R.R. Donnelley Agrees To Purchase Florida Directory Printing Operation from GTE

CHICAGO and DALLAS - R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company (NYSE: DNY) and GTE (NYSE: GTE) today announced they have reached an agreement for R.R. Donnelley to purchase GTE Directories' St. Petersburg, Fla., telephone directory printing plant. Along with the purchase of the 230,000-square-foot printing facility and its equipment, the agreement includes a 10-year contract to print certain GTE directories. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Following the close of the transaction, expected to take place in late 1998, the plant will operate as part of R.R. Donnelley's Telecommunications business unit.

"This acquisition is important for the geographic and operating benefits it brings," said Ron Daly, president of R.R. Donnelley's Telecommunications business unit. "The plant's skilled and experienced workforce has a nationwide reputation for quality and productivity. At the same time, we are extending our core directory-printing capabilities into the Southeastern United States, which will allow us to reposition work with our U.S. operations. As a result, we will be able to produce directories for the Southeastern states and other regions closer to final distribution points, simplifying logistics and accelerating delivery for directory publishers.

"With these factors in our favor," Daly said, "the acquisition should produce significant value for our customers, our company and our shareholders."

"We're very pleased with long-term commitment R.R. Donnelley is making to the City of St. Petersburg and the opportunities this will provide our employees," said Earl Goode, president of GTE Directories. "Also, we'd like to thank the Mayor of St. Petersburg and the city government for their help in getting this agreement with R.R. Donnelley finalized quickly."

R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company is the leading commercial printer in North America. The company provides printing and related services to the merchandising, magazine, book, directory, financial and healthcare markets, applying its superior skill, scale and technology to deliver solutions that efficiently meet customers' strategic business needs. Its Telecommunications business has operations in Dwight, Ill.; Greeley, Colo; Lancaster, Pa.; Portland, Ore.; Krakw, Poland; Santiago, Chile; Shenzhen, China; and York, England;. A profile of the company, along with news releases, executive speeches and other useful information, is available from R.R. Donnelley's site on the World Wide Web (www.rrdonnelley.com).

GTE Directories is a leader in linking buyers and sellers through effective advertising and information media. The company provides sales and other directory-related services for approximately 2,600 directory titles, including GTE's The Everything Pages directories, in 16 countries with a total circulation of 91 million. It also develops and markets new media services such as GTE's SuperPages Interactive Service (http://superpages.GTE.net), a premier Internet-based advertising and information resource. GTE Directories is a part of GTE Corporation, based in Stamford, Conn. More information regarding GTE is available ot Internet at (http://www.gte.com).

# # #