The BOC Group
Encyclopedia
The BOC Group plc was the official name of the multinational industrial gas
and British
based company more commonly known as BOC, and now a part of The Linde Group
. In September 2004, BOC had over 30,000 employees on six continent
s, with sales of over £4.6 billion. BOC was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
and the FT 30
. On 5 September 2006 The BOC Group became part of the Linde Group of Germany
and is no longer traded as a separate company.
using a high temperature barium oxide
process developed from work by French
scientist Jean Baptiste Boussingault
. The main application for gaseous oxygen at this time was in connection with the limelight
light sources used in magic lantern
s and theatre lighting. A major new market emerged around 1903 with the development of the oxyacetylene welding process. Around the same time, new cryogenic air separation processes based on work by Carl von Linde
and others replaced the barium oxide process, paving the way for larger scale and more efficient production. The company became the British Oxygen Company in 1906 and grew nationally and internationally through the following decades. In 1975 the company officially became BOC International Ltd, reflecting its success in developing business outside of Britain, and in products beyond oxygen.
In June 1999 following rumours of merger discussions between Praxair
and BOC, Air Products and Chemicals Inc and L'Air Liquide S.A.
made a series of cash offers to acquire BOC. On 13 July 1999 the BOC board approved a pre-conditional cash offer of £14.60 per share. Preconditions included obtaining regulatory approval in jurisdictions including the European Union and the USA. On 12 May 2000 the bid was allowed to lapse, following failure to reach a satisfactory agreement with the United States Federal Trade Commission
. Following the collapse of the bid, BOC developed a new strategy to stimulate business growth in new products and markets, and to reshape its existing portfolio of businesses to improve Group performance.
In November 2003, BOC announced that it would complete the sale of Afrox Healthcare - a hospital
and managed health care group operating in South Africa
- to a consortium led by Black Economic Empowerment
investors.
In January 2006 the German
industrial group Linde made a preliminary proposal to acquire BOC based on a £15 per share all-cash offer. This proposal was rejected by the BOC board of directors. In March 2006 Linde made a second proposal based on a £16 per share all-cash offer, valuing the company at £8.2bn (US$14.4bn; €12bn). This offer was recommended to shareholders by the BOC Board. This takeover was completed on 5 September 2006. On the 6th September BOC employees received a welcome pack including a letter from Linde CEO Professor Dr. Wolfgang Reitzle
, a small badge representing the new logo of The Linde Group and a Swatch
watch. Many of these swatch watches quickly appeared on ebay. On March 12, 2007, the Linde Group, announced that the vacuum business known as BOC Edwards had been purchased by private investment group 'CCMP Capital
'
, a small village approximately 25 miles south west of London
. The office, built in the 1980s is a fine example of modern architecture and when seen from the air resembles the shape of an oxygen molecule. Today, this office stands empty and is currently for sale. Many of the staff that were based in the Windlesham office have since moved to the BOC office in Guildford
and the Linde Group
new head office
in Munich
, Germany.
Industrial gas
Industrial gas is a group of gases that are commercially manufactured and sold for uses in other applications. These gases are mainly used in an industrial processes, such as steelmaking, oil refining, medical applications, fertilizer, semiconductors, etc.,...
and British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
based company more commonly known as BOC, and now a part of The Linde Group
The Linde Group
The Linde Group, registered as Linde AG is an international industrial gases and engineering company founded in Germany in 1879. Linde shares are traded on all the German stock exchanges and also in Zürich, and the Linde share price is included in the DAX 30 index...
. In September 2004, BOC had over 30,000 employees on six continent
Continent
A continent is one of several very large landmasses on Earth. They are generally identified by convention rather than any strict criteria, with seven regions commonly regarded as continents—they are : Asia, Africa, North America, South America, Antarctica, Europe, and Australia.Plate tectonics is...
s, with sales of over £4.6 billion. BOC was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index
FTSE 100 Index
The FTSE 100 Index, also called FTSE 100, FTSE, or, informally, the footsie , is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalised UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange....
and the FT 30
FT 30
The FT 30 is a now rarely used index that is similar to the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It has since been superseded by the FTSE 100, introduced in 1984....
