The strong plastics market has given them strength to raise prices enough to cover higher raw material costs.īlavatnik, the financier behind Basell, drew attention in May when he announced plans to buy an 8.3 percent stake in Houston-based Lyondell Chemical Co. Larger size could help the companies negotiate better terms with suppliers.Ĭhemical companies also look more attractive to investors because they have benefited from growing demand for plastic used in everything from soda bottles to automobiles. Hexion is listed as the 16th-largest chemical company with revenue of $5.2 billion.Ĭhemical companies have been dealing with high costs for its primary raw materials, petroleum products. Huntsman is based in Salt Lake City but operates from the Houston area.įortune magazine lists Huntsman's annual revenue at $13.1 billion. Hexion said Huntsman told Basell it would continue to recommend the Dutch firm's bid to shareholders for three business days, or the close of business on Tuesday, after which it could oppose the deal _ essentially inviting Basell to sweeten its offer. Hexion said Friday that Huntsman had determined that its bid was superior to the Basell offer. Apollo would also assume about $4 billion in Huntsman debt. On Monday, Apollo's Hexion raised its offer to $28 per share, or more than $6.5 billion after factoring in about 233 million diluted shares of Huntsman, said an Apollo spokesman, Jonathan Gasthalter. But Apollo topped that by offering $27.25 per share. industrialist Len Blavatnik's Access Industries Inc., had the early inside track on bidding for Huntsman.īasell offered $25.25 per share. The company had sales of $6.6 billion last year.īasell, a Dutch holding company controlled by U.S. About two-thirds of Univar's business is in the United States, with the rest in Europe. In March, Univar agreed to pay $600 million for privately held Chemcentral Corp. The offer, a 37 percent premium over Univar's closing stock price on Friday, was supported by the Univar board. The bidding for Huntsman is among the latest in a wave of deals in the chemicals industry, as companies try to bulk up.Īlso on Monday, London-based private equity firm CVC Capital Partners bid $2 billion for Dutch chemicals distributor Univar NV. "We are considering our options, and we'll decide over the next few days what our plan is," said the Basell spokesman, Stan Neve. Basell has until the close of business Tuesday to get back in the bidding. A spokesman for Basell wouldn't say whether the Dutch firm had been preparing a new offer _ or would respond to the latest move by Apollo. It wasn't clear whether Apollo raised its bid to impress the Huntsman board _ which was still recommending shareholders accept a sale to Basell _ or if it was trying to pre-empt a counteroffer from Basell.Ī spokesman for Apollo declined to comment. unit by 2.7 percent even though the Huntsman board had judged its earlier offer superior to one that Huntsman had already accepted from the Dutch company Basell. Apollo raised the bid by its Hexion Specialty Chemicals Inc.
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