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SYSOPEN TO SELL ITS HOLDING IN CREATE!FO

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SysOpen Plc                            
STOCK EXCHANGE RELEASE
17 September 2003 at 4 pm


SYSOPEN TO SELL ITS HOLDING IN CREATE!FORM INTERNATIONAL
INC.

Create!Form International Inc.’s shareholders have agreed
to sell the company’s shares to Bottomline Technologies
Inc. (NASDAQ:EPAY, www.bottomline.com), a US company. In
the same connection, SysOpen has decided to sell its
holding in Create!Form to Bottomline, recording capital
gains of over EUR 550,000 for the third quarter of 2003.

The selling price being based on cash and Bottomline
Technologies Inc. shares, SysOpen will cash in more than
EUR 350,000 and hold 59,739 Bottomline Technologies Inc.
shares quoted on the NASDAQ, the company’s shares closing
at USD 8.25 on 16 September 2003.

In addition to the above-mentioned cash and shares,
SysOpen will receive cash of EUR 30,000 and hold 27,549
Bottomline shares, both in escrow, in accordance with
standard business agreements. The shares will release
from escrow once one year has lapsed from closing the
deal, while the cash payment will release from escrow
once three years has lapsed from closing the deal.

Furthermore, the parties have agreed on an additional
price payable determined on the basis of Create!Form
International Inc.’s net sales and profit for the current
financial year, according to which SysOpen may receive a
maximum of 62,000 Bottomline shares.

Like other Create!Form’s shareholders, SysOpen has agreed
not to sell the Bottomline shares received as
consideration, based on a lock-up agreement which will
terminate fully at the end of the deal’s second year.

Intensifying SysOpen’s strategic focus on its core
business, this deal is in line with the company’s
policies applying to associated company and shareholding
strategies.

The deal will increase SysOpen’s profit for 2003 by more
than EUR 400,000, or by around 2 per cent of projected
consolidated turnover. SysOpen’s previous forecast
predicted that the company would maintain its profit for
2003 at the previous year’s level. The deal will improve
the company’s projected earnings per share for the same
year by approximately EUR 0.05.

Helsinki, 17 September 2003

SYSOPEN PLC
Board of Directors

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT

Arto Sahla, Managing Director, tel. +358 (0) 424 2020
339, gsm +358 (0) 400 442 986,
email: arto.sahla@sysopen.fi

DISTRIBUTION
Helsinki Exchanges
Major media

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