, Columnist
Taiyo Nippon Gas Deal Is a Solid Win for Japan
The Praxair purchase looks reasonably priced.
No pressure.
Photograph: iStock/Getty Images
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Japanese acquirers aren’t known for underpaying. So the country’s top industrial-gas producer looks to have lucked out in buying the European cast-offs of the $45 billion merger between Germany’s Linde AG and Praxair Inc. of the U.S.
Praxair agreed to sell assets valued at about 5 billion euros ($5.9 billion) to Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corp. as part of efforts to win regulatory approval for its plan to create the world’s largest industrial-gas supplier. Tokyo-based Taiyo Nippon will pay with a combination of cash and a bridge loan.