Huntsman CORP - Annual Report: 2014 (Form 10-K)

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UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549

Form 10-K

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Exchange Act:

Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Exchange Act:

           Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

           Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act.

           Indicate by check mark whether the registrant: (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Exchange Act during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports) and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.

           Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically and posted on its corporate Web site, if any, every Interactive Data File required to be submitted and posted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit and post such files).

           Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of the registrants' knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ý

           Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, or a smaller reporting company. See the definitions of "large accelerated filer," "accelerated filer," and "smaller reporting company" in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

           Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act).

           On June 30, 2014, the last business day of the registrants' most recently completed second fiscal quarter, the aggregate market value of voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates was as follows:

           On February 9, 2015, the number of shares outstanding of each of the registrant's classes of common equity were as follows:

           This Annual Report on Form 10-K presents information for two registrants: Huntsman Corporation and Huntsman International LLC. Huntsman International LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Huntsman Corporation and is the principal operating company of Huntsman Corporation. The information reflected in this Annual Report on Form 10-K is equally applicable to both Huntsman Corporation and Huntsman International LLC, except where otherwise indicated.

           Huntsman International LLC meets the conditions set forth in General Instructions (I)(1)(a) and (b) of Form 10-K and, to the extent applicable, is therefore filing this form with a reduced disclosure format.

Documents Incorporated by Reference

Part III: Proxy Statement for the 2014 Annual Meeting of Stockholders to be filed within 120 days of
Huntsman Corporation's fiscal year ended December 31, 2014.

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HUNTSMAN CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
HUNTSMAN INTERNATIONAL LLC AND SUBSIDIARIES
2014 ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

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HUNTSMAN CORPORATION AND SUBSIDIARIES
HUNTSMAN INTERNATIONAL LLC AND SUBSIDIARIES
2014 ANNUAL REPORT ON FORM 10-K

        With respect to Huntsman Corporation, certain information set forth in this report contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements include statements concerning our plans, objectives, goals, strategies, future events, future revenues or performance, capital expenditures, financing needs, plans or intentions relating to acquisitions or dispositions and other information that is not historical information. In some cases, forward-looking statements can be identified by terminology such as "believes," "expects," "may," "will," "should," "anticipates" or "intends" or the negative of such terms or other comparable terminology, or by discussions of strategy. We may also make additional forward-looking statements from time to time. All such subsequent forward-looking statements, whether written or oral, by us or on our behalf, are also expressly qualified by these cautionary statements.

        All forward-looking statements, including without limitation management's examination of historical operating trends, are based upon our current expectations and various assumptions. Our expectations, beliefs and projections are expressed in good faith and we believe there is a reasonable basis for them, but there can be no assurance that management's expectations, beliefs and projections will result or be achieved. All forward-looking statements apply only as of the date made. We undertake no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking statements which may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

        There are a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from the forward-looking statements contained in or contemplated by this report. Any forward-looking statements should be considered in light of the risks set forth in "Part I. Item 1A. Risk Factors" and elsewhere in this report.

        This report includes information with respect to market share, industry conditions and forecasts that we obtained from internal industry research, publicly available information (including industry publications and surveys), and surveys and market research provided by consultants. The publicly available information and the reports, forecasts and other research provided by consultants generally state that the information contained therein has been obtained from sources believed to be reliable. We have not independently verified any of the data from third-party sources, nor have we ascertained the underlying economic assumptions relied upon therein. Similarly, our internal research and forecasts are based upon our management's understanding of industry conditions, and such information has not been verified by any independent sources.

        For convenience in this report, the terms "Company," "our," "us," or "we" may be used to refer to Huntsman Corporation and, unless the context otherwise requires, its subsidiaries and predecessors. Any references to our "Company," "we," "us" or "our" as of a date prior to October 19, 2004 (the date of our formation) are to Huntsman Holdings, LLC and its subsidiaries (including their respective predecessors). In this report, "Huntsman International" refers to Huntsman International LLC (our 100% owned subsidiary) and, unless the context otherwise requires, its subsidiaries; "HPS" refers to Huntsman Polyurethanes Shanghai Ltd. (our consolidated splitting joint venture with Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical Company, Ltd); "Sasol-Huntsman" refers to Sasol-Huntsman GmbH and Co. KG (our consolidated joint venture with Sasol that owns and operates a maleic anhydride facility in Moers, Germany); and "SLIC" refers to Shanghai Liengheng Isocyanate Investment BV (an unconsolidated manufacturing joint venture with BASF and three Chinese chemical companies).

        In this report, we may use, without definition, the common names of competitors or other industry participants. We may also use the common names or abbreviations for certain chemicals or products. Many of these terms are defined in the Glossary of Chemical Terms found at the conclusion of "Part I. Item 1. Business" below.

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PART I

ITEM 1.    BUSINESS

GENERAL

        We are a global manufacturer of differentiated organic chemical products and of inorganic chemical products. Our Company, a Delaware corporation, was formed in 2004 to hold the businesses of Huntsman Holdings, LLC, a company founded by Jon M. Huntsman. Mr. Huntsman founded the predecessor to our Company in 1970 as a small polystyrene plastics packaging company. Since then, we have grown through a series of significant acquisitions and now own a global portfolio of businesses.

        We operate all of our businesses through Huntsman International, our 100% owned subsidiary. Huntsman International is a Delaware limited liability company and was formed in 1999.

        Our principal executive offices are located at 500 Huntsman Way, Salt Lake City, Utah 84108, and our telephone number at that location is (801) 584-5700.

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Rockwood Acquisition

        On October 1, 2014, we completed the acquisition of the Performance Additives and Titanium Dioxide businesses (the "Rockwood Acquisition") of Rockwood Holdings, Inc. ("Rockwood"). These businesses manufacture and market titanium dioxide and performance additives products. We paid $1.04 billion in cash, subject to certain purchase price adjustments, and assumed certain unfunded pension liabilities in connection with the Rockwood Acquisition. The Rockwood Acquisition was financed using a bank term loan.

        The following businesses were acquired from Rockwood:

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titanium dioxide, a white pigment derived from titanium bearing ores, with strong specialty business in fibers, inks, pharmaceuticals, food and cosmetics;



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functional additives made from barium and zinc-based inorganics used to make colors more brilliant, primarily in plastics, coatings, films, food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and paper industries;



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color pigments made from synthetic iron-oxide and other (not titanium dioxide) inorganic pigments used by manufacturers of coatings and colorants;



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timber treatment wood protection chemicals used primarily in residential and commercial applications;



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water treatment products used to improve water purity in industrial, commercial and municipal applications; and



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specialty automotive molded components.

        The unaudited condensed combined balance sheet of the acquired businesses as of June 30, 2014 and the unaudited condensed combined statements of operations, comprehensive income (loss), cash flows, and changes in parent company equity of the acquired businesses for the six months ended June 30, 2014 and June 30, 2013 can be found in our current report on Form 8-K filed on October 7, 2014.

        In connection with securing certain regulatory approvals required to complete the Rockwood Acquisition, we sold our TiO2 TR52 product line used in printing inks to Henan Billions Chemicals Co., Ltd. ("Henan") in December 2014. The sale did not include any manufacturing assets but does include an agreement to supply TR52 to Henan.

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Pigments and Additives Restructuring

        On December 1, 2014, we announced that we are taking significant action to improve the global competitiveness of our Pigments and Additives segment. As part of a comprehensive restructuring program, we plan to reduce our workforce by approximately 900 positions. Annual cost savings are expected to exceed $130 million and are expected to be achieved by the middle of 2016. In connection with this restructuring program, we recorded restructuring expense of $57 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 related primarily to workforce reductions. We expect to record additional restructuring expense in 2015 once negotiations of employee termination benefits with European works councils are completed.

        On February 12, 2015, we announced plans to reduce our titanium dioxide capacity by approximately 100 kt by closing specific operations at our Calais, France facility, subject to consultation with employees and appropriate representative groups. Annual cost savings are expected to be approximately $35 million and are expected to be achieved by the middle of 2016. This plan is in addition to that announced on December 1, 2014.

Notes Issuance

        In November 2014, Huntsman International issued $400 million in aggregate principal amount of senior notes carrying an interest rate of 5.125% and maturing on November 15, 2022 (the "2022 Senior Notes"). We used the net proceeds of this offering to redeem all of our 8.625% senior subordinated notes due 2020 (the "2020 Senior Subordinated Notes"), including accrued interest, and for general corporate purposes.

OVERVIEW

        We operate in five segments: Polyurethanes, Performance Products, Advanced Materials, Textile Effects and Pigments and Additives. Our products comprise a broad range of chemicals and formulations which we market globally to a diversified group of consumer and industrial customers. Our products are used in a wide range of applications, including those in the adhesives, aerospace, automotive, construction products, personal care and hygiene, durable and non-durable consumer products, electronics, medical, packaging, paints and coatings, power generation, refining, synthetic fiber, textile chemicals and dye industries. We are a leading global producer in many of our key product lines, including MDI, amines, surfactants, maleic anhydride, epoxy-based polymer formulations, textile chemicals, dyes, titanium dioxide and color pigments. Our administrative, research and development and manufacturing operations are primarily conducted at the facilities listed in "—Item 2. Properties" below, which are located in more than 30 countries. As of December 31, 2014, we employed approximately 16,000 associates worldwide. Our revenues for the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012 were $11,578 million, $11,079 million and $11,187 million, respectively.

Our Products

        We produce differentiated organic and inorganic chemical products. Our Polyurethanes, Performance Products, Advanced Materials and Textile Effects segments produce differentiated organic chemical products and our Pigments and Additives segment produces primarily inorganic chemical products.

        Growth in our differentiated products has been driven by the substitution of our products for other materials and by the level of global economic activity. Accordingly, the profitability of our differentiated products has been somewhat less influenced by the cyclicality that typically impacts the petrochemical

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industry. Titanium dioxide, within our Pigments and Additives segment, is cyclical and influenced by seasonal demand patterns in the coatings industry.

2014 Segment Revenues(1)		2014 Segment Adjusted EBITDA(1)

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        The following table identifies the key products, their principal end markets and applications and representative customers of each of our business segments:

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For additional information about our business segments, including related financial information, see "Note 24. Operating Segment Information" to our consolidated financial statements and "Part II. Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations" of this Form 10-K.

Polyurethanes

General

        We are a leading global manufacturer and marketer of a broad range of polyurethane chemicals, including MDI products, PO, polyols, PG and TPU (each discussed in more detail below under "—Products and Markets"). Polyurethane chemicals are used to produce rigid and flexible foams, as well as coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers. We focus on the higher-margin, higher-growth markets for MDI and MDI-based polyurethane systems. Growth in our Polyurethanes segment has been driven primarily by the continued substitution of MDI-based products for other materials across a broad range of applications. We operate five primary polyurethane manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Europe and China. We also operate 18 polyurethane systems houses located in close proximity to our customers worldwide (see facilities listed in "—Item 2. Properties" below), which we believe enables us to focus on customer support and service. We also operate a specialty polyol manufacturing facility focused on the insulation market and three TPU manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Europe and China.

        Our customers produce polyurethane products through the combination of an isocyanate, such as MDI, with polyols, which are derived largely from PO and EO. We are able to produce over 2,000 distinct MDI-based polyurethane products by modifying the MDI molecule through varying the proportion and type of polyol used and by introducing other chemical additives to our MDI formulations. As a result, polyurethane products, especially those derived from MDI, are continuing to replace traditional products in a wide range of end-use markets, including insulation in construction and appliances, cushioning for automotive and furniture, adhesives, wood binders, footwear and other specialized engineering applications.

        We are one of three North American producers of PO. We and some of our customers process PO into derivative products, such as polyols for polyurethane products, PG and various other chemical products. End uses for these derivative products include applications in the home furnishings, construction, appliances, packaging, automotive and transportation, food, paints and coatings and cleaning products industries. We also produce MTBE as a co-product of our PO manufacturing process. MTBE is an oxygenate that is blended with gasoline to reduce harmful vehicle emissions and to enhance the octane rating of gasoline. See "—Item 1A. Risk Factors."

        In 1992, we were the first global supplier of polyurethane chemicals to open a technical service center in China. We have since expanded this facility to include an integrated polyurethanes formulation facility. In January 2003, we entered into two related joint ventures to build MDI production and finishing facilities near Shanghai, China. Production at our MDI finishing plant near Shanghai, China operated by HPS, a consolidated joint venture, was commissioned on June 30, 2006. Production at the MNB, aniline and crude MDI plants operated by SLIC, an unconsolidated joint venture, commenced on September 30, 2006. We intend to significantly expand the capacity of these facilities by 2017. These world-scale facilities strengthen our ability to service our customers in the critical Chinese market and will support the significant demand growth that we believe this region will continue to experience. Additionally, in November 2012, we entered into an agreement to form a joint venture to build a world scale PO and MTBE plant in Nanjing, China. The facility is expected to be completed in the second half of 2016, and it will utilize our proprietary PO/MTBE manufacturing technology. We own a 49% interest in the joint venture.

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        On August 29, 2013, we completed the acquisition of the chemical business of Oxid L.P. (the "Oxid Acquisition"), a privately-held manufacturer and marketer of specialty urethane polyols based in Houston, Texas, for approximately $76 million.

Products and Markets

        MDI is used primarily in rigid foam applications and in a wide variety of customized, higher-value flexible foam and coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers. Polyols, including polyether and polyester polyols, are used in conjunction with MDI in rigid foam, flexible foam and other non-foam applications. PO is one of the principal raw materials for producing polyether polyols. The following chart illustrates the range of product types and end uses for polyurethane chemicals.

        Polyurethane chemicals are sold to customers who combine the chemicals to produce polyurethane products. Depending on their needs, customers will use either commodity polyurethane chemicals produced for mass sales or polyurethane systems tailored for their specific requirements. By varying the blend, additives and specifications of the polyurethane chemicals, manufacturers are able to develop and produce a breadth and variety of polyurethane products.

        MDI.    MDI has a substantially larger market size and a higher growth rate than other polyurethane materials. This is primarily because MDI can be used to make polyurethanes with a broader range of properties and can therefore be used in a wider range of applications. We believe that future growth of MDI is expected to be driven by the continued substitution of MDI-based polyurethane for fiberglass and other materials currently used in rigid insulation foam for construction. We expect that other markets, such as binders for reconstituted wood board products, specialty cushioning applications and coatings will further contribute to the continued growth of MDI.

        With the recent rapid growth of the developing Asian economies, the Asian markets have now become the largest in the world for MDI.

        MDI experiences some seasonality in its sales reflecting its exposure to seasonal construction-related end markets such as insulation and composite wood products. Sales generally peak during the spring and summer months in the northern hemisphere, resulting in greater sales volumes during the second and third quarters of the year.

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        TPU.    TPU is a high-quality, fully formulated thermal plastic derived from the reaction of MDI or an aliphatic isocyanate with polyols to produce unique qualities such as durability, flexibility, strength, abrasion-resistance, shock absorbency and chemical resistance. We can tailor the performance characteristics of TPU to meet the specific requirements of our customers. TPU is used in injection molding and small components for the automotive and footwear industries. It is also extruded into films, wires and cables for use in a wide variety of applications in the coatings, adhesives, sealants and elastomers markets.

        Polyols.    Polyols are combined with MDI and other isocyanates to create a broad spectrum of polyurethane products. Demand for specialty polyols has been growing at approximately the same rate at which MDI consumption has grown.

        Aniline.    Aniline is an intermediate chemical used primarily to manufacture MDI. Generally, aniline is either consumed internally or is sold to third parties under long-term supply contracts. We believe that the lack of a significant spot market for aniline means that in order to remain competitive, MDI manufacturers must either be integrated with an aniline manufacturing facility or have a long-term, cost-competitive aniline supply contract.

        PO.    PO is an intermediate chemical used mainly to produce a wide range of polyols and PG. Demand for PO depends largely on overall economic demand, especially that of consumer durables. The following chart illustrates the primary end markets and applications for PO.

        MTBE.    MTBE is an oxygenate that is blended with gasoline to reduce harmful vehicle emissions and to enhance the octane rating of gasoline. While MTBE has been effectively eliminated in the United States, demand continues to grow in other regions of the world. In 2011, we announced the signing of a license agreement with Chinese chemicals manufacturer Yantai Wanhua Polyurethanes Co., Ltd, for the production of PO and MTBE. On November 13, 2012, we entered into an agreement to form a joint venture with Sinopec. The joint venture involves the construction and operation of a PO/MTBE facility in China. Under the joint venture agreement, we hold a 49% interest in the joint venture and Sinopec holds a 51% interest. See "—Item 1A. Risk Factors." We continue to sell MTBE for use as a gasoline additive, substantially all of which is sold for use outside the U.S. See

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"—Manufacturing and Operations" below and "Part II. Item 7. Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations."

