Huntsman in $415 million purchase of rival

US chemicals manufacturer Huntsman has announced that it has entered an agreement to buy certain assets from its rival, Tronox, for $415 million.  Salt Lake City, Utah-based Huntsman has agreed to buy titanium dioxide facilities from Tronox in Holland and the US, as well as a 50 percent joint venture interest in Australia and some other operations and interests in the US. Oklahoma City-based Tronox, along with other chemicals manufacturers, has recently suffered as the result of a decline in the demand for its products within the automotive and building industries. With annual sales of $1.1 billion, Tronox is one of the world's largest makers of titanium dioxide, a white pigment used in paint, coatings, plastic, paper, and many other products.  The company supplies to around 1,100 customers in over 100 countries around the world and has an annual production capacity of 535,000 tonnes. Purchasing TronoxÔÇÖs operations would make Huntsman the second-largest manufacturer of the pigment in the world. Peter Huntsman, president and CEO of Huntsman Corporation, said in a statement: ÔÇ£We look forward to the prospect of acquiring these assets. This acquisition, even before expected synergies, would be immediately accretive to our operating earnings and cash flow, as well as reduce our debt leverage.  ÔÇ£By combining our existing Pigments division with these assets, we also can realize substantial efficiencies that will benefit the customers, vendors, employees and other stakeholders of the combined business.ÔÇØ Huntsman currently has 12,000 employees across the world and annual revenues of over $10 billion. * ┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á*┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á┬á *