Haier Group, China's largest home appliance maker, said on Wednesday it could make a bid for Maytag Corp., the struggling maker of Hoover vacuums, pitting it against two big U.S. buyout firms. Trying emulate the global success of rivals such as South Korean appliance maker LG Electronics, Haier would have to top a $1.13 billion bid for Maytag from Ripplewood Holdings and discourage the Blackstone Group, which has expressed interest in the appliance maker.

"Haier Group is very interested in events surrounding the acquisition of Maytag, but as of now has not made any decisions on an acquisition," the company said in a statement provided to Reuters. It did not elaborate.

Maytag, whose work-starved repairman is a fixture in its U.S. advertising campaigns, is a century-old American appliance icon that has been suffering from high raw material costs and pricey production facilities in the United States. Last month, Ripplewood led a group of investors, including RHJ International, GS Capital Partners and the J. Rothschild Group of Companies, that agreed to take over the U.S. company for $1.13 billion, or $14 per share. Ripplewood's offer also includes the assumption of $975 million of debt.

Maytag has until June 18 to actively solicit bids from other parties, according to a regulatory filing. After that date, the company can still entertain offers from other interested parties. Ripplewood has a $40 million break up fee, according to filings. Sources told Reuters on Monday that Blackstone was among three private equity firms interested in launching a counter bid.

Haier, which was voted China's most valuable brand name by Forbes in 2004, has been forging ahead in foreign markets, selling its products through retailers such as Costco Wholesale Corp. and Home Depot. It has made a mark with its mini-refrigerators -- a big hit in college dormitories -- and air conditioners, which are sold by U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

A purchase of Maytag, with its heavy U.S. production base, could prove a double-edged sword for Haier, said Cai Jing, an analyst at Capital International Holdings. On the upside, the company could use Maytag, with its heavy use of U.S.-based production, to help shield itself from a growing tide of anti-dumping accusations being leveled by the United States against Chinese manufacturers. But such facilities could also be a liability, she said.

"China is a good place to manufacture home appliances because of advantageous costs and other factors," she said. "They don't have the same advantages outside China as they do in China." Acquiring a venerable name like Maytag would put Haier on the same stage as China's Lenovo Group Ltd., which bought the personal computer business of IBM for $1.25 billion, making it the world's third-largest maker of PCs.

In a series of similar moves, China's TCL Corp. last year acquired the cellphone business of France's Alcatel and the TV business of France's Thomson, as part of a campaign to expand into Europe and North America. In all cases, the Chinese companies have purchased struggling operations of western companies, with hopes of using their own manufacturing expertise to turn the operations around. But Chinese firms have also made some high-profile stumbles on the global merger stage, including a recent aborted takeover of struggling British carmaker MG Rover by Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp. (SAIC). Chinese oil company CNOOC Ltd. has expressed an on-again off-again interest in U.S. oil company Unocal Corp., as has China's Minmetals Corp. in Canadian mining firm Noranda Inc.

Maytag shares were up 6 cents to $15.40 in early trade on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday and are up 33 percent since Ripplewood made its offer public.

2005-06-17 (dzwww.com)