Recently, the much-anticipated 87 billion-dollar merger in the gas industry (the merger of Linde Group and Praxair Company) has been investigated and approved with restrictive conditions by the State Administration for Market Regulation (“SAMR”) of China.

Given the possibility of unfair competition arising from the merger that might further enhance the ability of Linde Group and Praxair to monopolize the market, SAMR carried out an in-depth analyses on the effect of this merger on market competition under Article 27 of the Anti-Monopoly Law, including its effect on market share and the ability of the merger participants to control the market, as well as the effect of the merger on consumers and other operators. As a result, SAMR decided to approve the merger with restrictive conditions because the merger was deemed to have or be likely to have the effect of eliminating or restricting competition in the global helium market, the global inert rare gas mixture market, the global fluorine-containing rare gas mixture market, the global hydrogen chloride rare gas mixture market, the liquid oxygen market in Guangdong Province and the liquid nitrogen market in Guangdong Province.

(Source: State Administration for Market Regulation of PRC)