Tronox gets $3m to come to Conn.

On the heels of Tronox Inc. revealing plans last month to relocate to Stamford from Oklahoma City, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy revealed the state extended the company $3 million in financing in the form of a loan that is forgivable if the company maintains at least 100 jobs.

Tronox claims status as the world”™s third-largest producer of titanium dioxide, with the pigment used to whiten products ranging from paint to paper to plastic.

In the three months ending March 31, Tronox reported an $86 million profit on revenue totaling $443 million.

Along with the U.S. Department of Justice, Tronox is currently locked in environmental litigation with Houston-based Anadarko Petroleum Corp., which bought out Tronox”™ former parent company following its 2005 spin-off.

Tronox says environmental liabilities forced it to reorganize under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection from creditors, a process it completed in 2011. The company is now in the process of acquiring Exxaro Resources”™ mineral sands operations in South Africa and Australia, with the deal subject to regulator approval in those countries.

“The national economic downturn forced companies to think more strategically, and many are re-evaluating their locations,” Malloy said, in a prepared statement. “Businesses are looking around and they are realizing that Connecticut is open for business.”

Tronox is taking 30,000 square feet of space at 1 Stamford Plaza in Stamford.