Linde plc

Linde plc is a multinational industrial-gases and engineering company whose modern corporate identity was created by the 2018 combination of Germany’s Linde AG and the United States-based Praxair. Its roots reach back to 1879, when German engineer and scientist Carl von Linde established a company to commercialize mechanical refrigeration. The business subsequently became a pioneer in air liquefaction and industrial gas separation, technologies that enabled the large-scale production and distribution of oxygen, nitrogen and other gases. Today, Linde is principally a supplier of atmospheric, process, specialty and medical gases. Its portfolio includes oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, acetylene, ammonia, refrigerants, electronic gases and high-purity gases. Products may be delivered in cylinders, as liquefied gases by tanker, through pipelines from plants located at or near a customer’s facility, or through on-site generation equipment. This range of delivery models allows Linde to serve small laboratories and hospitals as well as steel mills, refineries, semiconductor plants and large chemical complexes. Healthcare is a major application area. Linde supplies medical oxygen and other medical gases, respiratory-care products, homecare services and related treatment systems. Its offerings support oxygen therapy, anesthesia, aerosol therapy, respiratory care for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and asthma, sleep-apnea treatment, pain management and hospital operations. The company has operated these activities under various regional brands, including Linde Healthcare, AGA Medical, INO Therapeutics and Linde Homecare. Linde also designs and constructs large process plants through its engineering business. These projects include air-separation units, hydrogen and synthesis-gas plants, natural-gas and liquefied-natural-gas facilities, ethylene-cracker units, chemical plants, cryogenic systems, adsorption and membrane plants, carbon-dioxide facilities, furnaces and related equipment. The engineering operation connects Linde’s proprietary process technology with the long-term supply of gases to industrial customers. The company’s brand architecture reflects its history of acquisitions and regional operations. Alongside Linde, the group has used or retained names such as AGA, BOC, Afrox, PanGas, Sigas, TIG and Mox-Linde Gases. HiQ identifies high-purity and specialty-gas products in several markets. The 2006 acquisition of BOC substantially expanded Linde’s international footprint, while the 2018 Praxair merger created one of the world’s largest industrial-gas companies. Linde’s customers span healthcare, steel, metal fabrication, petroleum refining, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics, aerospace, water treatment, fiber optics and energy. Its strategic development has increasingly included hydrogen, carbon capture, low-carbon process technologies and industrial decarbonization. The company participates in hydrogen-industry initiatives and has invested in renewable-hydrogen production and electrolyzer technology. Linde is the surviving public company from the Linde–Praxair transaction and trades under the symbol LIN. Although its scientific and corporate heritage is German, the current group is headquartered operationally in the United Kingdom and registered in Ireland. It remains active globally, combining recurring gas supply contracts, packaged-gas distribution, healthcare services and engineering projects.