Sales and Marketing

        Our global sales group markets our polyurethane chemicals to over 3,500 customers in more than 90 countries. Our sales and technical resources are organized to support major regional markets, as well as key end-use markets which require a more global approach. These key end-use markets include the appliance, automotive, footwear, furniture and coatings, construction products, adhesives, sealants and elastomers industries.

        We provide a wide variety of polyurethane solutions as components (i.e., the isocyanate or the polyol) or in the form of "systems" in which we provide the total isocyanate and polyol formulation to our customers in ready-to-use form. Our ability to deliver a range of polyurethane solutions and technical support tailored to meet our customers' needs is critical to our long-term success. We have strategically located our polyurethane formulation facilities, commonly referred to in the chemical industry as "systems houses," close to our customers, enabling us to focus on customer support and technical service. We believe this customer support and technical service system contributes to customer retention and also provides opportunities for identifying further product and service needs of customers. We manufacture polyols primarily to support our MDI customers' requirements.

        We believe that the extensive market knowledge and industry experience of our sales teams and technical experts, in combination with our strong emphasis on customer relationships, have facilitated our ability to establish and maintain long-term customer supply positions. Our strategy is to continue to increase sales to existing customers and to attract new customers by providing innovative solutions, quality products, reliable supply, competitive prices and superior customer service.

Manufacturing and Operations

        Our MDI production facilities are located in Geismar, Louisiana; Rotterdam, The Netherlands; and through our joint ventures in Caojing, China. These facilities receive aniline, which is a primary material used in the production of MDI, from our facilities located in Geismar, Louisiana; Wilton, U.K.; and Caojing, China. We believe that this relative scale and product integration of our large facilities provide a significant competitive advantage over other producers. In addition to reducing transportation costs for our raw materials, integration helps reduce our exposure to cyclical prices.

        The following table sets forth the annual production capacity of polyurethane chemicals at each of our polyurethanes facilities:

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        At our Geismar, Rotterdam and Caojing facilities we utilize sophisticated proprietary technology to produce MDI. This technology contributes to our position as a low cost MDI producer. In addition to MDI, we use a proprietary manufacturing process to manufacture PO. We own or license all technology and know-how developed and utilized at our PO facility. Our process combines isobutane and oxygen in proprietary oxidation (peroxidation) reactors, thereby forming TBHP and TBA, which are further processed into PO and MTBE, respectively. Because our PO production process is less expensive relative to other technologies and allows PO co-products to be processed into saleable or useable materials, we believe that our PO production technology possesses several distinct advantages over its alternatives.

Joint Ventures

        Rubicon Joint Venture.    Chemtura Corporation is our joint venture partner in Rubicon LLC, which owns aniline, nitrobenzene and DPA manufacturing facilities in Geismar, Louisiana. We are entitled to approximately 85% of the nitrobenzene and aniline production capacity of Rubicon LLC, and Chemtura Corporation is entitled to 100% of the DPA production. In addition to operating the joint venture's aniline, nitrobenzene and DPA facilities, Rubicon LLC also operates our wholly owned MDI, polyol and Maleic Anhydride facilities at Geismar and is responsible for providing other auxiliary services to the entire Geismar complex. As a result of this joint venture, we are able to achieve greater scale and lower costs for our products than we would otherwise have been able to obtain. Rubicon LLC is consolidated in our financial statements.

        Chinese MDI Joint Ventures.    We are involved in two related joint ventures which operate MDI production facilities near Shanghai, China. SLIC, our manufacturing joint venture with BASF and three Chinese chemical companies, produces MNB, aniline and crude MDI. We effectively own 35% of SLIC and account for our investment under the equity method. HPS, our splitting joint venture with Shanghai Chlor-Alkali Chemical Company, Ltd, manufactures pure MDI, polymeric MDI and MDI variants. We own 70% of HPS and it is a consolidated affiliate. These projects have been funded by a combination of equity invested by the joint venture partners and borrowed funds. The total production capacity of the SLIC facilities is 660 million pounds per year of MDI and the splitting capacity of the HPS facility is 350 million pounds per year of MDI.

        Chinese PO/MTBE Joint Venture.    On November 13, 2012, we entered into an agreement to form a joint venture with Sinopec. The joint venture involves the construction and operation of a PO/MTBE facility in China. Under the joint venture agreement, we hold a 49% interest in the joint venture and Sinopec holds a 51% interest. Our total equity investment is anticipated to be approximately $90 million, net of license fees from the joint venture. The timing of equity contributions and license fee payments depends on various factors, but the majority are expected to be made over the course of the construction period of the plant (expected to be completed in the second half of 2016). At the end of 2014, cumulative capital contributions were approximately $85 million, net of license fees from the joint venture.

Raw Materials

        The primary raw materials for MDI-based polyurethane chemicals are benzene and PO. Benzene is a widely available commodity that is the primary feedstock for the production of MDI and aniline. Historically, benzene has been the largest component of our raw material costs. We purchase benzene from third parties to manufacture nitrobenzene and aniline, almost all of which we then use to produce MDI.

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        A major cost in the production of polyols is attributable to the costs of PO. The integration of our PO business with our polyurethane chemicals business gives us access to a competitively priced, strategic source of PO and the opportunity to develop polyols that enhance our range of MDI products. The primary raw materials used in our PO production process are butane/isobutane, propylene, methanol and oxygen. We purchase a large portion of our raw materials under long-term contracts.

Competition

        Our major competitors in the polyurethane chemicals market include BASF, Bayer, Dow, Yantai Wanhua and LyondellBasell. While these competitors and others produce various types and quantities of polyurethane chemicals, we focus on MDI and MDI-based polyurethane systems. Our polyurethane chemicals business competes in two basic ways: (1) where price is the dominant element of competition, our polyurethane chemicals business differentiates itself by its high level of customer support, including cooperation on technical and safety matters; and (2) elsewhere, we compete on the basis of product performance and our ability to react quickly to changing customer needs and by providing customers with innovative solutions to their needs.

        Some of our competitors in the Polyurethanes segment are among the world's largest chemical companies and major integrated petroleum companies. These competitors may have their own raw material resources. Some of these companies may be able to produce products more economically than we can. In addition, some of our competitors have greater financial resources, which may enable them to invest significant capital into their businesses, including expenditures for research and development. If any of our current or future competitors develop proprietary technology that enables them to produce products at a significantly lower cost, our technology could be rendered uneconomical or obsolete.

Performance Products

General

        Our Performance Products segment has leading positions in the manufacture and sale of amines, surfactants and maleic anhydride and serves a wide variety of consumer and industrial end markets. Our Performance Products segment is organized by strategic business units ("SBUs") which differentiate between specialties and intermediates.

        In our specialty SBUs (energy, materials, additives, processing chemicals and agrochemicals) we are a leading global producer of amines, carbonates, maleic anhydride and specialty surfactants. Growth in demand in our specialty markets tends to be driven by the end-performance characteristics that our products deliver to our customers. These products are manufactured for use in a growing number of niche industrial end uses and have been characterized by growing demand, technology substitution and stable profitability. For example, we are one of two significant global producers of polyetheramines, for which our sales volumes have grown at a compound annual rate of over 7% in the last 10 years due to strong demand in a number of industrial applications, such as epoxy curing agents, oil drilling, agrochemicals, fuel additives and civil construction materials. We are the leading global licensor of maleic anhydride manufacturing technology and are also the largest supplier of butane fixed bed catalyst used in the manufacture of maleic anhydride. Our licensing group also licenses technology on behalf of other Performance Products businesses and other segments.

        In our intermediate SBUs we consume internally produced and third-party-sourced base petrochemicals in the manufacture of our surfactants, LAB, and ethanolamines products, which are primarily used in detergency, consumer products and industrial applications. We also produce EG, which is primarily used in the production of polyester fibers and PET packaging. We operate 17

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Performance Products manufacturing facilities in North America; Europe, Africa and the Middle East ("EAME"); and Asia and Australia.

        We have the annual capacity to produce approximately 1.4 billion pounds of more than 200 amines and other performance chemicals. We believe we are the largest global producer of polyetheramines, one of the largest producers of 2-(2-amino ethoxy) ethanol, sold under our DGA® brand, the second largest producer of ethyleneamines and morpholine and the second largest North American producer of ethanolamines. We are the only producer and largest supplier of propylene carbonate and ethylene carbonate in North America. We also produce substituted propylamines. We use internally produced ethylene, EO, EG and PO in the manufacture of many of our amines, carbonates and surfactants. Our products are manufactured at our Port Neches, Conroe, Dayton and Freeport, Texas facilities and at our facilities in Llanelli, U.K.; Petfurdo, Hungary; Ankleshwar, India; Jurong Island, Singapore; and Jubail, Saudi Arabia. Our amines are used in a wide variety of consumer and industrial applications, including personal care products, polyurethane foam, fuel and lubricant additives, paints and coatings, composites, solvents and catalysts. Our key amines customers include AkzoNobel, Chevron, Dow, Ashland, Afton, Unilever, Monsanto and PPG.

        We have the capacity to produce approximately 2.2 billion pounds of surfactant products annually at our eight facilities located in North America, Europe, India and Australia. We are a leading global manufacturer of nonionic, anionic, cationic and amphoteric surfactants products and are characterized by our breadth of product offering and market coverage. Our surfactant products are primarily used in consumer detergent and industrial cleaning applications. We are a leading European producer of components for powder and liquid laundry detergents and other cleaners. In addition, we manufacture and market a diversified range of mild surfactants and specialty formulations for use in personal care applications. We continue to strengthen and diversify our surfactant product offering into formulated specialty surfactant products for use in various industrial applications such as leather and textile treatment, foundry and construction, agrochemicals, fuels and lubricants, and polymers and coatings. Our key surfactants customers include The Sun Products Corporation, L'Oreal, Monsanto, Nufarm, Clorox, Henkel, Colgate, Procter & Gamble and Unilever.

        We are North America's largest producer of LAB, with alkylation capacity of 400 million pounds per year at our plant in Chocolate Bayou, Texas. LAB is a surfactant intermediate which is converted into LAS, a major anionic surfactant used worldwide for the production of consumer, industrial and institutional laundry detergents. We also manufacture a higher-molecular-weight alkylate which is used as an additive to lubricants. Our key customers for LAB and specialty alkylates include Colgate, Lubrizol, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever.

        We believe we are the largest global producer of maleic anhydride, a highly versatile chemical intermediate that is used to produce UPRs, which are mainly used in the production of fiberglass reinforced resins for marine, automotive and construction products. Maleic anhydride is also used in the production of lubricants, food additives and artificial sweeteners. We have the capacity to produce approximately 572 million pounds annually at our facilities located in Pensacola, Florida; Geismar, Louisiana; and Moers, Germany. We also license our maleic anhydride technology and supply our catalysts to licensees and to worldwide merchant customers. Revenue from licensing and catalyst comes from new plant commissioning, as well as current plant retrofits and catalyst change schedules. Our key maleic anhydride customers include, AOC, Ashland, Bartek, CCP Composites, Cranston, Dixie, Gulf Chemical, Lubrizol, Meadwestvaco, MFG Chemical, Reichhold and Tate & Lyle.

        We also have the capacity to produce approximately 945 million pounds of EG annually at our facilities in Port Neches, Texas and Botany, Australia.

        We are currently expanding EO capacity at our Port Neches, Texas facility. The additional annual capacity of 265 million pounds is expected to come onstream during the fourth quarter of 2015. All of the additional EO will be used internally to leverage exisiting capacity for EO derivatives.

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        During 2013, our Performance Products segment implemented a restructuring program to refocus our surfactants business in Europe designed to improve earnings by approximately $20 million. In connection with this restructuring, in June 2014 we completed the sale of our European commodity surfactants business, including the ethoxylation facility in Lavera, France, to Wilmar Europe Holdings B.V. and the cessation of commodity surfactants production at the Patrica, Italy facility during the fourth quarter of 2014. In connection with this program, we recorded charges of $13 million during 2013 primarily related to workforce reductions.

Products and Markets

        Specialties.    Our specialty SBUs are organized around the following end markets: energy, materials, additives, processing chemicals and agrochemicals. The following table shows the end-market applications specialty products:

        Amines.    Amines broadly refers to the family of intermediate chemicals that are produced by reacting ammonia with various ethylene and propylene derivatives. Generally, amines are valued for their properties as a reactive agent, emulsifier, dispersant, detergent, solvent or corrosion inhibitor. Growth in demand for amines is highly correlated with GDP growth due to its strong links to general industrial and consumer products markets. However, certain segments of the amines market, such as polyetheramines, have grown at rates well in excess of GDP growth due to new product development, technical innovation, and substitution and replacement of competing products. For example, polyetheramines are used by customers who demand increasingly sophisticated performance characteristics as an additive in the manufacture of highly customized epoxy formulations, enabling customers to penetrate new markets and substitute for traditional curing materials. Ethanolamines are a range of chemicals produced by the reaction of EO with ammonia. They are used in the production of a variety of industrial, agricultural and consumer products. There are a limited number of competitors due to the technical and cost barriers to entry. As amines are generally sold based upon

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the performance characteristics that they provide to customer-specific end-use application, pricing does not generally fluctuate directly with movements in underlying raw materials.

        Morpholine/DGA® Agent.    Morpholine and DGA® agent are produced as co-products by reacting ammonia with DEG. Morpholine is used in a number of niche industrial applications including rubber curing (as an accelerator) and flocculants for water treatment. DGA® agent is primarily used in gas treating, electronics, herbicides and metalworking end-use applications.

        Carbonates.    Ethylene and propylene carbonates are manufactured by reacting EO and PO with carbon dioxide. Carbonates are used as solvents and as reactive diluents in polymer and coating applications. They are also increasingly being used as a photo-resist solvent in the manufacture of printed circuit boards, solar panels, LCD screens and the production of lithium batteries.

        Maleic Anhydride and Licensing.    Maleic anhydride is a chemical intermediate that is produced by oxidizing either benzene or normal butane through the use of a catalyst. The largest use of maleic anhydride in the U.S. is in the production of UPRs, which we believe account for approximately 48% of North American maleic anhydride demand. Total North American demand for maleic anhydride in 2014 was approximately 658 million pounds. Total European demand for maleic anhydride in 2014 was approximately 604 million pounds. Generally, changes in price have resulted from changes in industry capacity utilization as opposed to changes in underlying raw material costs. UPR is the main ingredient in fiberglass reinforced resins, which are used for marine and automotive applications and commercial and residential construction products.

        Our maleic anhydride technology is a proprietary fixed bed process with solvent recovery and is characterized by low butane consumption and an energy-efficient, high-percentage solvent recovery system. This process competes against two other processes, the fluid bed process and the fixed bed process with water recovery. We believe that our process is superior in the areas of feedstock and energy efficiency and solvent recovery. The maleic anhydride-based route to BDO manufacture is currently the preferred process technology and is favored over the other routes, which include PO, butadiene and acetylene as feedstocks. As a result, the growth in demand for BDO has resulted in increased demand for our maleic anhydride technology and catalyst.

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        Intermediates.    The following table sets forth the end-market applications for our intermediate products:

        Surfactants.    Surfactants or "surface active agents" are substances that combine a water soluble component with a water insoluble component in the same molecule. While surfactants are most commonly used for their detergency in cleaning applications, they are also valued for their emulsification, foaming, dispersing, penetrating and wetting properties in a variety of industries.

        Demand growth for surfactants is relatively stable and exhibits little cyclicality. The main consumer product applications for surfactants can demand new formulations with improved performance characteristics, which affords considerable opportunity for innovative surfactants manufacturers like us to provide surfactants and blends with differentiated specifications and properties. For basic surfactants, pricing tends to have a strong relationship to underlying raw material prices and usually lags raw material price movements.

        LAB.    LAB is a surfactant intermediate which is produced through the reaction of benzene with either normal paraffins or linear alpha olefins. Nearly all the LAB produced globally is converted into LAS, a major anionic surfactant used worldwide for the production of consumer, industrial and institutional laundry detergents.

        Three major manufacturers lead the traditional detergency market for LAB in North America: Procter & Gamble, Henkel and The Sun Products Corporation. We believe that over half of the LAB global capacity lies in the hands of six to seven producers, with two to three major producers in each of the three regional markets. Growth in demand for specialty alkylates for use in lubricants is expected to be higher than GDP. We have developed a unique manufacturing capability for a high molecular weight alkylate for this market. With a significant technical barrier to entry, our specialty alkylate capability has allowed us greater diversity in our portfolio and strengthened our competitive position versus LAB-only producers.

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        EG.    We consume our internally produced EO to produce three types of EG: MEG, DEG and TEG. MEG is consumed primarily in the polyester (fiber and bottle resin) and antifreeze end markets and is also used in a wide variety of industrial applications including synthetic lubricants, plasticizers, solvents and emulsifiers. DEG is consumed internally for the production of Morpholine and DGA® agent and polyols. TEG is used internally for the production of polyols and is sold into the market for dehydration of natural gas. We continue to optimize our EO and EG operations depending on the fundamental market demand for EG.

