5.2.4.2Vertical

Cryogenic Gas Services

Companies transporting and distributing cryogenic industrial gases.

Market snapshot

These figures describe Industrial Gases (5.2.4), the segment that Cryogenic Gas Services sits within. They are not figures for Cryogenic Gas Services on its own.

Market size
~$16B
Growth
~11.5%CAGR (2017–22, nominal)
Companies
~92 firms
Firms by employee count

69.6% of firms have fewer than 20 employees: 64 micro-businesses, below most mandates.

The investable universe28 firms with 20+ employees
20–99
621%
100–499
932%
500+
1346%

Two populations wear one label. A handful of global producers own the pipelines and air-separation plants and take most of the revenue; the rest are small packaged-gas and welding-supply distributors serving local trade accounts. The distributor tier is the only genuinely acquirable one, and it consolidates steadily.

NAICS 325120. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

Business model & economics

Revenue model

On-site, pipeline, bulk, and packaged gas supply contracts

Key economics

Revenue per firm
$178,388,717
Revenue per employee
$1,122,095
Employees per firm
164.6
Recurring revenue
High

long-term take-or-pay supply contracts

EBITDA margin
Strong

stable oligopoly economics

Capex intensity
High

Characteristics

  • Scale-driven: payroll is only 7% of revenue, so the cost base is assets, not headcount
  • Thin strategic-buyer pool: only 13 firms exceed 500 employees, so exits skew sponsor-to-sponsor
  • Stable, high-margin oligopoly (Linde, Air Products, Air Liquide).
  • Long-term contracts and high switching costs.
  • Clean hydrogen and carbon capture a major growth vector.

NAICS 325120. U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Statistics of U.S. Businesses; U.S. Census Bureau, 2022 Economic Census.

M&A deal context

Deal activityModerate

Who’s acquiring

  • Industrial-gas majors
  • Clean-hydrogen & CCS investors
  • Regional gas consolidators

What’s driving deals

  • Clean-hydrogen and carbon-capture investment.
  • Recurring contract economics.
  • Regional and packaged-gas consolidation.

Find Cryogenic Gas Services acquisition targets

Search Acquisera’s index for companies classified under Cryogenic Gas Services (5.2.4.2) and build a targeted deal pipeline.

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