Activist investor wants to end Clariant, Huntsman deal

Activist investment group White Tail Holdings increased its stake in Clariant to 15.1 percent in an effort to stop its $20 billion merger with Huntsman Corp.

“As you know, we have attempted to work constructively with you and your advisers over the past two months, out of the public spotlight, to better understand the board’s questionable logic in pursuing Clariant’s proposed merger,” the group wrote in a letter to Clariant’s board. “Unfortunately, we remain convinced, and increasingly so, that the proposed merger is detrimental to Clariant shareholders.”

White Tail officials said the chemical companies deal would make Clariant an “unfocused and commodity-oriented business with increased volatility and a lower market multiple.”

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