AlliedSignal Plays Wait-and-See on AMP

Aerospace, automotive and engineering products maker Allied Signal Inc. said that if Pennsylvania adopts legislation to block the company’s takeover strategy, it will not pursue its tender offer for 9% of AMP Inc.’s shares. AMP, an electrical device maker based in Harrisburg, Pa., is pushing a bill in its home state that would block a key element of Morris Township, N.J.-based AlliedSignal’s takeover strategy: winning enough written approvals from AMP shareholders to elect 17 representatives to AMP’s board. AlliedSignal said that if the law is not enacted, it will proceed with its purchase of 20 million AMP shares at $44.50 a share. That 9% stake would be sufficient to get a foothold without triggering AMP’s beefed-up “poison pill” takeover defenses, which would kick in with the purchase of 10% of AMP’s outstanding common shares. AlliedSignal shares slipped 94 cents to close at $35.56, while AMP closed down 6 cents at $38.94, both on the New York Stock Exchange.