FTC Clears Honeywell Acquisition, With Conditions
NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. Federal Trade Commission cleared Honeywell International Inc.'s acquisition of Intermec Inc. on Friday, on one condition.
Honeywell will have to license the patents needed to make two-dimensional bar code scanners to Italian rival Datalogic for 12 years. The FTC said that licensing the patents will resolve its charges that Honeywell's acquisition of Intermec is anticompetitive. Intermec, based in Everett, Wash., makes barcode printers and radio frequency identification products.
The two-dimensional bar code scanner patents will allow Datalogic, a scanner maker, to enter the U.S. market and "restore the competition lost due to the merger," said Deborah Feinstein, director of the FTC's bureau of competition, in a statement.
Honeywell, which is based in Morris Township, N.J., announced late last year that it was buying Intermec for about $603.4 million.
"We're pleased to have the FTC's approval for Honeywell's acquisition of Intermec and in the near term will be focused on the integration of the businesses," said Bruce Eric Anderson, a spokesman at Honeywell.
Representatives at Datalogic did not immediately reply to an emailed request for comment.
Shares of Honeywell rose 27 cents to close at $84.05 Friday.