Ameritrade and Datek Announce Landmark Merger; Combination Establishes a New Leader in Online Equity Trades

Self-Directed Investors Benefit from Best-in-Class Technology, Value and Service

4/8/02 (Business Wire) - Ameritrade Holding Corporation (Nasdaq:AMTD) and Datek Online Holdings Corp. announced today a merger agreement that creates teh most efficient and one of the largest brokerages serving self-directed investors.

The merger unites the two firms with the fastest growing account base, lowest cost operations and highest operating margins in the online brokerage industry. At closing it will be the largest online brokerage measured by equity trades per day. This combination is expected to be immediately accretive and cash flow positive, realize significant financial and business synergies and establish a top-tier industry leader. Financial synergies should be approximately $100 million after-tax when fully realized.

Under the agreement, market liquidity will improve when shareholders of the new Ameritrade receive a single class of common stock, with the owners of Datek receiving 50 percent of the total outstanding capital stock. The value of the transaction is approximately $1.289 billion based on the closing price of Ameritrade stock on April 5, 2002 net of the acquisition of cash plus regulatory capital valued at $100 million. Principal owners of Datek include the private equity firms, Bain Capital, TA Associates, Silver Lake Partners, an affiliate of Groupe Arnault and Advent International.

, the Company will:

Have approximately:

• 164,000 trades per day,
• 2.7 million accounts; (a)
• $43 billion in client assets; (a)
• $2 billion in client margin balances; (a)
• Total annual revenues of $800 million; (b)
  

Form:

• An experienced Board of Directors, with three representatives recommended by Ameritrade -- including Joe Ricketts as Chairman, three representatives recommeded by Datek's private equity investors and three independent members.
  
  

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