Huntsman Corp. (The Woodlands, Tex.; www.huntsman.com) has completed the sale of its European surfactants business to Innospec Inc. (Littleton, Colo.; www.innospecinc.com) for an enterprise value of $225 million. This business represented approximately $24 million of EBITDA in 2015. Huntsman intends to make a $260 million early repayment of debt using proceeds from the sale and existing cash. This debt repayment is in addition to the recent debt reductions of $100 million in September 2016 and $100 million in July 2016.
Huntsman remains committed to its global surfactants business, including in the United States and Australia, where its differentiated surfactants businesses are backward integrated into essential feedstocks. Huntsman retained certain core products strategic to its global agrochemicals, lubes and other businesses and entered into supply and long-term tolling arrangements with Innospec to allow Huntsman to continue marketing some of these products.
The sale of the European surfactants business represents another step in Huntsman’s strategic transformation of its Performance Products business, which recently expanded its downstream positioning with a polyetheramines expansion in Singapore and is currently undertaking a substantial cost savings and business improvement initiative.
Peter R. Huntsman, President and CEO, commented: “By completing the sale of this business, we are executing our plan to focus on businesses within our portfolio with a greater long term strategic fit, while continuing to grow our downstream differentiated businesses. With the early repayment of another $260 million of debt using proceeds from the sale and existing cash, we have now repaid approximately $550 million of debt in 2016 and significantly strengthened our balance sheet.”