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Maytag Corporation to Be Acquired by Ripplewood for $2.1bn

Maytag Corporation announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement by which an investor group led by private equity firm Ripplewood Holdings LLC will acquire all outstanding shares of Maytag in a cash merger for $14 per share. Maytag UK has welcomed the move.

The board of directors of Maytag has approved the merger agreement and intends to recommend to Maytag's shareholders that they adopt the agreement.

The aggregate transaction value, including assumption of approximately $975 million of debt, is approximately $2.1 billion. The transaction is expected to close prior to year end, and is subject to Maytag shareholder approval, as well as other closing conditions, including the receipt of financing and regulatory approval.

In addition to Ripplewood, other members of the investor group are RHJ International, GS Capital Partners and the J. Rothschild Group of Companies.

Lester Crown, Maytag board member since 1989, said, 'After careful consideration in conjunction with our independent advisors and an independent committee of Maytag's board consisting of all non-management directors, we have concluded that this transaction is in the best interest of our shareholders.

'This transaction will also provide Maytag with greater flexibility as a private company to accomplish long-term goals set out for the Company.'

Ralph Hake, Maytag CEO (pictured), said, 'Ripplewood has an excellent track record of building value at its portfolio companies by providing strong financial and strategic support. Ripplewood is active in the global markets and brings extensive operating expertise in Asia and Europe, as well as North America, to Maytag.'

Richard Thompson, Managing Director Maytag UK added:
'Maytag UK continues to successfully drive its premium sector business and is on track for significant growth in 2005. We have a raft of new innovative products coming to the market in the next six months' coupled with strong promotional campaigns and excellent customer service. Without doubt 2005 will be our biggest year ever.'

Ripplewood CEO and founder Timothy C. Collins said, 'Maytag is a legendary company, with a portfolio of world-class brands and a long history of producing high-quality, innovative products. We see an opportunity to leverage these strengths and build Maytag into a global leader as the fragmented home and commercial appliances industry consolidates. Our objectives for Maytag are to continue to take action to become a global low-cost producer and to accelerate growth by introducing innovative new products, expanding its presence in international markets and pursuing selective acquisitions. We very much look forward to working with Ralph Hake and his management team, employees, customers and retail partners to restore the luster that this well- known consumer and home appliance company enjoyed for so many decades.'

Lazard served as financial advisor and Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz served as legal advisor to Maytag. Citigroup and Goldman Sachs acted as lead M&A advisors to Ripplewood. In addition, JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank acted as M&A advisors to Ripplewood. Cravath, Swaine & Moore LLP served as legal advisor to Ripplewood. Citigroup, JP Morgan and Deutsche Bank have provided commitments for the debt portion of the financing for the transaction, which are subject to customary conditions.

About Maytag Corporation
Maytag Corporation is a $4.8 billion home and commercial appliance company focused in North America and in targeted international markets. The corporation's primary brands are Maytag(R), Hoover(R), Jenn-Air(R), Amana(R), Dixie-Narco(R) and Jade(R).

About Ripplewood Holdings LLC
Ripplewood Holdings is a leading private equity firm established by Timothy C. Collins in 1995. To date, Ripplewood has invested in transactions with aggregate enterprise value in excess of $12 billion.

IKEA Enters Final Phase of Installer Recruitment with 'A Licence to Drill'

Kitchen installers around South and West London are now firmly in IKEA’s sights as the Swedish furniture giant puts the finishing touches to its national kitchen installer recruitment programme with two £1 million contracts up for tender.

While its North London Edmonton store is still searching for the perfect partner in Cambridge to service customers along the M11 corridor, its flagship outlet at Brent and IKEA Croydon are on the hunt for installation partners to stake their claim on the lucrative contracts up for grabs at each store.

‘Brent and Croydon are the final, two pieces in the IKEA jigsaw – the two £1million jewels in the crown so to speak - then the national installer programme is complete,’ says project co-ordinator Eddie Buglass.

Licence to Drill: John Giambrone, kitchen project manager at IKEA Brent, is on the hunt for an installation partner armed with a £1million contract. A similar contract is up for grabs at IKEA’s Croydon store.

IKEA Brent is looking out west from its base on London’s North Circular as far afield as Reading and all points along the M4 corridor, while IKEA Croydon is casting its net as far south as Folkestone.

