Shareholder Structure

According to the annual shareholder identification survey, the proportion of outstanding Linde shares held by institutional investors at 31 December 2012 remained stable at around 81 percent (2011: around 80 percent). The proportion of Linde shares held by private investors at the year-end was therefore around 19 percent.

The proportion of institutional investors from the United States has risen from 43 percent of the total at the end of 2011 to 45 percent at the end of 2012, while the proportion of shares held by European institutional investors in general has fallen slightly from 52 percent to 51 percent. German institutional investors held 16 percent of Linde’s total shares at 31 December 2012, slightly below the prior-year figure of 17 percent. The proportion of British institutional investors fell from 16 percent at the end of 2011 to 14 percent at the end of 2012. The French market strengthened its position slightly, with its holdings increasing to 9 percent of the total (2011: 8 percent). France is therefore the third largest market in Europe for institutional investors in Linde. The proportion of Linde shares held by Asian investors remained relatively constant in the 2012 financial year at 4 percent (2011: 5 percent). The proportion of shareholders who are oriented towards sustainability increased during the reporting period to over 4 percent (2011: 3 percent).

In the past financial year, Linde has again succeeded in broadening its investor base to include a number of investors who take a long-term view. The Group’s business model is geared towards sustainable, profitable growth. Linde also benefits from a stable financing structure and therefore offers investors an attractive investment which can boast long-term wealth creation.

Major shareholders

Under the German Securities Trading Act (Wertpapierhandelsgesetz) investors are required to disclose their voting rights by notification to Linde AG and the Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (Bundesanstalt für Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht - BaFin) if certain thresholds are reached or crossed. These thresholds are 3, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 50 and 75 percent of total shares outstanding.

The following table lists all holders whose percentage of voting rights held in Linde AG, according to the notifications received by us, currently exceeds any one of the thresholds stipulated under the German Securities Trading Act.

Voting Rights Notifications