In the conference call with analysts, the CEO does not reveal the names of the possible buyers of Whirlpool Emea and fails to stop the collapse of the stock after the disappointing results announced the previous day.
The things are clear to the 15,000 Whirlpool employees in Europe (especially Italy and Poland), Africa and the Middle East, to the related industries of the 10 factories (5 of which in Italy) and to the trade, in short, to those who try to understand what the destiny of Whirlpool EMEA. The little information shared by Whirlpool Corporation in presenting the data for the third quarter allows us to establish some fixed points 10 financial and industrial groups have proposed to acquire (it is not known whether in part or in whole) the assets of Whirlpool Emea.
Two of these groups, both industrial, remained ‘in the running’ and their offers are being evaluated.
The choice between one of the two offers and an internal solution will be submitted to a meeting of the Board of Whirlpool Corporation, probably before the end of the year, based on an analysis of the various market segments in which Whirlpool Emea operates.The markets in which the group intends to invest both to produce and to sell are other: obviously the USA and Canada, Brazil and Mexico and India.
Globally, Whirlpool Corp closed a bad third quarter disappointing analysts’ expectations. Whirlpool’s sales fell by 12.8%, in the third quarter by 7% net of the strengthening of the dollar. During the year, Whirlpool transferred $ 2.6 billion in dividends and buy backs to its shareholders