Sales and Marketing

        We sell over 2,000 products to over 4,000 customers globally through our Performance Products marketing groups, which have extensive market knowledge, considerable chemical industry experience and well established customer relationships.

        In our specialty markets (energy, materials, additives, processing chemicals and agrochemicals), our marketing efforts are focused on how our product offerings perform in certain customer applications. We believe that this approach enhances the value of our product offerings and creates opportunities for ongoing differentiation in our development activities with our customers.

        Our intermediates are sold mainly into the global home and personal care market for which we have a dedicated marketing group. We also sell EG.

        We also provide extensive pre- and post-sales technical service support to our customers where our technical service professionals work closely with our research and development functions to tailor our product offerings to meet our customers unique and changing requirements. Finally, these technical service professionals interact closely with our market managers and business leadership teams to help guide future offerings and market approach strategies. In addition to our focused direct sales efforts, we maintain an extensive global network of distributors and agents that also sell our products. These distributors and agents typically promote our products to smaller end-use customers who cannot be served cost effectively by our direct sales forces.

Manufacturing and Operations

        Our Performance Products segment has the capacity to produce more than seven billion pounds annually of a wide variety of products and formulations at 17 manufacturing locations in North America, EAME, Asia and Australia. These production capacities are as follows:

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        Our surfactants and amines facilities are located globally, with broad capabilities in amination, sulfonation and ethoxylation. These facilities have a competitive cost base and use modern manufacturing units that allow for flexibility in production capabilities and technical innovation.

        Our primary ethylene, propylene, EO, EG and ethanolamines facilities are located in Port Neches, Texas alongside our Polyurethanes' PO/MTBE facility. The Port Neches, Texas facility benefits from extensive logistics infrastructure, which allows for efficient sourcing of other raw materials and distribution of finished products.

        A number of our facilities are located within large integrated petrochemical manufacturing complexes. We believe this results in greater scale and lower costs for our products than we would be able to obtain if these facilities were stand-alone operations. These include our LAB facility in Chocolate Bayou, Texas, our maleic anhydride facilities in Pensacola, Florida and Moers, Germany and our ethyleneamines facility in Freeport, Texas.

Joint Ventures

        Ethyleneamines Joint Venture.    Since July 1, 2010, we have consolidated the results of Arabian Amines Company, our 50%-owned joint venture with the Zamil Group. Arabian Amines Company operates an ethyleneamines manufacturing plant in Jubail, Saudi Arabia. The plant has an approximate annual capacity of 60 million pounds. We purchase and sell all of the production from this joint venture.

        Maleic Anhydride Joint Venture.    Since the second quarter of 2011, we have consolidated the results of Sasol-Huntsman, our 50%-owned maleic anhydride joint venture. This entity operates a manufacturing facility in Moers, Germany with the capacity to produce 232 million pounds of maleic anhydride. The output from the facility is sold in the European region.

Raw Materials

        We have the capacity to produce 460 million pounds of ethylene and 300 million pounds of propylene, depending on feedstocks, at our Port Neches, Texas facility. All of the ethylene is used to produce EO and all of the propylene is used to produce PO at our Port Neches, Texas facility (primarily for our Polyurethanes segment). We have the capacity to use approximately 900 million pounds of ethylene each year in the production of EO and ethyleneamines. Accordingly, we purchase or toll the remainder of our ethylene requirements from third parties. We consume all of our EO in the manufacture of our EG, surfactants, carbonates and amines products. We also use internally produced PO and DEG in the manufacture of these products.

        In addition to internally produced raw materials, the main raw materials used in the production of our amines are ethylene dichloride, caustic soda, ammonia, hydrogen, methylamines and acrylonitrile.

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The majority of these raw materials are available from multiple sources in the merchant market at competitive prices.

        In the production of surfactants and LAB, our primary raw materials, in addition to internally produced and third-party sourced EO and ethylene, are synthetic and natural alcohols, paraffin, alpha olefins, benzene and nonylphenol. All of these raw materials are widely available in the merchant market at competitive prices.

        Maleic anhydride is produced by the reaction of n-butane with oxygen using our proprietary catalyst. The principal raw material is n-butane which is purchased pursuant to long-term contracts and delivered to our Pensacola, Florida site by barge, to our facility in Geismar, Louisiana via pipeline and to our Moers, Germany site by railcar. Our maleic anhydride catalyst is toll-manufactured by a third party under a long-term contract according to our proprietary methods. These raw materials are available from multiple sources at competitive prices.

Competition

        In our specialty markets, there are few competitors for many of our products due to the considerable customization of product formulations, the proprietary nature of many of our product applications and manufacturing processes and the relatively high research and development and technical costs involved. Some of our global competitors include BASF, Air Products, Dow, Tosoh and AkzoNobel. We compete primarily on the basis of product performance, new product innovation and, to a lesser extent, on the basis of price. In our maleic anhydride market, we compete primarily on the basis of price, customer service, technical support and logistics management. Our competitors include Lanxess, Flint Hills Resources, Bartek, Polynt and Ashland. We are the leading global producer of maleic anhydride catalyst. Competitors in our maleic anhydride catalyst market include Scientific Design, Ineos, BASF and Polynt. In our maleic anhydride technology licensing market, our primary competitor is Scientific Design. We compete primarily on the basis of technological performance and service.

        There are numerous global producers of many of our intermediate products. Our main competitors include global companies such as Dow/MEGlobal, Sasol, BASF, Petresa, Clariant, Shell, Stepan, Croda and Kao, as well as various smaller or more local competitors. We compete on the basis of price with respect to the majority of our product offerings and, to a lesser degree, on the basis of product availability, performance and service with respect to certain of our more value-added products.

        The market in which our Performance Products segment operates is highly competitive. Among our competitors are some of the world's largest chemical companies and major integrated petroleum companies that have their own raw material resources. Some of these companies may be able to produce products more economically than we can. In addition, some of our competitors have greater financial resources, which may enable them to invest significant capital into their businesses, including expenditures for research and development. If any of our current or future competitors develop proprietary technology that enables them to produce products at a significantly lower cost, our technology could be rendered uneconomical or obsolete.

Advanced Materials

General

        Our Advanced Materials segment is a leading global manufacturer and marketer of technologically advanced epoxy, acrylic and polyurethane-based polymer products. We focus on formulations and systems that are used to address customer-specific needs in a wide variety of industrial and consumer applications. Our products are used either as replacements for traditional materials or in applications where traditional materials do not meet demanding engineering specifications. For example, structural

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adhesives are used to replace metal rivets and advanced composites are used to replace traditional aluminum panels in the manufacture of aerospace components. Our Advanced Materials segment is characterized by the breadth of our product offering, our expertise in complex chemistry, our long-standing relationships with our customers, our ability to develop and adapt our technology and our applications expertise for new markets and new applications.

        We operate synthesis, formulating and production facilities in North America, Europe, Asia, South America and Africa. We sell to more than 2,500 customers in the following end markets: civil engineering, consumer appliances, food and beverage packaging, industrial appliances, consumer/do it yourself ("DIY"), aerospace, LNG transport, electrical power transmission and distribution, printed circuit boards, consumer and industrial electronics, wind power generation, automotive, recreational sports equipment and medical appliances.

        During the fourth quarter of 2012, our Advanced Materials segment began implementing a global transformational change program designed to improve the segment's manufacturing efficiencies, enhance commercial excellence and improve its long-term global competitiveness. This program is anticipated to deliver approximately $70 million in annualized savings for this segment. In connection with this program, we recorded charges of $10 million during 2014 related primarily to workforce reductions. Through December 31, 2014, we have achieved approximately $71 million in earnings improvement as a result of this restructuring program.

Products and Markets

        Our product range spans from basic liquid and solid resins, to specialty components like curing agents, matting agents, accelerators, cross-linkers, reactive diluents, thermoplastic polyamides and additives. In addition to these components, which we typically sell to formulators in various industries, we also produce and sell ready to use formulated polymer systems.

        Base Resins and Specialty Component Markets.    Our products are used in the formulation of products for the protection of steel and concrete substrates, such as flooring, metal furniture and appliances, buildings, linings for storage tanks and food and beverage cans, and the primer coat of automobile bodies and ships. Epoxy-based surface coatings are among the most widely used industrial coatings due to their structural stability and broad application functionality combined with overall economic efficiency.

        Base resins and specialty components are also used for composite applications. A structural composite is made by combining two or more different materials, such as fibers, resins and other specialty additives, to create a product with enhanced structural properties. Specifically, structural composites are lightweight, high-strength, rigid materials with high resistance to chemicals, moisture and high temperatures. Our product range comprises basic and advanced epoxy resins, curing agents and other advanced chemicals, additives and formulated polymer systems. The four key target markets for our structural composites are aerospace, power generation (windmill blades) and distribution (composite reinforced cable), general industrial and automotive applications, and recreational products (mainly sports equipment such as skis). Structural composites continue to substitute for traditional materials, such as metals and wood, in a wide variety of applications due to their light weight, strength and durability.

        Formulated Systems.    The structural adhesives market requires high-strength "engineering" adhesives for use in the manufacture and repair of items to bond various engineering substrates. Our business focus is on engineering adhesives based on epoxy, polyurethane, acrylic and other technologies which are used to bond materials, such as steel, aluminum, engineering plastics and composites in substitution of traditional joining techniques. Our ARALDITE® brand name has considerable value in the industrial and consumer adhesives markets. In many countries, ARALDITE® branded products are known for their high-performance adhesive capabilities, and we generally believe that this is the value-

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added segment of the market where recognition of our long-standing ARALDITE® brand is a key competitive advantage. Packaging is a key characteristic of our adhesives products. Our range of adhesives is sold in a variety of packs and sizes, targeted to three specific end markets and sold through targeted routes to market:

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General Industrial Bonding.  We sell a broad range of advanced formulated adhesives to a broad base of small-to medium-sized customers, including specialty distributors.



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Industry Specific.  We sell our adhesive products on a global basis into diverse, industry-specific markets, which include the aerospace, wind turbine, LNG transport, filter bonding, solar cell and other industrial application markets. Our target markets are chosen because we believe it is worthwhile to utilize our direct sales force and applications experts to tailor products and services to suit the needs and performance specifications of the specific market segments.



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Consumer/DIY.  We package and sell consumer adhesives through strategic distribution arrangements with a number of the major marketers of consumer/DIY adhesives, such as Vynex, Velcro and Selleys. These products are sold globally through a number of major retail outlets, often under the ARALDITE® brand name. In India, our major DIY business, we have direct access to the market and strong brand recognition which creates opportunity to further expand our product offering as we leverage the value of the ARALDITE® brand.

        Our electrical materials are formulated polymer systems, which make up the insulation materials used in equipment for the generation, transmission and distribution of electrical power, such as transformers, switch gears, ignition coils, sensors, motors and magnets, and for the protection of electrical and electronic devices and components. The purpose of these products is to insulate, protect or shield either the environment from electrical current or electrical devices from the environment, such as temperature or humidity. Our electrical insulating materials target two key market segments: the heavy electrical equipment market and the light electrical equipment market.

        Products for the heavy electrical equipment market segment are used in power plant components, devices for power grids and insulating parts and components. In addition, there are numerous devices, such as motors and magnetic coils used in trains and medical equipment, which are manufactured using epoxy and related technologies. Products for the light electrical equipment market segment are used in applications such as industrial automation and control, consumer electronics, automotive electronics and electrical components. The end customers in the electrical insulating materials market encompass the relevant original equipment manufacturer as well as numerous manufacturers of components used in the final products. We also develop, manufacture and market materials used in the production of printed circuit boards. Our products are ultimately used in industries ranging from telecommunications and personal computer mother board manufacture to automotive electronic systems manufacture. Soldermasks are our most important product line in printed circuit board technologies. Sales are made mainly under our PROBIMER® trademark, a widely recognized brand name in this particular market.

Sales and Marketing

        We maintain multiple routes to market to service our diverse customer base. These routes to market range from using our own direct sales force for targeted, technically-oriented distribution to mass general distribution. Our direct sales force focuses on engineering solutions for decision-makers at major customers who purchase significant amounts of product from us. We use technically-oriented specialist distributors to augment our sales effort in niche markets and applications where we do not believe it is appropriate to develop direct sales resources. We use mass general distribution channels to sell our products into a wide range of general applications where technical expertise is less important to the user of the products to reduce our overall selling expenses. We believe our use of multiple routes to market enables us to reach a broader customer base at an efficient cost.

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        We conduct sales activities through dedicated regional sales teams in Europe, Asia, the Americas and the India/Middle East/Africa regions. Our global customers are covered by key account managers who are familiar with the specific requirements of these clients. The management of long-standing customer relationships is at the heart of the sales and marketing process. We are also supported by a strong network of distributors. We serve a highly fragmented customer base in all our regions.

        For our consumer/DIY range, with the exception of the Indian market, we have entered into exclusive branding and distribution arrangements with, for example, Selleys in Australia. Under these arrangements, our distribution partners fund advertising and sales promotions, negotiate and sell to major retail chains, own inventories and provide store deliveries (and sometimes shelf merchandising) in exchange for a reliable, high-quality supply of ARALDITE® branded, ready-to-sell packaged products.

Manufacturing and Operations

        We are a global business serving customers in four principal geographic regions: Europe, Asia, the Americas and the India/Middle East/Africa region. To service our customers efficiently, we maintain manufacturing plants around the world with a strategy of global, regional and local manufacturing employed to optimize the level of service and minimize the cost to our customers. The following table summarizes the plants that we operate:

        Our facilities in Asia are well-positioned to take advantage of the market growth that is expected in these regions.

Raw Materials

        The principal raw materials we purchase for the manufacture of basic and advanced epoxy resins are epichlorohydrin, bisphenol A, BLR, MDA and phenol & aminophenols. We also purchase amines, polyols, isocyanates, acrylic materials, hardeners and fillers for the production of our formulated polymer systems and complex chemicals and additives. Raw material costs constitute a sizeable percentage of sales for certain applications. We have supply contracts with a number of suppliers. The

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terms of our supply contracts vary, but, in general, these contracts contain provisions that set forth the quantities of product to be supplied and purchased and formula-based pricing.

        Additionally, we produce large volumes of some of our most important raw materials, such as BLR and its basic derivatives, which are the basic building blocks of many of our products. Approximately 65% of the BLR we produce is consumed internally in our downstream products. The balance of our BLR is sold in the merchant market, allowing us to increase the utilization of our production plants and lower our overall BLR production cost. We believe that manufacturing a large proportion of our principal raw material gives us a competitive advantage over other epoxy-based polymer systems formulators, most of whom must buy BLR from third-party suppliers. This position helps protect us from pricing pressure from BLR suppliers and aids in providing us a stable supply of BLR in difficult market conditions.

        We consume certain amines produced by our Performance Products segment and isocyanates produced by our Polyurethanes segment, which we use to formulate Advanced Materials products.

Competition

        The market in which our Advanced Materials segment operates is highly competitive, and is dependent on significant capital investment, the development of proprietary technology, and maintenance of product research and development. Among our competitors are some of the world's largest chemical companies and major integrated companies that have their own raw material resources.

        Competition in our basic liquid and solid epoxy resins group is primarily driven by price, and is increasingly more global with industry consolidation in the North American and European markets and the emergence of new competitors in Asia. Our major competitors include Dow, Hexion, BASF, Kukdo and NanYa.

        Competition in our specialty components and structural composites product group is primarily driven by product performance, applications expertise and customer certification. Our competitive strengths include our strong technology base, broad range of value-added products, leading market positions, diverse customer base and reputation for customer service. Major competitors include Air Products, Arizona Chemical, Hexion, BASF, Cray Valley, Evonics, DIC, Dow, Mitsui, Sumitomo and NanYa.

        Competition in our formulation product group is primarily based on technology, know-how, applications and formulations expertise, product reliability and performance, process expertise and technical support. This product group covers a wide range of industries and the key competition factors vary by industry. Our competitive strengths result from our focus on defined market needs, our long-standing customer relationships, product reliability and technical performance, provision of high level service and recognition as a quality supplier in our chosen sectors. We operate dedicated technology centers in Basel, Switzerland; The Woodlands, Texas; and Shanghai, China in support of our product and technology development. Our major competitors can be summarized as follows:

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Textile Effects

General

        Our Textile Effects segment is a major global solutions provider for textile chemicals and dyes in our chosen markets. Our textile solutions enhance the color of finished textiles and improve such performance characteristics as wrinkle resistance and the ability to repel water and stains. Our Textile Effects segment is characterized by the breadth of our product offering, our long-standing relationships with our customers, our ability to develop and adapt our technology and our applications expertise for new markets and new applications.

