US court blocks Tronox's pending acquisition of Cristal's business

A US court on Wednesday granted the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) a preliminary injunction blocking Tronox’s pending acquisition of Saudi Arabian Cristal’s titanium dioxide business, Tronox said in a statement.

Cristal is 79 percent owned by National Industrialization Co. (Tasnee).

The FTC first objected to the deal last year, saying the merger would reduce competition in the market.

Tronox said it will to appeal the ruling, which was based on invalid data, and will request an expedited hearing.