Huntsman: A Good Price on a Busted Buyout Deal

The SKP merger arbitrage is finally closing on June 30, so I've been looking around for other investments in that space.

I bought some shares of Huntsman (HUN) on Friday when the share price was driven down that morning. Huntsman is a busted buyout deal. Hexion, owned by private equity firm Apollo, bid $28 for HUN last year, but recently tried to back out of the $6.5 billion acquisition, claiming that the combined company would be insolvent. Huntsman’s stock got hammered on the news. But Huntsman is fighting back, suing Apollo in Texas state court for $3 Billion, where it accused the buyout firm of fraud and duplicity.

Here are some reasons I bought HUN:

1. I am not an attorney, but I feel that Huntsman has a good case here, especially in front of a Texas jury. Apollo made a deal and is trying to weasel out of it.
2. I believe a lot of the recent selling was due to selling by merger arbitrage hedge funds or mutual funds that sold for "window dressing" purposes to remove HUN from their second quarter portfolios.
3. Insider Buying: HUN management recently made large purchases at above $20/share.
4. Apollo and HUN may reach a compromise at a lower price, say 25.
5. Another buyer may emerge.
6. At this price level, HUN seems like a good value as a standalone company.

 

Full Disclosure: I am long HUN shares.