Tasnee expects settlement for Tronox-Cristal merger by Q1 2019

National Industrialization Co. (Tasnee) is expecting to reach a settlement agreement with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) for the planned merger between Tronox and Cristal by Q1 2019, Mutlaq Al-Morished, chief executive of Tasnee told Argaam in an exclusive on Thursday.

“It will take more time. We’ll finalize the merger procedures in Q1 2019 instead of 2018-end as planned previously,” Al-Morished said.

The FTC’s preliminary injunction, blocking chemical maker Tronox’s acquisition of Saudi Cristal’s titanium dioxide (TiO2) business, came due to the previously cited reasons about potential oligopoly in the American market.

Talks are still ongoing to explain different viewpoints about the deal and convince FTC officials that the acquisition will have zero impact on competitiveness in the US market.

Meanwhile, there is no change to the sale conditions of Cristal’s Ashtabula complex, Al-Morished added.

Last week, Tronox received an initial decision from FTC’s chief administrative law judge (ALJ) rejecting its planned acquisition of Cristal’s TiO2 business, Argaam reported.