        We operate synthesis, formulating and production facilities in North America, Europe, Asia and South America. We market multiple products to customers in multiple end-markets, including the following: consumer fashion apparel, sportswear, career and uniform apparel, military, automotive, home textiles and furnishings, carpet and other functional textiles.

        During 2011, our Textile Effects segment began implementing a significant restructuring program, including the closure of our production facilities and business support offices in Basel, Switzerland, as part of an ongoing strategic program aimed at improving the segment's long-term global competitiveness and designed to reduce annualized costs by approximately $75 million. In connection with this program, during 2014, our Textile Effects segment recorded charges of $19 million, including a $9 million noncash charge for a pension settlement loss. Through December 2014, we have achieved $88 million of cost savings from this restructuring program. In June 2014, we announced plans for the closure of our Qingdao, China plant to be completed by December 2015. During 2014, we recorded charges of $6 million primarily related to workforce reductions related to this initiative.

Products and Markets

        Textiles generally involve a complex matrix of fibers, effects and functionality, and the resulting products range from fashion apparel to bulletproof vests, home linens to carpet, and upholstery to automotive interiors. Our broad range of dyestuffs and chemicals enhance both the aesthetic appearance of these products and the functionality needed to ensure that they perform in their end-use markets. Since the requirements for these markets vary dramatically, our business strategy focuses on the three major markets—apparel, home & institutional and technical textiles. We work to provide the right balance of products and service to meet the technical challenges in each of these markets. The Textile Effects business is affected by seasonal holiday closures and typically experiences lower sales in those periods. For example, we typically experience lower sales in Asia in the first quarter as a result of the Lunar New Year, in Europe as a result of the summer holidays, and in the Americas and Europe during the Christmas season at year-end.

        The apparel market focuses on products that provide an aesthetic effect and/or improve the processing efficiency within the textile mill. We offer a complete range of colors for cotton, polyester and nylon that cover the range of shades needed for sportswear, intimate apparel, towels, sheeting and casual wear. Our dyes have been developed to ensure that they offer the highest levels of wash fastness currently available in the market. Optical brighteners and other pretreatment products provide "bright white" effects for apparel, towels and sheeting. Pretreatment and dyeing auxiliaries ensure that these fabrics are processed efficiently and effectively—cleaning the fabrics with fewer chemicals, less energy and less water and thereby minimizing the environmental footprint and reducing the processing costs. Silicone softeners may be used to enhance the feel of products.

        Technical textiles include automotive textiles, carpet, military fabrics, mattress ticking and nonwoven and other technical fabrics. Though the product groups may differ in their end uses, the articles must provide a high-level of functionality and performance in their respective markets. High-lightfast dyes and UV absorbers are used in automotive interiors and outdoor furnishings to

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provide colors that don't fade when exposed to sunlight and heat. Powerful stain repellent and release technology imparts durable protection for upholstery, military and medical fabrics, without affecting the color, breathability or feel of the fabric. Specialized dyes and prints create unique camouflage patterns for military uniforms, backpacks and tarps that will not fade through wash and wear or during exposure to the elements.

Sales and Marketing

        For our textile effects products, we focus on providing effect competence and process competence to our customers. Effect competence—delivering value-added effects to our customer's products—enables us to capitalize on new and innovative technologies and to assist our customers in their efforts to differentiate themselves from competitors. Process competence—applying know-how and expertise to improve customers' processes—allows us to utilize our technical service to reduce cost, enhance efficiency and offer recommendations to improve the ecological and environmental footprint in the wet processing of textiles.

Manufacturing and Operations

        We are a global business serving customers in three principal geographic regions: EAME, the Americas and Asia. To service our customers efficiently, we maintain manufacturing plants around the world with a strategy of global, regional and local manufacturing employed to optimize the level of service and minimize the cost to our customers. The following table summarizes the plants that we operate:

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Raw Materials

        The manufacture of textile effects products requires a wide selection of raw materials (approximately 1,000 different chemicals), including amines, fluorochemicals and sulfones. No one raw material represents greater than 6% of our textile effects raw material expenditures. Raw material costs constitute a sizeable percentage of sales for certain applications. We have supply contracts with a number of suppliers. The terms of our supply contracts vary, but, in general, these contracts contain provisions that set forth the quantities of product to be supplied and purchased.

Competition

        We are a major global solutions provider for textile chemicals and dyes in our chosen markets. Competition within the textile chemicals and dyes markets is generally fragmented with few competitors who offer complete solutions for both markets. Our major competitors are Achroma (formerly known as Clariant), BASF, Kiri-Dystar and Longsheng. We believe that our competitive strengths include our product offering, which is characterized by its broad range; high quality; significant integration between products and service; reliable technical expertise; long-standing relationships with customers; and strong business infrastructure in Asia. We believe that we have more customer service capability and account management capability than any of our competitors worldwide.

Pigments and Additives

General

        We are a diversified global supplier of pigments and additives. Our pigments and additives improve performance and add color to thousands of everyday items including paints, inks, plastics, concrete, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and food. We offer a wide range of products across the color spectrum. Our broad product range, coupled with our ability to develop and supply specialized products into technically exacting end-use applications, has positioned us as a leader in the markets we serve.

        We operate 34 manufacturing facilities. Our ten titanium dioxide manufacturing facilities are predominately located in Europe and our 18 color pigments manufacturing and processing facilities are predominately located in the United States. We also operate six facilities producing water treatment, timber treatment chemicals and functional additives.

        On October 1, 2014, we completed the Rockwood Acquisition and paid $1.04 billion in cash, subject to certain purchase price adjustments, and assumed certain unfunded pension liabilities. For more information, see "Part I. Item 1. Business—Recent Developments—Rockwood Acquisition." The majority of the acquired businesses have been integrated into our Pigments and Additives segment.

        In connection with securing certain regulatory approvals required to complete the Rockwood Acquisition, we sold our TiO2 TR52 product line used in printing inks to Henan in December 2014. The sale did not include any manufacturing assets but does include an agreement to supply TR52 product to Henan during a transitional period.

        On December 1, 2014, we announced that we are taking significant action to improve the global competitiveness of our Pigments and Additives segment. As part of a comprehensive restructuring program, we plan to reduce our workforce by approximately 900 positions. Annual cost savings are expected to exceed $130 million and are expected to be achieved by the middle of 2016. In connection with this restructuring program, we recorded restructuring expense of $57 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 related primarily to workforce reductions. We expect to record additional restructuring expense in 2015 once negotiations of employee termination benefits with European works councils are completed.

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        On February 12, 2015, we announced plans to reduce our titanium dioxide capacity by approximately 100 kt by closing specific operations at our Calais, France facility, subject to consultation with employees and appropriate representative groups. Annual cost savings are expected to be approximately $35 million and are expected to be achieved by the middle of 2016. This plan is in addition to that announced on December 1, 2014.

Products and Markets

        Titanium Dioxide.    We are a global leader in the manufacture and marketing of specialty and standard grade titanium dioxide. Titanium Dioxide is derived from titanium bearing ores and is a white inert pigment that provides whiteness, opacity and brightness to thousands of everyday items including paints, plastics, paper, inks, fibers, food and personal care products.

        We own a portfolio of brands including TIOXIDE® and Hombitan ranges, such as DELTIO, ALTIRIS, SIKOVIT, GRANUFIN, SOLAROX and SOLAPLEX, which are produced in our ten manufacturing facilities around the globe. We service over 2,500 customers in most major industries and geographic regions. Our global manufacturing footprint allows us to service the needs of both local and global customers, including Ampacet, A. Schulman, AkzoNobel, BASF, Clariant, Jotun, PolyOne, PPG and Sun Chemical.

        Global titanium dioxide demand growth rates tend to closely track GDP growth rates; however, this varies by region. Developed markets such as the U.S. and Western Europe exhibit higher absolute consumption but lower demand growth rates, while emerging markets such as Asia exhibit much higher demand growth rates. The titanium dioxide industry experiences some seasonality in its sales reflecting the high exposure to seasonal coatings end-use markets. Coating sales generally peak during the spring and summer months in the northern hemisphere, resulting in greater sales volumes during the second and third quarters of the year.

        There are two manufacturing processes for the production of titanium dioxide, the sulfate process and the chloride process. We currently believe that the chloride process accounts for approximately 45% of global production capacity. Most end-use applications can use pigments produced by either process, although there are markets that prefer pigment from a specific manufacturing route—for example, the inks market prefers sulfate and the automotive coatings market prefers chloride. Regional markets typically favor products that are available locally. The sulfate process produces titanium dioxide in both the rutile and anatase forms, the latter being used in certain high-value specialty applications.

        Our Company is one of the five major producers of titanium dioxide in the world. Beyond these producers, the titanium dioxide industry currently has a large number of small regional or local producers, particularly in China. Titanium dioxide supply has historically kept pace with increases in demand as producers increased capacity through low cost incremental debottlenecks, efficiency improvements and, more recently, new capacity additions in China. During periods of low titanium dioxide demand, the industry experiences high stock levels and consequently reduces production to manage working capital. Pricing in the industry is driven primarily by supply/demand balance. Based upon current price levels and the long lead times for planning, governmental approvals and construction, we expect supply additions within the industry for the near term to be in line with historical demand growth.

        We have an established broad customer base and have successfully differentiated ourselves by establishing ourselves as a market leader in a variety of niche market segments where the innovation and specialization of our products is rewarded with higher margins, higher growth prospects and strong customer relationships. We were the first to introduce a zirconia-coated titanium dioxide pigment to improve the durability of coatings and TIOXIDE® TR92 pigment was the first product to offer our customers flexibility across systems and applications. Our experience in powder flow technology has been applied to develop DELTIO® free-flow titanium dioxide pigments, offering our customers a

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number of benefits over conventional powdered pigments, including high throughput, accurate metering, and less waste.

        Functional Additives.    We are the leading global manufacturer of zinc and barium speciality additives. Functional additives are made from barium and zinc based inorganics and are used to make colors more brilliant, coatings shine, plastic more stable and help protect from light degradation. The dynamics of functional additives are closely aligned with titanium dioxide given the overlap in applications served including coatings, films, food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and paper. We are the only global producer of zinc sulfide and the largest global supplier of synthetic barium sulfate.

        Color Pigments.    We are a global leader in the manufacture and processing of liquid, powder and granulated forms of iron oxide color pigments, natural and synthetic inorganic pigments and automated pigment handling systems. These products are used by manufacturers of coatings, colorants, concrete products, plastics, rubber, paper, vinyl, cosmetics, pet food, ink, toner and other industrial uses.

        We market a wide range of yellow, red, orange, black, manganese violet and blended shades. We are also one of the leading suppliers of technical grade ultramarine blue pigments. Our color pigments deliver benefits such as corrosion protection, flame suppression and catalysis. Our color pigment products can be split into the following categories: iron oxides, ultramarines, specialty inorganics and driers.

        Our construction customers value our broad product range and benefit from our custom blending, color matching and color dosing systems. Our coatings customers benefit from a consistent and quality product.

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        Iron oxide pigment's cost effectiveness, weather resistance, chemical and thermal stability and coloring strength make it an ideal colorant for construction materials, such as concrete, brick and roof tile, for coatings such as paints and plastics. We are one of two large color pigments producers which represent approximately 40% of the global market for iron oxide pigments. The remaining market share consists primarily of Chinese competitors.

        Made from clay, our ultramarine blue pigments are non-toxic, weather resistant and thermally stable. Ultramarine blue is used world-wide for food contact applications. Our synthetic ultramarines are permitted for unrestricted use in certain cosmetics applications. Ultramarine blue is used extensively in plastics and the paint industry. We focus on supplying our customers with technical grade ultramarine blues and violets to high specification markets such as the cosmetics industry.

        We are constructing a new advanced technology production facility in Augusta, Georgia for the synthesis of iron oxide pigments. We are the first iron oxide pigments producer to invest in U.S. based capacity in more than 35 years. The new Augusta facility will enable significant plant consolidation, cost savings opportunities and favorable raw material sourcing while reinforcing our color pigments offering of quality pigment, service and shortened lead time on delivery. We expect the Augusta facility to be complete by mid-2015.

        Copper, iron and alkali are raw materials for the manufacture of iron oxide pigments. They are used to produce colored pigment particles which are further processed into a finished pigment in powder, liquid, granule or blended powder form.

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        Timber Treatment Chemicals.    We manufacture timber treatment wood protection chemicals used primarily in residential and commercial applications to prolong the service life of wood through protection from decay and fungal or insect attack.

        We manufacture our timber treatment chemicals in the U.S. and market our products primarily in North America through Viance, LLC ("Viance"), our 50%-owned joint venture with Dow Chemical formed in 2007. Our residential construction products such as ACQ, Ecolife™ and Copper Azole are sold for use in decking, fencing and other residential outdoor wood structures. Our industrial construction products such as Chromated Copper Arsenate (CCA) are sold for use in telephone poles and salt water piers and pilings.

        Water Treatment Chemicals.    We manufacture water treatment chemicals in Germany used to improve water purity in industrial, commercial and municipal applications. We are one of Europe's largest suppliers of polyaluminium chloride (PAC) based flocculants with approximately 140kt of production capacity. Main markets are municipal and industrial waste water treatment and the paper industry.

Sales and Marketing

        Approximately 85% of our titanium dioxide sales are made through our global sales and technical services network, enabling us to work closely with our customers. Our focused sales effort and local manufacturing presence have allowed us to achieve leading market positions in a number of the countries where we manufacture our products.

        We sell iron oxides primarily through our global sales force whereas our ultramarine sales are predominantly through specialty distributors. We sell the majority of our timber treatment products directly to end customers via Viance.

        Our focus is on marketing products and services to higher growth and higher value applications. For example, we believe that our Pigments and Additives segment is well-positioned to benefit from growth sectors where customers' needs are complex resulting in fewer companies that have the capability to support them. We maximize reach through specialty distributors in selected markets.

        Much of our research and development is focused on solutions that address significant emerging trends in the market.

Manufacturing and Operations

        Our Pigments and Additives segment has 34 manufacturing facilities operating in ten countries with a total capacity of approximately 1.5 million metric tons per year.

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        Production capacities of our ten titanium dioxide and functional additives manufacturing facilities are listed below. Approximately 87% of our titanium dioxide capacity is located in Western Europe.

Joint Venture

        Louisiana Pigment Company, L.P. is our 50%-owned joint venture with Kronos. We share production offtake and operating costs of the plant with Kronos, though we market our share of the production independently. The operations of the joint venture are under the direction of a supervisory committee on which each partner has equal representation. Our investment in Louisiana Pigment Company, L.P. is accounted for using the equity method.

        Viance is our 50%-owned joint venture with Dow Chemical. Viance markets our timber treatment products. Our joint venture interest in Viance was acquired as part of the Rockwood Acquisition on October 1, 2014. The joint venture sources all of its products through a contract manufacturing arrangement at our Harrisburg, North Carolina facility, and we bear a disproportionate amount of working capital risk of loss due to the supply arrangement whereby we control manufacturing on Viance's behalf. As a result, we concluded that we are the primary beneficiary and began consolidating Viance upon the Rockwood Acquisition on October 1, 2014.

Raw Materials

        The primary raw materials used in our Pigments and Additives segment are titanium-bearing ores and iron oxide particles.

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        In recent years, we have purchased the majority of our ores under supply contracts from a range of ore suppliers. The majority of our titanium-bearing ores is sourced from India, Africa, Canada and Norway. Ore accounts for approximately 45% of titanium dioxide variable manufacturing costs, while utilities (electricity, gas and steam), sulfuric acid and chlorine collectively account for approximately 30% of variable manufacturing costs.

        The world market for titanium-bearing ores has an increasing number of small to medium sized suppliers alongside the three largest suppliers (Rio Tinto, Kenmare and Iluka) who account for approximately 40% of global supply between them and from whom we purchase approximately 60% of our needs. As a result of the increasing number of emerging suppliers in recent years, we have broadened our supply base by purchasing ores from these suppliers. The majority of the titanium-bearing ores market is now transacted on short-term contracts, or longer-term volume-contracts with market-based pricing re-negotiated several times per annum. This form of market-based ore contracts has introduced more flexibility and responsiveness, both in terms of pricing and quantity obligations.

        Titanium dioxide producers extract titanium from ores and process it into pigmentary titanium dioxide using either the chloride or sulfate process. Once an intermediate titanium dioxide pigment has been produced, it is "finished" into a product with specific performance characteristics for particular end-use applications. The finishing process is common to both the sulfate and chloride processes and is a major determinant of the final product's performance characteristics.

        Co-products from both processes require treatment prior to disposal in order to comply with environmental regulations. In order to reduce our disposal costs and to increase our cost competitiveness, we have developed and marketed the co-products of our Pigments and Additives segment. We sell over 60% of the co-products generated by our business.

        We source our raw material for the majority of our Color Pigments business from China, the U.S., France and Italy. Key raw materials are iron powder and metal scrap that are sourced from various mid-size and smaller producers primarily on a spot contract basis.

