GE considers selling its historic appliance division to Electrolux
GE discusses selling appliance division
General Electric confirmed that it is considering the sale of its historic appliance division, part of its effort to focus on selling more complex and profitable industrial equipment.
The confirmation came after Swedish appliance maker Electrolux released a statement Thursday that it was in discussions to buy the business from GE, which is based in Fairfield, Conn.
'GE is evaluating a wide range of strategic options for our appliances business, including discussions with Electrolux and other interested parties,' said GE spokesman Seth Martin.
GE's appliance division, which includes a much smaller lighting business that is not being discussed as part of the transaction, earned $381 million on $8.3 billion in sales last year. General Electric has said it plans to sell businesses worth about $4 billion this year.
GE spun off its consumer credit card division last month, sold NBC Universal last year and is gradually shrinking its large financial division as part of a strategy to concentrate on building and servicing large equipment such as aircraft engines, gas-fired turbines, medical imaging machines and oil and gas drilling equipment.
GE appliances are sold mostly in the United States, making it difficult to compete with more global competitors such as LG and Samsung, which have been expanding into the United States in recent years.
Electrolux, based in Stockholm, owns brands such as Frigidaire, Westinghouse and Eureka.
SEC probes actions in Allergan matter
The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into the way that a Canadian pharmaceutical company and activist investor Bill Ackman have tried to buy Botox maker Allergan.
Ackman's hedge fund, Pershing Square Capital Management, said in an e-mailed statement Thursday that it has done nothing wrong in its effort to acquire Irvine, Calif.-based Allergan.
'We welcome the SEC's review of the facts,' Pershing Square said.
Last week, Allergan sued Valeant Pharmaceuticals International and Pershing Square, contending that the hedge fund violated securities laws by buying nearly 10 percent of its stock before announcing the attempted acquisition.
SEC spokeswoman Florence Harmon declined comment. It is common for the agency to review complex financial transactions without taking action. Allergan also declined to discuss the investigation.
In its lawsuit, Allergan alleged that Pershing Square committed insider trading by buying Allergan's stock without disclosing it was working with Valeant in an attempt to acquire the company. Valeant and Pershing Square made their first bid for Allergan on April 22, causing Allergan shares to skyrocket - and adding millions of dollars of value to Pershing Square's investment in the company.
- Los Angeles Times - From news services
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