LG is apparently considering a bid for General Electric Co’s appliance division and will likely hire an investment bank to advise on the deal, the Financial Times reported on its Web site Thursday, citing a person familiar with the matter.
Senior executives at LG charged with preparing a detailed evaluation of the merits of a bid have recently returned from a fact-finding mission to the U.S., the FT reported.
According to people familiar with this story, appliance manufacturers from Asia, Germany, Turkey, Mexico, Sweden and Italy, as well as private equity groups, were looking at the GE unit, which had sales of $7.2 billion last year, or about 4% of the U.S. company’s total.
According to the FT, LG Chief Executive Nam Yong hinted at an interest in the sale two weeks ago when he said: “We are carefully looking at the situation, as it will have a significant impact on the global appliances industry.”
LG declined to comment Thursday on what it described as “speculation” but added that LG was “monitoring” its options, the FT reported.
