Guardian Unlimited Business | Business latest | Excitement at talk of Cable & Wireless move

Guardian Unlimited Business | Business latest | Excitement at talk of Cable & Wireless move: "BOC, the industrial gases group that recently rebuffed a £7.6bn, or £15-a-share offer, from German rival Linde, was back in focus yesterday. Its shares gained 23p to £14.87 amid talk that France's Air Liquide is set to enter the fray with a bid in excess of £16.00 a share. Air Liquide knows BOC well. With America's Air Products it made a £7.2bn offer for BOC in 1999 only to see US regulators block the deal. Traders reckon Air Liquide might bid for BOC in order to frustrate Linde. Another Air Liquide bid for BOC would almost certainly be referred to the competition authorities on both sides of the Atlantic and they could take months to rule on whether an offer should proceed. In that time, Linde could become a takeover target for the private equity industry."