China’s Haier buying GE appliance unit for $5.4 billion

That being said, it looks like Haier will be establishing a firmer foothold in the U.S. as GE has announced that they will be selling off their appliances division to Haier. The two companies said that they agreed to form a strategic partnership and the transaction is targeted to close mid-2016, Bloomberg reported, citing a statement.

Chinese companies are on a buying spree overseas, looking for technology and brands to improve their competitive position at home and speed their global expansion.

Visitors look at electric home appliances of Haier during an expo in Qingdao city, East China’s Shandong province, July 10, 2015. It said the GE acquisition would be carried out by its unit Qingdao Haier Co., Ltd., a publicly traded entity of which Haier owns 41 per cent.

The $3.3 billion-proposed deal with Electrolux fell through following months of opposition from US antitrust regulators.

The transaction includes GE Appliances’ 48.4 percent stake in Mabe, a Mexican appliance company that has operated a joint venture and has had a sourcing relationship with GE Appliances for 28 years, Haier said.

In 2014, GE Appliances had about $5.9 billion in revenue and $400 million in EBITDA.

The operation team at GE’s appliances unit will remain unchanged while Hair is authorized to use GE’s brand over 40 years.

Based at the 900-acre Appliance Park, GE Appliances employs about 6,000 people in Louisville, including 3,700 hourly workers.

Haier’s takeover of GE Appliances is the second-biggest purchase in the household appliance sector on record, behind Panasonic Corp.’s 2008 purchase of 50 percent of Sanyo Electric Co. for $7.1 billion, according to Dealogic. Electrolux and regulators tried to resolve the dispute, but GE officials anxious that the litigation could drag out for months.

The parent GE has sold off its credit arm and wants to spin off appliances to focus on locomotives, mining, aerospace and other industrial manufacturing.