On Wednesday, the Department of Justice identified Electrolux AB’s (ELUXY) planned purchase of General Electric’s Co.’s (GE) appliance division as its most recent antitrust target, suing the Swedish-based buyer to halt the deal.
The government said that the merger would create a company that would dominate the sale of appliances to home builders and property managers and would be a major competitor in the consumer market too. The lawsuit is the latest effort by the DOJ to upend deals that its deems anti-competitive, such as Comcast Corp’s (CMCSA) proposed merger with Time Warner Cable Inc. (TWC), which Comcast abandoned in April.
Given the DOJ’s recent string of M&A roadblocks, you’d think the lawsuit filed Wednesday would be somewhat unsettling to the parties involved. But Electrolux’s CEO isn’t flinching, at least publicly.
“We intend to get the deal done this year,” Keith McLoughlin told The Wall Street Journal on Thursday. The CEO of the Swedish company said that Electrolux is confident that once it presents its case to a neutral judge, the deal with get the green light.
Electrolux said in September that would buy GE’s appliances business for $3.3 billion in cash to double its sales in North America and take on rival Whirlpool Corp.