Under the Scheme of Arrangement between The BOC Group plc and the Scheme Shareholders, the opportunity to elect to receive Linde AG Loan Notes was offered as an alternative to receipt of the cash consideration of 1600p per share. Loan Note Forms of Election had to be received by Equiniti by 3.00 p.m. on Sunday 3 September 2006 in order to qualify to receive the Loan Notes.
Loan Note certificates were despatched to holders on or around 19 September 2006 by first class post to the address registered with Equiniti.
The Loan Notes will be transferable but they will not be listed on the London Stock Exchange or any other stock exchange and you will not be able to buy Loan Notes in the future.
Interest Payments
Holders of the Loan Notes will receive twice yearly interest payments on 30 June and 31 December. The first interest payment will be made on 30 June 2007.
The interest rate for the Loan Notes is the rate per annum which is 0.75% below LIBOR.
LIBOR stands for “London Inter-Bank Offered Rate” and is a rate which is calculated on a daily basis. This rate may go down as well as up. The daily LIBOR rates can be found in the financial press such as the Financial Times.
Redemption Dates
The final redemption date for the Loan Notes will be 31 December 2013. However, Loan Note Holders will also have the option to elect for early repayment of some (in multiples of £1000) or all (whatever the amount) of the Loan Notes they hold on any interest payment date from 30 June 2007.
Linde may also redeem all of the Loan Notes at any time if the aggregate nominal value of the outstanding Loan Notes falls below £5 million.
Details of how to redeem Loan Notes are set out on the reverse of the Loan Note certificates.
Note:
Please note that restricted overseas persons (including residents of the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan, Malaysia or New Zealand) were not entitled to receive Loan Notes and were only able to receive the cash consideration offered.
For further information in respect of the Loan Notes please contact Linde AG’s Registrar - Equiniti.