Deal gone bad: Huntsman's big bet tanks
Seems like there's a story to every deal that has gone bad in this credit crunch, with most ending in anger and a flurry of suits. About a year ago, Hexion, a company controlled by private equity giant Apollo, agreed to buy Huntsman for $10.6 billion, or $28 a share. It was an all-cash bid to be financed 100 percent by loans from Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse. The market displayed doubts that the deal would go through. But Peter Huntsman, founder of the chemical firm, and his dad saw a buying opportunity. They were so confident the deal would happen they bought up more than $18 million worth of Huntsman stock, recounts the New York Times. The stock is now worth about $9 billion. Huntsman told the Times, "I've got egg on my face. I shouldn't have trusted these guys," referring to Apollo principals Leon Black and Joshua Harris.
For more:
- here's the Times article
Related Article:
Another busted private equity deal




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