Air Products Pressures Airgas

As part of its $60-per-share hostile takeover bid for Airgas, Air Products & Chemicals has charged that Airgas founder and CEO Peter McCausland has engaged in insider trading. In a complaint filed in the Delaware Court of Chancery, Air Products says that on Jan. 5, McCausland exercised options to buy 150,000 Airgas shares for $5.50 per share and another 150,000 shares at $8.99. McCausland’s move came a month before the Air Products bid was made public and after Airgas had rejected two unsolicited offers from Air Products. “Rather than treat the Air Products offer as an opportunity to maximize value for Airgas shareholders, McCausland used it as an opportunity for personal gain,” the filing said. Airgas spokesman R. Jay Worley says McCausland had the “unfettered right to exercise his options at any time.”