TRONOX WILL MERGE WITH ORE SUPPLIER

Abstract

IN A $1 BILLION-PLUS bid to vertically integrate its business in the white pigment titanium dioxide, Tronox will acquire the mineral sands operations of South African mining conglomerate Exxaro Resources, the world’s third-largest supplier of TiO 2 ores. Tronox, which calls itself the fifth-largest global producer of TiO 2 , will get a 74% interest in two South African operations that mine TiO 2 -rich minerals such as ilmenite and rutile as well as a TiO 2 -rich smelting coproduct called slag. All the minerals are feedstocks for plants that produce purified TiO 2 pigment. The deal also includes Exxaro’s 50% interest in the Tiwest joint venture between the two companies in Australia. This partnership operates a TiO 2 plant that is back-integrated into mineral sands. In exchange, Exxaro will receive a 38.5% stake in Tronox, which is planning to list on a major stock exchange after the transaction is completed in the first half of 2012. Tronox delisted from the New York ...