BXI contradicts ITEX news release.

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 8, 1996--The BXI trade exchange, the nation's oldest and largest, has absolutely no association with ITEX.

ITEX, a Portland, Ore.-based publicly traded (NASDAQ) company, is the operator of a competing trade system.

``Contrary to a Jan. 26, 1996, ITEX announcement, ITEX does not own any part of B.X. International Inc., a California corporation, which is the sole owner of the BXI trade exchange,'' Saul N. Yarmak, chairman of the board announced Thursday at the firm's Burbank, Calif. office.

``Conversations between BXI and Terry Neal, a former CEO of ITEX, who claims to represent ITEX under authority of ITEX President Michael Baer, indicate that ITEX officials were misled by the principals of SLI Inc., David Lawson (Bethesda, Md.) and Joel Sens (Arlington, Va.) when SLI Inc. was sold to ITEX 10-12 days ago,'' said Yarmak.

``Sens and Lawson practiced deceit and deception when dealing with us, so it is not too hard to believe the ITEX version of deception,'' he said.

``BXI feels we must make our situation public to prevent any potential investors from being injured by our silence,'' said Stephen Friedland, president of B.X. International Inc. ``It would be unconscionable for us to continue to remain silent under these circumstances; and it has become clear that ITEX has no intention of publicly correcting their own news release.''

ITEX purchased SLI, the Nevada corporation formed by Sens and Lawson, to acquire a half interest in Business Exchange International Corp., a Nevada corporation which owns real estate and personal property but has no ownership in the trade system.

``Sens and Lawson could hardly be said to have been ignorant of this situation, since Lawson specifically named Sens as his representative and Sens was a member of the board of directors of Business Exchange International Corp., a Nevada corporation,'' said Yarmak.

Yarmak noted: ``Sens' position as a member of the board of directors and as executive vice president of Business Exchange International Corp., a Nevada corporation, coupled with his course of conduct, raises very serious questions of insider dealing, breach of fiduciary relationship, and breach of his director's duties.

``At the very least, Sens' and Lawson's conduct constitutes usurpation of corporate opportunity.''

A spokesman for ITEX denied that company's complicity in the actions of Sens and Lawson, but since ITEX now owns SLI, its equity there will be endangered if damages are returned against SLI, along with Sens and Lawson.

If ITEX is found to have conspired with Sens/Lawson/SLI, or it is established that Sens/Lawson/SLI acted as agents of ITEX, that company's liability would be substantial.

``We point out specifically,'' said Yarmak, ``all of the funds we received were from Sens and Lawson or SLI Inc.

``We are advised that we have strong legal grounds for actions against Sens, Lawson and SLI Inc. We intend to pursue every avenue of investigation and will seek governmental agency investigations and an NASD review of the entire matter,'' said Yarmak.

``We believe we can prove that BXI was damaged by the publicity linking us with ITEX. Those in the barter business know that BXI trade credits typically bring as much as 3 to 1 in credit exchanges for ITEX trade credits.

``Obviously, our clients, holders of the much more valuable BXI trade credits, have been unnerved by the possibility that their credits may be seriously diluted by commingling with ITEX credits,'' Yarmak stated. ``The amount of damages and who is responsible will have to abide our investigation.''

In addition to the causes of action being pursued by the BXI corporate office, a large group of BXI area brokers, the people who run the 90 plus BXI area offices as independent contractors, have banded together to investigate their legal rights as a class.

``Each of us BXI area brokers has already felt adverse effect from the publicity about this deal, and we believe that our injuries are sufficiently different from those suffered by the company to support our own class-action suit against Sens, Lawson and SLI Inc., and possibly other entities,'' said Frank Scott, area director for BXI-Georgia.

``We know that in New York and in south Florida, ITEX representatives have begun to call our clients and tell them they need to transfer to ITEX right away because of the ITEX ownership of one-half of the BXI trade system.

``It is not hard to imagine the confusion and fear that this tactic has sown among our clients, nor that we are suffering compensable damages from those tactics,'' he said.

``To put it mildly, we are going to search out each and every potential defendant and test them in any and every court available,'' said Scott.

``Conversations have been continuing with an ITEX spokesman and with Sens and Lawson since Feb. 1, 1996. We have seen no indication of any substantial common ground and believe, now, that the matter will be best settled by the courts and any other appropriate authorities,'' said Yarmak.

CONTACT: B.X. International Inc., Los Angeles

Norma Heberer, 818/563-4966

818/563-4965 (fax)