Competition

        The global markets in which our Pigments and Additives segment operates are highly competitive and vary according to product.

        Competition within the standard grade titanium dioxide market is based on price, product quality and service. The major global producers against whom we compete are DuPont, Tronox, Kronos and Cristal, each of which has a global presence and the ability to service all global markets. If any of our current or future competitors develops proprietary technology that enables them to produce products at a significantly lower cost, our technology could be rendered uneconomical or obsolete. Moreover, the sulfate based titanium dioxide technology used by our Pigments and Additives segment is widely available. Accordingly, barriers to entry, apart from capital availability, may be low and the entrance of new competitors into the industry may reduce our ability to capture improving profit margins in circumstances where capacity utilization in the industry is increasing.

        Competition within the functional additives market is primarily based on application know-how, brand recognition, product quality and, to a certain extent, price. Key competitors for barium-based additives include Solvay S.A., Gruppo Chimico Dalton S.p.A., Sakai Chemical Industry Co., Ltd. and Chinese barium producers. Key competitors for zinc-based additives include Chinese lithopone producers.

        Competition within the specialty titanium dioxide market and the color pigments market is based on customer service, product attributes, such as product form and quality, and price. Product quality is particularly critical in the technically demanding applications in which we focus as inconsistent product quality adversely impacts consistency in the end-product. Our primary competitors within specialty

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titanium dioxide include Huierxin, Fuj Titanium Industry, Kronos and Precheza. Our primary competitors within color pigments include Lanxess AG, Cathay Pigments Group, Interstar Materials Inc. and Shanghai Yipin Pigments Co., Ltd.

        Competition within the timber treatment market is based on price, customer support services, innovative technology and product range. Our primary competitors are Lonza Group and Osmose Inc.

        Competition within the water treatment market is based on proximity to customers and price. Our primary competitors are Kemira and Feralco.

RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT

        For the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, we spent $158 million, $140 million and $152 million, respectively, on research and development.

        We support our business with a major commitment to research and development, technical services and process engineering improvement. Our research and development centers are located in The Woodlands, Texas; Everberg, Belgium; and Shanghai, China. Other regional development/technical service centers are located in Wynyard, England and Duisburg, Germany (pigments); Auburn Hills, Michigan (polyurethanes for the automotive industry); Derry, New Hampshire, Shanghai, China, Deggendorf, Germany and Ternate, Italy (polyurethanes); Melbourne, Australia (surfactants); Port Neches, Texas (process engineering support); Basel, Switzerland and Panyu, China (advanced materials and textile effects); and Mumbai, India (textile effects).

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS

        Proprietary protection of our processes, apparatuses, and other technology and inventions is important to our businesses. We own approximately 440 unexpired U.S. patents, approximately 185 patent applications (including provisionals) currently pending at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, and approximately 4,380 foreign issued patents and pending patent applications. While a presumption of validity exists with respect to issued U.S. patents, we cannot assure that any of our patents will not be challenged, invalidated, circumvented or rendered unenforceable. Furthermore, we cannot assure the issuance of any pending patent application, or that if patents do issue, that these patents will provide meaningful protection against competitors or against competitive technologies. Additionally, our competitors or other third parties may obtain patents that restrict or preclude our ability to lawfully produce or sell our products in a competitive manner.

        We also rely upon unpatented proprietary know-how and continuing technological innovation and other trade secrets to develop and maintain our competitive position. There can be no assurance, however, that confidentiality and other agreements into which we enter and have entered will not be breached, that they will provide meaningful protection for our trade secrets or proprietary know-how, or that adequate remedies will be available in the event of an unauthorized use or disclosure of such trade secrets and know-how. In addition, there can be no assurance that others will not obtain knowledge of these trade secrets through independent development or other access by legal means.

        In addition to our own patents and patent applications and proprietary trade secrets and know-how, we are a party to certain licensing arrangements and other agreements authorizing us to use trade secrets, know-how and related technology and/or operate within the scope of certain patents owned by other entities. We also have licensed or sub-licensed intellectual property rights to third parties.

        We have associated brand names with a number of our products, and we have approximately 180 U.S. trademark registrations (including applications for registration currently pending at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office), and approximately 4,750 foreign trademark registrations and applications for registration. Some of these registrations and applications include filings under the Madrid system for

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the international registration of marks and may confer rights in multiple countries. However, there can be no assurance that the trademark registrations will provide meaningful protection against the use of similar trademarks by competitors, or that the value of our trademarks will not be diluted.

        Because of the breadth and nature of our intellectual property rights and our business, we do not believe that any single intellectual property right (other than certain trademarks for which we intend to maintain the applicable registrations) is material to our business. Moreover, we do not believe that the termination of intellectual property rights expected to occur over the next several years, either individually or in the aggregate, will materially adversely affect our business, financial condition or results of operations.

EMPLOYEES

        As of December 31, 2014, we employed approximately 16,000 people in our operations around the world. Approximately 3,000 of these employees are located in the U.S., while approximately 13,000 are located in other countries. We believe our relations with our employees are good.

GEOGRAPHIC DATA

        For sales revenue and long-lived assets by geographic areas, see "Note 24. Operating Segment Information" to our consolidated financial statements.

ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH AND SAFETY MATTERS

General

        We are subject to extensive federal, state, local and international laws, regulations, rules and ordinances relating to safety, pollution, protection of the environment, product management and distribution, and the generation, storage, handling, transportation, treatment, disposal and remediation of hazardous substances and waste materials. In the ordinary course of business, we are subject to frequent environmental inspections and monitoring and occasional investigations by governmental enforcement authorities. In addition, our production facilities require operating permits that are subject to renewal, modification and, in certain circumstances, revocation. Actual or alleged violations of safety laws, environmental laws or permit requirements could result in restrictions or prohibitions on plant operations or product distribution, substantial civil or criminal sanctions, as well as, under some environmental laws, the assessment of strict liability and/or joint and several liability. Moreover, changes in environmental regulations could inhibit or interrupt our operations, or require us to modify our facilities or operations. Accordingly, environmental or regulatory matters may cause us to incur significant unanticipated losses, costs or liabilities.

Environmental, Health and Safety Systems

        We are committed to achieving and maintaining compliance with all applicable environmental, health and safety ("EHS") legal requirements, and we have developed policies and management systems that are intended to identify the multitude of EHS legal requirements applicable to our operations, enhance compliance with applicable legal requirements, improve the safety of our employees, contractors, community neighbors and customers and minimize the production and emission of wastes and other pollutants. Although EHS legal requirements are constantly changing and are frequently difficult to comply with, these EHS management systems are designed to assist us in our compliance goals while also fostering efficiency and improvement and reducing overall risk to us.

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EHS Capital Expenditures

        We may incur future costs for capital improvements and general compliance under EHS laws, including costs to acquire, maintain and repair pollution control equipment. For the years ended December 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, our capital expenditures for EHS matters totaled $125 million, $92 million, and $105 million, respectively. Because capital expenditures for these matters are subject to evolving regulatory requirements and depend, in part, on the timing, promulgation and enforcement of specific requirements, our capital expenditures for EHS matters have varied significantly from year to year and we cannot provide assurance that our recent expenditures are indicative of future amounts we may spend related to EHS and other applicable laws.

        We have incurred, and we may in the future incur, liability to investigate and clean up waste or contamination at our current or former facilities or facilities operated by third parties at which we may have disposed of waste or other materials. Similarly, we may incur costs for the cleanup of waste that was disposed of prior to the purchase of our businesses. Under some circumstances, the scope of our liability may extend to damages to natural resources.

        Under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act ("CERCLA") and similar state laws, a current or former owner or operator of real property in the U.S. may be liable for remediation costs regardless of whether the release or disposal of hazardous substances was in compliance with law at the time it occurred, and a current owner or operator may be liable regardless of whether it owned or operated the facility at the time of the release. Outside the U.S., analogous contaminated property laws, such as those in effect in France and Australia, can hold past owners and/or operators liable for remediation at former facilities. Currently, there are approximately 10 former facilities or third-party sites in the U.S. for which we have been notified of potential claims against us for cleanup liabilities, including, but not limited to, sites listed under CERCLA. Based on current information and past experiences at other CERCLA sites, we do not expect these third-party claims to have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements.

        One of these sites, the North Maybe Canyon Mine site, involves a former phosphorous mine near Soda Springs, Idaho, which is believed to have been operated by several companies, including a predecessor company to us. In 2004, the U.S. Forest Service notified us that we are a CERCLA potentially responsible party ("PRP") for contamination originating from the site. In February 2010, we and Wells Cargo (another PRP) agreed to conduct a Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study of a portion of the site and are currently engaged in that process. At this time, we are unable to reasonably estimate our potential liabilities at this site.

        Another of these sites, the Star Lake Canal site in Port Neches, TX, involves a discharge point for manufacturing facilities owned by us and several other local chemical manufacturers. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (the "EPA") issued a draft Consent Decree related to cleanup at this site to us and a prior owner in September 2014. The prior owner has an indemnification obligation and has accepted defense of this matter. As of December 31, 2014, we had an accrued liability of approximately $18 million relating to this matter and a corresponding receivable of approximately $18 million relating to our indemnity protection.

        In addition, under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act ("RCRA") in the U.S. and similar state laws, we may be required to remediate contamination originating from our properties as a condition to our hazardous waste permit. Some of our manufacturing sites have an extended history of industrial chemical manufacturing and use, including on-site waste disposal. We are aware of soil, groundwater or surface contamination from past operations at some of our sites, and we may find contamination at other sites in the future. For example, our Port Neches, Texas, and Geismar, Louisiana, facilities are the subject of ongoing remediation requirements imposed under RCRA. Similar laws exist in a number of locations in which we currently operate, or previously operated, manufacturing facilities, such as Australia, India, France, Hungary and Italy.

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        By letter dated March 7, 2006, our former Base Chemicals and Polymers facility in West Footscray, Australia was issued a cleanup notice by the Environmental Protection Authority Victoria ("EPA Victoria") due to concerns about soil and groundwater contamination emanating from the site. On August 23, 2010, EPA Victoria revoked a second cleanup notice and issued a revised notice that included a requirement for financial assurance for the remediation. As of December 31, 2014, we had an accrued liability of approximately $19 million related to estimated environmental remediation costs at this site. We can provide no assurance that the authority will not seek to institute additional requirements for the site or that additional costs will not be required for the cleanup.

        In many cases, our potential liability arising from historical contamination is based on operations and other events occurring prior to our ownership of a business or specific facility. In these situations, we frequently obtained an indemnity agreement from the prior owner addressing remediation liabilities arising from pre-closing conditions. We have successfully exercised our rights under these contractual covenants for a number of sites and, where applicable, mitigated our ultimate remediation liability. We cannot assure you, however, that the liabilities for all such matters subject to indemnity will be honored by the prior owner or that our existing indemnities will be sufficient to cover our liabilities for such matters.

        Based on available information and the indemnification rights we believe are likely to be available, we believe that the costs to investigate and remediate known contamination will not have a material effect on our financial statements. However, if such indemnities are not honored or do not fully cover the costs of investigation and remediation or we are required to contribute to such costs, then such expenditures may have a material effect on our financial statements. At the current time, we are unable to estimate the total cost, exclusive of indemnification benefits, to remediate any of the known contamination sites.

ENVIRONMENTAL RESERVES

        We have accrued liabilities relating to anticipated environmental cleanup obligations, site reclamation and closure costs and known penalties. Liabilities are recorded when potential liabilities are either known or considered probable and can be reasonably estimated. Our liability estimates are calculated using present value techniques as appropriate and are based upon requirements placed upon us by regulators, available facts, existing technology and past experience. The environmental liabilities do not include amounts recorded as asset retirement obligations. We had accrued $60 million and $27 million for environmental liabilities as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. Of these amounts, $7 million and $5 million were classified as accrued liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively, and $53 million and $22 million were classified as other noncurrent liabilities in our consolidated balance sheets as of December 31, 2014 and 2013, respectively. In certain cases, our remediation liabilities may be payable over periods of up to 30 years. We may incur losses for environmental remediation in excess of the amounts accrued; however, we are not able to estimate the amount or range of such potential excess.

        On October 1, 2014, the Company completed the Rockwood Acquisition. The properties involved in the transaction are located primarily in China, Finland, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom and the U.S., and include both owned and leased sites. The existence of soil and groundwater contamination from historical industrial operations is known to exist at some of these new properties. As of December 31, 2014, these newly acquired businesses had accrued $17 million for environmental liabilities (including remediations, investigations, groundwater monitoring, and reclamation obligations associated with landfill operations). Of this amount, $3 million was classified as accrued liabilities and $14 million was classified as other noncurrent liabilities. In certain cases, these remediation liabilities may be payable over periods of up to 30 years. The Company is currently evaluating these new reserve amounts in relation to similar reserves recorded by the Company in the past, as well as within the

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context of the terms of the acquisition agreements. Pursuant to the agreements related to the Rockwood Acquisition, Rockwood has agreed to indemnify us for certain environmental matters.

REGULATORY DEVELOPMENTS

        The European Union regulatory framework for chemicals, called "REACH," became effective in 2007 and is designed to be phased in gradually over 11 years. As a REACH-regulated company that manufactures in or imports more than one metric ton per year of a chemical substance into the European Economic Area, we were required to pre-register with the European Chemicals Agency such chemical substances and isolated intermediates to take advantage of the 11 year phase-in period. To meet our compliance obligations, a cross-business REACH team was established, through which we were able to fulfill all required pre-registrations, our first phase registrations by the November 30, 2010 deadline and our second phase registrations by the May 31, 2013 deadline. While we continue our registration efforts to meet the next registration deadline of May 31, 2018, our REACH implementation team is now strategically focused on the evaluation and authorization phases of the REACH process, directing its efforts to address "Substances of Very High Concern" and evaluating potential business implications. Where warranted, evaluation of substitute chemicals will be an important element of our ongoing manufacturing sustainability efforts. As a chemical manufacturer with global operations, we are also actively monitoring and addressing analogous regulatory regimes being considered or implemented outside of the European Union, such as in Korea and Taiwan.

        Although the total long-term cost for REACH compliance is unknown at this time, we spent approximately $5 million, $4 million and $8 million in 2014, 2013 and 2012, respectively, to meet the initial REACH requirements. We cannot provide assurance that these recent expenditures are indicative of future amounts that we may be required to spend for REACH compliance.

GREENHOUSE GAS REGULATION

        Globally, our operations are increasingly subject to regulations that seek to reduce emissions of "greenhouse gases" ("GHGs"), such as carbon dioxide and methane, which may be contributing to changes in the earth's climate. At the Durban negotiations of the Conference of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol in 2012, a limited group of nations, including the European Union, agreed to a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty that provides for reductions in GHG emissions. More significantly, the European Union GHG Emissions Trading System, established pursuant to the Kyoto Protocol to reduce GHG emissions in the European Union, continues in its third phase. The European Union parliament continues with a process to formalized "backloading"—the withholding of GHG allowances to prop up carbon prices. In addition, the European Union has recently announced its intentions to cut GHG emissions to 40% below 1990 levels by 2040 and impose a 27% renewable energy requirement at the European Union level. In the U.S., California has commenced the first compliance period of its cap-and-trade program. In June 2013, China implemented its first pilot carbon emissions exchange in Shenzhen, China. Pilot carbon emissions schemes have also begun in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangdong, and Tianjin. Further expansion of China's regional cap-and-trade is planned, and ultimately it is expected that these regional systems will form the backbone of a national cap-and-trade program. As these programs have not been fully implemented and have experienced significant price volatility on low early trading volumes, we are unable at this time to determine their impact on our operations.

        Federal climate change legislation in the U.S. appears unlikely in the near-term. As a result, domestic efforts to curb GHG emissions will continue to be led by the EPA's GHG regulations and the efforts of states. To the extent that our domestic operations are subject to the EPA's GHG regulations, we may face increased capital and operating costs associated with new or expanded facilities. Significant expansions of our existing facilities or construction of new facilities may be subject to the Clean Air Act's (the "CAA") Prevention of Significant Deterioration requirements under the EPA's GHG

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"Tailoring Rule." Some of our facilities are also subject to the EPA's Mandatory Reporting of Greenhouse Gases rule, and any further regulation may increase our operational costs.

        Under a consent decree with states and environmental groups, the EPA is due to propose new source performance standards for GHG emissions from refineries. These standards could significantly increase the costs of constructing or adding capacity to refineries and may ultimately increase the costs or decrease the supply of refined products. Either of these events could have an adverse effect on our business.

        We are already managing and reporting GHG emissions, to varying degrees, as required by law for our sites in locations subject to Kyoto Protocol obligations and/or European Union emissions trading scheme requirements. Although these sites are subject to existing GHG legislation, few have experienced or anticipate significant cost increases as a result of these programs, although it is possible that GHG emission restrictions may increase over time. Potential consequences of such restrictions include capital requirements to modify assets to meet GHG emission restrictions and/or increases in energy costs above the level of general inflation, as well as direct compliance costs. Currently, however, it is not possible to estimate the likely financial impact of potential future regulation on any of our sites.

