Dressed to Chill: EQT, Bain Race for Whirlpool India
EQT and Bain Capital are conducting detailed due diligence ahead of the deadline for a binding offer, said to be in August.
Explore courses from Top Institutes in
Please select course:
Select a Course Category
Data Science
Degree
healthcare
Finance
MBA
Cybersecurity
Healthcare
Data Analytics
Product Management
PGDM
Operations Management
Design Thinking
others
Project Management
Digital Marketing
Management
Technology
Public Policy
Leadership
Data Science
MCA
Artificial Intelligence
Others
CXO
Skills you'll gain:
Duration:
11 Months
IIT Madras
CERT-IITM Advanced Cert Prog in AI and ML India
Starts on
undefined
Get Details
Skills you'll gain:
Duration:
10 Months
IIM Kozhikode
CERT-IIMK DABS India
Starts on
undefined
Get Details
Skills you'll gain:
Duration:
30 Weeks
IIM Kozhikode
SEPO - IIMK-AI for Senior Executives India
Starts on
undefined
Get Details
Skills you'll gain:
Duration:
11 Months
E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
CERT-IITG Postgraduate Cert in AI and ML India
Starts on
undefined
Get Details
Skills you'll gain:
Duration:
10 Months
E&ICT Academy, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
CERT-IITG Prof Cert in DS & BA with GenAI India
Starts on
undefined
Get Details
Whirlpool didn't respond to queries sent to its US and India offices.
EQT and Bain declined to comment.
US parent Whirlpool Corp has been looking to sell a 31% stake in the India unit, which generates the bulk of its Asia revenue, while retaining 20%. The equity in India is held through Whirlpool Mauritius.
ET was the first to report June 20 on the interest of Reliance and Havells in the stake.
Whirlpool India's market cap was Rs 18,116 crore as of Tuesday's close on the BSE.
The India business monetisation exercise is part of a global reorganisation initiated at the end of 2022, when the company, known in the US for the Whirlpool, KitchenAid and Maytag brands, posted a $1.5 billion loss.
The company has said it's keen to raise net cash proceeds of $550-600 million (Rs 4,684-5,110 crore) from the 31% stake sale transaction by this calendar year. A formal stake sale process was launched in April by advisor Goldman Sachs.
A transaction will also trigger an open offer for an additional 26% stake in the company. As with several deal negotiations, Whirlpool's punchy valuations have been a deal spoiler for most potential suitors. Another bone of contention is said to be the royalty payout to the parent in future.
At the end of January, the stock plunged an exchange-allowed maximum of 20% to a near 10-month low when the company first announced its intent to pare ownership in India. It has rebounded since then. In April alone, the stock soared 33% after the sale process was launched. Since April, the stock has appreciated 29.39%, ending Tuesday at Rs 1,427.90 on the BSE, marginally down from Monday.
If fully subscribed, the incoming investor could end up owning 57% of the company. Public shareholders now own 49%. At current prices, this would translate into a deal worth Rs 10,354.62 crore, a slight premium to expectations, said the people cited.
If the US parent isn't happy with the final offers, it may once again divest through the open market route, analysts said. The parent sold a 24.7% stake in its Indian arm in February last year through block deals worth Rs 4,039 crore to institutional investors, led by five mutual funds including SBI Mutual Fund and Aditya Birla Sunlife Mutual Fund, besides foreign institutional investor Societe Generale.
Whirlpool is among the top four brands in refrigerators and washing machines in India, with revenue of Rs 7,421 crore and net profit of Rs 313 crore in FY25. Whirlpool's presence in the premium end, currently dominated by LG, Samsung and Haier, is negligible.
Havells India had evaluated the Whirlpool stake to expand its presence in refrigerators and washing machines, given its strong presence in air-conditioners through the Lloyd brand. But it was dissuaded by the high valuation as well as the decision to focus on the Lloyd business, which broke even in FY25, said the executives cited.
On Monday, Havells chairman and managing director Anil Rai Gupta told analysts that while the company is open to acquisitions, it is currently focused on building the business organically.
