WESTPORT, Conn., Aug. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Cognizant Corporation (NYSE: CZT)
today announced that a definitive agreement has been signed for the sale of
Pilot Software, Inc. to Platinum Equity Holdings, a private Los Angeles-based
firm that invests in software-related businesses.  Terms of the transaction,
expected to be completed in August, were not disclosed.  Acquired in November
1994 by The Dun & Bradstreet Corporation, Pilot Software was among the
businesses spun-off as Cognizant Corporation in November 1996.
    "The decision to divest Pilot Software reflects our sharpened focus on
Cognizant's core businesses," said Robert E. Weissman, Cognizant Chairman and
CEO.  "This action demonstrates management's commitment to act decisively to
address strategic and financial issues."
    Tom Gores, Platinum Equity Holdings President and CEO, said, "We are
excited about bringing one of the premier organizations in the data
warehouse/OLAP market into our family of high-tech companies.  Alongside
Platinum, Pilot is well positioned to continue to capture market share in this
exploding segment."
    Pilot Software has been part of Cognizant's Emerging Markets Group, which
focuses on new and developing technologies in the information services
industry.  Based in Cambridge, Mass., Pilot Software develops interactive
decision-support software for sales and marketing professionals.  The Pilot
Decision Support Suite provides business intelligence capabilities to analyze
corporate databases and discover key trends.
    "The divestiture of Pilot Software enhances shareholder value by enabling
Cognizant to redeploy resources to strategic technology investments in our
core businesses, notably accelerating our year 2000 initiative.  We are on
target to achieve our 17- to 20-percent earnings per share growth from
continuing operations in 1997," said Victoria R. Fash, Cognizant's executive
vice president and chief financial officer.  "Cognizant will incur a $29.9
million one-time, non-cash write-off in the third quarter of 1997 related to
the divestiture of the net assets of Pilot Software."
    Based in Los Angeles, Platinum Equity Holdings is a parent corporation for
a number of high-technology enterprises.  Core operations include mergers and
acquisitions, as well as the strategic management of investment interests.
    Cognizant Corporation, based in Westport, Conn., integrates information
and technology to create business insight.  The company employs more than
10,000 professionals in nearly 100 countries, and generates annual revenue in
excess of $1.7 billion.  Principal operating units are: IMS, which offers
global information solutions to the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries;
Nielsen Media Research, the leader in audience measurement for electronic
media; and a majority interest in Gartner Group, the premier provider of
research and advisory services to the information technology industry.
    This press release includes statements which may constitute forward-
looking statements made pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private
Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.  Although Cognizant believes the
expectations contained in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it
can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct.  This
information may involve risk and uncertainties that could cause actual results
to differ materially from the forward-looking statements.  Factors which could
cause or contribute to such differences include, but are not limited to,
factors detailed in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.

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