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Honeywell Walks Away from $90 Billion Bid for United Technologies

Becky Wetherington via Flickr.com
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Honeywell said it has dropped its pursuit of United Technologies. The announcement comes just days after it made its merger bid public. 

UTC CEO Greg Hayes was the one who initiated talks last year, but then backed away, saying he believed the mega-merger couldn’t survive regulatory scrutiny. Then when Honeywell piled on the pressure, making details of its $90 billion offer public, Hayes responded by saying the offer grossly undervalued the Farmington based conglomerate.

There’s been speculation that one of the underlying sticking points could have been control of a combined company, which would have been one of the largest corporations in the US. Hayes had originally envisioned himself heading up the enterprise, but Honeywell’s bid had its CEO, David Cote in the top job.

Honeywell said that while it disagrees that regulators would kill the deal, it will end its bid, saying in a statement that continuing to try to negotiate with an unwilling partner is inconsistent with its disciplined acquisition process.

The news will bring a sigh of relief to many in Connecticut’s business community who feared a tie-up would see jobs leave the state as costs were cut and the focus of the business shifted.

Harriet Jones is Managing Editor for Connecticut Public Radio, overseeing the coverage of daily stories from our busy newsroom.

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