FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE


                            FIRST BRANDS CORPORATION
                                    ADOPTS A
                      PREFERRED SHARE PURCHASE RIGHTS PLAN


          Danbury, Connecticut, March 25, 1996 -- First Brands Corporation today
announced that its Board of Directors, at the March 22, 1996 meeting, adopted a
Preferred Share Purchase Rights Plan and declared a dividend distribution to be
made to stockholders of record on April 1, 1996, of one Preferred Share Purchase
Right on each outstanding share of the Company's common stock. Each Right will
entitle stockholders to buy one one-thousandth of a share of a new series of
junior participating preferred stock for an exercise price of $87.50.

          The Rights contain provisions which are intended to protect the
Company's stockholders in the event of an unsolicited attempt to acquire the
Company at an unfair price. The Company is not aware of any such attempt at
present.

          The Rights will be exercisable only if a person or group (with certain
exceptions) acquires, or announces a tender offer for, 20% or more of the
Company's common stock. The Company may exchange the Rights for the Company's
common stock on a one-for-one basis at any time after a person or group has
acquired 20% or more of the outstanding common stock. The Company will be
entitled to redeem the Rights at $.01 per Right (payable in cash or common stock
of the Company, at the Company's option) at any time before public disclosure
that a 20% position has been acquired. The Rights will expire on April 3, 2006,
unless previ ously redeemed or exercised. The distribution of the Rights is not
a taxable event to stockholders.

 




          Additional details of the Rights distribution will be provided to the
stockholders.