PACKARD BELL BECOMES GLOBAL COMPUTER POWERHOUSE

PACKARD BELL AND ZENITH DATA SYSTEMS TO COMBINE THEIR OPERATIONS IN PACKARD
BELL

DEAL PART OF $650M IN NEW INVESTMENT FROM NEC AND GROUPE BULL

SACRAMENTO, CALIF., TOKYO, PARIS -- FEBRUARY 7, 1996. Packard Bell
Electronics, NEC and Groupe Bull which have concluded a memorandum of
understanding, announced today that Packard Bell intends to acquire Zenith
Data Systems Corporation (a Groupe Bull wholly owned subsidiary), a major
international supplier of high end servers, workstations and portables to
the commercial, education and government markets. The announcement, made
simultaneously by the three alliance companies, send a strong signal to
the industry that Packard Bell has made the move to become a global
computer power.

This transaction, as contemplated, is part of a new agreement with
strategic partners NEC and Groupe Bull, in which Packard Bell is receiving
more than $650 million in new investment, strengthening the company's
balance sheet and giving Packard Bell the resources for continuous
development of advanced multimedia technology for the company's core home
PC line and the capital for commercial product and channel development as
well as international expansion.

Combining operations with ZDS increases Packard Bell's annual revenues to
more than $5.5 billion (based on 1995 figures) and puts the company in a
strong position to compete across all sectors of the computer industry, in
both domestic and international markets. Packard Bell also moves into the
top market share position in the U.S. with approximately 13% of all PC
shipments.

NEC, the market leader in Japan, and Groupe Bull, a leading supplier of
business information systems in Europe, will retain their current
shareholding position in Packard Bell (19.9% each). Under the new
agreement, the companies will receive redeemable preferred stock for their
contributions.

"Merging ZDS into Packard Bell will create a strong entity with powerful
partners," Beny Alagem, president and CEO, Packard Bell, said. "Packard
Bell has always delivered innovative multimedia systems to the home. Now
Packard Bell will utilize its state of the art manufacturing
infrastructure to deliver a broad line of products to the corporate,
education and government markets. We've created a complete computing
enterprise to service all market segments."

Packard Bell intends to capitalize on ZDS' engineering and R&D, as well as
its highly-regarded customer service operation which supports commercial
sales. Packard Bell will also gain access to an extensive patent portfolio
and strong international presence; 50% of ZDS' revenues are from outside
the U.S.

Packard Bell plans to continue to invest in ZDS' core business using the
Zenith Data Systems brand to spearhead an expanded product line, offering
customers everything from entry-level network PC's to workstations and
high-end SMP servers for advanced networking environments. ZDS' sales
operation will be supported by a specific marketing effort focused on
commercial, education and government channels.

"We are impressed with ZDS' product line, including the new Intel- based
Z-SERVERs, the company's strong loyal customer base, and the company's
attention to service, an essential requirement for the commercial market,"
Alagem said. "Together we have much to offer both current and future
corporate customers."

Today's agreement furthers the long-term alliance between the three
companies which began by a cooperation between Bull and NEC in the 1960's.
This alliance was reinforced over the years. NEC then made an equity
investment in Bull HN, a US company, in 1987. This equity stake was
transferred to the Groupe Bull level in 1992. In 1993, Bull made an
initial investment in Packard Bell. Last July, NEC increased its equity
investment in Bull and made its first equity investment in Packard Bell.

Since the 1995 announcement, Packard Bell and NEC have cooperated on
product development in the multimedia area. NEC and Packard Bell also
recently announced they have formed a joint venture partnership to
manufacture monitors in Dong Quan, China.

"Packard Bell and NEC plan to continue to cooperate in all aspects of
multimedia technology development for entertainment, productivity,
internet connectivity and education" Alagem said. "And now, with ZDS, we
will expand our collaboration into server and mobile technology for the
corporate customer."

In Europe, Packard Bell also does PC manufacturing for Bull in its
state-of-the-art facility in Angers, France, sourcing motherboards for its
PCs from Bull Electronics, another Groupe Bull subsidiary. Packard Bell
and Bull plan to take steps to optimize sales channels between Bull
commercial networks, their reseller channels and Packard Bell retail
channels, in order to expand the penetration of Packard Bell products in
Europe.

Dr T.Sekimoto, Chairman of the board of NEC Corporation, called the
announcement, "The next step in our long-term agreement to expand business
and marketing opportunities for the alliance partners around the world."

For his part, Jean-Marie Descarpentries, Chairman and CEO of Groupe Bull,
said: "Our ambition, with our partner-shareholder NEC, is to give to
Packard Bell all the support it needs to succeed, so that Packard Bell,
NEC and Bull, together, establish a winning global alliance playing a
leading role in the fast growing PC's and multimedia markets. In Europe,
this will allow Bull to provide to its customers and its resellers
channels a more competitive and extended offer."

This memorandum of understanding will be implemented after execution of
definitive agreements and compliance with applicable regulations.

Based in Sacramento, Calif., PACKARD BELL manufacturers a broad line of
multimedia Pcs for the home market. The company is the leader in #1
position in the U.S. mass retail channel with over 44 percent market
share, according to Audits & Surveys, a research firm that tracks the
retail market. For 1995, Packard Bell was in second place, overall, in
U.S. PC shipments and fourth worldwide, according to International Data
Corporation, Framingham, Mass.

NEC CORPORATION, founded in 1899, is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan and has
net sales of US $43 billion in 1994-95 fiscal year. NEC manufactures and
markets a broad range of products, including communication systems, which
extends from switching systems to cellular phones, computer systems, which
extends from super computers to personal computers, and electronic
devices, which extends from microprocessors to memory chips.

BULL, founded in 1933, is a $ 5 billion international IT group. European
based, Bull earns over 60% of its revenue outside of France, its country
of origin, including over 20 % from the highly competitive U.S. market.
The group's business portfolio, focused on the development and deployment
of its customers' I.T infrastructure, includes mainframes, open systems,
personal computers, selected software tools and I.T related services. In
Europe, Bull is ranked as the third largest systems integrator and a major
force in support services. Bull is recognized in the I.T. industry for
innovation in areas such as multiprocessing systems and networked systems
management, smart cards, mobile Pcs, security,.

ZENITH DATA SYSTEMS, A GROUPE BULL COMPANY, offers a full line of personal
computer products ranging from high-performance servers and desktops to
its award-winning line of notebook computers and wireless mobile products.
With sales locations in more than 30 countries, ZDS markets its products
to business, education and government. The company is headquartered in
Buffalo Grove, Ill., with engineering facilities in Billerica, Mass. and
Buffalo Grove; and manufacturing facilities in St. Joseph, Mich.
 
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