Whirlpool (NYSE: WHR) is a publicly listed company headquartered in Benton Harbor, Michigan, United States that owns 6 consumer brands, and has 3 recorded transactions.[1]
Whirlpool was founded in Michigan in 1911 making motor-driven wringer washers and is one of the largest home appliance manufacturers in the world. It acquired KitchenAid with Hobart in 1986 and the Italian group Indesit in 2014, giving it a substantial European position.
Whirlpool acquired a controlling stake in Indesit, taking Hotpoint in Europe with it and becoming the largest appliance manufacturer on the continent. The Hotpoint name belongs to a different company in North America, a legacy of the original business being split between British and American owners.
Whirlpool acquired Maytag for about $1.7 billion including debt, after a contested process in which a private equity group and the Chinese manufacturer Haier had both bid. The Department of Justice reviewed the combination of two of the largest American appliance makers and closed its investigation without challenge.
Whirlpool acquired the KitchenAid appliance business from Dart & Kraft. KitchenAid's stand mixer had been in production since 1919, designed after an engineer watched a baker struggle with a hand mixer, and its attachments have stayed compatible across decades of models. Only the year is documented here.