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Mexican-based appliance company Mabe has offered U.S. $70.4-million to take over Camco Inc., Canada's largest appliance maker.
General Electric Co. is the biggest stockholder in each company, and Controladora Mabe SA de C.V. is offering $3.52 a share for Camco.
Camco, with 2004 sales of $643 million, handles brands such as GE, Profile, Monogram, Hotpoint, Moffat, and BeefEater. The firm makes clothes dryers and dishwashers at its Montreal plant and is the primary supplier of clothes dryers to GE in the U.S.
"The offer represents a premium of 53 percent to the July 22 closing price of Camco common shares," Camco said in a release. The offer is expected to be mailed to Camco's shareholders in August.
A special committee of Camco's board of directors has agreed to support the offer, and General Electric Canada Inc. will tender its 51 per cent stake.
Camco's next-largest shareholder, GSW Inc., which owns 20 percent of the shares, said separately it is "reviewing the fairness of the Mabe offer for Camco, given it is a related party transaction."
Mabe is a leader in the Latin American appliance market, with commercial and production facilities in most countries of Central and South America. Mabe operates 13 factories in total, eight of which are in Mexico.
The Mexican company makes 12 million appliances annually, has 18,000 employees, and expects 2005 sales of $2.2 billion. It is a major exporter of ranges and refrigerators to the U.S. market through a relationship with GE, which holds a 48-percent interest in Mabe. (The Canadian Press)
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