Turks from Beko took over the business of the American brand Whirlpool in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa

The Turkish industrial colossus Arçelik, which owns the international brand of household appliances Beko and the Romanian brand of refrigerators Arctic, announced on Tuesday, in a statement sent to StartupCafe, that it has completed two agreements with the Americans from Whirlpool, through which it takes over a series of businesses of them in the markets of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

• One of the Arçelik-Whirlpool agreements provides for the creation of Beko Europe. The new home appliance company is 75% owned by Beko BV, a subsidiary of Arçelik, with the remaining 25% owned by Whirlpool Corporation.

Based on production volumes in 2023, the combined share of Whirlpool’s European appliances business and Arçelik’s home appliances, consumer electronics, air conditioning and small appliances business – Beko Europe – is the largest in Europe. Beko Europe has more than 20,000 employees and a production capacity of approximately 24 million household appliances per year in 11 production facilities.

The creation of Beko Europe is based on the “Definitive Contribution Agreement” between Beko BV, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arçelik, and Whirlpool Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Whirlpool EMEA Holdings LLC.

• The other Arçelik-Whirlpool deal is a definitive agreement whereby the Turks acquire “full ownership” of Whirlpool’s operations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

Thus, globally, Arçelik will have operations in 57 markets and will have approximately 55,000 employees. Arçelik’s combined revenues reach approximately 11 billion euros, based on 2023 results. The company’s manufacturing capacity will increase significantly, up to 45 production units.

Previously, the Turkish giant has made brand acquisitions and joint ventures with other companies in various markets, such as Singer in Bangladesh and Hitachi in Asia.

• “The creation of Beko Europe and the acquisition of Whirlpool’s assets in the Middle East and North Africa region represent a key new milestone in Arçelik’s tenth year of continued growth,” said Hakan Bulgurlu, CEO of Arçelik, quoted in the statement sent to StartupCafe.

Arçelik also owns the old Romanian refrigerator brand Arctic, founded in 1970, during the communist period. In Romania, the Turks have a refrigerator factory in Găesti and a washing machine factory in Ulmi, Dâmbovița county. In turn, Arçelik belongs to the industrial conglomerate Koç Holding, the largest in Turkey.

On the other hand, the Americans from Whirlpool Corporation retain their businesses with InSinkErator plumbing and KitchenAid kitchen appliances in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

Whirlpool also announced that going forward it will “focus on its strong positions in the Americas and India”, having the largest market share in large appliances in North and South America.