Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp and private equity firm Carlyle Group have emerged as frontrunners to buy assets that gases groups Linde and Praxair need to divest to seal their planned merger, people close to the matter said.
The bidders are expected to enter into exclusive negotiations shortly on the sale of two packages of assets worth about $8 billion in total, the people added.
Taiyo is in the frame to bag the European package, while Carlyle would take the U.S. assets, they said.
The two deals could clear the way to secure the fate of an all-share merger of equals that Munich-based Linde and Danbury, Connecticut-based Praxair struck to create a global leader in gas distribution, with revenues of almost $29 billion and 88,000 staff.
Linde and Carlyle declined to comment, while Praxair and Taiyo were not immediately available for comment.
By Harry Brumpton, Arno Schuetze, Greg Roumeliotis
Source: Reuters
We are closing the chapter of the Chemicals Import Export Headquarters, and opening a new chapter under the name of Qemetica – a chemical group driving many industries on all continents. Therefore, the change of name is also accompanied by the adoption of the key goals of the business strategy for the next 6 years. – says Kamil Majczak, President of the Management Board.
In its efforts to advance chemical recycling, Neste has successfully conducted its first processing trial run with a new challenging raw material, liquefied discarded tires. In the processing run, Neste produced high-quality raw material for new plastics and chemicals.
Sika is opening a state-of-the-art facility in Lima, Peru, to produce synthetic macro fibers, and expanding the rollout of a product range with great growth potential in Latin America. With this innovative technology, Sika is further strengthening its position as a leading supplier to the mining industry and a strong partner for infrastructure projects.
