SK Capital buys more of Venator

New York-based SK Capital Partners has acquired most of Huntsman’s stake in TiO2 pigments and performance additives producer Venator Materials, which Huntsman span off in 2017. In all, it has bought a 40% stake or 42.5 million shares for about $100 million, including a 30-month option to buy the remaining 9.5 million at $2.15/share.

The deal should close by the end of the year, subject to regulatory approvals, making private investment firm SK the sole owner. SK is wholly focused on the speciality materials, chemicals and pharmaceuticals sectors, with pigments being a long-term focus, according to co-founder Barry Siadat.

Huntsman said that, with estimated cash tax savings of $150 million anticipated by offsetting the capital loss on the sale against the capital gain from the previous sale of its chemical intermediates and surfactants businesses to Indorama Ventures for $2 billion, it expects to secure an aggregate benefit of about $250 million in cash. This will be used to further bolster its balance sheet and enhance flexibility for further growth,” said CEO Peter Huntsman.

In all, SK’s portfolio generates over $9 billion/year, employs more than 10,000 people and operates 86 plants in 24 countries. It currently has approximately $4.8 billion of assets under management. Its last acquisition had been of the speciality polymers business of Baker Hughes in July, whose key products functional polymers and high melting point polyethylene waxes. This should also close within 2H 2020.