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United Technologies Rebuffs New Merger Offer from Honeywell

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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.United Technologies Honeywell merger offer

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.

Clyde is a business graduate interested in writing about latest news in politics and business. He enjoys writing and is about to publish his first book. He’s a pet lover and likes to spend time with family. When the time allows he likes to go fishing waiting for the muse to come.