Ashland Board Recommends Majority Voting Standard

Ashland Board Recommends Majority Voting StandardCOVINGTON, Ky., July 16 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The board of directors of Ashland Inc. (NYSE: ASH) today voted to recommend that shareholders amend the company's Articles of Incorporation to require majority voting in the election of directors. Under Kentucky corporate law, a plurality of votes is the required standard to elect directors absent a provision to the contrary in a company's Articles of Incorporation. Ashland's current Articles of Incorporation follow the Kentucky law provision requiring a plurality of votes in director elections.

The majority voting provision endorsed by Ashland's directors would apply only in uncontested elections. In contested elections, a plurality standard would still be applied. The vote of a majority of shareholders represented at Ashland's annual meeting, currently scheduled for Jan. 29, 2009, will be required to approve the majority voting amendment to Ashland's articles.

The board's action was in response to a vote by Ashland shareholders at the 2008 annual meeting to initiate the process to require majority voting. Ashland Chairman and Chief Executive Officer James J. O'Brien told shareholders at that meeting that the board would consider their request. Today, O'Brien said, "This change is a sign of Ashland's commitment to the practices of good corporate governance and to acting in accordance with our shareholders' interests."

Ashland Inc., a diversified, global chemical company, provides quality products, services and solutions to customers in more than 100 countries. A FORTUNE 500 company, it operates through four divisions: Ashland Performance Materials, Ashland Distribution, Valvoline and Ashland Water Technologies. To learn more about Ashland, visit www.ashland.com.

FORTUNE 500 is a trademark of Time Inc.

SOURCE: Ashland Inc.

CONTACT:
Media Relations:
Jim Vitak
+1-614-790-3715
jevitak@ashland.com
Investor Relations:
Eric Boni
+1-859-815-3527
enboni@ashland.com
both of Ashland Inc.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: Statements in this press release regarding Ashland's business which are not historical facts are "forward-looking statements" that involve risks and uncertainties. For a discussion of such risks and uncertainties, which could cause actual results to differ from those contained in the forward-looking statements, see "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report or Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year.