Whirlpool India, a world-leading home appliance company, has signed an agreement to acquire a 49 percent equity interest in Elica PB India in order to expand on it's cooking and built-in appliance portfolio.
Elica PB India, which has been operating in the country since 2010, is a subsidiary of Elica Spa Italy that makes kitchen hoods, built-in hobs and cooktops. .
As part of the joint venture, Elica PB India will manufacture and distribute cooking and built-in appliances under the Whirlpool brand in India. Both companies expect the transaction to close in the second half of 2018. The acquisition also includes put and call rights on terms set out in a shareholders agreement.
In a statement, Sunil D’Souza, Managing Director of Whirlpool India, said, “The cooking and built-in appliance space is poised for very strong growth in India based on increasing consumer demand. Whirlpool aims to expand its portfolio of innovative products with Elica’s impressive capabilities in consumer insights, design, and manufacturing and also broaden its distribution.”
Pralhad Bhutada, CEO of Elica PB India, added, “Elica PB has built a very strong product portfolio and distribution network for the Elica brand. With the addition of Whirlpool brand’s products, we will be offering two very appealing appliance brands to the Indian consumers and we are confident that we can take both these brands to greater heights.”