Acquisition

Sage Group PLC 23 October 2001 For immediate release 23 October 2001 Sage Group extends presence in French accountants market with acquisition of Coala The Sage Group plc ('Sage') announces the acquisition by its wholly owned subsidiary, Sage Overseas Limited, of Coala Informatique SA, the holding company of 59% of the shares of Coala SA ('Coala'), and its intention to launch an offer for the remaining 41% of Coala shares. Coala, listed on the French stock market, is a leading vendor of business management software solutions designed to meet the needs of professional accountants in practice in France. Coala Informatique SA was purchased for £7.8m, and the offer for the remaining Coala shares, on the same basis, values each Coala share at 19 euros. On this basis, the total consideration for the whole of the Coala share capital, satisfied in cash, is expected to be £13.2m. For the year to 31 December 2001, Coala revenues are expected to be in the region of £7.0m, and operating profit is expected to be in the region of £ 1.1m. Coala has a growing share of the French market for business management software solutions for professional accountants, with over 1,300 professional firms using its products. The product portfolio includes software for accounts production, accounting, fixed asset management, reporting and payroll processing. The acquisition substantially increases the number of firms of accountants in France with Sage software solutions. Sage and Coala will work together to enhance integration between Sage accounting applications and the Coala accounts production applications used by firms of accountants in France. Sage's expansion into the accountants market in France follows its successful entry into this market in the UK through acquisitions over the last two years. Paul Walker, Sage Chief Executive, commented 'Industry-specific acquisitions such as Coala enable Sage to drive growth by offering more products, services and support to our customers. Of all industry-specific markets, the market for professional accountants is the most attractive to us, since professional accountants are key influencers of their customers' software purchase decisions'. For the purposes of this announcement, an exchange rate of £1 = 1.597 euros has been used Contacts: Financial Dynamics 0207 831 3113 Giles Sanderson Harriet Keen

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