The acquisition includes Himalaya's E-business  IT customers, as well as its  teams and associated resources, i.e.: 42 consultants and experts serving large interactivity management and technological projects.

"With this major IT acquisition, Business & Decision's ambition is to build a coherent Internet based team that works in synergy with the other services and expertises of the Group, said Patrick Bensabat, Business & Decision's Chairman. Our size, knowledge and references will allow Business & Decision to be positioned as a major player in the E-business sector."

Reinforcement in E-business consultancy and integration

The acquisition reinforces Business & Decision's deployment in Internet consultancy and integration (Intranets, Web site hosting, Entreprise Directories, Portals...), all of which is connected to Business & Decision's two main services Business Intelligence and CRM.

Business & Decision's E-business activity now counts more than 120 experts in Paris, Caen, Grenoble and Lyon, in France, with a diverse range of customer references.

The activity area acquired from  the Himalaya company by Business & Decision  is expected to be profitable in the first year. This activity will contribute to next financial year's revenues (closed on the 30 June 2003) at an estimated value of EUR4.5 Million (£2.835 Million), with benefits. Within the acquisition (which covers more than 300 implementation sites), customers include: Bouygues Telecom, Crédit Lyonnais, e-TF1, l'Etudiant, France Telecom Services, Gan Eurocourtage, Groupama Santé, Hachette Livre, Lafarge, MMA Finances, le Monde Interactive, Novartis Pharma, Pinault-Printemps-Redoute, Samsung Téléphone, Sénat, Société Générale, Thomson multimedia, TPS...

The purchase of Himalaya's IT "Integration & Consultancy" division was a cash acquisition and will be consolidated within the Business & Decision accounts from 26 July 2002.

Tristan de Viaris joins Business & Decision as Associate Director

As a result of the acquisition, Tristan de Viaris (aged 45, with graduation from Ecole Polytechnique and Ecole des Mines de Paris), previously Himalaya's CEO, in charge of consultancy and integration joins Business & Decision as Associate Director with responsibility for the Group's E-business activity.

Next financial announcement:

- consolidated annual results: 31 September 2002

About Business & Decision - www.businessdecision.com

Founded in 1992, Business & Decision is an International consulting and Systems Integration company specializing in Business Intelligence, Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and E-Business. The Group works with clients to implement systems that aim at driving business functions and performance (dashboards, reporting, consolidation etc.); help in customer relationship management (sales force automation, call centers, campaign management, analytical CRM); and assist in E-Business (intranet and extranet portals, directories and Meta directories, e-commerce, knowledge management, Open source technologies, etc.). With more than 2,800 employees worldwide, Business & Decision has developed a "complete project" approach that spans from consulting to implementation. The Group has a reputation for its functional and technological expertise and has forged partnerships with all of the key technology vendors. At present, Business & Decision has more than 1,200 clients.

Business & Decision has been listed on the Euronext Paris since February 2001 (compartment B / Isin code: FR 00000 7895 8 / Symbol:  BND). Business & Decision is listed in the NextEconomy segment and in the IT-Cac (technology market). For more information, visit: http://www.businessdecision.com/

Press Contact at Business & Decision
Investor relations

Pauline Cieutat - pauline.cieutat@businessdecision.com

Tel: +33 1 56 21 21 20
Fax: +33 1 56 21 21 22