Airgas considered leveraged buyout, document reveals
Airgas Inc., which is fighting a hostile takeover attempt by Air Products & Chemicals Inc., considered a leveraged buyout in 2007, according to a recent court document.
Airgas Inc., which is fighting a hostile takeover attempt by Air Products & Chemicals Inc., considered a leveraged buyout in 2007, according to a recent court document.
"Everybody was looking at private equity, LBOs back in those times, especially companies with good cash flow," Jay Worley, spokesman for the Radnor firm, said Tuesday. "Nothing developed."
Had Airgas, the nation's largest distributor of industrial gases, consummated a buyout three years ago, when billions of dollars were pouring into deals that took companies private, it likely would have been spared what has become a long and costly fight to continue as a stand-alone company.
The disclosure of a potential LBO came in a letter to lawyers Friday from William B. Chandler III, a judge in Delaware Chancery Court, who is handling Air Products' complaint that Airgas directors neglected their duty to shareholders by refusing to form a committee of directors that would seek independent advice on takeover offers. Air Products, which launched its attempt to buy Airgas last October and took its effort public in February, is offering $63.50 per share for Airgas.
Chandler denied Air Products' demand that Airgas produce documents about the potential LBO. But he granted an Airgas request that Allentown's Air Products provide documents on communications with its nominees to the Airgas board. The judge said he would review the documents in confidence and decide on further action.
