Gas groups Linde, Praxair halt merger plans

German industrial gas supplier Linde and US competitor Praxair said Monday they had abandoned plans for a merger that would have created the world's biggest firm in the sector. "Shareholder representatives in the supervisory board of Linde AG recommend... to terminate the preliminary talks with Praxair, Inc. about a potential merger," the company said in a statement. Chief executive Wolfgang Buechele and the rest of the supervisory board agreed with the decision, the statement said.