Huntsman plans to spin off its pigments business
Huntsman Corp. plans to spin off its specialty chemical business – rather than sell it – and create a new publicly traded company by early next year.
“The goal is to create a new company with much of its pigments and additives business now that it is slowly returning to profitability”, said Huntsman CEO Peter Huntsman according to a media report. The spin off will specifically focus on the titanium dioxide chemical, which is used as a pigment for everything – from food colouring and paints to sunscreen.
Smallest TiO2 plant should be closed
Last year was termed a transition year after the purchase of EUR890 million of assets from Rockwood Holdings in late 2014. Huntsman’s biggest financial drag has been its TiO2 plants, some of which came from Rockwood. Huntsman is in the process of closing its smallest titanium dioxide plant, which is located in South Africa.
Company has begun eliminating jobs
The company began eliminating at least 900 jobs last year, mostly in Europe, by mid-2016 in order to save about EUR116 million annually. About 75 percent of the cuts are at three titanium dioxide manufacturing plants in Germany and Finland. Now that the titanium dioxide business is coming back to a small profit with growth potential, Huntsman said, it is ready to stand on its own and stop harming the value of Huntsman’s stock.
