Shareholders of United Technologies Corp. and defense contractor Raytheon Friday morning overwhelmingly approved the companies’ planned $120 billion merger, which includes relocating UTC’s Farmington headquarters to Massachusetts, where Raytheon is based.
UTC officials said they expect to complete the merger in the first half of next year, assuming the deal receives regulatory approvals, and UTC completes its separation from Otis Elevator Co. and Carrier Corp., which it currently owns, a statement from UTC said.
More than 500 employees are currently dedicated to preparing Otis and Carrier to operate as stand-alone companies, according to UTC CEO Gregory Hayes.
“Today is an important milestone in our transformational merger, which will define the future of aerospace and defense,” Hayes said in a statement following the Friday morning vote.
Under the prospective terms of the merger, UTC expects to issue nearly 650 million shares of UTC stock to Raytheon stock holders, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings show. Once the deal is complete, Raytheon stock holders would own about 43 percent of the merged company, while UTC shareholders would get approximately 57 percent.
UTC and Raytheon announced the proposed merger in June. UTC currently employs about 19,000 people in Connecticut and is committed to having a large presence here once the deal is complete, company officials have said.
In the second quarter of this year, UTC reported earnings of $19.6 billion, 18 percent higher than the same period last year, according to UTC data.
