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Eastman Board Declares Dividend and Approves Additional $300 Million Share Repurchases

The Board of Directors of Eastman Chemical Company has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.44 per share on the company's common stock. The dividend is payable October 1, 2010, to stockholders of record as of September 13, 2010.

Eastman Board Declares Dividend and Approves Additional $300 Million Share Repurchases

KINGSPORT, Tenn., Aug. 5, 2010 – The Board of Directors of Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN) has declared a quarterly cash dividend of $0.44 per share on the company's common stock. The dividend is payable October 1, 2010, to stockholders of record as of September 13, 2010. The Board of Directors also approved the repurchase of up to $300 million of Eastman common stock.

“The quarterly dividend and new share repurchase authorization reflect the strong financial position of this company and demonstrate our ongoing commitment to returning cash to stockholders,” said Curt Espeland, senior vice president and chief financial officer.

Current priorities for use of available cash are paying the dividend, funding targeted growth initiatives (including organic initiatives, joint ventures, and acquisitions), and repurchasing shares primarily to offset dilution. The new stock repurchase authorization is in addition to the remaining $27 million available under the $700 million in share repurchases authorized by the Board in October 2007.

Share repurchases will be funded with available cash and implemented through purchases made from time to time in either the open market or through private transactions. The timing, volume, and nature of share repurchases will be at the discretion of management, depending on market conditions, applicable securities laws, and other factors, and may be suspended or discontinued at any time. Eastman may also implement all or part of the repurchases under one or more Rule 10b5-1 trading plans, which would allow repurchases under pre-set terms at times when Eastman might otherwise be prevented from doing so under insider trading laws or because of self-imposed trading restrictions.

Forward Looking Statements: This news release includes forward-looking statements concerning current expectations for future cash flows, dividends, and growth initiatives and any stock repurchases. Such expectations are based upon certain preliminary information, internal estimates, and management assumptions, expectations and plans, and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties inherent in projecting future conditions, events, and results. Actual results could differ materially from expectations expressed in the forward-looking statements if one or more of the underlying assumptions or expectations prove to be inaccurate or are unrealized. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such expectations are and will be detailed in the "Risk Factors" section of the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Form 10-Q filed for second quarter 2010 available on the Eastman web site at www.eastman.com/investors, SEC filings section.

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