Tronox has signed an agreement to sell Cristal’s North American titanium dioxide (TiO2) business to Ineos for $700 million in a bid to gain US clearance for its proposed merger with the Saudi group.

Cristal’s North American pigment assets include two plants located in Ashtabula, Ohio. Tronox said the sale, which will make Ineos the second-largest TiO2 producer in the US, has received support from its own and Cristal’s North American customers.

Tronox will now ask the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) to consider the sale as a remedy to address its competition concerns and authorize the acquisition of Cristal. “We are hopeful this proposed settlement encompassing a complete structural remedy, the result of months of consultation and collaboration with the FTC staff, will allow the Commissioners to approve the transaction,” said Tronox president and CEO Jeffry Quinn.

The US is the only country left to clear the Tronox-Cristal merger, which was first announced in February 2017. Tronox has received approval from eight other regulators, including the EU.