OLIN and HUNTSMAN Announce Expiration of Hart-Scott-Rodino Waiting Period for Proposed Merger
OLIN and Huntsman said the U.S. antitrust waiting period for their proposed merger has expired, clearing a key Hart-Scott-Rodino review step. The announcement reduces one regulatory hurdle, but closing still depends on the transaction’s remaining conditions and the companies’ weak recent profitability leaves execution risk in focus.
Olin and Huntsman announced on Sept. 11 that the waiting period required under the U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act had expired for their proposed merger. The companies did not disclose additional transaction terms or say in the announcement that the merger had closed.
The HSR step is a procedural milestone in U.S. merger review: once the waiting period expires, the transaction can move beyond that initial antitrust waiting period, subject to other applicable conditions. The announcement marks a change from the prior status of the deal, when this review period remained outstanding.
For Olin, the transaction touches a company with FY2025 revenue of $6.8 billion, up 3.7% year over year, but a -1.5% net margin and dilutive EPS of $-0.88. Huntsman reported FY2025 revenue of $5.7 billion, down 5.8% year over year, with a -5.0% net margin and dilutive EPS of $-1.65. Those figures frame the potential combination against pressure on both businesses rather than against a backdrop of strong current earnings.
The release did not state that all regulatory reviews were complete, identify the remaining closing conditions, or provide a closing date. It also did not quantify expected synergies, financing effects, or the terms under which either company could terminate the agreement.
The next decisive markers are the companies’ disclosures on remaining approvals, shareholder or other closing conditions, and any announced completion date. Future filings or transaction updates would need to establish the merger consideration, expected timing, and how the combined company would address the two businesses’ recent losses.
The expired HSR waiting period moves the regulatory risk lower for OLN and HUN, but the merger case still rests on closing conditions and a turnaround from both companies’ FY2025 losses.
The milestone removes one U.S. antitrust waiting-period hurdle, which lowers execution risk for the proposed combination, but it does not establish that closing is imminent or that the economics are attractive. The unresolved terms, timing and post-close earnings path matter more because OLN and HUN both reported negative FY2025 net margins, at -1.5% and -5.0% respectively.
The read fails if remaining regulatory or closing conditions delay or block the merger, or if subsequent disclosures show weak transaction economics and limited operational improvement.
CoverageSource: PR Newswire · Published here FRI, SEP 11 · 7:30 AM ET · the only report in this recordHow this is decided →
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The expired HSR waiting period removes a named U.S. antitrust procedural hurdle and leaves the proposed merger with a clearer path toward completion.
The announcement does not disclose closing terms, a completion date, or expected synergies, while FY2025 net margins were -1.5% for OLN and -5.0% for HUN.
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