Bear Stearns Appoints Head of Technology Banking for West Coast; Deepens commitment to high-tech clients.

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 30, 1997--Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc. announced today that Gretchen J. Knoell has joined the firm as a senior managing director and head of West Coast technology investment banking based in San Francisco.

Ms. Knoell brings to Bear Stearns over ten years of high-tech corporate finance and advisory experience. Prior to joining Bear Stearns she was a managing director at Punk, Ziegel & Knoell, Inc., a boutique investment bank serving the specialized needs of emerging growth industries. Ms. Knoell was a founding partner of that firm which was established in 1990.

Prior to that, she worked at Needham & Company, Inc. in New York for seven years, where she served as a vice president and chief of staff in the corporate finance department. Ms. Knoell earned an MBA from The Harvard Business School and a BS degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell University.

Denis Bovin and Michael Urfirer, senior managing directors and co-heads of Bear Stearns' Technology Group, said, "We are very pleased to have a professional of Gretchen's caliber join our team. Combining her technology industry expertise and relationships with our Group's strength in advising technology companies in mergers, acquisitions and financings, we solidify our platform for significantly expanding Bear Stearns' West Coast technology franchise."

Bear Stearns offers technology companies a full range of investment banking services, from comprehensive equity research coverage to initial public offerings and mergers and acquisitions. Bear Stearns' 11 senior technology analysts cover diverse high-tech sectors including: aerospace, computer services, data networking, health care information technology, medical supplies and technology, microcomputers, PC software, publishing/information, semiconductors, telecommunications equipment and wholesale distribution.

The Bear Stearns Technology Banking Group's track record is well-established, including most recently, a $200 million convertible bond offering for Adaptec, Inc. The firm has a history of providing technology companies solutions to complex strategic and financing problems, including a $350 million convertible offering and multiple acquisitions for SoftKey International, Inc., Ceridian's $962 million acquisition of Comdata Network and Sybase's $943 million acquisition of Powersoft. The Group has also been the dominant advisor to the defense sector throughout its consolidation, including Raytheon's recently announced $9.5 billion acquisition of General Motors' Hughes Electronics Defense operations, and its $2.95 billion acquisition of Texas Instruments' Defense and Electronics operations.

Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc., a leading worldwide investment banking and securities trading and brokerage firm, is the major subsidiary of The Bear Stearns Companies Inc. (NYSE:BSC). With approximately $9.5 billion in total capital, Bear Stearns serves governments, corporations, institutions and individuals worldwide. The company's business includes corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions, institutional equities and fixed income sales and trading, private client services, derivatives, asset management, correspondent clearing, securities lending and custody services. Headquartered in New York City, the company has over 7,800 employees located in domestic offices in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles and San Francisco; and an international presence in Beijing, Buenos Aires, Dublin, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Lugano, Manila, Paris, Sao Paulo, Shanghai, Singapore and Tokyo.

CONTACT: Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc.

Mary Flounders Green, 212/272-4356