Buyout Bids Go South as Market Falters

While share prices skyrocketed, some companies played it safe, as three separate buyout offers were withdrawn yesterday. Trash hauler Waste Management, aerospace developer United Technologies Corporation (UTC), and semiconductor manufacturer Vishay Intertechnology all announced the cancellation of a combined $11 billion in planned buyouts.

Waste Management, the country’s largest garbage collector, had been pursuing a $6.7 billion deal to acquire Republic Services, which—pending approval of a previous merger deal—is the country’s second largest waste manager. “Given the current state of the financial markets, we believe that it would not be prudent to continue to pursue the acquisition of Republic,” said Waste Management CEO David P. Steiner.

UTC announced that it was withdrawing its $2.6 billion offer for Diebold, the security system company that manufactures ATM and voting machines among other transaction systems. UTC chairman George David claimed in a letter that the smaller company had been uncooperative in merger talks: “In light of your extended refusals of UTC’s requests for management discussions and due diligence, we are withdrawing our offer…We had hoped we could negotiate a transaction that would have created substantial value for both your and our shareholders. It's unfortunate this won't happen.”

Vishay Intertechnology, the Israeli producer of semiconductors and other electronic components, also withdrew its $1.7 billion bid for rival International Rectifier.