Linde sells off Americas units over merger bid

German industrial gases supplier Linde said Monday it would sell off much of its business in the Americas, as it pursues competition approval for its mega-merger with US competitor Praxair.

The group said in a statement that it would sell "the majority of its gas business in North America as well as some activities in South America" to a consortium between Germany's Messer Group, another gases producer, and Luxembourg-based CVC Capital Partners.

Buyers will lay down $3.3 billion to snap up Linde's bulk gases business in the United States and activities in Brazil, Canada and Colombia, with combined annual revenues of $1.7 billion.

But the deal will only go ahead if Linde's merger with Praxair -- a deal worth around $65 billion that would create the world's biggest supplier of gases like oxygen and helium -- is itself given a green light by competition authorities.

The German firm's selloff of the Americas units comes after concessions on Praxair's side, with the Connecticut-based firm saying earlier this month it would sell its European businesses to Japan's Taiyo Nippon Sanso for $5.9 billion.