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[Daily News]
                     [Image][Macworld Online]
[Image] 12.20.96            [Image]
                            [Image]

     Apple Acquires Next, Inc.

     Role in the new Mac OS strategy remains unclear

     By Stephen Beale

     A[Image]pple Computer CEO Gil Amelio announced this evening that
             Apple will acquire Next Incorporated, the system software
     company launched in 1985 by Apple cofounder Steve Jobs. In a
     dramatic press conference at Apple's Cupertino, California,
     headquarters, Amelio also said that Jobs will become a part-time
     adviser to the CEO, providing guidance on product strategy in
     other areas. Amelio said that Apple plans to incorporate the
     NextStep operating system into its product line, but offered few
     details as to how the acquisition will affect Apple's overall OS
     strategy. Those details will be presented January 7th during his
     keynote address at Macworld Expo in San Francisco. Speaking at the
     press conference, Jobs said the merger will help return Apple to
     its former position as a leading innovator in the computing
     industry. Apple's Chief Financial Officer Fred Anderson placed the
     total value of the deal at 400 million dollars.

      [Image] Responding to a question about the acquisition, Amelio
     said, "We decided to go with Plan A, not Plan B," a not-so-subtle
     reference to the rumored discussions about a possibly acquisition
     of Be, Inc., a company founded by former Apple product chief
     Jean-Louis Gassee whose operating system has been presented in
     some business and computer publications as an all-but certain
     replacement for Apple's Mac OS 8. But as Macworld revealed
     exclusively in late November, the chances of a Be acquisition had
     become remote, even though Apple remained interested in some Be OS
     technologies (see "Apple's New Mac OS Strategy").
     [Image]Return to Daily News

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Friday December 20 10:42 PM EST

FULL TEXT - Apple Computer Inc to Acquire NeXT

LOS ANGELES, Dec 20 (Reuter) - Apple Computer Inc Friday announced plans
to
acquire NeXT Software Inc for $400 million. The following is a copy of
the
company's statement.

--------------- NEWS RELEASE -------------------------

CUPERTINO, Calif., Dec. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Apple Computer, Inc. (Nasdaq:
AAPL) today announced its intention to purchase NeXT Software Inc., in a
friendly acquisition for $400 million. Pending regulatory approvals, all
NeXT products, services, and technology research will become part of
Apple
Computer, Inc. As part of the agreement, Steve Jobs, Chairman and CEO of
NeXT Software, will return to Apple -- the company he co-founded in 1976
--
reporting to Dr. Gilbert F. Amelio, Apple's Chairman and CEO.

The acquisition will bring together Apple's and NeXT's innovative and
complementary technology portfolios and significantly strengthens
Apple's
position as a company advancing industry standards. Apple's leadership
in
ease-of-use and multimedia solutions will be married to NeXT's strengths
in
development software and operating environments for both the enterprise
and
Internet markets. NeXT's object oriented software development products
will
contribute to Apple's goal of creating a differentiated and profitable
software business, with a wide range of products for enterprise,
business,
education, and home markets.

Using NeXT technology to embrace open industry standards Apple Computer,
Inc. believes the acquisition will allow the Company to further develop
industry alliances as the Internet/intranet market evolves. Apple
anticipates that NeXT expertise in next-generation operating system
design
will allow elements of the NEXTSTEP operating system to become integral
features of Mac OS -- providing developers a compelling OS foundation on
which to build next generation software solutions.

"The acquisition of NeXT is the start of a new chapter in Apple's
history
and represents a milestone in our transformation as a corporation," said
Dr.
Gilbert F. Amelio, Chairman and CEO, Apple Computer Inc. "Today Apple
welcomed back its most talented visionary -- Steve Jobs, someone who can
inspire a new generation of customers and software developers and show
that
Apple remains the industry home for innovation and excitement. Today
Apple
returns, as an open player to the mainstream and the heart of this
industry,
where our technology can once more set standards for innovation and
excellence."

"Much of the industry has lived off the Macintosh for over ten years
now,
slowly copying the Mac's revolutionary user interface," said Steven P.
Jobs.
"Now the time has come for new innovation, and where better than Apple
for
this to spring from? Who else has consistently led this industry --
first
with the Apple II, then the Macintosh and LaserWriter? With this merger,
the
advanced software from NeXT will be married with Apple's very
high-volume
hardware platforms and marketing channels to create another
breakthrough,
leapfrogging existing platforms, and fueling Apple and the industry copy
cats for the next ten years and beyond. I still have very deep feelings
for
Apple, and it gives me great joy to play a role in architecting Apple's
future."

Acquisition Confirms New Open Apple

The acquisition of NeXT is further evidence that Apple is fundamentally
changing the way it does business. Embracing outside technology and
driving
cross-platform industry standards, Apple believes it can innovate in the
key
areas that give its products and technology differentiation. NeXT's
cross-platform development environments for enterprise and
Internet/intranet
markets, allow developers to write once and deploy across a range of
Internet and client-server platforms.

In a new era of industry collaboration and joint initiatives -- brought
on
by the "megatrends" of pervasive Internet and ubiquitous multimedia --
NeXT
technology complements Apple's strength in multimedia authoring and
playback, as well as Internet access, Internet authoring, and Internet
server solutions.

In the last year Apple has worked on a series of collaboration
initiatives
which leverage the Company's core strengths in Internet, multimedia, and
component software. Wide ranging agreements with Netscape
Communications,
Sun Microsystems, and Silicon Graphics Computer Systems -- along with
the
acquisition of NeXT -- confirm Apple is building strategic relationships
at
the forefront of the information industry.

Developer Support

Software developers believe that the integration of NEXTSTEP technology
in
future versions of Mac OS will result in a robust, next-generation OS
that
provides developers with a multimedia-rich and Internet-savvy platform.

