Honeywell’s Ex-CEO Set to ‘Kiss 100 Frogs’ in Goldman M&A Quest

Dave Cote, who bought 100 companies and sold 70 while running Honeywell International Inc., says he knows what it takes to find the right acquisition. Now Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is tapping Cote’s experience from a decade and a half as Honeywell’s chief executive officer for a new partnership aimed at cobbling together an industrial operation from scratch. The special acquisition company raised about $600 million in a June 8 initial public offering, and Cote is eyeing deals that will probably range from $1 billion to as much as $5 billion.