UTC scraps effort to buy Diebold

United Technologies Corp. yesterday withdrew its $2.63 billion offer to buy Diebold Inc. after receiving "repeated refusals" by Diebold management to engage in discussions, .Diebold, of North Canton, Ohio, a maker of automated teller machines and electronic voting devices, consistently rebuffed negotiations since UTC first went public with its unsolicited, $40-a-share offer in late February.In recent months UTC had been showing increasing signs of losing patience, repeatedly noting in recent months that it never considered Diebold "a must-have."On Monday, UTC publicly released a to Diebold Chairman John N. Lauer formally withdrawing the offer.UTC, of Hartford, Conn., ranks No. 19 on Washington Technology ranks on Washington Technology's 2008 of the largest federal government prime contractors.