Comdisco acquires NetforceMTI, forms network services division.

ROSEMONT, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 30, 1995--Comdisco Inc. (NYSE:CDO) today announced that it has signed an agreement in principle to acquire NetforceMTI, a privately held professional network services firm in Minneapolis, in a stock-for-stock transaction. Financial terms were not disclosed.

In conjunction with the move, Comdisco announced it has formed a new business division, Comdisco Network Services. Mark Johnson, founder and CEO of NetforceMTI, has been named president of the new division, reporting to Nicholas K. Pontikes, executive vice president of Comdisco Inc. and president of Comdisco Disaster Recovery Services.

NetforceMTI, which was recently named to the 1995 INC. 500 list of America's fastest growing private companies, estimates that its revenue for fiscal year 1995, ending October 31, will approximate $20 million. Comdisco plans to hire all 60 of NetforceMTI's employees, the majority of which are based in Minneapolis. NetforceMTI also has offices in Chicago, Cleveland, Des Moines, and Washington, D.C.

The company's services include network assessment, design, planning, implementation, configuration, installation, and management. These services complement Comdisco's network experience in leasing, remarketing, and business continuity, and will play an important role in the company's systems integration and desktop asset management services.

"Comdisco has leased and remarketed nearly $1 billion of networking and communications equipment over the last five years; we're the premier provider of network recovery services; and we own and operate CDRS Net(R), one of the largest data networks in the world," Pontikes said. "With NetforceMTI, we have broadened our skills with an experienced, proven set of network services we can leverage in all of our businesses, in addition to its tremendous growth potential on its own."

"Networking is no longer a technology-centered function," Johnson noted. "It is integral to business success. The skills and experience of NetforceMTI, teamed with the tremendous worldwide strengths of Comdisco, position Comdisco Network Services as a major player in this high-growth market."

According to International Data Corp. in Framingham, Mass., the 1995 market for network planning, implementation, and support services is $11.5 billion, and is forecast to grow to $27 billion by the year 2000.

Founded in 1990, NetforceMTI is one of the nation's premier enterprise network services organizations. It designs, implements, and manages networks that use such technologies as frame relay, ISDN, the Internet, and ATM. The company manages more than 2,000 customer network nodes across the U.S. and internationally.

Comdisco (NYSE:CDO) is one of the world's leading vendor-independent providers of solutions that reduce technology cost and risk. These services include asset management; equipment leasing and remarketing; business continuity; and systems integration. Revenue for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30, 1994, totaled $2.1 billion.

CONTACT: Comdisco Inc., Rosemont

Mary Moster, 708/518-5147

Neal Lulofs, 708/518-5616