Specialist chemicals company Clariant has merged with Huntsman Corporation to create a global speciality chemical company, with an approximate $20 billion enterprise value at the time of the announcement.

The all-stock merger of equals was unanimously approved by both boards of directors and will be named HuntsmanClariant. The merger will create a company with combined sales of approximately $13.2 billion.

CEO of Clariant Hariolf Kottmann said, “This is the perfect deal at the right time. Clariant and Huntsman are joining forces to gain much broader global reach, create more sustained innovation power and achieve new growth opportunities.
“This is in the best interest of all of our stakeholders. Peter Huntsman and I share the same strategic vision and I look forward to working with him.”           

Clariant shareholders will hold a 52 percent stake while Huntsman’s shareholders will hold 48 percent, with global headquarters being located in Pratteln, Switzerland, and operational headquarters located in The Woodlands, Texas.

The combined company will be governed by a board of directors with equal representation by Clariant and Huntsman while Hariolf Kottmann, current Clariant CEO, will become Chairman of the Board of HuntsmanClariant, and Peter Huntsman, current Huntsman President and CEO, will become CEO of HuntsmanClariant.

The move is said to help focus on each company’s strengths, with the two companies said to be using a shared knowledge of sustainability with a ‘much stronger joint innovation platform.’