        Finally, it should be noted that some scientists have concluded that increasing concentrations of GHGs in the earth's atmosphere may produce climate changes that have significant physical effects, such as increased frequency and severity of storms, droughts, and floods and other climatic events. If any of those effects were to occur, they could have an adverse effect on our assets and operations.

PORT NECHES FLARING MATTER

        As part of the EPA's national enforcement initiative on flaring operations and by letter dated October 12, 2012, the U.S. Department of Justice (the "DOJ") notified us that we were in violation of the CAA based on our response to a 2010 CAA Section 114 Information Request. The EPA has used the enforcement initiative to bring similar actions against refiners and other chemical manufacturers. Specifically, the EPA alleged violations at our Port Neches, Texas facility from 2007-2012 for flare operations not consistent with good pollution control practice and not in compliance with certain flare-related regulations. As a result of these findings, the EPA referred this matter to the DOJ. We provided a formal response to the DOJ and the EPA with a supplemental data submission on April 29, 2013. We have been engaged in discussions with the DOJ and the EPA regarding these alleged violations and conducted field trials on an alternate flare monitoring method beginning in September 2014. We are currently unable to determine the likelihood or magnitude of potential penalty or injunctive relief that may be incurred in resolving this matter.

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AVAILABLE INFORMATION

        We maintain an internet website at http://www.huntsman.com. Our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to these reports are available free of charge through our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we file this material with the SEC. We also provide electronic or paper copies of our SEC filings free of charge upon request.

GLOSSARY OF CHEMICAL TERMS

BDO—butane diol
BLR—base liquid resin
DEG—di-ethylene glycol
DGA® Agent—DIGLYCOLAMINE® agent
EG—ethylene glycol
EO—ethylene oxide
LAB—linear alkyl benzene
LAS—linear alkylbenzene sulfonate
LER—liquid epoxy resins
LNG—liquefied natural gas
MDA—methylene dioxy amphetamine
MDI—methyl diphenyl diisocyanate
MEG—mono-ethylene glycol
MTBE—methyl tertiary-butyl ether
PG—propylene glycol
PO—propylene oxide

        Polyols—a substance containing several hydroxyl groups. A diol, triol and tetrol contain two, three and four hydroxyl groups, respectively.

TBA—tertiary butyl alcohol
TBHP—tert-butyl hydroperoxide
TDI—toluene diisocyanate
TEG—tri-ethylene glycol
TiO₂—titanium dioxide pigment
TPU—thermoplastic polyurethane
UPR—unsaturated polyester resin

ITEM 1A.    RISK FACTORS

Any of the following risks could materially and adversely affect our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR BUSINESS

Our industry is affected by global economic factors including risks associated with volatile economic conditions.

        Our financial results are substantially dependent on overall economic conditions in the U.S., Europe and Asia. Declining economic conditions in all or any of these locations—or negative perceptions about economic conditions—could result in a substantial decrease in demand for our products and could adversely affect our business. For example, our operations in Europe have been impacted by the uncertain European economy, which continues to adversely affect demand for some of our products. Additionally, the weakening of currencies in some emerging countries increases the risk of financial contagion in emerging markets globally.

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        Uncertain economic conditions and market instability make it particularly difficult for us to forecast demand trends. The timing and extent of any changes to currently prevailing market conditions is uncertain, and supply and demand may be unbalanced at any time. As a consequence, we may not be able to accurately predict future economic conditions or the effect of such conditions on our financial condition or results of operations. We can give no assurances as to the timing, extent or duration of the current or future economic cycles impacting the chemical industry.

The markets for many of our products are cyclical and volatile, and we may experience depressed market conditions for such products.

        Historically, the markets for many of our products have experienced alternating periods of tight supply, causing prices and profit margins to increase, followed by periods of capacity additions, resulting in oversupply and declining prices and profit margins. The volatility these markets experience occurs as a result of changes in the supply and demand for products, changes in energy prices and changes in various other economic conditions around the world. For example, demand for our products depends in part on the housing and construction industries. These industries are cyclical in nature and have historically been impacted by downturns in the economy. The cyclicality and volatility of our industry results in significant fluctuations in profits and cash flow from period to period and over the business cycle.

Planned disruptions in production at our manufacturing facilities and unplanned disruptions, such as natural disasters, may have a material adverse impact on our business, results of operations and/or financial condition.

        Manufacturing facilities in our industry are subject to planned and unplanned production shutdowns, turnarounds and outages. Any serious disruption at any of our facilities could impair our ability to use our facilities and have a material adverse impact on our revenues and increase our costs and expenses. Alternative facilities with sufficient capacity may not be available, may cost substantially more or may take a significant time to increase production or qualify with our customers, each of which could negatively impact our business, results of operations and/or financial condition. Long-term production disruptions may cause our customers to seek alternative supply which could further adversely affect our profitability.

        Unplanned production disruptions may occur for external reasons including natural disasters, weather, disease, supply disruptions particularly from sole-source suppliers, strikes, transportation interruption, government regulation, political unrest or terrorism, or internal reasons, such as fire, unplanned maintenance or other manufacturing problems. In addition, many of our current and potential customers are concentrated in specific geographic areas including the U.S. Gulf Coast, which is subject to hurricanes. A disaster in one of these regions could have a material impact on our operations, operating results and financial condition.

        While we maintain business recovery plans that are intended to allow us to recover from natural disasters or other events that could disrupt our business, we cannot provide assurances that our plans would fully protect us from the effects of all such disasters or from events that might increase in frequency or intensity due to climate change. In addition, insurance may not adequately compensate us for any losses incurred as a result of natural or other disasters. In areas prone to frequent natural or other disasters, insurance may become increasingly expensive or not available at all. Furthermore, some potential climate-driven losses, particularly inundation due to sea-level rise, may pose long-term risks to our physical facilities such that operations cannot be restored in their current locations.

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Our results of operations may be adversely affected by international business risks, including fluctuations in currency exchange rates, legal restrictions and taxes.

        We conduct a majority of our business operations outside the U.S., and these operations are subject to risks normally associated with international operations. These risks include the need to convert currencies that may be received for our products into currencies in which we purchase raw materials or pay for services, which could result in a gain or loss depending on fluctuations in exchange rates. In addition, we translate our local currency financial results into U.S. dollars based on average exchange rates prevailing during the reporting period or the exchange rate at the end of that period. During times of a strengthening U.S. dollar, our reported international sales and earnings may be reduced because the local currency may translate into fewer U.S. dollars. Because we currently have significant operations located outside the U.S., we are exposed to fluctuations in global currency rates which may result in gains or losses on our financial statements.

        Other risks of international operations include trade barriers, tariffs, exchange controls, national and regional labor strikes, social and political risks, general economic risks and required compliance with a variety of U.S. and foreign laws, including tax laws, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (and foreign equivalents), export controls and regulations administered by the Office of Foreign Assets Control. In addition, although we maintain an anti-corruption compliance program throughout our Company, violations of our compliance program may result in criminal or civil sanctions, including material monetary fines, penalties and other costs against us or our employees, and may have a material adverse effect on our business. Furthermore, in foreign jurisdictions where legal processes may vary from country to country, we may experience difficulty in enforcing agreements. In jurisdictions where bankruptcy laws and practices vary, we may experience difficulty collecting foreign receivables through foreign legal systems. The occurrence of these risks, among others, could disrupt the businesses of our international subsidiaries, which could significantly affect their ability to make distributions to us.

        We operate in a significant number of jurisdictions, which contributes to the volatility of our effective tax rate. Changes in tax laws or the interpretation of tax laws in the jurisdictions in which we operate may affect our effective tax rate. In addition, generally accepted accounting principles in the U.S. ("GAAP" or "U.S. GAAP") have required us to place valuation allowances against our net operating losses and other deferred tax assets in a significant number of tax jurisdictions. These valuation allowances result from analysis of positive and negative evidence supporting the realization of tax benefits. Negative evidence includes a cumulative history of pre-tax operating losses in specific tax jurisdictions. Changes in valuation allowances have resulted in material fluctuations in our effective tax rate. Economic conditions may dictate the continued imposition of current valuation allowances and, potentially, the establishment of new valuation allowances. While significant valuation allowances remain, our effective tax rate will likely continue to experience significant fluctuations.

Our efforts to grow and transform our businesses may require significant investments; if our strategies are unsuccessful, our business, results of operations and/or financial condition may be materially adversely affected.

        We continuously evaluate opportunities for growth and change. These initiatives may involve making acquisitions, entering into partnerships and joint ventures, divesting assets, creating new financial structures and building new facilities—any of which could require a significant investment and subject us to new kinds of risks. We have incurred indebtedness to finance these opportunities, and we may incur additional indebtedness to finance future initiatives. We could also issue additional shares of stock of the Company or our subsidiaries to finance such initiatives. If our strategies for growth and change are not successful, we could face increased financial pressure, such as increased cash flow demands, reduced liquidity and diminished access to financial markets and the equity value of our businesses could be diluted.

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        The implementation of strategies for growth and change may create additional risks, including:

•

diversion of management time and attention away from existing operations;



•

requiring capital investment that could otherwise be used for the operation and growth of our existing businesses;



•

disruptions to important business relationships;



•

increased operating costs;



•

use of limited investment and other baskets under our debt covenants; and



•

difficulties due to lack of or limited prior experience in any new markets we may enter.

        Our inability to address these risks or other problems encountered in connection with our strategies for growth and change could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

We may have difficulties integrating acquired businesses and as a result, our business, results of operations and/or financial condition may be materially adversely affected.

        We have completed a number of acquisitions and we will continue to acquire additional businesses and enter into joint ventures as part of our business strategy. For example, in October 2014, we completed the Rockwood Acquisition. Growth through acquisitions and joint ventures involves risks, including:

•

inability to efficiently operate new businesses or to integrate acquired businesses and products;



•

inability to accurately predict delays in realizing the costs and benefits of acquisitions, partnerships, or joint ventures;



•

unexpected losses of customers or suppliers of an acquired or existing business;



•

difficulties in retaining key employees of acquired businesses;



•

difficulties in realizing projected synergies; and



•

exposure to unanticipated liabilities, including unexpected environmental exposures, product liability or illegal activities conducted by an acquired company or a joint venture partner.

        Our inability to address these risks, including with respect to the Rockwood Acquisition, could cause us to fail to realize the anticipated benefits of such acquisitions or joint ventures and could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

If we are unable to execute our cost reduction plans successfully, our total operating costs may be greater than expected, which may adversely affect our profitability.

        From time to time, we undertake actions to restructure our business segments to improve our earnings profile. We recently announced a significant restructuring of our Pigments and Additives segment. We have implemented a number of these programs and have realized a portion of the anticipated benefits. While we continue to search for opportunities to reduce our costs and expenses to improve operating profitability without jeopardizing the quality of our products or the effectiveness of our operations, our success in achieving targeted cost and expense reductions depends upon a number of factors. If we do not successfully execute on our cost reduction initiatives or if we experience delays in completing the implementation of these initiatives, our results of operations or financial condition could be adversely affected.

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Significant price volatility or interruptions in supply of our raw materials may result in increased costs that we may be unable to pass on to our customers, which could reduce our profitability.

        The prices of the raw materials that we purchase from third parties are cyclical and volatile. We purchase a substantial portion of our raw materials from third-party suppliers. The cost of these raw materials represents a substantial portion of our operating expenses. The prices for a number of these raw materials generally follow price trends of, and vary with market conditions for, crude oil and natural gas feedstocks, which are highly volatile and cyclical. For example, the market for crude oil and natural gas feedstocks has experienced depressed pricing in recent months, leading to favorable prices for the raw materials that we purchase from third parties. Lower raw material prices, however, can lead to downward pressure on selling prices for certain of our products leading to reduced revenue. Any rebound in the pricing for such feedstocks could adversely affect our operating expenses.

        In general, the feedstocks and other raw materials we consume are organic chemical commodity products that are readily available at market prices. We frequently enter into supply agreements with particular suppliers, but disruptions of existing supply could substantially impact our profitability. If certain of our suppliers are unable to meet their obligations under present supply agreements, we may be forced to pay higher prices to obtain the necessary raw materials from other sources and we may not be able to increase prices for our finished products to recoup the higher raw materials costs. In addition, if raw materials become unavailable within a geographic area from which they are now sourced, then we may not be able to obtain suitable or cost effective substitutes. Any interruption in the supply of raw materials could increase our costs or decrease our revenues, which could reduce our cash flow.

        Our supply agreements typically provide for market-based pricing and provide us only limited protection against price volatility. While we attempt to match cost increases with corresponding product price increases, we are not always able to raise product prices immediately or at all. Timing differences between raw material prices, which may change daily, and contract product prices, which in many cases are negotiated only monthly or less often, have had and may continue to have a negative effect on our cash flow. Any cost increase that we are not able to pass on to our customers could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

We are subject to risks relating to our information technology systems, and any failure to adequately protect our critical information technology systems could materially affect our operations.

        We rely on information technology systems across our operations, including for management, supply chain and financial information and various other processes and transactions. Our ability to effectively manage our business depends on the security, reliability and capacity of these systems. Information technology system failures, network disruptions or breaches of security could disrupt our operations, cause delays or cancellations of customer orders or impede the manufacture or shipment of products, processing of transactions or reporting of financial results. An attack or other problem with our systems could also result in the disclosure of proprietary information about our business or confidential information concerning our customers or employees, which could result in significant damage to our business and our reputation.

        We have put in place security measures designed to protect against the misappropriation or corruption of our systems, intentional or unintentional disclosure of confidential information, or disruption of our operations. Current employees have, and former employees may have, access to a significant amount of information regarding our operations which could be disclosed to our competitors or otherwise used to harm us. Moreover, our operations in certain locations, such as China, may be particularly vulnerable to security attacks or other problems. Any breach of our security measures could result in unauthorized access to and misappropriation of our information, corruption of data or

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disruption of operations or transactions, any of which could have a material adverse effect on our business.

        In addition, we could be required to expend significant additional amounts to respond to information technology issues or to protect against threatened or actual security breaches. We may not be able to implement measures that will protect against all of the significant risks to our information technology systems.

Our significant debt level, a portion of which is subject to variable interest rates, makes us vulnerable to downturns and may limit our ability to respond to market conditions or to obtain additional financing.

        We have significant outstanding debt. As of December 31, 2014, our total consolidated outstanding debt was $5,200 million (including current portion of debt); our debt to total capitalization ratio was approximately 73%; our combined outstanding variable rate borrowings were approximately $2.9 billion; and our current portion of debt totaled $267 million. Our debt level, and the fact that a significant percentage of our cash flow is required to make payments on our debt, could have important consequences for our business, including but not limited to the following:

•

we may be more vulnerable to business, industry or economic downturns, making it more difficult to respond to market conditions;



•

cash flow available for other purposes, including the growth of our business, may be reduced;



•

our ability to obtain additional financing may be constrained, particularly during periods when the capital markets are unsettled;



•

our competitors with lower debt levels may have a competitive advantage relative to us; and



•

part of our debt is subject to variable interest rates, which makes us more vulnerable to increases in interest rates (for example, a 1% increase in interest rates, without giving effect to interest rate hedges or other offsetting items, would increase our annual interest rate expense by approximately $29 million).

        Our debt level also impacts our credit ratings. Any decision by credit rating agencies to downgrade our debt ratings could restrict our ability to obtain additional financing and could result in increased interest and other costs.

Agreements governing our debt may restrict our ability to engage in certain business activities or to obtain additional financing.

        The agreements governing our debt arrangements contain certain restrictive covenants. These covenants may limit or prohibit our ability to incur more debt; make certain prepayments of debt; pay dividends, redeem stock or make other distributions; issue stock; make investments; create liens; enter into transactions with affiliates; enter into sale and leaseback transactions; merge or consolidate; and transfer or sell assets. Some of our strategies may necessitate receiving consents or waivers under our debt arrangements, which could be withheld.

        Our failure to comply with any of our debt covenants, or our failure to make payments of principal or interest on our debt, could result in a default, or trigger cross-default or acceleration provisions, under our debt agreements. An event of default could result in our debt obligations becoming immediately due and payable, cause our creditors to terminate their lending commitments, or force us or one or more of our subsidiaries into bankruptcy or liquidation. Any of the foregoing occurrences could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition. For more information regarding our debt covenants, see "Note 13. Debt—Direct and Subsidiary Debt—Compliance with Covenants" to our consolidated financial statements.

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The industries in which we compete are highly competitive, and we may not be able to compete effectively with our competitors that have greater financial resources, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial condition.

