Whirlpool agreed to pay €758 million for a controlling stake in Italian appliance maker Indesit, its largest acquisition since buying former rival Maytag eight years ago.

Whirlpool will pay €11 per share to Fineldo and some members of Indesit’s founding Merloni family for a combined 60 per cent stake, the two companies said yesterday.

The shares, which would be purchased at 4.5 per cent above the latest closing price, represent 67 per cent of the Fabriano, Italy-based company’s voting stock.

“This will ideally position us for sustainable growth in the highly competitive and increasingly global home appliance market in Europe,” Jeff Fettig, chairman and chief executive officer of Whirlpool, said in the statement. The deal values Indesit at 66 per cent of 2013 revenue. – (Bloomberg)