Arch Chemicals Completes Sale of Sulfuric Acid Business and Enters into New Senior Revolving Credit Facility.

Business Editors

NORWALK, Conn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 3, 2003

Arch Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:ARJ) completed the sale of substantially all of the net assets of its Sulfuric Acid business to Peak Sulfur, Inc. on July 2, 2003. Relevant terms of the transaction will be disclosed at a later date. The Sulfuric Acid business had sales of approximately $34 million in 2002.

The net assets of Arch's Sulfuric Acid business include manufacturing facilities in Shreveport, Louisiana and Beaumont, Texas. These facilities provide both virgin sulfuric acid and acid regeneration services to Gulf Coast oil refineries, which use the acid in the alkylation process of making gasoline. The sulfuric acid is also used by other industries including pulp and paper and water treatment.

Arch Chemicals' Chairman, President and CEO Michael Campbell said, "This divestiture is part of our strategy to focus our business portfolio and to redeploy resources to pursue growth opportunities in our two key growth platforms, Treatment Products and Microelectronic Materials, including possible complementary acquisitions."

Arch also announced that it had entered into a new senior revolving credit facility. This $210 million facility matures in June 2006 and replaces Arch's $65 million facility, which expired on June 20, 2003, and a $125 million facility that was scheduled to expire in January 2004.

"I am very pleased with our ability to replace our current facilities with this new facility that provides a committed source of funding for the next three years. The new facility contains covenants which are consistent with those in the former facilities, and provides the Company with additional capacity to fund its growth over the next several years," said Louis S. Massimo, Arch's Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer.

Headquartered in Norwalk, CT, Arch Chemicals, Inc. is a global specialty chemicals company with approximately $1 billion in annual sales. Together with its subsidiaries, Arch has 3,000 employees and manufacturing facilities in North America, South America, Europe, Asia and Africa. Arch and its subsidiaries have leadership positions in four key business segments -- Microelectronic Materials, Treatment Products, Performance Products and Other Specialty Products -- and they serve leading customers in these markets with forward-looking solutions to their chemical needs. For more information, visit the Company's Web site at www.archchemicals.com.

Peak Sulfur, Inc. provides regeneration services to oil refining and chemical industries and manufactures technical and ultra-pure grade sulfuric acid, oleum and sodium bisulfite. Peak Sulfur has manufacturing facilities in Tulsa, Oklahoma; Riverton, Wyoming; Fort Madison, Iowa and a terminal location in Kansas City, Kansas. Headquartered in Lenexa, Kansas, Peak Sulfur, Inc., is an affiliate of Peak Investments, L.L.C. For more information, visit Peak's Web site at www.peakinvestments.com.