The FT Tuesday morning gives us a little
more detail on the interest of China's Qindao Haier Co. Ltd. in General Electric Co.'s appliance unit. As we
noted previously, the sellers -- starting with CEO Jeff Immelt -- are doing a good job of fanning interest in this sale.
The FT reports that Haier has begun to approach investment banks for help with a bid, and reminds us that Chinese officials are encouraging such investments. (Indeed, they'll be
doing so in person in Annapolis, Md., next week.)
Correction for the FT piece: In the contest for Maytag in 2005, the eventual winner was the strategic, Whirlpool Corp. Buyout firm Ripplewood Holdings started the bidding; Haier then entered with PE partners Bain Capital LLC and Blackstone Group LP, but then Whirlpool came in and won the prize. As the FT notes, it's a reasonable surmise that Haier would have PE partners this time around as well -- not for the capital, but for the U.S. management knowledge. -
Kenneth Klee
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