Advent International is closing in on a controlling stake in listed home appliances maker Whirlpool India, said people in the know, amid a number of deals involving local businesses of global corporations realigning footprint.
The US private equity group, now the sole contender in the fray, is in advanced negotiations with the company’s Michigan-based parent Whirlpool Corp to pick up a 31% stake in the Indian arm that’s up for sale. The US company, which is keen on retaining 20% in the local unit, wants to close the transaction by the end of 2025, having already exceeded its internal timeline.
Both sides are believed to be in “deal exclusivity” for negotiations till almost the end of November, said the people cited above. Equity in the India unit is held through Whirlpool Mauritius. If it goes ahead, the share sale will trigger an open offer for an additional 26%, as per takeover regulations.
If fully subscribed, this would translate to Advent owning 57% of the company for a total consideration of ₹9,682.88 crore at the current market value while making Whirlpool Corp a minority shareholder with a fifth stake.
For Advent, it would make the third acquisition in the Indian appliances segment since 2015 after Crompton Greaves’ consumer electricals business and Eureka Forbes.
“The final due diligence and documentation work has been ongoing,” said one of the executives involved in the transaction. “Bain and EQT were the other two serious PE contenders but then dropped off.” If the talks don’t end in a deal, Whirlpool may look to partially sell equity once again through block deals. Whirlpool India is down 26% year to date with the latest results indicating revenue at its lowest in seven quarters, indicating operational challenges in India.
Advent became interested especially after the parent and its various entities signed five agreements with Whirlpool India last month. They include a 30-year brand licence agreement with Whirlpool Properties Inc and 10-year technology licence and transitional services pacts as well as a deed of assignment of intellectual property with Whirlpool Corp. The brand and technology licence agreements, which can be extended, specify the payments involved. “These long-term agreements will ensure business continuity and the ultimate acquirer will have a long-term interest in Whirlpool’s India business, even if Whirlpool Corp. further reduces its stake in the Indian operations later. Talks with Advent gained pace after that,” said one of the persons cited. Whirlpool Corp, Whirlpool India and Advent didn’t respond to queries.
Private equity firms Bain Capital, TPG and KKR as well as Havells and Reliance Industries had shown initial interest in the stake.
Whirlpool Corp chief financial and administrative officer James W Peters told analysts on October 28 during the third quarter earnings call that it expects to announce the transaction by December and was targeting deal completion in the first half of 2026.
“We have now entered into strategic agreements between Whirlpool Corp and Whirlpool of India, which include brand and technology licensing,” Peters had said. “These agreements, along with the transition services agreement, paved the way for how Whirlpool Corp and Whirlpool of India will operate together over the next several years. This is a critical and prerequisite milestone to support the advancement of our expected transaction.”
With this structure in place, the parent is continuing to work toward ownership reduction in Whirlpool India to approximately 20%, he said. The proceeds from the sale will be used to repay the parent’s debt. “Now, that's delayed (the India stake sale) into 2026, at least from a closing perspective, but we still feel good about getting the proceeds of that and using that to pay down debt,” said Peters.
Whirlpool India’s market cap was ₹16,987.50 crore as of Friday’s close on the BSE.
The parent company has said it’s keen to raise net cash proceeds of $550-600 million (₹4,684-5,110 crore) from the 31% stake sale. A transaction will also trigger an open offer for an additional 26% stake in the company. If fully subscribed, the incoming investor could end up owning 57% of the company. Public shareholders now own 49%.
The formal stake sale process was launched in April by advisor Goldman Sachs. The India business monetisation exercise is part of a global reorganisation initiated at the end of 2022, when the company, known in the US for the Whirlpool, KitchenAid and Maytag brands, posted a $1.5 billion loss. Whirlpool Corp had sold a 24.7% stake in its Indian arm in February 2024 through block deals worth ₹4,039 crore to institutional investors led by five mutual funds including SBI Mutual Fund and Aditya Birla Sunlife Mutual Fund, besides foreign institutional investor Societe Generale.
