Huntsman family victorious over Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank in merger battle
Family-owned chemical company Huntsman Corp has claimed another victory in its bid to force through the disputed merger of their business with rival Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Inc.
The Huntsman family had sued Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, signatorys of an agreement committing them to finance the merger of Huntsman and Hexion, owned by private equity firm Apollo Management.
A district judge has now forbidden both banks from filing any lawsuit that seeks to declare that the combined Hexion/Huntsman entity would be insolvent, or that the combined entity would be unable to pay its debts when due.
"Two courts have now ruled in Huntsman's favour," said Peter R Huntsman, Huntsman's president and CEO. "We continue to press for consummation of the merger and, in light of this ruling, we hope the banks will now move forward constructively to live up to their commitment to fund Hexion's acquisition of Huntsman."
The judge further consolidated Huntsman's claims against the banks with Huntsman's previously filed claims against Apollo Management. He set a trial date of 9 February next year to begin a jury trial on all of Huntsman's claims for damages, which amount to more than $3 billion.
"Today's decision confirms our great faith in the American judicial system," said Jon M Huntsman, founder and chairman.
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