Antitrust hurdle saps Linde in US

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Shares in Linde (LIN1.DE) plunged more than 8 percent yesterday after the industrial gases group’s planned $87 billion merger with Praxair (PX.N) was put in doubt by demands from US antitrust regulators.

The US Federal Trade Commission is asking for more assets to be sold than previously anticipated and the watchdog also wants prospective buyers to meet certain other requirements, the German industrial gases group said in a statement published just after midnight on Sunday.

“Linde and Praxair are analysing these expectations to assess their scope and to evaluate how they could be implemented to achieve a timely clearance of the business combination,” it said.

The planned combination in an all-shares merger, agreed in principle in December 2016, would create a global leader in gas distribution ahead of France’s Air Liquide (AIRP.PA).

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