Linde and Praxair Merger Reaches Final Stage

Linde AG (LINU.XE) said Tuesday that around 73% of its outstanding shares have been tendered by shareholders as part its planned merger with Praxair Inc., well above the 60% minimum required for the deal process to continue.

In total, 72.99% of Linde's shares have been submitted in exchange for shares in Linde PLC, a holding company.

For the deal to have gone through, shareholders had to accept a tender offer for at least 60% of Linde's outstanding shares by midnight Nov. 7 in exchange for shares in Linde PLC, a holding company.

At the end of October, Linde lowered the acceptance threshold to 60% from 75%, extending the original deadline by two weeks.

As of Wednesday, an extended period starts and offers can be accepted until Nov. 24 at midnight. By then, the threshold should have reached 74%, otherwise the merger could be endangered for tax reasons. Below an acceptance threshold of 74%, there's risk that Linde PLC, which is a U.K.-domiciled entity, could be subject to U.S. taxation.

The merger of Linde and Praxair would result in the world's largest gas corporation. Both companies expect the operation to generate annual synergies of approximately $1 billion.

Write to Marc Navarro Gonzalez at marc.navarrogonzalez@dowjones.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 07, 2017 12:00 ET (17:00 GMT)