FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                          AT
SATURDAY, MAY 20, 1995                             (202) 616-2771
                                               TDD (202) 514-1888

            MICROSOFT AND INTUIT ABANDON MERGER PLANS:
 COMPETITION IS PRESERVED IN THE PERSONAL FINANCE SOFTWARE MARKET


Anne K. Bingaman, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the
Department's Antitrust Division, issued the following statement
today regarding Microsoft and Intuit's decision to abandon their
proposed merger:


     "We are gratified that Microsoft and Intuit have abandoned
their plans to merge.  This is truly a victory for American
consumers.  The Department felt strongly that the proposed merger
would lead to higher prices and less innovation in the personal
finance software market which is why we filed our suit to block
the transaction in April.

     "Our investigation unearthed strong evidence that the
proposed deal would be anticompetitive and harmful to consumers. 
We are pleased that after a week of reviewing our evidence, both
Microsoft and Intuit made the decision to abandon their plans to
merge.
     
     "We were prepared to move quickly to resolve this matter,
but we think that the companies' decision to abandon the
transaction gives us 100 percent of the results we sought.

     "Microsoft and Intuit have said that they intend to be
independent, vigorous competitors both in the existing personal
finance software market as well as the emerging electronic
commerce business.  This is exactly the outcome the Department
was looking for.

     "I am proud of this result and of all the hard work of our
trial team that brought this important matter to a successful
conclusion."

                               ###
95-284