Clorox Sells SBP Insecticides Business to Reckitt Benckiser

    OAKLAND, Calif., & SAO PAULO, Brazil--April 16, 2003--The Clorox Company today announced it has sold its SBP(R) insecticides business, including trademarks, inventory, product formulations and registrations, to Reckitt Benckiser. Terms of the transaction, which closed on April 15, 2003, were not disclosed.
    Clorox is focused on returning its Latin America business to healthy profitability, and on Oct. 30, 2002, announced its plans to sell its business in Brazil, as it did not have sufficient scale to be successful in the long term. This SBP divestiture is included in the noncash charge Clorox recorded in the first quarter ended Sept. 30, 2002, for the divestiture of the Brazil business.
    The SBP insecticides brand was established in Brazil in 1974 and Clorox acquired the business in 1995. Clorox manufactures the SBP product line at its facility in San Juan, Argentina. The sale does not involve the transfer of employees.
    The business in Brazil (including SBP insecticides) accounts for about 1 percent of Clorox's total revenues. Clorox is continuing to pursue opportunities to sell its remaining business in Brazil, which includes Super Globo(R) and Clorisol(R) bleaches and X-14(R) and Fluss(R) cleaners.

    The Clorox Company

    The Clorox Company is a leading manufacturer and marketer of consumer products with fiscal year 2002 revenues of $4.0 billion. Clorox markets some of consumers' most trusted and recognized brand names, including its namesake bleach and cleaning products, Armor All(R) and STP(R) auto care products, Fresh Step(R) and Scoop Away(R) cat litters, Kingsford(R) charcoal briquets, Hidden Valley(R) and K C Masterpiece(R) dressings and sauces, and Glad(R) bags, wraps and containers. With 9,500 employees worldwide, the company manufactures products in 25 countries and markets them in more than 100 countries. Founded in 1980, The Clorox Company Foundation has awarded grants totaling more than $51 million to nonprofit organizations, schools and colleges; and in fiscal 2002 made product donations valued at nearly $5 million. For more information about Clorox, visit the company's Web site at www.clorox.com.

    Except for historical information, matters discussed above, including statements about future volume, sales and earnings growth, profitability, costs, cost savings or expectations, are forward-looking statements based on management's estimates, assumptions and projections. Important factors that could cause results to differ materially from management's expectations are described in "Forward-Looking Statements and Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operation" in the company's SEC Form 10-K for the year ended June 30, 2002, as updated from time to time in the company's SEC filings. Those factors include, but are not limited to, general economic and marketplace conditions and events; the company's costs, including the impact of world events on raw material costs and/or supply disruption; risks inherent in litigation and international operations; the success of new products; the company's ability to manage and obtain the benefits of joint venture activities; the success of information systems design and implementation; integration of acquisitions; and environmental, regulatory and intellectual property matters.