By Brent Kendall
WASHINGTON--Justice Department antitrust enforcers on Wednesday
filed a lawsuit seeking to block Electrolux AB from acquiring
General Electric Co.'s appliance business, alleging the deal would
hurt competition.
The department filed a 15-page legal complaint against the $3.3
billion deal in a Washington federal court.
Swedish appliance maker Electrolux said it would "vigorously"
contest the U.S. Department of Justice's decision. The statement
came minutes after the Justice Department made its
announcement.
The department alleged the deal would leave Americans vulnerable
to higher prices for cooking appliances
Electrolux last year announced it had entered into an agreement
to acquire GE's home-appliance unit.
Electrolux said it doesn't agree with the DOJ's assessment and
that it believes the acquisition will increase competition and
provide consumers access to a greater choice of products at a wider
range of competitive prices.
The company said the DOJ's opposition was inconsistent with its
2006 approval of Whirlpool's acquisition of Maytag--at the time one
of Whirlpool's major competitors on the U.S. home-appliance
market.
GE said the companies would vigorously defend the deal. "GE
continues to believe that GE Appliances' customers, consumers and
employees will benefit from Electrolux's commitment to the
appliance business and its ability to compete with global
competitors," the company said in a statement.
"The review of the proposed acquisition will now continue in a
court procedure," Electrolux said in a statement.
The transaction has already obtained regulatory approval in
Brazil, Canada and Ecuador, but is subject to filing requirements
in a few more countries in Latin America.
Electrolux said it still expects the transaction to close in
2015.
Write to Christina Zander at christina.zander@wsj.com and Brent
Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com
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