General Electric to sell appliance business: report

15 May 2008

General Electric Co, the second biggest maker of home appliances in the US, is planning to sell its appliances business as part of a bid to restore growth, newspaper reports said.

GE may part ways with the unit for a price between $5 billion and $8 billion, The Wall Street Journal said, citing sources familiar with the development. Alternatively, GE may seek a partner for the unit that makes refrigerators and washers, it said.

GE, reports said, had hired Goldman Sachs to conduct an auction for the appliances division, adding that possible buyers could be Germany's BSH Bosch and Siemens Hausgerate, China's Haier Group, private-equity firms or Mexico-based GE partner Controladora Mabe.

Louisville, Kentucky-based GE's appliance unit had revenues of about $7 billion in 2007, and it's the No 2 US appliance company by volume behind Whirlpool WHR.

GE entered the appliance business in 1907. Revenue for GE's Louisville-based industrial business, which includes appliance manufacturing, was nearly $17.73 billion in 2007, down slightly from $17.74 billion in 2006. GE had total revenue of $172.7 billion last year.

A sale would help further consolidate the appliance industry in the US and possibly give a vehicle for overseas companies looking to grab a share of the US market.