Diebold Inc.'s accounting issues are not a good reason to reject a buyout offer, according to United Technologies Corp., which last week made an unsolicited offer to acquire the automated teller machine company.
"Diebold's financial and stock performance, and the inability of Diebold's leadership to file timely financial statements, are not valid reasons to avoid a dialogue," United Technologies, a Hartford, Conn., technology conglomerate, said Wednesday.
United Technologies reiterated its bid of $40 per share Wednesday, a 66% premium over Diebold's closing price Friday.
The offer was announced Sunday and Diebold's board unanimously rejected it on Monday.
"We're disappointed they rejected our offer. We suspect their shareholders are disappointed as well," United Technologies' chief operating officer, Louis Chenevert, said Wednesday during a Citigroup Inc. investor conference in New York, though he would not provide further details on the negotiations.
Despite the high premium, Diebold, of Dayton, Ohio, has said the offer undervalued the company. Its share price reached a 52-week high of $54.50 last summer but fell steadily in the second half of last year and was trading in the mid-$20 range this year, until the United Technologies offer was made public. Its stock was trading at $37.07 a share Thursday afternoon, down 1.46% from Wednesday's closing price.
Diebold is completing an accounting audit, and has not filed its financial results for the past three quarters. As a result, it said, shareholders do not have a complete picture of its financial condition and should not accept the United Technologies offer.
