A University of Iowa business professor cautions that the Whirlpool acquisition of Maytag is not yet a “done deal.” University of Iowa professor Ethan Stone says Maytag shareholders have to vote on the deal, and federal regulators have to rubber stamp it, too. Stone says it’s not unusual for such a complicated business transaction to take a while to complete. “Certainly, it would be normal for a transaction like this to take a number of months to close,” Stone says. The next big hurdle will be the Maytag shareholders meeting. Stone says Maytag executives will work with Whirlpool to urge stockholders to approve the deal, but Stone says another company or group could come forward and offer more than the 21-dollars-per-share Whirlpool offered. As you may recall, Whirlpool came in after a rival group had made a 14-dollar-per-share offer. Stone says he’s not an expert in anti-trust law, but the Whirlpool offer to Maytag appears to him to show a great deal of “confidence” that Whirlpool will get federal regulators’ approval of the acquisition. Stone says Whirlpool has basically secured the right to force Maytag to turn away other potential buyers until the end of 2006. If the end of 2006 comes and Whirlpool hasn’t secured federal approval of the deal, Whirlpool will have to pay Maytag 120-million, according to the terms of the deal disclosed yesterday (Monday).
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