Linde and Praxair Agree USD65 billion Merger Outline, to Drive Ambitious Cost Savings

Industrial-gas giants Praxair Inc. and Linde AG finished a two-year courtship to merge their business to create the industry’s biggest player by market value.

Frankfurt: Linde Group, a German industrial gases company and Praxair, a U.S. company have given nod to a USD65 billion plus merger. The joint company is proposed to be run out of the United States by Praxair's chief executive officer. The agreement was finalized after Linde was provided new assurances regarding jobs and corporate governance in Germany. This is an all share merger wherein each company would own 50% each of the combined company. The merger is supposed to unite Linde’s technology with Praxair’s innovative operating model and drive cost savings to the tune of USD1 billion.

TechSci Research depicts that mergers and acquisitions generally succeed in generating cost efficiency through the implementation of economies of scale which will positively impact the helium gas business, globally. Increasing government focus across various major developed as well as developing countries towards developing gas based power generation resources and water distribution infrastructure is driving the global helium market. Furthermore, growing use of helium in various application areas such as electronics, cryogenics, leak detection, pressure and purging, etc., is further anticipated to boost global helium market during next five years.

According to released report of TechSci Research “Global Helium Market By Type (Liquid & Gaseous), By Application (MRI & NMR, Semi-Conductors & Optic Fibres, Pressurizing & Purging, Welding, etc.), By Distribution (Onsite, Packaged, Merchant), By Region, Competition Forecast & Opportunities, 2021”, global helium market is forecast to exhibit a CAGR of 6.4% during 2016 - 2021, owing to growing use of gaseous helium in semiconductors, leak detection and welding applications.