Praxair Canada Acquires Five Airgas Branch Locations

Radnor, PA and Danbury, CT – Airgas, Inc. (NYSE: ARG) and Praxair, Inc. (NYSE: PX) announce the acquisition by Praxair Canada Inc. of the assets and operations of five Airgas branch locations in western Canada, including Calgary, Red Deer, and Edmonton, Alberta, and Regina and Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Financial terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“We thank our former employees for their years of hard work and commitment to excellence under the Airgas brand and wish them continued success in servicing the medical homecare and industrial markets in Alberta and Saskatchewan for Praxair,” said Edward Richards, North Pacific Region President of Airgas. “This strategic divestiture enables us to redeploy capital resources to our core business in British Columbia, where we look forward to serving our loyal customers for years to come.”

“This acquisition supports our growth strategy in western Canada and enables us to better serve our existing customers and home oxygen clients in Alberta and Saskatchewan,” said Matt White, president of Praxair Canada Inc. “The new employees are a welcome addition to our team.”

About Airgas, Inc.

Airgas, Inc. (NYSE: ARG), through its subsidiaries, is the largest U.S. distributor of industrial, medical and specialty gases, and hardgoods, such as welding equipment and supplies. Airgas is also a leading U.S. producer of atmospheric gases, carbon dioxide, dry ice, and nitrous oxide, one of the largest U.S. distributors of safety products, and a leading U.S. distributor of refrigerants, ammonia products, and process chemicals. More than 15,000 employees work in approximately 1,100 locations, including branches, retail stores, gas fill plants, specialty gas labs, production facilities and distribution centers. Airgas also markets its products and services through eBusiness, catalog and telesales channels. Its national scale and strong local presence offer a competitive edge to its diversified customer base. For more information, please visit www.airgas.com.

About Praxair, Inc.

Praxair, Inc. (NYSE: PX) is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America and one of the largest worldwide, with 2011 sales of $11 billion. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric and process gases and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products, services and technologies are making our planet more productive by bringing efficiency and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries, including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and others. More information on Praxair is available on the Internet at www.praxair.com.