Airgas Buying Aeriform

Specialty gas distributor Airgas(ARG Quote) said Monday it agreed to buy the assets and operations of Houston-based Aeriform for an undisclosed amount. The transaction is expected to close by Sept. 1.

Aeriform is an independent distributor with 29 locations in Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Kansas. The operations to be acquired have about 240 employees and annual sales of about $65 million.

Airgas will integrate most of the operations into three of its regional companies, it said.

Airgas said it will offer employment to most of the 240 employees of Aeriform affected by the acquisition.

"This will be a great fit with our core business operations along the Gulf Coast and the Mid South," the company said. "The added resources will improve our coverage and help us efficiently deliver better service to customers in this key energy market."