A Chinese shopper walks past portable washing machines, some of them were manufactured by China's home appliances maker Haier Group at a shopping mall in Beijing June 15, 2005. There are indications Haier Group will make a bid for the Maytag Corp. No. 3 appliance maker in the United States. (AP)

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.

(China Daily)

home appliance: 家用電器

emulate: 仿效