Praxair, Inc. (Danbury, Conn.; www.praxair.com) has announced that it has strengthened its position in Italy through the acquisition of Messer Italia S.p.A’s liquid carbon dioxide, oxygen, nitrogen and argon and packaged gases businesses. The businesses will be fully integrated into the operations of Praxair’s Italian joint venture, Rivoira S.p.A. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed.
In addition, Praxair sold its industrial gases operations in France to Messer France SAS. Praxair’s French operations included three air-separation units and two packaged-gas filling stations. Prior to this agreement, Praxair had a small industrial gases presence in France