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French company Air Liquide has acquired Airgas, one of the leading suppliers of industrial gases in the US, for $13.4 billion, including the assumption of Airgas debt. With this, Airgas will become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Air Liquide.
“This combination offers significant benefits for all of our stakeholders due to the highly complementary nature of the two businesses. This acquisition increases our geographic reach in the resilient US market, and offers continuous growth opportunities. Airgas is the industry leader in US packaged gases with a customer-centric organisation and we are confident in our ability to successfully combine operations,” commented Benoit Potier, chairman and CEO of Air Liquide.
Combining Air Liquide and Airgas will bring together two highly complementary businesses to deliver greater value, service and innovation to customers in North America and around the world. In the US, Airgas’ leadership in the packaged gases business and associated products and services and Air Liquide’s strong footprint in complementary activities will increase the scope and competitiveness of the combined companies’ product offering.
This acquisition gives Air Liquide a greater presence in the US market, the largest for industrial gases worldwide, and will ideally position Air Liquide for future growth. In addition, there is potential for further growth using Airgas’ footprint to accelerate the deployment of Air Liquide’s technologies.
Peter McCausland, executive chairman of Airgas, said, “Airgas customers and employees will benefit from Air Liquide’s unrivalled global footprint and strength in technology, innovation and operational efficiency, while Airgas is ready to bring the entrepreneurial culture and packaged gas excellence that have driven our success to date. We are excited about the prospects of integrating these two businesses to create the largest industrial gas company in the world.”
The acquisition will reinforce Air Liquide’s global leadership position, increasing gas & services sales by around 30 percent. Upon completion of the acquisition, the combined company will be the leader in North America, complementing number one positions in Europe, Africa/Middle East and Asia-Pacific. It will also be number one in industrial merchant and large industries, and co-number one in electronics, worldwide.
