Maytag’s board has changed its position on which suitor to favor for a buyout. The board approved an offer from Ripplewood Holdings and its Triton acquisitions unit back in May when they said they’d pay 14-dollars a share for the Newton-based appliance maker. But then more offers came in, and the bid by Whirlpool was better. Even as it countered worries over monopoly and the prospect it’d shut down Maytag, Whirlpool kept sweetening its original offer up to 20 and then 21 dollars a share just this week. On Friday the Maytag board declared the whirlpool offer’s a better one than Triton’s…opening the door for a 40-million-dollar breakup fee if shareholders take their new recommendation and approve Whirlpool’s offer.
