Briefs

NetIQ Corp. and Portland-based WebTrends Corp. announced a definitive
merger agreement. According to those at both companies, the resulting
product portfolio will include product lines for systems
administration, network performance management, operations management,
security management, web management, and eBusiness analytics and
intelligence.

"Building on the successful merger of NetIQ and Mission Critical and
other recent strategic moves, this combination is the logical next
step in our strategy to become the unparalleled leader in eBusiness
infrastructure management and intelligence solutions," said Ching-Fa
Hwang, chief executive officer of NetIQ.

Under the terms of the transaction, which was approved by the boards
of directors of both companies, WebTrends shareholders will receive
0.480 shares of NetIQ common stock for each WebTrends common share.
Based on NetIQ's closing price of $75.00 on Tuesday, January 16, 2001,
the transaction is valued at $36.00 per WebTrends share, or a total of
approximately $1 billion.

"Simply stated, this combination will result in greatly enhanced
offerings for our more than 52,000 collective customers, increased
business opportunities with partners, significant value creation for
our shareholders and compelling opportunities for all our employees,"
said Eli Shapira, currently WebTrends chief executive officer, who
will become chief strategy officer for NetIQ.  Glen Boyd, currently
president and chief technology officer of WebTrends, will become chief
information officer of NetIQ, and Dan Meub, currently chief operating
officer of WebTrends, will become senior vice president of WebTrends
products at NetIQ.  The combined company will be headquartered in San
Jose, CA, but will also maintain significant operations in Portland,
OR, where WebTrends is headquartered.