Buyout firm Apollo makes $4.3 billion offer to buy Tronox

Private equity firm Apollo Global Management Inc has approached Tronox Holdings Plc, one of the world's largest pigment manufacturers, with a $4.3 billion all-cash offer, people familiar with the matter said on Monday.

Apollo has offered $27 per share to buy Stamford, Connecticut-based Tronox, according to the sources, speaking on condition of anonymity. Tronox has hired advisers to consider the bid and has yet to decide on its next steps, the sources added.

Tronox shares were hovering around $20 on Monday morning, prior to Apollo's offering being reported.

The sources cautioned that there is no certainty that Tronox will agree to any deal.

Apollo declined to comment. Tronox did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tronox makes titanium dioxide pigment and other chemicals used to add brightness and durability to paints, plastics and paper.

The Covid-19 pandemic weighed on demand for many of Tronox's products, but the company has said its core markets are recovering as the world's major economies bounce back.

Tronox was spun out of Kerr-McGee Corp in 2005, and in 2019 it acquired the titanium dioxide business of Saudi Arabia's National Titanium Dioxide Company Ltd from Saudi Arabia's Tasnee. Tasnee, through a subsidiary, is now Tronox's biggest shareholder with a 24% stake.