Air Liquide Completes $3.3bn Acquisition of DIG Airgas, the Year's Largest Inbound Deal
France's Air Liquide takes over the industrial gas supplier Macquarie bought for $1.7bn in 2020, its largest acquisition since Airgas in 2016.
- Deal value
- $3.3bn
- Stake
- 100%
- Implied 100%
- $3.3bn
- Revenue
- $519m
- Op. income
- $96m
- Multiples
- EV/EBITDA 20.0xEQV/EBIT 34.8x
구주
Secondary KRW 4.85tn / 100% (press figure; Air Liquide's official figure is EV KRW 4.6tn / EUR 2.85bn)
2024 연결 · DART-verified
2024 연결 · DART-verified
On implied equity value
DART 20250325000637
- Target
- DIG Airgas · Industrial gases
- Buyer
- Air Liquide · SI
- Seller
- Macquarie Asia-Pacific Infrastructure Fund 2
- Structure
- Secondary
- Announced
- Aug 22, 2025
- Closed
- Jan 13, 2026
- Stage
- Closed
Target
DIG Airgas (formerly Daesung Industrial Gases), founded in 1979, is a Korean industrial-gas company with about 550 employees, 60 plants and 220 km of pipelines, supplying petrochemical, semiconductor, display and other customers through air separation units and on-site plants; Air Liquide reported its 2024 revenue at EUR 510m (KRW 752bn).
Deal rationale
Air Liquide announced on 22 August 2025 an agreement to buy 100% from Macquarie Asia-Pacific Infrastructure Fund 2 at an EV of EUR 2.85bn (KRW 4.6tn) and closed on 13 January 2026. It said the aim was to create a reference player in Korea — a growth market in semiconductors, clean energy and mobility — by combining complementary assets, reaching about EUR 900m of combined Korean sales, and disclosed a 2024 EV/EBITDA of 20.2x (including 49% of the Green Air JV's EBITDA), or 14.8x after backlog and cost synergies. Macquarie Asset Management said it expanded the project pipeline from 20 to 80 after acquiring DIG in 2020; The Bell reported Macquarie bought it from MBK Partners in February 2020 for KRW 2.5tn and exited after about six years with a KRW 2.35tn gain.
| Revenue | $519m |
| Operating income | $96m |
| EBITDA | — |
| Net income | $51m |
2024 연결 · DART-verified · 20250325000637
Lead
French industrial gas group Air Liquide completed its acquisition of DIG Airgas (formerly Daesung Industrial Gases) on 13 January 2026. The seller was a Macquarie infrastructure fund, which sold 100% for about $3.3bn. The share purchase agreement (SPA) was signed in August 2025, and the deal closed ahead of the original first-half target.
USD figures are converted at KRW 1,450 = USD 1.
Why this matters
This is the largest inbound deal in Korea this year. Air Liquide described it as its biggest acquisition since Airgas in the US in 2016. According to thebell, the price was about 20x EBITDA at signing, or about 15x including planned new projects.
Strategic context
DIG Airgas supplies oxygen, nitrogen and other industrial gases to semiconductor, display and petrochemical customers. Air Liquide said the deal roughly doubles its Korean workforce and business and broadens its access to chipmakers such as Samsung Electronics and SK hynix.
| Item | Figure |
|---|---|
| 2025 revenue (consolidated) | $534.8m |
| 2025 operating income | $51.2m (2024: $96.2m) |
| 2025 net income | $50.6m |
Financials from the DART consolidated audit report.
Macquarie bought the company from MBK Partners in February 2020 for about $1.7bn and was reported to have made a gain of more than $1.4bn. Brookfield and Stonepeak also took part in the final round.
What’s next
Air Liquide said the deal will add to earnings per share within one year of closing. Integration and new supply projects for semiconductor customers are the next things to watch.