Cendant to Acquire Equivest Finance for Approximately 100 Million USD in Cash - Equivest to Be Integrated into Cendant's Fairfield Resorts Unit

Equivest, which markets and sells timeshare vacation services and vacation ownership interests, will be fully integrated into Cendant's Fairfield Resorts unit. The transaction is expected to be accretive to Cendant's earnings per share immediately, adding $0.01 to adjusted EPS in 2002. Accordingly, Cendant also announced that it has raised the Company's forecast for 2002 adjusted EPS to $1.26.

Cendant's Chairman, President and CEO, Henry R. Silverman stated: "We are very pleased with the results at our Fairfield Resorts unit, which for the first time in its history has surpassed $500 million in annual vacation ownership sales. We intend to continue to leverage the strength of the Fairfield management team by pursuing additional tuck in acquisitions within the vacation interval business."

Concurrent with the execution of the definitive merger agreement with Equivest, Cendant entered into definitive stock purchase agreements to acquire more than 90% of the outstanding shares of common stock and 100% of the outstanding shares of preferred stock from Equivest's three largest stockholders, the consolidated bankruptcy estate of The Bennett Funding Group, Inc., R. Perry Harris and C. Wayne Kinser.

The transaction is expected to close in the first quarter of 2002 and is subject to customary closing conditions and the approval by the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Northern District of New York of the sale of the shares held by the consolidated bankruptcy estate of The Bennett Funding Group, Inc.

"Our emphasis on product quality, diverse marketing channels and hiring and training the best people in our industry has made Fairfield the industry's leader in timeshare sales performance," said Franz S. Hanning, president and chief executive officer, Fairfield Resorts, Inc. "Equivest's resorts will provide us with high-quality inventory in new resort destinations, allowing us to facilitate our sales efforts and reach new consumers with more product choices."

Richard C. Breeden, chairman, president and CEO of Equivest stated: "Over the past five years, Equivest has built a record as one of the most successful timeshare companies in the nation, achieving substantial compound rates of growth in revenues, net worth and earnings. We are pleased that Equivest's employees and owners will be in strong and capable hands in the future with Cendant and Fairfield Resorts, and that Equivest's shareholders will realize a very significant premium over recent market prices from this transaction." Mr. Breeden was Chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission from 1989-1993.

About Fairfield Resorts

Fairfield Resorts, Inc., with more than 340,000 vacation-owning households and more than $500 million in annual vacation ownership sales, is the largest independent timeshare company in the world, specializing in the marketing and sales of innovative vacation and leisure products. Fairfield Resorts is a subsidiary of Cendant Corporation CD, a diversified global provider of business and consumer services primarily within the real estate and travel sectors. Visit Fairfield Resorts at .

About Equivest Finance, Inc.

Equivest Finance, Inc. EQUI is an integrated timeshare vacation services company that develops, markets, and sells vacation services and vacation ownership interests to consumers at 29 resort facilities in more than 17 resort destinations located primarily on the eastern seaboard of the United States and in the U.S. Virgin Islands. Equivest also operates a specialty finance company that principally finances consumer purchases of vacation ownership interests at Equivest resorts as well as at other affiliated resorts. More than 85,000 families now own vacation interests in one or more Equivest resorts, and 20,000 additional families are borrowers from Equivest in connection with their purchases of vacation ownership interests in unaffiliated resorts. Equivest () is headquartered in Greenwich, Conn.

About Cendant Corporation

Cendant Corporation is primarily a provider of travel and residential real estate services. With approximately 60,000 employees, New York City-based Cendant provides these services to businesses and consumers in over 100 countries. More information about Cendant, its companies, brands and current SEC filings may be obtained by visiting www.Cendant.com or by calling 877-4-INFOCD (877-446-3623).

Adjusted EBITDA and adjusted EPS are non-GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) measures, but the Company believes that they are useful to assist investors in gaining an understanding of the trends and results of operations for the Company's core businesses. Adjusted earnings per share should be viewed in addition to our GAAP results and not in lieu of GAAP results.

Statements about future results made in this release constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements are based on current expectations and the current economic environment. The Company cautions that these statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially form those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Important assumptions and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements are specified in Cendant's Form 10-Q filed on November 14, 2001. Such forward-looking statements include projections. Such projections were not prepared in accordance with published guidelines of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants or the SEC regarding projections and forecasts, nor have such projections been audited, examined or otherwise reviewed by independent auditors of Cendant or its affiliates. In addition, such projections are based upon many estimates and are inherently subject to significant economic and competitive uncertainties and contingencies, many of which are beyond the control of management of Cendant and its affiliates. Accordingly, actual results may be materially higher or lower than those projected. The inclusion of such projections herein should not be regarded as a representation by Cendant or its affiliates that the projections will prove to be correct.