Huntsman Corporation (HUN)

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Moody's Lowers Huntsman Further Into Junk Territory




AUGUST 7, 2009, 2:52 P.M. ET

DOW JONES NEWSWIRES

Moody's Investors Service cut its credit ratings on Huntsman Corp. (HUN) further into junk territory, saying the chemicals company would face significant margin pressure as volumes fall across nearly all segments.

The downgrade also includes the greater-than-anticipated decline in business performance over the last three quarters and the expectation of a slow recovery in its key markets.

On Friday, the ratings agency lowered its ratings by one notch to B1, or four steps to junk. The downgrade comes a day after Huntsman reported continued demand slump as it posted a second-quarter profit on a big gain from its failed buyout. Results fell short of analysts' expectations.

In June, Huntsman ended a year of legal wrangling when the company, Credit Suisse Group (CS) and Deutsche Bank AG (DB) settled their lawsuit over the collapsed buyout of Huntsman, with Huntsman receiving $632 million and an extension on a $1.1 billion loan. Apollo Management LP's portfolio company Hexion Specialty Chemicals Inc. (HXN) originally agreed to buy Huntsman in July 2007 for $6.5 billion.

The outlook for Huntsman's ratings is stable, as Moody's analyst Bill Reed noted the company doesn't have any near-term debt maturities until 2013.

Shares were down 1.2% to $6.45 in recent trading.

-By John Kell, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2480; [e-mail]