{"id":52353,"date":"2016-05-24T00:56:39","date_gmt":"2016-05-23T22:56:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/beta.next-finance.net\/investment-banking\/marches-des-capitaux\/air-liquide-completes-acquisition-of-airgas\/"},"modified":"2016-05-24T00:56:39","modified_gmt":"2016-05-23T22:56:39","slug":"air-liquide-completes-acquisition-of-airgas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/beta.next-finance.net\/en\/investment-banking\/marches-des-capitaux\/air-liquide-completes-acquisition-of-airgas\/","title":{"rendered":"Air Liquide completes acquisition of Airgas"},"content":{"rendered":"<ul>\n<li>  Acquisition\u2019s strong industrial and market logic ideally positions company for future growth and<br \/>\nlong-term value creation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>  More than $300 million in synergies identified, with the majority to be achieved within the next two<br \/>\nto three years<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>  Air Liquide strengthens its global leadership in the industrial gas industry<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Globally, the combined businesses will generate annual sales of more<br \/>\nthan \u20ac20 billion (more than $22 billion at current exchange rates[[Calculated as of Friday, 20 May 2016.]]\n), employ approximately 68,000 people<br \/>\naround the world, and serve well over three million customers and patients. <\/p>\n<p>Beno\u00eet Potier, Chairman and CEO of Air Liquide, said<br \/>\n: \u201c<em>We are very pleased to have successfully closed<br \/>\nour acquisition of Airgas, which will contribute to our strategy of profitable growth over the long term.<br \/>\nThere is strong industrial and market logic to this acquisition, which ideally positions Air Liquide for<br \/>\nfuture growth. The two businesses are highly complementary, and the transaction extends our customer<br \/>\nbase through a unique, multi-channel distribution network and a nationwide presence in the U.S. Since<br \/>\nfounding Airgas some 30 years ago, Peter McCausland has successfully grown the business into one of<br \/>\nthe premier industrial gas companies in the U.S., and I would like to thank him for his leadership,<br \/>\ndedication and achievements. This transaction represents significant value potential for all Air Liquide<br \/>\nstakeholders, and it is an exciting day for the Group as we welcome our Airgas colleagues and together<br \/>\nbegin a new chapter in our history.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Peter McCausland, Executive Chairman of Airgas<br \/>\n, said: \u201c<em>Today\u2019s history-making transaction is the<br \/>\nculmination of more than 30 years of growth and value that we have steadfastly delivered to Airgas<br \/>\nshareholders \u2013 it is a proud moment. The future is very bright for Airgas\u2019 more than one million<br \/>\ncustomers and our talented employees as we join Air Liquide\u2019s unrivalled global footprint and strength<br \/>\nin technology and innovation, while remaining committed to Airgas\u2019 product offering, service model,<br \/>\nand entrepreneurial culture. Thank you to our customers, shareholders, and associates for believing in<br \/>\nthe Airgas vision, just as I have, for all of these years.<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Under the terms of the merger agreement, first announced and unanimously approved by each<br \/>\ncompany&#8217;s Board of Directors in November 2015, Airgas shareholders receive $143 in cash for each<br \/>\nshare of common stock of Airgas. In connection with the merger, the Airgas common stock has been<br \/>\ndelisted from the New York Stock Exchange. Airgas will operate as a subsidiary of Air Liquide within the<br \/>\ncompany\u2019s U.S. operations and, commercially, will go to market as Airgas, an Air Liquide company.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Strategic Rationale:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>  <strong>There is strong industrial and market logic to this acquisition, which ideally positions the Group<br \/>\nfor future growth and long term value creation.<\/strong><br \/>\n It allows Air Liquide to expand in the U.S., the<br \/>\nlargest global market for industrial gases, and extends Air Liquide\u2019s customer base by more than one<br \/>\nmillion customers. The transaction will also create efficiencies in production and supply chain thanks<br \/>\nto the complementary nature of the two businesses, and allows for potential volume growth using<br \/>\nAirgas\u2019 footprint to accelerate the deployment of Air Liquide\u2019s new offerings and technologies. The<br \/>\nacquisition also brings with it the most advanced multi-channel distribution network in the U.S.,<br \/>\nincluding e-commerce and telesales capabilities.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>  <strong>The transaction is expected to generate significant synergies.<\/strong><br \/>\n Through active preparation work<br \/>\nprior to the closing, more than $300 million of pre-tax industrial, administrative and volume growth<br \/>\nsynergies have been identified, the majority of which are targeted for delivery within the next two<br \/>\nto three years, and are structured in detailed work plans. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>  <strong>The combination represents significant value potential for all Air Liquide stakeholders, including<br \/>\nshareholders, customers, and employees<\/strong><br \/>\n. The transaction will be accretive from year one of<br \/>\nownership. Air Liquide and Airgas together will deliver greater value, service and innovation to<br \/>\ncustomers in North America and around the world by allowing Air Liquide to offer its leading<br \/>\nproduction and innovation capabilities to a broader customer base. This combination also creates<br \/>\nnew opportunities for employees as part of a leading global organization that is ideally positioned<br \/>\nfor growth.