Huntsman to sell textile chemical unit to Archroma

Huntsman has agreed to sell its textile effects division to Archroma, a specialty chemical business owned by the investment firm SK Capital Partners, for $718 million. Based in Switzerland, Archroma is a supplier of chemicals to textile, paper, coating, and other markets.

The Huntsman business generated sales of $772 million and pretax profits of $94 million in the 12 months ending June 30. The deal includes pension liabilities totaling about $125 million. Huntsman expects to complete the transaction in the first half of 2023.

Peter Huntsman, Huntsman’s chairman, says in an announcement of the deal that the company had been looking at options for the business over the past several months following a strategic review.

Archroma was formed in 2013 when SK Capital acquired Clariant’s textile chemical, paper chemical, and emulsions businesses for $550 million. The textile chemical operations were formerly part of European firms including Sandoz, Hoechst, BASF, and Dohmen. Archroma will combine the Huntsman business with its own textile chemical division.

Archroma says the purchase will accelerate growth in sustainable textile chemicals. “Finally, we have achieved a dream of combining the technologies, products and capabilities of the legacy pioneers of the textile industry, namely Ciba, Sandoz, Hoechst and BASF, into a modern and cohesive enterprise that is focused on delivering innovative and sustainable systems and solutions,” Barry Siadat, co-founder of SK Capital and chairman of Archroma, says in a statement.