Whirlpool Corp., the new owner of Maytag Corp.’s Jade Products Co. in Brea, could end up selling the luxury appliance maker for $50 million or more, according to analysts.
The list of potential bidders is long, according to analysts. Appliance makers in China, South Korea and Europe could be eyeing Jade as a way to buy a U.S. brand, they say.
U.S. makers also are said to be looking at Jade, which employs about 160 people in Brea, making upscale ranges, stoves, refrigerators and other cooking gear for restaurants and homes.
A sale could bring the closure of Jade’s Brea plant, said Lawrence J. Horan, an independent appliance analyst in Pittsburgh.
“It is an awfully small business,” Horan said. “It’s all about economies of scale. The most sensible buyer would integrate Jade’s business into products that it may already have so you can get volumes out of it.”
For more on this story, see the June 26 issue of the Business Journal.