. On 5 September 2006 The BOC Group became part of the Linde Group of Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and is no longer traded as a separate company.
History
Brin's Oxygen Company, Ltd. was formed in 1886 by Arthur and Leon Brin. In the early days they manufactured oxygenOxygen
Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...
using a high temperature barium oxide
Barium oxide
Barium oxide, BaO, is a white hygroscopic compound formed by the burning of barium in oxygen, although it is often formed through the decomposition of other barium salts.It reacts with water to form barium hydroxide.-Uses:...
process developed from work by French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
scientist Jean Baptiste Boussingault
Jean Baptiste Boussingault
Jean-Baptiste Joseph Dieudonné Boussingault was a French chemist who made significant contributions to agricultural science, petroleum science and metallurgy.-Biography:...
. The main application for gaseous oxygen at this time was in connection with the limelight
Limelight
Limelight is a type of stage lighting once used in theatres and music halls. An intense illumination is created when an oxyhydrogen flame is directed at a cylinder of quicklime , which can be heated to 2572 °C before melting. The light is produced by a combination of incandescence and...
light sources used in magic lantern
Magic lantern
The magic lantern or Laterna Magica is an early type of image projector developed in the 17th century.-Operation:The magic lantern has a concave mirror in front of a light source that gathers light and projects it through a slide with an image scanned onto it. The light rays cross an aperture , and...
s and theatre lighting. A major new market emerged around 1903 with the development of the oxyacetylene welding process. Around the same time, new cryogenic air separation processes based on work by Carl von Linde
Carl von Linde
Professor Doctor Carl Paul Gottfried von Linde was a German engineer who developed refrigeration and gas separation technologies...
and others replaced the barium oxide process, paving the way for larger scale and more efficient production. The company became the British Oxygen Company in 1906 and grew nationally and internationally through the following decades. In 1975 the company officially became BOC International Ltd, reflecting its success in developing business outside of Britain, and in products beyond oxygen.
In June 1999 following rumours of merger discussions between Praxair
Praxair
Praxair, Inc. is the largest industrial gases company in North and South America and one of the largest worldwide. The company supplies atmospheric, process and specialty gases as well as high-performance coatings and related services to a wide diversity of customers around the world...
and BOC, Air Products and Chemicals Inc and L'Air Liquide S.A.
Air Liquide
L'Air Liquide S.A., or Air Liquide , is a major French company supplying industrial gases and services to various industries including medical, chemical and electronic manufacturers. Founded in 1902, it is first in the world market in its field, now operating in over 80 countries. It is...
made a series of cash offers to acquire BOC. On 13 July 1999 the BOC board approved a pre-conditional cash offer of £14.60 per share. Preconditions included obtaining regulatory approval in jurisdictions including the European Union and the USA. On 12 May 2000 the bid was allowed to lapse, following failure to reach a satisfactory agreement with the United States Federal Trade Commission
Federal Trade Commission
The Federal Trade Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, established in 1914 by the Federal Trade Commission Act...
. Following the collapse of the bid, BOC developed a new strategy to stimulate business growth in new products and markets, and to reshape its existing portfolio of businesses to improve Group performance.
In November 2003, BOC announced that it would complete the sale of Afrox Healthcare - a hospital
Hospital
A hospital is a health care institution providing patient treatment by specialized staff and equipment. Hospitals often, but not always, provide for inpatient care or longer-term patient stays....
and managed health care group operating in South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
- to a consortium led by Black Economic Empowerment
Black Economic Empowerment
Black Economic Empowerment is a programme launched by the South African government to redress the inequalities of Apartheid by giving previously disadvantaged groups economic opportunities previously not available to them...
investors.
