MOSCOW (MRC) -- Tasnee, one of the largest industrial conglomerates in Saudi Arabia, has entered into an agreement to increase its stake in titanium dioxide (TiO2) producer Cristal, reported Chemical Technology.

 

The company will pay SAR1.8bn (USD480m) to acquire an additional 13% stake in Cristal from Gulf Investment.

 

Tasnee already has a 66% stake in Cristal, while Gulf Investment holds the remaining interest. Gulf Investment is a venture capital unit equally owned by the six states of the Gulf Cooperation Council, including Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

 

"Tasnee already has a 66% stake in Cristal, while Gulf Investment holds the remaining interest."

 

The transaction forms part of the company's plan to increase stakes in its subsidiaries and the company expects that its impact will reflect on its earnings from the first quarter of 2015. Tasnee had made a bid to acquire the stake in Cristal in September.

 

In January, Tasnee and Cristal partnered with Toho Titanium to construct a production facility adjacent to Cristal's TiO2 plant in Yanbu Industrial City.

 

As MRC informed before, last year, Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, and Tasnee announced the signing of an agreement to establish a masterbatches joint venture in Saudi Arabia. Within the framework of the agreement, through its 100% subsidiary Rowad National Plastic Company Ltd., Tasnee will acquire a 40% stake in Clariant’s masterbatches operations in the country, already operating under the name Clariant Masterbatches (Saudi Arabia) Ltd.

 

Headquartered in Riyadh, Tasnee is primarily engaged in petrochemical, chemical and industrial projects. The

company produces petrochemical products, including polypropylene, polyethylene and acrylic acid, as well as other downstream petrochemical products.