"This partnership is the best possible fit. Both companies support
strong,
open industry standards. Combined with their rich media focus and a
command
of the Internet, these strengths will play well into Adobe's core
markets,"
says John Warnock, Chairman and CEO, Adobe Systems, Inc. "NeXT's
advanced
operating system design, when combined with Apple's leadership in
ease-of-use and multimedia, will provide Adobe and other developers with
a
robust, compelling platform on which to build great next-generation
software
solutions."

Apple expects to be able to show substantial developer and industry
endorsements for Apple's new Mac OS system software strategy at MacWorld
San
Francisco in January 1997.

Apple Computer, Inc. believes the acquisition will provide a series of
benefits for customers, software developers, Apple Computer, NeXT, and
the
information technology industry. They include the following:

Enterprise Offering Enhanced

The combination of Apple technology, NeXT object oriented software
development products, and the "megatrend" of corporate-wide intranets,
gives
Apple the opportunity to reinvigorate its offering to enterprise
markets.

NeXT's OPENSTEP Enterprise and WebObjects development environments allow
enterprise customers to develop software solutions quickly and deploy
reusable applications on either traditional client-server or
Internet/intranet based networks. These powerful tools allow new
applications to access legacy data and applications, a key concern for
enterprise customers in the late 1990s. Customers currently using this
technology range from companies such as WebCrawler, Trilobyte and ID to
large organizations including Fannie Mae, Merrill Lynch, NASA, NTT, and
AT&T
Wireless.

In addition, NeXT's Sales and Professional Services team offers
worldwide
programs to facilitate the knowledge transfer required to quickly take
advantage of OPENSTEP Enterprise's unique capabilities. Apple envisages
this
team will become a valued part of the Apple enterprise offering moving
forward.

Internet/intranet Position Strengthened

A key strategic advantage of NeXT technology is its powerful
Internet/intranet software development environment -- WebObjects.

Today, Apple technology and customers are playing a pivotal role in the
evolution of the Internet -- from easy to use powerful solutions in
Internet
access, Internet authoring and Internet servers, to technologies such as
QuickTime Media Layer (QTML) and HotSauce/MCF that set new standards in
Internet multimedia and knowledge management. Combining these Apple
strengths with WebObjects' unique capabilities to access legacy data and
applications will provide Apple with a strong offering for companies
reengineering their businesses to take advantage of the Internet.
Customers
currently using WebObjects technology include The Sharper Image, Ford,
Nissan, Lufthansa, and Bell South.

Again, Apple foresees NeXT's Sales and Professional Services team
continuing
to offer programs to companies who are implementing corporate-wide
business
reengineering based upon a new Internet/intranet infrastructure.

In addition, the momentum of Java, Sun Microsystems'
platform-independent
programming language, has led Apple to conclude that by implementing a
Java
architecture across its platforms and development tools portfolio, Apple
systems will be at the forefront of Internet/Internet design -- an area
of
enormous potential growth through the millennium.

WebObjects' Java-enabled object oriented model complements Apple
ComputerOs
commitment to Java, which includes Mac OS Runtime for Java (currently in
beta) and the integration of JavaBeans and OpenDoc component technology.
Apple Computer, Inc. believes the acquisition of NeXT will give the
Company
the opportunity to become a preeminent development and deployment
platform
for Java technology.

Acquisition Kick-Starts Apple Software Business

The acquisition of NeXT's development products for enterprise and
Internet
markets will allow Apple to supplement its growing list of software
products
with a ready-made portfolio of powerful customer-focused software
solutions.
Apple is committed to increasing the revenue it makes from its software
products and the acquisition of NeXT is a significant development in
building a differentiated, sustainable and profitable software business.
Apple already has a number of software products -- from QuickTime to
HotSauce/MCF, which are driving industry standards in multimedia and
Internet markets -- to customer applications and tools such as Apple
Internet Connection Kit (AICK), Apple Media Tool, Language Kits, and
communications software.

Delivery of Next Generation Mac OS

Apple's exhaustive research in operating system design, led the company
to
conclude that NEXTSTEP's maturity, networking, customer and developer
acceptance, multi-tasking, protected memory, and scalability from
portable
to server-level products make it the clear choice for integration into
the
next major revision of Mac OS. Apple believes that the integration of
NEXTSTEP technology in future versions of Mac OS will result in a
robust,
next generation OS that provides customers and developers with a
multimedia-rich and Internet-savvy platform.

Apple Chairman and CEO Dr. Gilbert F. Amelio, Chief Technology Officer
Ellen
Hancock, and Steve Jobs will announce details of how Apple will
incorporate
NeXT technology into future releases of Mac OS at MacWorld San Francisco
in
January.

Acquisition Brings New Talent to Apple

The acquisition of NeXT will result in new management talent joining
Apple
Computer, Inc. Avie Tevanian, formally NeXT's Vice President of
Engineering,
will join Apple to lead the Company's next generation OS development
efforts, reporting to Ellen Hancock, Apple's executive vice president of
R&D, and Chief Technology Officer. Mitch Mandich, formally NeXT's vice
president of Worldwide Sales and Services, will also join Apple,
reporting
to Marco Landi, Apple's executive vice president and Chief Operating
Officer. Dominique Trempont, NeXT's Chief Financial Officer will also be
joining Apple's executive team. As a complement to this initiative,
Apple
Computer, Inc. also announces that Rick LeFaivre has returned to the
company
as head of the newly formed Apple Technology Group. This group will
house
Apple's research laboratories, human interface technologies, and
advanced
systems architecture, offering support for hardware and software
integration. Rick LeFaivre will report to Ellen Hancock in this new
role.

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Timo Hoepfner - grape@matrix.teuto.de