US Approval Received for Benckiser Merger

Reckitt & Colman PLC
25 November 1999



Not for release, publication or distribution, in whole or in part, in or into
the United States, Canada, Australia or Japan.


Proposed Merger of Reckitt & Colman and Benckiser receives US approval.

Offer declared unconditional for closing on 30 November.

Reckitt & Colman plc (RCOL) and Benckiser NV (BNV) today announce that they
have received US regulatory approval for their proposed merger from the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC).  This follows disposal of two small brands,
Scrub Free and Delicare, to meet concerns expressed by the FTC.

Accordingly all conditions of the Offer have now been met or waived. Therefore
Reckitt Benckiser Holdings BV, through which the Offer for Benckiser B shares
is being made, has today declared the Offer unconditional.

The Offer Period during which Benckiser B shares can be submitted for exchange
will close at 15.00 hours, Amsterdam time, on 30 November 1999.

It is expected that, following this closure, delivery of the new shares will
take place on 3 December and trading in the new shares will commence on 6
December.

Commenting on these developments, Bart Becht, Chief Executive Officer
designate of Reckitt Benckiser said

'We are all delighted to receive the final approval needed to complete the
merger and establish Reckitt Benckiser as the world leader in household
cleaning.  The scale of the opportunity for the company is exciting everyone
involved in planning its future and we will now quickly move to implement all
our plans.  Our timetable from hereon is aggressive, but the work already done
to prepare the integration gives us great confidence that the synergies, the
longer-term growth opportunities and the resulting shareholder value uplift
will be delivered.'


For further information

David Saltmarsh                        
Company Secretary                      
Reckitt & Colman plc                   44 1753 746676
                                       
Tom Corran                             
SVP Corporate Communications           
Benckiser N.V.                         31 20 405 7534
                                       
Bobby Leach                            
Shandwick                              44 171 905 2537

This announcement and related materials relate to the Offer and are not an
extension of a tender offer in the United States or to any US person for any
class of equity securities in Benckiser.  The Offer will not be made, directly
or indirectly, in, or by use of any means of instrumentality of interstate
commerce or of the mails, or of any facility of any national securities
exchange of, the United States (including its possessions or territories, any
area subject to its jurisdiction and any political subdivision thereof) or to
any US person and cannot be accepted by any such use or otherwise from within
the United States or by any US person.  Any purported acceptance of the Offer
involving, directly or indirectly, any such means, instrumentality, mails or
facility or otherwise from within the United States or by any US person will
be deemed invalid.

None of the securities offered as consideration will be registered under the
United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 'Act').  Accordingly,
such securities may not be offered, sold or delivered in the United States or
to US persons, unless an exemption from the registration requirements of the
Act is available.

This announcement and related materials do not constitute an offer of Reckitt
& Colman Shares.