Thread Number: 54684
Whirlpool buys 60% of Indesit for €758m
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Post# 770734   7/14/2014 at 06:03 (3,545 days old) by AquaCycle (West Yorkshire, UK)        

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I don't think this has been posted here yet:

Whirlpool has bought a controlling stake in white goods maker Indesit, the latest example of a prominent Italian industrial family selling up as Italy’s decade-long economic decline takes its toll.

Whirlpool of the US beat offers from Turkish and Chinese investors to take a 60 per cent stake in the company, known for its Indesit, Hotpoint and Scholtes brand, for €758m.

It marks the exit of Indesit’s founding Merloni family – one of Italy’s most prominent industrial dynasties – and comes after sales plunged during the eurozone crisis and a deep recession in Italy.

The sale is the latest foreign takeover among Italy’s best known brands. Luxury groups Loro Piana, Bulgari, Valentino, Brioni, Poltrona Frau and Pomellato and consumer groups Parmalat, Ducati, Marazzi and Bertolli have been sold in the past five years.

Bankers say more deals are in the pipeline as foreign buyers, from the US to China, see an opportunity to pick up strong brands from mostly family-owned businesses where entrepreneurs are often struggling with succession issues, the pressure of globalisation and cash-strapped Italian consumers buying less.

Coldiretti, an Italian business lobby, estimated that, in 2014, about €2bn of acquisitions had been made, mostly of small and midsized consumer goods groups in food, fashion and machinery.

“The deal announced today is aimed at providing Indesit with all the means necessary for it to create a solid and sustainable future,” said Gian Oddone Merli, chief executive of Fineldo, the Merloni family’s holding company.

Indesit was founded in the 1930s by Aristide Merloni, a small town entrepreneur from the Marche region in central Italy. In the postwar years, his son Vittorio expanded the group internationally, becoming a world leader in washing machines, fridges and dishwashers and competing with Bosch and Electrolux.

However, in the past decade, Indesit has struggled with the rise of cheaper manufacturers from China and succession of its third generation after the retirement of Mr Merloni, who is in his 80s. It hired Goldman Sachs this year to look for buyers.

Whirlpool, the world’s largest appliance maker, said it would use the deal “to position our European business for growth and ongoing value creation” as it seeks to expand further beyond its home market. The deal must clear a number of regulatory and antitrust reviews before closing.

Giuseppe di Taranto, a professor at Luiss university in Rome, said Italy’s weak economy could be largely blamed for Italian companies being the acquired rather than the acquirer.

“The result of the crisis is that companies from richer countries are shopping in poorer countries, and Italy is one of those poorer countries,” he said.

Italy’s economy shrank 0.1 per cent in the first quarter after emerging from a two-year recession at the end of last year. Recent weak data has added to concerns that the economy might have shrunk or shown only feeble growth in the second quarter.


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Post# 770764 , Reply# 1   7/14/2014 at 08:46 (3,545 days old) by Adamthemieleman (York)        

I wonder what will happen to Indesit's factories? I can't see whirlpool moving production out of Italy, considering a lot of their own products are made there, or they were. I would rather choose a whirlpool anyway over an Indesit, the quality can only improve.

Post# 770875 , Reply# 2   7/14/2014 at 16:37 (3,544 days old) by solsburian (SE Northumberland)        

Interesting times, I wonder if we'll see further buyouts or mergers of the other large European appliance groups.

Post# 770895 , Reply# 3   7/14/2014 at 17:53 (3,544 days old) by kenmoreguy89 (Valenza Piemonte, Italy- Soon to be US immigrant.)        

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"However, in the past decade, Indesit has struggled with the rise of cheaper manufacturers from China"


Ohhh if it was just that....dear...
Not just China, but pretty much all of the europe is more competitive than Italy now, as they get lower taxes, lower labor cost, lower energy cost etc....
To survive Indesit ended up making stuff even crappier of what they used to, result is you had more quality and for less price from other manufacturers for the same MOL machines say Bosch, Brandt the same Whirlpool etc....
Indesit, just like Candy and others still alive, in every field, cannot stand anymore the competition of the whole Europe, just as Italy cannot stand/afford anymore being part of Europe's economy as their products cost more to make than what products elsewhere in Europe costs, take a ride in an italian supermarket, store, you'll be surprised that much of what an average italian can now afford to buy, either comes from Germany or France, UK or eastern countries.... Made in Italy, the real one is just for rich ones..
What kept them alive till now was just the fame of the old glory days....not their quality for sure, especially lately...
Not to mention Beko, which is beating the ass of everyone.....
Whirlpool needs to reinforce their market as it's whirlpool starting suffering of Beko's and china competition, and thought well to do this by acquiring what, after all, it's still a good name as Indesit in people's mind...
Made in Italy is dead....
Italy is soon be declared "deceased"....
End of story
Italy and Greece, soon Spain and perhaps France.
They all have to thank the EU, which we all know it's just one that rules that, people that knew well before the Euro currency and everything how things were likely meant to go....purposedly? I let you answer that...
M. Tatcher warned us all when it was time... like others, but sheeps are sheeps, and eventually get eaten by foxes.... or to use a better "allegory" ends up on the grill after they got all the good wool they could.
History should have taught something.
But no....evidently not in this country.









This post was last edited 07/14/2014 at 18:13
Post# 770942 , Reply# 4   7/14/2014 at 20:39 (3,544 days old) by gorenje (Slovenia)        

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Let me make just a small correction.

Originally Indesit was an indipendent Company.

Indesit was not founded in the 1930s but in 1953 in Torino.

Merloni was founded in the 1930's by Aristide Merloni in Fabriano.

Merloni Group enters the appliances market in the 1960's with the brand Ariston. The brand Ariston reminds the name of the founder (Aristide) and is also a greek word meaning "the best".

Indesit was bought by Merloni Elettrodomestici in 1987.



Post# 771247 , Reply# 5   7/16/2014 at 03:37 (3,543 days old) by robliverpool (england Liverpool)        

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Let's hope better machines are going to be built. I threw my ten month old hotpoint out as it never cleaned properly. Everything felt cheap and flimsy. Was noisy. The list could go on and on. And on and Ariston

Post# 772168 , Reply# 6   7/20/2014 at 19:22 (3,538 days old) by ariston4life ((Dublin) Ireland)        

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well this i was not expecting... can only be a good thing...right??

probably a long shot but i hope they re-launch the Ariston Brand.

made this image up a few mins ago :) ( even though i Dislike Dual branding, it seemed fitting)



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