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EXHIBIT 99.1
(LEVEL 8 LOGO)
NEWS RELEASE
MERRILL LYNCH AND LEVEL 8 ANNOUNCE STRATEGIC ALLIANCE
MERRILL LYNCH TO TAKE MINORITY EQUITY STAKE IN LEVEL 8
CARY, NC AND NEW YORK, NY, - JULY 31, 2000 - Level 8 Systems (Nasdaq: LEVEL), a
leading global provider of high performance eBusiness integration software, and
Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) today announced that the two companies have agreed to
form a strategic alliance to deliver eBusiness integration solutions for global
2000 companies.
Under the terms of the agreement Merrill Lynch will grant Level 8 exclusive
worldwide marketing, sales and development rights to Cicero(TM), a comprehensive
integrated desktop computer environment developed by Merrill Lynch and used by
more than 30,000 Merrill Lynch professionals worldwide. Level 8 will market
Cicero(TM) as part of the Geneva eBusiness integration product line. Merrill
Lynch will receive an equity stake in Level 8 Systems in the form of one million
shares of common stock. The common stock represents approximately seven percent
of the total outstanding shares of Level 8 Systems common stock. In addition,
Merrill Lynch will have a seat on the Level 8 Board of Directors. The agreement
is subject to certain conditions, including the receipt of required regulatory
approvals.
Level 8 plans to extend the Cicero(TM) technology to a multi-platform
environment that works with existing Level 8 eBusiness integration products. The
result will be a highly scalable and distributed eBusiness infrastructure. The
new product will facilitate the access and integration of information at the
desktop and seamlessly automate business processes among knowledge workers,
across multiple applications, networks and platforms. The current release of
Cicero(TM) is available immediately from Level 8.
"Technology is the core of our business," said John McKinley, Executive Vice
President and Chief Technology Officer of Merrill Lynch. "Our relationship with
Level 8 enables Merrill Lynch to continue its leadership role in providing the
most advanced technologies that benefit our clients."
Level 8 and Merrill Lynch will continue to collaborate on the development of
additional Level 8 software products for eBusiness integration. Level 8 will
provide a robust "plug-and-play" enterprise eBusiness infrastructure that will
allow applications to seamlessly share information quickly and easily across
multiple platforms, communications protocols and networks.
"The alliance between Merrill Lynch and Level 8 enables Level 8 to extend its
vision of eBusiness integration from the mainframe to the desktop," said Dr.
Anthony C. Picardi, Senior Vice President of Global Software at IDC in
Framingham, Massachusetts. "With the Cicero(TM) desktop integration technology
of Merrill Lynch added to the product portfolio, Level 8 provides a
comprehensive suite of
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Merrill Lynch and Level 8 Announce Strategic Alliance 2
application integration technologies. The Merrill Lynch ownership in Level 8
will increase Level 8's market visibility and viability as a long-term player."
"This alliance with Merrill Lynch is a major milestone in the evolution of Level
8 as a leader in the eBusiness integration market," said Arik Kilman, Chief
Executive Officer and Chairman of Level 8. "Customers want integrated solutions
extending from the browser to the data center. By extending the Merrill Lynch
technology, Level 8 offers a very compelling set of eBusiness solutions for
larger organizations from the desktop to the mainframe."
ABOUT GENEVA
Geneva eBusiness integration software is based on application integration
technology that supports the rapid implementation of eBusiness system
architectures that support dynamic and complex business rules. Geneva also
supports the need for cross-organizational business process integration,
including customers on the Internet, the back office, suppliers and partner
organizations. This allows newly deployed eBusiness applications to leverage
existing IT investments, suppliers' infrastructures and partner organizations.
ABOUT LEVEL 8 SYSTEMS
Level 8 Systems (Nasdaq: LVEL; www.level8.com) is a leading global provider of
high performance eBusiness integration software that enables organizations to
integrate new and existing information and processes with the Internet to create
new business value. Level 8's product portfolio represents the broadest
eBusiness integration offering from a single vendor in the market today. The
Geneva integration product suite provides enterprise messaging, application
integration, business process automation and application engineering
technologies.
Level 8 has more than 700 customers and over 450 employees worldwide with
corporate headquarters in Cary, North Carolina, and offices in the US, UK,
Germany, Denmark, Sweden, France, Italy and Australia.
ABOUT MERRILL LYNCH
Merrill Lynch is one of the world's leading financial management and advisory
companies, with offices in 44 countries and total client assets of about $1.8
trillion. As an investment bank, it is the top global underwriter and market
maker of debt and equity securities and a leading strategic advisor to
corporations, governments, institutions and individuals worldwide. Through
Merrill Lynch Investment Managers, the company is one of the world's largest
managers of financial assets. For more information, go to www.ml.com.
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Merrill Lynch and Level 8 Announce Strategic Alliance 3
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Level 8, Level 8 Systems, Level 8 Technologies, Geneva, Geneva Integration
Suite, Geneva Enterprise Integrator, Geneva Business Process Automator, Geneva
Integration Broker, Geneva Message Queuing, Geneva XIPC and Geneva AppBuilder
are trademarks of Level 8 Technologies, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Level
8 Systems, Inc. All other company and product names are for identification
purposes only and are the property of, and may be trademarks of, their
respective owners.
US Contacts:
Karen Tyson
Level 8
Investor Relations
(919) 319-2270
[email protected]
Liz Bazini
Verrecchia Group
Level 8 Public Relations
(514) 935-0166
[email protected]
Selena Morris
Merrill Lynch
Public Relations
(212) 449-7283
[email protected]
European Contact:
Cassandra Harris
Brodeur A Plus
Level 8 European Public Relations
44 01 753 790 700
[email protected]
