Danbury's Praxair to Divest $5.9B in Assets

DANBURY, CT – Danbury-based Praxair is selling $5.9 billion in European assets to smooth its path towards merging with rival The Linde Group. Praxair's merger with the German multinational chemical company is valued at $45 billion.

Praxair has signed an agreement to sell the majority of its businesses in Europe to Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation.

“We are taking a constructive approach to address regulatory concerns with the merger in the European Economic Area,” said Steve Angel, Praxair chairman and chief executive officer, in a release. “Taiyo Nippon Sanso is a strong and capable global industrial gas buyer for our assets and we are pleased that they will continue to serve the needs of our customers in Europe.”

The assets to be sold include Praxair’s industrial gases businesses in Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom and include approximately 2,500 employees.