Sopra Group, for its Subsidiary Axway, Announces its Intention to Acquire the B2B Software Business Unit from Atos Origin in Germany

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. and PARIS - Axway, a wholly owned subsidiary of Sopra Group, today announced its intention to sign an agreement with Atos Origin, a leading International Information Technology Services Company, to acquire the B2B software business of Atos Origin in Germany. On completion, the combined entity will gain leadership as the EDI and B2B solution provider in Europe, will become a major B2B software supplier in Germany and a leader in Collaborative Business Solutions. This project is subject to regulatory approval and should be finalized in early 2007. As a complement to this acquisition, Atos Origin and Axway will enter into a worldwide partnership agreement for B2B solutions.

After all assets of the Atos Origin B2B software business in Germany have been transferred to a new company, Axway will acquire, in cash, 100% of the share capital of that company. Further details will be announced after the agreement is completed.

This acquisition is in line with Axway's global development strategy. The complementary geographic positioning will create an undisputed B2B software leader in Europe. In addition, Axway's expertise in Collaborative Business Solutions and the expertise in business solutions provided by the Atos Origin B2B software business in Germany will create a global leader capable of serving the needs of the largest multinational corporations.

Upon completion, clients will benefit from expanded features of the Axway Synchrony™ platform, such as BPM, BAM, and MFT, which complement the existing technologies currently offered by the Atos Origin B2B software business in Germany. Today, common clients already manage their collaborative business with the combined added value of both product lines. The Atos Origin B2B software products will be maintained and integrated in an updated version of Axway's Synchrony™ platform, thus enhancing EDI formats and process integration technology specific to the automotive sector, expanding the depth of Web EDI features and leveraging the privileged relationships with leading ERPs and the associated interconnection possibilities between B2B servers. In addition, Axway will maintain and develop the SaaS offering in partnership with Atos Origin Germany, who will continue to provide outsourcing infrastructure.

Axway expects to capitalize on the fast-growing healthcare, financial services, automotive, logistics and transportation industries, its key market strengths post-acquisition. This operation will also offer enhanced career opportunities for the 1100+ employees of Axway.

"This operation brings together two healthy companies," said Christophe Fabre, CEO of Axway. "We think the 8000+ clients and partners alike are going to be thrilled with the extended products and services our joint operations will be able to offer. By leveraging our combined strengths in SOA, B2B and vertical sector expertise, we will be very well-positioned to grow our operations in Europe, capitalize on a significant presence in Germany and create best-in-class solutions for global clients worldwide."

With this operation, Atos Origin takes a further step in its strategy to focus on its core Consulting, Systems Integration and Managed Operations business and is convinced that the acquisition of the B2B Software unit in Germany by Axway offers the best opportunity to further grow this B2B software business. "The combination of Axway and the Atos Origin Germany B2B Software unit will create a de-facto B2B leader in Europe for managing real-time collaborations between business partners," said, Wolfgang Sturm, COO of Atos Origin in Germany. "Our B2B Software business has enjoyed great recognition from its 900 customers as a quality supplier of a large set of services that can meet all needs in the B2B area, a rapidly developing marketplace".

What is today the B2B software unit of Atos Origin in Germany has a long experience in providing EDI and B2B solutions, mainly to the automotive sector. Since the mid-'80s, this unit has established a broad base of nearly 1,200 client installations. Since 2005, it has become one of the leading developers in Germany specialized in EDI and B2B software and offers its clients "On-Demand" services in order to help reduce IT costs. The Atos Origin Germany B2B Software unit employs 160 people in Berlin, Hambourg, Dusseldorf and Stuttgart. This unit proposes a modular, completely integrated product suite covering an extensive range of integration options from classic EDI solutions to Marketplace Connectivity and WebEDI. In addition to the extensive coverage of the automotive ecosystem, it also includes a predefined CPG offering and a large range of interface standards.

B2B: Business to Business.
BAM: Business Activity Monitoring.
BPM: Business Process Management.
CPG: Consumer Packaged Goods.
EDI: Electronic Data Interchange.
MFT: Managed File Transfer.
SaaS: Software as a Service.
SOA: Service Oriented Architecture.

About Axway

Axway is the Business Interaction Networks company — the only provider in the market today to manage, run, secure, and monitor all of your business interactions, including email, files, messaging, services, events, and processes. Serving over 11,000 organizations in more than 100 countries, Axway facilitates the multi-enterprise transactions, processes and integration that accelerate business by eliminating the barriers between vendors, customers, departments, partners and suppliers. Axway's comprehensive offerings include business-to-business integration, managed file transfer, secure email, business activity monitoring, enterprise application integration, service-oriented architecture, business process management, track & trace and identity validation solutions. Axway provides professional and managed services, as well as cloud computing and Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) offerings. Headquartered in Phoenix, Arizona, Axway's global presence spans 20 countries.

About Atos Origin

Atos Origin is an international information technology services company. Its business is turning client vision into results through the application of consulting, systems integration and managed operations. The company's annual revenues are EUR 5.5 billion and it employs over 47,000 people in 40 countries. Atos Origin is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic Games and has a client base of international blue-chip companies across all sectors. Atos Origin is quoted on the Paris Eurolist Market and trades as Atos Origin, Atos Euronext Market Solutions, Atos Worldline and Atos Consulting. For more information, please visit the company's web site at

www.atosorigin.com

About Sopra Group

A leader in the European consulting and IT services market, with a total workforce of 9,600, Sopra Group provides the full spectrum of services enabling companies to transform their organisations and their information systems. Sopra Group is a total solution provider, from prior strategic reflection from an executive management perspective, through to the supervision and implementation of major systems integration and application outsourcing projects. Through its subsidiary Axway, the Group pursues the worldwide deployment of its activities in both application integration and collaborative business solutions, with a complete range of solutions and services.

www.sopragroup.com

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