Brea-based Jade Products Co., a maker of luxury kitchen appliances, is changing hands.
Elgin, Ill.-based Middleby Corp., a maker of commercial cooking gear, last week said it is buying Jade from the Maytag unit of Whirlpool Corp.
Terms of the deal, expected to close April 2, weren’t disclosed.
Newton, Iowa-based Maytag Corp. paid $20 million for the business in 1999. Whirlpool bought Maytag in March.
After the buy, analysts had speculated that Maytag could sell Jade for $50 million or more.
Jade makes cooking equipment, including refrigerators, ranges, cooktops and ovens for restaurants and homes. It counts about $20 million in annual sales.
Middleby owns several brand name commercial appliances for cooking, food preparation and processing.
The company had a market value of about $900 million at a recent check.
“The acquisition of Jade will further strengthen Middleby’s position in the high-end segment of the commercial cooking equipment market,” said Selim Bassoul, Middelby chief executive.
Jade has about 160 workers in Brea. It was unclear last week what will become of the Brea plant.
Founded in 1968, Jade competes with big local player Dynamic Cooking Systems Inc. The Huntington Beach-based business is part of New Zealand’s Fisher & Paykel Appliances Holdings Ltd.
Another local Jade rival is BSH Home Appliances Corp., also based in Huntington Beach. BSH is a unit of BSH Bosch und Siemens Hausgerate GMBH, itself a venture of Germany’s Robert Bosch GMBH and Siemens AG.
,Sarah Tolkoff
