Praxair and Linde Set to Merge into Industrial Gas Giant

---

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--On Tuesday, industrial gas companies Praxair Incorporated (NYSE:PX) (Danbury, Connecticut) and Linde AG (Munich, Germany) announced that they planned to merge. The companies will continue trading under the Linde name after the merger. Industrial Info is tracking more than $940 million in projects involving Praxair.

The Wall Street Journal says Linde and Praxair first discussed a merger two years ago, but these plans were shelved until earlier this year. The merger will be an all-stock transaction, with Linde shareholders receiving 1.54 shares in a new holding company for each share of Linde they own, while Praxair shareholders will receive one share for each currently held share. Among the Praxair projects being tracked by Industrial Info is a $200 million grassroot hydrogen plant in Freeport, Texas. The plant kicked off construction in late 2015 and is expected to be completed next summer. The facility has a planned production capacity of approximately 170 million standard cubic feet per day of hydrogen and 2,000 tons per day of nitrogen. Amec Foster Wheeler Incorporated (Houston, Texas) is acting as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor on the project.

Also being tracked is the $80 million air separation unit addition at Praxair's facility in Ecorse, Michigan. The 1,650-ton-per-day air separation unit will produce liquid oxygen, nitrogen, argon and rare gases for merchant sale. Site preparation on the project began in spring 2015, and the entire project is expected to take about two years to complete. Rudolph/Libbe Incorporated (Walbridge, Ohio) is acting as general contractor on the project.

The proposed merger still needs to go through regulatory approval, which could involve the sale of some assets to maintain competitive practices in the industrial gases sector. According to The Wall Street Journal, analysts at Bernstein Research say the companies may have to divest activities generating around $5 billion annually to meet regulatory demands.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR), with global headquarters in Sugar Land, Texas, five offices in North America and 10 international offices, is the leading provider of global market intelligence specializing in the industrial process, heavy manufacturing and energy markets. Industrial Info's quality-assurance philosophy, the Living Forward Reporting Principle™, provides up-to-the-minute intelligence on what's happening now, while constantly keeping track of future opportunities. Follow IIR on: Facebook - Twitter - LinkedIn. For more information on our coverage, send inquiries to info@industrialinfo.com or visit us online at http://www.industrialinfo.com.