The Huntsman activist defense presentation highlighted below does a very good job of explaining why Starboard is focused on a set of concerns that the company has already addressed and while we would generally not comment on something like this, we agree with Huntsman’s assessment that the proposed Board changes bring nothing to the table. Where the Starboard activity may help is improving Huntsman’s communications, as while the company has done a good job, in our view, of repositioning, it has done a less good job, until now, of communicating what the changes mean. The presentation linked below does a much better job than anything we have seen from the company in the past. To be fairer to Huntsman, the chemical industry has always had trouble communicating strategy shifts and portfolio transformations to stakeholders and there have been several instances of good stories not turning into good businesses – Eastman had some false starts in the past but has not been alone with these problems. It often takes some time for investors to believe in a new business model and this is where good corporate communications strategies can help. This presentation is a good start for Huntsman.
