VitalAccurateThinking

Koch buys some Huntsman operations | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Well, color me surprised. Koch Industries buys Huntsman's chemicals and polymers business. These businesses have had a rough go of it in the last 10 years, but the last two or three have seen massive profit improvement. I am wondering if Huntsman is anticipating a downturn and selling at the top. Koch is known for shrewed acquisition and management as well as being cheap. They probably did not pay a premium.

I wonder what the strategy change caused Huntsman to sell and Koch to buy. I also wonder if there were bids by other companies looking to get bigger in chemicals and plastics to leverage economies of scale. If so, why Koch and why not ExxonMobil, ChevronPhillips or BP?

posted by Jim VAT @ 9:31 PM