Linde’s history began on 21 June 1879, when Carl von Linde founded Gesellschaft für Linde’s Eismaschinen Aktiengesellschaft in Wiesbaden. The original business focused on mechanical refrigeration for breweries and food producers. Linde’s work later moved toward much lower temperatures, culminating in the development and patenting of practical air-liquefaction technology in 1895. This created the technical basis for separating atmospheric gases at industrial scale. Linde equipment was used in 1903 at the company’s works near Munich for one of the first large-scale air-separation installations. The company expanded internationally soon afterward. In the United States, Linde and Cecil Lightfoot established the Linde Air Products operation in 1907, with a plant in Buffalo, New York. The American business developed separately after Linde’s United States assets were confiscated following World War I and incorporated into Union Carbide. That operation ultimately became Praxair, which later rejoined the Linde corporate lineage in 2018. Linde engineers also worked on separating the components of water gas. The Linde–Frank–Caro process, developed around 1909, produced hydrogen and carbon monoxide, important feedstocks for the growing chemical industry. In parallel, the company developed businesses in engines, tractors, materials-handling equipment and industrial machinery. Its later forklift operation became KION Group and was sold in 2007, marking a major retreat from equipment manufacturing in favor of gases and engineering. The company’s history during Nazi Germany includes significant involvement in the wartime economy. Linde benefited from state efforts to reduce dependence on imported fuel and rubber, and its divisions supplied equipment and gases connected with armaments production. The Heylandt operation contributed to rocket-related work, while other units produced welding equipment and engines. Linde also supplied oxygen and helium installations for IG Farben at Auschwitz in 1941, and company facilities used forced labor during the war. These activities form an important and contested part of the company’s historical record. After the war, Linde rebuilt its industrial operations and expanded through acquisitions. It acquired Lansing Bagnall in 1989, strengthening its forklift business, and obtained rights to the Linde name from Praxair in 1996. The acquisition of Sweden’s AGA in 2000 expanded the group’s gases business. In 2004, Linde sold its refrigeration division to Carrier. Its 2006 acquisition of BOC for €11.7 billion was transformational, adding major operations and brands across Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa and the Pacific. Linde then sold its forklift business to private-equity buyers in 2007 and disposed of several BOC-related businesses to satisfy strategic and regulatory objectives. During the 2010s, Linde expanded healthcare and regional gas operations. It acquired a majority interest in Sri Lanka’s Ceylon Oxygen, bought homecare businesses from Air Products in several European countries, acquired Lincare Holdings in the United States and later acquired Calea France. Linde Korea also purchased industrial merchant, electronics and liquid-bulk gas activities from Air Liquide Korea. The decisive corporate turning point came in 2017, when Linde and Praxair agreed to combine. The transaction closed in October 2018, creating the current Linde plc. Competition authorities required asset sales in North and South America and elsewhere; these divestitures included Linde HyCO and other gas assets transferred to buyers such as Messer, CVC Capital Partners, Airgas, Air Products and Matheson. The final United States-related divestitures were completed in 2019. Following the merger, Linde continued investing in hydrogen, carbon utilization and low-carbon industrial technologies. It partnered with CarbonCure Technologies, invested in Hydrospider and invested in ITM Power’s electrolyzer technology. It sold its LifeGas division in 2020 and transferred its Swedish and Norwegian LNG and biogas activities to Gasum. A planned LNG-terminal project in Russia became restricted by sanctions after the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, while Linde’s Gist logistics subsidiary was sold to Marks & Spencer. Linde now concentrates on industrial and medical gases, engineered process plants, digital and technical services, hydrogen and decarbonization solutions.

1. 2022Gist sold to Marks & Spencer

   Linde sold its supply-chain-services subsidiary Gist to Marks & Spencer.

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2. 2020LifeGas and Nordic LNG activities divested

   Linde sold its LifeGas division and transferred its Swedish and Norwegian LNG and biogas business to Gasum.

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3. 2019Regulatory divestitures completed

   Linde completed further disposals required to secure antitrust clearance for the Praxair merger.

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4. 2018Linde and Praxair merge

   The merger created Linde plc, combining Linde’s European heritage with Praxair’s North American industrial-gases business.

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5. 2012Expansion of homecare gases

   Linde acquired Lincare Holdings in the United States and additional European homecare operations.

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6. 2007Forklift business becomes KION Group

   Linde sold its materials-handling business to KKR and Goldman Sachs for approximately €4 billion.

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7. 2006Acquisition of BOC

   Linde acquired BOC for €11.7 billion in cash, creating a significantly larger global industrial-gases group.

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8. 2000Acquisition of AGA

   Linde completed the acquisition of Swedish gases company AGA, substantially extending its international gases platform.

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9. 1907Linde Air Products begins in the United States

   Linde and Cecil Lightfoot opened an American operation and plant in Buffalo, New York.

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10. 1903Early large-scale air-separation plant

    A major air-separation installation was commissioned at Linde’s works near Munich.

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11. 1895Air-liquefaction breakthrough

    Linde patented technology for liquefying air, enabling later industrial separation of atmospheric gases.

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12. 1879Carl von Linde establishes the company

    Carl von Linde founded Gesellschaft für Linde’s Eismaschinen Aktiengesellschaft in Wiesbaden to commercialize mechanical refrigeration.

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A global, technology-led supplier of essential industrial and medical gases, supported by engineering capabilities for building and operating large-scale gas and process plants.

• Industrial gasesIndustrial gases

  Linde supplies oxygen, nitrogen, argon, hydrogen, helium, carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, acetylene, ammonia, shielding gases and other process gases. Customers receive them in cylinders, bulk liquid deliveries, pipelines or through on-site generation, depending on consumption and application.

