Failed Takeover
In June 2007, it was announced that Huntsman had agreed to be acquired by Access Industries, owned by the billionaire Len Blavatnik, for $5.88 billion in cash. Huntsman shareholders would receive $25.25 a share from Access Industries' chemical unit, Basell Holdings, based in Hoofddorp, the Netherlands. Access would assume $3.7 billion of Huntsman debt.
However, on July 12, 2007 the agreement was terminated as Huntsman agreed to be bought by Apollo Management for $6.51 billion or $28 a share. Huntsman filed a suit against Apollo Management and its two partners in Texas after the group backed out of the deal to purchase the chemical company. The suit alleged fraud against Apollo Management as Huntsman believed that the group never intended to allow its Hexion Specialty Chemicals unit to buy Huntsman Corp. for $6.5 billion. Huntsman also claimed Apollo put forth a higher bid to prevent the Basell AF buyout as it would have threatened Hexion's market share. Hexion stated Huntsman's declining financial position as the reason the deal was terminated. Upon termination of the Hexion merger agreement, the Huntsman stock value dropped by almost 50%.
In December 2008, Apollo and Hexion agreed to pay Huntsman $1 billion in return for Huntsman dropping all charges against them. A suit against the funding banks was settled in 2009 for $632 million in cash and $1.1 billion in loans to the Huntsman Corporation.
Read more about this topic: Huntsman Corporation
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