STAMFORD, Conn., Jan. 31 -- Pitney Bowes Inc. today announced that it has signed a definitive agreement to acquire all of the outstanding shares of Emtex Ltd. for approximately $41 million. Emtex's software and services allow large-volume mailers to simplify document production and centrally manage complex multi-vendor and multi-site print operations. Upon completion of this transaction, Emtex will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Pitney Bowes within its Document Messaging Technologies division. Subject to regulatory approval and completion of other customary conditions, the transaction is expected to close in the first calendar quarter of 2006. This acquisition is part of the company's strategic framework for growth, according to Michael J. Critelli, Chairman and CEO of Pitney Bowes. "We are successfully growing our mailstream presence by continuing to add value for our customers. Emtex helps us fill a critical gap between document creation and mail finishing operations in large production mail environments. We can now deliver an end-to-end solution for customers worldwide, by combining Emtex's capabilities with those of our Document Messaging Technologies division, which includes Group 1. This transaction accelerates our ability to deliver a wider range of software and services to high volume mailers; expands our management capabilities in multi-vendor print and production mail environments; and, enlarges our professional services portfolio and global customer base." High volume mailers produce hundreds of thousands of critical business documents such as statements and personalized mailings. Their print operations are often dispersed in multiple locations, and feature a mixture of printer brands. Emtex's software and services help bring added efficiency, simplicity and increased productivity to these complex environments. This includes transforming print data to a common format that can be easily manipulated for any brand of printer or for electronic output. Emtex generated approximately $15 million in revenue in its last fiscal year by serving customers in 20 countries in industries such as banking, insurance, outsourcers and service bureaus. According to Tim Moylan, President and General Manager of Emtex, "We are excited about playing a role in Pitney Bowes vision for providing more software, services and solutions to high volume mailers. All of our customers will benefit from the end-to-end document management, print and mail solutions that this transaction makes possible." Emtex is headquartered in Kings Langley, U.K. with offices in Toronto Canada; Boca Raton, Florida; Dallas, Texas; and Canoga Park, California. It employs approximately 105 people worldwide. Pitney Bowes provides the world's most comprehensive suite of mailstream software, hardware, services and solutions to help companies manage their flow of mail, documents and packages to improve communication. Pitney Bowes, with $5.4 billion in annual revenue, takes an all-inclusive view of its customers' operations, helping organizations of all sizes enjoy the competitive advantage that comes from an optimized mailstream. The company's 86 years of technological leadership have produced many major mailstream innovations, and it is consistently on the Intellectual Property Owners Association's list of top U.S. patent holders. With approximately 35,000 employees worldwide, Pitney Bowes serves more than 2 million businesses through direct and dealer operations. More information about the company can be found at http://www.pb.com . More information regarding Emtex can be found at http://www.emtex.com .