Comdisco Agrees To Sale of Availability Solutions Business To HP for $750 Million.

Business Editors/Technology Writers

ROSEMONT, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)

Oct. 30, 2001

Court Hearing to Approve Sale Scheduled for November 7, 2001;

Bid Fully Supported by Official Creditors' Committee;

Deadline for Leasing Bids Extended to November 8, 2001

Comdisco, Inc. (NYSE: CDO) announced today that it has signed an agreement to sell its Availability Solutions (Technology Services) business to Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE: HWP) for $750 million. The agreement, which is supported by Comdisco and the Official Committee of Unsecured Creditors, is subject to approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of Illinois, which the company intends to seek at a hearing scheduled for November 7, 2001.

As previously announced on July 16, 2001, Comdisco entered into an agreement with HP to sell the Availability Solutions business for $610 million. That agreement was subject to higher or otherwise better offers in a Court-authorized auction process. Following the auction held on October 11, Comdisco, with the support of the Creditors' and Equity Committees, approved a bid by SunGard Data Systems, Inc. for $825 million as the highest or otherwise best offer. A lawsuit seeking to enjoin the transaction with SunGard on antitrust grounds was filed by the Department of Justice in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia on October 22, 2001. The Creditors' Committee withdrew its support of the SunGard bid in favor of an unsolicited $750 million offer by HP received on October 22, 2001 after the commencement of the DOJ lawsuit. In light of these events, the Court adjourned the October 23, 2001 sale hearing to November 7 and approved notice procedures designating a sale to HP as an alternative sale transaction.

Comdisco also announced today that, in light of the adjourned hearing and to accommodate potential bidders, it has extended the deadline for bids for its Leasing businesses to Thursday, November 8, 2001 at 12:00 noon (CST). The auction for the Leasing businesses is scheduled for November 15 and 16, and the Bankruptcy Court hearing for a potential sale or sales has been set for November 28, 2001 at 2:00 p.m. (CST). As previously announced on August 31, 2001, Comdisco received Court approval for the potential sale of its Leasing businesses, excluding its European IT leasing operations.

About Comdisco

Comdisco (www.comdisco.com) provides technology services worldwide to help its customers maximize technology functionality, predictability and availability, while freeing them from the complexity of managing their technology. The Rosemont, (IL) company offers a complete suite of information technology services including business continuity, managed web hosting, storage and IT Control and Predictability Solutions(SM). Comdisco offers leasing to key vertical industries, including semiconductor manufacturing and electronic assembly, healthcare, telecommunications, pharmaceutical, biotechnology and manufacturing. Through its Ventures division, Comdisco provides equipment leasing and other financing and services to venture capital-backed companies.

Safe Harbor 

The foregoing contains forward-looking statements regarding Comdisco. They reflect the company's current views with respect to current events and financial performance, are subject to many risks, uncertainties and factors relating to the company's operations and business environment which may cause the actual results of the company to be materially different from any future results, express or implied by such forward-looking statements. The company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the Safe Harbor created by Section 27(a) of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934. The words and phrases "expect, " "estimate, " and "anticipate " and similar expressions identify forward-looking statements. Certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from these forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to, the following: Adjustments arising in the course of completing the analysis of information with respect to the review of the company's businesses and evaluation of impairment charges; continuing volatility in the equity markets, which can affect the availability of credit and other funding sources to the high technology sector companies in the Ventures portfolio, resulting in the inability of those companies to satisfy their obligations in a timely manner and an increase in bad debt experience beyond current reserves; continued consolidation in the telecommunications industry and curtailment of the growth plans of the remaining companies in that sector, which could result in fewer buyers and reduced prices for available Prism assets, and a further reduction in the proceeds actually received from the sale of those assets compared to prior estimates and an increase in the losses associated with the discontinued operation. Other risk factors are listed from time to time in the company's SEC reports, including, but not limited to, the report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30, 2001. Comdisco disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.