Mergers continue in 2016, Johnson controls and Tyco tie up (UPDATE)

A Tyco Integrated Security service truck sits across the street from Johnson Controls’ Brengel Technology Center in Milwaukee on Monday. Johnson Controls and Tyco will merge in a $3.9 billion deal (Staff photo by Kevin Harnack)

NEW YORK (AP) — Johnson Controls and Tyco will join in a $3.9 billion deal as the unprecedented pace of buyouts and mergers from last year rolls over into 2016.

Shareholders of Johnson Controls Inc., based in Milwaukee, will own about 56 percent of the new company, which would have a combined value of about $36 billon.

But the global headquarters will be in Cork, Ireland, where Tyco is based. Tyco International Plc has its U.S. headquarters in Princeton, N.J.

The new company, named Johnson Controls Plc, will have its operational headquarters for the U.S. in Milwaukee.

Its legal domicile, which could have tax implications, will be in Ireland.

The move, called a corporate inversion, has become a popular way for American companies to reduce their corporate tax payment to the IRS. About 50 U.S. companies have inverted in the past decade, with more seeking to do the same.

Corporate inversions have become increasingly politicized with the election less than a year away, and Democrats — including presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders — have called for stronger rules to discourage inversions. Republicans have said the best way to curb inversions is to overhaul the tax code. In 2014, Treasury issued new regulations to limit the financial benefits of inversions, but officials said ultimately the issue must be solved by Congress.

One big question is whether companies will be rushing to merge with foreign companies before the election is over and any political action on inversions is taken.

Tyco and Johnson Controls said the merger will speed innovation in fast-growing smart technology now being enabled in devices, sensors, data analytics and controls. Tyco makes fire suppression systems. Johnson controls makes ventilation systems, auto seating and car batteries.

The deal also suggests that the unprecedented appetite for buyouts and acquisitions last year has not been suppressed by the extreme market volatility that kicked off 2016.

In 2015, U.S. companies embarked on deals worth a total of nearly $4.8 trillion, busting a record set in 2007, according to Dealogic. The number of mega-mergers worth $10 billion or more also set a record.

The shares of both companies have been under pressure, falling more than 25 percent in the past 52 weeks over concerns about growth potential.