Specialty chemicals companies Clariant and Huntsman sign merger agreement

摘要

Provided competition authorities and shareholders approve the merger plans, a leading global company will be created in the specialty chemicals segment. Swiss Clariant and US Huntsman Corporation together announced that they signed a definitive agreement to combine in a merger of equals through an all-stock transaction. The new company will do business under the name of Huntsman-Clariant and, on a pro forma 2016 basis, generate sales of $13.2bn, an adjusted EBITDA of $2.3bn and have a combined enterprise value of around $20bn. Clariant shareholders will hold 52% and Huntsman shareholders 48% in the combined company. Global headquarters will be located in Pratteln, Switzerland, and the operational headquarters in the Woodlands, in the US-state of Texas. The merged company expects annual cost synergies of around $400m and a value creation of $3.5bn. The synergies are forecast to arise from lower operating costs and improved procurement. Hariolf Kottman, Clariant's present CEO, will become the Chairman of the Board of HuntsmanClariant. Peter Huntsman, the current President and CEO of Huntsman, will be the CEO of the combined company. The parties involved expect the transaction to be finalised by the end of 2017.