Radnor, Penn.-Airgas Inc. said July 21 that its board of directors has again voted unanimously to reject the revised unsolicited tender offer from Air Products & Chemicals Inc. to acquire all outstanding common shares of Airgas. The latest offer was $63.50 per share in cash. “The Airgas board of directors is unanimous in its belief that the revised offer from Air Products continues to grossly undervalue Airgas and does not fairly compensate stockholders for Airgas’ extraordinary track record, outstanding recent results, excellent growth prospects, or industry-leading position,” said Airgas Chairman and CEO Peter McCausland. “In our board’s judgment, the new Air Products offer, like Air Products’ previous offers, is grossly inadequate and an extremely opportunistic attempt to cut off the Airgas stockholders’ ability to benefit as the domestic economy continues its recovery.” He noted that the quarter just ended had the second best earnings in company history, at an adjusted $.83 per share. “As a result of this performance and the improved outlook, Airgas raised its full-year fiscal 2011 earnings guidance from a range of $2.95 to $3.05 to a new range of $3.15 to $3.30, representing 18-23 percent growth over fiscal year 2010 adjusted earnings. Further, the increasing momentum Airgas is seeing reinforces our board’s confidence in our calendar 2012 earnings goal of at least $4.20 per share, and with continued modest improvement in the economy, Airgas could very well outperform that objective. Airgas stockholders – not Air Products – should reap the benefits of our increased earning power and bright future.” He said he strongly recommends that stockholders not tender their shares into Air Products’ tender offer and not support the Air Products nominees or proposals at the upcoming annual meeting.
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