New Jersey aerospace manufacturer Honeywell said Tuesday it’s no longer pursuing an acquisition of United Technologies Corp., even though it still thinks a deal would be good for shareholders.
Honeywell is dropping the merger, it said, because Farmington-based UTC is no longer willing to engage in negotiations.
UTC said it was an appropriate outcome given the strong regulatory obstacles, negative customer reaction and the potential for a protracted review process that would have destroyed shareholder value.
New Jersey based Honeywell said in a statement Tuesday morning it was was interested in a combination with UTC because it saw compelling value creation for both sets of shareholders and a readily executable deal due to two largely complementary business portfolios.
The company disputed UTC’s claim of destroyed shareholder value. Honewell also said the regulatory process would not have presented a material obstacle to a transaction.
“From both an industrial logic and shareholder value perspective, Honeywell and United Technologies are a great match and that is why the two companies have been talking about a combination for more than 15 years,” said Dave Cote, Honeywell chairman and CEO. “We made a full and fair offer that would have greatly benefitted both sets of shareowners.”
