Stop and go for Electrolux: is Haier coming? “The temporary renunciation of Midea continuing negotiations with Electrolux is just one step in a negotiation process that will resume. It often happens in negotiations with a global reach”. Also because the world of international finance is shaken by news from two news sensational that Firstonline is able to anticipate.
Electrolux: Haier boasts. Two news to keep an eye on
Haier – first news – is preparing to jump the quail and the quail is Midea. You have offered – it seems – excellent resources and programs for acquire a part of Electrolux however excluding Electrolux US. To avoid, of course, being blocked by antitrust rules. Indeed, in America Haier bought GE Appliances and consequently could never add the high market share held by Electrolux.
Second news: the Italian government, through the mouth of Minister Urso before President Meloni then, has hinted that it will withdraw from the so-called "Silk Road”, the agreement signed at the time by the 5Stelle, with China. And instead - in total contradiction underestimated by the daily press - on Monday Urso receives the Chinese summit with great fanfare Haier Europe dispensing words of applause for how the world's number 1 majaps managed the acquisition of Candy without layoffs, making the Brugherio site the heart of European R&D. And investing even more to strengthen Haier Europe which has elected – as is well known – Italy as its strategic, financial and industrial centre.
Whirlpool: the accounts improve in the second quarter
In the meantime, the positive results arrive - in the sense of the 30 percent increase in the share price - of Whirlpool's second quarter with some improvement in margins. And we report just the comment of Marc Bitzer, president and chief executive officer of Whirlpool Corporation: “We continue to build on our momentum with margins improving sequentially in the second quarter. The transformation of our portfolio into a higher-growth, higher-margin business is well underway and we are well positioned to benefit from the real estate-led recovery in demand, including now having 8 of the top 10 US domestic builders as commercial clients.
Whirlpool: the second quarter accounts indicate an improvement, but the context remains negative
Whirlpool Corporation has released the half-yearly. In the second quarter, GAAP (generally accepted accounting principles) net income rose to $85 million versus a loss of $179 million in the first quarter. Net sales rose to 4,79 billion against 4,64 billion. On an annualized basis, cost reduction actions delivered approximately $150 million of benefits in the second quarter. Finally, the decline in net sales of 6,0% on the quarter of 2022 continues.
In conclusion, Whirlpool confirms GAAP earnings per share and current earnings per share at $13 to $15 and $16 to $18, respectively. Shareholders are paid $193 million in dividends in the first half of 2023 for the 68th consecutive year, underlines the note from the US multinational.
: the stop at Midea comes from Europe
Reserving for us a more in-depth analysis of the entire world scenario and Italian in particular, but adding a piece of news that we believe is fundamental. And that is that Midea was not blocked – as some Italian commentators have written – by the threat of the exercise of golden power by the Italian government, but by the veto of Europe. The "excommunication" that the EU has applied to Huawei and ZTE, considered "high-risk sellers" for security and the free market, could also be extended to other Chinese companies, and Midea in particular. Because suddenly Europe woke up with a radical change in attitude towards non-European M&A.
The European Commission and the European Council are in fact discussing rapid measures for protect strategic sectors such as robotics and telecommunications, but – and this is the novelty – also important production chains that can pass under the control of companies that in their countries of origin (read Asia), have largely and for a long time benefited from enormous public funding. And that for this dumping prolonged, having huge financial resources they can transfer productive activities, technologies, patents, valuable brands, with serious damage to vital sectors of the European economy. It is clear that while neither the Commission nor the European Council considers the household appliances sector as strategic, it does take it as such when it indicates its risk of disappearance or control and transfer of production technologies to Asia. Perfectly in line with this recent European tightening – moreover opposed by Germany, China's first trading partner – was a condition set by Electrolux to Midea for the continuation of the negotiation and that is to guarantee the maintenance of the industrial structure, research and employment of the European sites.
