LNEGY

By Kris Rosemann Praxair (PX) and Linde (LNEGY) have finally agreed to tie the knot. After two years of on-and-off negotiations, and a good deal of demand headwinds, the second and third largest industrial gas companies in terms of annual sales have signed a nonbinding agreement to a merger of equals. This isn’t the first we’ve seen of consolidation near the top of the industrial gas space, however, after the completion of Air Liquide’s (AIQUY) purchase of Airgas for ~$13 billion in May 2016 pushed it past Linde as the big kahuna in the industry in terms of annual sales. Despite a return to the top spot in the industry, the deal might be too late in helping the firms … Read more