The first nine months of the industrial gas year have been dominated by Air Liquide’s game-changing acquisition of Airgas, Inc. The $13.4bn deal and its impact on the market made waves before, during and since its completion on May 23, with the subsequent divestments to MATHESON and Aspen Air – though yet to be completed – furthering the impact of the transaction.
For Air Liquide, the acquisition created the biggest industrial gas group in the world whilst also establishing the company as the largest player in the North American market. And the integration process is progressing well, it said in releasing its first-half 2016 results last month.
Airgas has already proved accretive in those results; around $570m of Airgas sales consolidated as of May 23, 2016 were included in robust revenues for the group in the period. Further still, the first benefits of the synergies with Airgas are expected to be realized in the second half of the year. It is then, win-win right now. So will the same be said of the North American marketplace in the months and years ahead?
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