        The industries in which we operate are highly competitive. Among our competitors are some of the world's largest chemical companies and major integrated petroleum companies that have their own raw material resources. Changes in the competitive landscape could make it difficult for us to retain our competitive position in various products and markets throughout the world. In addition, some of the companies with whom we compete may be able to produce products more economically than we can. Furthermore, some of our competitors have greater financial resources, which may enable them to invest significant capital into their businesses, including expenditures for research and development. Some of our competitors are owned or partially owned by foreign governments which may provide a competitive advantage to those competitors. While we are engaged in a range of research and development programs to develop new products and processes, to improve and refine existing products and processes, and to develop new applications for existing products, the failure to develop new products, processes or applications could make us less competitive. Moreover, if any of our current or future competitors develops proprietary technology that enables them to produce products at a significantly lower cost, our technology could be rendered uneconomical or obsolete. Further, it is possible that we could abandon certain products, processes, or applications due to potential infringement of third party intellectual property rights or that we could be named in future litigation for the infringement or misappropriation of a competitor's or other third party's intellectual property rights, which could include a claim for injunctive relief and damages, and, if so, such adverse results could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations and financial position.

        Certain of our businesses use technology that is widely available. Accordingly, barriers to entry, apart from capital availability, may be low in certain product segments of our business, and the entrance of new competitors into the industry may reduce our ability to capture improving profit margins in circumstances where capacity utilization in the industry is increasing. Further, petroleum-rich countries have become more significant participants in the petrochemical industry and may expand their roles significantly in the future. Increased competition in any of our businesses could compel us to reduce the prices of our products, which could result in reduced profit margins and loss of market share and have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

Our operations involve risks that may increase our operating costs, which could reduce our profitability.

        Although we take precautions to enhance the safety of our operations and minimize the risk of disruptions, our operations are subject to hazards inherent in the manufacturing and marketing of chemical products. These hazards include: chemical spills, pipeline leaks and ruptures, storage tank leaks, discharges or releases of toxic or hazardous substances or gases and other hazards incident to the manufacturing, processing, handling, transportation and storage of dangerous chemicals. We are also potentially subject to other hazards, including natural disasters and severe weather; explosions and fires; transportation problems, including interruptions, spills and leaks; mechanical failures; unscheduled downtimes; labor difficulties; remediation complications; and other risks. Many potential hazards can cause bodily injury and loss of life, severe damage to or destruction of property and equipment and environmental damage, and may result in suspension of operations and the imposition of civil or criminal penalties and liabilities. Furthermore, we are subject to present and future claims with respect to workplace exposure, exposure of contractors on our premises as well as other persons located nearby, workers' compensation and other matters.

        We maintain property, business interruption, products liability and casualty insurance policies which we believe are in accordance with customary industry practices, as well as insurance policies covering other types of risks, including pollution legal liability insurance, but we are not fully insured

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against all potential hazards and risks incident to our business. Each of these insurance policies is subject to customary exclusions, deductibles and coverage limits, in accordance with industry standards and practices. As a result of market conditions, premiums and deductibles for certain insurance policies can increase substantially and, in some instances, certain insurance may become unavailable or available only for reduced amounts of coverage. If we were to incur a significant liability for which we were not fully insured, it could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

        In addition, we are subject to various claims and litigation in the ordinary course of business. We are a party to various pending lawsuits and proceedings. For more information, see "—Item 3. Legal Proceedings" below. It is possible that judgments could be rendered against us in these cases or others for which we could be uninsured or not covered by indemnity, or which may be beyond the amounts that we currently have reserved or anticipate incurring for such matters.

Financial difficulties and related problems at our customers, vendors, suppliers and other business partners could have a material adverse effect on our business.

        During periods of economic disruption, more of our customers than normal may experience financial difficulties, including bankruptcies, restructurings and liquidations, which could affect our business by reducing sales, increasing our risk in extending trade credit to customers and reducing our profitability. A significant adverse change in a customer relationship or in a customer's financial position could cause us to limit or discontinue business with that customer, require us to assume more credit risk relating to that customer's receivables or limit our ability to collect accounts receivable from that customer. In addition, we rely on a number of vendors and suppliers and collaborations with other industry participants to provide us with chemicals, feedstocks and other raw materials, along with energy sources and, in certain cases, facilities, that we need to operate our business. During periods of economic disruption, some of these companies could be forced to reduce their output, shut down their operations or file for bankruptcy protection. If this were to occur, it could adversely affect their ability to provide us with the raw materials, energy sources or facilities that we need, which could materially disrupt our operations, including the production of certain of our products. Moreover, it could be difficult to find replacements for certain of our business partners without incurring significant delays or cost increases. All of these risks could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

We are subject to many environmental, health and safety regulations that may result in unanticipated costs or liabilities, which could reduce our profitability.

        We are subject to extensive federal, state, local and foreign laws, regulations, rules and ordinances relating to pollution, protection of the environment and human health and safety, and the generation, storage, handling, transportation, treatment, disposal and remediation of hazardous substances and waste materials. Actual or alleged violations of environmental, health and safety, or EHS, laws or permit requirements could result in restrictions or prohibitions on plant operations and substantial civil or criminal sanctions, as well as, under some EHS laws, the assessment of strict liability and/or joint and several liability.

        Governmental, regulatory and societal demands for increasing levels of product safety and environmental protection could result in increased pressure for more stringent regulatory control with respect to the chemical industry. In addition, these concerns could influence public perceptions regarding our products and operations, the viability of certain products, our reputation, the cost to comply with regulations, and the ability to attract and retain employees. Moreover, changes in EHS regulations could inhibit or interrupt our operations, or require us to modify our facilities or operations. Accordingly, environmental or regulatory matters may cause us to incur significant unanticipated losses, costs or liabilities, which could reduce our profitability. For example, our

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operations are increasingly subject to regulations that seek to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, or GHGs, such as carbon dioxide and methane, which may be contributing to changes in the Earth's climate. Compliance with these regulations and any more stringent restrictions in the future may increase our operational costs.

        We could incur significant expenditures in order to comply with existing or future EHS laws. Capital expenditures and costs relating to EHS matters will be subject to evolving regulatory requirements and will depend on the timing of the promulgation and enforcement of specific standards which impose requirements on our operations. Capital expenditures and costs beyond those currently anticipated may therefore be required under existing or future EHS laws.

        Furthermore, we may be liable for the costs of investigating and cleaning up environmental contamination on or from our properties or at off-site locations where we disposed of or arranged for the disposal or treatment of hazardous materials or from disposal activities that pre-dated our purchase of our businesses. We may therefore incur additional costs and expenditures beyond those currently anticipated to address all such known and unknown situations under existing and future EHS laws.

Our operations, financial condition and liquidity could be adversely affected by legal claims against us, including antitrust claims.

        We face risks arising from various legal actions, including matters relating to antitrust, product liability, intellectual property and environmental claims. Over the past few years, antitrust claims have been made against chemical companies, and we have been named as a defendant in the antitrust suits discussed in "—Item 3. Legal Proceedings—Antitrust Matters" below. In this type of litigation, the plaintiffs generally seek treble damages, which may be significant. An adverse outcome in any antitrust claim could be material and significantly impact our operations, financial condition and liquidity.

Our business is dependent on our intellectual property. If our intellectual property rights cannot be enforced or our trade secrets become known to our competitors, our ability to compete may be adversely affected.

        Proprietary protection of our processes, apparatuses and other technology is important to our business. While a presumption of validity exists with respect to patents issued to us in the U.S., there can be no assurance that any of our patents will not be challenged, invalidated, circumvented or rendered unenforceable. Furthermore, if any pending patent application filed by us does not result in an issued patent, or if patents are issued to us, but such patents do not provide meaningful protection of our intellectual property, then our ability to compete may be adversely affected. Additionally, our competitors or other third parties may obtain patents that restrict or preclude our ability to lawfully produce or sell our products in a competitive manner, which could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

        We also rely upon unpatented proprietary know-how and continuing technological innovation and other trade secrets to develop and maintain our competitive position. While it is our policy to enter into agreements imposing confidentiality obligations upon our employees and third parties to protect our intellectual property, these confidentiality obligations may be breached, may not provide meaningful protection for our trade secrets or proprietary know-how, or adequate remedies may not be available in the event of an unauthorized access, use or disclosure of our trade secrets and know-how. In addition, others could obtain knowledge of our trade secrets through independent development or other access by legal means.

        We may have to rely on judicial enforcement of our patents and other proprietary rights. We may not be able to effectively protect our intellectual property rights from misappropriation or infringement in countries where effective patent, trademark, trade secret and other intellectual property laws and judicial systems may be unavailable, or may not protect our proprietary rights to the same extent as U.S. law.

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        The failure of our patents or confidentiality agreements to protect our processes, apparatuses, technology, trade secrets or proprietary know-how or the failure of adequate legal remedies for related actions could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

Conflicts, military actions, terrorist attacks and general instability, particularly in certain energy-producing nations, along with increased security regulations related to our industry, could adversely affect our business.

        Conflicts, military actions and terrorist attacks have precipitated economic instability and turmoil in financial markets. Instability and turmoil, particularly in energy-producing nations, may result in raw material cost increases. The uncertainty and economic disruption resulting from hostilities, military action or acts of terrorism may impact any or all of our facilities and operations or those of our suppliers or customers. Accordingly, any conflict, military action or terrorist attack that impacts us or any of our suppliers or customers, could have a material adverse effect on our business, results of operations, financial condition and liquidity.

        In addition, a number of governments have instituted regulations attempting to increase the security of chemical plants and the transportation of hazardous chemicals, which could result in higher operating costs and could have a material adverse effect on our financial condition and liquidity.

If our subsidiaries do not make sufficient distributions to us, then we will not be able to make payment on our debts.

        Our debt is generally the exclusive obligation of Huntsman International and our guarantor subsidiaries. Because a significant portion of our operations are conducted by nonguarantor subsidiaries, our cash flow and our ability to service indebtedness, including our ability to pay the interest on our debt when due and principal of such debt at maturity, are dependent to a large extent upon cash dividends and distributions or other transfers from such nonguarantor subsidiaries. Any payment of dividends, distributions, loans or advances by our nonguarantor subsidiaries to us could be subject to restrictions on dividends or repatriation of earnings under applicable local law, monetary transfer restrictions and foreign currency exchange regulations in the jurisdictions in which our subsidiaries operate, and any restrictions imposed by the current and future debt instruments of our nonguarantor subsidiaries. In addition, payments to us by our subsidiaries are contingent upon our subsidiaries' earnings.

        Our subsidiaries are separate legal entities and, except for our guarantor subsidiaries, have no obligation, contingent or otherwise, to pay any amounts due on our debt or to make any funds available for those amounts, whether by dividends, loans, distributions or other payments, and do not guarantee the payment of interest on, or principal of, our debt. Any right that we have to receive any assets of any of our subsidiaries that are not guarantors upon the liquidation or reorganization of any such subsidiary, and the consequent right of holders of notes to realize proceeds from the sale of their assets, will be structurally subordinated to the claims of that subsidiary's creditors, including trade creditors and holders of debt issued by that subsidiary.

Regulatory or market changes with respect to MTBE may materially reduce our sales and/or materially increase our costs.

        We produce MTBE, an oxygenate that is blended with gasoline to reduce vehicle air emissions and to enhance the octane rating of gasoline. Because MTBE has contaminated some water supplies, its use has become controversial in the U.S. and elsewhere, and its use has been effectively eliminated in the U.S. market. We currently market MTBE, either directly or through third parties, to gasoline additive customers located outside the U.S. This business has been profitable to us over time, and future legislative or regulatory initiatives outside the U.S. restricting MTBE could materially adversely affect

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our ability to market and sell MTBE and our profitability. Expansion of our PO/MTBE operations, including our joint venture with Sinopec in China, will further expose us to these risks.

        While we could use all or a portion of our precursor TBA to produce saleable products other than MTBE, this would require significant capital expenditures to modify our facilities. Moreover, the sale of other products would produce a lower level of cash flow than that historically produced from the sale of MTBE.

Our pension and postretirement benefit plan obligations are currently underfunded, and under certain circumstances we may have to significantly increase the level of cash funding to some or all of these plans, which would reduce the cash available for our business.

        We have unfunded obligations under our domestic and foreign pension and postretirement benefit plans and assumed additional unfunded pension obligations as part of our acquisition of the Performance Additives and Titanium Dioxide businesses of Rockwood. The funded status of our pension plans is dependent upon many factors, including returns on invested assets, the level of certain market interest rates and the discount rate used to determine pension obligations. Unfavorable returns on the plan assets or unfavorable changes in applicable laws or regulations could materially change the timing and amount of required plan funding, which would reduce the cash available for our business. In addition, a decrease in the discount rate used to determine pension obligations could result in an increase in the valuation of pension obligations, which could affect the reported funding status of our pension plans and future contributions, as well as the periodic pension cost in subsequent fiscal years.

        Under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation ("PBGC") has the authority to terminate an underfunded tax-qualified pension plan under limited circumstances. In the event our tax-qualified pension plans are terminated by the PBGC, we could be liable to the PBGC for the entire amount of the underfunding and, under certain circumstances, the liability could be senior to our notes.

RISKS RELATED TO OUR COMMON STOCK AND DEBT SECURITIES

Certain provisions contained in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws could discourage a takeover attempt, which may reduce or eliminate the likelihood of a change of control transaction and, therefore, limit your ability to sell our common stock at a price higher than the current market value.

        Certain provisions contained in our certificate of incorporation and bylaws, such as a classified board of directors, limitations on stockholder proposals at meetings of stockholders and the inability of stockholders to call special meetings and certain provisions of Delaware law, could make it more difficult for a third party to acquire control of our Company, even if some of our stockholders were to consider such a change of control to be beneficial. Our certificate of incorporation also authorizes our Board of Directors to issue preferred stock without stockholder approval. Therefore, our Board of Directors could elect to issue preferred stock that has special voting or other rights that could make it even more difficult for a third party to acquire us, which may reduce or eliminate your ability to sell our common stock at a price higher than the current market value.

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The declaration of dividends by our Company is subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors and limitations under Delaware law, and there can be no assurance that we will continue to pay dividends.

        We have a history of paying quarterly dividends on our common stock. The declaration of dividends by our Company is subject to the discretion of our Board of Directors. Our Board of Directors takes into account such matters as general business conditions, our financial results, expected liquidity and capital expenditure requirements, contractual, legal or regulatory restrictions on the payment of dividends, the effect on our debt ratings and such other factors as our Board of Directors may deem relevant, and we can provide no assurance that we will continue to pay dividends on our common stock. In addition, Delaware law contains certain restrictions on a company's ability to pay cash dividends and we can provide no assurance that those restrictions will not prevent us from paying a dividend in future periods.

We have purchased, and may continue to purchase, a portion of our debt securities, which could impact the market for our debt securities and likely would negatively affect our liquidity.

        Consistent with past practices, we may from time to time seek to repurchase or redeem our debt securities in open market purchases, privately negotiated transactions, tender offers, partial or full calls for redemption or otherwise. Any such repurchases or redemptions and the timing and amount thereof would depend on prevailing market conditions, liquidity requirements, contractual restrictions and other factors. Such transactions could negatively affect our liquidity.

ITEM 1B.    UNRESOLVED STAFF COMMENTS

        As of the date of this filing, we did not have any unresolved comments from the staff of the SEC.

ITEM 2.    PROPERTIES

        We own or lease chemical manufacturing and research facilities in the locations indicated in the list below which we believe are adequate for our short-term and anticipated long-term needs. We own or lease office space and storage facilities throughout the U.S. and in many foreign countries. Our principal executive offices are located at 500 Huntsman Way, Salt Lake City, Utah 84108. The following is a list of our principal owned or leased properties where manufacturing, research and main office facilities are located.

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ITEM 3.    LEGAL PROCEEDINGS

Antitrust Matters

        We were named as a defendant in consolidated class action civil antitrust suits filed on February 9 and 12, 2010 in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland alleging that we and our co-defendants and other alleged co-conspirators conspired to fix prices of titanium dioxide sold in the U.S. between at least March 1, 2002 and the present. The other defendants named in this matter were DuPont, Kronos and Cristal (formerly Millennium). On August 28, 2012, the court certified a class consisting of all U.S. customers who purchased titanium dioxide directly from the defendants (the "Direct Purchasers") since February 1, 2003. We and all other defendants settled the Direct Purchasers litigation and the court approved the settlement on December 13, 2013. We paid the settlement in an amount immaterial to our consolidated financial statements.

        On November 22, 2013, we were named as a defendant in a civil antitrust suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota brought by a Direct Purchaser who opted out of the Direct Purchasers class litigation (the "Opt-Out Litigation"). On April 21, 2014, the court severed the claims against us from the other defendants sued and ordered our case transferred to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Subsequently, Kronos, another defendant, was also severed from the Minnesota case and claims against it were transferred and consolidated for trial with our case in the Southern District of Texas. Trial is scheduled for February 22, 2016. It is possible that additional claims will be filed by other Direct Purchasers who opted out of the class litigation.

