U.S. chemical producer Huntsman has signed a binding agreement to acquire polyols specialist Oxid for an undisclosed sum. Under the Terol brand name, the privately owned company headquartered in Houston, Texas, manufactures a diverse product line of specialty urethane polyols used mainly in thermal insulation applications. The company had sales of $86 million in 2012.

The deal is planned to close during Q3 and is expected to be immediately accretive to earnings. 

As growth in the U.S. housing and construction markets gathers momentum, the addition of Oxid's specialty polyols business will strengthen Huntsman's business with key downstream insulation markets in North America and provide new opportunities globally, said Anthony P. Hankins, president of the polyurethanes division.

Huntsman, which also is privately owned, is a major supplier of MDI for insulation applications. "We see strong market and technology synergies in combining the two businesses and look forward to concluding the deal in the near future," said Hankins.