TORONTO & BANNOCKBURN, Ill.- Moore Corporation Limited (NYSE:MCL)(TSE:MCL.) and Mead Corporation (NYSE:MEA) announced today an agreement for Mead to acquire the carbonless coating operations of Moore North America, Inc., a subsidiary of Moore Corporation Limited. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2000 and will include Moore's Fremont, Ohio, coating facility and coating equipment from its Visalia, Calif., facility. Financial details were not disclosed. The companies also announced their intention to enter into a multi-year supply agreement for Mead to be Moore's exclusive supplier of carbonless copy paper in the United States and Canada. Moore will continue to convert, manufacture and sell carbonless business forms and other multiple part printed products. "The decision to outsource our carbonless coating operations is a major step in Moore's continuing commitment to improve our cost structure and allows us to direct future investments toward strategic growth areas, including digital and Internet business communications as well as customer relationship marketing services," explained Ed Tyler, president and CEO of Moore Corporation Limited. "At the same time, our partnership with Mead ensures that our customers will continue to have access to high-quality carbonless copy paper products for years to come." MOORE-MEAD/Add One "This anticipated supply agreement with an important new customer and the asset acquisition will facilitate our efforts to rationalize and streamline our carbonless paper production system, enhancing our position in a consolidating market," said Jerry Tatar, chairman, president and chief executive officer of Mead. "We look forward to this new business relationship." When the acquisition of assets is complete, Mead's annual production capacity for carbonless copy paper will increase from 230,000 tons to more than 290,000 tons. Mead Paper's Ohio Operations will manage the acquired assets along with its own carbonless copy paper facilities in Chillicothe, Ohio, and Indianapolis, Ind. "Our plans to enter into a multi-year supply agreement with Moore will add to our sales volume and strengthen our position in carbonless paper," said Ian W. Millar, president of Mead Paper. Moore Corporation Limited, based in Toronto (TSE, NYSE: MCL), provides data capture, information design, marketing services, digital communications, and print solutions that enable customers to improve their business processes and increase revenue. Sales in 1999 were more than US $2.4 billion. The Moore Internet address is www.moore.com. The Mead Corporation, a forest products company with $3.8 billion in annual sales, is one of the leading North American producers of coated paper, specialty paper, coated paperboard and consumer and office products, a world leader in multiple packaging, and a producer of high-quality corrugating medium. For additional information about Mead, visit the company's web site at www.mead.com.