The 75/25 division is only a hypothesis, to be confirmed on the basis of the 2022 financial statements. The new company will be able to use the Whirlpool brand on its products for 40 years. Whirlpool assets in Africa and the Middle East sold for just 20 million

From left: Fatih Kemal Ebiçlioğlu, Consumer Durables Group President of Koç Holding, Marc Bitzer, Whirlpool Cooperation CEO, Hakan Bulgurlu, Arçelik CEO

While the Stock Exchanges gave their judgment on the operation, making Arçelik’s shares rise by 9% in Istanbul and those of Whirlpool in New York by 0.4%, new details emerge from a press release  by Arçelik on the fate of Whirlpool Emea’s activities.

Object of the agreement: The agreement includes Whirlpool’s 38 European subsidiaries and 9 manufacturing sites in Italy, Poland, Slovakia and the United Kingdom, as well as Arçelik’s 2 manufacturing plants in Romania and its 25 European subsidiaries. Together, this will translate into a production capacity of approximately 24 million white products annually.

Contractors . Shareholders in the new company are Whirlpool Emea Holdings LLC and Arçelik’s wholly owned subsidiary Ardutch , a Dutch holding company through which Arçelik controls its European operations. The deal will see both Ardutch and Whirlpool transfer their European subsidiaries to the new company Division of shares. After these transfers, it is expected that 75% of the new company will be assigned to Ardutch BV and 25% to Whirlpool. The final ownership ratio post-closing will be determined taking into account the respective 2022 EBITDA, net asset values, net debt and net working capital of the parties.

Size and brand portfolio. The new business is expected to have more than 20,000 European employees. The combined net sales of the Arçelik and Whirlpool subsidiaries are approximately €6 billion, based on the net sales of the companies’ European operations in 2021. The new company will manufacture, sell and provide after-sales services for branded home appliances (including refrigerators , washing machines, vacuum cleaners, etc.) offering consumer choice across a range of Arçelik brands, including Grundig, Arctic, Elektrabregenz, Flavel and Leisure, alongside Whirlpool’s existing brands Indesit, Hotpoint*, Ignis, Privileg and Bauknecht. The company will have regional trademark rights to Arçelik’s Beko, Blomberg and Altus brands and Whirlpool Corporation’s Whirlpool brand for a period of 40 years.The sale of the Whirlpool businesses in Africa and ME. Separately, the parties also agreed to sign a stock purchase and sale agreement within six weeks for Whirlpool to divest its Middle East and North Africa (MENA) portion of the EMEA region to Ardutch (and therefore not to the new company), for a cash amount of 20 million euros. The transaction, when completed, would result in Ardutch acquiring full ownership of two additional Whirlpool subsidiaries located in the United Arab Emirates and Morocco.The comment of Arçelik’s group leader. Levent Çakıroğlu , CEO of Koç Holding (the parent company of Arçelik), commented, “ As Turkey’s largest industrial conglomerate, we continue to strengthen our impact with global success stories ranging from the UK to India, from South Africa to the United States. Today, Koç Group companies export to more than 150 countries. Arçelik, as a respected player in his industry, is taking his vision and ambitions forward with this new independent business. The opportunity for this business to deliver value to European consumers with market leading products through trusted brands and a commitment to sustainability in the home is significant. ”