US: Billionaire Daniel Loeb opposes United Technologies, Raytheon merger

Billionaire investor Daniel Loeb said on Friday, June 28, that his hedge fund Third Point will vote against the planned merger of United Technologies and Raytheon, saying there is no “strategic rationale for this transaction,” reported Reuters.

“We have concluded that the proposed combination of United Technologies and Raytheon is ill-conceived and unlikely to create value for UTC shareholders,” Loeb wrote in a letter to the board of directors of United Technologies

On June 10, the industrial conglomerate and military contractor announced a US$120 billion merger, a deal that would intensify the pace of consolidation in the aerospace and defense industry and is expected to be completed in the first half of next year.

In his letter, Loeb criticized United Technologies management for turning its back on previous plans to break the company into three businesses—aerospace, Otis elevators, and Carrier air conditioners—and accused United Technologies CEO Greg Hayes of engineering the merger to secure his employment.