BOC tight-lipped over German merger

SPECULATION is increasing that industrial gases group BOC is moving closer to an £8bn merger with German rival Linde.

The British group, which has been the target of animal rights activists because it supplies gases to animal testing firm Huntingdon Life Sciences, said it does not comment on speculation.

Linde attempted to dismiss the suggestions as hot air, describing them as 'pure speculation'. Talk of a friendly deal has persisted since the summer.

Wolfgang Reitzle, Linde's boss, has in the past said that a merger is 'a possibility'.

Analysts believe that a merger would be unlikely to face major problems from the regulators. BOC has substantial operations in the UK, American and Asia. A tie-up would give it a major presence in Continental markets.

The company's initials stand for Brin's Oxygen Company, named after brothers Arthur and Leon Brin who set up the original business in London in 1886 to supply oxygen to music halls to produce limelight used on stages.