Shanghai Daily news

Haier America Trading have withdrawn its bid for Maytag Corp, leaving Whirlpool Corp and Ripplewood Holdings looking to take over the No. 3 US appliance maker.
Maytag said yesterday it had received a letter from Haier and its investment partners Bain Capital and Blackstone Group stating it would no longer pursue its bid.
Maytag did not release the Haier letter and company spokesman John Daggett declined further comment on Tuesday, the Associated Press reported.
The decision by Haier, which offered US$16 a share, comes three days after Whirlpool, the largest US appliance producer, announced a US$17 share offer amounting to US$1.37 billion.
Ripplewood Holdings had earlier tabled a US$14-a-share proposal.
Maytag confirmed last month it was considering a preliminary US$1.28 billion bid from Haier America and the investment firms that valued Maytag at US$16 per share.
Haier Group, China's biggest home appliances maker, declined to comment in a faxed response, saying it was not allowed to release details.
"Considering its purchase cost, Haier's dropping out might indicate that the bidding is just a tentative trial without determination despite the company's plan to expand market share globally through acquisition," said Liu Bing, a China Southern Securities Company analyst
"It is quite common for a foreign brand to purchase a local company during its localization process," he added.
Other analysts, however, doubted Haier's bid, saying it lacked money, given the costs of its fast international expansion and the soaring price of raw materials that have largely reduced its profit.
The Qingdao, Shangdong Province-based company has invested US$40 million to build an America Industrial Park in Camden, South Carolina, one of its 13 parks, in addition to 30 manufacturing plants, eight research centers outside of China's mainland and 58,800 retail outlets worldwide.
Last year, Haier reported a net profit of 369 million yuan (US$44.6 million), 0.13 percent higher than a year earlier.

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