Saudi industrial group Tasnee said on Wednesday its Cristal unit had won US regulatory approval for a takeover of International Titanium Powder (ITP) for $110 million. A statement on the bourse website said the deal would be completed quickly. Tasnee, which says it is Saudi Arabia's second-largest petrochemicals company by output volume, said this year it planned industrial acquisitions and was likely to issue its first Islamic bonds, or sukuk, in 2009. Cristal said in May it had launched a $289 million takeover bid for Australian mineral sands producer Bemax Resources Ltd. Tasnee also plans a SR2 billion ($533.3 million) rights issue this year. International Titanium Powder produces titanium and titanium alloys.
