Praxair-Linde Deal Inches Closer

DANBURY, CT -- Following a major asset sale by Danbury-based Praxair, merger partner Linde announced Monday that it sold most of its U.S. bulk business and assets in Brazil, Canada and Colombia to German industrial gas manufacturer Messer Group and CVC Capital Partners.

The companies are racing to sell off assets in a bid to win a regulatory approval for their merger, valued at $80 billion. If approved, the merger would create the largest industrial gas company in the world, with headquarters in Danbury and Munich.

“Linde considers a divestiture of such business to be necessary in order to allow merger clearance of the proposed business combination by the relevant competition agencies,” according to a release by Linde.

Praxair, which supplies gases such as helium, neon and nitrogen to a variety of industries, employs about 400 people at its Danbury headquarters. Earlier this month, the company announced it was selling $5.9 billion in European assets to Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation.