Acquisition of Comingas Opens Colombian LPG Market For BOC.

Energy Editors/Business Editors

MURRAY HILL, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 24, 2003

BOC, through its local company Cryogas, has acquired Comingas, a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) wholesaler located in Colombia's coffee region. BOC purchased the entire entity of Comingas - along with the assets of two distribution companies that purchase their LPG from Comingas - for US$1.9 million.

"This acquisition provides BOC with a significant platform on which to build in the highly fragmented Colombian LPG market," says Maria Echavarria, BOC's Industrial and Special Products (ISP) business unit head in South America. "Our objective was to enter the LPG market in 2003 and establish a presence in the entire market chain within a power zone, such as the coffee region. This acquisition accomplishes that objective."

Echavarria adds that Comingas and the distributors will be integrated into a single independent entity and will retain their brand identities in the local market. "In addition," she says, "we plan to take advantage of BOC's successful experiences in South Africa and Australia in leveraging LPG into existing industrial gases accounts."

The LPG market in Colombia is about 750,000 tons per year, with a projected growth rate of 3 percent for the coming years. State-owned Ecopetrol is the sole LPG provider in the country. Wholesalers such as Comingas purchase LPG from Ecopetrol, and then store and distribute it in bulk at the wholesale level. Distributors purchase from wholesalers and bottle and sell LPG in cylinders, as well as in bulk, to the end consumer. Colombia has more than 2.5 million LPG customers. About 80 percent are residential with the balance divided between commercial and industrial accounts.

There are currently more than 100 companies involved in the storage, packaging and distribution of LPG in Colombia. Comingas presently holds a 2.7 percent share of the Colombian LPG market, but is particularly strong in the coffee region where it maintains a 20 percent share. "We are confident that once the integration with BOC is complete, we will be able to increase that share significantly," says Echavarria.

BOC's ISP South America (SA) business has a strong position in the medical, industrial and special gases market sectors in Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, Argentina, Ecuador, Peru, Aruba and Curacao, and is continually seeking opportunities for sustainable growth. BOC ISP SA serves more than 30,000 customers with 1500 employees.

The BOC Group (NYSE:BOX), the worldwide industrial gases, vacuum technologies and distribution services company, serves two million customers in more than 50 countries. It employs 46,000 people and had annual sales of some $6 billion in 2002. Further information about The BOC Group may be obtained on the Internet at http://www.boc.com.