NEWS OF THE WEEK BUSINESS
HUNTSMAN STRIKES FINANCING DEAL Family-owned firm will eliminate debt, but gain big outside shareholder
lower by $220 million, positioning it to weather the severest of future industry downturns. If the various transactions are successfully completed, they will herald a remarkable revival for companies that many were convinced would be forced to declare bankruptcy "Our advisers, most of our bankers, and virtually all of our outside legal counsel had written us off," Peter Huntsman says. "They were telling us, 'Bankruptcy is your only option, and you will be lucky to have 5% control of the company' " Still, although H u n t s m a n companies have had outside shareholders in the past, Global's stake is by far the largest and marks the beginning of a shift of Huntsman company control out of family hands. Peter Huntsman says Global's intent—and the intent of Huntsman family members, including founderJon M. Huntsman—is to largely cash out of the business within the next five to seven years. This will require some kind of "liquidity event," he says, such as a merger or public offering of stock in what is today the world's largest privately owned chemical maker.-MICHAEL MCCOY
WO COMPANIES CONTROLLED erational and board control of all by the Huntsman family are entities, holding nine out of 12 undergoing a major restrucseats on the Huntsman compaturing that will result in a third nies board. party Credit Suisse First Boston's Peter R. Huntsman, president Global Opportunities private eqand CEO of the Huntsman comuity fund, owning almost half of panies, says he is "absolutely dethe $8.5 billion-a-year Huntsman lighted" with the restructuring, chemical empire. which still requires bank approval. "We view this as a T h e companies — new start for the comHuntsman Corp. and pany," he says. Huntsman International—have been unT h r o u g h the two der severe financial deals, Huntsman compressure since spring of pany debt will drop by last year, when they $1 billion, Peter Huntswere hit with the douman says, reducing inble whammy of a poor terest payments alone economy and a run-up by $62.5 million a year. in natural gas prices. By Peter Huntsman Combine this savings late last year, Huntswith other cost-cutting man Corp., the family's North measures implemented over the American business, had failed to nine months, he says, and Huntsmake bond interest payments, man's annual expenses will be and Huntsman International, a mostly European operation, was EDUCATION out of compliance with loan covenants. Under agreements reached last n what could be a policy bellwether for othweek, Global Opportunities, er research universities, an MIT faculty Huntsman Corp.'s largest bondcommittee has stated that retaining an holder, will swap bonds worth open research environment with free flow of about $700 million and conresearch results and information is the best tribute certain assets for equity way for the university to fulfill its public servin a new holding company Sepaice responsibility. The committee's review covrately, Global will spend about ers both federally funded classified research $430 million to buy ICI's 30% and industry-sponsored research. interest in Huntsman International, the joint venture formed in "We recommend that no classified re1999 when ICI sold $4 billion search be carried out on campus; that no stuworth of chemical businesses to dent, graduate or undergraduate, should be Huntsman. required to have a security clearance to perform thesis research; and that no thesis reMost Huntsman-related chemsearch should be carried out in areas requirical assets will be put into the ing access to classified materials," the holding company, which will be committee stated in its report. owned 50.1% by the Huntsman In presenting its review, the MIT committee family and 49.9% by Global. The family will continue to have op-
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The red slurry that modified C-130A airplanes have been dropping on wildfires in the Western U.S. is 90% water, 8 to 10% fertilizer (usually ammonium phosphate, ammonium polyphosphate, or ammonium sulfate), colorants, and performance additives, according to Phoenixbased manufacturer Fire-Trol Holdings.
MIT Rejects Classified Research On Campus
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HTTP://PUBS.ACS.ORG/CEN
acknowledged the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks as an impetus for its review. Among other observations, it noted "a growing pressure to treat research results as sensitive." The committee concluded that because there is no consistent understanding or definition of what would constitute "sensitive" information, MIT should continue its policy of not agreeing to any sponsor's contractual request that research results be reviewed for the inadvertent disclosure of sensitive information. What's more, the committee stated that "MIT should not accept or hold any documents on its campus that are designated sensitive' or 'no foreign nationals,' or restrict any student from access to any course, on-campus seminar, or other similar forum."-WILLIAM SCHULZ
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