March 2024 ertonline.co.uk


News “As such, we believe this deal should be allowed to proceed.” This news comes only a couple of weeks after the


CMA provisionally cleared the transaction, saying it found that the deal “is not likely to raise significant competition concerns”.


Arcelik and Whirlpool deal gets the green light


The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has announced that it has officially given the go-ahead to the proposed deal between Arçelik and Whirlpool. It referred the deal to a Phase 2 review after initially identifying concerns which warranted further investigation during its Phase 1 enquiry. Since then, an independent CMA panel has gathered and analysed a wide range of evidence in order to assess


the potential impact of the manufacturer merger. Martin Coleman, Chair of the independent expert panel conducting the investigation, said: “We conducted a thorough investigation into this deal, which included extensive engagement with customers, competitors, and others. We found that the deal may not be expected to harm competition, with shoppers continuing to benefit from a wide range of options.


Currys rejects multiple takeover bids


Currys has rejected the latest takeover attempt from Chinese retail giant JD.com and multiple bids from activist investor, Elliot Advisors, which also owns Waterstones, the most recent being an offer of £750 million. A currys shareholder has said it should hold out for


an offer worth £1 billion, stating that an offer between 80p and 100p per share would be “acceptable”. Currys claimed that the first offer of £700 million from Elliot “significantly undervalued” its business. The


retailer said in a statement: “The board confirms that it received an unsolicited, preliminary and conditional proposal from Elliott regarding a possible cash offer. “[We] considered the proposal, together with [our]


financial advisers, and concluded that it significantly undervalued the company and its future prospects.” The Equity Income fund JO Hambro Capital Management (JOHCM) said it believed the deal compared to the size of the retailer’s sales showed the current “absurdity” of the UK stock market.


The CMA said the latest evidence showed that while Arçelik and Whirlpool both have strong market positions, they will continue to face “significant competition” from other suppliers.


The investigation panel found that the competitive landscape has changed “considerably” in recent years and continues to do so… It said: “Whirlpool’s market position in MDAs has significantly declined over the last decade, and it is likely that its European MDA business will be fundamentally different in the future. At the same time, suppliers such as Haier Group and Hisense have gained market share, and it is likely that they will continue to expand.”


Arçelik and Whirlpool are two of the largest suppliers of MDAs in the UK. Arçelik operates pri- marily under the Beko, Blomberg and Grundig brands, and Whirlpool supplies MDAs primarily under the Indesit and Hotpoint brands.


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