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Investing.com -- Air Liquide SA (EPA:AIRP) has agreed to acquire South Korea’s DIG Airgas (NYSE:ARG) from Macquarie Asia-Pacific Infrastructure Fund 2 in a deal worth €2.85 billion ($3.30 billion), the French industrial gases company said on Friday.
The purchase will strengthen Air Liquide’s presence in South Korea, the world’s fourth-largest industrial gas market and a key global manufacturing hub.
“This opportunity ... will contribute to the net profit growth of the Group as soon as one year after Group integration,” Chief Executive François Jackow said in a statement.
The transaction, subject to regulatory approvals in Korea, is expected to close in the first half of 2026. Jackow also highlighted the strategic importance of the deal.
“Korea is leading the next waves of development in key sectors like the semiconductors industry, clean energy and mobility.” He added that DIG Airgas has around 20 secured projects in its pipeline.
Air Liquide, which has operated in South Korea for more than 30 years, noted that DIG has expanded under Macquarie’s ownership into fast-growing areas such as semiconductors and secondary batteries, leaving it well positioned to compete for large-scale industrial projects.
"DIG is therefore well positioned to continue to secure new business opportunities to drive further growth, including securing mega projects in high growth industries," Air Liquide said.
Macquarie took over the company—formerly known as Daesung Industrial Gases—from South Korean private equity firm MBK Partners in 2019 for 2.5 trillion won ($1.85 billion), according to local media reports at the time.
DIG Airgas generated €510 million in revenue in 2024 and employs roughly 550 staff. The acquisition marks Air Liquide’s return to the Korean market a decade after it exited by selling its stake in Daesung Industrial Gases.
The deal concludes a lengthy auction process in which Air Liquide prevailed over rivals including Brookfield Asset Management (TSX:BAM) and Stonepeak.
In 2022, Brookfield acquired SK Airplus, a gas production facility that supplies SK Hynix, the world’s second-largest memory chipmaker. Stonepeak, based in New York, does not hold any industrial gases assets in Asia.