Olin Corporation

The Federal Trade Commission has approved two divestitures by Olin Corporation, of Stamford, Connecticut. In the first, Olin will divest pool chemical facilities it owns in South Charleston, West Virginia, and in Livonia, Michigan, to SC-L Acquisition Corp., a subsidiary of Israel Chemicals Ltd. (ICL). In the second, Olin will divest its SUN Brand swimming pool chemical business to Aqua Clear Industries, Inc., of Watervliet, New York.

Prior FTC approval of these divestitures was required under a 1994 Commission order resulting from the FTC's challenge of Olin's acquisition of FMC Corporation's swimming pool chemical business in 1985. The Commission held that the FMC acquisition could substantially reduce competition in the U.S. market for dry pool-sanitizing chemicals, and required Olin to divest the former FMC assets to an entity or entities so as to restore the level of competition. The Commission decision and order was upheld on appeal by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, and became final in February 1994 when the Supreme Court denied Olin's petition to hear the case. (A third application for divestiture approval remains pending with the FTC. In that application, Olin seeks approval to divest its 50 percent interest in Chlor-Chem, Ltd., which it acquired from FMC, to Schering Agrochemicals Holdings, Ltd.)

The Commission vote to approve the divestitures was 5-0.

Copies of the letter of approval and other documents associated with this case are available from the FTC's Public Reference Branch, Room 130, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580: 202-326-2222; TTY for the hearing impaired 1-866-653-4261. To find out the latest news as it happens, call the FTC's NewsPhone at 202-326-2710. FTC news releases and other documents also are availble on the Internet at the FTC's World Wide Web Site at http://www.ftc.gov

(FTC Docket No. 9196)