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[January 2007]
Air Products to Acquire Polish Industrial Gas Business from Linde
Air Products (Lehigh Valley, PA, USA) has just announced that it has reached definitive agreement with The Linde Group to acquire the industrial gas business of BOC Gazy Sp z o.o. for €370 million (US$481 million). The transaction is subject to regulatory approval and customary closing conditions. For regulatory purposes, BOC Gazy was required to be sold by Linde as a result of its purchase of The BOC Group PLC in September 2006.The BOC Gazy business had fiscal year 2006 sales of approximately €126 million (US$164 million) and EBITDA of approximately €38 million (US$50 million). The business has approximately 750 employees, five major industrial gas plants and six cylinder transfills serving customers across a diverse range of industries, including chemicals, steel and base metals, among others.
"We're taking advantage of a unique opportunity to become the number one industrial gas supplier in Central Europe's fastest growing economy," said Air Products Chairman and CEO John Jones. "With manufacturing moving eastward in Europe and investment increasingly flowing in that direction, we intend to capitalize on the substantial growth potential in these markets. The business we are acquiring is very attractive and fits our strategy to become a higher growth and higher return company. It allows us to build critical mass and a low cost position in the region and be a bridge to serving a broad range of customers across Central and Eastern Europe."
Air Products operates in 15 countries throughout Europe, including the central and eastern European countries of Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Russia and Poland. Total European sales in Air Products' 2006 fiscal year were approximately US$2.6 billion. Within Poland, Air Products has been a supplier of industrial gases since the early 1990s and has annual sales of about €11 million (US$15 million).
Air Products plans to finance the transaction through euro debt.
ENDS