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McWhorter Technologies, Inc. has petitioned the Â鶹´«Ã½ Trade Commission to delete a provision in an order requiring the company, until 2003, to obtain the FTC's approval before acquiring assets used in manufacturing coating resins in the United States. McWhorter makes the request pursuant to the Commission's prior-approval policy, under which the Commission adopted a rebuttable presumption that the public interest requires deleting prior-approval provisions in outstanding merger orders. The petition will be subject to public comment for 30 days, until August 1.

McWhorter Technologies was formerly McWhorter, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Valspar Corporation. Based in Carpentersville, Illinois, McWhorter Technologies was spun off as required by a 1993 settlement order with the FTC. The order settled allegations that Valspar's acquisition of the Resin Products Division of Cargill, Inc. would violate federal antitrust laws by, among other things, eliminating competition between two leading U.S. producers of coating resins. The 1993 order also imposes the 10-year prior approval requirement on Valspar and McWhorter Technologies.

Comments on the petition should be addressed to the FTC, Office of the Secretary, 6th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20580.

Copies of the petition, as well as 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 FTC news as it is announced, call the FTC's NewsPhone recording at 202-326-2710. FTC news releases and other materials also are available on the Internet at the FTC's World Wide Web Site at: http://www.ftc.gov

(FTC Docket No. C-3478)