London Level 6, 125 Old Broad St London EC2N 1AR United Kingdom +44 (0)20 3059 5765 +44 (0)20 3192 5577 fax

New York 88 Pine Street, 3rd Fl. New York, New York 10005 United States 1 212 363 9620 1 212 363 9630 fax alacra.com

  FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, NY, 11 June 2001....Alacra, Inc. announced today the launch of Alacra Book, a fast, adaptable electronic service that aggregates company-specific information from multiple sources and publishes this information as a single, customized PDF file. The Alacra Book service was developed primarily for investment banks, law firms and consultancies to assist in their daily preparation of Public Information Books (also known as PIBs, bibles, and pitch books). The new service offers a faster, more comprehensive method of generating these books than the traditional manual approach, and allows users access to the best financial and business information available.

Alacra Book covers more than 25,000 global public companies. The data collected by use of Alacra Book is assembled into customized reports in minutes. Any business with the need to collect and organize information from disparate sources on global public companies may find the service useful. Various types of user-specified information are available, including archival company news, SEC filings, scanned images of annual reports, earnings estimates, M&A profiles, shareholding data, investment research and the home page of a company�s Web site.

With Alacra Book, which is accessible via the Internet and/or a company�s Intranet, a critical compilation task that traditionally takes staffers hours will now take one person fewer than 10 minutes. PIBs, used by banks, law firms and other businesses for presentations and securing deals, can range in size from 10 to several hundred pages.

�The task of assembling Public Information Books is truly labor-intensive and time consuming, viewed by many as a necessary evil,� said Steven Goldstein, CEO of Alacra, Inc.. �The traditional manual process is inefficient. Alacra Book changes all that, instantly organizing, packaging and providing these professionals with a customized report that packages all the data they need. It�s the first such service of its kind.�

A Difficult Process Made Simple and Fast

Alacra Book gathers information electronically from multiple sources and builds comprehensive company profiles quickly and efficiently. Users select the company(ies) of interest and the specific content they need from more than 20 premium providers and datasets. Alacra Book then electronically assembles the data and compiles it within a PDF document that users can email, print or view. A link to the Alacra Book-assembled file is sent to the user via email within minutes of submission.

�Assembling accurate, up-to-the-minute data about a particular company or client is usually a time-consuming, cumbersome process,� said Mary Ann Kalambay, Vice President of Rothschild Inc. �The task can be complicated, and the requests for these books are frequent. Further, the data must be collated and presented in a consistent format that can be used and shared by colleagues worldwide. In contrast to the traditional assembly process, the new Alacra Book service is fast, remarkably easy to manage and customizable for our needs.�

Premium Sources and Key Features

Alacra Book includes many premium sources of financial data and textual reports required by bankers, lawyers, consultants and other executives, including: Investment Research Reports, Company Financial Data, Corporate Transactions, Earnings Estimate Reports, Shareholding Data and News.

Key features of Alacra Book include:

• Internet and Intranet accessible
• More than 20 premium sources
• Speed: process usually takes 3-10 minutes, start to finish
• Coverage of 25,000+ global public companies
• No hardware or software requirements � only a web browser
• Electronic delivery
• Customization for firm or department
• Comprehensive bill-back/project code capability
• Customer support line (seven days per week)

�Well packaged, fast delivery of useful data is important to investment banks, law firms and many other companies,� said Goldstein. �Alacra Book leverages technology to provide a superior and reliable service. It produces rapidly and its benefits are realized immediately by users, who can then spend more time on their core business.�

�The amount of company information and research data now available is not only extensive but it changes by the day, if not by the minute,� said Rothschild�s Kalambay. �With Alacra Book we can manage the tidal wave of information, present it with confidence in its accuracy, and exploit it, however complex the client or industry.�

About Alacra, Inc.

Alacra, Inc. is a leading global provider of business and financial information. A privately held company founded in 1996 as Data Downlink Corporation, Alacra is based in New York City with offices in San Francisco, London and Paris. The company provides a diverse portfolio of fast, sophisticated online and offline services that allow users to quickly find, analyze, package and present mission critical business information. Its customers include more than 500 leading financial institutions; management consulting, law and accounting firms; and other corporations throughout the world. For more information about Alacra Book or the company, visit www.alacra.com or call Customer Service at 1 212-363-9620 or 44 (0)20 3059 5765.

Note to editors: To arrange for a trial of Alacra services, please contact Annie Turn at RLM Public Relations, 212 741 5106 extension 13.

Media Contact
Annie Turn
RLM Public Relations, Inc.
(212) 741-5106 x13
[email protected]