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Gas group Linde says merger plans with Praxair halted

German industrial gas supplier Linde says it will abandon plans to merge with US competitor Praxair

German industrial gas supplier Linde said Monday it would abandon plans to merge with US competitor Praxair, a tie-up that would have created the world's biggest firm in the sector.

"Shareholder representatives in the supervisory board of Linde AG recommend... to terminate the preliminary talks with Praxair, Inc. about a potential merger," the company said in a statement.

Chief executive Wolfgang Buechele and the rest of the supervisory board agreed with the decision, the statement said.

"While the strategic rationale of a merger has been principally confirmed, discussions about details, specifically about governance aspects, did not result in a mutual understanding," it went on.

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A merger between the two could have allowed Linde to overtake historic French rival Air Liquide as the world's biggest industrial gas supplier, with estimated annual revenues of more then $30 billion.

But the tie-up would also have been subject to close regulatory scrutiny, as the number of large players in the market would have shrunk to three.

At the time the merger talks were announced in August, analysts and markets welcomed the move, with both Linde and Praxair shares soaring.

The German firm in particular has suffered from weak orders in its turnkey industrial facilities division as major customers in the oil and natural gas industries struggle with low prices.

Gas sales, Munich-based Linde's largest source of revenue, have remained more stable.

Linde employs 64,000 people worldwide, while Connecticut-based Praxair has 26,000 staff.