FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

                           TENDER OFFER ANNOUNCED FOR

                        ECHELON INTERNATIONAL CORPORATION

ST.  PETERSBURG,  FL,  January  22,  2000 -  Echelon  International  Corporation
("Echelon") (NYSE: EIN), a real estate company which develops,  owns and manages
multi-family residential and commercial real estate, announced today that it has
entered into a definitive agreement pursuant to which EIN Acquisition Corp. will
initiate a tender  offer for all the  outstanding  shares of Echelon  for a cash
price of $34.00 per share.  The offer is fully financed and is subject to, among
other  things,  the escrow  closing of the real  estate  transactions  described
below.

Under the terms of the  agreement,  which was approved by the Board of Directors
of Echelon and the Board of Directors of EIN Acquisition  Corp., EIN Acquisition
Corp.  will  commence an all-cash  tender  offer for all  outstanding  shares of
Echelon  within five (5) business  days of signing.  The offer will be made only
pursuant to definitive  offering  documents  being filed with the Securities and
Exchange  Commission.  The offer is conditioned upon, among other things,  there
having been validly  tendered,  and not withdrawn prior to the expiration of the
tender offer,  eighty  percent (80%) of Echelon's  shares.  The  transaction  is
expected to be completed in late February or early March 2000. Donaldson, Lufkin
& Jenrette Securities Corporation acted as the financial advisor to Echelon.

Affiliates  of Equis  Financial  Group  ("Equis")  and  Heller  Financial,  Inc.
("Heller")  have  also  entered  into  definitive  agreements  with  Echelon  in
connection  with the  acquisition and financing of Echelon's real estate assets.
These transactions will close as soon as practicable after the completion of the
tender offer and subsequent merger of EIN Acquisition Corp. into Echelon.  Equis
will  acquire the name  "Echelon"  and will  operate  its real  estate  business
throughout the southeast and southwest United States. Separately, another Heller
affiliate  acquired all of Echelon's low income  housing tax credit  partnership
interests.

Darryl A. LeClair,  Echelon's  chairman,  president and chief executive officer,
commented,

     "Since Echelon's  spin-off from Florida Progress  Corporation  (NYSE: FPC),
     the Board and management have worked  diligently to unlock the value of the
     Company for the  shareholders.  We believe this transaction  unlocks value,
     providing  a premium to  shareholders  of 42% over the market  price of the
     stock as of January 20, 2000."


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Note:  Certain  statements  contained in this press release regarding other than
historical  facts are  forward-looking  statements  within  the  meaning  of the
Private Securities  Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and are intended to be covered
by the safe harbor created thereby. Such statements,  including those concerning
Echelon's  expected  sources and uses of funds and capital  expenditures and its
business  strategy  including its plans to gradually  withdraw from the aircraft
and real estate lending  business and focus on its core real estate  operations,
involve risks and uncertainties.

Where the Company  expresses an expectation or belief as to future events,  such
expectation  or belief is  expressed  in good  faith and is  believed  to have a
reasonable basis. However, such forward-looking statements are subject to risks,
uncertainties  and other  factors,  which could cause  actual  results to differ
materially  from future  results  expressed  or implied by such  forward-looking
statements.  Important factors that could cause actual strategies and the timing
and expected  results  thereof to differ  materially  from such  forward-looking
statements  ("cautionary  statements")  include,  but are not  limited  to those
factors  identified  under  "CAUTIONARY   STATEMENT  REGARDING  FORWARD  LOOKING
STATEMENTS"  in the Company's  1998 Annual  Report.  Given these  uncertainties,
readers  are  cautioned  not to place  undue  reliance  on such  forward-looking
statements.

All subsequent written and oral forward-looking  statements  attributable to the
Company or to persons  acting on its behalf  are  expressly  qualified  in their
entirety  by the  cautionary  statements.  The Company  disclaims  any intent or
obligation to update publicly any  forward-looking  statements set forth in this
press  release,  whether  as a  result  of new  information,  future  events  or
otherwise.