Linde to seek small and mid-market acquisitions

Industrial Distribution staff -- Industrial Distribution, 6/3/2008 8:24:00 AM

German industrial gases distributor Linde AG plans to concentrate on small and medium-sized acquisitions in its competition with Air Liquide, Praxair and Air Products and Chemicals, CEO Wolfgang Reitzle told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting, according to a Thomson Financial report on Forbes.com.

Reitzle said Linde could spend up to about $464 million on the buyouts.

That’s in addition to its nearly $15.6 billion takeover of British rival BOC Group, which Linde acquired in 2006 before anti-trust regulators forced it to sell off its U.S. packaged gas business to Airgas Inc.

The German firm also sold some of its non-core businesses in a move to focus on industrial gases. In separate deals, Praxair acquired Linde’s Mexican industrial and medical gases business and a pair of private equity players bought its Kion Group forklift subsidiary for about $4.6 billion.

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