Wolters Kluwer North America Acquires IHS Financial Information, Inc

Legal Compliance Information, Tools Will Become Part of CCH

(CHICAGO, December 21, 2000) – Wolters Kluwer North America said today that it has acquired the assets of IHS Financial Information, Inc. from IHS Group, Englewood, Co. The unit will become part of CCH INCORPORATED (CCH), Riverwoods, Ill., a leading provider of tax and business law information and software and a Wolters Kluwer North America company. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

IHS Financial Information provides information and tools that assist financial services organizations in complying with complex business laws and regulations. Its products are supported by an extensive database of timely and accurate primary source information including laws, regulations and forms.

Attorneys, compliance officers, auditors, managers and other professionals in the banking, securities and credit industries depend on the products to manage their day-to-day compliance functions.

Its online services feature libraries and databases that integrate information and compliance tools for specialized financial service categories and include: federal, community and state banking libraries; securities regulatory libraries; a global capital market regulatory database; a credit union library; and the Securities Arbitration Commentator, Inc.-IHS online Arbitration Award Database.

The IHS products will provide even greater breadth and depth to CCH’s Business and Finance Group (BFG), which tracks, reports, explains and analyzes federal and state law for an extensive line of securities, banking, insurance and capital changes information products and software. In recent years, the BFG group has moved aggressively to create integrated product suites that meet the combined research, planning and compliance needs of its legal, corporate and financial institution customers.

CCH’s flagship BFG products include: CCH Internet Research NetWork (http:business.cch.com), Federal Securities Law Reports, SEC Desktop Section 16 and Options management software, Federal Banking Law Reports, NILS’ INSource on the Web and Consumer Credit Guide.

IHS Financial Information Inc. has estimated 2000 revenues of $3 million.

About IHS Group

IHS Group is a leading content provider of information solutions available in a variety of media, from the Internet to CD-ROM and hardcopy. With annual sales in excess of $400 million, its companies serve the vital information needs of customers across the world’s technical, business and professional sectors. IHS Group employs over 3,000 people worldwide. For additional information on IHS Group and its companies, visit www.ihsgroup.com.

About CCH INCORPORATED

CCH INCORPORATED, headquartered in Riverwoods, Ill., was founded in 1913 and has served four generations of business professionals and their clients. The company produces more than 700 electronic and print products for the tax, legal, securities, human resources, health care and small business markets. CCH is a wholly owned subsidiary of Wolters Kluwer North America. The CCH web site can be accessed at www.cch.com. The CCH Business and Finance Group web site can be accessed at http://business.cch.com.

About Wolters Kluwer North America

Wolters Kluwer North America, headquartered in Chicago, is a unit of Wolters Kluwer nv, Amsterdam. It’s comprised of a number of highly respected legal, tax and business information, software and service companies, including Aspen Publishers, Gaithersburg, Md.; CCH Canadian, Toronto; CCH INCORPORATED, Riverwoods, Ill.; CCH Legal Information Services, New York City; and CCH Tax Compliance, Torrance, Calif.

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