BULL SEEKS PARTNER IN PLACE OF STATE.

On February 11, the French computer company Bull announced a consolidated net profit of 17 million francs (Euro 2.6 million) for 1998, a year of "consolidation". The group posted a profit of FF603 million in 1997 and is predicting a sharp improvement in results in 1999 with the arrival of a new partner. Announcing a 1.4% improvement in turnover to 24.9 billion (Euro 3.80 billion), group Chairman Guy de Panafieu indicated that the State is not inclined to retain its stake in Bull and that the company is therefore actively seeking a new partner to enable the company to strengthen its position on the international and services markets. The French State retains a 17.3% stake in Bull. Mr de Panafieu has indicated that Bull's existing industrial partners (France Telecom, Japan's NEC and Motorola of America, each holding about 17%) are not likely to step into the position vacated by the public shareholding and that a leading merchant bank has been entrusted with the search for a suitable partner over 1999. Bull's stock market value has been practically halved since last summer, following the...