‘Working with these two stores really does represent a golden opportunity for one or two installers to build for the future,’ adds Buglass.

Further north it’s a different story. IKEA Warrington has completed the first phase of its installations working with Butler’s Furniture Ltd of Warrington. At IKEA Leeds, the first customers to take advantage of the installation service saw their new kitchens installed from late April by SIS Holdings Ltd of West Yorkshire.

On store exit polls, around 40 per cent of IKEA kitchen customers said they would be likely to take up the installation service package. This projected up take has been fulfilled at stores offering the service.

The IKEA Brent and IKEA Croydon contracts are up for tender and kitchen installation firms interested in tendering should contact Eddie Buglass at mailto:eddie.buglass@memo.ikea.com.

Caption: Licence to Drill: John Giambrone, kitchen project manager at IKEA Brent, is on the hunt for an installation partner armed with a £1million contract. A similar contract is up for grabs at IKEA’s Croydon store.

Ceramica Dolomite lets you ‘Invest in Your Nest!’

‘Invest in your nest!’ is the latest tip from TV's best loved interior design duo, Justin Ryan and Colin McAllister.

Speaking at this year's Bathroom and Kitchen's Exhibition in London, Justin and Colin advocated their continued love for the Ceramica Dolomite bathroom collection by addressing a gathering of bathroom retailers and designers.

‘The Ceramica Dolomite range is gorgeously simple, effortlessly stylish and sublimely practical,’ says Justin. ‘Whatever your budget, this collection allows you to invest in your nest! Enhancing the bathroom is a key way of adding value to your property.’

‘The bathroom should make you feel clean, even before you start washing and the Ceramica Dolomite products do just that! Beautiful suites, chic fitted furniture and fabulous freestanding washstands... Ceramica Dolomite offers an affordable bathroom design solution for everyone.’

Justin and Colin, the new faces of Five and currently hosts of the TV series ‘The Farm,’ referred to Ceramica Dolomite's newly launched brochure to answer a question from the audience asking about their personal favourites. Justin pointed to Ceramica Dolomite's Capitol washbasin (as pictured on the cover of the new brochure) due to its ample bowl size and clean lines, and the Ascento washstand furniture was chosen by Colin because it gives a perfect storage solution for those all important lotions and potions!

Tel: 01782 645406
Web: http://www.ceramicadolomite.co.uk

CaesarStone in – CaesarStone out

Having recently gained the sole importer and distributor rights in the UK and Ireland for CaesarStone, Ebor Equipment has just taken delivery of the first consignment of stock at its distribution centre in Rochdale. The huge container arrived with a supply of Ebor’s range of 24 stock colours and finishes of CaesarStone slabs.

Ebor’s warehouse had been remodelled to make room for the CaesarStone slabs. This has involved the introduction of a vertical storage system to handle the company’s vast range of accessories, parts and consumables for the stone industry, plus the purchase of specialist handling equipment for the quartz slabs, including a 5 tonne overhead crane and a new forklift truck with special features for handling slabs. The company has gone to great extremes to ensure that the CaesarStone slabs are stored in the best possible dry, clean environment.

However, the top of the market quartz slabs are not spending very long in this fine environment. No sooner has the stock arrived, the high demand for the product has meant that it is going straight out again. In particular, kitchen fabricators have been keen to get hold of the product. Several of whom couldn’t wait for it to be delivered and requested to call at Ebor’s premises and collect the slabs for themselves.

But fabricators and other users of CaesarStone needn’t worry about any shortages. This is just the first of five containers due to arrive this week, and with another five on the way for early June, Ebor will be building its stock level to some 2,000 slabs. This will enable the company to meet any demand for stock slabs as well as offering a special service for non-stocked finishes.

‘We have been overwhelmed by the interest and the demand.’ said Ebor managing director, Stephen Boocock ‘ This first consignment has virtually walked out of the door as soon as it arrived. Thank goodness the next one is on its way and we have a regular supply booked. Obviously, the trade has been anxious to get hold of CaesarStone for sometime and now its become readily available from Ebor there’ll be an even greater demand for it, especially when the public become more aware of its qualities.’

Contact Ebor on 01706 863 600

http://www.ebor.co.uk/home.htm

Schmidt Demonstrates Virtuosity with Aquilon

Aquilon Brilliant is the new range from Schmidt, France's leading kitchen manufacturer.

