Jul 14, 2004 12:19 PM, from staff and wire reports

Carrier Corp, a division of United Technologies Corp, announced that the European Commission (EC) in Brussels, Belgium, has approved the company’s intended acquisition of Linde Refrigeration, a division of Linde AG.

Under the agreement, Carrier will acquire Linde for about $390 million (or approximately 325 million euros), including estimated debt upon closing. The transaction is expected to close withing three months.

“Refrigeration is a core business at Carrier and this acquisition will be a synergistic fit to our existing operation. The Carrier/Linde combination will allow us to provide a more comprehensive range of products and services,” said Geraud Darnis, president of Carrier.

Linde employs 6,300 people and has annual sales of approximately $1 billion (866 million euros, including the German dry shelving business with sales of 28 million euros, which is not part of this transaction). Based in Cologne, Germany, it has manufacturing facilities in Europe, Asia, and South America. Products include industrial and commercial refrigeration systems, and refrigerated display cases and subsystems.