Tronox gets EU’s conditional approval on Cristal deal

US-based Tronox Ltd. has received the European Union’s antitrust regulators’ approval to acquire the titanium dioxide (TiO2) business of the National Titanium Dioxide Ltd. (Cristal) on a condition that Tronox would sell its TiO2 paper production plant in Netherlands.

Tronox is currently working on selling the plant in order to expedite its acquisition of Cristal’s TiO2 business, the firm said in a statement late Thursday.

The final approval of EU’s regulator is expected to be obtained quickly as Tronox can meet this condition, the statement said.

Tronox also received regulatory approvals from China, Australia, Newzealand, Turkey, South Korea, Colombia and Saudi Arabia; countries where both firms’ business is focused, the statement said.

The US regulator’s approval is yet to be obtained.

According to data compiled by Argaam, the production capacity of Tronox plants in Netherlands reaches 90,000 tons a year, representing 19 percent of the firm’s capacity of 465,000 tons a year.

Cristal’s production capacity is over 800,000 tons per year.

TiO2 prices repeatedly increased in the past nine quarters to over $3,500 per ton last week, increasing more than 50 percent from 2016’s levels.

In February 2017, Tronox signed a definitive agreement to acquire the TiO2 business of Cristal, which is 79 percent-owned by Tasnee, for $1.67 billion (SAR 6.27 billion) and Class A ordinary shares representing 24 percent ownership in pro forma Tronox.

Tronox and Cristal in March have extended the end date for the transaction to June 30 from May 21, with automatic three-month extensions until March 31, 2019, if necessary.

The extension aimed to give more time to obtain the regulatory approvals, Tronox had said, adding that it didn’t expect more delays or deal termination, and that it is determined to finalize the deal as soon as possible.

The US Federal Trade Commission had issued an administrative complaint challenging the acquisition. Tronox filed a lawsuit to fight the FTC’s attempt to block the deal.