Whirlpool is among the top four brands in refrigerators and washing machines in India, with revenue of ₹ 7,421 crore and net profit of ₹313 crore in FY25.
The US private equity group, now the sole contender in the fray, is in advanced negotiations with the company’s Michigan-based parent Whirlpool Corp to pick up a 31% stake in the Indian arm that’s up for sale. The US company, which is keen on retaining 20% in the local unit, wants to close the transaction by the end of 2025, having already exceeded its internal timeline.
Both sides are believed to be in “deal exclusivity” for negotiations till almost the end of November, said the people cited above. Equity in the India unit is held through Whirlpool Mauritius. If it goes ahead, the share sale will trigger an open offer for an additional 26%, as per takeover regulations.
If fully subscribed, this would translate to Advent owning 57% of the company for a total consideration of ₹9,682.88 crore at the current market value while making Whirlpool Corp a minority shareholder with a fifth stake.
For Advent, it would make the third acquisition in the Indian appliances segment since 2015 after Crompton Greaves’ consumer electricals business and Eureka Forbes.
“The final due diligence and documentation work has been ongoing,” said one of the executives involved in the transaction. “Bain and EQT were the other two serious PE contenders but then dropped off.” If the talks don’t end in a deal, Whirlpool may look to partially sell equity once again through block deals. Whirlpool India is down 26% year to date with the latest results indicating revenue at its lowest in seven quarters, indicating operational challenges in India.
Advent became interested especially after the parent and its various entities signed five agreements with Whirlpool India last month. They include a 30-year brand licence agreement with Whirlpool Properties Inc and 10-year technology licence and transitional services pacts as well as a deed of assignment of intellectual property with Whirlpool Corp. The brand and technology licence agreements, which can be extended, specify the payments involved. “These long-term agreements will ensure business continuity and the ultimate acquirer will have a long-term interest in Whirlpool’s India business, even if Whirlpool Corp. further reduces its stake in the Indian operations later. Talks with Advent gained pace after that,” said one of the persons cited. Whirlpool Corp, Whirlpool India and Advent didn’t respond to queries.
Private equity firms Bain Capital, TPG and KKR as well as Havells and Reliance Industries had shown initial interest in the stake.
Whirlpool Corp chief financial and administrative officer James W Peters told analysts on October 28 during the third quarter earnings call that it expects to announce the transaction by December and was targeting deal completion in the first half of 2026.
“We have now entered into strategic agreements between Whirlpool Corp and Whirlpool of India, which include brand and technology licensing,” Peters had said. “These agreements, along with the transition services agreement, paved the way for how Whirlpool Corp and Whirlpool of India will operate together over the next several years. This is a critical and prerequisite milestone to support the advancement of our expected transaction.”
With this structure in place, the parent is continuing to work toward ownership reduction in Whirlpool India to approximately 20%, he said. The proceeds from the sale will be used to repay the parent’s debt. “Now, that's delayed (the India stake sale) into 2026, at least from a closing perspective, but we still feel good about getting the proceeds of that and using that to pay down debt,” said Peters.
Whirlpool India’s market cap was ₹16,987.50 crore as of Friday’s close on the BSE.
The parent company has said it’s keen to raise net cash proceeds of $550-600 million (₹4,684-5,110 crore) from the 31% stake sale. A transaction will also trigger an open offer for an additional 26% stake in the company. If fully subscribed, the incoming investor could end up owning 57% of the company. Public shareholders now own 49%.
The formal stake sale process was launched in April by advisor Goldman Sachs. The India business monetisation exercise is part of a global reorganisation initiated at the end of 2022, when the company, known in the US for the Whirlpool, KitchenAid and Maytag brands, posted a $1.5 billion loss. Whirlpool Corp had sold a 24.7% stake in its Indian arm in February 2024 through block deals worth ₹4,039 crore to institutional investors led by five mutual funds including SBI Mutual Fund and Aditya Birla Sunlife Mutual Fund, besides foreign institutional investor Societe Generale.
Whirlpool is among the top four brands in refrigerators and washing machines in India, with revenue of ₹ 7,421 crore and net profit of ₹313 crore in FY25.
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