Procter & Gamble plant Utah-bound?

Bhaskar noted that economic development officials had been working on the project for more than two years. Perry said negotiations featured Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s direct involvement.

"Congratulations to everybody," board member Gerald Sherratt said. "You've done a great job. I hope this works."

Cincinnati-based P&G has more than 138,000 employees in more than 80 countries and provides products and services to people in more than 180 countries, according to the company's Web site.

The incentive approved Tuesday is the largest the state has ever offered. In March 2006, the board approved a tax rebate for IM Flash Technologies LLC's headquarters in Lehi. The incentive was estimated at the time to be about $15 million. It involved a rebate of up to 30 percent of new incremental state revenue over a five-year period after the plant is operating.

P&G, founded 170 years ago this month, had revenue of $76.5 billion, operating income of $15.45 billion and net income of $10.34 billion for the year ended June 30. During the fiscal fourth quarter, the company reported revenue of $19.3 billion, operating income of $3.4 billion and net income of $2.26 billion. It has 23 brands that each generate more than $1 billion in annual sales and 18 brands with sales between $500 million and $1 billion.

Overall, the company has nearly 300 brands. In press materials, it notes that its brands "touch the lives of people around the world" three billion times a day.

The company's market capitalization is more than $200 billion, making it the seventh most valuable company in the country and 13th-ranked in the world.

The company's chairman and chief executive officer, A.G. Lafley, said at a shareholders meeting Tuesday that the company is "designed to grow for the short, mid- and long term — consistently, reliably and sustainably."

---

E-mail: bwallace@desnews.com