Diebold gets offer of $2.64 billion

PHILADELPHIA —  United Technologies Corp. said Sunday that it had made a $2.64-billion unsolicited cash offer for Diebold Inc., which makes automated teller machines.

United Technologies, the maker of Otis elevators and Chubb security systems, said Diebold would be an “excellent fit” because of its “strong market position, U.S. footprint and balance between product and service revenues.”

Diebold last month rebuffed United Technologies’ efforts to start merger talks, saying a combination of the two wasn’t in the best interests of Diebold shareholders, United Technologies said. Diebold couldn’t be immediately reached for comment.

“Failing an ability to engage in discussions with Diebold’s board and management, we believe it is in your shareholders’ interests to know of this proposal,” United Technologies said in a letter to Diebold.

The $40-a-share cash offer marks a 66% premium to Diebold’s closing stock price Friday of $24.12. Based on Diebold’s roughly 66 million shares outstanding as of May 7, the deal is valued at $2.64 billion.

United Technologies said a higher offer could emerge, depending on any additional value it found in Diebold during a review of its books. It said it could begin due diligence immediately and believed that a definitive deal could be reached within 30 days.

United Technologies said it would finance the deal with its current cash balances and other “readily available” sources of funds. The company said its legal counsel saw no regulatory hurdles to a deal.