Financial Astrology of Ecolab Inc.

FINANCIAL ASTROLOGY

First Trade Date for Ecolab Inc.

Company Name	First Trade Date (yyyy-mm-dd)
Ecolab Inc.	1986-12-10

Company Name	Symbol
Ecolab Inc.	ECL
History and Business of Company (this information may include date of incorporation)
Ecolab was incorporated as a Delaware corporation in 1924. Our fiscal year is the calendar year ending December 31. On November 30, 2001, we acquired the 50 percent of the Henkel-Ecolab joint venture ("Henkel-Ecolab") which we did not previously own (the "JV Acquisition"), from our former joint venture partner, Henkel KGaA, Düsseldorf, Germany ("Henkel"). Prior to the JV Acquisition, we accounted for our interest in Henkel-Ecolab under the equity method of accounting. As a result of the JV Acquisition, the legal entities constituting Henkel-Ecolab became wholly-owned entities of Ecolab. Following the JV Acquisition, the assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses and cash flows of Henkel-Ecolab are reflected in our consolidated financial statements as a part of the International Cleaning & Sanitizing reportable segment. During 2003, we continued to make business acquisitions and divestitures to broaden our product and service offerings, or to dispose of non-strategic businesses, in line with our "Circle the Customer - Circle the Globe" strategy. These transactions included: • Subsequent to the 2002 year-end of our International Operations, we entered the hospital hygiene market in the U.K. by acquiring the Adams Healthcare business of Medical Solutions plc in December 2002. • In December 2002, we sold Darenas, a U.K. janitorial products distribution business. • In June 2003, we sold our investment in Comac S.p.A. of Italy, a floor care machine manufacturing company. • In September 2003, we sold a U.K. consumer dermatology business obtained as part of Adams Healthcare. Additional details regarding the JV Acquisition and these other transactions are found in Notes 5 and 6, located on pages 38 through 40 of the Annual Report and incorporated into Item 8 hereof. Effective January 2004, we reorganized our businesses serving janitorial and healthcare customers by splitting the Professional Products group into two divisions, Professional Products and Healthcare. In January 2004, we expanded our Pest Elimination business into France by acquiring Nigiko, a Paris-based business that primarily operates through Amboile Services. In February 2004, we acquired Daydots International, a provider of food safety products, for our U.S. Cleaning & Sanitizing Operations.

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