Recent News: Appliance Unit for Sale

Why GE Is Getting Out of the Kitchen
By jettisoning one of its most iconic units, General Electric would join a small but high-profile club of companies that famously parted ways with businesses once synonymous with their brand names. Companies such as IBM and Eastman Kodak have also—either because of financial straits or tactical maneuvering—transformed themselves by letting go of ventures that once defined them...

GE appliances unit to have worldly suitors
Assessing the business's value is tricky, though. While some estimate the Fairfield, Conn.-based company could fetch between $5 billion and $8 billion for the unit, others see its current market value as a bit less. See full story from The Wall Street Journal...

GE To Put Out The Lights On Appliances
Being a good executive may mean knowing when to cut and run. For General Electric's Jeffrey Immelt, that time is now. The company is reportedly putting its iconic appliances business on the market...

Analysts say possible sale of GE appliance unit makes sense
The possible sale by General Electric Co. of its 101-year-old appliance business makes sense as consumer sales fall and financing continues to be squeezed, analysts said Thursday...

GE Appliance Sale May Foreshadow More Divestitures
General Electric Co.'s move away from consumer appliances may signal bigger divestitures by Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Immelt this year, including the broader group that contains the century-old unit, analysts said. General Electric may sell, spin off or seek a partner for the refrigerator, oven and dishwasher unit, people familiar with the situation said yesterday. Appliances accounted for more than half of last year's $13.3 billion in sales at the GE Consumer & Industrial segment, which also sells lighting and switches....

G.E. Looks to Sell Its Appliances Unit
General Electric is planning to sell its appliances division, one of the longest-running businesses in the conglomerate’s 120-year history, a person briefed on the matter said Wednesday....

GE and the Death of Manufacturing
Is it the end of an era? Or is the era already over? When the Wall Street Journal first reported General Electric was leaving the appliance business, it seemed a telling metaphor for the state of American manufacturing and General Electric’s role in it. The American-made appliance business has been in turmoil for decades, with production moving offshore and brand names swapping hands. At GE’s appliance headquarters in Louisville, Ky., the number of employees surged to 23,000 in the 1970s. Today it employs 5,000...

GE confirms plans to exit appliance business
General Electric Co. said Friday it plans to sell or spin-off its century-old appliance business.
The Fairfield, Conn., industrial conglomerate said in a statement the move is part of an ongoing plan to exit "slower growth and more volatile businesses." The company is planning a strategic review that could result in an outright sale, a strategic partnership or a spin-off to shareholders...