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IBM and EFA Form Global Strategic Alliance to Deliver Electronic Financial Markets Solutions for Trading and Clearing White Plains, NY and Calgary, AB, Canada -- September 28, 2000 - IBM (NYSE: IBM) and EFA International Inc., a leading-edge global supplier of clearing and automated market solutions, today announced a global strategic alliance to deliver comprehensive order routing, trade processing, clearing and settlement solutions to the financial services industry, with special emphasis on financial and commodity exchanges as well as alternative trading systems (ATS) and electronic communications networks (ECNs). Under the terms of the agreement, the two companies will jointly market and sell EFA SEMS (Securities Exchange Management System), EFA's suite of solutions for exchange integration, as well as Horizon (securities trading), Equator (clearance, settlement, registry, and depository), Meridian (order routing/processing/confirmation) and MICA (insider trading and market manipulation detection or Market Integrity through Computer Analysis). IBM will provide consulting, customization and integration services for joint IBM and EFA solutions. EFA will lead with IBM hardware, software and services in mutually agreed upon markets, leveraging IBM's RS/6000® server and AS/400® enterprise server open architecture and technologies. The resulting solution will offer the level of reliability, scalability and security required by financial markets applications. In addition, IBM has made a minority equity investment in EFA. The terms of the deal were not disclosed. EFA exchange solutions on IBM hardware and software are currently used by many of the world's financial exchanges. The combined IBM and EFA solution provides a complete exchanges and electronic markets offering, comprising a comprehensive trading system using leading components that can be integrated into existing exchange infrastructures or added to upgrade function and processing. According to Elaine Sullivan, general manager of IBM Global Financial Markets Industry, "As the financial markets evolve, the number and nature of participants is rapidly increasing. Exchanges and electronic markets must be able to handle volumes that were unimaginable only several years ago. EFA's industry leading exchange, clearing and settlement, advanced functionality software, combined with IBM hardware and software technologies, addresses these high growth environments, while setting the stage for future functional and regulatory requirements. " Dave Ewasuik, president and CEO of EFA, added, "IBM has been our integration partner and platform partner of choice for many years now, and we will use this new initiative to bring even greater value to our global customer base. We are excited about our new relationship with IBM and believe that it signals our commitment to bringing best-of-breed technology and support to our customers in the exchange sector, and to securities firms looking for order automation solutions. In addition, the deal will have a positive impact on our growth and ability to increase services to clients." The Canadian Derivatives Clearing Corp. (CDCC) will use the newest version of EFA's clearing and settlement system, Equator, which is available only on IBM's AS/400 servers. Rikki Chow, president and CEO of the CDCC, explained that CDCC chose EFA's Equator because it features improved risk management capabilities and provides greater flexibility for structuring accounts and managing information. The EFA strategic alliance is another example of IBM's commitment to go-to-market with leading independent software vendors under the PartnerWorld for Developers program. Under this initiative, IBM has signed agreements with companies such as Siebel, i2 and Ariba to target industries such as financial services, retail, and manufacturing. The goal is to provide developers with access to new customers and revenue opportunities through IBM's marketing, sales, and solutions resources. In return, developers commit to lead with IBM's middleware, server platforms, and services. Under the terms of this alliance, EFA has agreed to leverage IBM's RS/6000 UNIX servers with the award-winning AIX® operating system, AS/400 enterprise servers, DB2® Universal Database and WebSphere® Application Server. About IBM PartnerWorld for Developers Software application developers receive support from IBM's PartnerWorld for Developers (www.developer.ibm.com) - a worldwide program designed to help software developers reach broader markets, lower their costs of doing business, and take their products to market faster. About IBM IBM is the world's largest information technology (IT) company and provider of IT services, as well as a preeminent technology partner to the world's financial services industry. Working directly with its financial services customers, IBM helps them become more competitive through the innovative deployment of high-impact solutions. These solutions comprise the full range of IBM capabilities including consulting, software, hardware, research and services. Additional information can be found at www.ibm.com/solutions/financialservices. About EFA EFA was founded in 1985 and has since grown to provide and implement more than 51 exchanges and depositories in 35 countries on four continents. EFA is a major provider of securities trading and commodities exchange management systems all over the world, specializing in emerging markets. Its products and services are used for end-to-end trade processing and for key components of exchange trading systems. EFA provides exchanges with leading edge securities software and is expanding to provide systems to other market participants, such as investment dealers, and electronic markets. For more information, visit EFA at www.efasoftware.com. ### ® AS/400, RS/6000, DB2, UDB, AIX, and IBM are trademarks or registered trademarks of the International Business Machines Corporation, in the United States and other countries. SEMS, Horizon, Equator and MICA are registered trademarks of EFA. Back