Tronox Limited Acquires The National Titanium Dioxide Co. (Cristal)

Tronox Limited has entered into an agreement to acquire Kuwait based, The National Titanium Dioxide Co.

United States: Tronox Limited, a US based renowned chemical company, involved in production and marketing of titanium dioxide (TiO2) and other alkali chemicals, has entered into an agreement to acquire the titanium dioxide business of The National Titanium Dioxide Company Limited (also known as Cristal), a chemical manufacturing company based in Kuwait. The purchase price for Cristal has been valued at USD1.7 billion in addition to providing 24% ownership in pro-forma Tronox. Post-acquisition, Tronox would operate eleven titanium dioxide pigment plants with a total capacity of 1.32 million metric tons per year and control titanium dioxide feedstock operations in three countries with a total production capacity of 1.5 MMt/year.

TechSci Research depicts that the acquisition of The National Titanium Dioxide Co. would strengthen the presence of Tronox and improve competitiveness of company in titanium dioxide and chemical market across the globe. Moreover, this strategic step made by company would aid to cater the growing demand for TiO(2) in pigments, paints and coatings manufacturing industry since titanium dioxide is one of the key chemical used in manufacturing of pigments..

According to the recently published report by TechSci Research, “Global Pigments Market By Type, By Application, Competition Forecast and Opportunities, 2011 – 2021”, global pigments market size is estimated to cross US$ 34 billion by 2021. Segment-wise, inorganic pigments dominated the overall market in 2015, and this trend is anticipated to continue through 2021. Inorganic pigments are widely used in paints & coatings and plastics to provide various functional properties such as heat stabilization, antistatic, flame retardants, anti-block and UV stabilization. In 2015, Asia-Pacific region dominated the global pigments market, owing to huge presence of paints & coatings, plastics, construction and printing ink industries, coupled with increasing investments across diverse industry verticals.