Turkish household appliances giant Arçelik announced it has signed an agreement with Whirlpool EMEA for the acquisition of Indesit International JSC and Whirlpool LLC.
Indesit JSC and Whirlpool LLC are active in Russia, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Belarus and Mongolia, according to a statement on Tuesday from Arçelik.
"As of the closing date, all shares of Indesit JSC and Whirlpool LLC will be directly owned, and their wholly owned subsidiary Whirlpool Kazakhstan LLP's shares will be indirectly owned by Arçelik," the statement read.
The acquired firms have facilities in the western Russian province of Lipetsk with a total production capacity of 2.8 million units of refrigerators and laundry products – and approximately 2,500 staff.
Arçelik added: "The cost of the acquisition will be no greater than an amount to be determined based on the figures within the closing balance sheet, including fixed assets and working capital, which based on the current financial information of the companies is expected to be approximately 220 million euros ($233 million)."
The amount will be paid annually over a period of 10 years.
The brands Stinol, Indesit and Hotpoint will also be acquired.
Many Western brands have been pulling out of Russian market since the beginning of Kremlin’s war in Ukraine and the consequent sanctions targeting Moscow.
Arçelik has over 40,000 employees throughout the world and its global operations include sales and marketing offices in 49 countries, and 28 production facilities in nine countries. It has 12 brands, namely Arçelik, Beko, Grundig, Blomberg, ElektraBregenz, Arctic, Leisure, Flavel, Defy, Altus, Dawlance and Voltas Beko.
It is Europe’s second-largest white goods company by market share, based on volumes. Arçelik reached a consolidated turnover of 6.5 billion euros in 2021.
Arçelik’s 29 R&D and design centers and offices across the globe are home to over 2,000 researchers and hold more than 3,000 international patent applications to date.