Bad news for General Electric Co. Not only are consumers holding off on big purchases, but so is a large bidder in the auction for the conglomerate's appliances unit, as China's Haier Group Co. has decided not to bid on the unit until it sees the U.S. economy turning around, according to a Reuters
report.
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GE decided to get out of the appliances business in May, and the unit is
expected to fetch $4 billion to $8 billion for the giant conglomerate. The
company is selling the appliances unit, as well as its rail
services and credit card unit in order to focus on its faster-growing
businesses.
Haier's decision to step back not only removes one of the most
deep-pocketed bidders from the process, but could also give other
participants pause about buying the unit. One of the first interested
parties to be affected could be private equity firm the Blackstone
Group LP, which was
rumored
to be discussing a joint bid with Haier. Other bidders expected to show
interest in the unit include South Korea's LG Electronics Inc.,
Turkey's Arçelik AS and current partner Controladora Mabe SA de CV of
Mexico.
- George White
See Reuters story
See Dealscape post on Blackstone/Haier rumor
See Auction Block data on GE appliance sale
