Xeikon Acquires Majority Controlling Position in Nipson International S.A.; Deal Adds Digital Black and White Printing Capabilities to Leading On-Demand Color Manufacturer.

MORTSEL, Belgium--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 14, 1999--

Xeikon, N.V. (Nasdaq:XEIK), the world's leading supplier of digital color printing systems for professional applications, Wednesday announced it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire an 80% equity interest in Nipson International S.A., a manufacturer of digital black and white printers based on patented "magnetography" technology.

Xeikon purchases the stake for $15.8 million in cash from Groupe Bull, France's leading computer systems manufacturer. The company also assumes liabilities, which primarily consist of $11.6 million in debt, payable to Bull. The transaction is expected to close by the end of April 1999.

Bull reported in 1998 that Nipson recorded total revenues of $67.9 million. For the same fiscal year, Xeikon reported revenues of $136.1 million.

"This purchase adds important digital black and white capabilities to our leading color position," said Alfons Buts, Xeikon's president and chief executive officer. "With Nipson, we are gaining innovative proprietary technology and a broad customer service structure.

"This outstanding technology combined with potential opportunities for expanded marketing applications and our ability to focus on targeted business channels, we believe, will make the Nipson acquisition accretive in 2000, with some dilution this year, dependent on our assessment of investment spending needs."

Buts added: "Since its formation, Nipson has primarily served as a manufacturer of printers for data processing applications. Recently it has shifted its focus to industrial printing needs, and we believe Xeikon is uniquely positioned to help Nipson capture a significant share of the growing black and white print on-demand market, which is one of the fastest growing segments in the overall printing market."

He noted that Nipson's clients included Credit Agricole S.A., Dai Nippon Printing Company and Wallace Computer Company.

Magnetography is a robust process for reliable high-speed black and white digital printing. Contrary to electrophotography with its typical laser or LED-array exposure of photoconductor drums, Nipson's magnetography technology utilizes a state-of-the-art silicon magnetographic imaging head to record a latent image on a revolving hard metal drum.

Afterward, the image is developed by fine magnetic toner particles, transferred and fused in a contactless way onto the paper. Magnetography offers several outstanding advantages -- high printing speed, a reliable and robust process, a wide range of printing media and weights, compact design of the equipment and a very low cost per printed page -- which make it the technology of choice for a range of heavy duty print on-demand applications.

Nipson's line of Web-based black and white printers ranges in speed from 60 pages per minute to 800 pages per minute in single engine configurations. Speed is doubled in a tandem configuration.

At year-end 1998, Nipson had an installed base of more than 1,600 printers, principally in France, Germany, the United Kingdom and the U.S. The company, with principal manufacturing operations in Belfort, France, has 430 employees worldwide, with 340 in France, and sales and service subsidiaries in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany.

Xeikon N.V. develops, produces and markets commercial digital color printing systems and related consumables specifically designed to meet the quality, speed, reliability, cost, variable content and on-demand requirements of the global digital color printing market.

Xeikon supplies both original equipment manufacturers, as well as a global network of over 30 value-added distributors (VADs) operating in more than 40 countries. Xeikon N.V can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.xeikon.be.

Bull is an international information technology group that delivers secure solutions for the enterprise and its customers. Bull's business portfolio is focused in three key domains: enterprise-class servers, IT services and new technologies (smart cards and software for systems management and Internet security).

In 1998, Bull earned revenues of $4.3 billion (3.8 billion euros) with over 65% outside of France, its country of origin. Bull can be found in 100 countries and on the World Wide Web at http://www.bull.com

This news release contains forward-looking statements, and actual results may vary from those expressed or implied herein. Factors that could affect these results include those mentioned in Xeikon's 1998 annual report and its annual and quarterly filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.