Whirlpool spins in to turn Aga takeover on its head

THE heat has been turned up on the sale of Aga Rangemaster as the world’s biggest appliance maker US based Whirlpool gatecrashes the deal.

The planned £129m takeover of the maker of cast-iron cookers by America’s Middleby has been derailed by the potential cash offer from Whirlpool.

Aga, whose board has already recommended the Middleby offer, has agreed to open its books to Whirlpool.

Middleby’s interest in Middle-England’s favourite cooker brand emerged in June and shareholders are due to vote on the cash offer next week.

Catering-equipment maker Middleby has promised to keep Aga’s manufacturing operations in the UK and deal with the £80m-plus pension deficit – things Whirlpool may also have to promise if it produces a rival bid. Aga’s shares rose 13pc on the news of Whirlpool’s interest, valuing it at more than £140m.

Analysts expected a rival offer to be as much as 50p a share more than Middleby’ s 185p offer but Middleby will also have the chance to increase its offer.

The takeover panel will issue a ‘put up or shut up’ deadline for Whirlpool.

Joshua Mahony, market analyst at online trading firm IG, said: ‘On a day when UK manufacturing growth slowed to a trickle, the sale of the traditional cooker manufacturer Aga Rangemaster to a US firm highlights the demise of the industry.

‘A staple in many country houses, the Aga name is synonymous with UK industry and while Middleby promised to keep production within the UK, the trend of selling off assets abroad has taken the heart out of UK manufacturing.’

Aga Rangemaster has been making iron cookware in the UK since the 18th century where a foundry in Coalbrookdale in Shropshire produced cast iron cooking pots.

The modern-day company was originally created from the merger of Allied Iron founders and AGA Heat in 1934, becoming Glynwed in 1939 and it listed on the London Stock Exchange in 1941.

However, the technology behind the AGA (up 15pc to 210p) was actually invented in Sweden.

Swedish entrepreneur Dr Gustaf Dalén first built the technology in 1922 and it was brought to the UK in 1929 under licence.