Electrolux to Buy GE Appliances Business for $3.3 Billion

online.wsj.com ^ | 09/08/2014 | Jens Hansegard and James R. Hagerty

[WesternCulture]

Electrolux AB has agreed to pay $3.3 billion to acquire General Electric Co.'s appliances business, a move that would put the Swedish group head-to-head with Whirlpool Corp. at the top of the U.S. market for white goods.

The deal is the largest ever by Electrolux and comes amid consolidation among makers of stoves, dishwashers and washing machines. Whirlpool agreed to pay more than $1 billion this summer to acquire a majority stake in Italian company Indesit Co. , a purchase that would roughly double Whirlpool's business in Europe.

Electrolux shares surged 5.1% in Stockholm on news of the deal.

[Red Badger]

Well, this will be a clean deal. Cut and dried....................

[WesternCulture]

I'm Swedish and ever since I was a little boy in the 1970s, I've seen Electrolux grow bigger and bigger through devouring other companies with a healthy appetite. Under the leadership of legendary Swedish industrialist Hans Werthén alone Electrolux acquired over 200 companies. It's fair to say that Werthén (who took over as CEO in 1967 and left Electrolux as Chairman in 1991) was one of the most competent European managers of his time even though he never became especially famous. On the other hand, things like fame and prestige didn't matter to him. In his own words:

“If things go well you don't need prestige and if they don't you can't afford it.”

Electrolux has continued on its ‘shopping spree’ and today the company owns brands like Frigidaire, AEG, Husqvarna, White-Westinghouse, Volta, Eureka, Zanussi among several others.

Electrolux is a profitable and well run company and I hope this deal proves successful for GE appliances, its employees as well as Electrolux as a whole.

I'm optimistic.

When Americans and Swedes do business together things usually go well..

[Obadiah]

Could it be because people, like me, have deliberately avoided purchasing GE appliances and this, in part, led GE to unload their appliance division due to slow or declining sales?

[Cry if I Wanna]

I have a new GE washer and nothing gets clean. It barely uses any water! horrible! I replace the phosphate now missing from detergent by adding TSP. It helps a little but still, a little more water would be nice.

[Secret Agent Man]

i heard ge wnted to spin this off. was it just to focus on their medical and weapons, or was it to shift the company to overseas and beat the taxes here?

[keat]

The appliance division is profitable for GE but not nearly as profitable as the business units that serve the federal government (defense, aerospace, energy, etc.). This has the effect of making the appliance business look like a drag on profits. GE has been looking to unload it for a while.

Oh, and Obama sycophant Geoffrey Immelt clearly has nothing but disdain for hard working American taxpayers.

[Parmy]

If it is front loader, add a gallon or two after each fill, including the rinse fills. We had to do this to a Maytag that we had for 9 years. Only by doing this would the clothes get clean. It is a pain, but it works. Makes doing the laundry excruciating.

Our Maytag finally died. We now have a Speed Queen front loader and dryer. What a joy! Everything works. Very little vibration, if any, depending on the load. Clothes are clean. Couldn't be happier.

[Dacula]

Nothing sux like Eletrolux.

Nothing sucks more than GE.

[Brother Cracker]

[Dr. Thorne]

There is very little about General Electric that is generally electric anymore.

[Sparklite]

I went fullbore Samsung. Glass top range, overhead microwave, side-by-side fridge/freezer, dishwasher, clothes washer and clothes dryer. All Samsung. Beautiful stuff that you need a course in to operate. Maybe everything’s like that today, though.

[upchuck]

No pay wall:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3201860/posts

[bigbob]

I agree. Electrolux wants to be in the appliance business, GE clearly would rather invest elsewhere. So it should be good all-round.

[secret garden]

Did you get a HE machine? I was advised to get a top loader with an agitator by the repairman and I’m happy with my new GE washer. It’s much quieter, too.

[WesternCulture]

“There is very little about General Electric that is generally electric anymore.”

- Guess we over here in Europe associate GE even less with electricity than Americans do. When we hear of GE we think of GE Money Bank.

[Sparklite]

I have a HE machine. It does look odd not having an agitator, but haven’t used it enough to assess how well it cleans. Couldn’t find the right soap for it at the store, though, and ended up getting from Amazon. They say whatever you do, never used regular soap in one.

[GeronL]

we have an LG washer and dryer, no agitator either.

[AlphaOneAlpha]

I second your vote for Speed Queen. We bought their top loading washer and a dryer a couple of months ago.
Friends and neighbors told us the sleek new water saving washers are a disaster....don’t clean clothes and the machine tub has a tendency to smell.

[packrat35]

That is why I paid $40 for a used 20 year old washing machine 3 years ago. It just works and when it quits, I have long since got my $40 out of it and will go get another old washing machine.