Announced Actions for September 20, 2002

The Commission has received an application for a proposed divestiture from ConocoPhillips concerning the recent merger of Conoco Inc. and Phillips Petroleum Company. Under the terms of the consent order conditionally approving this transaction, ConocoPhillips is required to divest certain assets. Through this application, it has petitioned the Commission to approve the divestiture of the "Propane Business" (as that term is defined in the order) to NGL Supply, Inc., or a wholly-owned subsidiary of NGL Supply, Inc. (NGL Supply), as well as the related agreements required by Paragraph IV.D. of the order. The FTC is accepting public comments on the proposed divestiture until October 21, 2002. Comments should be sent to: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20580. (FTC File No. 021-0040, Docket No. C-4058; staff contact is Mark Menna, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2722; see press release dated August 30, 2002.)

Petition to reopen and modify order:

The Commission has received a petition from Aventis S.A. (Aventis), the successor company to Hoechst AG and Rhone-Poulenc S.A. (RP) (the respondents), to reopen and modify a final consent order regarding the 1999 merger of the two companies. Under the terms of the Commission order, which became final on January 20, 2000, Aventis was required to reduce to five percent its holdings in Rhodia, a French-based chemical company in which RP held a 67 percent share at the time of the merger. The respondents were given approximately five years to complete their sale of Rhodia shares. Through this petition, Aventis has requested that the Commission reopen and modify the 2000 final order to: 1) expand the language of Paragraph VI.C., that allows the respondent to exclude from its Rhodia holdings any shares held in escrow to honor the exchangeable notes, to permit the respondent otherwise to place its Rhodia shares in escrow pending divestiture by alternative means; 2) specify the date that is currently established by reference in Paragraph VI.D by which the respondent must reduce its Rhodia holdings; and 3) conform Paragraph VII to the revised Paragraph VI.C.

The FTC is accepting public comments on the petition until October 21, 2002. Comments should be sent to: Federal Trade Commission, Office of the Secretary, 600 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, D.C. 20580. (Docket No. C-3919; staff contact is Jeffery Dahnke, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2111; see press releases dated December 7, 1999; and August 17, August 25, September 28, and November 7, 2001.)

Copies of the documents mentioned in this release are available from the FTC’s Web site at http://www.ftc.gov   and also from the FTC’s Consumer Response Center, Room 130, 600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580. Call toll-free: 1-877-FTC-HELP.