HONG KONG — General Electric said Friday that it has agreed to sell its appliances business to Qingdao Haier of China for $5.4 billion in cash.
The deal includes the stake of 48.4 percent that GE Appliances owns in Mabe, a Mexican appliances company.
The Chinese appliances company, which had revenues of about $32.6 billion in 2014, snapped up the appliances unit after a GE deal with Electrolux of Sweden worth $3.3 billion fell apart last year. GE abandoned that deal after the US Justice Department sued to block it because of antitrust concerns. GE had tried to sell the unit twice before as part of its efforts to focus on its core industrial businesses.
"GE Appliances is performing well, and there was significant interest from potential buyers, helping drive a good deal which will benefit our investors, customers, and employees," Jeff Immelt, GE's chairman and chief executive, said in a news release.
"Haier has a stated focus to grow in the US, build their manufacturing presence here, and to invest further in the business," Immelt added.
Seth Martin, a GE spokesman, said Friday that the company did not foresee any antitrust concerns with the Haier deal because it had a smaller market share than Electrolux.
He added that the value of the deal had been bolstered by an increase in the unit's profitability since the deal with Electrolux was reached.
GE said the deal valued the appliances unit at 10 times the past 12 months' earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization. It will generate an after-tax gain of about $0.20 a share. The appliances division had revenue of about $5.9 billion in 2014 and employs 12,000 people.
GE added that it would offset the gain with a restructuring, details of which it would disclose when it discussed its fourth-quarter earnings this month.
The company will continue to use the GE Appliances brand, and the unit's headquarters will remain in Louisville, Ky.
"Haier is committed to investing in the US. In addition, together Haier and GE will explore opportunities for joint collaboration . . . ,'' the chairman and chief of Haier Group, Zhang Ruimin, said in the news release.
The two companies said they had agreed to cooperate in areas like health care and advanced manufacturing.
The transaction is expected to close in mid-2016.