FTC Approves American Air Liquide Holdings, Inc.’s Application to Divest Assets to Matheson Tri-Gas, Inc.

Following a public comment period, the Federal Trade Commission has approved an application from American Air Liquide Holdings, Inc. to sell some of its assets to Matheson Tri-Gas, Inc., a Delaware-based subsidiary of Taiyo Nippon Sаnso Corporation of Japan.

The divestiture is required by the FTC’s July 2016 final order settling charges that the $13.4 billion merger of industrial gas producers American Air Liquide Holdings, Inc. and Airgas, Inc. would likely harm competition in several U.S. and regional markets. In its application, American Air Liquide seeks to divest to Matheson the bulk oxygen, nitrogen, and argon assets; the bulk nitrous oxide assets; the retail packaged welding gases assets; and parts of the bulk liquid carbon dioxide assets, as specified in the proposed order.

The FTC is currently accepting public comments on an application by American Air Liquide to divest the other bulk liquid carbon dioxide assets to Aspen Air U.S. Corp..

The Commission vote to approve the divestiture was 3-0. (FTC File No. 161 0045, Docket No. C-4574 ; the staff contact is Roberta Baruch, Bureau of Competition, 202-326-2861)

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