GE scraps $3.3B sale of unit to Electrolux

Associated Press

GE has scrapped a $3.3 billion plan to sell its home-appliance business to the Swedish company Electrolux, a deal opposed by U.S. regulators over concerns about competition.

The Fairfield, Conn., conglomerate said it will continue to run the business as it looks for other options to sell it.

General Electric Co. offered no reason for its decision in a brief statement released Monday.

Electrolux is the world’s second-biggest home-appliance maker after U.S. rival Whirlpool. It sells most of its products in the U.S. under the Frigidaire brand.

The U.S. Department of Justice had sued to stop the deal in July, saying the deal would have eliminated a major competitor and left Electrolux and Whirlpool as the only big companies in the U.S. selling cooking appliances such as ovens and ranges.

David Gelfand, deputy assistant attorney general at the Justice Department’s antitrust division, said in a conference call Monday that had the deal gone through, Electrolux would have manufactured more than 70 percent of affordable ranges sold in the U.S., leading to higher prices for consumers.