Honeywell (NYSE: HON) has ended merger talks with United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) and they’re not happy about it.
“We made a full and fair offer that would have greatly benefitted both sets of shareowners,” said Honeywell chairman and CEO Dave Cote in a press release. “However, continuing to try to negotiate with an unwilling partner is inconsistent with our disciplined acquisition process.”
Cote indicates that UTC, which owns the security and HVAC companies Interlogix, Kidde and Carrier, had given Honeywell a strong indication that a merger could go through.
“In our approach to their Chairman and their CEO on Feb. 19, 2016, we had hoped to continue amicable and quiet discussions of a combination,” Cotes said. “In fact, we were told by them during the meeting that such a combination would be fabulous, they would take it very seriously and they would get back to us with questions within a week in anticipation of their upcoming Board meeting.”
For its part, UTX says it withdrew from talks because of “the strong regulatory obstacles, negative customer reaction and the potential for a protracted review process that would have destroyed shareholder value.”
Honeywell Moves on, Buys RSI for $123M
Honeywell has acquired privately held RSI Video Technologies (RSI), a leading provider of intrusion detection systems for commercial and residential security applications under the brand Videofied, for approximately $123 million.
RSI’s wireless battery-powered motion detectors with built-in cameras deliver live, high-quality video over the cloud to central monitoring stations and end users. The acquisition enhances Honeywell’s ability to meet the increasing global customer need for video verification, and it
also brings a unique DIY offering combined with professional monitoring.
“RSI complements Honeywell’s industry-leading security portfolio, and brings significant new technology and software that provides added value to our security dealers and channel partners,” says Alex Ismail, president and CEO, Honeywell Automation and Control Solutions (ACS).
“The industry has been looking for ways to reduce the burden on local law enforcement resources responding to false alarms,” says David Paja, president of Honeywell Security and Fire. “RSI helps reduce false alarms by providing cost-effective indoor and outdoor video verification solutions to dealers and central monitoring stations.”
Founded in 2000 and based in Strasbourg, France, with key operations in Minnesota, RSI has one of the largest installed bases of video-verified alarm systems in the world, with in excess of one million installations in more than 60 countries. It has approximately 110 employees in France and the United States.
RSI will become part of Honeywell Security and Fire, a business unit of Honeywell ACS.
