Maytag to mull new Whirlpool bid

Maytag will be checking out the small print of Whirlpool's new offer

Maytag, the US home appliance firm at the centre of a takeover battle, has said it will consider an improved $1.44bn (£829m) bid from Whirlpool.

The offer from Whirlpool values Maytag, the company behind the Hoover vacuum cleaner, at $18 a share.

Rival Ripplewood has tabled a $14-a-share offer that was accepted by Maytag's management back in May.

While Maytag said the new bid "may reasonably be expected" to lead to a better deal, it added there were risks.

Rubber stamp

Whirlpool is the biggest US maker of home appliances such as washing machines and driers, and Maytag is the country's number three.

Analysts and lawyers said that, despite the higher value of the bid, it may prove difficult to get a merger past the competition and anti-trust regulator.

The battle for Maytag is heating up

The Ripplewood deal already has regulatory approval.

Maytag spokesman Stephen Duthie said late on Sunday that "it behoves us to fully analyse" the new offer from Whirlpool.

Whirlpool has stepped up the pressure on Maytag after it had an earlier offer of $17 a share rejected.

On Friday, Whirlpool chief executive Jeff M Fettig said that the firm was not looking after the interests of shareholders or consumers.

On Sunday, Maytag responded by saying that the new offer looked better and there was a good chance it would gain regulatory approval.

Clearer picture

However, its board of directors said they still backed the bid from Ripplewood.

Maytag shareholders will get to vote on whether to accept the Ripplewood deal on 19 August.

The company also said it would not open its books to Whirlpool until its suitor provided more information about how the cash and stock parts of its bid would be structured.

Whirlpool was bullish about its prospects, adding that it was willing to address issues such as competition and a $40m break-up fee that Maytag would have to pay if it now knocked back Ripplewood.

Maytag owns a number of well-known brands, selling goods under the Amana, Jenn-Air, Jade and Dixie-Narco brand names, as well as making Hoover products.

However, it reported lower-than-expected quarterly profit on Friday as sales rises were offset by higher raw materials and energy-related costs.