United Tech shares slide, Goorich soars on tie-up

(Reuters) - Shares of United Technologies Corp <UTX.N> fell 4.5 percent in premarket trading on Thursday after the diversified U.S. manufacturer said it would pay $16.5 billion in cash for aircraft components maker Goodrich Corp <GR.N>.

Shares of Goodrich were up 10.2 percent to $120.71, shy of the $127.50 offer price. United Tech fell to $71.49.

Hartford, Connecticut-based United Tech confirmed on Thursday it would issue about $4.6 billion in new shares to fund the deal, which it expects to be accretive to earnings by mid-2014, two years after it expects the deal to close, according to spokesman John Moran.

The world's largest maker of elevators will suspend share buybacks for the next year to protect its credit ratings and said that that JPMorgan Chase & Co <JPM.N> was leading a $15 billion loan package to fund the deal.

The acquisition can help United Tech build critical mass in new aircraft technology and plane services as civil demand rebounds. Goodrich is poised to grow as key commercial plane programs such as Boeing Co's <BA.N> 787 Dreamliner and upcoming Airbus A320neo ramp up production.

(Reporting by Scott Malone in Boston, editing by Dave Zimmerman)