Brookfield Asset Management and Stonepeak have been shortlisted alongside Air Liquide in the final round of bidding for DIG Airgas, in a $3.6bn sale process led by Macquarie Asset Management, according to Reuters.

The Seoul-based company is South Korea’s third-largest industrial gas producer. Binding offers are expected by late July or early August. The sale would mark one of the largest private equity-backed exits in the country’s industrial sector, with Macquarie seeking a valuation of 18–20x EBITDA. DIG Airgas currently generates $170m–$180m in annual EBITDA.

Macquarie acquired the business, then known as Dausung Industrial Gases, from MBK Partners in 2019 for $1.85bn. The firm has since scaled operations and is now seeking a premium valuation.

If successful, the transaction would significantly expand Brookfield’s presence in South Korea, following its 2022 acquisition of SK Airplus, a key gas supplier to SK Hynix. For Stonepeak, the acquisition would represent its strategic entry into the Asian industrial gases market. Meanwhile, Air Liquide, which has operated in Korea since 1996, would further strengthen its regional supply chain.

Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan are advising Macquarie on the sale. All parties involved have declined to comment, according to the report.

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