Huntsman amends filing with SEC to $1.7 billion

Huntsman Corp. said Thursday in an amended filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission that it hopes to raise $1.7 billion from an initial public offering of its common stock.

The company previously had said it hoped to raise $1.3 billion from the sale of its shares. It plans to use the proceeds to pay down debt.

A date for the offering has not yet been set.

As of Sept. 30, Huntsman's total debt was $6.2 billion, according to the SEC filing.

The company's net loss for the first nine months of 2004 widened to $226.5 million, compared to a net loss of $214.2 million during the same period in 2003, the SEC filing said. Net losses have been incurred in each of the past five fiscal years.