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Linde AG (FRA:LIN) Munich, 2 October 2008 - The technology group The Linde Group has acquired the remaining 50 percent of the shares in the Australian LPG-company Elgas, Sydney, at an equity value of 126 million euro. Elgas, established in 1984, was a 50/50 Joint Venture between BOC Limited, a member of the Linde Group, and AGL Energy (AGL).
Elgas is the biggest marketer of LPG (Liquefied Propane Gas) in Australia and operates Australia's largest LPG storage facility at Port Botany in Sydney. The company achieved sales of around 255 million euro in the financial year 2007 and currently employs about 460 people.
"This transaction will enable us to strengthen our position as the leading supplier of gases in Australia", explained Professor Dr Wolfgang Reitzle, Chief Executive Officer of Linde AG. "We will profit from the synergies between the LPG business and our strong industrial gases business. We can leverage the Elgas infrastructure and management to expand and improve our combined LPG business across Australia and New Zealand."
In the operating segment South Pacific & Africa, Linde achieved sales of 1.284 billion euro in the financial year 2007. Within the operating segment, Linde's gases sales in South Pacific increased by 11 percent to 755 million euro in 2007.
The Linde Group is a world leading gases and engineering company with more than 50,000 employees working in around 100 countries worldwide. In the 2007 financial year it achieved sales of EUR 12.3 billion. 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.
BOC, a member of the Linde Group, is the leading industrial gases company in Australia, where it achieves strong annual growth rates. The company has more than 2,000 employees in Australia and an extensive distribution network across the country.
For more information, see The Linde Group web site at www. linde.com
