BOC Edwards Acquired
Linde acquired BOC last year (see IBO 3/15/06) and stated that it planned to divest BOC Edwards’s components business (see IBO 9/15/06) but retain BOC Edwards’s bulk business and electronic gas business. BOC Edwards’s components business recorded sales of €306 million ($382.5 million) in 2006. It is a major supplier of vacuum products to analytical instrument companies.
London, England 3/12/07—Linde has sold BOC Edwards’s vacuum and semiconductor businesses to private equity firm CCMP Capital for €685 million ($901.1 million). BOC Edwards is a supplier of vacuum systems to analytical instrumentation companies, among other industries. “This is the start of a new independent era for BOC Edwards in which we can focus on delivering world class products and services to our customers,” said BOC Edwards Chief Executive Nigel Hunton. CCMP Capital Advisors’ Stephen Welton commented, “We believe that under CCMP’s ownership BOC Edwards can move to a new level as an independent company and develop its technology in new markets whilst retaining leadership in its core areas.” The transaction is expected to close by the end of June.
