Huntsman Corporation (NYSE: HUN) announced today that it has completed the acquisition of the performance additives and titanium dioxide (TiO2) businesses of Rockwood Holdings, Inc. The company acquired the manufacturing capabilities of functional additives made from barium- and zinc-based inorganics used to make colors more brilliant, primarily in plastics, coatings, films, food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and paper. Titanium dioxide (TiO2) is a white pigment derived from titanium-bearing ores.
The company acquired the manufacturing capabilities of color pigments made from synthetic iron-oxide and other non-TiO2 inorganic pigments used by manufacturers of coatings and colorants. The company also acquired the manufacturing capabilities of wood protection chemicals for timber treatments, used primarily in residential and commercial applications, as well as water treatment products used to improve water purity in industrial, commercial and municipal applications, and speciality automotive molded componets.
Peter R. Huntsman, President and CEO of Huntsman Corporation, commented: “The successful completion of this acquisition better positions our company. It will be immediately accretive to our earnings before synergies of $130 million and provides further optionality for our pigments business. The addition of specialty titanium dioxide and performance additives will broaden our product offering and further enable our ability to build the most competitive and successful pigments and additives business in the world. The majority of earnings over the past 12 months have come from their specialty and niche TiO2 businesses, demonstrating the diversity and breadth of the business we are acquiring. Our existing business continues to perform very well. We see excellent growth for products such as our MDI polyurethanes, amines and aerospace composites and we have a number of projects underway that will fuel this growth. With the addition of the Rockwood businesses, we are well on our way to achieving our EBITDA goal of $2 billion within the next couple of years.”
Huntsman paid approximately $1 billion in cash and assumed certain unfunded European pension liabilities. Huntsman Corporation is a publicly traded global manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals with 2013 revenues of approximately $13 billion including the acquisition of Rockwood’s performance additives and TiO2 businesses. Huntsman chemical products number in the thousands and are sold worldwide to manufacturers serving a broad and diverse range of consumer and industrial end markets. Huntsman operates more than 100 manufacturing and R&D facilities in more than 30 countries and employs approximately 15,000 associates within 5 distinct business divisions.
