Spin cycle: Whirlpool touts bid for Maytag

BENTON HARBOR, Mich. – Whirlpool Corp.’s top executive fired the first salvo in a possible three-way bidding war for rival Maytag Corp., saying Monday his company’s $1.37 billion offer provides the “best opportunity to address Maytag’s needs.”

Jeff M. Fettig, chairman, president and chief executive of the nation’s largest appliance maker, also expressed confidence that potential antitrust challenges could be surmounted.

The North American appliance market is “very open and competitive,” Fettig said during a teleconference with industry analysts. “The combination would actually improve the competitiveness in our industry by setting higher standards for innovation, efficiency and customer service.”

Whirlpool’s $17-per-share offer tops a $14-a-share proposal that the board of Newton, Iowa-based Maytag accepted from an investment group, Triton Acquisition Holding Co., on May 19. A month later, Maytag said it also was considering a preliminary $1.28 billion bid from Chinese appliance maker Haier America, along with Bain Capital and Blackstone Group, that valued Maytag at $16 per share.

Officials at Maytag, whose brands include Maytag, Amana, Hoover, Jenn-Air and Magic Chef, said in a statement Monday that directors will consider the new bid from Whirlpool. But the company said directors have not changed their recommendation that shareholders approve the proposal from Triton, an entity organized by the New York investment company Ripplewood Holdings LLC.

Maytag, the nation’s third largest appliance manufacturer behind Whirlpool and General Electric Co., has been squeezed in recent years by increasing steel and fuel costs, slipping profitability, sliding stock value and intense competition from Asian manufacturers such as LG Electronics and Samsung.

Best Buy dropped Maytag as a major appliance supplier in January, giving the retail floor space instead to brands more popular with customers such as LG, Siemens and Samsung.

Maytag eliminated 1,100 salaried workers and closed an Illinois refrigerator plant last year. It faces the prospect of closing two more factories – the flagship laundry appliance plant in Newton, Iowa, and the Hoover home base in North Canton, Ohio.