Conseco Closes Receivables Sale and Financing With Lehman Brothers; Transactions Increase Liquidity.

Business Editors

CARMEL, Ind.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 2000

Conseco, Inc. (NYSE:CNC) today announced that its Conseco Finance Corp. subsidiary has closed a previously disclosed agreement for the sale of approximately $1.3 billion in Conseco Finance receivables to Lehman Brothers and affiliates. The receivables sale is not expected to result in a material gain or loss.

Lehman Brothers also amended its repurchase and other financing facilities with Conseco Finance. As a result of the increased liquidity that these transactions bring to Conseco Finance, the unit is repaying approximately $500 million of intercompany indebtedness owed to Conseco. As partial consideration for the financing transaction, Lehman Brothers received a warrant, with a nominal exercise price, for 5% of Conseco Finance.

David V. Harkins, interim Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Conseco, stated, "We are pleased to have completed these transactions with Lehman. The $1.3 billion receivables sale creates increased warehousing capacity for Conseco Finance, thereby allowing the finance unit to continue to underwrite loans in an attractive environment. In addition, the amended financing facilities provide additional liquidity at Conseco, Inc., creating increased flexibility in managing the parent company capital structure during the Conseco Finance sale process, which remains on track."

Headquartered in Carmel, Ind., Conseco is one of middle America's leading sources for insurance, investment and lending products. Through its subsidiaries and a nationwide network of distributors, Conseco helps 13 million customers step up to a better, more secure future.

Note on forward-looking statements: All statements, trend analyses and other information contained in this release and elsewhere (such as in filings by Conseco with the Securities and Exchange Commission, press releases, presentations by Conseco or its management or oral statements) relative to markets for Conseco's products and trends in Conseco's operations or financial results, as well as other statements including words such as "anticipate," "believe," "plan," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "should," "could," "goal," "target," "on track," "comfortable with" and other similar expressions, constitute forward-looking statements under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause actual results to be materially different from those contemplated by the forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among other things: (1) general economic conditions and other factors, including prevailing interest rate levels, stock and credit market performance and health care inflation, which may affect (among other things) Conseco's ability to sell its products, its ability to make loans and access capital resources and the costs associated therewith, the market value of Conseco's investments, the lapse rate and profitability of policies, and the level of defaults and prepayments of loans made by Conseco; (2) Conseco's ability to achieve anticipated synergies and levels of operational efficiencies; (3) customer response to new products, distribution channels and marketing initiatives; (4) mortality, morbidity, usage of health care services and other factors which may affect the profitability of Conseco's insurance products; (5) performance of our investments; (6) changes in the Federal income tax laws and regulations which may affect the relative tax advantages of some of Conseco's products; (7) increasing competition in the sale of insurance and annuities and in the finance business; (8) regulatory changes or actions, including those relating to regulation of financial services affecting (among other things) bank sales and underwriting of insurance products, regulation of the sale, underwriting and pricing of products, and health care regulation affecting health insurance products; (9) the outcome of the contemplated sale process relating to Conseco Finance Corp. and the terms and availability of capital to Conseco during the sale process; and (10) the risk factors or uncertainties listed from time to time in Conseco's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

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