The largest ever leveraged buy-out in Germany is set to emerge as the bidding contest for Messer Griesheim, the German industrial gases business, draws to a close.

Sources in Germany close to the deal say that Aventis, which is selling its 67% stake in the company, is close to reaching an agreement with two equity firms, Allianz Capital Partners and Goldman Sachs Capital Partners. The remaining 33% will be retained by the Messer family shareholders, who will run the company as a management team together with the equity partners.