Sweeping, clean lines in a variety of gloss surface finishes create stark architectural styles with a combination of broad low drawers and towering cupboard units.

The wood grain option is a rich brilliant Cherrywood with a horizontal grain (vertical is possible) and trimmed with clinical aluminium to accentuate the stylish recesses that are used as pulls and textured in Aluminium, Black, Pear or White.

By mixing the Cherrywood units with, for instance, tall cupboard units in Brilliant White, Brilliant ice blue, Brilliant natural grey or Brilliant vanilla all designed to carry a stainless steel bar handle, a striking effect can be arrived at.

Schmidt's virtuosity with Aquilon Brilliant is further enhanced with a full choice of 14 carcase interior colours, a variety of edge colours and patterns including matching or multiplex and various special features like glazed doors.

Fitted with cooker hoods and recessed appliances the Aquilon Brilliant Schmidt design is contemporary and versatile.

With over 450 prestige dealers throughout Europe, Schmidt's extensive design range is now available throughout the UK.

Tel: 01622 812123
Web: http://www.schmidt-kitchens.com

New Research Highlights Storage Needs in British Bathroom

A recent research project undertaken jointly between Blum and Shades parent company Masco highlighted just how important storage is in the British bathroom, thereby underlining the need for bathroom furniture to be incorporated into bathroom design.

The research was undertaken independently and involved a survey of a representative group of homeowners and the items that they keep in their bathroom.

The study indicated that there are 11 key groups of items that need to be stored in an average family bathroom:

1) washing items
2) WC related goods including toilet rolls
3) cleaning products
4) body toiletries
5) showering and bath products
6) face toiletries including makeup
7) washbasin items such as soap
8) hair care products
9) manicure and pedicure items
10) textiles such as towels
11) bathroom utensils such as flannels.

Commenting on the research results, Richard Fitzmaurice, Marketing Manager for Shades says: ‘The British bathroom is notoriously small when compared with other European countries and yet our storage needs, as highlighted by our research, are still huge. With such a vast array of products needing to be accommodated, the call for bathroom furniture is greater than ever before.’

He adds: ‘Often the need for bathroom furniture is only realised when a homeowner finds that there simply isn't enough storage in their minimalist new space. However, we want to encourage retailers and consumers to understand the practicalities of a bathroom and to incorporate bathroom furniture at the design inception stage so that there is ample storage. Bathroom furniture can be supremely flexible and can match any bathroom aesthetic - whether it is a contemporary modular look or a more traditional fully fitted design.’

Tel: 01937 862557
Web: http://www.shadesfurniture.co.uk

Captions: Left: Even in a small bathroom, storage is a must (pictured is the new Shades Tampa collection); Right: Richard Fitzmaurice, Marketing Manager, Shades

Häfele - From Nowhere to Here in 25 Years

Häfele UK, brand dedicated supplier of furniture fittings, components, decorative accessories and also now appliances, celebrated the company’s 25th anniversary in April 2005. Managing Director Mike Smith and his team have taken the Häfele presence in the UK from zero to a turnover approaching £70 million in a quarter of a century.

The corporate culture of Häfele Germany has translated well into a variety of languages, though none better than English - UK remains the biggest of the Häfele satellites worldwide. With a payroll of 331 people on anniversary day - April 20th 2005, two thirds of them based in Rugby and the balance staffing the UK satellite offices, Häfele was the first to see that a market the size of the UK needs stock on the ground as well as samples in the hands of reps and a slick enough operating culture to stay ahead of the competition.

‘Häfele semi independent satellite companies inside other key national markets were already well established,’ says Mike Smith, ‘and also fairly well proven when I was asked, as Häfele UK rep back in 1980, to set up a properly functioning distribution centre in this country. I jumped at at the chance.’

The success of Häfele UK must make Mike Smith one of the best known faces, not to say voices, in today’s furniture manufacturing field. But within the last five years, Häfele UK has also embarked on another growth path in architectural ironmongery which, having achieved a turnover of around £10 million during it’s first five years of life, looks set to take the dominance of the company forward into markets new - primarily, building and construction via architecture and interior design. And now Häfele is also expanding in the domestic appliance sector.

The Häfele UK story began in 1980 at Butlers Leap, a warehouse unit not half a mile from the existing Swift Valley HQ of Häfele UK and it served the fledgling company for its first operational five years. The Swift Valley site began with the purchase of six acres of land of which more than half was originally fenced off for future development - just as well, as it turned out.

