Summary Notice of Proposed Settlements of Class Action and Stipulation and Releases to Persons & Entities Who, From 2/6/99 - 4/4/04, Purchased or Held Shares in Certain Franklin Templeton Funds

BALTIMORE, July 14, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Pursuant to Court Order, Rust Consulting, as Settlement Administrator, is issuing the following statement with respect to the litigation below:

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
DISTRICT OF MARYLAND

IN RE MUTUAL FUNDS CASE NO. 1:04-MD-15862-JFM

INVESTMENT LITIGATION

FRANKLIN TEMPLETON SUB-TRACK

SUMMARY NOTICE OF PROPOSED SETTLEMENTS OF CLASS ACTION AND STIPULATION AND RELEASES IN THE IN RE MUTUAL FUNDS INVESTMENT LITIGATION, FRANKLIN TEMPLETON SUBTRACK, SETTLEMENT OF DERIVATIVE ACTION WITH RESPECT TO THE CANARY AND BAS DEFENDANTS ONLY, AND SETTLEMENT FAIRNESS HEARING

TO: ALL PERSONS AND ENTITIES WHO PURCHASED OR HELD SHARES IN THE FOLLOWING MUTUAL FUNDS IN THE FRANKLIN TEMPLETON FUNDS ("FRANKLIN FUNDS") DURING THE PERIOD FROM FEBRUARY 6, 1999 THROUGH FEBRUARY 4, 2004, INCLUSIVE: FRANKLIN SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND (LATER FRANKLIN SMALL-MID CAP GROWTH FUND); TEMPLETON FOREIGN FUND; TEMPLETON DEVELOPING MARKETS TRUST; TEMPLETON WORLD FUND; FRANKLIN CALIFORNIA TAX-FREE INCOME FUND; TEMPLETON GLOBAL SMALLER COMPANIES FUND; TEMPLETON GROWTH FUND, INC.; FRANKLIN FEDERAL TAX-FREE INCOME FUND; TEMPLETON GLOBAL OPPORTUNITIES TRUST; FRANKLIN CALIFORNIA GROWTH FUND (LATER CALLED FRANKLIN FLEX CAP GROWTH); TEMPLETON PACIFIC GROWTH FUND (LATER MERGED INTO TEMPLETON FOREIGN); TEMPLETON GREATER EUROPEAN (LATER TEMPLETON INTERNATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL (EX EM), NOW MERGED INTO TEMPLETON FOREIGN) (COLLECTIVELY, THE "CLASS FUNDS" OR THE "FUNDS"); OR CURRENTLY HOLD SHARES IN ANY FRANKLIN FUNDS.

YOU ARE HEREBY NOTIFIED that proposed Settlements with certain Third Party Defendants (the "Settlements") and a Stipulation and Releases ("Stipulation") have been reached in a securities class action concerning alleged market-timing (including market- timing, late-trading, or short-term or excessive trading of mutual fund shares) in certain of the Franklin Funds, listed above (the "Action"), wherein certain Third Party Defendants are contributing monies for the benefit of the Class (the "Settlement Proceeds"), and the Franklin Defendants are paying certain costs of the notice and administration of the Settlements. This Action was part of lawsuits against various mutual fund families, organized by mutual fund family (known as a "sub-track") and consolidated under the caption In re Mutual Funds Investment Litigation, MDL-1586 (D. Md.). A proposed partial settlement has also been reached in a derivative action of claims against the Canary and Banc of America Securities LLC ("BAS") defendants only. Depending on (1) whether you owned mutual fund shares in the Class Funds listed above and (2) when you owned them, you may be eligible to participate in the proposed Settlements. A Hearing will be held before the Honorable J. Frederick Motz at the United States District Court for the District of Maryland, United States Courthouse, 101 West Lombard Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201 at 3:30 p.m., on October 25, 2011 to determine whether: (1) the proposed Settlements and Stipulation should be approved by the Court as fair, reasonable and adequate; (2) the plans for allocating the Settlement proceeds should be approved; (3) Plaintiffs' Counsel's application for attorneys' fees and reimbursement of litigation expenses should be approved; (4) an award to the Lead Plaintiff for its incurred expenses pursuant to the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act should be approved; (5) the claims against various persons and entities -- which include, among others, certain Third Party Defendants and certain Franklin-related entities -- should be dismissed, pursuant to the Settlements and Stipulation, and otherwise released. At the Hearing, the Court may also rule on such other matters as the Court deems appropriate.

IF YOU OWNED MUTUAL FUND SHARES IN THE FRANKLIN FUNDS LISTED ABOVE DURING THE RELEVANT TIME PERIOD, YOUR RIGHTS MAY BE AFFECTED AND YOU MAY BE ENTITLED TO SHARE IN THE SETTLEMENT PROCEEDS. If you have not received a mailed Notice of Pendency and Proposed Settlement and/or Dismissal for the Franklin sub-track(s), you should check to see if your particular fund is included, and may obtain copies of the Notice and, if applicable, a Proof of Claim and Release form ("Proof of Claim") by visiting www.mutualfundsettlements.com/franklin or by contacting the Claims Administrator for the Franklin sub-track as listed below and on the website.

To participate in the proposed Settlements, you may need to submit a Proof of Claim, postmarked no later than December 12, 2011, to the address contained in the Proof of Claim or Notice for the Franklin sub-track. If you are a member of the Class and do not submit a valid Proof of Claim, where required, you may not receive a payment from the Settlements, but you nevertheless will be bound by any final judgment entered by the Court, and claims that you might have will be dismissed or released, unless you take the steps necessary to exclude yourself from the Class. As set forth more fully in the Notice, available at www.mutualfundsettlements.com/franklin, the deadline for submitting objections and requests for exclusion from the proposed class action Settlements and Stipulation is October 1, 2011.

IN ADDITION, IF YOU CURRENTLY HOLD SHARES IN ANY OF THE FRANKLIN FUNDS, your rights may be affected by the settlement of a derivative lawsuit, as against the Canary and BAS defendants only, and you may have the right to object to that partial settlement. For more details about the partial settlement of the derivative lawsuit, consult the Notice, available at www.mutualfundsettlements.com/franklin. The deadline for submitting any objections concerning the proposed partial settlement of the derivative lawsuit is October 1, 2011.

Further information may also be obtained by directing your inquiry in writing to the Claims Administrator in charge of the administration of the Settlements at: Franklin Mutual Funds Settlement, c/o Rust Consulting, Inc., P.O. Box 2480, Faribault, MN 55021-9180.

NOTE: This Notice concerns the resolution of private lawsuits. Any payment that you may be eligible for under these Settlements relating to alleged market-timing in Franklin Templeton mutual fund family is in addition to any payment you may receive or already may have received from the settlements that government regulators, including the United States Securities and Exchange Commission, previously reached with certain defendants concerning market-timing in this mutual fund family.

BY ORDER OF THE UNITED STATES COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF MARYLAND

SOURCE Rust Consulting, Inc.