Reliance Industries, too, has backed out, at least for now, due to the same bid-ask gap, said the people cited. Reliance last week announced the acquisition of the Kelvinator brand for the Indian market from Swedish appliance manufacturer Electrolux for Rs 160 crore. The company intends to build Kelvinator into a full-fledged appliance business.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
New Indian Express
12 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
PM Modi to dedicate railway projects worth Rs 1,030 crore in Tamil Nadu
CHENNAI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi is set to inaugurate a series of development projects in Tamil Nadu during his visit to Thoothukudi on Saturday, including key railway electrification and doubling works valued at Rs 1,030 crore. The PM will dedicate three critical railway infrastructure projects: Electrification of the 90 km Madurai-Bodinayakkanur line, doubling of the 21 km Nagercoil Town-Kanniyakumari section under the Thiruvananthapuram-Kanniyakumari corridor, and doubling of the Aralvaymozhi-Nagercoil Junction (12.87 km and Tirunelveli-Melappalaiyam (3.6 km) stretches. The Madurai-Bodinayakkanur section, previously a meter gauge route, was converted to broad gauge at a cost of Rs 99 crore. This is expected to promote environmentally sustainable transport, enhance tourism, and benefit farmers, students, and small traders in the Madurai and Theni districts. Similarly, the doubling of tracks in Tirunelveli and Kanniyakumari will significantly boost rail connectivity across southern Tamil Nadu. The project facilitates the introduction of more passenger and freight services while enhancing overall operational efficiency, according to an official release. For the Nagercoil Town-Kanniyakumari doubling project alone, the railways incurred an expenditure of Rs 650 crore, forming a vital part of the larger Thiruvanan–thapuram-Kanniyakumari corridor. The remaining two sections – Aralvaymozhi-Nagercoil and Tirunelveli-Melappalaiyam - were completed at a cost of Rs 283 crore, the release said.
New Indian Express
12 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
Aadi cracks up egg price by Rs 1 in a month, Namakkal poultry sector faces heat
NAMAKKAL: The Namakkal poulty sector is feeling the chill wind of a drop in egg price as the rate per unit has dropped by nearly Rs 1, thanks to disruptions in demand and supply caused by the ongoing Sawan festival (also called Shravan) in North India. The sector is bracing itself for more loss as the 'price is expected to fall a little more' in the foreseeable future. According to the National Egg Coordination Committee, the price per egg in Namakkal on July 1 stood at Rs 5.75. As of July 24, it has come down to Rs 4.80 – a fall of nearly Rs 1 within a few weeks. The fall in consumption during this religious period (Sawan) has triggered a chain reaction across egg-producing states, forcing Namakkal's poultry industry to reduce prices. The Sawan month, which lasts from mid-July to August, is a time of religious observance across many northern states, during which people avoid consuming meat and eggs. The situation continues with festivals such as Nag Panchami and Janmashtami, which also fall within this period and contribute to less consumption of non-veg food. Andhra Pradesh (AP), the country's top egg producer, is the primary supplier to northern states. With demand falling during Sawan, AP producers have slashed prices drastically, even below production cost, to avoid piling up of stock. When prices drop in AP, their eggs begin entering southern markets like Chennai, Bengaluru, and Kerala – all key buyers of Namakkal's eggs. As buyers shift to AP eggs for cost reasons, Namakkal traders too are forced to reduce their prices to stay competitive. 'From mid-July to August, every year the price of eggs sees a significant drop,' Vangili Subramanian, president of the Tamil Nadu Egg Poultry Marketing Society, said, adding that 'when AP reduces prices due to fall in demand in the North, southern markets start buying from them instead of us, and that hits Namakkal hard'. The current production cost per egg ranges between Rs 4.50 to Rs 4.75, leaving very little margin for producers. 'The price is expected to fall a little more,' Vangili said. 'If the price per egg drops to Rs 4.50 or lower, it will go below our production cost, and we will incur severe losses,' said C Sasikumar, a local poultry owner in Namakkal.
New Indian Express
12 minutes ago
- New Indian Express
PM's foreign visits cost Centre Rs 350 cr since '21
NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's foreign visits between 2021 and July 2025 might have strengthened India's bilateral ties with the host nations, but they have also incurred a cost of nearly Rs 300 crore to the exchequer. That includes Rs 67 crore spent on his five foreign visits in February, March and April this year to the United States, France, Mauritius, Thailand, Sri Lanka and Saudi Arabia. The Ministry of External Affairs, in a written reply to the questions of TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O'Brien, has shared the details of expenditures. The data reveal that Modi visited France and the United States between February 10 and 13, for which the expenses totalled Rs 25,59,82,902 for the French visit and Rs 16,54,84,302 for the US visit, respectively. His visits to Thailand and Sri Lanka from April 3 to 6 cost over Rs 9 crore (`4,92,81,208 in Thailand and Rs 4,46,21,690 in Sri Lanka). He went to Saudi Arabia from April 22 to 23, during which Rs 15,54,03,792.47 was incurred. The PM also visited Mauritius(March 11-12), Cyprus, Canada and Croatia (July 15-19) and Ghana, Trinidad &Tobago, Argentina, Brazil, and Namibia (July 2-9), but the expenditures have not been shared as the bills are still under settlement. In 2024, the PM visited the UAE and Qatar (February 13-15), during which the exchequer spent Rs 3,14,30,607 (Qatar), while on his next visit to Bhutan (March 22-23), Rs 4,50,27,271 was spent. An amount of Rs 14,36,55,289 was spent on his visit to Italy (June 13-14). His visits to Austria and Russia from July 8 to 10 cost Rs 4,35,35,765 and Rs 5,34,71,726, respectively.
