Press Releases

Central Garden & Pet's Pennington Subsidiary And KRB Seed Company LLC Reach Agreement On Lofts and Rebel Business

LAFAYETTE, CALIFORNIA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--September 19, 2000--Central Garden & Pet Company (NASDAQ:CENT) a leading manufacturer, supplier, and merchandiser of consumer lawn and garden and pet supply products, today announced that its Pennington subsidiary has reached agreement with KRB Seed Company, LLC to acquire certain assets and licensing rights with respect to Lofts(R) and Rebel facilities and products.

Under the agreements Pennington will acquire substantially all of the assets of the Lofts group with facilities in Woburn, MA; Laurel, MD; and Farmingdale, NJ. In addition, Pennington will be granted exclusive rights to the Lofts(R) related trademarks and sales marks. Pennington will also be granted certain non-exclusive rights to produce and market Rebel seed varieties. The transactions are scheduled to close by early October 2000. Other terms of the agreement were not disclosed.

Brooks Pennington III, President of Pennington Seed, Inc., said, "Pennington is extremely excited about the Lofts and Rebel agreements. The Lofts brand is established and well respected in the Northeast. We will continue their fine tradition and supplement their customer offerings with other Pennington/Central branded products. In addition, we plan to expand the presence of the Rebel varieties in several key accounts."

According to Ken Budd, President of KRB Seed Company, LLC, "We are very pleased with the Pennington agreements. Under the agreements the Lofts brand should continue to be a major force in the Northeast. With the combined efforts of KRB and Pennington, the Rebel program will continue to expand and be even more successful for both companies. We will now be able to better focus our attention on our customers needs."

Central Garden & Pet Company is a leading manufacturer, supplier, and merchandiser of consumer lawn and garden and pet supply products. Central's proprietary branded products include AMDRO(R), Pennington Seed(R), Kaytee(R), TFH(R), Nylabone(R), Zodiac(R), Four Paws(R), Island(R), Matthews(R) Four Seasons and Grant's(R). Central offers its retail and branded manufacturing partners a wide array of value-added services proven to increase sales and profitability, including logistics and distribution support, inventory management, advertising and promotional programs, in-store merchandising service, and sales program development. For additional information on Central Garden & Pet, including access to the Company's SEC filings, please visit the Company's website at http://www.centralgardenandpet.com.

"Safe Harbor" Statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: The statements contained in this release which are not historical facts are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in or implied by forward-looking statements. These risks are described in the Company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings, including, without limitation, the final resolution of all issues between the Company and Pharmacia Corporation (formerly known as Monsanto Company) under the Solaris Agreement; the resolution of the pending litigation among the Company, Pharmacia and Scotts; the success of and the costs associated with the realignment of the Company's lawn and garden distribution operations; any liabilities to which the Company may become subject as a result of the August 2, 2000 fire at its Phoenix distribution center; and the impact of any other outstanding or potential litigation.

CONTACT:
Gregory Reams
Central Garden & Pet
(925) 283-4573