Whirlpool enters into agreements to acquire majority interest in Indesit

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logo Indesit luglio 2014Whirlpool Corporation and Fineldo S.p.A. announced that they have entered into a binding agreement for the sale of Fineldo’s stake in Indesit Company S.p.A. Whirlpool also entered into binding share purchase agreements with members of the Merloni family for their Indesit shares. Under these agreements, Whirlpool would acquire shares representing a total of 66.8 percent of the voting stock of Indesit. Whirlpool currently intends to finance this transaction through cash on hand, together with private, domestic and international public debt financing, depending on the timing of closing and market conditions. The acquisition of control of Indesit is subject to judicial and antitrust approvals and is expected to close by the end of 2014. “We expect this opportunity to position our European business for growth and ongoing value creation with a well-respected and established company such as Indesit”, said Jeff M. Fettig, chairman and chief executive officer of Whirlpool Corporation. “We consider acquisitions based on strategic fit, shareholder value and a high degree of confidence in our ability to execute. We believe this will ideally position us for sustainable growth in the highly competitive and increasingly global home appliance market in Europe. Whirlpool has demonstrated its capability to create efficiencies and value through acquisitions, and therefore we have high confidence that through this transaction we will deliver strong returns to our shareholders and innovative products to our consumers”.