US Huntsman mum on possible acquisition of Tronox TiO2 assets

06 August 2009 19:05  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--Huntsman would not comment further about possibly acquiring the assets of bankrupt titanium dioxide (TiO2) producer Tronox, chief executive Peter Huntsman said on Thursday.

“If we see an opportunity that will benefit our shareholders, we’ll certainly look at that very closely,” Huntsman said in a conference call. “But we wouldn’t want to comment any more than we already have.”

Huntsman’s pigments segment posted second-quarter net sales of $254m (€175m), down 20.9% from sales of $321m in the 2008 second quarter amid lower selling prices and reduced demand from the global economic slowdown.

However, Huntsman said on the call that it believed the TiO2 industry was a “very good industry with great prospects”, and that it would look at all potential acquisitions on a case-by-case basis.

Tronox spokesman Robert Gibney said his company could not comment.

Tronox’s US operations filed for bankruptcy protection in January.

In recent weeks, the company has looked for a so-called stalking-horse bidder for essentially all of its plants and operating assets, which would establish a price floor for a public auction.

Huntsman traded down 92 cents mid-day Thursday at $6.44/share on the New York Stock Exchange, off 12.5%.

($1 = €0.69)

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By: Ben DuBose
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