Olin, Huntsman Merger of Equals Clears U.S. Antitrust Hurdle
Olin Corporation OLN and Huntsman Corporation HUN have fulfilled another key criterion toward completing the proposed all-stock merger of equals, as previously announced. The companies announced that the waiting period under the U.S. Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 has expired, satisfying one of the major closing conditions for the transaction. The requisite additional regulatory approvals still remain in progress.
The latest development is in connection with the merger of equals to create OlinHuntsman Corporation, a leading integrated North American chemicals company with approximately $12.5 billion in 2025 revenues. The merger will combine Olin’s large-scale chlor-alkali and feedstock capabilities with Huntsman’s specialty downstream products, polyurethane systems and advanced materials businesses.
The transaction is expected to generate more than $400 million in cost synergies and integration benefits, including more than $300 million from purchasing efficiencies, raw-material integration, operational optimization and SG&A savings. The companies also expect about $125 million in cash tax benefits from accelerated use of net operating losses. The deal remains targeted to be completed in the first half of 2027, subject to remaining regulatory and customary closing conditions.
Shares of OLN have lost 32.2% while HUN has decreased 8.6% over the past year against the industry’s 2.6% decline.
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Zacks Rank & Key Picks
OLN and HUN currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold) each.
Some better-ranked stocks in the Basic Materials space are Reliance, Inc. RS and Carpenter Technology Corporation CRS.
While RS currently sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), CRS carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for RS’ 2026 earnings is pegged at $22.53 per share, indicating a 57.99% year-over-year increase. RSshares have gained 35.5% over the past year.
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for CRS’ fiscal 2027 earnings is pegged at $13.28 per share, indicating a rise of 23.42% year over year. Its earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the trailing four quarters, with an average surprise of 8.39%.
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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
