EXHIBIT 99





Media Contact:                                       FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Leslie Aun
(301) 987-4550

Investor Relations:
Jim Duke
(301) 987-4316


                    SODEXHO MARRIOTT SERVICES, INC. ANNOUNCES
                        APPOINTMENT OF SPECIAL COMMITTEE


GAITHERSBURG,  MD--January 29, 2001--Sodexho Marriott Services, Inc. (NYSE: SDH)
announced today that its board of directors has appointed a special committee of
directors to evaluate the proposal by Sodexho  Alliance,  S.A. to acquire all of
the  outstanding  common stock of Sodexho  Marriott  Service not already held by
Sodexho Alliance for $27 per share in cash.  Sodexho Alliance owns approximately
48% of Sodexho Marriott Services' outstanding stock.

         The board of directors delegated to the special committee,  composed of
independent directors, the responsibility and authority to review, evaluate and,
if  appropriate,  negotiate  the terms of the proposal.  The  committee  will be
composed of board  members  Daniel J.  Altobello,  former  chairman of Onex Food
Services, Inc., who will chair the committee, and Mary S. Metz, president of the
S.H.  Cowell  Foundation.   The  special  committee  will  hire  an  independent
investment  banking firm and legal counsel to assist the committee in performing
its responsibilities.
                                     -MORE-




PAGE 2--SPECIAL COMMITTEE

         Sodexho  Marriott  Services,  Inc. is the largest  provider of food and
facilities  management  in North  America,  with $4.7  billion in annual  sales.
Sodexho Marriott Services offers a variety of innovative  outsourcing solutions,
including food service,  housekeeping,  grounds  keeping,  plant  operations and
maintenance,   asset  and  materials   management,   and  laundry   services  to
corporations,  health care facilities,  schools,  universities and colleges, and
remote  sites.  Headquartered  in  Gaithersburg,  MD, the  company  has  111,000
employees at 5,000 locations across the U.S. and Canada.