Pactiv Increases Share Repurchase Authorization

Lake Forest, Illinois, USA, 17 July 2006 –- Pactiv Corporation (NYSE: PTV) today announced that its board of directors has increased its share repurchase authorization by 10 million shares of its common stock. This new authorization, coupled with the remainder of the prior authorization, brings the total shares that can be repurchased to 12.1 million.

Stock purchases will be made from time to time, based on market conditions, and the shares may be purchased in open market or privately negotiated transactions. The repurchased shares will be held in Treasury and used for general corporate purposes. In the first half of the year the company repurchased 5.7 million shares.

Pactiv Corporation is a leading producer of specialty packaging products for the consumer and foodservice/food packaging markets. With sales of USD 2.8 billion, Pactiv has one of the broadest product lines in the specialty packaging industry and derives more than 80% of its sales from market sectors in which it holds the No. 1 or No. 2 market-share position. For more information about Pactiv, visit the company's Web site at www.pactiv.com.