Friday, May 16, 2008

No More Appliances From General Electric ?

The New York Times is reporting that General Electric Co. may sell or seek a partner for the unit that makes refrigerators and washers, ending more than a century in an industry that helped make GE a household name, people familiar with the situation said.

GE, the biggest maker of appliances for new U.S. homes, hired Goldman Sachs Group Inc. to explore options that include a spinoff or auction, according to one of the people, who declined to be identified by name. A sale may bring $5 billion to $8 billion, the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.

Prices for some appliances have tumbled on an inflation- adjusted basis over more than a half century. In 1953, an 11- cubic-foot refrigerator was advertised for more than $500, the equivalent of about $3,900 now. Today, a basic 18.2-cubic-foot GE model lists for as little as $519 on the NexTag.com Web site.




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