Whirlpool to sell Hoover floor-care business for $107 million

[OhioChick]

9:27 a.m. December 7, 2006

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Appliance maker Whirlpool Corp. plans to sell its iconic Hoover vacuum business, acquired in its recent purchase of Maytag, to a Hong Kong-based home improvement and construction tools supplier for $107 million.

The chairman and CEO of the buyer, Techtronic Industries Co. Ltd., called Hoover “one of the most recognized brands in the world” and a welcome addition to its floor-care portfolio that includes Dirt Devil, Regina and Royal.

The companies said in announcing the deal on Thursday that it could close as early as the first quarter of next year following regulatory clearance.

“The decision to divest the floor-care business allows us to focus on our core appliance business,” Jeff M. Fettig, Whirlpool's chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/business/20061207-0927-whirlpool-hoover.html

[partylessinOhio]

1. Very bad news and more jobs will be lost.

American companies should be American owned.

[jmowreader]

2. It may not cost many jobs

Certainly it will cost some, but Hoover's manufacturing has been Chinese for a while.

The Hong Kong company who bought Hoover also owns the Milwaukee Electric Power Tool Company, creator of the Sawzall. They still manufacture in the US.