Whirlpool Corporation has entered into an agreement to sell the Company’s Embraco compressor business to Nidec Corporation for a cash purchase price of 1.08 billion dollar, subject to customary working capital and indebtedness adjustments. The transaction is expected to close in early 2019, subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions.
Headquartered in Brazil, Embraco has been a Whirlpool majority-owned business unit since 1997. The business has a workforce of approximately 11,000 employees across eight global manufacturing facilities located in Brazil, Italy, China, Slovakia and Mexico. Embraco also maintains commercial offices in the United States and Russia.
The Embraco business is currently reported as part of Whirlpool Corporation’sLatin America segment. In fiscal year 2017, it contributed approximately 1.3 billion dollar to Whirlpool’s net sales with margins approximating the segment average.
«We are proud of our strong portfolio of global consumer brands. Since Embraco operates in the business-to-business space, this transaction enhances our strategic focus on investing in and growing our consumer-facing business – said Marc Bitzer, chief executive officer of Whirlpool Corporation. – The planned tender offer further demonstrates our commitment to returning capital to shareholders, consistent with our balanced capital allocation strategy.»
As previously announced, Whirlpool expects to cease operations and end production at Embraco’s Italy facility, which is subject to a separate agreement with local authorities and unions. Therefore, the Embraco Italy facility is not included in the sale to Nidec Corporation.
