Hartford conglomerate United Technologies Corp. on Tuesday closed on the sale of its South Windsor fuel cell manufacturer to Oregon’s ClearEdge Power.
The financial terms of UTC Power’s sale were not disclosed.
The sale was first announced on Dec. 22. UTC had its fuel cell subsidiary on the market since the second quarter, as part of its attempt to finance the $16.5 billion acquisition of North Carolina aerospace manufacturer Goodrich Corp. and reorganize to focus more on aerospace and building systems. ClearEdge decided to purchase UTC Power to expand its presence in the fuel cell market, particularly on the East Coast.
ClearEdge plans to keep the operations in South Windsor and maintain the current UTC Power collective bargaining agreement with the International Association of Machinists & Aerospace Workers.
The acquisition gives ClearEdge a greater portion of the fuel cell market. ClearEdge’s products are focused more on the homeowner and small business while UTC Power makes fuel cells for large industrial clients and power grids. While ClearEdge is a relatively new and small player in the market, UTC Power, along with Danbury-based FuelCell Energy, is one of the largest fuel cell makers in the world.
The UTC Power employees are now ClearEdge employees. The company still is working on its long-term strategy and may lay off workers to meet its organization and staffing needs.
The two companies specifically said they will not disclose the sale price. United Technologies even declined to disclose the sale price in its annual report filed to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in February, despite giving the sale price of other divested assets, such as Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne.
Industry analysts have speculated UTC sold the fuel cell subsidiary for a deep discount just to unload the venture, as the unit had never turned a profit.