The site had been developed in its entirety, with 22,500 pallet spaces available for storage of product at a range of levels, until the purchase last year of an additional 3 acre site – the only adjoining land remaining available. When construction of the next and final phase of high rise, auto pick warehousing begins at Swift Valley in August this year, it will be scheduled for completion in 2006 and will fulfil the development potential of the site.

Asked to what, primarily, he attributes the meteoric success of Häfele UK, Mike Smith says: ‘seeing a gap in the market in the first place, reacting to it and staying ahead of the competition with high quality, competitively priced products. That’s the philosophy I’ve always adhered to and I believe it’s one that would hold good, now and in the future, for a team with talent and determination in almost any market sector you care to highlight.’

Contact: Ray Fisher
Tel: 01788 542020
Email: mailto:ray.fisher@hafele.co.uk

New Resopal Worktop Main Distributor

Decorative Products Limited, based in Wigan, has been appointed as a new Main Distributor for the Resopal range of worktops.

Decorative Products was established in 2004 as a specialist distributor for kitchen components and flooring products servicing the north west of England and has built a significant reputation for a reliable and friendly service.

Director Chris Potter comments, ‘Decorative Products has already established a strong foothold in the north west as a dependable supplier to Kitchen Studios, Kitchen Manufacturers and Builders Merchants. It is our intention to build on our efficient, friendly reputation by increasing our customer base and geographical area of operation. By stocking the full Resopal range and offering a 24 - 48 hour delivery throughout the north west we now provide instant access to one of the most competitively priced range of worktops.’

The Resopal range of worktops consists of 34 effects, from granites and stones to woods and abstracts, incorporating advanced technology.

The new Resopal Gloss Finish, available in six natural granite effects, provides a depth and character to the design while offering an increased resistance to the everyday wear and tear of the laminate surface. In contrast, the combination of Resopal's ‘Smooth’ texture with five Melange designs recreates the appearance and touch of solid surfacing products at a fraction of the cost. Additionally, the range contains five Mesa granite effects featuring the ‘Silk’ finish, pleasing to the touch while still retaining wear and durability.

Tel: 01744 882000
Email: mailto:info@decorativeproducts.co.uk
Web: http://www.decorativeproducts.co.uk

Caretakers Delivers Fragile & Awkward Goods 'Home from Home'

The growing demand for home delivery has led logistics management company Caretakers to expand its servicing of this market. Home delivery is of particular benefit in the transportation of fragile and awkward goods, a service in which Caretakers specialises. As Caretakers delivers direct from the manufacturer to home, it reduces the number of times the items are handled and so minimises the risk of damage.

One of the facilities which Caretakers now offers as part of its home delivery service is 'break bulk', which it carries out in its 5000 square metre warehousing premises. Bulk supplies of fragile and awkward goods such as shower enclosures, glass furniture, mirrors and baths are received into Caretakers‚ Doncaster-based warehouse, either from manufacturers or from importers, and the bulk supplies are then split into single loads for home delivery around the UK.

It is well recognised that one of the most frustrating aspects of home delivery for the customer is the 'waiting in' for the delivery. Caretakers can overcome this by telephoning the customer half-an-hour ahead of delivery, so giving the individual time to return home instead of having to stay at home for an indeterminate period.

From time to time a customer may need to return goods, and Caretakers can now offer a collections service where required.

Contact: Mike Denison,
Tel: 01472 266606
Email: mailto:caretakers@thbrown.co.uk

Electrolux - Tackling Noise on the Home Front

What better time to highlight the problem of noise in the home than during noise Noise Action Week 23-27th May*

Recently introduced are the new AEG-Electrolux F80860 Quietest Ever Dishwasher and the Electrolux Ultrasilencer Quietest Vacuum Cleaner in the UK.

Neighbour noise and loud music are right at the top of the 'most annoying noises' list according to the NSCA. On the homefront, research carried out by Electrolux has revealed that the vacuum cleaner is considered to be the most irritating sounding appliance, with 31% of men mentioning it compared to 26% of women.

