Leading Fund Administrators Fulcrum Group and Butterfield Fund Services to Merge...

Leading Fund Administrators Fulcrum Group and Butterfield Fund Services to Merge to Create an Industry Leader

HAMILTON, Bermuda, NEW YORK & LONDON--(Business Wire)--
Fulcrum Group, a leading global administrator for hedge funds and
the alternative asset management industry, backed by global private
equity firm, 3i, and Butterfield Fund Services (BFS), a top-twenty
provider of administration services for investment and pension funds
and part of The Bank of N. T. Butterfield & Son Limited (Butterfield),
today announced, subject to regulatory and governmental approvals, an
agreement to merge the two businesses to create Butterfield Fulcrum
Group (BFG).

Headquartered in Bermuda, BFG will have approximately 400
employees in 10 locations across 9 countries. The firm will have close
to $100 billion in assets under administration from nearly 1,000 hedge
funds, fund of funds, private equity and institutional investment
management clients. BFG is expected to rank amongst the top 10
independent alternative asset fund administration companies in the
world.

Butterfield will retain a substantial equity stake and 3i, an
existing shareholder in Fulcrum Group, will own a majority interest in
Butterfield Fulcrum Group.

"This is an enormous win-win for both companies that will leverage
sales and operational capabilities of Fulcrum Group, and the
tremendous customer relationships and global reputation of Butterfield
Bank Group," said Akshaya Bhargava, Chief Executive Officer of Fulcrum
Group. He added, "Our vision is to create the best fund administration
company in the world."

Alan Thompson, President and Chief Executive Officer of
Butterfield, echoed Mr. Bhargava's sentiments, saying "We believe that
the merger of these two highly successful businesses will result in
significant business growth, more services for fund administration
customers and career opportunities for employees. In BFG, Butterfield
and Fulcrum are creating a company that will have a powerful presence
in fund administration globally."

Mr. Bhargava will become the Chief Executive Officer of BFG and
Jill Considine, current Chairman of the Fulcrum Group, will be the
Chairman of the BFG Board. Mr. Thompson and Graham Brooks, Executive
Vice President, International at Butterfield will also join the BFG
Board, along with other representatives from Fulcrum and 3i.

"This merger brings together two highly complementary fund
administrators to offer a full-service platform of significant scale
that has a business model and operational structure to achieve
industry leadership," said Ms. Considine. "BFG will be able to
leverage the market reputation of one of the world's premier banks, a
very efficient operating platform and a highly talented and motivated
management team."

Both companies share common corporate values and bring significant
strengths to BFG, in addition to sharing a highly customer centric and
a high touch personalised service approach. BFG's global operations
model and use of many industry best practices is expected to
significantly enhance the company's ability to meet increasingly
complex demands from its customers.

Commenting on the synergies to be realised through the formation
of BFG, Mr. Brooks said, "In Fulcrum's management team, we have found
a like-minded group of fund administration professionals who share our
focus on customer service and a desire to be among the top global
providers of services to alternative investment strategies. We are
excited about the growth prospects of BFG."

Representatives of both Fulcrum and Butterfield noted that
ensuring seamless delivery of client services during the integration
is a top priority for BFG. "Clients will continue to receive the same
high levels of service and from the same relationship centres while
the two companies are being integrated," said Mr. Bhargava. "We expect
integration to be completely seamless from a client point of view."

Whitney Bower, 3i Partner, added of the merger, "We are proud to
have been a part of Fulcrum's growth and believe that Butterfield
Fulcrum Group will be a major force in the global fund administration
industry. Our industry knowledge and strong global network have
enabled us to support Fulcrum's international expansion, particularly
in Europe and India, and we very much look forward to accelerating
this growth through the partnership which this merger of Fulcrum and
Butterfield brings. The merger of Fulcrum and Butterfield is also a
testimony of 3i's partnership style focused on driving growth."

Merrill Lynch acted as a third-party adviser to Fulcrum Group on
the agreement, while UBS Investment Bank advised Butterfield.

Note to editors:

About Fulcrum Group

Established in Bermuda in 1995, Fulcrum Group is a leading global
fund administrator for the hedge fund and alternative investment
management industry. Fulcrum was acquired by 3i plc in 2007. Led by
experienced professionals, Fulcrum is committed to quality
information, technology, and processes. Since Fulcrum's inception, it
has invested in the creation of technology designed specifically to
satisfy the demands placed on a fund administrator by hedge fund
managers and investors. Using its Global Operations Model and
proprietary technology platform, Fulcrum is focused on automation of
fund administration processes. Fulcrum has offices in New York,
London, Bermuda, Canada, Ireland, the Cayman Islands, and India. For
more information please visit www.fulcrumlimited.com.

About Butterfield Bank

Celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2008, Butterfield Bank is
Bermuda's first and largest independent bank, and a specialist
provider of international financial services. Butterfield Bank Group
offers a full range of community banking services in Bermuda, Barbados
and the Cayman Islands, encompassing retail and corporate banking and
treasury activities. In the wealth management area, the Group provides
private banking, asset management and personal trust services from its
headquarters in Bermuda and subsidiary offices in The Bahamas, the
Cayman Islands, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Malta, Switzerland and the United
Kingdom. The Group provides services to corporate and institutional
clients from offices in Bermuda, The Bahamas, Canada, the Cayman
Islands and Guernsey, which include investment and pension fund
administration, asset management and corporate trust services.
Butterfield Bank is a publicly traded corporation with shares listed
on the Bermuda and Cayman Islands stock exchanges. Further details on
Butterfield Bank can be obtained from our website at:
www.butterfieldbank.com.

About 3i

3i is a world leader in private equity. We focus on growth
capital, buyouts, infrastructure, and quoted private equity and invest
across North America, Europe and in Asia. Our competitive advantage
comes from our international network and the strength and breadth of
our relationships in business. These underpin the value that we
deliver to our portfolio and to our shareholders.

3i Growth Capital provides financial and strategic support to
established businesses with the potential for outstanding value
growth. We typically invest up to $300m in businesses to help achieve
growth ambitions, restructure shareholdings, release equity or change
the balance of equity to debt and are committed to working in
partnership with majority shareholders.

This release is not an offer of 3i Group plc securities for sale
in the United States and 3i Group plc securities may not be offered or
sold in the United States absent registration or an exception from
registration. Any public offering of 3i Group plc securities in the
United States would be made by means of a prospectus that could be
obtained from 3i Group plc and would contain detailed information
about 3i Group plc, its management and its financial statements. 3i
Group plc is not currently making any public offering in the United
States and no such prospectus has been issued.

www.3ius.com

For Fulcrum Group:
LJO Associates, Inc
Lisa Jane O'Neil, 212-786-7629 or 917-361-8303
President
lisajane@ljoassociates.com
or
Patty Buchanan, 973-670-1203
Senior Media Consultant
patty@ljoassociates.com
or
For Butterfield Bank:
The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited
Mark Johnson, 441-299-1624
Assistant Vice President
Fax: 441-295-3878
markjohnson@bntb.bm
or
Stuart Roberts, 441-298-4610
Senior Communications Specialist
Fax: 441-295-3878
stuartroberts@bntb.bm
or
For 3i:
3i
Rachel Richards, +44 207 975 3573
Press officer
Rachel.richards@3i.com
or
Ruder Finn
Sai Pradhan, 212-593-5879
pradhans@ruderfinn.com

Copyright Business Wire 2008