<b>Greif Bros. Completes Van Leer Acquisition</B>

Greif Bros. Corp. completed its acquisition of the Van Leer Industrial packaging division from Huhtamaki Van Leer Oyj of Espoo, Finland for $555 million, which includes the assumption of debt and other obligations. Greif and Huhtamaki announced the signing of a definitive purchase agreement for Van Leer Industrial on October 30, 2000 and an amendment on January 26, 2001.

With the purchase of Van Leer Industrial, Greif nearly doubles its revenue base with approximately 200 locations in more than 40 countries.

Before the acquisition, Greif was the leading supplier of industrial shipping containers in North America. The Van Leer Industrial acquisition expands Greif's markets to Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and Latin America. Greif anticipates that approximately 80% of net sales for the combined Company will be from North America and Europe and 20% from the remaining regions.

The product line for Greif's Industrial Shipping Containers business segment includes steel drums, fibre drums, plastic drums, intermediate bulk containers, plastic bottles, steel pails and drum closure systems. In addition, the Company provides various packaging-related services.