As reported by Reuters with CNBC, Sweden’s Electrolux recently said it would double U.S. sales by paying $3.3 billion in cash for General Electric’s appliances business in its biggest-ever deal, giving it the scale to go head-to-head with larger rival Whirlpool.
GE’s century-old household appliance business, which had $5.7 billion in 2013 revenue, could help the Swedish company expand beyond its core European market where growth has trailed that in North America. Electrolux, the world’s second-largest appliance maker by sales, will see its annual sales in North America more than double to over $10 billion, similar in size to Whirlpool’s sales there. It also gets to keep the iconic GE Appliance’s brands.
The deal will be financed by a bridge facility, and the company plans a rights issue to raise about 25 percent of the price after the deal’s expected closing next year, Electrolux said. Investor, the investment company founded by Sweden’s Wallenberg family and owner of 15.5 percent of Electrolux’s capital, gave the deal and the right issue its stamp of approval.
—By Reuters. CNBC contributed to this report
