Pitney Bowes Acquires Controlling Interest In MailCode, Inc.

Pitney Bowes Acquires Controlling Interest In MailCode, Inc.
Pitney Bowes Strengthens Position in Large-Scale Mail Services Market
STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Jan. 10, 2001–Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI – news) today announced that it has acquired a majority ownership in MailCode, Inc., a privately held mail processing solutions company headquartered in Lafayette, Indiana.

Pitney Bowes will become the exclusive sales channel for MailCode's technology and solutions around the world. The addition of MailCode products will complement and broaden Pitney Bowes' Document Messaging Technology (DMT) unit's existing core offerings.

“This transaction significantly strengthens our position with large-scale commercial mail and message processing customers both domestically and internationally,'' said Pitney Bowes Chairman and CEO, Michael J. Critelli. “By adding MailCode to our existing production scale document management business, we increase our capabilities around both incoming and outgoing mail handling, expand our customer base and extend our product offerings to provide true end-to-end physical and digital solutions.''

MailCode offers mail processing solutions for incoming and outgoing mail sorting through an innovative and flexible software-based product line of Multi-line Optical Character Recognition (MLOCR) sorters, encoding and voice recognition systems, as well as Internet-based track and trace applications.

“By combining MailCode's sophisticated technology and customized solutions with Pitney Bowes' global distribution channel and brand recognition, we are poised to continue to be the first choice for customers who need mail finishing solutions,'' said Brian M. Baxendale, President, Pitney Bowes Document Messaging Technologies. “This move enables us to meet our customers' needs for seamless execution of technology and process solutions for both incoming and outgoing mail, including messages in either paper or electronic format. We also expect MailCode's advanced track and trace technology — PostBackOffice.com — to play a key role in our next-generation solutions that will offer customers real-time mail and message delivery information and confirmation.''

MailCode will continue to run as a stand-alone business, and both Pitney Bowes and MailCode will work together to maximize operational synergies. MailCode Founder and President, Christopher Baker, and COO, John O'Connell will continue to lead the company. Terms of the agreement are not being disclosed, but it is expected that the results of MailCode's operations will be consolidated with Pitney Bowes Inc.

Pitney Bowes Inc. is a $4.4 billion global provider of mail and messaging solutions. It serves over 2 million businesses of all sizes in 118 countries through dealer and direct operations. For more information about the company, visit www.pitneybowes.com.

The forward-looking statements contained in this news release involve risks and uncertainties, and are subject to change based on various important factors. These factors include timely development and acceptance of new products, gaining product approval, successful entry into new markets, changes in interest rates, and changes in postal regulations, as more fully outlined in the company's 1999 Form 10-K Annual Report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. In addition, the forward-looking statements are subject to change based on the timing and specific terms of the pending spin-off of Pitney Bowes Office Systems.

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Contact:

Pitney Bowes Inc.
Marianne Fulgenzi, 203/351-6974
Director, External Affairs