Abstract
As big mergers and acquisitions test the limits of chemical industry consolidation, government scrutiny is on the rise. Companies are responding with a flurry of asset divestments to try to push their combinations past regulators. On July 16, Tronox announced it will sell its European business in titanium dioxide for paper laminates to Venator Materials to assuage regulator concerns over its acquisition of the rival pigment maker Cristal. The European Commission had objected to the deal because it would create too much concentration in the special grade of TiO2. At the same time, Tronox is negotiating to sell Cristal’s TiO2 plant in Ashtabula, Ohio, to Venator for $1.1 billion—if the U.S. Federal Trade Commission requires the sale before approving Tronox’s purchase of Cristal. FTC recently filed a lawsuit to block the purchase, arguing that it would give Tronox too much U.S. market share in chloride-process TiO2. Tronox intends to fight
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
