Press Release

NEW YORK, June 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Scotts Company LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of ScottsMiracle-Gro (NYSE: SMG), today said a jury in federal district court ruled in its favor in a trial related to antitrust and breach of contract claims brought by AgrEvo Environmental Health, Inc.

"From the beginning we have known these allegations were completely without merit, and we are extremely gratified the jury affirmed our position," said David Aronowitz, executive vice president and general counsel for Scotts. "While this has been a long and costly process, our strategy to defend Scotts against these claims and not settle this case was clearly the right decision. As the leader in our industry, we are keenly sensitive to antitrust issues. We have always operated our business with an eye toward growth and adherence to the law.

"Our outside legal team from Quinn Emanuel did an outstanding job researching the facts of the case, preparing for trial and delivering our story to the jury."

In 1999, AgrEvo, which subsequently changed its name to Aventis Environmental Health Science, filed the complaint in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York against Scotts and Monsanto. The allegations related to Scotts' 1998 purchase of a consumer herbicide business from AgrEvo and Scotts' later agreement to become Monsanto's exclusive sales and marketing agent for its consumer Roundup(R) business. AgrEvo alleged that Monsanto tried to or did monopolize the non-selective herbicide market and conspired with Scotts to eliminate the herbicide that Scotts had acquired from AgrEvo.

Monsanto settled with AgrEvo earlier this year. Terms were not disclosed.

About ScottsMiracle-Gro

With more than $2 billion in worldwide sales and more than 6,000 associates, The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, through its wholly-owned subsidiary, The Scotts Company LLC, is the world's largest marketer of branded consumer products for lawn and garden care, with products for professional horticulture as well. The Company's brands are the most recognized in the industry. In the U.S., the Company's Scotts(R), Miracle-Gro(R) and Ortho(R) brands are market-leading in their categories, as is the consumer Roundup(R) brand, which is marketed in North America and most of Europe exclusively by Scotts and owned by Monsanto. The Company also owns Smith & Hawken, a leading brand of garden-inspired products that includes pottery, watering equipment, gardening tools, outdoor furniture and live goods. In Europe, Scotts' brands include Weedol(R), Pathclear(R), Evergreen(R), Levington(R), Miracle-Gro(R), KB(R), Fertiligene(R) and Substral(R). For additional information, visit us at http://www.scotts.com.

SOURCE The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company
06/13/2005
CONTACT: Jim King, Senior Director, Corporate Communications & Investor
Relations of The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, +1-937-578-5622
Web site: http://www.scotts.com
(SMG)