The Clorox Company Issues Statement Regarding Icahn Announcement

The Clorox Company

today issued the following statement regarding the announcement by High River Limited Partnership, an affiliate of Icahn Enterprises L.P., that it has submitted a full slate of 11 nominees to replace the entire existing board of directors and stand for election at The Clorox Company 2011 Annual Meeting of Stockholders: We believe that Mr. Icahn is nominating candidates solely to advance his own agenda. Clorox will review Mr. Icahn's nominations to ensure they comply with the company's governing documents and applicable law. Clorox has an outstanding board of directors that has demonstrated its commitment to acting in the best interests of all Clorox stockholders. The board is composed of 11 highly qualified directors, 10 of whom are independent, and all of whom are elected annually. The directors are proven business leaders with a broad range of complementary experience in consumer products, finance, and other areas essential to Clorox's business, and they have overseen the company's success in delivering superior results and creating significant stockholder value. Under this board's leadership, Clorox has: Generated superior returns for stockholders relative to the company's peer group and the S&P 500 since the start of the global recession(1); Returned more than $2.7 billion in cash to stockholders in the form of dividends and share repurchases over the past five years(2); Doubled the total annual dividend paid to Clorox stockholders from $1.20 to $2.40 per diluted share in the past five years, consistent with our history of increasing the dividend every year for the past 34 years; and Strengthened its leading brands, which are well-positioned in their categories and continue to gain market share. On an all-outlet retail basis, the company's U.S. brands have gained significantly more market share than any other branded consumer products company, or private label, in Clorox's categories over the last three years.(3) Clorox has one of the highest profit margins in its sector and continues to deliver strong financial performance despite a challenging macroeconomic environment and continuing commodity price pressures. In the fourth fiscal quarter, which ended June 30, 2011, Clorox delivered 4 percent sales growth and 20 percent growth in diluted earnings per share from continuing operations. We remain focused on executing our core business plan and believe that our Centennial Strategy, including our focus on consumer megatrends, developing innovative products, relentlessly driving out waste and returning excess cash to stockholders, is the right path forward to continue creating significant value for all stockholders. We look forward to continuing to deliver on our promise of providing the highest-quality innovative products and outstanding service to our retail partners and consumers around the world.