Tronox seeks Commerce Commission clearance to acquire

Tronox seeks clearance to acquire the titanium dioxide pigment business of Cristal

The Commerce Commission has received a clearance application from Tronox Limited (Tronox) to acquire the titanium dioxide (TiO2) pigment business of National Titanium Dioxide Company Ltd (Cristal).

Tronox is a public limited company incorporated in Australia and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Tronox is an international chemical company active in the mining, production and marketing of inorganic minerals and chemicals. It operates two vertically integrated businesses, namely TiO2 pigment and alkali chemicals.

Cristal is an international chemical company incorporated in Saudi Arabia. Cristal operates five main business divisions: mining of TiO2 feedstock and zircon; manufacture of TiO2 pigment; production of titanium chemicals; production of ultrafine and speciality TiO2 pigment; and research and development of titanium powder, alloys and related products. Cristal also owns and operates the “Arabian Chemical Centre” in Saudi Arabia, which is a chemical manufacturing plant.

Both parties are suppliers of TiO2 pigment to New Zealand customers.

A public version of the application will be available shortly on the Commission’s Clearances Register.

Background
When considering a proposed merger, the Commission must determine whether the competition that would be lost with the merger would be substantial.

We will give clearance to a proposed merger only if we are satisfied that the merger is unlikely to have the effect of substantially lessening competition in a market.

A fact sheet explaining how the Commission assesses a merger application is available on theclearances page.

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