Gartner To Acquire META Group For $162 Million

STAMFORD, Conn., December 27, 2004 — Gartner, Inc. (NYSE: IT and ITB), the leading provider of research and analysis on the global information technology industry, and META Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: METG), a premier information technology research and consulting firm, today announced that the companies have reached an agreement under which Gartner will acquire META Group in an all-cash transaction valued at $10.00 per share, or approximately $162 million. The boards of directors of both companies have unanimously approved the agreement.