Air Products & Chemicals Inc. said Tuesday that it won't seek to break up Airgas Inc.'s $10.3 billion pact to sell itself to France's Air Liquide SA.

Air Products Chief Executive Seifi Ghasemi said at a conference that the company "will not pursue a bid to acquire Airgas." Mr. Ghasemi also backed the company's guidance for $7.25 to $7.50 a share in earnings for 2016 on a continuing-operations basis.

Air Products had chased Airgas for most of 2010 before being ultimately rebuffed after a Delaware court upheld Airgas's so-called poison-pill shareholder rights plan. At the time, Airgas said it was holding out for a price of at least $78 per share.

In November, Airgas agreed to sell itself to Air Liquide SA in a deal valued at $143 a share.

Air Products shares were up 0.9% in midday trading, while Airgas shares ticked up 0.2%.

Write to Chelsey Dulaney at Chelsey.Dulaney@wsj.com

 

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

December 01, 2015 13:45 ET (18:45 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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