NEWS OF THE WEEK I N D U S T R I A L
G A S E S
LINDE TO ACQUIRE RIVAL BOC German firm raises bid for the British industrial gas firm and is accepted NEW ASSET As part of the merger, Linde will acquire BOC's stake in this Mexican facility, called the world's largest nitrogen gas complex.
L
ENDE HAS AGREED TO ACQUIRE
U.K.-headquartered B O C Group for £16 per share, or about $15.5 billion at current exchange rates. T h e offer is subject to clearance by European and U.S. antitrust authorities and to approval by BOC's shareholders a n d E n glish courts. A c cording to Linde, B O C intends to recommend that shareholders accept the offer. Germanybased Linde says the deal will create t h e world's
largest industrial gas company, with total industrial gas and engineering sales of about $14.3 billion per year. Air Liquide is the current industrial gas leader. Linde m a d e an offer for B O C in J a n u a r y t h a t was s p u r n e d by the British company (C&EN, Jan. 30, page 10). B O C said its board rejected the proposal "because of its preconditions and its failure to value fully the growth prospects of BOC." A £l.00-per-share increase in t h e offer price seems to have overcome those objections. Apparently, Linde is n o t worried about satisfying any condit i o n s i m p o s e d by a n t i t r u s t authorities, w h i c h blocked a 1999
E N V I R O N M E N T
PLEDGES ON PF0A Eight companies agree to cut releases of perfluorochemicals worldwide
E
Hazen 10
C&EN / MARCH
I G H T C O M P A N I E S HAVE
pledged to slash releases of several perfluorochemicals at their operations around the world, EPA announced on M a r c h 2. Arkema, Asahi, Ciba, Clariant, Daikin, DuPont, 3M/Dyneon, and Solvay Solexis have agreed to reduce emissions of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA), its longer chain homologs, a n d c o m p o u n d s t h a t can degrade into PFOA, EPA said. T h e companies will also reduce levels of these compounds in their products. According to EPA, t h e companies' actions would "dramatically reduce" the amount of P F O A in the global environment. P F O A persists in t h e environ-
1 3,
2006
m e n t and bioaccumulates. E P A science advisers are recommending that the agency classify it as a "likely" human carcinogen (C&EN, Feb. 2 0 , page 26). It is used as a processing aid in the manufacture of fluoropolymers, including those used to coat nonstick cookware and make waterproof membranes. P F O A also is sometimes an unintentional by-product of the manufacture of fluorinated alcohols called telomers, w h i c h are used to impart stain- and grease-resistance to fabrics and paper. Some scientists believe t h a t telomers degrade to P F O A and related perfluorocarboxylates ( C & E N , J a n . 30, page 37).
a t t e m p t by A i r Liquide and A i r Products & Chemicals to buy and split up B O C . "Given the complem e n t a r y p r o d u c t p o r t f o l i o s of b o t h companies," Linde says in a statement, "Linde expects that the preconditions could be satisfied." It anticipates that this could happen by the end of May. Linde is counting on annual savings of about $300 million through supply m a n a g e m e n t o p t i m i z a tion, combined procurement, and expense reduction. It expects t o achieve synergies "quickly and efficiently," pointing to the rapid integration of the Swedish gases firm A G A , which it acquired in 2 0 0 0 . It also says it will consider options for its forklift business in order to focus on gases and engineering. R o g e r S h a m e l , p r e s i d e n t of C o n s u l t i n g Resources, Lexington, Mass., t h i n k s t h e merger is a good deal. "Both are good companies," he says, "and customers and shareholders will benefit. I t h i n k that together they will give Air Liquide a run for its money."— WILLIAM ST0RCK
Responding to a challenge that E P A m a d e in January, t h e eight firms volunteered t o cut i n d u s trial releases of P F O A as well as amounts of the chemical in products by 9 5 % from 2 0 0 0 levels by 2010 or earlier. T h e c o m p a n i e s also pledged to work on eliminating releases of P F O A and its content in products by 2015. "Each company is different and will use different means to achieve t h e goals," says Susan B. H a z e n , EPAs acting assistant administrator for prevention, pesticides, and toxic substances. "The important thing is t h a t all of t h e companies are agreeing that corporate action t o reduce t h e a m o u n t of P F O A g e t t i n g into our e n v i r o n m e n t is the right thing to do now." E P A said t h e eight companies will need to work with the agency to develop and agree on analytical standards and laboratory methods for P F O A and related chemicals.— CHERYLH0GUE WWW.CEN-0NLINE.ORG
