Acquisition(s)

5 January 2005

Sage acquires Swiss business management software vendor Simultan

The Sage Group plc ('Sage') announces that it has acquired Simultan AG
('Simultan'), based in Lucerne, Switzerland, for an equity value of £10.7m.
Simultan has net cash of £0.7m, giving an enterprise value of £10.0m. The
acquisition will be paid for in cash.

Simultan is a leading vendor of accounting and payroll solutions for small to
medium-sized businesses (SMEs) in the Swiss market. Specialising in serving the
mid-market, it has 3,000 customers, of which 1,000 have support contracts. Its
revenue for the year ended 31 December 2003 was £9 .8 million, and its
operating profit was £0. 5 million.

The acquisition will extend Sage's coverage of the Swiss market. Simultan's
products will strengthen Sage's portfolio for this market, and provide
migration options for those of Sage's 59,000 existing Swiss customers wishing
to purchase more sophisticated solutions.

Paul Walker, Sage Chief Executive, commented, 'The addition of Simultan to our
existing Swiss business establishes Sage as the clear leader in the Swiss SME
market. We can now offer a broad portfolio of products and services for the
smallest through to the largest Swiss SMEs.'

All financial information calculated on the basis of £1 = 2.20 Swiss Francs

Enquiries                                                                      
                                                                               
The Sage Group plc [phone] Tulchan [phone]           
                                                                               
Paul Walker, Chief Executive            Kirstie Hamilton                       
                                                                               
Paul Harrison, Finance Director                                                
                                                                               
Phil Branston, Investor Relations                                              

Notes to editors

The Sage Group plc is a leading international supplier of accounting and
business management software solutions and related products and services for
small to medium-sized enterprises. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the
London Stock Exchange in 1989 and the Group now employs nearly 8,000 people
worldwide.