A&O Shearman advises Deutsche Bank on the financing of Air Liquide’s acquisition of DIG Airgas

This major acquisition marks a significant strategic milestone for Air Liquide, substantially strengthening its position in the South Korean market—the world’s sixth largest industrial economy by GDP, the fourth largest industrial gas market, and the second in terms of innovation spending ratio.

The financing of this acquisition was secured through the arrangement of a bridge loan fully underwritten by Deutsche Bank AG, Luxembourg branch, with Deutsche Bank AG acting as mandated lead arranger and bookrunner.

The closing of this transaction is expected in the first half of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals.

The A&O Shearman team primarily included partner Julien Roux, counsel Tristan Jambu-Merlin, and senior associate Yasmine Sefraoui, with partner Mathieu Vignon and senior associate Virginie Chatté on tax matters, and a team led by London-based partners Parya Badie and Paul Allan on foreign exchange and interest rate hedging matters.