Industrial gas supplier Praxair Inc (NYSE:PS) and Germany-based Linde AG (ETR:LIN) have held initial talks about a merger, it was revealed Tuesday.
The union of the two would create a market leader valued at more than US$60bn, according to people familiar with the matter. Shares in Linde rode seven per cent higher in Frankfurt this morning.
An agreement would accelerate consolidation currently sweeping the sector where slower economic growth has weakened demand for industrial gas and put pressure on smaller players to compete.
Earlier this year, oilfield services provider Halliburton Co's (NYSE:HAL) US$34.6bn acquisition of Baker Hughes INC (NYSE:BHI) was stopped in its tracks over antitrust concerns, adding to a string of failed mergers and acquisitions follow regulatory scrutiny.
According to the Wall Street Journal, a person familiar with the matter said Praxair was considering a takeover of Linde, while two other sources said Linde wanted a merger of equals.
Linde has a market value of around 27bn euros (US$30.4bn), compared with about US$33.7bn for Praxair.
Analysts estimated that Praxair could pay a 26% premium over Linde's market value to gain control and still achieve an 8% return on invested capital in the full year, whilst improving its free cash flow per share by US$1.70.