The majority of people questioned said they would appreciate totally silent appliances. However, anecdotal evidence suggests that being able to hear your appliance does have one benefit - it reassures people that it is working! ‘The Electrolux Group offers a range of the quiestest appliances available - washing machines, dishwashers and tumble dryers to the quietest vacuum cleaner in the UK. Even our robotic lawn mower, the Automower is so quiet you can hardly hear it!’ says the company.

How Noisy are Appliances in the Home?
The problem with noise is that it is subjective - one person's harmonious melody is another person's nightmare. This makes it impossible to measure noise, only sound can be measured. Most of us realise that that the decibel is the unit by which sound is measured but few of us know what this means when it comes to measuring how loud appliances are in the home. The chart below gives a guide to the sound levels of some common noises. These are not absolute levels but give an indication of the relative rankings of everyday sounds.

0 dB the threshold of hearing
20dB the sound of a whisper
30dB WHO recommendation for undisturbed sleep
40dB refrigerator or a library
41dB AEG-Electrolux F80860 Quietest Dishwasher Ever
50dB average dishwasher
60dB sewing machine
63dB Electrolux Automower
57dB Zanussi-Electrolux Timeline 'Whisper' Quiet Washing Machines
70dB an average washing machine or TV
72dB Electrolux 'Ultra Silencer' vacuum cleaner - quiestest vacuum cleaner in the UK
78 - 80dB average vacuum cleaner
85dB prolonged exposure above this level can cause damage to hearing
90dB food processor, lawn mower,
100dB electric drill
110dB personal stereo
120dB thunder, loud stereo,
130dB threshold of pain
140dB fireworks, plane taking off
150dB gunshot

What few of us realise is that a change of 3dB(A) technically halves or doubles sound levels. For example, this actually means that a power drill emits more than 8 times as much noise as a food processor and more than 64 times as much noise as the average vacuum cleaner.

For more information on Electrolux's quiet household products visit http://www.electrolux.co.uk or call:
Electrolux 08705 950 950
Electrolux Floorcare: 08706 055 055

*For more information on Noise Action Week see http://www.noiseactionweek.org.uk. The week is sponsored by the government (DEFRA). Noise Action Week is co-ordinated by NSCA, the environmental protection charity, and supported by the UK Government and the Devolved Administrations in N Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

Successful Launch into New Financial Year for Homag Group AG

The Homag Group AG in Schopfloch sailed into the new financial year on a rolling tide, with increases in both orders received and turnover for the first quarter of 2005. ‘The positive trend seen in 2004 appears to have carried over into the new year’, emphasised spokesman Klaus Bukenberger at the press conference held at this year’s Ligna trade fair in Hanover. This development has seen the manufacturer of plant and machinery for the woodworking industry increase its turnover by twelve per cent during the first three months of 2005 to 156 million Euro (previous year 139 million Euro) with the volume of incoming orders also growing by a healthy seven per cent to 172 million Euro (previous year 161 million Euro).

Bukenberger is anticipating that the markets will steady slightly as the year progresses, with a consequent slowing of the growth rate. With a stable basis of development in Western Europe and North America, the growth of the future markets of Eastern Europe and Asia is expected to continue. Overall, Bukenberger is quietly confident about the current financial year: ‘We are aiming to increase our turnover for 2005 in the medium single-figure range, while further expanding our market lead’. The Homag Group AG is anticipating added impetus over the coming months from the world’s premier trade fair Ligna, where the company impressed its customers with a series of new product innovations.

With the underlying economic conditions unchanged compared to 2004, according to company reports there are clear indications that the pressure on profit margins is set to remain high in 2005: Not only intensive international competitive pressure, but the high cost of raw materials and the continued strength of the Euro will take their toll over the current financial year. However, Bukenberger is confident that the Homag Group AG is ideally placed to rise to these challenges: ‘Over the past two years, we have taken steps to sharpen the competitive edge of our company group. We are also working to combat international competitive pressure by further extending our production facilities in Asia and Eastern Europe.’
Compared to a workforce of 5,033 as at March 31st 2004, at the end of the first quarter this year the Homag Group AG had increased its payroll to 5,155.

Although developments proved slightly more sluggish in the company’s home market Germany during the first quarter of 2005, the Western European and North American markets remained buoyant. Positive development was registered in the future markets of Eastern Europe and the Asian/Pacific region, in particular in Japan and Southeast Asia. Exports account for a share of around 75 per cent of business for the HOMAG Group.

