UTC could take majority stake in Clipper Windpower

UTC currently has a 49.5% in Clipper, after investing around $270 m through a share purchase tender and an issue of new shares.

"If over the next couple of years we see what we like, we always have the opportunity to take a majority share if we want," he said. He said that UTC had seen a “unique” opportunity to take a major stake in Clipper for a relatively small investment because of its shares being depressed by production problems and liabilities over cracks in its turbine blades which had to be replaced. “We saw an opportunity to use some of our gearbox technology, blade technology, manufacturing process technology to really help this company to grow.

Hayes also said that UTC is looking at further investments in renewable energy. "We've been looking at alternative energy for a long time," he said. "We always liked the space. We see the movement towards clean energy as a space that we can participate in with the technologies that we have."

Hayes said that UTC is looking to move into new higher growth areas and “game changing technologies.” He added that the Clipper acquisition was “a relatively small bet.” But he said “What we want to do is turn these small bets into bigger bets down the road.”

UTC has $3 bn to spend on mergers and acquisitions in 2010, of which $2.1 bn has already been committed, including the Clipper deal and the acquisition of GE’s fire detection and electronic security business.

UTC completed its purchase of the Clipper stake on 15 January. UTC’s investment will allow cash strapped Clipper to strengthen its balance sheet and pursue its ambitious investment plans. Clipper effectively put itself up for sale on 30 September. The company said that this had been made necessary by the expense caused by the massive remediation programme which it completed on its Liberty turbines in 2009, which amounted to $330m since January 2007.

Clipper has been involved in large scale onshore wind projects in the US, some of them through partnership with oil major BP. It is also developing a 10MW offshore wind turbine through the Britannia project in the UK, and plans – with government support - to build production facilities there to take advantage of the burgeoning offshore sector there.

UTC is a provider of high tech industrial goods whose units include Otis, Carrier, UTC Fire & Security, Pratt & Whitney, Hamilton Sundstrand and Sikorsky. It has around 210,000 employees and operates in 180 countries. It had revenues in 2008 of $59.8 billion.