Flexpoint Ford Announces Closing of Flexpoint Ford Fund II and Flexpoint Ford Overage Fund II With Total Committed Capital of $1.28 Billion

CHICAGO, Oct. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Flexpoint Ford, LLC a private equity firm focused on financial services and healthcare, announced today the first and final closing of its second investment fund, Flexpoint Ford Fund II, along with a side-car fund, Flexpoint Ford Overage Fund II. Total committed capital between the Funds is $1.28 billion. Fund II is an $800 million fund, and the Overage Fund is a $480 million pool intended to invest alone or alongside Fund II in larger transactions. The General Partner is committing $150 million of its own capital to the Funds. Flexpoint Ford, the successor organization to Flexpoint Partners LLC, represents the formal integration of the Fund I General Partner with a team of executives led by financial services investor and Fund I Special Limited Partner, Gerald J. Ford.

Flexpoint Ford brings to its investment activities an experienced group of principals who have worked together for many years. The Fund I Principals, Donald J. Edwards, Ethan A. Budin and Charles E. Glew, Jr., are joined by Mr. Ford, J. Randy Staff and Carl B. Webb, who have worked together for the past 25 years successfully acquiring and operating numerous banks and financial services companies. Mr. Ford will serve as Chairman of Flexpoint Ford and Mr. Edwards will serve as Chief Executive Officer.

"As planned when we founded Flexpoint, we have worked very closely with Jerry and his team while investing Fund I, and this integration is a natural evolution for our organization," said Mr. Edwards. "An investor-operator with Jerry's track record is a rare commodity in a private equity general partner, and we are proud to have his name on our door."

Mr. Ford commented, "I am tremendously excited to build Flexpoint Ford into a leading private equity firm with Don. Combining our groups' investment and operating experience creates a unique firm with compelling opportunity. The structure we designed with our investors, utilizing a flexible side-car fund, allows us to pursue both large and small opportunities in the currently dislocated financial services industry."

In addition, Flexpoint Ford announced today the hiring of two new Principals, Stephen L. Begleiter and Harris Hyman IV.

Mr. Begleiter will lead Flexpoint Ford's office in New York. Prior to joining Flexpoint Ford, Mr. Begleiter was a Senior Managing Director at Bear Stearns & Co. where he was a member of the firm's Management and Compensation Committee. Mr. Begleiter spent 15 years of his 24-year career at Bear Stearns in the Financial Institutions Group, where he worked with a broad range of domestic and international clients on a variety of advisory and financing transactions.

Mr. Hyman will join Flexpoint Ford's healthcare effort. Prior to joining Flexpoint, Mr. Hyman was a General Partner of Grotech Capital Group, where he was responsible for the firm's healthcare investment activity. Previously Mr. Hyman worked for 19 years as an investment banker, most recently as a Managing Director of Credit Suisse First Boston, where he served as Co-Head of Healthcare Mergers & Acquisitions.

About Flexpoint Ford, LLC

Flexpoint Ford, LLC is a private equity investment firm with $1.5 billion under management focused on the financial services and healthcare industries. The firm's offices are located in Chicago, Dallas and New York.

     Contact:

     Donald J. Edwards, Chief Executive Officer
     Flexpoint Ford, LLC
     (312) 327-4530
     http://www.flexpointford.com