The French financial markets authority approves Solvay’s friendly public offer on RHODIA

May 10, 2011

Solvay and Rhodia announced that the French financial markets authority has declared Solvay’s friendly public offer for Rhodia to be in conformity and, as a result, has granted visa n° 11-148 on Solvay’s offer document (note d’information) and visa n° 11-149 on Rhodia’s response offer document (note en réponse).

Once the authorizations of the Autorité de Contrôle Prudentiel and the French Minister of the Economy will be granted, the French financial markets authority will publish the timetable of the offer and, in particular, the opening and closing dates of the offer acceptance period during which holders of Rhodia securities could tender them into the offer.

The offer is also subject to the following conditions: obtaining of the approval of E.U. and U.S. anti-trust authorities and reaching of a minimum acceptance level of 50% of the share capital and the voting rights of Rhodia plus one share on a fully-diluted basis.

Solvay’s offer document (in French and English-language versions) and Rhodia’s response offer document (in French and English-language versions) are available on the Internet sites of Solvay (www.solvay.com) and Rhodia (www.rhodia.com), respectively.

About Solvay:
SOLVAY is an international industrial Group active in Chemistry. It offers a broad range of products and solutions that contribute to improving quality of life. The Group is headquartered in Brussels and employs about 16,800 people in 40 countries. In 2010, its consolidated sales amounted to EUR 7.1 billion. Solvay is listed on Euronext Brussels (NYSE Euronext : SOLB.BE – Bloomberg : SOLB.BB – Reuters : SOLBt.BR). (NYSE Euronext : SOLB.BE - Bloomberg : SOLB.BB - Reuters : SOLBt.BR). Details are available at www.solvay.com.

About Rhodia:
RHODIA is an international chemical company resolutely committed to sustainable development. As a leader in its businesses, the Group aims to improve its customers’ performance through the pursuit of operational excellence and its ability to innovate. Structured around 11 Global Business Units (GBUs) within 5 business clusters, Rhodia is the partner of major players in the automotive, electronics, flavors and fragrances, health, personal and home care markets, consumer goods and industrial markets. The Group employs around 14,000 people worldwid and generated sales of EUR 5.23 billion in 2010. Rhodia is listed on Euronext Paris. For more information, please visit www.rhodia.com.

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