Bull accelerates strategic repositioning and confirms ambition to become European IT leader in the High Performance Computing market

Bull agrees to acquire science + computing ag, a leading HPC solutions and services company in Germany, the largest HPC market in Europe

Paris, October  7, 2008 -  

Bull - expert in open, flexible and secure information systems, solutions and services and one of Europe's leading players in the IT industry - announces that it is making a major investment in one of its flagship core businesses - High-Performance Computing (HPC) - with the agreement to acquire science + computing ag (s+c), a German company with significant expertise in HPC solutions and services, particularly for major clients in the automotive and aeronautical and related industries. This acquisition is subject to customary closing conditions and regulatory approval, and is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2008.

Didier Lamouche, Chairman and CEO of Bull declared: "The acquisition of s+c is one of the most important investments the company has made since 2005 supporting its strategic repositioning. The combination of Bull and s+c will create a powerhouse in the European HPC landscape. s+c will bring its experience in HPC solutions and services for customers in the manufacturing sector, and will contribute to expand Bull's offering towards infrastructure services. Coming on the back of our recent selection as prime contractor for the 200-Teraflop supercomputer for the Jülich research centre, this acquisition also provides the Group with a significant foothold in the key German market."

Didier Lamouche added: "Together with the divestment we are announcing today, this acquisition demonstrates our determination to accelerate further the transformation of the Group."

Bull will provide s+c with the resources it needs to enhance its own technological and commercial development. Based in the Stuttgart area with offices in Munich, Berlin and Düsseldorf, s+c currently employs over 200 experts in HPC and technical computing. s+c is responsible for a large number of critical engineering infrastructure projects in the automotive market, and will benefit from gaining access to Bull's offerings and expertise in very large-scale IT architectures. The company will maintain its operational independence, as well as its own management team, while at the same time benefiting from financial and industrial synergies with Bull.

According to Dr. Roland Niemeier, Chief Sales Officer and member of the Board of s+c: "We are excited to unite with Bull to create a force to be reckoned with in the HPC market in Europe by combining our strength and the talent of our teams with Bull's track record and huge expertise"

s+c recorded revenue of € 26 million in fiscal year 2007-2008, ended June 2008.

Financial terms of the transaction are not disclosed.

HPC, a domain of excellence for Bull

Bull is among the five leading IT players in the world - and the only one with roots in Europe - capable of designing, building and deploying supercomputers. In less than three years, Bull has successfully deployed more than 100 supercomputers in over 15 countries across three continents. Its most recent win is with the Jülich Research Center which particularly excels in physics (2007 Nobel Prize winner, Peter Grünberg), medicine and environmental sciences. The Jülich Research Center is Germany's largest HPC center and one of the biggest in the world and it has turned to Bull to build its new 200 Teraflop (200,000 billion operations a second) supercomputer.

About s+c

science + computing ag (s+c) is a service and software company for technical/scientific design and simulation environments (CAD/CAE/CAT). s+c focuses on the ideal organization of distributed systems and holds many years of experience in the operation as well as the administration of complex Unix, Linux and Windows environments. Currently, s+c has 270 employees in Tuebingen, Munich, Duesseldorf and Berlin. References of s+c include Audi, BMW, Bosch, Daimler, Porsche, Infineon Technologies. s+c works together with a network of VARs in Italy, Japan and USA.

For more information visit: www.science-computing.de

Contacts

Bull - press contact
Anne-Marie Jourdain - Phone: +33(0)1 30 80 32 52 - E-mail: anne-marie.jourdain@bull.net

Bull - investors contact
Peter Campbell - Phone: +33(0)1 30 80 32 36 - E-mail: peter.campbell@bull.net

s+c - press contact
Tobias Feifel - Phone: +49 7071 9457 215 - E-mail: t.feifel@science-computing.de

Bull is an Information Technology company, dedicated to helping Corporations and Public Sector organizations optimize the architecture, operations and the financial return of their Information Systems and their mission-critical related businesses.

Bull focuses on open and secure systems, and as such is the only European-based company offering expertise in all the key elements of the IT value chain.

For more information visit: http://www.bull.com