EXHIBIT 99
NEWS RELEASE
ARCH CHEMICALS, INC.
501 Merritt 7
P.O. Box 5204 ARCH
Norwalk, CT 06856
[GRAPHICS OMITTED]
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Investor Contact: Mark E. Faford (203) 229-2654
Press Contact: Dale N. Walter (203) 229-3033
ARCH PERSONAL CARE PRODUCTS AWARDED $7 MILLION AFTER
FEDERAL JURY FINDS IVAR MALMSTROM
BREACHED NON-COMPETE AGREEMENT
SOUTH PLAINFIELD, NEW JERSEY, March 8, 2004 -- Arch Personal Care Products
announced that a jury in the U.S. District Court for the District of New
Jersey has awarded it approximately $7 million in damages after finding, among
other things, that Ivar Malmstrom, Jr., had breached his non-compete
obligations to Arch Personal Care Products. Mr. Malmstrom undertook these
obligations in connection with Arch's November 2000 purchase of the personal
care intermediates business of Brooks Industries. Mr. Malmstrom had been
co-owner and president of Brooks.
The jury found that Mr. Malmstrom had assisted in the creation of, provided
funding to, and was participating in the business activities of Active
Concepts, a company formed shortly after Arch's acquisition of the Brooks
business. The jury also found that Mr. Malmstrom violated federal trademark
law, and that he and Active Concepts had infringed on Arch's TRF(TM)
trademark.
In addition, the jury found that certain asset transfers by Mr. Malmstrom to
his wife violated New Jersey's Fraudulent Transfer Act. Judge Joel Pisano has
enjoined the Malmstroms from transferring or encumbering these assets and has
appointed a receiver to take charge of the assets.
Judge Pisano had previously found that Mr. Malmstrom's assistance to Active
Concepts constituted contempt of two Court Orders issued in July 2002 that
enjoined Mr. Malmstrom from competing against Arch Personal Care. An award of
sanctions against Mr. Malmstrom in connection with the contempt finding is
expected shortly.
Arch Personal Care also has a New Jersey state court case pending against
Active Concepts and several former Brooks' employees asserting
misappropriation of trade secrets and other claims.
Defendants have thirty days from the entry of a judgment to appeal.
Arch Personal Care Products, L.P., which is headquartered in South Plainfield,
New Jersey, is a business unit within the Treatment Products business segment
of Arch Chemicals, Inc. It develops and sells active ingredients to both the
skin and hair care segments of the cosmetic and toiletries industries.
Headquartered in Norwalk, Connecticut, Arch Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE: ARJ) is a
global specialty chemicals company with $1 billion in annual sales. Together
with its subsidiaries, Arch has 3,000 employees and manufacturing and customer
support centers in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Arch
and its subsidiaries have leadership positions in three business segments --
Treatment Products, Microelectronic Materials and Performance Products -- and
they serve leading customers in these markets with forward-looking solutions
to meet their chemical needs. For more information, visit
www.archchemicals.com.
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Except for historical information contained herein, the information set forth
in this communication contains forward-looking statements that are based on
management's beliefs, certain assumptions made by management and management's
current expectations, estimates and projections about the markets and economy
in which Arch and its various businesses operate. Words such as "anticipates,"
"believes," "estimates," "expects," "forecasts," "opines," "plans,"
"predicts," "projects," "should," "targets," "will," and variations of such
words and similar expressions are intended to identify such forward-looking
statements. These statements are not guarantees of future performance and
involve certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions ("Future Factors"),
which are difficult to predict. Therefore, actual outcomes and results may
differ materially from what is expected or forecasted in such forward-looking
statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to update publicly any
forward-looking statements, whether as a result of future events, new
information or otherwise. Future Factors which could cause actual results to
differ materially from those discussed include but are not limited to: general
economic and business and market conditions; lack of economic recovery in 2004
in the U.S.; lack of moderate growth or recession in European economies;
increases in interest rates; economic conditions in Asia; worsening economic
and political conditions in Venezuela; strengthening of the U.S. dollar
against foreign currencies; customer acceptance of new products; efficacy of
new technology; changes in U.S. laws and regulations; increased competitive
and/or customer pressure; the Company's ability to maintain chemical price
increases; higher-than-expected raw material costs for certain chemical
product lines; increased foreign competition in the calcium hypochlorite
markets; lack of continued recovery in the semiconductor industry; unfavorable
court, arbitration or jury decisions; the supply/demand balance for the
Company's products, including the impact of excess industry capacity; failure
to achieve targeted cost-reduction programs; unsuccessful entry into new
markets for electronic chemicals; capital expenditures in excess of those
scheduled; environmental costs in excess of those projected; the occurrence of
unexpected manufacturing interruptions/outages at customer or company plants;
reduction in expected government contract orders and/or the failure to renew
or extend the U.S. government contract for hydrazine propellants; unfavorable
weather conditions for swimming pool use; inability to expand sales in the
professional pool dealer market; and gains or losses on derivative
instruments.