Air Liquide has asked Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for Aqua Lung. In a statement on Sept. 7, the Paris-based industrial gas giant and current owner said it is evaluating the opportunity to potentially divest Aqua Lung. Aqua Lung, formerly known as La Spirotechnique, is a French firm that makes scuba sets, scuba gear and other breathing apparatus. The company was founded in the 1940s by an oceanographer, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, at the time a naval lieutenant, and Emile Gagnan, an Air Liquide engineer. Early in 1943, Cousteau and Gagnan ordered Air Liquide to make two scuba sets prototypes that Cousteau used to shoot a film underwater. The devices were the first open-circuit, self-contained underwater breathing apparatus to be made. In 1946 Air Liquide founded a specific division to produce pressure regulators and other diving equipment called La Spirotechnique. Since then, Based in the South of France, the company has been manufacturing diving equipment such as masks, snorkels and wetsuits, with business sites in France, England, Italy, Mexico, Canada and the U.S.
Aqua Lung generated nearly €200 million in revenues last year, representing 6 percent growth versus the previous year. According to Air Liquide, Aqua Lung has contracts with 55 armies and navies around the world and a fifth of its diving business is related to the military.
In May of this year Air Liquide acquired Airgas, a U.S. based rival company specializing in packaged gas, for $13 billion. Air Liquide has recently stated it is focused on its core gas and services activities, and the project to dismiss Aqua Lung appears to be in line with its intention to focus on its core business.
Aqua Lung is a partner with Michael Phelps, the former U.S. athlete who has won a total of 28 Olympic medals during his career, making him the most decorated Olympian of all time. In 2015 Michael Phelps and Aqua Sphere, which is Aqua Lung's swimming suit and equipment brand, launched the swimmer's MP line. In April of this year, Phelps and Aqua Sphere expanded their partnership to create a new line of products to help children learn to swim.
