IBM to Aquire Informix...

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IBM to Acquire Informix Database Business
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We received the following correspondence via email on Tuesday, April 24th, 2001:

Dear U2 Customer,

This morning at 7am Eastern Time, Informix and IBM jointly announced that we have entered into a definitive agreement for IBM to acquire the assets of Informix Software, Informix Corporation's database business, in a cash transaction valued at $1.0 billion. You can find full details of the transaction on our web site at http://www.informix.com/, but I wanted to be sure that you, as a valued customer and supporter of Informix U2 products, were aware of it as soon as possible. We consider this to be an event of great significance for the software industry and the business community at large, and one that we expect to be of substantial benefit to our customers, partners and employees. The key points of the announcement that support this belief are as follows:

* IBM plans to continue selling, supporting, and updating the Informix database products once the acquisition is completed, which means that your current investment is protected. This commitment includes UniData and UniVerse, as well as the associated U2 tools products.

* IBM will integrate the Informix database business operations and personnel into the existing IBM Software Data Management Division, which means that you will see no disruption in service and support.

* IBM will maintain existing relationships with business partners, which will result in additional business opportunities.

* Through IBM's worldwide presence, Informix's innovative technology can now be enjoyed by many more users, which will result in a larger community.

* Informix databases will be part of the extensive portfolio of IBM products, to the mutual benefit of both, which provides our customers a long term growth strategy.

Ascential Software is not part of the transaction, and it will now become a strategic partner of IBM, who will jointly develop and market key Ascential products. This will give huge exposure to Ascential's superb portfolio, and will greatly accelerate the growth of their business. When the transaction closes (which we estimate to be in the third quarter, subject to shareholder and regulatory approvals), Informix Corporation will be renamed Ascential Software, Inc..

Becoming part of the data management assets of a world-class company is a very positive development for our U2 customers. This acquisition ensures our continued ability to meet your future technology needs through continued development of both UniVerse and UniData. Thank you for your commitment to the U2 product set. I look forward to continuing and strengthening our mutually beneficial relationship as members of the IBM community. Please be assured that until the transaction closes, we will be running our business as usual.

Best regards,

Susie Siegesmund
VP & General Manager
UniVerse/UniData Databases & Tools
Informix Software, Inc.

For more information visit:
IBM: http://www.ibm.com/news/2001/04/24.phtml
Informix: http://www.informix.com/informix/blue/index.html

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