Stmnt re Divestment

AstraZeneca PLC
30 October 2000


DIVESTMENT OF ZENECA'S ACETOCHLOR BUSINESS

AstraZeneca PLC announces that Zeneca Agrochemicals has agreed to sell its
worldwide acetochlor herbicide business to Dow Agrosciences LLC.

The divestment is made to comply with the regulatory requirements of the
Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and the European Commission in connection with
the formation of Syngenta.

The terms of the divestment are not being disclosed.

Syngenta will be formed upon the demerger and merger of AstraZeneca's
agrochemicals business and Novartis' crop protection and seeds business, which
is scheduled to take place in the near future.


For further information:

Michael Olsson:       Tel. [phone]
Ed Seage:             Tel  [phone]
Jorgen Winroth:       Tel. [phone]