ALLENTOWN — Air Products & Chemicals Inc. is selling its Continental Europe home care business to The Linde Groupe of Germany for $749.9 million, the Lehigh Valley-based company announced Monday.
The business being sold provides oxygen therapy, sleep therapy, and infusions, and it operates in Germany, France, Spain, Portugal and Belgium.
The operations have a base of about 260,000 patients and reported revenue of approximately $266.9 million in 2011, the company said. They employed 850 people.
Munich-based Linde said it generated about $355.9 million from oxygen, sleep and infusion therapies in 2010.
Air Products Chairman, President and CEO John McGlade said the operations being sold are “no longer a natural fit with our core gases business.” He added that the company’s “growth strategy lies in the energy, environmental and emerging markets in which we continue to see significant opportunities.”
Air Products, based in Allentown, said it is also evaluating its options for its home care business in the U.K., Ireland, Argentina, and Brazil.
Its shares have risen 19 percent from a 52-week low of $72.26 on Oct. 4
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