Brazilian infrastructure projects that are either new or expansions of existing, medium-sized infrastructure assets. The Fund’s investments include GEA’s hydro- and thermal-power plant in northern Brazil, and T-Grão, the only independent grain terminal operator in the Port of Santos.

About Darby Private Equity (“Darby”)

Darby is the private equity arm of Franklin Templeton Investments, and manages a range of private equity, mezzanine, and infrastructure funds in Asia, Latin America, and Central and Eastern Europe. Darby 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 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 over $660 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2011. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.com.