Chevron and Unocal Get FTC Go-Ahead

SAN RAMON, Calif. -- The Federal Trade Commission has notified Chevron Corp. and Unocal Corp. that Chevron's plans to acquire Unocal have been accepted by the commission, pending public comment, according to Chevron.

The FTC acceptance followed an agreement by Chevron, Unocal and FTC staff to settle litigation issues relating to Unocal's U.S. reformulated gasoline patents. Following completion of the acquisition, Chevron has agreed to dedicate to the public the remaining term of the patents and not to assert or enforce the patents to recover fees, royalties or damages. Reformulated gasoline is an environmentally friendly fuel that is sold in selected U.S. cities to reduce smog levels.

Details of the FTC decision and order are posted at www.ftc.gov.

"The patent settlement is a positive step for America's gasoline consumers," said David O'Reilly, chairman and chief executive officer of Chevron. "It will eliminate expensive litigation over the patents and reduce the costs of producing reformulated gasoline, which is sold in many parts of the U.S."

The next step in the approval process is a review of the preliminary Form S-4 filed by Chevron on May 26 with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The Form S-4 is a registration statement necessary to issue the shares of Chevron common stock that are part of the merger consideration. The registration statement contains a proxy statement for the special meeting of Unocal stockholders to vote on the merger. After the SEC completes its review of the Form S-4, Unocal will print and mail the final proxy statement to stockholders, scheduling a special stockholder meeting for a vote by Unocal stockholders on the terms of the acquisition.


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