Air Products and ACWA Holding Announce the Formation of a New Joint Venture -- ACWA Air Products Arabia

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Oct 17, 2012, 12:15 ET

LEHIGH VALLEY, Pa., Oct. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Products (NYSE: APD) and The Arabian Company for Power and Water Development (ACWA Holding) today announced they have signed a joint venture agreement for the formation of a new company, ACWA Air Products Arabia, that will be located in Al-Khobar city, Saudi Arabia. The partnership will focus on the successful pursuit of large-scale industrial gas opportunities within The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Mohammed A. Abunayyan, ACWA Holding Chairman said: "Partnering with Air Products which is one of the world's largest owners and developers of industrial gases, is a strategic move for ACWA Holding to broaden its economic contribution as a major private sector developer for the Kingdom and GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council). Furthermore, ACWA Holding's track record as a leading regional owner and developer of facilities in power generation, water desalination/treatment, sewage water treatment, district cooling and solar/waste management will enable the new joint venture to provide effective and competitive quality industrial gas facilities to serve the region's hydrocarbon and industrial markets."

Howard Castle-Smith, Air Products' regional vice president-Tonnage Gases Europe and Middle East said: "Our new venture with ACWA Holding complements Air Products' existing presence in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the GCC, providing a strong platform to further grow our business there by partnering with prime Saudi industrial investors and developers, such as ACWA Holding."

"By leveraging our mutual capabilities – Air Products' knowledge and proven track record in large industrial gas plants and ACWA Holding's strong infrastructure position - we will be able to pursue large-scale industrial gas opportunities within the Kingdom and provide customers with secure quality, manufacture and distribution," Castle-Smith said.

The new company, ACWA Air Products Arabia, complements Air Products' 25 percent stake in Abdullah Hashim Industrial Gases & Equipment Co. Ltd. (AHG), a company of the privately-owned Abdullah Hashim Group, based in The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Air Products has been serving customers in the Middle East for over 50 years, and already operates a helium and cylinder gases filling and distribution facility, as well as a specialty gases center in the Jebel Ali Free Zone. Air Products has offices in Doha, Qatar and Dubai and works closely with the region's petrochemical, gasification and refining industries. It has built, owned and operated air separation units (ASU) and hydrogen production plants throughout the Middle East.

EDITOR'S NOTE:

About Air Products

Air Products (NYSE:APD) provides atmospheric, process and specialty gases; performance materials; equipment; and technology. For over 70 years, the company has enabled customers to become more productive, energy efficient and sustainable. More than 20,000 employees in over 50 countries supply innovative solutions to the energy, environment and emerging markets. These include semiconductor materials, refinery hydrogen, coal gasification, natural gas liquefaction, and advanced coatings and adhesives. In fiscal 2011, Air Products had sales of approximately $10 billion. For more information, visit www.airproducts.com.

Air Products has a significant amount of experience working in the GCC region. The company built the first-ever ASU there in 1960 and has done business in the region ever since, with local operations for over 20 years. In 2009 the company brought onstream the first "over-the-fence" gas supply in Abu Dhabi at the Emirates float glass plant.

NOTE: This release may contain forward-looking statements within the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements are based on management's reasonable expectations and assumptions as of the date of this release regarding important risk factors. Actual performance and financial results may differ materially from projections and estimates expressed in the forward-looking statements because of many factors not anticipated by management, including risk factors described in the Company's Form 10K for its fiscal year ended September 30, 2011.

SOURCE Air Products