Pricing Supplement No. 1 dated August 7, 2000 Rule 424(b)(3)
(To Prospectus dated June 23, 2000 File No. 333-33644
and Prospectus Supplement dated June 23, 2000)
Colgate-Palmolive Company
Medium-Term Notes - Fixed Rate Notes
Series D
We are hereby offering to sell Notes having the terms specified below to
you with the assistance of Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated,
acting as principal, at varying prices related to prevailing market prices at
the time of resale.
Principal Amount: $25,000,000 Original Issue Date: August 21, 2000
Interest Rate: 7.50% per annum Net Proceeds to Company: $25,000,000
Stated Maturity Date: August 21, 2015
Agent's Discount or Commission:
See "Supplemental Plan of Distribution"
below.
Interest Payment Dates: Colgate will pay interest on the Notes in U.S.
dollars on the twenty-first day of February and
August of each year, commencing February 21, 2001,
up to and including August 21, 2015 or the date of
earlier redemption.
Redemption: The Notes may be redeemed at the option of Colgate
prior to the stated maturity date. See "Other
Provisions-Optional Redemption" below.
Optional Repayment: The Notes cannot be repaid at the option of the
holder thereof prior to the stated maturity date.
Specified Currency: U.S. dollars
Form: The Notes are being issued in fully registered
book-entry form.
Other Provisions:
Use of Proceeds:
The net proceeds from the sale of the Notes will be used by Colgate
to retire commercial paper which was issued by Colgate for general
corporate purposes and working capital. As of August 7, 2000,
Colgate's outstanding commercial paper had a weighted average
interest rate of 6.57% with maturities ranging from 1 to 57 days.
Optional Redemption:
Colgate may at its option elect to redeem the Notes in whole, but not
in part, on August 21, 2003 or on any interest payment date
thereafter at 100% of their principal amount plus accrued interest to
but excluding the date of redemption. In the event Colgate elects to
redeem the Notes, notice will be given to registered holders not more
than 60 nor less than 30 days prior to the date the Notes are to be
redeemed.
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Redemption Risks:
Colgate may be expected to redeem the Notes on the redemption dates
specified above if prevailing interest rates on those dates are
anticipated to be lower than the rate borne by the Notes. Upon any
such redemption, registered holders and beneficial owners of the
Notes generally will not be able to reinvest the redemption proceeds
in a comparable security at an effective interest rate as high as the
interest rate on the Notes. Accordingly, prospective investors should
consider the related reinvestment risk in light of other investments
available at the time of an investment in the Notes.
The ability of Colgate to redeem the Notes at its option is likely to
affect the market value of the Notes. In particular, as a redemption
date approaches, the market value of the Notes generally will not
rise substantially above the redemption price because of this
optional redemption feature.
Supplemental Plan of Distribution:
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated, acting as
principal, has agreed to purchase, and Colgate has agreed to sell,
the Notes at 100% of their principal amount, for resale at varying
prices related to prevailing market prices and the terms of resale.
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated will realize
benefits in connection with a swap agreement to be entered into
between one of its affiliates and Colgate.
United States Federal Income Taxation
As noted in the Prospectus Supplement dated June 23, 2000, the
Treasury Department has issued new final regulations which generally
attempt to unify certification standards and modify reliance
standards with respect to withholding tax on income paid to foreign
persons and backup withholding. In particular, these regulations
replace the current IRS Form W-8, Form 4224 and Form 1001 with
various revised IRS Forms W-8 and provide that the current Form W-8,
Form 4224 and Form 1001 will be invalid after December 31, 2000.
Therefore, holders of Notes will be required to file the appropriate
revised Form W-8 before December 31, 2000.
