A regulator is set to step in over a proposed acquisition by one of the biggest producers of a key ingredient in paint and paper manufacturing.
The Competition and Markets Authority is preparing to launch an in-depth inquiry into the planned deal by Tronox, a New York-listed producer of titanium dioxide, to buy Tizir Titanium & Iron for $300 million.
Titanium dioxide is a white powder used as a pigment in items including paint, suncream, plastics and paper.
The authority said that TTI, owned by Eramet, a French mining and metals group, was one of the two main global suppliers of chloride slag, used to make titanium dioxide pigment.
TTI operates a smelter in Norway that processes ilmenite, an ore of titanium and iron, to
