The Sale of SELSIUS SYSTEMS Inc. (subsidiary of INTECOM) to CISCO SYSTEMS Inc.

The LAGARDERE group announces the signature of an agreement with CISCO SYSTEMS Inc. (USA) for the sale, by its Dallas based subsidiary INTECOM Inc., of SELSIUS SYSTEMS Inc.

SELSIUS SYSTEMS Inc. was created in 1997 and employs 51 people. At present, it turnover is marginal, as its products only appeared on the market in the course of 1998.

The transaction is valued at 145 million US dollars. The transfer should be finalized by the end of 1998.

This agreement is subject to the legal and statutory approval of the competent authorities.

The surplus generated by this operation (around 90 million US dollars before tax) will further reinforce the provisional increase in the LAGARDERE group’s net consolidated result already announced for the year 1998.

It also demonstrates the refocusing of all the LAGARDERE group’s telecommunications activities on its joint venture with NORTEL, MATRA NORTEL COMMUNICATIONS.

INTECOM specializes in networks and company communications and has developed some of the most powerful call centers on the market using its IBX multiservices platform. Its SELSIUS subsidiary specialized in the development of voice over IP (Internet Protocol). This activity will now be developed by MATRA NORTEL COMMUNICATIONS.