Apollo Makes A Bad Call
I have never used this space to write about the protracted battle between Huntsman Corp. and Hexion Specialty Chemicals. And it would seem that the opportunity has passed me by, given that both sides recently agreed to a termination of their $6.5 billion merger agreement, and to a $1 billion settlement of Huntsman’s litigation against Hexion owner Apollo Management. But I beg of your indulgence, because I’ve been left with a nagging question since the settlement was announced on Sunday night: Namely, who exactly is paying the various pieces of that $1 billion? To be sure, it isn’t all coming out of Leon Black’s pocket. Perhaps more importantly, some of the pockets involved seem to be getting picked. What follows is based on interviews with limited partners in some, or all, of Apollo’s past four funds. In addition, peHUB has obtained confidential correspondence that Apollo sent its investors on December 15. Apollo itself declined to comment.
