BOC Gazy changes hands

Linde was required by the European Commission to sell the Polish firm in order to take over its owner, the British BOC Group, which it acquired in September last year. Thanks to that transaction, a new entity with a 22-percent share in the global industrial-gas market will be formed.

"We're taking advantage of a unique opportunity to become the number-one gas supplier in Central Europe's fastest growing economy," APC's CEO John Jones said. "With manufacturing moving eastwards in Europe and investment increasingly flowing in that direction, we intend to capitalize on the substantial growth potential in these markets," he added.

APC operates in 15 countries across Europe, including a number of countries in the CEE region. In Poland it is an industrial-gas supplier and has an annual sales revenue of around EUR 11 (zł.42.6) million.

BOC Gazy posted sales of $164 (zł.488) million in 2006. It employs around 750 people and has five major industrial-gas plants in Poland. It produces and supplies gases for a wide range of industries, including chemical, steel and base metals.