Electrolux to buy GE’s appliance sector for $3.3B

Associated Press

STOCKHOLM

Sweden’s Electrolux is buying the appliances business of General Electric for $3.3 billion, boosting its presence on the North American market, the companies said Monday.

The acquisition is the largest ever for Stockholm-based Electrolux, ranked as the world’s second-biggest home-appliance maker after U.S. rival Whirlpool.

GE confirmed last month it was in talks to sell its appliances division — maker of the first electric toaster more than 100 years ago — as part of its effort to focus on selling more complex and profitable industrial equipment.

Electrolux CEO Keith McLoughlin said the move, which needs regulatory approval and is expected to be completed in 2015, “takes our company to a new level in terms of global reach and market coverage.”

Electrolux plans a rights issue corresponding to about 25 percent of the purchase after the acquisition is complete.

Based in Louisville, Ky., GE Appliances’ products include refrigerators, freezers, cooking products, washers and dryers and air conditioners. The division, which has 12,000 workers at nine factories, earned $381 million on $8.3 billion in sales last year, for a profit margin of 4.6 percent.

“GE Appliances’ people, valuable home-appliances brand, products, distribution, and service capabilities make it a perfect fit with Electrolux and its goal of accelerating growth in the U.S.,” GE Chief Executive Jeff Immelt said in a joint statement from the two companies.