STAMFORD, Conn., Nov. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Board of Directors of Pitney Bowes Inc. (NYSE: PBI) designated Monday, December 3, 2001 as the date for the spin-off of the company's office systems business as an independent, publicly-traded company under the name Imagistics International Inc. (NYSE: IGI). On that date, the company will pay a special stock dividend of Imagistics common stock to Pitney Bowes common stockholders. Through this special dividend, Pitney Bowes will distribute 100% of the shares of Imagistics stock, thus completing the spin-off announced in December 2000.

Each eligible Pitney Bowes common stockholder of record on November 19, 2001 will receive 0.08 shares of Imagistics stock for each share of Pitney Bowes stock. Pitney Bowes shareholders will receive whole shares of Imagistics and cash payments for fractional shares. Stock certificates will not be issued -- holders will be credited in book-entry form through the Direct Registration System, which will be administered by the transfer agent.

The company has received a ruling from the Internal Revenue Service that the dividend to shareholders qualifies as tax-free for U.S. federal income tax purposes, except to the extent cash is received in settlement of fractional shares.

Imagistics International offers comprehensive document imaging solutions for the corporate and government markets through a national direct sales and service organization. The company has revenues in excess of $600 million and is headquartered in Trumbull, Connecticut. Marc C. Breslawsky, formerly President and Chief Operating Officer of Pitney Bowes, is the Chairman and CEO of Imagistics International.

In another action today, the Board declared a quarterly cash dividend of the company's common stock of 29 cents per share, payable on December 12, 2001, to stockholders of record on November 23, 2001; a quarterly cash dividend of 53 cents per share on the company's $2.12 convertible preference stock, payable January 1, 2002, to stockholders of record December 14, 2001, and a quarterly cash dividend of 50 cents per share on the company's 4% convertible cumulative preferred stock, payable February 1, 2002, to stockholders of record January 11, 2002.

Pitney Bowes is a $4 billion global provider of integrated mail and document management solutions headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut. The company serves over 2 million businesses of all sizes through dealer and direct operations. For additional information on the company, its products and solutions visit http://www.pitneybowes.com.

The statements contained in this news release that are not purely historical are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements may be identified by their use of forward-looking terminology such as the words "expects," "projects," "anticipates," "intends" and other similar words. Such forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: severe adverse changes in the economic environment; changes in international or national political or economic conditions; timely development and acceptance of new products or gaining product approval; successful entry into new markets; changes in interest rates; and changes in postal regulations, as more fully outlined in the company's 2000 Form 10-K Annual Report filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The forward-looking statements contained in this news release are made as of the date hereof and we do not assume any obligation to update the reasons why actual results could differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements.

     Editorial -  Sheryl Y. Battles
                  Exec. Director, External Affairs
                  203/351-6808

     Website -    http://www.pitneybowes.com

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SOURCE Pitney Bowes Inc.

CONTACT: Editorial - Sheryl Y. Battles, Exec. Director, External Affairs, +1-203-351-6808, or Financial - Charles F. McBride, Exec. Director, Investor Relations, +1-203-351-6349, both of Pitney Bowes Inc./