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Technology Stocks : Unisys: Computer Solutions and Services Worldwide -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: jopawa who wrote (2254)	1/21/1999 12:49:00 PM
From: jopawa	Respond to of 2818

Thursday January 21, 10:13 am Eastern Time Company Press Release Unisys Calls Additional 6 Million Shares of Series A Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock Following Retirement of Approximately 2.2 Million Shares Actions will be accretive to 1999 earnings per share BLUE BELL, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 21, 1999-- Unisys Corporation (NYSE: UIS - news) announced today that it will call for redemption an additional 6 million shares of the remaining 26.2 million outstanding shares of its Series A Cumulative Convertible Preferred Stock, which pays an annual dividend of $3.75. This action follows the company's previously announced call of 2 million shares of the preferred stock, which was completed today. During the call period approximately 2.2 million shares of preferred stock were retired, including about 200,000 uncalled shares that were voluntarily converted into Unisys common stock. Cash redemptions during the period were approximately $13 million. Overall, actions taken so far will reduce the company's annual preferred stock dividend payments by more than $30 million and will be accretive to 1999 earnings per share. ''We were pleased with the results of the first partial call,'' said Unisys Chairman and CEO Lawrence A. Weinbach. ''The fact we retired 2.2 million shares of preferred stock during the call period was a clear bonus. ''Based on this response and our continued strong cash flow, we are calling a larger block of shares for redemption. We are focused on eliminating -- as quickly and expediently as possible -- the $106 million of annual preferred stock dividends as part of our ongoing program to strengthen our financial structure and return Unisys to investment-grade status.'' The 6 million shares being called will be redeemed on March 4, 1999 at the stated redemption price of $50 per share plus accrued dividends of approximately 49 cents per share. The Series A Preferred Stock is convertible at any time into shares of Unisys common stock, at the option of the holder, at a conversion price of $29.93, or approximately 1.67 shares of common stock for each preferred share converted. Unisys common stock yesterday closed at $34. As long as the market price of the common stock is at least $30.25, holders of the preferred stock who elect to convert will receive common stock with a market value greater than the redemption price of $50 plus accrued dividends. Unisys said that, based on the results of its initial partial call and the additional shares that were converted, the company had issued 3.2 million shares of common stock, increasing the number of common shares outstanding to approximately 261 million. The partial call announced today is being carried out under the terms of the Series A Preferred Stock in the company's certificate of incorporation. Shares will be chosen for redemption by a lottery conducted by Harris Trust and Savings Bank, which will act as both redemption and conversion agent. The company's transfer books on the Series A Preferred Stock will be closed from the close of business on January 28, 1999 through the close of business on February 1, 1999 for the purpose of selecting the shares to be redeemed. Formal notice and procedures for surrendering shares for redemption or conversion will be mailed to the selected stockholders of record by Harris Trust on February 2, 1999. Beneficial holders of preferred stock will be notified by their respective brokers about selection of shares for redemption. Shareholders with questions can contact Harris Trust at 800/245-7630 or write to Harris Trust and Savings Bank, c/o Harris Trust Company of New York, Wall Street Plaza, 88 Pine Street, 19th Floor, New York, NY 10005. Unisys is a registered trademark of Unisys Corporation.

To: jopawa who wrote (2254)	1/21/1999 12:50:00 PM
From: jopawa	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 2818

Thursday January 21, 11:50 am Eastern Time Company Press Release Unisys Opens Applications Solution Center for Intel Architecture Center Focuses on Performance Optimization for Intel-Based ISV Applications; Unisys object repository is first application tuned BLUE BELL, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 21, 1999-- Unisys Corporation Thursday announced it has opened its first Application Solution Center (ASC) for the Intel Architecture (IA) in Mission Viejo, CA. The new ASC is among the first such OEM-sponsored centers. It is designed to assist Independent Software Vendors (ISVs) to port and optimize their applications for Intel architectures utilizing Unisys computer systems based on Microsoft Windows NT. ''The Unisys ASC is the next logical step in our strategy to bring enterprise-class computing attributes to the Windows NT operating environment,'' said Leo Daiuto, group vice president and general manager, Enterprise NT Systems, Unisys Computer Systems. ''The lab allows us to work closely with our ISV partners to tune performance and deliver best-of-breed solutions on Intel architectures.'' ''Intel believes that the future success of Intel-based servers requires the continuous increase in the availability of optimized and tuned applications,'' said Scott Richardson, director, Server Software Marketing, Intel Corporation. ''We are very excited to see Unisys play a major role in this effort to help ensure that key ISVs optimize their applications for IA-32 architecture and for future IA-64 architectures.'' The Unisys ASC serves the needs of developers of high-performance, 32-bit applications for Intel-based servers. The ASC will also help developers port and tune software for the 64-bit Merced, when available. Users of the lab can tap the expertise of dedicated Unisys engineers and utilize various tools, including Intel's VTune performance enhancement tool. Popular Unisys Application Is First to be Tuned, Achieves 130% Improvement The first application program to utilize the Unisys ASC was the company's own Universal Repository (UREP) product, a dynamic, extensible information system that defines, integrates and manages metadata, application components, and other business data. The tuning was conducted on a Windows NT based Unisys HR/6 enterprise server using six 200MHz Intel Pentium Pro microprocessors. Tuning and optimization work performed on the UREP application at the Unisys ASC concentrated on improving the amount of time required to process a certain number of transactions through the UREP system. In the lab, application modifications were prototyped and achieved a 130% performance improvement. This performance gain means that UREP can now process the same amount of work in less than half the time previously required. An additional benefit of this improvement is an increase in the number of concurrent UREP users -- an advantage that will be refined in a further initiative at the ASC. Both performance enhancements will be incorporated in future releases of the UREP product. About the Unisys Universal Repository (UREP) Unisys Universal Repository (UREP) is a fully oriented repository that supports the sharing of information across development tools, made possible by an extensible object-oriented meta model, versioning services, configuration management and team-based development approaches ideal for supporting large projects. Part of the Unisys Object Management program, UREP is being used by ISVs and large corporations in various domains such as client/server and object development environments, data warehousing, metadata management and business object management. Access the UREP home page at marketplace.unisys.com for additional information. About Unisys Unisys (NYSE:UIS - news) is more than 33,000 employees helping customers in 100 countries apply information technology to solve their business problems. Unisys solutions are based on a broad portfolio of global information services including systems integration, outsourcing, ''repeatable'' application solutions, consulting, network integration, remote network management, and multivendor maintenance and support, coupled with enterprise-class servers and associated middleware, software and storage. Repeatable solutions are focused on key vertical markets including financial services, transportation, telecommunications, government, publishing and other commercial markets. Headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania, in the Greater Philadelphia area, Unisys had 1998 annual revenue of $7.2 billion. Access the Unisys home page on the World Wide Web - unisys.com - for further information. Unisys is a registered trademark of Unisys Corporation. Intel is a registered trademark and Pentium Pro is a trademark of Intel Corporation. All other brands and products referenced herein are acknowledged to be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.