Cristal’s TiO2 sale to cut costs by SAR 300 mln annually: Tasnee CEO

The sale of National Titanium Dioxide Company Ltd’s (Cristal) titanium dioxide (TiO2) business is likely to cut financing costs by SAR 280 million to SAR 300 million of annual interest rates on Cristal’s loans, Mutlaq Al-Morished, chief executive officer of National Industrialization Company (Tasnee), told Al-Arabiya TV.

Tasnee will repay the SAR 6 billion outstanding debt of Cristal using the sale cash proceeds and settle Cristal’s legal liabilities.

The remaining funds will be consolidated in the financial statements of Tasnee and Gulf Investment Corp, which owns 20 percent of Cristal, Al-Morished added.

Last week, Tasnee said the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) approved Tronox Limited’s planned acquisition of Cristal’s TiO2 business, Argaam reported.

Cristal will sell its North American TiO2 business to INEOS Enterprises, a division of INEOS Group and receive $1.673 billion in cash and hold a 24 percent stake in Tronox.