Whirlpool Corporation in its $552 million Acquisition of a Majority Stake in Hefei Rongshida Sanyo Electric

Cleary Gottlieb represented Whirlpool Corporation in its acquisition of a 51% stake in Hefei Rongshida Sanyo Electric for approximately $552 million (RMB 3.4 billion) in cash, through the acquisition of 29.51% existing shares in Hefei Sanyo owned by Sanyo Electric and Sanyo Electric (China), subsidiaries of Panasonic Corporation, and the subscription of new shares from Hefei Sanyo via a private placement. The execution of the relevant agreements was announced on August 13, 2013 and the transaction was closed on October 24, 2014. The transaction was approved by various Chinese regulators, including the relevant State-owned assets regulator, the Ministry of Commerce, the China Securities Regulatory Commission and the State Administration of Foreign Exchange. Hefei Sanyo remains a publicly traded company on the Shanghai Stock Exchange after the transaction is completed.

Whirlpool Corporation is the world’s leading manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, with annual sales of approximately $19 billion in 2013, 69,000 employees, and 59 manufacturing and technology research centers around the world. Hefei Sanyo, which makes washers, microwaves and refrigerators sold under the Sanyo, Rongshida/Royal Star and Diqua brand names, employs 10,000 workers at three manufacturing facilities in China. Hefei Sanyo is a publicly traded company on the China A-share market.