Huntsman CFO says company may look to buy back debt securities depending on conditions

By Jennifer Lanning Drey

Portland, Ore., Feb. 19 - Huntsman Corp. may look to repurchase or redeem its debt securities in the future through open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions or tender offers, J. Kimo Esplin, chief financial officer of Huntsman, said Friday during the company's fourth-quarter earnings conference call.

Such repurchases or redemptions will depend on prevailing market conditions, the company's liquidity requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors, he said.

Esplin also said during the call that any additional recoveries received in connection with the company's ongoing insurance claim related to a 2006 Texas facility fire will be used to repay secured debt.

Based on preliminary rulings, the company does not expect additional recoveries to exceed $200 million, he said.

Huntsman ended 2009 with $1.8 billion of cash and $800 million of unused borrowing capacity for total liquidity of $2.5 billion. The figure improved by $135 million during the year, which Esplin said was due to working capital management, reduced capital expenditures and minimal scheduled debt maturities.

Also during the call, Esplin noted that Huntsman is seeking to amend its existing revolving credit facility to reduce the available borrowing limit to $300 million and extend the maturity to February 2014 from August 2010.

The company has no cash borrowings outstanding under the facility and expects to use it primarily to facilitate the issuance of letters of credit and bank guarantees.

As previously reported, in January, Huntsman repurchased all of its outstanding 7% convertible notes due 2018 from funds controlled by Apollo Management, LP.

Huntsman is a Salt Lake City-based manufacturer and marketer of differentiated chemicals.

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