Public markets open up.(Financing Chemicals)(Cover Story)

Chemical Week, March, 2004 by Walsh, Kerri; Westervelt, Robert

Public equity markets are warming to chemicals once again, and private equity owners of chemical firms are gearing up to launch initial public offerings (IPO), bankers say. Stock valuations as a multiple of earnings have reached their highest level in 18 months, currently offering better remms on an investment than leveraged buyouts (LBO), bankers say. Compass Minerals recently completed an IPO, and Norsk Hydro is to spin off its fertilizer business via an IPO in Oslo later this month. Noveon International is expected to go public sometime this spring. Texas Petrochemicals (TPC; Houston) says it will seek a public listing after it emerges from bankruptcy. Bankers speculate that high valuations will drive other privately held chemical companies--including Huntsman and...

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