Electrolux shares take a dive after GE terminates its appliances deal

Charisse Jones | USA TODAY

Electrolux shares dipped precipitously in the wake of an announcement Monday by General Electric that it had ended its agreement to sell its appliances business to the Swedish-owned company.

Shares were down 11.92%, to $210.50 per share in early morning trading on the Stockholm exchange.

GE said in a statement that it would "pursue other options to sell the appliances business.''

The proposed $3.3 billion deal had been controversial, with the U.S. Department of Justice filing an antitrust lawsuit this summer to keep the acquisition from happening.

The suit claimed that the merger could lead to price increases with the combined businesses monopolizing the sale of kitchen appliances to customers, including hotels, home builders and property managers.

At the time GE said that competition would not suffer, that it would defend the merger, and that it was aiming to close the deal this year.

But Monday, GE said that it would be going in a different direction regarding the sale of its Louisville-based appliances business.

GE also said that it had the option of receiving a $175 million break-up fee from Electrolux. "The appliances business is performing well and GE will continue to run the business while it pursues a sale,'' the company said.