Air Products and Chemicals Completes Acquisition of ACP Europe SA
In a press release today, Air Products and Chemicals (APD) announced that it had completed its acquisition of ACP Europe SA.
March 1 2019, Published 1:23 p.m. ET
APD completes its acquisition of ACP Europe SA
In a press release today, Air Products and Chemicals (APD) announced that it had completed its acquisition of ACP Europe SA. The deal was announced on February 15. APD didn’t disclose the financial aspects of the acquisition. The acquisition will reflect in APD’s revenue and earnings from its fiscal Q2 2019 earnings. In the previous quarter, APD’s Industrial Gases EMEA reported revenue of $524.2 million and operating income of $105.6 million.
ACP Europe SA is the largest independent carbon dioxide business in Continental Europe, with four liquid carbon dioxide production facilities and two dry ice facilities in Europe. ACP’s products cater to the beverage, chemical, food, and horticulture businesses.
Ivo Bols, APD’s Industrial Gases President in Europe and Africa, said, “This is a good, logical deal. The ACP CO2 business complements our own and provides a solid platform to deliver customer value and pursue further European industrial gas growth. I have no doubt that our customers will benefit from a stronger portfolio as well as the collective and complementary expertise of our combined team.”
Stock price reaction
At around noon today, APD stock was trading at $179.49, down ~0.9%. It appears that the stock could go through a minor correction as its 14-day relative strength index of 71 indicates that the stock has moved into an overbought position, and we can expect some selling pressure in the stock. APD’s peer Linde (LIN) was down 1.1%.
Investors can indirectly access APD through the Materials Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLB), which has invested 6.4% of its portfolio in APD. The fund also provides exposure to DowDuPont (DWDP) and Sherwin-Williams (SHW) with weights of 19.8% and 4.7%, respectively, as of February 28.
