United Technologies makes bid for Diebold

PHILADELPHIA (Reuters) - Manufacturer United Technologies Corp (UTX.N) said on Sunday it made an unsolicited bid to acquire Diebold Inc after trying to hold merger talks with the maker of automatic teller machines for more than two years.

The $40-per-share cash offer marks a 66 percent premium to Diebold's closing stock price of $24.12 on Friday on the New York Stock Exchange.

United Technologies said Diebold told it earlier this month that a merger of the two companies was not in the best interest of Diebold shareholders. Diebold could not be immediately reached for comment on Sunday.

(Reporting by Jessica Hall; Editing by Braden Reddall)

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