Huntsman Corp. has asked a US court to force bankrupt chemicals maker Tronox Inc. to hold an auction for its titanium dioxide plants, citing a deal signed in August 2009. Huntsman claims that Tronox said it may abandon the auction process, citing a 10 December hearing in which Tronox revealed that it was in talks with an ad hoc committee of bondholders and other stakeholders regarding a potential alternative plan. In August, Huntsman said it would bid USD 415 million for Tronox’s titanium dioxide plants in the Netherlands and the US, a 50% joint venture interest in a titanium dioxide plant in Australia and electrolytic production facilities. In a court filing, Huntsman, a Salt Lake City, Utah-based chemicals company, said it planned to pay competitive prices for the assets and that the alternative deal proposed by Tronox should be part of the auction process. The US operations of Tronox filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January 2009, less than three years after being spun off from Kerr-McGee.