Merrill Lynch and Quotron extended a contract.

The contract, which covers the placement of Quotron Systems’ financial information system installations in all Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith offices, was extended 39 months until Nov. 30, 1988. The previous agreement had been scheduled to conclude Aug. 31. In addition, Merrill Lynch obtained an option to further extend the contract through Nov. 30, 1989. Merrill Lynch, which is Los Angeles-based Quotron’s biggest customer, providing about 25% of its business, has formed its own venture with IBM to eventually compete directly with Quotron.