NEW YORK -- Huntsman Corp., a major supplier of soldermasks and conformal coatings for electronics, is rumored to be the object of a buyout.

The Wall Street Journal today reported that the chemicals company, whose 2005 sales were nearly $11.5 billion, was in serious discussions to be bought out for more than $4.3 billion.
The Journal said possible candidates include private-equity firms and those with industry interests, including takeover firm Apollo Management LP.

Huntsman went public nearly a year ago. Jon Huntsman Jr., the son of its founder, was elected governor of Utah last fall.

In July 2003, Huntsman purchased the former Vantico A&T US, which itself was a spinoff of Ciba-Geigy's soldermask division.

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