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Bank Of Butterfield Announces Cash Offer For Leopold Joseph

05 5 2004

Hamilton, Bermuda: 5 February 2004 - The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited is pleased to announce that Bank of Butterfield (UK) plc has made a cash offer for the entire and to be issued share capital of Leopold Joseph Holdings plc. Pending Leopold Joseph shareholder and appropriate regulatory approvals, the recommended cash offer will be £9.50 in cash per Leopold Joseph share, valuing the existing issued share capital of Leopold Joseph at approximately £51.5 million ($94.5 million ). ANZ Investment Bank is acting as financial adviser to Bank of Butterfield in this transaction.

Leopold Joseph was founded in 1919 and is headquartered in London with wholly owned subsidiary operations based in Guernsey. Leopold Joseph offers banking, treasury, investment management, offshore company administration and trust services to companies and high net worth individuals and families. At 31 August 2003, the company had 121 full time equivalent employees and at its last financial year-end, 30 March 2003, it had £503 million in total assets ($923 million).

Alan Thompson, President and CEO of The Bank of N.T. Butterfield & Son Limited said, "The acquisition of Leopold Joseph will enhance our presence in the UK and Guernsey and give us a strong platform for further growth in the private banking arena in these markets. Leopold Joseph has a very good banking business, with a capable management team, dedicated employees, a respected reputation and a loyal client base. This acquisition is entirely consistent with our stated group strategy of growing our business in the UK and Guernsey markets. Leopold Joseph's business is highly complementary with ours, both in terms of its core activities and its relationship driven approach to client service. The offer reflects a premium of approximately 11.1% over the closing price of £8.55 per share on 4 February 2004, the last dealing day prior to this announcement."

Robin Herbert, Chairman of Leopold Joseph commented, "Following an extensive strategic review, the Board of Directors of Leopold Joseph believe that the Offer by Bank of Butterfield represents the most attractive means of realising value for Leopold Joseph's shareholders. The Board of Directors believes that this will be a good outcome for Leopold Joseph's clients and its employees as well as for shareholders. Leopold Joseph and Bank of Butterfield share similar cultures and values, being strongly relationship driven and committed to highly personal service. Consequently, the Directors unanimously recommend shareholders to accept the Offer."

Further details are available on the Bank of Butterfield (UK) plc web site at www.bankofbutterfield.co.uk.