Investopedia: Will United Technologies Land Goodrich?

The economy may be slowing and Europe may still be smoldering, but none of that precludes good ol' fashioned buyout speculation. The latest big-deal rumors swirl through the aerospace industry, where United Technologies (NYSE:UTX) is widely rumored to be trying to strike a deal to acquire aircraft parts and components manufacturer Goodrich (NYSE:GR).


The Deal That May Be
If rumors are true, United Technologies has been busy lining up many billions in financing to launch a bid (rumors range from $10 billion to $20 billion). As it pertains to Goodrich, the target price for a deal seems to be in the range of $110 to $125 - prices that would be from 18 to 35% higher than Friday's close (a close that was bolstered by the deal rumors hitting the market on Friday).

Taking the midpoint of that range, United Technologies would be paying about 12 times trailing EBITDA for Goodrich. Though there have not been major aerospace deals in a while, that price would not be out of line for a deal like this; it overvalues Goodrich on a standalone basis, but United Technologies should be able to pull multiple operating synergies out of the deal, as well as expand into new market opportunities.


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Investopedia: United Technologies Finds Some Turbulence

High expectations are great for a stock when the company delivers and shareholders see nice gains in their portfolio. The trouble with high expectations (and high valuations) is that the market is quick to punish what would otherwise be a solid performance. That would seem to be the biggest risk for United Technologies (NYSE:UTX) these days, as the company continues to sport both solid performance and a healthy valuation. 

The Quarter That Was  
Though there were some hiccups, United Technologies reported an all-around solid quarter (and one where revenue exceeded expectations). Revenue rose more than 9% as reported, with 6% organic growth. Top-line growth was led by the Otis business, while Hamilton Sunstrand and Carrier were close behind. Pratt & Whitney and Sikorsky were the laggards this quarter, but both still posted better than 5% revenue growth. 



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United Technologies Finds Some Turbulence (UTX, BA, GE, GR, SI)

Can Boeing Afford More Delays?

Patience in a funny thing. Everybody wants a job to be done right, but they also want it done on a timescale that at least approximates the original estimates. Customers appreciate that Boeing (NYSE:BA) is attempting to do something quite extraordinary with the 787 Dreamliner project, but if the company cannot ever deliver the plane, who cares how amazing it is? 

More to the point - is Boeing running the risk of giving unintentional aid and comfort to emerging rivals? Should investors worry that Boeing's scale and technical expertise may all go for naught because the company was too ambitious and customers ultimately settle for lesser planes that rivals can actually deliver?  

More Problems ... Again
Boeing has had no shortage of problems with this new 787 plane. Problems with the Rolls Royce engine (one of the two available; the other being offered by General Electric (NYSE:GE)) got a lot of attention, and now Boeing has suspended test flights after an onboard electrical fire. While the company has not formerly altered the expected initiation of deliveries in the middle of the first quarter of 2011, the Dreamliner is already three years behind schedule and more delays seem more likely than not.

Of course, these delays need to be kept in perspective. There has never been a plane quite like the Dreamliner, and the scale of the engineering challenges are enormous. On top of that, these planes may spend well more than 30 years in service and it is clearly important to get everything right ahead of time.  

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