Whirlpool Isn't Going To Get GE Appliance Division
Don't care who is where in 2016, 2020, 2024 or whenever .
As of 2013 WP holds nearly 44% of the USA appliance market. They are as close to a monopoly as you can get without running afoul of anti-trust laws.
http://www.statista.com/statistics/...ireless-telecommunication-carriers-in-the-us/
That share is just from the active brands Whirlpool markets. Via the Maytag acquisition and previous mergers/purchases WP holds many more appliance names no longer in production. They could however at any time reactivate any they wished.
Only reason WP got Maytag in the first place was no one else wanted it besides the Chinese. Well them and a few hedge fund/venture capitalists who would have raped and sold off anything of value from Maytag, then sold off the rotting carcass as well.
As you can see from the above link AB Electrolux holds the next largest market share (about 20%). Allowing them to purchase GE would have allowed the USA appliance market to be divided between two near monopolies. Like Whirlpool Electrolux also owns plenty of appliance brand names long since out of production, but could be reactivated if they wanted.
My guess is if anything an Asian company will eventually get GE appliances. They are buying up much of the USA anyway and there isn't anyone else with pockets deep enough to make it work that wants the thing anyway.
Domestic appliances is a mature market. Sales are mostly highly dependent upon new home creation and product replacement. That and various *innovations* such as energy saving and so forth. This is why world over you see a handful of major players controlling large parts of the market.
In fact things aren't that much different on the commercial/professional side of laundry appliance market either. There has been plenty of bankruptcies, mergers, acquisitions and so forth so that side almost mirrors domestic.