The Federal Trade Commission has removed any antitrust issues
toward a potential acquisition by Air Products & Chemicals Inc.
(APD) of Airgas Inc. (ARG) if the two companies can reach a
deal.
Air Products has been pursuing Airgas for months, but the
company has repeated demurred, saying the valuations are too low.
Air Products' latest bid is $5.48 billion.
Under the deal with the FTC, resolving charges that a merger of
the two rivals would be anticompetitive, Air Products would sell 15
air-separation units and related bulk liquid-oxygen and
liquid-nitrogen assets owned by Airgas. According to the FTC, an
acquisition without selling those assets would have eliminated
competition between the two companies in five U.S. regions and
likely would have allowed it to set prices for bulk liquid-oxygen
and liquid-nitrogen.
If the deal succeeds, Air Products must sell the assets within
four months of closure. If the company can't complete the
acquisition by mid-February, the FTC may require Air Products to
seek prior approval before closing any transaction.
Air Products shares recently were down 36 cents at $84.57.
Airgas shares were down 2 cents at $70.12. Air Products' latest
offer is $65.50.
-By Tess Stynes, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2481;
Tess.Stynes@dowjones.com;