Slovenian domestic appliance manufacturer Gorenje (Velenje; www.gorenje.com) says it has bought its Swedish competitor Asko Appliances Group (Vara; www.asko.com) from seller Antonio Merloni SpA (Fabriano / Italy; www.antoniomerloni.it) for an undisclosed amount. The move is part of Gorenje’s strategy to become a fast-growing pan-European player. In 2006 already, the company had embarked on an expansion programme with the explicit goal of becoming Europe’s fifth-largest large domestic appliances manufacturer by 2010 – see Plasteurope.com of 09.11.2006.

Merloni has been under external administration since October 2008 – a fact that may explain its decision to sell the Swedish white goods manufacturer. Asko manufactures dishwashers, washing machines and tumble dryers at its site in Vara / Sweden, while its plant in Lahti / Finland produces cookers and ovens, among others. The goods are sold under the "Asko" and "Upo" tradenames, with the latter dating back to the company's erstwhile affiliation with plastics pipe manufacturer Uponor (Vantaa / Finland; www.uponor.com), which sold Asko to Merloni in 2000.

Gorenje hopes the acquisition will allow it to better serve the key Asko markets in Scandinavia, North America and Australia. The Slovenian company did not disclose any further information on the takeover, merely saying that details would be announced on 17 August.

Gorenje posted revenues of EUR 290m in Q1 2010, a year-on-year increase of 1.5%. The company was able to improve EBITDA from EUR 7m to EUR 21m. In June, Gorenje received a EUR 25m financial injection from World Bank subsidiary International Finance Corporation (IFC), which in turn received 11.8% in the company's shares. The company is planning to raise a similar amount in capital increases in the upcoming months, to enable it to acquire additional businesses.