Huntsman and Clariant in US$20bn merger

US-BASED Huntsman and Switzerland’s Clariant have revealed a US$20bn merger, in an attempt to create a leading global speciality chemical company.

The new business, HuntsmanClariant, will supply a range of substances such as industrial catalysts, ingredients for cosmetics, and agrichemicals.

Hariolf Kottmann, CEO of Clariant, said: “This is the perfect deal at the right time. Clariant and Huntsman are joining forces to gain much broader global reach, create more sustained innovation power, and achieve new growth opportunities.”

Peter Huntsman, CEO of Huntsman, added: “Together, we will create a global leader in specialty chemicals with a combined balance sheet providing substantial financial strength and flexibility.”

The proposed merger of equals in an all-stock deal was announced today via a joint statement from the two companies. They stated that the move will create sales of approximately US$13.2bn, an adjusted EBITDA of US$2.3bn and a combined enterprise value of approximately US$20bn. Clariant’s shareholders will own 52% of the enlarged entity’s equity, with Huntsman’s having the remainder.

Clariant, formed as a spin-off from Sandoz in 1995, currently employs over 17,000 people and has a market value of €6.7bn (US$7.5), with net debt of about €1.5bn. Huntsman employs 15,000 people and has a market value of US$6.4bn, with a net debt of just under US$4bn.