In an address this past Tuesday to investors and shareholders at The Resort at Long Boat Key Club in Long Boat Key, Fla., United Technologies Corp.'s CEO George David dispelled rumors that UTC might be planning to acquire Honeywell. According to David, that possibility is "not going to happen."
"We came close in the year 2000 with Honeywell in October and then GE and Mr. Welch messed it up and who knows what else happened," said David of the previous acquisition possibility.
While David didn't say why the acquisition was not a possibility, he did say that such an acquisition wouldn't have been a bad move.
"I thought then that it was a good deal, and I still think it's a good deal, but it's not going to happen," said David. "There's no way in the world."
Just a few days before the address, which was held during a four-day annual conference of the Electrical Products Group, UTC finalized its acquisition of access control and security systems management firm Lenel Systems, which it has grouped with Kidde and Chubb as UTC Fire & Security.
UTC's year has started out well, most notably with a 19% increase in earnings per share (EPS) in the first quarter. David noted that while steel prices have softened, the company is not expecting falling commodity prices to have a significant affect on later quarters' EPS.
Besides the fire and security industry, UTC is heavily involved in the aerospace, HVAC and elevator industries.