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>  <strong>The combination strengthens Air Liquide\u2019s global leadership in the industrial gas business.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Air Liquide becomes the leader in North America, complementing number one positions in Europe,<br \/>\nMiddle East\/Africa and Asia-Pacific. It will also be number one in Industrial Merchant, Large<br \/>\nIndustries and Electronics, and one of the key players in Healthcare.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Leadership Announcements:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>  Peter McCausland, Executive Chairman of the Board of Airgas, retired upon closing of the<br \/>\ntransaction.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>  Pierre Dufour, Senior Executive Vice-President and Board Director of Air Liquide, has been<br \/>\nappointed Chairman of the Board of Airgas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>  Michael Graff, Member of the Air Liquide Group\u2019s Executive Committee and Executive VicePresident<br \/>\nof the Houston Hub, has been appointed Vice Chairman of the Board of Airgas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>  Pascal Vinet, Member of the Air Liquide Group\u2019s Executive Committee, will be appointed CEO of<br \/>\nAirgas, after a brief, post-closing transition phase. During this transition phase, Michael Molinini will<br \/>\ncontinue with his current responsibilities, serving as Interim CEO of Airgas, and he will retire later<br \/>\nthis year.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>  Andrew Cichocki has been promoted to the role of Chief Operating Officer of Airgas, where his<br \/>\nresponsibilities will include direct oversight of the combined companies\u2019 Industrial Merchant and<br \/>\nHealthcare activities in the U.S., which are being consolidated under Airgas.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> <strong>Next Steps: <\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>  Air Liquide will pursue and finalize sales of certain assets of the combined company in line with the<br \/>\ndivestiture process described in the U.S. Federal Trade Commission\u2019s press release on 13 May 2016.<br \/>\nThe contemplated divestitures are in line with what Air Liquide was expecting prior to the<br \/>\ntransaction, and they will reduce the combined company\u2019s sales by approximately $270 million<br \/>\nannually.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>  Air Liquide received bridge financing for the transaction and refinancing of the acquisition will<br \/>\ninvolve a capital increase in the range of \u20ac3 billion to \u20ac3.5 billion, together with a combination of<br \/>\nU.S. dollar and Euro long-term bonds. Air Liquide is contemplating a capital increase with<br \/>\npreferential subscription rights for shareholders at the end of Q3 2016 or the beginning of Q4 2016,<br \/>\nsubject to market conditions.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li>  Air Liquide management will hold a Capital Markets Day for investors and analysts on 6 July 2016 in<br \/>\nLondon, where the new Group mid-term plan will be presented.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p> Barclays Bank Plc and BNP Paribas are acting as financial advisors to Air Liquide. Cleary Gottlieb Steen &#038;<br \/>\nHamilton LLP and Bredin Prat are acting as the primary legal advisors to Air Liquide.<\/p>\n<p>Goldman Sachs and Bank of America Merrill Lynch are acting as financial advisors to Airgas and<br \/>\nWachtell, Lipton, Rosen &#038; Katz is acting as legal advisor to Airgas.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Air Liquide (Euronext Paris: AI), world leader in gases, technologies and services for Industry and Health, today announced that it has completed the acquisition of Airgas, Inc., one of the leading suppliers of industrial gases and associated<br \/>\nproducts and services in the U.S.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":52351,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1599],"tags":[1671,1888,1437,2103],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/beta.next-finance.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52353"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/beta.next-finance.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/beta.next-finance.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beta.next-finance.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/20"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beta.next-finance.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=52353"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/beta.next-finance.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/52353\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beta.next-finance.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/52351"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/beta.next-finance.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=52353"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beta.next-finance.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=52353"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/beta.next-finance.net\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=52353"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}