Praxair Completes Purchase of NuCO2 Inc.

Praxair, Inc. (NYSE: PX) announced today that it has completed the previously announced acquisition of NuCO₂ Inc. for $1.1 billion from Aurora Capital Group.

NuCO₂ is the largest provider of fountain beverage carbonation in the United States with approximately 162,000 customer locations and 900 employees. The NuCO₂ micro-bulk beverage carbonation offering is the service model of choice for customers offering fountain beverages as it is cost effective, reliable and less labor intensive.

"NuCO₂ is a high-quality business that fits directly within Praxair’s strategy of building density and providing customer reliability. It will continue to operate with a focus on customer service and will benefit from Praxair’s strong competencies in distribution and productivity,” said Eduardo Menezes, executive vice president of Praxair. "Praxair will grow its beverage carbonation businesses domestically and internationally through expanded product and service offerings," he added.

Praxair, Inc. is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America, and one of the largest worldwide, with 2012 sales of $11 billion. The company produces, sells and distributes atmospheric and process gases, and high-performance surface coatings. Praxair products, services and technologies are making our planet more productive by bringing productivity and environmental benefits to a wide variety of industries including aerospace, chemicals, food and beverage, electronics, energy, healthcare, manufacturing, metals and others. More information on Praxair is available on the Internet at www.praxair.com.

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