CHEMLAWN &lt;CHEM>, ECOLAB &lt;ECON> IN MERGER PACT

  Chemlawn Corp and Ecolab Inc
  said they signed a definitive merger agreement under which
  Ecolab will buy all outstanding Chemlawn common stock for 36.50
  dlrs a share in cash, for a total of about 370 mln dlrs.
      Under terms of the agreement, Chemlawn said it rescinded
  its previously announced rights dividend plan.
      Chemlawn previously rejected a 27 dlr a share offer from
  Waste Management Inc &lt;WMX>.
      Yesterday, the Oak Brook, Ill.-based waste disposal company
  said it was prepared to offer 33 dlrs a share, or about 330 mln
  dlrs, for Chemlawn, a lawn-care company.
      Chemlawn had said last week that it was negotiating with
  other possible suitors, which it did not identify.
      A Chemlawn spokesman said further details on the merger
  would be issued later.
      Ecolab is a maker of commercial laundry detergent based in
  St. Paul, Minn. For its first six months ended December 31, the
  company earned 20.4 mln dlrs, or 76 cts a share, on sales of
  421.8 mln dlrs.
      Officials at Waste Management could not be reached for
  immediate comment.
  

