Air Liquide has agreed to acquire Pennsylvania-based industrial gas supplier Airgas for $10.3 billion — a deal the French company said would make it the top player in the U.S. industrial gases market.
Bloomberg notes that Airgas has the highest share of any player in the $13 billion U.S. market for packaged gases and welding equipment, where Air Liquide ranks fourth. It would be Air Liquide’s largest acquisition and it could help the company surpass Linde in the global market for industrial gases.
Air Products attempted a $5.9 billion hostile takeover of Airgas in 2010, but withdrew after an unfavorable ruling by a Delaware judge the following year.
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