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        We were also named as a defendant in a class action civil antitrust suit filed on March 15, 2013 in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California by purchasers of products made from titanium dioxide (the "Indirect Purchasers") making essentially the same allegations as did the Direct Purchasers. On October 14, 2014, Plaintiffs filed their Second Amended Class Action Complaint narrowing the class of plaintiffs to those merchants and consumers of architectural coatings containing titanium dioxide. Plaintiffs have raised state antitrust claims under the laws of 16 states, consumer protection claims under the laws of 10 states, as well as unjust enrichment claims under the laws of 20 states. The Opt-Out Litigation and Indirect Purchasers plaintiffs seek to recover injunctive relief, treble damages or the maximum damages allowed by state law, costs of suit and attorneys' fees. We are not aware of any illegal conduct by us or any of our employees. Nevertheless, we have incurred costs relating to these claims and could incur additional costs in amounts which in the aggregate could be material to us. Because of the overall complexity of these cases, we are unable to reasonably estimate any possible loss or range of loss associated with these claims and we have made no accruals with respect to these claims.

Product Delivery Claim

        We have been notified by a customer of potential claims related to our alleged delivery of a different product than the one the customer had ordered. Our customer claims that it was unaware that the different product had been delivered until after that product had been used to manufacture materials which were subsequently sold. Originally, the customer stated that it had been notified of claims by its customers of up to an aggregate of €153 million (approximately $187 million) relating to this matter and claimed that we may be responsible for all or a portion of these potential claims. Our customer has since resolved some of these claims and the aggregate amount of the current claims is now approximately €113 million (approximately $138 million). Based on the facts currently available, we believe that we are insured for any liability we may ultimately have in excess of $10 million. However, no assurance can be given regarding our ultimate liability or costs. We believe our range of possible loss in this matter is between €0 and €113 million (approximately $138 million), and we have made no accrual with respect to this matter.

Indemnification Matters

        On July 3, 2012, Deutsche Bank Securities Inc. and Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC (the "Banks") demanded that we indemnify them for claims brought against them by certain MatlinPatterson entities that were formerly our stockholders ("MatlinPatterson") in litigation filed by MatlinPatterson on June 19, 2012 in the 9th District Court in Montgomery County, Texas (the "Texas Litigation"). The Banks assert that they are entitled to indemnification pursuant to the Agreement of Compromise and Settlement between the Banks and our Company, dated June 22, 2009, wherein the Banks and our Company settled claims that we filed relating to the failed acquisition by and merger with Hexion. MatlinPatterson claims that the Banks knowingly made materially false representations about the nature of the financing for the acquisition of our Company by Hexion and that they suffered substantial loss in value to their 19 million shares of our common stock as a result thereof. MatlinPatterson is asserting statutory fraud, common law fraud and aiding and abetting statutory fraud and are seeking actual damages, exemplary damages, costs and attorney's fees and pre-judgment and post-judgment interest. On December 21, 2012, the court dismissed the Texas Litigation, a decision which was affirmed by the Ninth Court of Appeals of Texas on May 15, 2014. A subsequent motion for rehearing by MatlinPatterson was denied by the same appellate court on June 12, 2014. A petition for discretionary review in the Texas Supreme Court was filed on July 28, 2014 and is currently pending.

        On July 14, 2014, the Banks demanded that we indemnify them for additional claims brought against them by certain other former Company stockholders in litigation filed June 14, 2014 in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin (the "Wisconsin Litigation"). The stockholders in the Wisconsin Litigation have made essentially the same allegations as MatlinPatterson

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made in the Texas Litigation and, additionally, have named Apollo Global Management LLC and Apollo Management Holdings, L.P. as defendants. Stockholder plaintiffs in the Wisconsin Litigation assert claims for misrepresentation and conspiracy to defraud. On December 23, 2014, the Banks filed motions to dismiss the Wisconsin Litigation on the same grounds asserted in the Texas Litigation. The court has not ruled on these motions. We denied the Banks' indemnification demand for both the Texas Litigation and the Wisconsin Litigation.

Port Neches Flaring Matter

        As part of the EPA's national enforcement initiative on flaring operations and by letter dated October 12, 2012, the DOJ notified us that we were in violation of the CAA based on our response to a 2010 CAA Section 114 Information Request. The EPA has used the enforcement initiative to bring similar actions against refiners and other chemical manufacturers. Specifically, the EPA alleged violations at our Port Neches, Texas facility from 2007-2012 for flare operations not consistent with good pollution control practice and not in compliance with certain flare-related regulations. As a result of these findings, the EPA referred this matter to the DOJ. We provided a formal response to the DOJ and the EPA with a supplemental data submission on April 29, 2013. We have been engaged in discussions with the DOJ and the EPA regarding these alleged violations and conducted field trials on an alternate flare monitoring method beginning in September 2014. We are currently unable to determine the likelihood or magnitude of potential penalty or injunctive relief that may be incurred in resolving this matter.

Other Proceedings

        We are a party to various other proceedings instituted by private plaintiffs, governmental authorities and others arising under provisions of applicable laws, including various environmental, products liability and other laws. Except as otherwise disclosed in this report, we do not believe that the outcome of any of these matters will have a material effect on our financial condition, results of operations or liquidity.

ITEM 4.    MINE SAFETY DISCLOSURES

        Not applicable.

EXECUTIVE OFFICERS OF THE REGISTRANT

        The following is information concerning our executive officers and significant employees as of the date of this report.

        Jon M. Huntsman, age 77, is the Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors of our Company. Prior to his appointment as Executive Chairman in February 2009, Mr. Huntsman served as Chairman of the Board of our company since its formation in 2004 and the predecessors to our company since 1970, when he founded his first plastics company. Mr. Huntsman served as Chief Executive Officer of our company and our affiliated companies from 1970 to 2000. Mr. Huntsman is a director or manager, as applicable, of Huntsman International and certain of our other subsidiaries. In addition, Mr. Huntsman serves or has served as Chairman or as a member of numerous corporate, philanthropic and industry boards, including the American Red Cross, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Primary Children's Medical Center Foundation, the Chemical Manufacturers Association and the American Plastics Council. Mr. Huntsman was selected in 1994 as the chemical industry's top Chief Executive Officer for all businesses in Europe and North America. Mr. Huntsman was awarded the American Chemical Society's Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013. Mr. Huntsman formerly served as Special Assistant to the President of the United States and as Vice Chairman of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He is the founding and principal benefactor of the Huntsman Cancer Institute.

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Mr. Huntsman is the father of our Chief Executive Officer, Peter R. Huntsman, our Division President, Advanced Materials, James H. Huntsman, and our director, Jon M. Huntsman, Jr.

        Peter R. Huntsman, age 51, is President, Chief Executive Officer and a Director of our Company. Mr. Huntsman also serves on our Litigation Committee. Prior to his appointment in July 2000 as Chief Executive Officer, Mr. Huntsman had served as President and Chief Operating Officer since 1994. In 1987, Mr. Huntsman joined Huntsman Polypropylene Corporation as Vice President before serving as Senior Vice President and General Manager. Mr. Huntsman has also served as President of Olympus Oil, as Senior Vice President of Huntsman Chemical Corporation and as a Senior Vice President of Huntsman Packaging Corporation, a former subsidiary of our Company. Mr. Huntsman is a director or manager, as applicable, of Huntsman International and certain of our other subsidiaries. Mr. Huntsman is the son of our Executive Chairman, Jon M. Huntsman, and the brother of our Division President, Advanced Materials, James H. Huntsman, and our director, Jon M. Huntsman, Jr.

        J. Kimo Esplin, age 52, is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Mr. Esplin has served as Chief Financial Officer of all of the Huntsman companies since 1999. From 1994 to 1999, Mr. Esplin served as our Treasurer. Prior to joining Huntsman in 1994, Mr. Esplin was a Vice President in the Investment Banking Division of Bankers Trust Company, where he worked for seven years. Mr. Esplin also serves as a director of Nutraceutical International Corporation, a publicly traded nutrition supplements company.

        David M. Stryker, age 56, is Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary. Mr. Stryker was appointed to this position in June 2013. Prior to joining Huntsman, Mr. Stryker served as Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary and Chief Compliance Officer of the BASF Corporation since 2004. Previously, he was Associate General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer at Siemens Corporation and, prior to that, a partner at the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis. Mr. Stryker started his legal career as a judicial clerk to the Honorable Robert H. Bork on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.

        Anthony P. Hankins, age 57, is Division President, Polyurethanes and Chief Executive Officer, Asia-Pacific. Mr. Hankins was appointed to these positions in March 2004 and February 2011, respectively. From May 2003 to February 2004, Mr. Hankins served as President, Performance Products, from January 2002 to April 2003, he served as Global Vice President, Rigids Division for our Polyurethanes segment, from October 2000 to December 2001, he served as Vice President—Americas for our Polyurethanes segment, and from March 1998 to September 2000, he served as Vice President—Asia-Pacific for our Polyurethanes segment. Mr. Hankins worked for ICI from 1980 to February 1998, when he joined our Company. At ICI, Mr. Hankins held numerous management positions in the plastics, fibers and polyurethanes businesses. He has extensive international experience, having held senior management positions in Europe, Asia and the U.S.

        Paul G. Hulme, age 58, is Division President, Textile Effects. Mr. Hulme was appointed to this position in February 2009. From June 2003 to February 2009, Mr. Hulme served as Division President, Materials and Effects. From February 2000 to May 2003, Mr. Hulme served as Vice President, Performance Chemicals, and from December 1999 to February 2000 he served as Operations Director, Polyurethanes. Prior to joining Huntsman in 1999, Mr. Hulme held various positions with ICI in finance, accounting and information systems roles. Mr. Hulme is a Chartered Accountant.

        James H. Huntsman, age 44, is Division President, Advanced Materials. Mr. Huntsman was appointed to this position in July 2011. Prior to that time, Mr. Huntsman served as Vice President of Huntsman Advanced Materials, Americas Region since February 2009. From March 2006 to February 2009, Mr. Huntsman owned and managed a film production company based in Los Angeles, California. Prior to March 2006, he served as our Vice President, U.S. Base Chemicals and Polymers. Mr. Huntsman originally joined our Company in 1990 and has held numerous manufacturing and commercial roles of increasing responsibility within a number of divisions. Mr. Huntsman is the son of

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our Executive Chairman, Jon M. Huntsman, the brother of our Chief Executive Officer, Peter R. Huntsman, and the brother of our director, Jon M. Huntsman, Jr.

        Stewart A. Monteith, age 58, is Division President, Performance Products. Mr. Monteith was appointed to this position in February 2011. Prior to that time, Mr. Monteith served as Vice President of the Performance Specialties Unit, a position he held since August 2003. He also served as Vice President for Global Markets and Business Development. Mr. Monteith joined Huntsman in 1994. Prior to joining Huntsman, Mr. Monteith held various positions with Texaco Chemical Company and Union Carbide.

        Simon Turner, age 51, is Division President, Pigments and Additives. Prior to his appointment to this position in November 2008, Mr. Turner served as Senior Vice President, Pigments and Additives since April 2008. From September 2004 to April 2008, Mr. Turner served as Vice President of Global Sales and from July 1999 to September 2004, he held positions including General Manager Co-Products and Director Supply Chain and Shared Services. Prior to joining Huntsman in July 1999, Mr. Turner held various positions with ICI.

        Ronald W. Gerrard, age 55, is Senior Vice President, Environmental, Health & Safety and Manufacturing Excellence. Mr. Gerrard was appointed to this position in June 2009. He also serves as our Corporate Sustainability Officer. From May 2004 to June 2009, Mr. Gerrard served as Vice President, Global Operations and Technology in our Polyurethanes segment. From 1999 to May 2004, Mr. Gerrard served as Vice President, Asia; Business Director, Flexible Foams; and Director, EHS and Engineering, also within our Polyurethanes segment. Prior to joining Huntsman in 1999, Mr. Gerrard had worked for ICI and for EVC, a joint venture between ICI and Enichem. Mr. Gerrard is a Chartered Engineer.

        Brian V. Ridd, age 57, is Senior Vice President, Purchasing. Mr. Ridd has held this position since July 2000. Mr. Ridd served as Vice President, Purchasing from December 1995 until he was appointed to his current position. Mr. Ridd joined Huntsman in 1984.

        R. Wade Rogers, age 49, is Senior Vice President, Global Human Resources. Mr. Rogers has held this position since August 2009. From May 2004 to August 2009, Mr. Rogers served as Vice President, Global Human Resources, from October 2003 to May 2004, Mr. Rogers served as Director, Human Resources—Americas and from August 2000 to October 2003, he served as Director, Human Resources for our Polymers and Base Chemicals businesses. From the time he joined Huntsman in 1994 to August 2000, Mr. Rogers served as Area Manager, Human Resources—Jefferson County Operations. Prior to joining Huntsman, Mr. Rogers held a variety of positions with Texaco Chemical Company.

        Russ R. Stolle, age 52, is Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel. Mr. Stolle was appointed to this position in January 2010. From October 2006 to January 2010, Mr. Stolle served as our Senior Vice President, Global Public Affairs and Communications, from November 2002 to October 2006, he served as Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, from October 2000 to November 2002 he served as Vice President and Chief Technology Counsel and from April 1994 to October 2000 he served as Chief Patent and Licensing Counsel. Prior to joining Huntsman in 1994, Mr. Stolle had been an attorney with Texaco Inc. and an associate with the law firm of Baker & Botts.

        Randy W. Wright, age 56, is Vice President and Controller. Prior to his appointment to this position in February 2012, Mr. Wright served as Assistant Controller and Director of Financial Reporting since July 2004. Prior to joining Huntsman in 2004, Mr. Wright held various positions with Georgia-Pacific Corporation, Riverwood International, Johns Manville and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Mr. Wright is a Certified Public Accountant.

        Kevin C. Hardman, age 51, is Vice President, Tax. Mr. Hardman served as Chief Tax Officer from 1999 until he was appointed to his current position in 2002. Prior to joining Huntsman in 1999, Mr. Hardman was a tax Senior Manager with the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP, where he

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worked for 10 years. Mr. Hardman is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a master's degree in tax accounting.

        John R. Heskett, age 46, is Vice President, Planning and Treasurer. Mr. Heskett has held this position since December 2009. From September 2008 until October 2009, Mr. Heskett served as a Vice President at Boart Longyear Limited, a publicly-listed exploration drilling services and products company. Mr. Heskett previously served as Vice President, Corporate Development and Investor Relations for our Company from August 2004 until September 2008 and was appointed Vice President, Corporate Development in 2002. Mr. Heskett also served as Assistant Treasurer for our Company and several of our subsidiaries. Prior to joining Huntsman in 1997, Mr. Heskett was Assistant Vice President and Relationship Manager for PNC Bank, N.A., where he worked for a number of years.

        Steven C. Jorgensen, age 46, is Vice President, Accounting Shared Services and Internal Controls effective February 17, 2012. Prior to his appointment to this position in February 2012, Mr. Jorgensen served as Vice President, Internal Controls and Internal Audit since May 2007. Mr. Jorgensen joined Huntsman in May 2004 as Director of Internal Controls and in May 2005 was appointed as Director of Internal Audit and Controls. Prior to joining Huntsman, Mr. Jorgensen was Vice President and Audit Manager with General Electric Consumer Finance, and prior to that he was an audit Senior Manager with the accounting firm of Deloitte & Touche LLP. Mr. Jorgensen is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a master's degree in accounting.

        Kurt D. Ogden, age 46, is Vice President, Investor Relations and Finance. Prior to his appointment to this position in February 2009, Mr. Ogden served as Director, Corporate Finance since October 2004. Prior to joining Huntsman in 2004, Mr. Ogden held various positions with Hillenbrand Industries, Pliant Corporation and Huntsman Chemical Corporation. Mr. Ogden is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a master's degree in business administration.

        Maria Csiba-Womersley, age 56, is Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Ms. Csiba-Womersley was appointed to this position effective September 2006. Ms. Csiba-Womersley served as Global eBusiness Director from 2004 to 2006 and also served as our Director of Global IT Planning and Security. Previously, Ms. Csiba-Womersley was a Regional Polymer Sales Manager, a Business Director for Polypropylene and Director of Polymer Logistics. Ms. Csiba-Womersley joined Huntsman in 1997.

PART II

ITEM 5.    MARKET FOR REGISTRANT'S COMMON EQUITY, RELATED STOCKHOLDER MATTERS AND ISSUER PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES

MARKET INFORMATION AND HOLDERS

        Our common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol "HUN." As of February 9, 2015, there were approximately 194 stockholders of record and the closing price of our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange was $23.62 per share.

        The reported high and low sale prices of our common stock on the New York Stock Exchange for each of the periods set forth below are as follows:

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