• Linde HealthcareMedical gases and healthcare

  The healthcare business provides medical oxygen, respiratory-care gases, anesthesia gases, aerosol-therapy products, home oxygen and related services. Its applications include hospital care and treatment of chronic respiratory conditions, sleep apnea, asthma and pain.

• HiQSpecialty gases

  HiQ is used across several Linde regional brands to identify high-purity and specialty gases. These products support laboratories, electronics manufacturing, calibration, analytical work and other applications where composition and traceability are critical.

• Linde EngineeringIndustrial engineering

  Linde Engineering designs and builds process facilities, including air-separation units, hydrogen and synthesis-gas plants, LNG and natural-gas facilities, chemical plants, cryogenic systems, carbon-dioxide installations and related equipment.

• Hydrogen solutionsHydrogen

  Linde produces, distributes and engineers hydrogen systems for industrial customers and emerging mobility and energy applications. The company has invested in renewable-hydrogen production, electrolyzer technology and hydrogen infrastructure.

• Hydrogen Council participation

  Global

  Linde participates in the Hydrogen Council, an industry group focused on advancing hydrogen technologies, infrastructure and applications including mobility.

  Outcome. Ongoing industry participation

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• 2019Invest in hydrogen and carbon-management technologiesStrategy

  Linde identified hydrogen, carbon utilization and lower-carbon industrial processes as areas of future growth.

  What changed. The company partnered with CarbonCure Technologies, acquired a stake in Hydrospider and invested in ITM Power.

  Aftermath. These actions expanded Linde’s participation in emerging hydrogen and carbon-management ecosystems.

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• 2018Merge with PraxairM&A

  Linde and Praxair sought to combine complementary geographic footprints and industrial-gases capabilities.

  What changed. The companies completed their merger, creating the current Linde plc, while undertaking required antitrust divestitures.

  Aftermath. The transaction created one of the world’s largest industrial-gases suppliers and resulted in the current Linde corporate structure.

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• 2007Exit materials-handling equipmentStrategy

  Linde’s forklift and materials-handling activities were no longer central to its industrial-gases strategy.

  What changed. The forklift business was sold to KKR and Goldman Sachs and rebranded as KION Group.

  Aftermath. Linde became more focused on gases, healthcare and engineering.

  Sale price. €4 billion (2007)

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• 2006Acquire BOCM&A

  Linde sought to expand its industrial-gases scale and international coverage.

  What changed. Linde acquired BOC for €11.7 billion in cash.

  Aftermath. BOC became a major source of regional brands, assets and customers for the enlarged Linde group.

  Acquisition consideration. €11.7 billion (2006)

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• 2004Sell refrigeration division to CarrierM&A

  Linde had historical roots in refrigeration, but the group was increasingly concentrating on industrial gases and related businesses.

  What changed. The refrigeration division was sold to Carrier for €325 million.

  Aftermath. The disposal reinforced Linde’s strategic shift away from its original refrigeration activity.

  Sale price. €325 million (2004)

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• 1941Linde’s wartime involvement in Nazi GermanyControversy

  Historical records describe Linde’s involvement in German armaments production during the Nazi period, including the supply of oxygen and helium installations for IG Farben at Auschwitz and the use of forced labor at company facilities. The episode is a significant part of the company’s documented wartime history.

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• 2022Russia freezes Linde assets after Ukraine invasion sanctions

  Sanctions and the war in Ukraine restricted Linde’s ability to complete a Russian LNG-terminal project, after which Russian authorities froze company assets in the country.

  RegulationOther
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• 2022Linde sells Gist supply-chain business to Marks & Spencer

  Linde disposed of Gist, a logistics and supply-chain business inherited through the BOC acquisition.

  M&A
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• 2019Linde completes divestitures required for the Praxair transaction

  The company completed additional asset disposals required by United States antitrust authorities after the merger.

  M&ARegulation
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• 2018Linde and Praxair complete merger

  The merger formed the current Linde plc, subject to completion of divestitures required by competition authorities.

  M&A
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1. Linde plc
2. Linde leadership
3. Linde official website