GE Finalizes Sale Of Appliances Division

General Electric officially completed the sale of its appliances division this week following years of attempts.

The industrial giant on Monday announced the finalized sale of its kitchen and laundry equipment division to Chinese appliances company Qingdao Haier Co. for $5.6 billion.

The final sale price includes $200 million in increased working capital since GE and Haier announced their $5.4 billion sale agreement in January.

“The sale of GE Appliances is another step in the company’s portfolio transformation and its mission to become the world’s leading digital industry company,” GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt said in a statement.

As part of the sale, Haier plans to continue use of the GE Appliances brand and maintain its Kentucky headquarters, while GE, under a long-term strategic partnership, will work with the Chinese company on industrial Internet, health care and advanced manufacturing solutions.

The Haier proposal was GE's third attempt to sell off its appliances division in order to focus on core businesses.

In 2008, GE talked with Samsung, LG and Electrolux about potential sales before discussions collapsed amid the Great Recession.

Six years later, GE agreed to sell the appliances business to Swedish rival Electrolux for $3.3 billion, but the proposal ran afoul of antitrust regulators and was terminated late last year.