DCC to buy German LPG, refrigeration business for undisclosed sum

International sales, marketing and support services group DCC said it had agreed a deal to buy Tega-Technische Gase und Gasetechnik from Germany's Linde for an undisclosed cash sum.

DCC will get Tega's German LPG and refrigerant gas distribution business. The transaction is expected to complete before the end of DCC's financial year ending 31 March 2018.

Tega, headquartered in Würzburg, employs approximately 100 people across five operating sites, largely in southern Germany, DCC said.

Tega has revenue of around €75m evenly split between LPG and refrigerants. The business supplies 35,000 tonnes of LPG annually to 15,000 domestic and commercial customers.

It also supplies refrigerant gases to wholesalers and end-users for use in air-conditioning, commercial cooling systems and refrigerators. The business has operated on a standalone basis within the Linde group and will continue to be led, post-completion, by its existing management team, DCC added.

The consideration for the transaction will be payable in cash on completion. DCC said it would have spent about £630m on acquisitions in the financial year ending 31 March 2018.

DCC chief executive Donal Murphy said the deal would give the company a platform in the “large, relatively fragmented German LPG market and further strengthens its position in the LPG market in Europe”.

“In addition, the acquisition of TEGA provides an entry into the refrigerant gas market further enhancing the service capability of our business, following our expansion into medical and aerosol gases in recent years,” he said.