Linde said in a statement 15 October that Linde and Praxair both “aligned” on 1 October with Federal Trade Commission (FTC) staff regarding required asset sales as part of ongoing US antitrust review of the Linde-Praxair merger.
The remedy package has been submitted to the FTC commissioners for a vote, Linde said. It is not clear when commissioners will vote but merger conditions require that the FTC provide clearance by 24 October. The combination is also subject to the timely receipt of buyer approval by the European Commission.
Jefferies analyst Laurence Alexander said he remains optimistic that FTC approval can be reached before the deadline. “The timeline suggests approval could slip into next week, with the end of the day October 24 the key hurdle,” Alexander says. “Buyer approval is also required by the European Commission, which should be manageable as the transaction or transactions involve US assets.”
Linde has agreed to sell a significant part of its assets in the Americas to a consortium of Messer Group and CVC Capital Partners while Praxair has agreed to sell a majority of its businesses in Europe to Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp. (TNSC; Tokyo, Japan) to secure antitrust approvals.
By Robert Westervelt
Source: Chemical Week
After a six-year break, Interpack – Europe’s largest packaging trade fair – made a highly anticipated return in 2023, providing attendees with a comprehensive overview of the latest packaging trends and advancements. This year’s event took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, from 4 to 10 May.
Processing equipment and solution provider Hillenbrand has announced plans to acquire Schenck Process Food and Performance Materials (FPM) for around $730 million. FPM, a portfolio company of private investment firm Blackstone, develops, manufactures, markets and sells a full range of solutions, products and systems for the food, chemicals and performance industries.
Asian dairy company Yili Group is strengthening its partnership with Sidel by installing the equipment provider’s Aseptic Lab filler to research and test product designs. Sidel’s Aseptic Lab filler is said to be compact and customized to meet Yili’s R&D needs for test runs consisting of a small number of bottles with different shapes and sizes.
