EXHIBIT 99.1




                  CENDANT CORPORATION TO SELL SOFTWARE DIVISION

                Purchase Price Is Up to Approximately $1 Billion



     Parsippany, NJ, November 20, 1998--Cendant Corporation (NYSE: CD) today
announced a definitive agreement to sell the Company's consumer software
division, Cendant Software and its subsidiaries, to Paris-based Havas SA, a
subsidiary of Vivendi SA for $800 million in cash plus future cash contingent
payments of up to approximately $200 million through 1999. The transaction is
subject to customary regulatory approvals and is expected to be completed in
the first quarter of 1999.

     As previously announced, the sale of Cendant Software, which includes
Knowledge Adventure, Blizzard Entertainment, Davidson & Associates and Sierra
On-Line, is part of an ongoing program by management to undertake various
strategic alternatives to enhance shareholder value by continuing to focus on
the Company's core business model. The Company also previously announced the
sale of its Hebdo Mag International subsidiary, which is expected to be
completed in December. On October 13, the Company announced a $1 billion share
repurchase program.

     Cendant Chairman, President and CEO, Henry R. Silverman, stated: "We will
continue to execute our program of selling non-core businesses while maximizing
the growth of Cendant's core business units. Other than completing the RAC
transaction if regulatory approval is granted, for the foreseeable future we
are no longer a buyer of companies financed through the issuance of debt and
stock, but rather a seller of companies, utilizing the proceeds of those sales
to retire debt and equity. The sale of our software business will be accretive
to 1999 earnings per share and will result in an after- tax gain of
approximately $450 million."

     Statements about future results made in this release may 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. They involve a
number of risks and uncertainties that are difficult to predict. Actual results
could differ materially from 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-look statements
are specified in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K/A for the year ended
December 31, 1997.

     Cendant is one of the world's foremost providers of consumer and business
services. The Company operates in three principal segments: Travel Services,
Real Estate Services and Alliance Marketing. In Travel Services, Cendant is the
leading franchisor of hotels and rental car agencies worldwide; the largest
provider of vacation exchange services; a leading fleet management company; the
UK's largest private car park operator; and a leading motorist assistance group
in the UK. In Real Estate Services, Cendant is the world's largest franchisor
of residential real estate brokerage offices, a major provider of mortgage
services

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to consumers and a global leader in corporate employee relocation. In Alliance
Marketing, Cendant provides access to insurance, travel, shopping, auto, and
other services, primarily through direct marketing to customers of its affinity
partners. Headquartered in Parsippany, NJ, the Company has more than 40,000
employees and operates in over 100 countries.


Media Contacts:                                      Investor Contacts:

Cendant Corporation:                                 Cendant Corporation:
Jim Fingeroth/Thomas Davies                          Samuel J. Levenson
Kekst and Company                                    973-496-5023
212-521-4800


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