HONEYWELL <HON> COMPLETES COMPUTER BUSINESS SALE
Honeywell Inc said it has
completed the sale of 57.5 pct of its Honeywell Information
Systems <HIS> computer business to <Compagnie des Machines
Bull> of France and <NEC Corp> of Japan for 527 mln dlrs in
cash.
    Honeywell said it will use much of the money to reduce
short-term debt incurred last December when the company
purchased the Sperry Aerospace Group.
    Honeywell said the sale of HIS has created a new dedicated
computer company jointly owned by Bull, NEC and Honeywell.
    The new privately held company, named Honeywell Bull, is
42.5 pct owned by Honeywell Inc, 42.5 pct by Bull and 15 pct by
NEC, the new company said.
    Honeywell added that terms of the agreement with NEC and
Bull allow it to reduce its current 42.5 pct stake in the new
company to 19.9 pct at the end of 1988 by selling just over
half its shares to Bull. Book value at the time will determine
the move's pricing, Honeywell said.
    Honeywell chairman and chief executive officer, Edson
Spencer, said the move is the last major step in Honeywell's
restructuring.
    "As the leading worldwide supplier of of automation and
controls for buildings, industry, aerospace and defense,
Honeywell is now focusing its management, technical and
financial resources on high market share business," Spencer
said.
    Honeywell said it expects to be Honeywell Bull's largest
customer, purchasing computers for its own internal data
processing, for integration into Honeywell buidling and
industrial automation systems and for resale to the U.S.
governement.
    Honeywell said HIS's Federal Systems Division is now a
wholly owned unit of Honeywell Inc, and has been named
Honeywell Federal Systems Inc.
    Honeywell said it accounted for HIS as a discontinued
operation in 1986, and will account for its future interest on
a cost basis, recording any dividends as received.
    Honeywell Bull said it will continue to develop its product
line and build its business in integrated systems for
networking, database management and transaction processing.
    The new company said its board will have nine members,
including the chairman and chief executive officer.
    Bull will have four members, Honeywell two and NEC one, the
new company, which began worldwide operations today, said.
    It added that Jacques Stern, Bull's chairman and chief
executive officer, will serve as Honeywell Bull's chairman of
the board, while Jerome Meyer, formerly executive vice
president of Honeywell Information Systems, was named president
and chief executive officer.
 Reuter
