NEW YORK (AP) -- Huntsman Corp. said Wednesday it has begun forming its case against Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse after the banks declined to fund its sale to Hexion Specialty Chemicals Inc.
The Woodlands, Texas-based company said it has begun discovery, a legal process involving the collection of documents, potential witnesses and evidence.
As part of the process, Huntsman said it will depose Gary Vogle, the global head of private equity for Credit Suisse, and Thomas Gahan, former head of investment banking for Deutsche Bank.
"We are confident that a Texas jury will see, and be willing to redress, the serious injuries Huntsman has suffered at the hands of these banks," President and Chief Executive Peter Huntsman said in a statement.
The trial is expected to start Feb. 9, 2009, in Montgomery County, Texas.
Huntsman agreed to be bought by Hexion in July 2007 for about $6.51 billion, but in September Hexion tried to scuttle the deal, citing Huntsman's deteriorating finances. A Delaware judge ordered Hexion to keep the buyout on track, essentially dismissing pleas the combined company would not be solvent.
However, Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank, which had been slated to fund the deal, backed away last month and a New York judge declined to extend a financing agreement.
Hexion, bound by the Delaware court's ruling, is still seeking financing. It is suing Credit Suisse and Deutsche Bank separately, and that trial is slated to start in New York in January.
A Hexion representative declined to comment.
Shares of Huntsman have traded between $7.01 and $26.05 in the past 52 weeks.
