GE, Honeywell Formally Cancel Merger Pact

General Electric and Honeywell International formally terminated their merger agreement, four months after European regulators rejected the proposed $45 billion deal. The new agreement, which releases both companies from all merger-related legal actions, ends the threat of Honeywell suing GE for allegedly violating the merger agreement by not pushing regulators hard enough. Termination of the merger allows other companies to bid for Honeywell. Meanwhile, both GE and Honeywell are continuing to appeal to the European Commission, which blocked the deal. The appeals are aimed at challenging some of the findings by European regulators rather than at reversing the decision. That ruling, if allowed to stand, could make it difficult for GE to make future acquisitions.