Systemax Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire Selected Assets and Retail Stores...

Systemax Announces Definitive Agreement to Acquire Selected Assets
and Retail Stores from CompUSA

Acquisition to Continue Great CompUSA Brand
PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y.--(Business Wire)--Systemax Inc. (NYSE:SYX)
today announced it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire selected
assets and retail stores of CompUSA Inc. Completion of the transaction is subject
to customary closing conditions and is expected to close at several dates
throughout the first quarter of 2008.

 Under the agreement, Systemax will purchase the CompUSA brand,
trademarks and e-commerce business, and as many as 16 CompUSA retail
outlets.

 "We believe the value of the CompUSA brand remains very high. The
company has a long legacy of value pricing, service and customer
loyalty among consumers nationwide," said Richard Leeds, Chief
Executive Officer of Systemax. "We view this acquisition as a strong
complementary business to our TigerDirect operation."

 According to TigerDirect Chief Executive Officer Gilbert
Fiorentino, CompUSA.com's customer base enhances that of
TigerDirect.com and the CompUSA retail stores will strengthen the
company's planned retail expansion. TigerDirect currently operates 11
retail stores in Florida, Illinois, North Carolina and Ontario,
Canada. Pending required approvals, up to 16 CompUSA stores in
Florida, Texas and Puerto Rico will be added during the first quarter
of 2008.

 "Millions of loyal customers will come to the Systemax and
TigerDirect family of businesses through this acquisition," Fiorentino
said. "We anticipate hiring many experienced CompUSA employees,
preserving hundreds of store management and sales positions and making
us stronger and better in the process."

 As the select CompUSA retail stores are acquired, they will be
integrated into TigerDirect's existing retail operating environment.

 "We have a terrific opportunity to continue the great CompUSA
brand and establish a new heritage that will extend for generations to
come," Fiorentino added.

 TigerDirect, a subsidiary of Systemax, is one of the industry's
top computer and computer-product retailers. The company's web site
(www.tigerdirect.com) was ranked as one of the Top 15 online retail
sites for "Customer Focused Excellence" by the Forrester Group in
November 2007 and is consistently in the Top 10 for web traffic among
computer shopping sites as measured by HitWise.

 Until the agreement is closed, CompUSA's web site
(www.compusa.com) and retail operations will continue to operate under
CompUSA's existing leadership. Once the acquisition is completed, the
new, improved CompUSA.com web site will operate within Systemax's
family of ecommerce web sites. The new CompUSA.com will feature
advanced searching and enhanced content including photo galleries and
videos on thousands of the most popular PC, TV and consumer
electronics items. The direct costs of the acquisition will depend on
the specific retail store locations that are ultimately taken over and
are expected to approximate $30 million. The indirect costs of the
acquisition - primarily integration and recruiting costs, legal fees,
inventory purchases, and other expenses - will be incremental to the
direct costs. more...