Olin to buy Huntsman in a $2.43 billion deal amid challenging chemicals market

Olin Corp has agreed to acquire Huntsman Corporation in a deal valued at approximately $2.43 billion, bringing together two chemicals companies both currently running negative net margins and declining or stagnant revenues. OLN posted -1.5% net margins on $6.8B in revenue while HUN reported -4.0% net margins on $5.7B revenue (down 5.8% YoY), meaning neither acquirer nor target is operating from a position of financial strength — a notable backdrop for a large combination.

The immediate setup is a classic merger-arb in HUN: shares should trade toward deal terms with a spread reflecting deal-close risk, while OLN faces the classic acquirer discount given balance sheet and integration concerns in a challenging macro environment for chemicals. The key watches are deal financing structure, regulatory clearance timeline, and whether the combined entity can achieve cost synergies that neither business has managed alone — with both companies currently loss-making on a net basis, execution risk is elevated.