<div id="subtitle">Reports: Air Products makes unsolicited bid for rival Airgas of about $5.1 billion in cash</div><div><p>Industrial gas company Air Products and Chemicals Inc. is making an unsolicited offer of about $5.1 billion in cash for smaller rival Airgas Inc., according to published reports Friday.</p><p>The offer is worth about $60 a share, according to the reports in The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The offer would represent a 38 percent premium on Thursday's closing price for Airgas' shares of $43.53.</p><p>If the offer is rebuffed, Air Products could launch a hostile bid for Airgas, the newspapers reported.</p><p>A message was left with an Air Products spokeswoman early Friday seeking comment.</p><p>Air Products is based in Lehigh Valley, Pa. Airgas is headquartered in Radnor, Pa.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=68488000&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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