Tasnee aims to finalize Tronox-Cristal merger by approval or cutting output: CEO

Tronox Limited and Cristal both disagree with the US Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) view on their acquisition deal, National Industrialization Co.’s (Tasnee) chief executive Mutlaq Al-Morished told Argaam.

"The FTC believes that if the merger occurs, the volume of production will be large and will lead to price control by us," he said.

“[However], we believe that the company operates globally and its products will be sold in most countries of the world; therefore, the prices of will be set by the international markets."

Tronox and Cristal, which is 79 percent-owned by Tasnee, are looking into all appropriate options in order to successfully finalize the deal, he said.

Official bodies will issue a final decision after arguments from both sides have been presented and relevant documents submitted, Al-Morished noted, pointing out that this might take between one and three months.

“We will seek completion of the merger either by approval or through a process that could reduce the number of factories and the volume of production," he said.

Cristal operates eight titanium dioxide (TiO2) plants in the US, Brazil, UK, France, Saudi Arabia, China, and Australia.

The firm also operates mines in Brazil and Australia, in addition to a research and development center and a titanium powder plant in the US.

The FTC this week filed a lawsuit to block Tronox Limited’s proposed acquisition of Cristal’s TiO2 business – a deal would make Tronox the world’s largest producer of the whitening pigment, with a total capacity of 1.3 million tons per year.

In response, Tronox said it plans to “vigorously fight” the FTC complaint, saying the regulatory body’s lawsuit is based on an “erroneous view of the global TiO2 market and a flawed analysis of the Tronox/Cristal transaction.”