Overview
LONDON – International law firm McDermott Will & Emery has advised NYSE listed Praxair, Inc. on the sale of the majority of its businesses in Europe to Taiyo Nippon Sanso Corporation, a company listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and majority owned by Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation.
The base purchase price for the transaction is 5 billion euros and is subject to customary adjustments at closing. The agreement is dependent on regulatory approvals as well as the successful consummation of the Praxair-Linde merger.
Praxair, Inc. is a leading industrial gas company in North and South America and one of the largest worldwide. With market capitalisation of approximately $40 billion and 2017 sales of $11 billion, the company employs over 26,000 people globally and has been named to the Down Jones World Sustainability Index for 15 consecutive years. Praxair produces, sells and distributes atmospheric, process and specialty gases and high-performance surface coatings.
In the 2017 financial year, the Linde Group generated revenue of EUR17.113 bn, making it one of the leading gases and engineering company in the world, with approximately 58,000 employees working in more than 100 countries worldwide.
McDermott advised on all aspects of the divestment which has been carried out by way of a competitive auction process.
Commenting on behalf of McDermott, lead partner Lisa O’Neill said, “We are delighted to have supported Praxair with this transaction. The Praxair-Linde merger is one of the most significant deals that has come about in the industry for some time and this divestment is a critical piece to ensuring the successful consummation of the merger.”
The global McDermott team was led by London-based corporate partner Lisa O’Neill, supported in London by counsel Elisabeth Moseley and associates Linda Zeman, Caroline Kavanagh, Marta Wrobel and Matthew Chen. Support was provided in Dallas by corporate partner Shawn Helms and associates Joanna Lin and Blake Wong, and in Brussels by competition partner Andrea Hamilton. McDermott’s offices in New York, Chicago, Paris, Düsseldorf and Milan also provided support.
McDermott’s Corporate & Transactional Practice
McDermott’s Corporate & Transactional Practice represents business interests around the world, from global corporations and industry-leading companies to privately funded and entrepreneurial driven enterprises, private equity sponsors and the financial institutions that support them. McDermott consistently ranks in the leading league tables, including Mergermarket, Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg and PitchBook, and is highly ranked across major legal directories in the United States and in Europe.
About McDermott
McDermott Will & Emery is a premier international law firm with a diversified business practice. Numbering more than 1,000 lawyers, we have offices in Boston, Brussels, Chicago, Dallas, Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Houston, London, Los Angeles, Miami, Milan, Munich, New York, Orange County, Paris, San Francisco, Seoul, Silicon Valley and Washington, DC. Further extending our reach into Asia, we have a strategic alliance with MWE China Law Offices in Shanghai.
