Linde, which owns 17% of Ikaria as part of a $380m cash-and-stock sale in 2007 of its gaseous drug-maker, INO Therapeutics, will see its stake diluted to 13.2% after the IPO.

Ikaria, a US-based bio-pharmaceutical company part-owned by German conglomerate Linde, has agreed to issue at least 10 million shares at its Nasdaq flotation at a maximum price of $17 each, according to a regulatory filing.

Investment banks Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley as co-lead underwriters for the initial public offering (IPO) can also sell a further 1.5 million shares if the flotation goes well.

Linde, which owns 17% of Ikaria as part of a $380m cash-and-stock sale in 2007…