Diane Smith Joins Darby

Diane Smith has joined Darby Overseas Investments to oversee its mezzanine finance activities in Latin America, with a particular focus on Brazil. She previously was a managing director with Electra Investment Trust.

PRESS RELEASE

Darby Overseas Investments, Ltd. (“Darby”), the private equity arm of Franklin Templeton Investments, announced that Diane Smith has joined the firm to oversee its mezzanine finance activities in Latin America. Her past experience has included the launching and management of several new private equity and mezzanine businesses in both the US and Latin America, and Brazil in particular.

Prior to forming her own firm to advise early stage entrepreneurs seeking private growth capital, Ms. Smith was a Managing Director at Electra Investment Trust PLC, a major private equity firm listed on the London Stock Exchange. In the late 1990s she led Electra's expansion into Latin America, forming fund management companies jointly with financial institutions in Argentina and Brazil, and raising third-party funds to invest in these countries. While at Electra she also played a key role in building the firm's new US principal investing business to over $500 million in equity and mezzanine investments.

Julio Lastres, Darby's Senior Managing Director