CONTACT: Joe Emanuelli

VP, Product Management

212-413-7747

[email protected]

MERGENT AND DATA DOWNLINK ANNOUNCE DISTRIBUTION RELATIONSHIP

New York, NY, August 14, 2000 - Mergent FIS, the preferred source for global business and financial information, today announced the availability of its U.S. and non-U.S. company data through DataDownlink, Inc. The data from Mergent FIS, the leading source of international financial data and the publisher of Moody�s� Manuals, enhances both Portal B™, Data Downlink�s fully integrated business portal and .xls, its comprehensive library of premium financial and business information. The Mergent FIS data available via Data Downlink, encompasses in excess of 22,000 companies in 90 developed and emerging markets worldwide. It will be incorporated into Portal B immediately and will be available to all current subscribers on a pay-as-you-go basis.

"We are pleased to be able to expand our selective list of key redistributors by way of this relationship with Data Downlink," said Vicki Raeburn, president of Mergent FIS. "Data Downlink�s selection of our global company collection will enable users to access more companies from more countries than are available from any other financial database provider."

"Mergent FIS data is a rich resource that will further enhance the extensive store of global company information already available in Portal B and .xls," said Steven Goldstein, president and CEO of Data Downlink. "Mergent FIS has made their reputation with timely and high-quality data, and we�re pleased to be offering this to our customers."

With the addition of Mergent FIS data, which is presented "as-reported" in native currencies using country-specific accounting practices, Portal B and .xls users may analyze financial statements in the exact format in which they were reported. With Portal B, users can opt to export this information directly to a spreadsheet or PDF.

Portal B users will also benefit from improved subsidiary and company history data from Mergent FIS, which offers a chronological listing of mergers, acquisitions, spin-offs and liquidations. Additional information, such as date of incorporation and re-incorporation is included when available, as well as business descriptions and company executives.

About Mergent FIS

Mergent, Inc. is headquartered in New York City with data collection in Charlotte, North Carolina, and sales offices in key North American cities and in London, England and Tokyo, Japan. It is a leading provider of global business and financial information on publicly traded companies. Mergent�s products date back to 1900 and contain information on over 10,000 U.S. public companies, 14,000+ non-U.S. public companies and 18,000 municipal entities, as well as extensive corporate and municipal bond, UIT and dividend information. Over 200,000 professional and individual investors worldwide use Mergent's products, which include Moody�s� Manuals, Mergent Handbooks and Investment Guides and its flagship Internet service, FISonline.