from german mining expert Hannes Huster...

from german mining expert Hannes Huster

https://www.minenportal.de/artikel/447178--Milliarden-Uebernahme-im-Pigment-Sektor.html

Billion-euro takeover in the pigments sector?
You know it - I like rutile and mineral sands, especially Sovereign Metals. For a good 1.5 years now, I have been dealing a lot with this sector and several times I have pointed out the scarcity of rutile and explained why I like Sovereign Metals so much.Now there is movement in the market based on pigment producers. As Reuters reported on Monday, private equity firm Apollo Global Management (NYSE: APO, market cap $26.4 billion) is said to be interested in acquiring pigment producer Tronox (NYSE: TROX): Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)




According to Reuters, there is talk that Apollo wants to pay $27 per share for Tronox (closing price yesterday $23.92), which would value the company at $4.3 billion.Tronox is solid and delivered well again in Q2:




The interesting part is that titanium dioxide prices continue to rise, but Tronox expects sales to decline in the 5-10% range as there are too few supplies and supply chains remain difficult.

Conclusion:

Many paint and coatings manufacturers have already announced or implemented price increases. Without titanium dioxide, there is no white paint and no white coating.The market remains in a supply deficit and this will not change according to the latest studies by TZMI. The only major new discovery in the rutile sector in recent years has been Sovereign Metals.Apollo Global Management is known for smart deals and the investment firm could now enter the sector in time with an acquisition of Tronox. The USD 27 in the room could be right, because that would be the all-time high for the stock and gladly takeovers are fixed at these marks:


Sprott, known to be a fan and major shareholder in Sovereign Metals, also discussed this potential acquisition yesterday. In their view, you could buy Tronox or if you want "the next big one" you should look at Sovereign Metals:

Tronox Holdings (TROX-NYSE, USD$3,560m Mkt Cap) - Reuters breaks news that Apollo buyout firm seeks $4.3m all cash offer of US$27/sh (~US$20/sh pre offer). Wherever this ends, smart people are going long mineral sands stocks that haven't yet bounced like rest of complex. Since TROX has been US$20/sh, Iluka has lifted 35%, so 35% premium bid is cheap and we expect to be resisted / draped for higher. Any way you cut it, a good time to buy TROX, and hot Market, Sovereign Metals is one to dig into (SVM AU) if you want 'the next big one'"