Madrid – Reuters, the global information and news group, has acquired Decision Support Systems, S.A. (DSS), a Spanish software development and integration consultancy. This acquisition will strengthen Reuters ability to offer its Spanish clients e-Business and enterprise application integration (EAI) solutions.

The unaudited net assets of DSS on 28 November 1999 were 150 million Spanish Pesetas. The consideration is not material to Reuters. DSS will be managed as a division of Reuters Espana SA.

Following recent bank mergers and with the arrival of Internet banking, the Spanish financial industry has seen a strong demand for EAI and e-Business solutions. The acquisition adds high technology integration solutions to the range of Reuters services available to its Iberian clients, as they provide more and more services via the Internet.

John Alcántara, managing director, Reuters Iberia, said: "There is a strong demand for integration, e-Business and straight through processing (STP) solutions within our Iberian client base. We believe the best way to enhance our service and meet this growing requirement quickly is to acquire a Spanish company with a strong presence and reputation in that sector – Decision Support Systems is this company."

"We have worked with DSS since 1994 and have always been impressed by their technological leadership. We are now in a position to provide our traditional finance clients access to state-of-the-art EAI and e-Business solutions as well as to extend the reach of Reuters services into new business areas.

Ramón Galián, general manager of DSS, said: "We are delighted with this agreement. With the backing of Reuters and by leveraging its technology, we believe that DSS will become a leader in the Spanish systems integration market."

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Contact:

Geoff Wicks Tel: 0171 542 8666
Director, Corporate Relations
geoff.wicks@reuters.com

Adrian Duffield Tel: 0171 542 4728
Manager, Group Corporate Relations
adrian.duffield@reuters.com

Note to editors

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