McGraw-Hill Education and Microsoft Announce Agreement; Global Academic Market Distribution and Publishing Agreement Creates New Imprint, McGraw-Hill- Microsoft Press.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 24, 2002

McGraw-Hill Education, a leading provider of instructional products and related education services, and Microsoft Corp. have entered into an agreement to develop, publish, market and distribute professional and technical books for the global education market.

The new agreement brings together two information technology (IT) publishing powerhouses with complementary product lines and skills. The initial focus will be in the higher education market place. Under a newly created imprint, McGraw-Hill-Microsoft Press will offer the worldwide higher education market a "one-stop" turnkey solution for IT texts and materials.

Under the terms of the agreement, McGraw-Hill-Microsoft Press plan to offer Microsoft(R) titles in print, multimedia and network-ready format, including Microsoft's flagship Academic Learning Series used to obtain the popular MCSE (Microsoft Certified Software Engineer) and MCSA (Microsoft Certified Software Administrator) certifications. McGraw-Hill-Microsoft Press will also collaborate to develop new IT titles under the agreement. In addition, certain IT titles previously published by either party will now be published under the McGraw-Hill-Microsoft Press imprint.

McGraw-Hill-Microsoft Press will distribute and sell its books and academic materials through a variety of established McGraw-Hill sales and distribution channels, including its Higher Education direct sales force of over 300 representatives, its online bookstore, http://www.books.mcgraw-hill.com, its elementary-high school sales force, and its global sales networks.

"McGraw-Hill Education's new agreement with Microsoft is a great business proposition for us, and a great product solution for our customers," noted Edward H. Stanford, president, McGraw-Hill Higher Education. "McGraw-Hill Higher Education is a strong player in the higher-education market for introductory professional and technical books; Microsoft has a strong position in the market for intermediate and advanced IT learning materials. By putting the two businesses together, we're creating a comprehensive professional and technical materials product line. McGraw-Hill-Microsoft Press will be well positioned to meet growing customer demand in the booming academic market for professional and technical materials.

"This relationship is ideal for Microsoft, because McGraw-Hill Higher Education's premier sales force and solid presence in the entry-level IT text and materials space complements our strength in the advanced end of the market," said Donald Fowley, publisher, Microsoft Press. "McGraw-Hill Higher Education has consistently demonstrated innovative, creative product development, and a strong commitment to their products as well as technology-enhanced learning and instruction. Microsoft is pleased to join forces with McGraw-Hill to create the McGraw-Hill-Microsoft Press imprint. Our similar business philosophy and approach to the market will allow for a seamless integration of product lines designed to provide customers with assistance in being successful with Microsoft technologies."

About McGraw-Hill Education

McGraw-Hill Higher Education is a unit of McGraw-Hill Education, a division of The McGraw-Hill Companies. Founded in 1888, The McGraw-Hill Companies is a global information services provider, meeting worldwide needs in the financial services, education and business information markets through leading brands such as Standard & Poor's and BusinessWeek. The corporation has more than 300 offices in 33 countries. Sales in 2001 were $4.6 billion. Additional information is available at www.mcgraw-hill.com.

About Microsoft Press and Microsoft

Microsoft Press(R) is a product unit within Microsoft and a leading source of comprehensive self-paced learning, training, evaluation and support resources that help everyone from developers and IT professionals to end users get the most from Microsoft technology. Users can choose from more than 250 current titles in print, multimedia and network-ready formats -- learning solutions made by Microsoft. More information can be found at http://mspress.microsoft.com/.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software -- any time, any place and on any device.

Microsoft and Microsoft Press are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.