Videocon may bid for GE's appliances division

"We have received a memorandum from GE and are studying the proposal," Videocon Industries Chairman and Managing Director Venugopal Dhoot said, on the sidelines of a conference here today. Dhoot, however, did not indicate the time period in which Videocon would respond to the proposal.

"Globally, we are very well known for acquiring companies, so wherever there is any company for sale they generally send us the memorandum," he said.

GE last week confirmed that it may sell or spin off its appliances unit, saying the business was too focused on the US.

Reports quoted analysts as suggesting that the Louisville-based business, which last year generated $7.2 billion (about Rs 2,990 crore), could appeal to an Asian manufacturer looking for a well-known American brand, They estimated the appliances business could sell for $4 billion to $8 billion (about Rs 3,200 crore) and cited South Korea's LG Electronic and China's Haier as among possible suitors.

The appliance arm which employs about 13,000 people worldwide, is the area GE has been hardest hit by the two-year housing slump in the US, as the company sold a lot of its dishwashers and refrigerators to home builders.