VISTA and Ingenta merge to create Publishing Technology plc

["Charlie Rapple" <charlie.rapple@ingenta.com>]

With apologies for cross-posting - the list may be interested in
this news; further information is available at
www.publishingtechnology.com. Please do not hesitate to contact
me or our customer service staff with any queries.
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VISTA and Ingenta merge to create Publishing Technology plc

New company will unite print and online publishing and be the
largest provider of specific software solutions to the publishing
industry

VISTA International, the leading global provider of software
systems and support services for the publishing industry, and
Ingenta, the technology provider that connects the publishing and
information industries, today announce that they have agreed to
merge to create Publishing Technology plc, which will be the
largest provider of publishing-specific software solutions to the
publishing industry.

By combining VISTA's author2reader(tm) systems, which cover the
complete print publishing supply chain, and Ingenta's online
publishing and internet expertise, Publishing Technology plc
unites print and online publishing services to provide an
unrivalled proposition to publishers. Publishing organisations,
both large and small, can improve their bottom line by
integrating offline and online content, reducing production and
distribution costs, achieving faster speed to market, creating
new products and boosting online and digital revenue streams.
Ingenta and VISTA's existing business brands, such as VISTA,
IngentaConnect, author2reader(tm), Heron and PCG will be
retained.

George Lossius, VISTA CEO and CEO designate of Publishing
Technology plc, commented: "As electronic products continue to
grow in importance to publishers we believe that they will be
seeking to invest in the technologies that will harness both
their print and electronic products. We believe the industry is
looking for a market leader to provide the necessary software
products and services and Publishing Technology plc will meet
this demand."

Publishing Technology plc will employ approximately 180 people
across North America and Europe. The company will have over 350
publishing customers, including eight of the ten largest
publishing houses in the world, such as Hachette, Random House,
Penguin, and Reed Elsevier and, unlike large international ERP
providers, the company will deliver configurable
publishing-specific software solutions tailored to its clients.
The company will also have 1,000 academic and corporate research
library clients, such as Louisiana State University Library and
GlaxoSmithKline's research library, and a number of multilateral
institution clients, such as the World Bank, the IMF and the
OECD.

The Boards of Ingenta and VISTA, with the support of the VISTA
shareholders, have entered into an agreement that is expected to
complete during February 2007, subject only to Ingenta
shareholder approval. Under the terms of the definitive
agreement, the companies will start operating as a combined unit
from today, and on completion Ingenta will be issuing shares and
loan stock, and the current VISTA shareholders will hold
approximately 60% of the shares in Publishing Technology plc.
Blue-chip institutional shareholders in the new company include
Cazenove and Invesco.

George Lossius, VISTA CEO and Publishing Technology plc CEO
designate comments: "Publishing Technology plc will be the
largest provider of publishing-specific software solutions to the
publishing industry worldwide and will provide a strongly
integrated offline and online suite of products and services that
will be unsurpassed in the publishing systems market and will
help our publishing and library clients to operate more
effectively, efficiently and profitably."

Simon Dessain, Ingenta CEO and Publishing Technology plc COO
designate, comments: "Both organisations have built up
considerable brand loyalties within their respective markets, and
have strong reputations for delivering reliable solutions to
complex problems. Our combined product offering will capitalise
on our technological leadership and proven customer service
record to help publishers reduce production and distribution
costs, achieve faster speed to market, and create new products
and revenue streams."

Martyn Rose, Chairman of Ingenta and Chairman designate of
Publishing Technology plc, commented: "This is an exciting
positive deal for both companies and for publishing houses, who
will be the main beneficiaries of the expanded integrated offline
and online services that Publishing Technology will offer. The
deal will capitalise on the strengths of both companies and
result in a market leader with very strong growth potential."

For further information please contact:

2nd February 2007
Richard Evans: +44 775 108 7291
Tom Nutt: +44 777 568 6706
The Communication Group plc: +44 20 7630 1411

At Ingenta: Charlie Rapple, charlie.rapple@ingenta.com, +44 1865 397860
At VISTA: Moray=E9a Pindziak, morayea.pindziak@vistacomp.com, +1 732-563-9292

About VISTA International
www.vistacomp.com

Founded in 1977, VISTA International is the leading worldwide
provider of solutions and services for the publishing industry to
support the printed publication process. VISTA has for 29 years
been a partner to publishers, distributors and booksellers
supported by our systems throughout the world. The company's
author2reader(tm) solutions fit all aspects of the publishing
value chain, from author care through production, rights and
royalties to warehouse and fulfilment - all integrated in an
e-business environment. To complement its comprehensive
enterprise solutions, the full range of VISTA services includes
applications implementation, applications management and hosting
services, and publishing-specific business consulting, together
with lifetime customer support. VISTA has offices in Europe,
North America and the Asia-Pacific region.

About Ingenta
www.ingenta.com

Founded in 1998, Ingenta is the global market leader in the
management and distribution of published scientific, professional
and academic research via the Internet, and develops and
maintains specialist websites and technology services for
publishers, self-publishing societies and libraries. The
IngentaConnect Division provides professional and scholarly
publishers and societies with data conversion, secure online
hosting, access control and distribution services. IngentaConnect
provides libraries and information professionals with
comprehensive collection management and document delivery
options. The Information Commerce Division provides flexible
infrastructure and tools to enable publishers to repackage,
bundle or price content online at the click of a button.
Ingenta's collection of research content - 20 million articles
from more than 10,000 online publications and 20,000 fax and
Ariel delivered publications - is accessed by millions of
researchers and librarians a month via ingentaconnect.com and
other websites. Ingenta is listed on the AIM market of the London
Stock Exchange and has offices in Europe and North America.
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   Charlie Rapple
   Head of Marketing
   Ingenta
   Unipart House, Garsington Road, Oxford, OX4 2GQ
   T +44 (0)1865 397860
   F +44 (0)1865 397801
   charlie.rapple@ingenta.com
   www.ingenta.com/corporate
   www.ingentaconnect.com
   IngentaConnect: the home of scholarly research
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