United Technologies has rejected a new merger offer from Honeywell International on concerns it will not be approved by antitrust regulators.
Honeywell is said to have offered $108 per share for United Technologies last week, a more than 20% premium to the share price at the time.
United Technologies said the two companies only held “preliminary” conversations.
A tie up would have created one of the aerospace industry’s largest companies worth more than $160 billion.
However, United Technologies broke off talks because a deal “would face insurmountable regulatory obstacles and strong customer opposition”.
“[It] could either be blocked outright or conditioned on significant divestitures after a lengthy and disruptive review period that would destroy shareholder value,” the company said in a statement.
This isn’t the first time Honeywell and United Technologies have held merger talks.
Honeywell and United Technologies explored combining in 2000 but United Technologies ended discussions after General Electric submitted a rival bid.
The subsequent GE and Honeywell deal was rejected by European regulators on fears it would lead to higher prices for airlines and consumers.
