Maytag Shareholders OK Whirlpool Deal

Maytag Corp. shareholders approved its acquisition by larger rival Whirlpool Corp. in a $1.68-billion transaction that would create the world’s largest appliance maker.

Whirlpool won a three-month bidding contest in August that lifted the per-share offer price for Maytag by 50% to $21. The Justice Department still must decide whether the Maytag acquisition gives Benton Harbor, Mich.-based Whirlpool control of too much of the U.S. appliance market.

The purchase is expected to close in February.

Shares of Maytag, which made its first washing machine in 1907, rose 33 cents to $19.10. Whirlpool’s shares increased 29 cents to $84.17.

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