White Tale Holdings, which forced Clariant to scrap its planned $20-billion merger with Huntsman on Friday, has demanded three board seats at Clariant as well as a review of strategic alternatives by an independent financial advisor.
White Tale, an investment vehicle created by hedge fund Corvex Management (New York) and investment advisor 40 North Management (New York), says it has over 20% of Clariant shares.
Clariant says it has engaged in an initial discussion with White Tale and will continue talks with shareholders in the coming weeks. The company says it will present its existing growth strategy and listen to White Tale’s plans and review suggestions, including the call for board seats. White Tale’s requests will be discussed in its next board meeting, Clariant says.
White Tale says it will call an extraordinary general meeting if it is unable to reach agreement with Clariant. “While the termination of the ill-conceived Huntsman merger is a positive first step in executing on this strategy, by no means is this a cause for celebration,” White Tale says in a statement. “Unfortunately, Clariant management’s comments since Friday betray a desire to go back in time and pretend this episode did not occur. It is not October 2016. We have been both consistent and clear on what we believe is next for Clariant.”
By Francinia Protti-Alvarez
Source: Chemical Week
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