Baldwin Technology Co. Inc. and technotrans last month shelved plans to merge their operations, due in part to Baldwin’s improving business climate.

“Given the changing fortunes of the company, the letter of intent is not in the best interests of the company,” said Vijay C. Tharani, Baldwin’s chief financial officer.

Under the letter of intent signed in December, technotrans agreed to purchase Baldwin in an all-cash transaction worth $2.50 per share, or some $40 million.

But since then, Baldwin’s sales and order backlog have surged, leading Baldwin’s share price to increase and, thus, forcing executives to rethink whether technotrans’ bid was fairly priced.

Technotrans said in a statement that it is “not willing to pay more than $2.50 per share to acquire Baldwin.”

Baldwin in January reported it earned $1.2 million on sales of $39.4 million during its second fiscal quarter. Its backlog orders also grew, to $56.8 million, a 17 percent jump from the comparable quarter in 2002.

“We have indicated in previous conference calls that our accessories and controls products seem to be doing well in the market, and our quarterly results are reflective of that improved performance,” Tharani said in a statement.

Technotrans initially said it took the step to buy Baldwin due to the “increased pressure” it and other printing press machinery suppliers face to provide integrated products.

By enveloping Baldwin’s blanket cleaning technology with technotrans’ spraybar dampening systems, technotrans’ executives said the combined companies could court business in Germany, Japan and the United States.