RNS Number:8260H
SWX Holding Ltd
21 February 2003

Not for release, publication or distribution in or into the United States,
Canada, Australia or Japan



                             Recommended Cash Offer

                                       by

                   Credit Suisse First Boston and UBS Warburg

                                  on behalf of

                                 SWX Holding AG

                          a wholly owned subsidiary of

                         Association SWX Swiss Exchange

              to acquire the whole of the issued share capital of

                                   virt-x plc



                                                                21 February 2003



Compulsory Acquisition Of Outstanding virt-x Shares



As previously announced on 3 February 2003, valid acceptances in connection with
the Offer have been received in respect of more than 90 per cent of the virt-x
Shares to which the Offer relates.  Accordingly SWX Holding AG is today issuing
notices under s.429 Companies Act 1985 to virt-x Shareholders who have not yet
accepted the Offer that it now intends to exercise its rights to acquire
compulsorily all those virt-x Shares still outstanding at the expiry of the
requisite notice period.  In the meantime, the Offer remains open for
acceptance.

Terms defined in the Offer Document shall have the same meanings in this
announcement.



Enquiries:



SWX
Leo Hug                                          +41(0) 1 229 2675



Credit Suisse First Boston
Zachary Brech                                    +44(0) 207 888 8888



UBS Warburg
Mihiri Jayaweera                                 +44(0) 207 567 8000



The Offer is not being made, directly or indirectly, in or into, or by the use
of the mails of, or by any means of instrumentality (including, without
limitation, telephonically or electronically) of interstate or foreign commerce
of, or any facilities of a national securities exchange of, the United States,
Canada, Australia or Japan and the Offer cannot be accepted by any such use,
means, instrumentality or facility, or from within any of those countries.

This announcement is not being published or otherwise distributed or sent to,
into or from the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan and persons reading
this announcement (including custodians, trustees and nominees) must not
distribute or send this announcement, the Offer Document or the Form of
Acceptance (nor any related document(s)) to, into or from the United States,
Canada, Australia or Japan, nor use the United States, Canadian, Australian or
Japanese mails or any such means or instrumentality for any purpose, directly or
indirectly, in connection with the Offer and doing so will invalidate any
related purported acceptances of the Offer.

Credit Suisse First Boston and UBS Warburg are acting for SWX in connection with
the Offer and for no one else and will not be responsible to anyone other than
SWX for providing the protections offered to clients respectively of Credit
Suisse First Boston and UBS Warburg nor for providing advice in relation to the
Offer.

Dr. Reto Francioni, Andreas Guth, Jacques de Saussure (who are members of the
Supervisory Board of SWX and the committee of the Supervisory Board constituted
to progress the Offer), Dr. Dieter Sigrist (the director of SWX Holding and the
corporate secretary of SWX and a member of the committee of the Supervisory
Board of SWX constituted to progress the Offer), Dr. Heinrich Henckel, Jurg
Spillmann, Peter Keller (who are the members of the Management Board of SWX) and
Alfred Merz (the Chief Financial Officer of SWX) accept responsibility for the
information contained in this announcement.  To the best of their knowledge and
belief (having taken all reasonable care to ensure that such is the case), the
information contained in this announcement is in accordance with the facts and
does not omit anything likely to affect the import of such information.








                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
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