Huntsman takes Albemarle to court

Huntsman Corp. has filed suit over what it claims was misrepresentation of red and yellow inorganic pigment technology in advance of its $1.1 billion purchase of Rockwood Holdings’ pigments business in 2014. Huntsman’s complaint, filed in the New York State Supreme Court, names as defendants Rockwood; Seifi Ghasemi, Rockwood’s CEO at the time; and Albemarle, which bought the rest of Rockwood in 2015. Huntsman alleges that Rockwood misled it about an iron oxide pigment technology intended to reduce reliance on expensive raw materials from China. A plant that Rockwood was building in Augusta, Ga., was supposed to save $30 million in annual production costs. Huntsman says Rockwood knew that a similar plant in Turin, Italy, was flawed. Albemarle says it doesn’t comment on active litigation.