Unisource Sells SIRIS to Deutsche Telekom

HOOFDDORP, Netherlands (PROTEXT) - Unisource NV and DeutscheTelekom today announced the signing of an agreement concerningthe sale of Unisource's French telecommunications subsidiarySIRIS S.A.S. With the transaction, valued at 1.542 billion Dutchguilders (700 million Euro), Deutsche Telekom acquires 100% stakein SIRIS. "I am very pleased with this transaction which enables SIRISand its customers to take full advantage of the developments ofthe French telecommunications market. It underlines theshareholder value that has been created over the past few yearsby the Unisource group of companies to its shareholders KPN,Swisscom and Telia," said Jules Delahaije, President and CEO ofUnisource. "I am confident of the enormous potential thisacquisition brings to Deutsche Telekom in France, one of theprimary markets of Europe," he added. "We are very pleased with this agreement which will allowSIRIS to build upon the largest European telecommunicationscompany," said Francois Maire, Chairman of SIRIS. "DeutscheTelekom is a powerful shareholder to strengthen our leadingposition in France. It will allow us to develop an innovativestrategy, new competitive services and a long term basis forcontinued growth," Maire continued. SIRIS was one of the first operators to enter the Frenchtelecommunication market in 1995 and has since grown to becomethe second largest alternative telecommunication operator inFrance in terms of revenues in corporate fixed line telephony.SIRIS offers a sophisticated and extensive range of voice, dataand IP services to multinational companies, small- and medium-sized enterprises as well as to other operators, carriers andInternet service providers. SIRIS operates a nation-wide, state-of-the-art voice and data network. In 1998, the French governmentawarded SIRIS two licences and a one-digit prefix -- the number 2-- enabling SIRIS to establish and operate a nation-widetelecommunications network and offer public telephony services inFrance. Unisource has been advised by Lehman Brothers in thistransaction. Note: About SIRIS S.A.S. Offering a complete range of products and services, SIRIS hasmore than 500 multinational customers/large accounts such as AXA,Air France, Societe Generale, Pepsico, Renault, Peugeot-PSA andGedas Volkswagen. Every third company listed in the CAC-40-indexis a SIRIS customer. SIRIS was founded in 1993 by Unisource NVunder the name "Unisource Business Networks France" and has sincebecome the third fixed telecommunications operator in France.SIRIS also offers international voice, data and Internet servicesto multinational customers and acts as a distributor of servicesfrom AUCS Communications Services and Infonet Corporation. SIRIShas invested over 1 billion FF in its own nation-wide networkinfrastructure. The largest economic centres, Paris, Strasbourg,Lyon, Marseille, Toulouse, Nantes, Bordeaux and Lille, areconnected with each other via a fibre optic network over 2,000 kmlong and with more than 80 Points of Presence (PoPs). It is thecompany's plan to expand the network to 5,000 km. The revenue for2000 is estimated to be more than 1 billion FF (175 millionEuro). The company is headquartered in Paris, France, and has astaff of over 400 people (which is expected to grow to 500 duringthe year 2000). News and information are available atwww.siris.fr . About Unisource NV Unisource is a pan-European telecommunications group offeringa broad range of services to providers and business customers inEurope. Unisource is owned equally by KPN Telecom of TheNetherlands, Telia of Sweden and Swisscom of Switzerland. Todaythe Unisource group comprises D-Plus, one of Germany's leadingmobile services providers; SIRIS, one of France's nationaloperators, based in Paris; and Unisource Italia, in Milan. InJuly 1999, following AT&T's exit as a shareholder, Unisource alsobecame the 100% owner of AUCS Communications Services, which ismanaged under an agreement by Infonet Corp. Unisource NV is basedin Hoofddorp, The Netherlands. News and information are availableat www.unisource.com . ots Original Text Service: Unisource NVInternet: http://www.newsaktuell.de Contact: Lotta Rohman ofUnisource NV, +31-23-568-6294, or lotta.rohman@unisource.com Website: http://www.unisource.com

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