Huntsman cleared for Rockwood’s TiO2 takeover
16/09/2014
Huntsman bought Rockwood’s titanium dioxide businesses (TiO2) in September 2013 but the EC had concerns that the transaction would have enabled it to raise prices of titanium dioxide in the European Economic Area.
The commission's investigation showed the combined entity would not face sufficient competition from other titanium dioxide suppliers such as DuPont, Tronox, Kronos, Eastern European and Asian producers, which lack the relevant know-how or incentives to expand on the market., it said. It found the market is characterised by high barriers to entry, mostly linked to know-how and capital expenditure requirements.
However, Huntsman offered to divest its global TR52 business [tioxide, used for printing inks], including the TR52 brand, technology and know-how, customer arrangements and some key personnel. China’s Henan Billions Chemicals has agreed to buy the TR52 business from Huntsman. These commitments remove the overlap between the activities of Huntsman and Rockwood and the EC said it is satisfied that there are no longer competition concerns.
Titanium dioxide is a white pigment used to whiten, brighten and add opacity to a large variety of products including textiles.
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