The Valence Group Announces its Fourth Chemicals M&A Transaction of 2011 After Advising PolyOne Corp (NYSE: POL) on the Sale of its SunBelt Investment

NEW YORK, March 1, 2011 - The Valence Group announces that it has advised PolyOne Corp (NYSE: POL)
on the successful sale of its 50% interest in SunBelt Chlor Alkali
Partnership to Olin Corporation.

(Logo: photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110118/NY30970LOGO )

SunBelt, a chlor alkali manufacturer, is a 50/50 joint venture formed in
1996 between PolyOne (formerly The Geon Company) and Olin. PolyOne's stake in
SunBelt was sold to Olin for $175 million, including $132 million in cash and
the assumption of PolyOne's guarantee of $43 million of SunBelt debt, with an
additional earn out over the next three years if certain performance metrics
are achieved. "I am pleased with the completion of this strategic win/win
transaction for both Olin and PolyOne," said Stephen D. Newlin, chairman,
president and chief executive officer of PolyOne. "I would like to thank Olin
for the many years of cooperative partnership we have enjoyed together and
wish them well as they integrate SunBelt into their operations." Newlin
added, "For PolyOne, the sale of SunBelt represents another step in our
transformation and portfolio repositioning as we intend to use the proceeds
to accelerate specialty platform growth."

Mr. Newlin added: "I would also like to thank The Valence Group for their
support and counsel on this transaction. They are a highly valued M&A adviser
to PolyOne, we have worked with the principals of The Valence Group in the
past (most notably on the GLS acquisition) and we look forward to working
with them in the future as we grow our specialties businesses."

Telly Zachariades, Partner, commented: "PolyOne is a core and
long-standing client. We are very grateful for the opportunity to work with
such an outstanding management team."

Joshua Hay, Partner, added: "This transaction, our fourth so far in 2011
and our ninth in the past twelve months, clearly highlights The Valence
Group's position as the leading M&A advisor to the global chemicals and
materials sector."

About PolyOne

PolyOne Corporation, with 2010 revenues of $2.6 billion, is a premier
provider of specialized polymer materials, services and solutions.
Headquartered outside of Cleveland, Ohio USA, PolyOne has operations around
the world.

About The Valence Group

The Valence Group is a specialist M&A boutique offering advisory services
exclusively to companies and investors in the chemicals, materials and
related sectors. The firm has developed broad and deep transactional
expertise: sell-side, buy-side, joint venture, private companies, public
offers, corporate carve-outs, LBOs and management buy-outs. The founders and
senior members of The Valence Group collectively have more than 130 years of
transactional experience gained both at major investment banks and within
chemical companies. The firm's offices are located in London, New York and
Shanghai.

www.valencegroup.com

Paul Lakind, Chief Administrative Officer, +1-212-847-7339, plakind at valencegroup.com