EU: Electrolux CEO to step down after failed deal with GE

Electrolux AB said chief executive Keith McLoughlin will step down in favor of Jonas Samuelson after the Swedish manufacturer abandoned a $3.3 billion deal to buy General Electric’s household goods business following a 15- month pursuit. McLoughlin cited family reasons for his decision to retire and move back to the US, where he will continue to work for Electrolux on a consultancy basis, the Stockholm-based company said in a statementon Monday.

Samuelson, who heads the company’s major appliance operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, will continue to focus the maker of fridges, ovens and dishwashers on product development and cost controls, he said on a conference call for reporters and analysts. “This work will never be finished,” Samuelson said. “We’ll continue to improve cost, quality and flexibility.”

Electrolux pursued the GE deal to gain scale in the US market and had decided to go to court to fight the US Justice Department’s claims that the combined company and rival Whirlpool Corp. would be overly dominant in the US cooking- appliance area. The deal was first announced in September 2014 and a trial was under way in Washington when the two companies announced Dec. 7 they were abandoning the plan.