On 24 October 2023, the European Commission unconditionally approved Arçelik’s acquisition of Whirlpool’s EMEA major domestic appliances (MDA) business in Phase I. On 7 March 2024, the CMA unconditionally cleared the transaction following a Phase II investigation.

Both parties are active in the production and supply of MDAs, including washing machines, dishwashers, and tumble dryers, across the EEA and the UK, under various brands: Beko, Blomberg, Grundig, and Arctic for Arçelik, and Whirlpool, Indesit, Hotpoint, and Bauknecht for Whirlpool.

The European Commission cleared the transaction unconditionally at Phase I, finding that the parties would continue to face sufficient competitive constraints from rival suppliers. The CMA’s Phase II investigation focused on horizontal theories of harm in the supply of MDAs in the UK, notably washing machines, tumble dryers, dishwashers, and cooking appliances, and ultimately concluded that the parties would continue to face significant competition from other suppliers and that the competitive landscape was evolving, with Whirlpool’s market position declining and new entrants continuing to grow.

Oxera applied a bargaining framework to assess whether retailers could constrain the merged entity’s ability to raise prices. Our analysis found that retailers held a credible threat to switch purchases to alternative suppliers: the parties’ brands were not ‘must-have’ and numerous credible alternative products were available for retailers to turn to.

Matthew Johnson led an Oxera team composed of Giuseppe Buglione, Tamrat Shone, Timo Klein, Andreea Antuca, Bertram Neurohr, Elisa Greene, Yulun Wang, Jose Ramón Sánchez Ameijeiras, Tom Davies, Minyoung Rho, Kaat Iterbeke, Oriane Limouzin, Raphaël Gastal, Daniel Méndez Fernández, Giovanna Ariel Ventre, and Sofie Holtan Lakså.