LONDON, Dec. 18 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- United Business Media today
announced the acquisition of Eurisko, the leading independent market research
company in Italy, for EUR33m.  Eurisko's success has been driven by a range of
market leading syndicated and custom research products and consulting
services.
    Eurisko and NOP World share leading positions in the automotive, financial
services, healthcare and media sectors in their respective geographies.
Through Eurisko, NOP World can now market its key products directly into Italy
and can offer a wider geographical presence to its multinational clients. In
2002 Eurisko had revenues of EUR28m and EBIT of EUR4.0m.  The purchase price
represents 1.2 times revenue and 8.3 times EBIT.

    Clive Hollick CEO of United Business Media said:
    "Eurisko is attractive strategically, financially and geographically.  It
complements NOP World's existing sector strengths and gives NOP World a
leading presence in one of the major European markets."

    Simon Chadwick CEO of NOP World said:
    "We are pleased to welcome this fast growing business into NOP World.
This acquisition gives NOP World an important position both in the Italian
market and in continental Europe, providing a platform to export key NOP
products - such as LifeMatrix, Allison-Fisher, AIP and FRS - throughout Europe
and in 'Sinottica' NOP World is acquiring a major new syndicated product."

    Remo Lucchi, CEO of Eurisko said:
    "Within NOP World, Eurisko now has new products and resources to further
strengthen its leadership in Italy and a worldwide network with which we can
best meet the international research needs of our clients."
For further information please contact:

    Notes:
    Eurisko.  (http://www.eurisko.it)  Founded in 1972, Eurisko conducts
qualitative and quantitative consumer based surveys, also B2B and panel
research.  Eurisko is primarily a high-end, added value research firm.
Eurisko is headquartered in Milan, it also has offices in Rome and it operates
in the main capitals of Europe and in the USA.

    Sinottica is Italy's leading single source research programme serving the
media and major advertisers.  Sinottica describes in detail attitudes and
behaviours of Italian consumers, including product, brand and media usage,
lifestyle trends and values.

    Stp (Sinottica Advertising Tracking)  This unit provides a tracking
service for the effectiveness of advertising campaigns.  It is based on the
use of an innovative proprietary methodology.

    NOP World.  Bringing together some of the most renowned US and European
research firms in a unified global network, NOP World is the largest
business-to-business research agency in Europe and a top-ten market research
power worldwide. Headquartered in New York, NOP World provides focused market
intelligence, syndicated and ad hoc primary research and consulting support
across key industries, including automotive, consumer, healthcare, financial
services, technology and media.

    United Business Media plc (http://www.unitedbusinessmedia.com) is a
leading provider of business information services to the technology,
healthcare, media, automotive and financial services industries.  UBM offers
services in market research, consultancy, news distribution, publishing and
events to customers across the globe.  Its brands include NOP World, one of
the largest market research groups globally; PR Newswire, the world's leading
corporate news distribution service and CMP, the B2B media and exhibition
group operating in high-tech, healthcare, property, entertainment jewellery &
fashion in the US, UK, Asia and Europe.

    This press release includes statements which are not historical facts and
are considered "forward-looking" within the meaning of Section 27 of the
Securities Act of 1933, as amended.  These forward-looking statements reflect
UBM's current views about future events, business and growth strategy and
financial performance. These forward-looking statements are identified by
their use of terms and phrases such as "believe," "expect," "plan,"
"anticipate," "on target" and similar expressions identifying forward-looking
statements. Investors should not rely on forward-looking statements because
they are subject to a variety of risks, uncertainties and other factors that
could cause actual results to differ materially from UBM's expectations.  UBM
expressly does not undertake any duty to update forward-looking statements.
Management does not attempt to update forecasts unless conditions materially
change.

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