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Though negotiations with antitrust authorities are ongoing, Linde and Praxair hope that the deal will win approval in the second half of 2018. Regulators were concerned that the deal, which was announced in 2016, could harm competition for gases, such as oxygen and helium, as the merger would cut the major gas producers in Europe to just three. Competition authorities in the European Union opened an in-depth, or ‘phase two’, investigation into Linde’s proposed merger with Praxair in February. The deal came about as a result of antitrust concerns on both sides of the Atlantic. Their engineering competencies and application know-how will, amongst others, be critical aspects in further growing the acquired businesses in the future.” “We are delighted to be partnering with Messer and the Messer family with whom we have a long-standing, trusted relationship for years. “This is an exciting opportunity to create a new global player in the attractive industrial gases sector,” said Alexander Dibelius, managing partner and head of DACH at CVC. “Through our industry expertise and strong engineering and application know-how, as well as the operational expertise and global network provided by CVC, we will continue to grow the acquired businesses together with its highly experienced and motivated employees.” “In creating this strategic partnership, we are seizing a unique opportunity to return to the North and South American markets and create a global player in the industrial gases sector,” said Stefan Messer, owner and chief executive of the Messer Group. Messer, which increased its revenue by 7 percent to €1.2bn in 2017, will essentially double in size as a result of the deal, 14 years after it left the US market after selling its US operations to Air Liquide in a restructuring. Messer will transfer its western European operations, which includes businesses in Benelux, Denmark, France, Germany, Portugal, Spain and Switzerland, and which accounted for €334m of the company’s €1.23bn group sales, into the new entity. The assets being acquired have around 5100 employees, and generated revenues of $1.7bn and earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) in excess of $360m in 2017. The joint venture is believed to have beaten a number of rivals, including financial investor Carlyle which was considered the front runner for Linde’s assets. The businesses to be sold in the deal include almost all of Linde’s US bulk business, as well as the company’s operations in Brazil, Canada and Colombia. The joint venture will be known as MG Industries and will operate under the Messer brand. The deal should allow Linde to secure antitrust clearance for its planned $87bn merger of equals with US rival Praxair. The German company called off merger talks in September, saying that shareholder representatives on its supervisory board, along with its chief executive, had recommended that it terminate discussions.A joint venture between German industrial gas supplier Messer and private equity group CVC has agreed to acquire the majority of Linde AG’s gases business in North America and certain business activities in South America for around $3.3bn. Linde said that the transaction was expected to save about $1 billion a year. Corporate functions would be split between Danbury, Conn., where Praxair is based, and Munich, where Linde is based. The new company would have stock listings in New York and in Frankfurt and would be domiciled in Europe. Steve Angel, the Praxair chief executive, would serve as chief executive of the combined company Wolfgang Reitzle, the Linde chairman, would be chairman. Praxair shareholders would receive one share in the new company for each Praxair share. Under the terms of the transaction, investors would receive 1.54 shares in the new company for each Linde share they hold. Shareholders controlling at least 75 percent of Linde’s stock would also have to agree for the deal to proceed. The next steps for the merger include the boards of both companies reaching a legally binding agreement and approval from regulators.