Hariolf Kottmann, chief executive of Swiss chemicals group Clariant, said the company is looking for a new merger after a failed $ 20 billion merger with U.S. rival Huntsmith last week.
He told The Financial Times that it has always been a good choice to start a business by merging with a suitable company because Clariant's third-quarter results, which show that sales are accelerating, signify that it can grow on its own grow.
On Friday, Clariant was forced to abandon its $ 20 billion merger with Huntsman as White Tale Holdings, a group of activist investors backed by Corvex shareholder Keith Meister hedge funds, White Tale Holdings, a joint venture of Corvex and New York investment fund 40 North, owns more than 20% of Clariant's shares.
Kottmann said it is still too early to say whether White Tale is interested in helping Clariant grow or just want to maximize its investment value before exiting. "We do not know each other very well."
However, he said White Tale declined an invitation from Clariant, who hoped to explain how the company's growth strategy has evolved in recent years.
On Monday, White Tale asked Clariant for three board seats and an independent strategic review.
Clariant has said there will be a tremendous synergy with Huntsman M & A and will enhance its competitiveness in the rapidly integrating global chemicals industry. Kottmann said the deal was once considered 'best bet,' but White Tale Think he underestimated the value of Clariant, other options have not been properly explored.
Kottman said he is convinced that there are other amalgamating partners besides Huntsman, but did not specify the likely candidates, and the merger with a strong company would enable Clariant to reach its development goals more quickly and boost profits.
However, Kottman dismissed a massive 'transformational' acquisition of Clariant as an alternative to consolidation, arguing that the overvalued transaction would detract from shareholders 'value.' This is not advisable for us now of. '
Clariant announced that sales rose 12% in local currency terms to 1.6 billion Swiss francs in the three months to the end of September, up 10% to 4.7 billion Swiss francs in the first nine months of this year.
Clariant reiterated its aspiration to join the world's top specialty chemicals company and set forth a medium-term growth target of 16% to 19% excluding pre-tax profit margins. In the first nine months of the year profitability was 15.3%.