AMVESCAP PLC ''AMVESCAP'' Recommended Cash and Share Offer for Perpetual plc ''Perpetual''; Offer Wholly Unconditional.

Business Editors

LONDON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 7, 2000

AMVESCAP (NYSE:AVZ) announces that having received the necessary regulatory clearances from the Department of Trade and Industry ("DTI"), the Investment Management Regulatory Organisation ("IMRO") and the Personal Investment Authority ("PIA"), all the conditions of the Offer have now been either satisfied or waived. Accordingly, the Offer has become wholly unconditional.

The Offer including the Loan Note Alternative will remain open for acceptance until further notice.

Perpetual Shareholders who have not yet accepted the Offer may still do so and are urged to complete and return their Forms of Acceptance as soon as possible. If any Perpetual Shareholders require another Form of Acceptance they should contact Capita IRG Plc on 020 8639 2083.

The consideration payable to accepting Perpetual Shareholders will be dispatched within 14 days of today's date in respect of acceptances received by that date which are valid and complete in all respects, and within 14 days of the date of receipt in respect of any further acceptances which are received after today's date and which are valid and complete in all respects.

AMVESCAP intends to implement the necessary procedures to acquire compulsorily, pursuant to sections 428 to 430F of the Companies Act 1985, those Perpetual shares for which valid acceptances of the Offer are not received. A letter, together with a statutory notice pursuant to section 429 of the Companies Act, will be posted shortly to Perpetual Shareholders who have not accepted the Offer. AMVESCAP intends to apply for the listing of Perpetual Shares on the Official List of the London Stock Exchange to be cancelled after the outstanding Perpetual Shares to which the Offer relates have been compulsorily acquired.

The Offer Document containing the full terms and conditions of the Offer was posted to Perpetual Shareholders on 2 November 2000. Unless the context otherwise requires, the definitions contained in the Offer Document also apply in this announcement.

AMVESCAP is one of the world's largest independent investment managers, operating under the AIM and INVESCO brand names. AMVESCAP is a holding company offering a broad array of investment products and services to institutions and individuals across all distribution channels. The Company is listed on the London, New York, Paris and Toronto Stock Exchanges with the symbol "AVZ."

Schroder Salomon Smith Barney, which is regulated by The Securities and Futures Authority Limited, is acting for AMVESCAP in connection with the Offer and no-one else and will not be responsible to anyone other than AMVESCAP for providing the protections afforded to customers of Schroder Salomon Smith Barney, or for providing advice in relation to the Offer.