Babson Capital, Norfolk Management Create Joint Venture, Fund to Develop Next Generation of Alternative Managers.

NEW HAVEN, Conn. -- Babson Capital Management LLC ("Babson Capital"), an investment management firm based in Boston and Springfield, Mass., and Norfolk Management Group, LLC ("Norfolk"), an investment holding company based in Norfolk, Conn. specializing in alternative investments, announced today that they have created a joint venture and seeded a fund intended to incubate emerging hedge funds in non-traditional asset classes. The efforts continue the firms' commitment to explore ways to generate potentially outstanding absolute returns.

Wood Creek Capital Management, LLC, the investment manager created through the joint venture, has just closed its first fund, Wood Creek Venture Fund, LLC ("the Fund"). Norfolk and Babson Capital's parent, the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company ("MassMutual"), are both investors in the Fund. Wood Creek Venture Fund will identify and develop the next generation of alternative investment managers who are focused on proven but still-emerging niche strategies such as intellectual property rights, environmental credits and trade finance obligations.

Wood Creek Venture Fund will make equity investments in the underlying management companies as well as provide the associated investment funds with seed capital. It is expected to make its first investment by September and expects to make additional investments in niche alternatives in 2006.

Wood Creek Capital Management, headquartered in New Haven, will be led by Brett D. Hellerman, the CEO of Norfolk. Mr. Hellerman was a co-founder of Clinton Group, Inc., a major multi-strategy hedge fund manager. Having more than 15 years of hedge fund industry experience, Mr. Hellerman has been involved in all aspects of the alternative investments business.

"The alternative investment universe has expanded rapidly," Mr. Hellerman said. "Investors are increasingly interested in different strategies that pursue opportunities outside the more familiar global stock, bond and derivative markets. Wood Creek will partner with recognized leaders in sectors such as insurance, intellectual property, and non-bank finance strategies in order to make these opportunities more widely available to the hedge fund marketplace. We are honored to be in business with Babson Capital and MassMutual as we expand into this new arena."

"Our tradition of seeking out and developing new and innovative investment opportunities makes this an ideal opportunity for Babson Capital," said Clifford Noreen, Managing Director and Head of Corporate Securities at Babson Capital. Of the firm's nearly $91 billion in assets under management, some $16 billion is attributed to absolute return strategies.

"We are excited by Wood Creek Capital's potential to find and incubate niche investment strategies that generate attractive absolute returns having a low correlation to those of other asset classes," Noreen added.

Wood Creek is currently reviewing investment opportunities for Wood Creek Venture Fund. Interested niche alternative managers can e-mail [e-mail].

ABOUT NORFOLK MANAGEMENT GROUP, LLC

Norfolk Management Group, LLC is an investment holding company specializing in alternative investments. Norfolk Management Group is the owner of Norfolk Markets, LLC, a registered broker-dealer, member NASD. Norfolk Markets acts as the placement agent for a variety of hedge funds and absolute return strategies. Norfolk Markets specializes in the marketing of sophisticated asset management strategies to leading institutional investors around the world. Norfolk also acts as structurer, manager and placement agent for collateralized debt obligations, guaranteed accounts and other structured products involving absolute return strategies. Norfolk's mission is to be an expert intermediary for both providers and customers of institutional alternative investment products.

ABOUT BABSON CAPITAL MANAGEMENT LLC

Babson Capital manages more than $90 billion for institutional and retail investors in the U.S. and abroad, as well as high net worth individuals and family offices. The firm offers a wide range of relative return, absolute return, co-investing, financing and customized mandates utilizing equity, fixed-income and derivative instruments. Based in Boston and Springfield, Massachusetts, the firm has six additional offices in the U.S. and an indirect subsidiary, Babson Capital Europe Limited, in London. Babson Capital is a member of the MassMutual Financial Group.