Huntsman Corporation HUN
Huntsman, led by the founding family for its entire history, has missed three consecutive investor-day targets and lags peer EBITDA margins by ~900bps; Starboard's four nominees can unlock ~600bps of margin expansion.
Thesis
Starboard Value, holding an 8.4% stake, argues Huntsman Corporation has chronically underperformed peers since its 2005 IPO under CEO Peter Huntsman, a member of the founding family that has led the company throughout its 50-plus-year history. Total shareholder return trails Primary Peers by 742 percentage points since IPO, and 2021 Adjusted EBITDA margins sit at 15% versus a 24% primary-peer average — a ~900bps deficit that has widened over time. Management missed financial commitments at three consecutive Investor Days (2014, 2016, 2018), and the reactive January 2022 board refreshment installed directors Starboard deems conflicted or insufficiently independent. Starboard nominates four replacements — James Gallogly, Sandra Beach Lin, Susan Schnabel, and Jeffrey Smith — to the 10-person board, arguing credible oversight can drive ~600bps of margin expansion and restore accountability. Shareholders should vote the BLUE proxy card.
SCQA
Huntsman Corporation is a diversified chemicals company that went public in 2005 and has been led throughout its 50+ year history by members of the founding family, with Peter Huntsman as CEO since 2000 and Chairman since 2018.
Under Peter Huntsman's tenure the stock has returned +80% vs. +822% for Primary Peers, EBITDA margins trail peers by ~900bps and have worsened, and the Board has failed to enforce management commitments at three consecutive Investor Days.
Elect Starboard's four independent nominees — Gallogly, Beach Lin, Schnabel, and Smith — to the 10-person Board on the BLUE proxy card to enforce accountability, demand margin improvement, and oversee portfolio actions including a Textile Effects sale.
Starboard estimates ~600bps of run-rate Adjusted EBITDA margin expansion (from 15% to 21%) achievable via gross-margin and operating-expense improvements, closing the peer gap and unlocking substantial shareholder value.
The three reasons
- 1
Huntsman returned +80% since its 2005 IPO vs. +822% for Primary Peers under CEO Peter Huntsman.
- 2
Management failed three consecutive Investor-Day commitments (2014, 2016, 2018).
- 3
Four independent nominees can unlock ~600bps margin expansion and restore Board accountability.
Primary demands
- Elect Starboard's four independent nominees (Gallogly, Beach Lin, Schnabel, Smith) to Huntsman's 10-person Board at the 2022 Annual Meeting
- Replace four incumbent directors Starboard deems not truly independent or conflicted (Beckerle, Ferrari, Egan, Munoz)
- Hold Peter Huntsman and management accountable for delivering on financial commitments
- Drive ~600bps of Adjusted EBITDA margin improvement via commercial-execution, resource-reallocation, and manufacturing/supply-chain efficiencies
- Run a sale process for the non-core Textile Effects segment
- Improve governance, executive-compensation design, and ESG/TCFD disclosure
- Vote on Starboard's BLUE proxy card
KPIs cited
Pattern membership
Composition what's on the 237 slides
Slide gallery ·
Notes
Definitive additional proxy filing (DFAN14A) dated Feb 28, 2022 — full proxy-fight deck ahead of Huntsman's 2022 Annual Meeting. Starboard seeks minority (4 of 10) board representation via the BLUE proxy card. Nominees: James L. Gallogly (ex-LyondellBasell CEO), Sandra Beach Lin, Susan C. Schnabel, Jeffrey C. Smith (Starboard Managing Member). 238 pages — ~170 pages of body across 10 sections plus a large supplemental appendix from p.173. Rhetorical backbone is the 'fooled shareholders three times' motif anchored on 2014/2016/2018 Investor Day failures; reinforced by a founder-family entrenchment frame (Huntsmans have led the company every year since 1970). Heavy peer-gap charts (EBITDA margin, valuation multiple, ESG rating). Clean institutional Starboard visual style — consistent navy/red/grey palette, red-dashed 'replace' boxes over director photos on p.30. No sum-of-parts or DCF; thesis rests on peer-gap math and governance. Author attributed to Starboard Value LP as a firm; Jeffrey Smith appears only as a nominee, not as signatory.