Munich, Germany - February 18, 2005 - Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced an agreement to acquire all assets of COMPASS systems GmbH, a European-based developer of the COMPASS family of data management solutions, for 13 million Euros. COMPASS is a leader in the European data management market, and COMPASS customers include more than 20,000 users in 1,800 manufacturing companies.

Autodesk plans to continue offering the COMPASS solution in key European markets and supporting COMPASS customers, while leveraging COMPASS systems' experience in its continuing development of Autodesk's data management solution, featuring Autodesk Productstream.

Through the combination of Autodesk and COMPASS expertise, technology and partners, Autodesk will better enable customers to accelerate information exchange and more efficiently create, manage and share design data. Customers will benefit from a comprehensive data management solution that makes the production and delivery of products more timely and cost efficient.

The acquisition, which is expected to close in March of 2005, will allow Autodesk to more quickly expand its data management solution, and deliver on its commitment to provide a comprehensive data management solution for small- and medium-size manufacturers.

"This is a clear indicator of our commitment to be a major player in the Product Lifecycle Management market," said Karsten Popp, vice president of Autodesk EMEA. "By combining our collective experience in the data management market with our strength in product design, we are extremely well positioned to extend the value of design information across the manufacturing organization and supply chain."

Karl Weber, president of COMPASS systems, added "We are very pleased to join forces with a market leader like Autodesk. Our focus on engineering-driven data management and the clear synergies between our channels and products make this acquisition logical for our companies as well as beneficial to our customers."

Data Management: A Practical Approach

The Autodesk data management solution is built to extend the value driven by Autodesk's design software, including Autodesk Inventor Series, the world's best-selling 3D design software. Autodesk's data management solution allows customers to speed design cycles and maintain control of crucial design data as it moves through the product lifecycle. Unlike traditional Product Lifecycle Management (PLM) installations that demand extensive, costly customization and process re-engineering, the Autodesk data management solution allows manufacturers to quickly and cost effectively reap many of the same benefits of PLM. With Autodesk, manufacturers have the flexibility to add components incrementally, at a pace that matches their needs and budget. The Autodesk data management solution includes Autodesk Vault, Autodesk Productstream, Autodesk Streamline, and the Autodesk DWF file format.

Autodesk's Comprehensive Portfolio of Manufacturing Solutions

Delivering on its strategy to help customers create, manage, and share their digital design data, Autodesk offers the most comprehensive portfolio of integrated 2D and 3D design and data management solutions available - helping customers design better quality products, accelerate time to market, and achieve maximum project visibility and collaboration. Unlike other offerings on the market today, these solutions are easy to deploy and use, and help companies easily transition from 2D to 3D design at their own pace, helping to make Autodesk a leader in manufacturing segments such as industrial machinery, building and plant equipment, transportation and consumer products. Autodesk's manufacturing solutions include Autodesk Inventor Series, Autodesk Inventor Professional, AutoCAD Mechanical, AutoCAD Electrical software, and the Autodesk DWF file format functionality. All manufacturing design applications come with Autodesk Vault data management capabilities built in and work seamlessly with the Autodesk Streamline collaboration service. In addition, customers can take advantage of widely available third-party applications purpose-built for Autodesk software.

About Autodesk
Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) is wholly focused on ensuring that great ideas are turned into reality. With 6 million users, Autodesk is the world's leading software and services company for the building, manufacturing, infrastructure, digital media, and wireless data services fields. Autodesk's solutions help customers create, manage and share their data and digital assets more effectively. As a result, customers turn ideas into competitive advantage by becoming more productive, streamlining project efficiency, and maximizing profits.

Founded in 1982, Autodesk is headquartered in San Rafael, California. For additional information about Autodesk, please visit www.autodesk.com.

More information can be found at www.compass-systems.de.