joint ventures, page-13

Any update on Helium factory Sav J?


The Linde Group sells Linde Gas Pty Ltd (Australia) to Wesfarmers Energy Limited

Wiesbaden/Munich, 20 December 2006 - Subsequent to a preliminary agreement signed on 26 November 2006, the technology group The Linde Group and the Australian company Wesfarmers Energy Limited have now entered into a final agreement for the sale of Linde's Australian gases activities (Linde Gas Australia) to Wesfarmers at an enterprise value equivalent to around 300 million euro. The Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC) has advised, in response to Wesfarmers' application for informal clearance, that it does not intend to oppose the proposed acquisition of Linde Gas Australia by Wesfarmers.

As a next step the ACCC will be asked to approve formally Wesfarmers as purchaser under the terms of the undertaking that The Linde Group has agreed with the ACCC, a decision that will be determined on substantially the same basis as the clearance granted by the ACCC today.

The disposal of Linde Gas Australia was one of the conditions imposed by the ACCC on the acquisition of The BOC Group plc by Linde, a transaction which became effective on 5 September 2006.

Linde Gas Australia is one of the major participants in the Australian industrial gases market. The company has a well-established presence in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia through both direct sales and a wide network of agents and distributors. Linde Gas Australia had sales of 61 million euro in the financial year 2005.

The Linde Group is a world leading industrial gases and engineering company with more than 53,000 employees working in around 70 countries worldwide. Following the acquisition of The BOC Group, the company has gases and engineering sales of approximately 12 billion euro. The strategy of The Linde Group is geared towards earnings-based growth and focuses on the expansion of its international business with forward-looking products and services. For more information, please see The Linde Group online at http://www.linde.com