#2661

 [GRACE NEWS LOGO]
                                             CORPORATE COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION

                                             W. R. Grace & Co.
                                             One Town Center Road
                                             Boca Raton, FL 33486-1010







         CONTACT: Chuck Suits or Mary Lou Kromer     561/362-2600 or
                                                     800/GRACE99




     GRACE TO SELL AMICON TO MILLIPORE FOR $125 MILLION

     BOCA RATON, Fla., November 18, 1996--W. R. Grace & Co. (NYSE: GRA) today
announced that it has entered into a definitive agreement to sell its Amicon
separations sciences business to Millipore Corp. (NYSE: MIL) for $125 million
in cash. Grace said it expects to complete the transaction within 60 days.

     Amicon, based in Beverly, Mass., supplies a broad range of molecular
separation and purification products used by life science research
laboratories and biotechnology/pharmaceutical companies worldwide. It is a
leader in membrane ultrafiltration and a widely recognized supplier of
preparative chromatography products.

     With annual sales of approximately $60 million, Amicon has manufacturing
operations in the U.S. and Europe. It employs approximately 370 people.



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     Amicon is one of four businesses that Grace recently announced it plans
to sell within the next three to six months. The other businesses to be
divested are Grace TEC Systems, Grace Specialty Polymers and Grace Cocoa.

     Grace was assisted in this transaction by its financial advisor, Merrill
Lynch LLP.

     Millipore, based in Bedford, Mass., is a multinational company that
applies its purification technology to critical research and manufacturing
problems in the microelectronics, biopharmaceutical and analytical laboratory
markets.

     Grace is a leading global supplier of flexible packaging and specialty
chemicals, with annual sales of approximately $3.3 billion. The company
operates in more than 100 countries.





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