Tronox (Stamford, Connecticut / USA; www.tronox.com) is selling its business for "8120" paper-laminate grade supplied to European customers from Tronox's plant in Botlek / The Netherlands. The US titanium dioxide producer has submitted to the EU definitive agreements with Venator (Stockton-on-Tees / UK; www.venatorcorp.com) on the divesture of the 8120 business. The move fulfills one of the European Commission's requirements for the US titanium dioxide producer to takeover competitor Cristal Global (Jeddah / Saudi Arabia; www.cristal.com) – see Plasteurope.com of 11.07.2018. Tronox is awaiting EU confirmation of the agreement, which will be the EU commission's final approval for the Cristal transaction.

Tronox and Venator have also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the sale of Cristal's two-plant TiO₂ production complex in Ashtabula, Ohio / USA. Under the agreement, Venator would have a 75-day period to negotiate a definitive agreement for the sale of the Ashtabula facility. If the US district court issues a preliminary injunction to prevent the Cristal acquisition, Tronox then has the right to require Venator to purchase the Ashtabula complex for USD 1.1 bn.

Venator, a spin-off of Huntsman, says in light of the potential Cristal acquisition, the UK company is reviewing its "near-term needs" for the full rebuild of TiO₂ capacity at its damaged TiO₂ production plant in Pori / Finland – see Plasteurope.com of 01.02.2017.