Monday, July 18, 2005

Mytag Group got another offer

Whirlpool Corp., the largest U.S. appliance maker, is offering $1.35 billion in cash and stock for Maytag Corp., topping bids from two other groups for the No. 3 U.S. appliance manufacturer, reported Bloomberg.

Whirlpool's $17 a share bid beats the $16 bid from China's Haier Group and the $14 a share offer from a consortium led by buyout firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC.

Though the final decision will be made a month later,
Morgan Keegan Inc. analyst Laura Champine said it will be a problem of antitrust, but "From a political standpoint, it's certainly a more favorable option if you're a politician than combining with a Chinese manufacturer."

Oh, really? Why Chinese manufacturers always welcome the offer from outside, but in reverse, things are so hard?

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I could be wrong, but I don't think that there have been any takeovers of Chinese companies (buying more than 51%) by foreign companies recently (maybe ever.) It looks like there are rules against it (although I could be wrong.)

There are a lot of joint ventures - usually the Chinese partner is excited about this because the offshore partner brings money and expertise. The foreign partner is *sometimes* pleased to do a joint venture, but most of the time they are probably doing one because they have to.

Dave

Amy Gu said...

hoho, so, Dave, if you have a choice, will you choose to set up a joint venture or an independent one?