What’s new: China has approved leading microwave oven manufacturer Galanz’s purchase of 61% of Whirlpool China Co. Ltd., the Chinese arm of one of the top U.S. makers of home appliances like washing machines and refrigerators.
Antitrust regulators in Brazil, the U.S., Germany, Austria, Turkey and Colombia have also signed off on the deal, Whirlpool China said in a Sunday stock exchange filing.
The deal had an original closing deadline of March 31. But the two sides have extended that for an additional 30 days until April 29 to complete various closing conditions.
Background: The pair first announced the deal in August, with Galanz set to pay up to 2.4 billion yuan ($367 million) for the stake, based on a purchase price of 5.23 yuan per share.
The sale marks the latest of a major Western brand from the relatively mature home appliance sector, where China is now one of the main global players with names like Galanz, Haier and Midea.
In one of the latest deals in that area, Dutch electronics giant Philips AG announced last week it would sell its home appliances unit to Chinese private equity giant Hillhouse Capital, in a deal valued at up to 4.4 billion euros ($5.2 billion).
Related: China’s Hillhouse Picks Up Philips’ Home Appliance Unit in $5.2 Billion Deal
Contact reporter Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com)
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