Honeywell-United Technologies talks end with Honeywell still looking

Honeywell International Inc. (Morris Township, NJ) has terminated discussions with United Technologies Corp. (UTC; Stamford, CT), which sought to acquire Honeywell and its diversified line of industrial products for $40 billion. Although the deal with UTC is off, Honeywell is still in the hunt for some kind of merger or acquisition, but details have not been forthcoming.

Honeywell and UTC were reportedly close to consummating their merger before the news of the deal broke last week. According to CNBC, UTC chairman/CEO George David would become CEO of the combined company while Honeywell chairman/CEO Michael Bonsignore would become its chairman.

Last December, AlliedSignal acquired Honeywell but adopted it's new subsidiary's name because of better name recognition. The merged company combines AlliedSignal's chemicals, plastics, fibers, advanced materials, and aerospace business with Honeywell's power generation, transportation product, control and automation products, and electronics operations. It recorded $1.54 billion in earnings on sales of $23.74 billion in 1999.

Edited by Angelo DePalma
Managing Editor, Pharmaceutical Online and Drug Discovery Online
Email: adepalma@vertical.net