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SunGard to Spin off BusinessServices

00:00:00 - 08 October 2004

SunGard (www.sungard.com), announced today that its board of directors has unanimously approved a plan to spin off its availability services business to stockholders through a tax-free distribution of shares.

The spin-off is expected to be completed by the end of the first quarter of 2005, subject to customary conditions including the receipt of a favorable ruling from the Internal Revenue Service or an acceptable tax opinion.

Cristóbal Conde, SunGard's president and chief executive officer, said, "This is great news for our stockholders, customers and employees.  We are pursuing a strategic separation of SunGard into two financially strong, independent companies so that each can better focus on its distinct type of business and better pursue its own growth opportunities."

SunGard's outlook for 2004 diluted net income per share remains unchanged in the range of $1.37 to $1.42.  This outlook assumes a continuation of the current demand environment for SunGard's products and services. 

SunGard expects growth in internal revenue (revenue from businesses owned for at least one year) in both its software and processing business and its availability services business to modestly improve in the second half of 2004 and to be in the low to middle single digits for the full year  2005. 

Mr. Conde continued, "Our two businesses were brought together in the leveraged buy-out that created SunGard in 1983.  While they have thrived together, they have remained quite discrete with separate sales forces, different types of customers, distinct strategies and limited operating overlap. 

SunGard's software and processing business employs more than 10,000 people and serves more than 15,000 customers in more than 50 countries, including the world's 50 largest financial services companies.

In 2003, this business had revenue of $1.8 billion and operating income of $324 million (excluding corporate expenses and merger costs).

As a standalone company, SunGard's software and processing business expects to be more agile and proactive, enabling it to better support customers as they address transformations in their own industry sectors.

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