Air Liquide offers to buy Airgas in deal worth about $10.3B

After a pre-merger market rumor surfaced, now the deal is confirmed – Air Liquide, based in France, is acquiring U.S.-based Airgas, Inc.

Shares of Airgas spiked higher by more than 7 percent after Bloomberg reported that the company is targeted for an acquisition by Air Liquide.

Shares of Airgas (ARG) have soared almost 30% after it agreed to by Air Liquide for $13.4 billion including debt.

The cash offer represents a 51 percent premium to the one-month average price of Airgas’ shares before the announcement and a 20 percent premium to Airgas’ 52-week high closing price. Timing and Conditions The transaction is subject to Airgas shareholders’ approval, receipt of necessary antitrust and other regulatory approvals and other customary conditions and provisions. It catapults Air Liquide past Linde AG of Germany as the industry’s largest company by revenue. This acquisition increases our geographic reach in the resilient US market, and offers continuous growth opportunities.

Air Liquide said the transaction would significantly enhance its position in the USA, the world’s leading market for industrial gases. “This transaction is compelling for our shareholders, arising from the persistent execution of our business strategy for more than three decades”, McCausland said in the statement announcing the deal. It already has more than 5,000 employees in the United States and said the Airgas deal will strengthen its presence in the largest market worldwide for industrial gases. The two parties wish to proceed swiftly.

Air Liquide provides industrial gases used in the food, auto, chemical, oil and gas, aerospace, and semiconductor sectors, as well as in engineering and construction. Held by Benoît Potier, Chairman and CEO of Air Liquide, and Fabienne Lecorvaisier, CFO.