In 20 16, Air Liquide Group successfully acquired American Airgas Company and became the largest natural gas company in the world. However, Linde subsequently announced the acquisition of Praxair on 20 17, and is currently divesting some assets in order to obtain the approval of the competition regulator.
The financial reports of various companies show that the annual sales of air liquide in 20 17 is 20.3 billion euros, which is the highest among the four companies.
In addition, the investment of air liquide in R&D is the largest among the four companies (269.5 million euros in fiscal year 20 16), followed by Air Products, Linde and Praxair [1].
In 20 17, the global industrial enterprises ranked 1 1, second only to DuPont, and Linde ranked 14 [2].
In terms of staff size, Air Liquide employs 65,000 people worldwide, Linde employs 60,000 people, Praxair employs 26,000 people, and Air Products15,000 people.