Turkey's Arcelik, Japan's Hitachi to set up $300M firm

Turkish white goods manufacturer Arcelik and Japan’s Hitachi Global Life Solutions (GLS) on Wednesday signed a deal to set up a $300 million joint company.

Under the agreement, Arcelik will buy a 60% stake in a new company that Hitachi GLS will establish in the Netherlands, which will combine all home appliances business operations of the Japanese group’s 12 overseas subsidiaries, Arcelik said in a statement.

Hitachi GLS’ two manufacturing and 10 sales companies in China and Thailand, along with their 3,800 employees, will be transferred to the new company, which is estimated to be set up in the second quarter of 2021.

Leven Cakiroglu, chief executive officer (CEO) of Arcelik’s parent company Koc Holding, said the investment is vital for the Turkish firm’s global aspirations.

He said the Asia-Pacific region has grown rapidly to become a center for new investments in recent years.

“In this region, which we have identified as one of the strategic growth areas for our group, our collaboration with a strong player like Hitachi will accelerate Arcelik’s global growth journey,” he said.

Hakan Bulgurlu, CEO of Arcelik, said there is immense growth potential in the consumer durables market in Asia-Pacific, owing to the region’s burgeoning middle class, rising household incomes and developing retail channels.

“This will also be a driving force for the growth that will take place in our industry over the next 10 years,” he said.

Keiji Kojima, Hitachi’s executive vice president, said the move will expand its global sales network and bring Hitachi-branded products to consumers across the world.

* Writing by Yunus Girgin in Ankara