In January 2006 the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
industrial group Linde made a preliminary proposal to acquire BOC based on a £15 per share all-cash offer. This proposal was rejected by the BOC board of directors. In March 2006 Linde made a second proposal based on a £16 per share all-cash offer, valuing the company at £8.2bn (US$14.4bn; €12bn). This offer was recommended to shareholders by the BOC Board. This takeover was completed on 5 September 2006. On the 6th September BOC employees received a welcome pack including a letter from Linde CEO Professor Dr. Wolfgang Reitzle
Wolfgang Reitzle
Dr. Wolfgang Reitzle is a German businessman.After leaving his school in Ulm, Reitzle continued his education at the Technical University of Munich where he studied mechanical engineering and economics. In 1971, aged just 22, he became Munich's youngest ever "Diplom-Ingenieur" graduate.In 1976,...
, a small badge representing the new logo of The Linde Group and a Swatch
Swatch
Swatch is a brand name for a line of wrist watches from the Swatch Group, a Swiss conglomerate with vertical control of the production of Swiss watches and related products...
watch. Many of these swatch watches quickly appeared on ebay. On March 12, 2007, the Linde Group, announced that the vacuum business known as BOC Edwards had been purchased by private investment group 'CCMP Capital
CCMP Capital
CCMP Capital is a private equity investment firm that focuses on leveraged buyout and growth capital transactions. Formerly known as JP Morgan Partners, the investment professionals of JP Morgan Partners separated from JPMorgan Chase on July 31, 2006. CCMP has invested approximately $12 billion...
'
Operations
The BOC Group business activities included:- The Process Gas Solutions (PGS) line of business, supplying large product volumes by pipelinePipeline transportPipeline transport is the transportation of goods through a pipe. Most commonly, liquids and gases are sent, but pneumatic tubes that transport solid capsules using compressed air are also used....
, on-site generation or cryogenic tanker. - The Industrial and Special Products (ISP) line of business providing packaged gas, chemicals and related products and services. The gases involved are typically delivered in high pressure cylinders and range from technical grades to high purity specialty gases.
- BOC Edwards supplying the semiconductorSemiconductorA semiconductor is a material with electrical conductivity due to electron flow intermediate in magnitude between that of a conductor and an insulator. This means a conductivity roughly in the range of 103 to 10−8 siemens per centimeter...
industry with vacuumVacuumIn everyday usage, vacuum is a volume of space that is essentially empty of matter, such that its gaseous pressure is much less than atmospheric pressure. The word comes from the Latin term for "empty". A perfect vacuum would be one with no particles in it at all, which is impossible to achieve in...
, chemical delivery and abatement systems and related services. It also supplies vacuum equipment to many industrial and scientific sectors. - GistGISTGist or GIST may refer to:*Essence, the central idea or main substance*GiST, or Generalized Search Tree, a flexible data structure for building search trees*Gist , a scientific graphics library written in the C programming language...
providing logistics design, management and operation in a number of sectors including food, beverage and fashion retail.
Headquarters
When BOC was a global company, the head office of BOC was in WindleshamWindlesham
Windlesham is a village in the Surrey Heath district of Surrey in South East England. It is also the name of the parish that covers Bagshot and Lightwater, in addition to Windlesham...
, a small village approximately 25 miles south west of London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The office, built in the 1980s is a fine example of modern architecture and when seen from the air resembles the shape of an oxygen molecule. Today, this office stands empty and is currently for sale. Many of the staff that were based in the Windlesham office have since moved to the BOC office in Guildford
Guildford
Guildford is the county town of Surrey. England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
and the Linde Group
The Linde Group
The Linde Group, registered as Linde AG is an international industrial gases and engineering company founded in Germany in 1879. Linde shares are traded on all the German stock exchanges and also in Zürich, and the Linde share price is included in the DAX 30 index...
new head office
Head Office
Head Office is a 1985 American comedy film, produced by HBO Pictures in association with Silver Screen Partners. It stars Judge Reinhold, Eddie Albert, Lori-Nan Engler, Jane Seymour, Richard Masur, Michael O'Donoghue, Ron Frazier, Merritt Butrick and was directed and written by Ken...
in Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, Germany.