General Electric's Net Income Falls (Photo : Getty Images)
General Electric, known for its refrigerators and other kitchen and household appliances, is quitting the appliance business. On Friday, the company announced it would sell its appliance business for $5.4 billion to a Chinese competitor.
The buyer is Haier of China. The decision of GE to sell out to Haier is because the Chinese appliance giant has committed to grow its manufacturing business in the U.S. and to invest further in the business. Another reason is the shift of GE to higher technology areas such as clean energy and medical equipment.
Despite the buy-in, the two former competitors agree to form a strategic partnership in which GE and Haier would cooperate in the fields of Internet, healthcare and advanced manufacturing. The Louisville, Kentucky-based GE, which reported a 2014 revenue of $5.9 billion, said it would keep its headquarters in Kentucky.
Despite the volatile business climate in China as the value of the yuan dips, multimillion-dollar deals have been made this week. Dalian Wanda Group bought on Tuesday for $3.5 billion Legendary Entertainment of Hollywood. Also on the same day, Beijing Kunlun acquired a 60 percent stake in gay dating app Tindr.
GE was actually discussing sale of its appliance business to Electrolux of Sweden for $3.3 billion in 2015, but negotiations broke down, reports The New York Times. GE was pressured by the U.S. Department of Justice to abandon the deal over antitrust concerns.
