Hexcel Corporation and Woodward Inc, which makes components for the aerospace and industrial markets, have mutually agreed to terminate their merger agreement, previously announced in January 2020.
The companies say that this move is in response to the increasing impact on both the aerospace and industrial sectors, and global markets broadly, resulting from the health crisis caused by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. ‘The pandemic has resulted in a need for each company to focus on its respective businesses and has impacted the companies’ ability to realize the benefits of the merger during these unprecedented times,’ a press release said.
‘While we both believed from the outset, and continue to believe, in the benefits of a combined Woodward and Hexcel, we mutually concluded after careful consideration that given the significant uncertainty in the market, it would not be prudent to continue to pursue the combination and integration of our companies in a merger of equals,’ said Tom Gendron, CEO of Woodward, and Nick Stanage, Hexcel CEO, in a joint statement. ‘Although we are disappointed with this outcome, we are confident this is the right decision for our customers, our shareholders, and our employees as it allows each of us to dedicate our focus and resources toward ensuring Woodward and Hexcel each remain strong and closely connected with our customers and supply chains during these unparalleled times. We continue to be hopeful that our two companies will find opportunities to collaborate on next-generation platforms in the future for the benefit of our customers.’
This story uses material from Hexcel, with editorial changes made by Materials Today. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily represent those of Elsevier.
