Canada's Competition Bureau Clears UTC Acquisition of Goodrich

    By Paul Vieira 
 

OTTAWA--Canada's antitrust watchdog said Thursday it would take no action concerning United Technologies Corp.'s (UTX) planned $16.5 billion purchase of Goodrich Corp. (GR) even though the deal initially posed competition concerns for the Canadian aircraft market.

The Competition Bureau, however, said in a statement it cleared the merger because conditions attached to the deal by U.S. and European antitrust agencies "appear to sufficiently mitigate the potential anti-competitive effects in Canada."

The bureau said its review of the deal, conducted along with U.S. and European authorities, identified certain product markets that raised competition concerns -- mainly in the sale of electrical generators and engine parts. As a result, UTC and Goodrich agreed to divest some of their operations that build electrical generators and engine parts in the U.S. and Europe.

"The proposed divestitures will enable Canadian companies to competitively source generators and electrical distribution systems, as well as engines," Canada's anti-trust agency said.

Earlier Thursday, European Union regulators and the U.S. Department of Justice granted conditional approval to the deal, one of the biggest in recent years in the aerospace industry. They said without the agreed-upon divestitures, the deal would likely have resulted in higher prices and less favorable contract terms.

-Write to Paul Vieira at [e-mail]

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