Air Products and Chemicals Inc. has named Baker Hughes Inc. Chairman and CEO Chadwick C. Deaton to its board of directors.
Deaton brings "extensive knowledge" of the oil and natural gas industry to Air Products, the Allentown, Pa., company said Thursday in a statement.
Air Products, which also announced price hikes Thursday, sells gases for industrial, medical and other uses. It's in the middle of a bid to buy rival Airgas Inc. of Radnor, Pa., in a deal valued at about $5.5 billion.
Deaton, 57, has served as chairman and CEO of Baker Hughes, an oil field services company, since 2004.
Air Products shares climbed 10 cents to $81.48 in Thursday afternoon trading.
