COLUMBUS, Ohio - (January 25, 2008) - Hexion Specialty Chemicals announced today that both it and Huntsman Corporation have agreed to allow additional time for the Federal Trade Commission to review the proposed merger of the two companies. As a result, the merger is not expected to close before May 3. To accommodate the extension, Hexion has also given notice to Huntsman that on April 5, it will exercise its option to extend the Termination Date under the Merger Agreement for 90 days, and thus, if the conditions to Hexion's extension right are met on April 5, the termination date under the Merger Agreement will be extended until July 4, 2008.
"This extension is not unusual in a transaction of this size involving numerous global locations," said Craig O. Morrison, Hexion's Chairman and CEO. "We are fully cooperating with regulatory agencies and will continue to work closely with Huntsman and the agencies in order to obtain the regulatory approvals required to complete the merger."
Hexion announced on July 12, 2007, that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Huntsman Corporation in an all-cash transaction valued at approximately $10.6 billion, including the assumption of debt. The transaction was approved by Huntsman shareholders on October 16, 2007 and is subject to customary closing conditions, including regulatory approval in the U.S. and several other countries.
About Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Inc.
Based in Columbus, Ohio, Hexion Specialty Chemicals is the global leader in thermoset resins. Hexion serves the global wood and industrial markets through a broad range of thermoset technologies, specialty products and technical support for customers in a diverse range of applications and industries. The company is controlled an affiliate of Apollo Management, L.P. Additional information is available at www.hexion.com.
Forward Looking Statements
Certain statements in this press release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In addition, the management of Hexion Specialty Chemicals, Inc. (which may be referred to as "Hexion," "we," "us," "our" or the "Company") may from time to time make oral forward-looking statements. Forward looking statements may be identified by the words "believe," "expect," "anticipate," "project," "plan," "estimate," "will" or "intend" or similar expressions. Forward-looking statements reflect our current views about future events and are based on currently available financial, economic and competitive data and on our current business plans. Actual results could vary materially depending on risks and uncertainties that may affect our markets, services, prices and other factors as discussed in our 2006 Annual Report on Form 10-K, and our other filings, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to: economic factors such as an interruption in the supply of or increased pricing of raw materials due to natural disasters, competitive factors such as pricing actions by our competitors that could affect our operating margins, and regulatory factors such as changes in governmental regulations involving our products that lead to environmental and legal matters as described in our 2006 Annual Report on Form 10-K, and our other filings, with the SEC.