Merrill Lynch and Multex.com Enter Multi-Year, Multi-Million Dollar Strategic Partnership for Web Development.

Business Editors

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 22, 1999

Merrill Lynch to Invest in Multex.com

Merrill Lynch and Multex.com (Nasdaq:MLTX), the leading Internet research portal, today announced that they have entered into a multi-year, multi-million dollar partnership to co-develop global research and information web sites for clients of Merrill Lynch's institutional e-commerce portal. The firms will also expand their existing operating partnerships for research delivery and other web development for Merrill Lynch's private client business.

As part of the strategic partnership, Merrill Lynch will acquire a minority equity stake in Multex.com and transfer to Multex.com proprietary research technologies developed by Merrill Lynch. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

For institutional clients, the two firms will jointly develop the next-generation platform for real-time delivery of Merrill Lynch investment strategy and securities research. Teams from Multex.com, from Merrill Lynch's new institutional e-commerce division, Direct Markets, and from Merrill Lynch Research will build global web sites with localized content and e-commerce functionality.

The companies will also develop cutting-edge technology to personalize and broadcast real-time research alerts and market information across multiple platforms, such as pagers, cell phones and the Internet. Further, the content offered will include expanded market data and news, as well as interactive investor conference calls to give investors real-time access to Merrill Lynch's leading team of research analysts worldwide through multiple channels.

"Our mission is to provide corporate and institutional investor clients around the globe with a portal that offers seamless integration of research, advice, analytics, and trading capabilities," said Thomas W. Davis, head of Merrill Lynch's Corporate and Institutional Client Group. "This strategic partnership with Multex.com will provide the research delivery component of that portal--giving our clients the wisdom and insights of the world's best research team, delivered with the immediacy and convenience of the best technology platform."

A second aspect of the transaction is that the companies will extend Multex.com's existing relationship with Merrill Lynch's Private Client Group. Multex.com currently hosts and operates the www.askmerrill.com web sites (U.S. and international), showcasing Merrill Lynch's leading global research capabilities, and provides database and technology services for Merrill Lynch Online(sm) (www.mlol.ml.com) and Trusted Global Advisor(sm), supporting more than 500,000 Merrill Lynch clients and 14,000 financial consultants. Multex.com also provides key technology and support for the recently launched MLDirect(sm), Merrill Lynch's self-directed investor channel (www.mldirect.ml.com). Merrill Lynch also has agreed to extend its platinum sponsorship on Multex Investor(sm) for an additional two years (www.multexinvestor.com).

"This agreement with Multex.com gives Merrill Lynch a strong partner with world class web technology and financial content, as well as global reach to millions of online investors," said John L. Steffens, Vice Chairman of Merrill Lynch. "With Multex.com, we can continue to build our collaborative and decision-based platforms for financial consultants using the Trusted Global Advisor workstations and our growing family of Merrill Lynch OnLine digital properties."

"Multex.com is significantly expanding its core business of providing financial services firms with services to connect with both institutional and individual clients and with prospects via the Internet. This expansion solidifies Multex.com's role in helping the industry transition its capital markets business online," said Isaak Karaev, Chairman and CEO of Multex.com. "Merrill Lynch is fast becoming the leader in online financial services, and we are excited to help them do so."

"With this understanding, Merrill Lynch's top-ranked equity and fixed income research unites with a top research and information portal worldwide, creating a powerful combination for all of our institutional and individual investor clients," said Executive Vice President Jerome P. Kenney, head of the Global Securities Research & Economics Group. Merrill Lynch's team of 800 research analysts covers more than 3,700 companies globally.

"This strategic alliance solidifies our relationship with one of the world's leading financial services firms and leverages our respective strengths to build Multex.com's presence in key markets around the globe," said Jim Tousignant, President of Multex.com.

Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading financial management and advisory companies with offices in 44 countries and total client assets exceeding $1.5 trillion. As an investment bank, it is the top global underwriter and market maker of debt and equity securities and a leading strategic advisor to corporations, governments, institutions, and individuals worldwide. Through its Asset Management Group, the company is one of the world's largest managers of financial assets, which total approximately $514 billion. For more information, visit Merrill Lynch's web site at (www.ml.com).

Merrill Lynch's Direct Markets business, formed in April 1999, aims to become the leading global provider of integrated, electronically-delivered offerings to corporate and institutional clients - including research, investment advice, analytics, trading and servicing. Direct Markets is headed by Michael Packer. Laurence A. Tosi, Director of Business Development, will be managing the new partnership with Multex.com on behalf of Direct Markets.

Multex.com (www.multex.com) is the world's largest interactive community of investors, analysts and brokers. Through partnerships with Bloomberg, Reuters and Dow Jones, as well as premier financial web portals including AOL, Quicken.com, Quote.com, and CBS Marketwatch, Multex.com's financial information is available on over 200 financial websites.

Focused on content, connectivity, commerce and community, Multex.com offers products and services across three business lines -- business-to-business, business-to-consumer, and content. Using the Internet, and through customized intranets, Multex.com provides up-to-date investment research, earnings and financial data to more than two million individual investors, institutional investors and financial professionals, including mutual fund managers, portfolio managers, brokers and their clients. Multex Investor (www.multexinvestor.com), is one of the Internet's most popular destinations, targeting the rapidly growing online individual investor market. In a recent stock transaction, Multex.com acquired Market Guide, Inc. (www.marketguide.com), the benchmark for comprehensive financial information.