Linde to acquire Air Products' Continental-European homecare business

• Enterprise value: EUR 590 m

• Annual sales: EUR 210 m

• Strategic acquisition in structural growth market

Munich, 9 January 2012 – The technology company The Linde Group has signed an agreement for the acquisition of the Continental-European homecare business of the industrial gases company Air Products at an enterprise value of EUR 590 m. This business achieved annual sales of EUR 210 m in 2011. The transaction comprises Air Products' homecare operations in Belgium, France, Germany, Portugal and Spain with around 850 employees.

"Healthcare is one of our three strategic growth pillars. It has proven to be a stable business and builds on the mega-trend of changing demographics," said Professor Dr Wolfgang Reitzle, Chief Executive Officer of Linde AG. "With this transaction we are expanding our competencies and scaling-up our product and service offering, delivering quality care to around 260,000 additional patients. This puts us in a very good position to continue to drive innovation and develop new services. The acquisition will improve our position in a structural growth market and will make us one of the market leaders in the European respiratory homecare business."

Homecare is the term applied to medical services relating to the treatment of patients in settings other than hospitals. It comprises respiratory services such as oxygen therapy, sleep therapy, and ventilation services. In the 2010 financial year, Linde achieved global sales of around EUR 280 m in this product area. In the Healthcare segment as a whole, which comprises not only Homecare but also Hospital Care (the supply of medical gases and services to hospitals), Linde achieved sales in the 2010 financial year of EUR 1.1 bn. Linde is the second largest supplier of medical gases and related services in the world.

The completion of the transaction is subject to approval by the antitrust authorities, relevant works council consultation and fulfilment of other usual closing conditions.

About The Linde Group
The Linde Group is a world-leading gases and engineering company with around 50,000 employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide. In the 2010 financial year, it achieved sales of EUR 12.868 bn. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards sustainable earnings-based growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services. Linde acts responsibly towards its shareholders, business partners, employees, society and the environment – in every one of its business areas, regions and locations across the globe. Linde is committed to technologies and products that unite the goals of customer value and sustainable development.

For more information, see The Linde Group online at http://www.linde.com

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