Financial year 2004
As previously reported, the Homag Group AG succeeded in making clear headway during the 2004 financial year on the strength of last year’s market recovery and the revival of investment activity throughout the worldwide woodworking machinery market, registering a further increase in its market share. The company notched up around a 15 per cent increase its turnover from 601 to 692 million Euro – while the volume of orders received increased by 21 per cent to 589 million Euro (previous year: 485 million Euro). On December 31st, 2004, the overall Group payroll numbered 5,141 (previous year: 5,114), of which 4,287 are employed in Germany and 853 abroad.

Dual Flush Syphon to Energise the UK

In recent years, much has been written about the water-saving properties of dual flush WCs. Recent research by environmentally conscious manufacturer Thomas Dudley Ltd suggested that if just half the UK population used dual flush toilets, the water saved would fill Lake Windermere in just over three years.

As startling as this figure may be, it tells only half the story. The UK water industry is a major consumer of energy and its use of electricity has increased in recent years as greater demands have been placed upon it to provide higher quality water. Each day the industry collects, treats and supplies over 16 billion litres of water, 10 billion litres of which is subsequently collected as wastewater and retreated.

The environmental implications of water wastage are significant. Valuable energy resources are required to process and then supply each litre. Furthermore, in generating the electricity needed to undertake this, the power stations consume vast quantities of coal and other fuels in addition to producing harmful emissions. The benefits of dual flush WCs therefore extend far beyond water conservation and cannot be over estimated.

‘Lighting up Cambridge’
On average, we each use the toilet six times a day. Over a twelve month period, a typical family of four using a dual flush WC could save almost 15,000 litres of water. Furthermore, the introduction a dual flush WC into every home in the UK would save enough electricity to power a city the size of Cambridge for two years*!

With this in mind, Thomas Dudley Ltd has developed a range of water-saving bathroom products. The Dudley Turbo 88 2-part syphon has been given a new Duoflush facility. This combines the water-saving benefits of dual flush with the proven reliability of a syphon. The syphon cannot leak and provides a failsafe water saver in 6, 7 and 9 litre low level installations. It is available as a spare and as an optional extra in most Dudley cisterns.

Thomas Dudley also manufactures water-saving traditional and concealed WC cisterns, flushing valves and electronic flushing devices. Further details are available at http://www.thomasdudley.co.uk

* Based on each person flushing a 6/4 litre dual flush WC, six times per day.

Trade Mouldings - Mouldings to Match

One of the UK and Ireland's original manufacturers of wrapped MDF furniture components, Trade Mouldings of Cookstown, Northern Ireland, says that it continues to lead in this sector in terms of product quality, diversity, capacity and service.

Now with distribution and warehousing centres at Rochdale on mainland UK, Dublin and at the factory in Cookstown, the Trade Mouldings production facility ensures it is up to the mark in terms of constantly increased demand across the entire product range.

One particular respect in which Trade Mouldings kitchen and bedroom door customers benefit is that all the associated mouldings, accessories and special items are manufactured at the same facility, using the same materials and ensuring perfect matching.

It has long been a fact that door customers in the KBB sector have struggled to secure all the other respective elements from one source, let alone to a perfect match.

The company says that the Trade Mouldings Cookstown factory is one of the best equipped facilities of its type in Europe with constant ongoing investment in high-tech production capacity. Top of the range lines of multi-head moulders feed the equivalent technology profile wrappers to generate meters upon meters of mouldings on a high throughput basis. The machines are state-of-the-art with quick set-up facilities allowing Trade Mouldings to choose batch sizes and even produce samples where required.

At the other end of the factory the beam saws feed dimensioned panels to a variety of multi-head CNC routers which profile the edges and faces and then pass the finished door blanks through an automatic glue spraying line to the variously configured vinyl foil membrane presses before the doors are automatically trimmed and ready for dispatch.

Equally items like plinths, pilasters, canopies, end units, and the like are produced in appropriate volumes and to the same quality and colour matching to ensure no delivery bottlenecks occur. The result - three geographically strategic distribution points that offer customers on both sides of the Irish Sea service, choice and product quality guarantee.

Tel: 01706 753600
Email: mailto:info@trademouldings.com
Web: http://www.trademouldings.com

Maytag Declares Quarterly Dividend

The Maytag Corporation board of directors declared on May 12th a quarterly dividend of 9 cents a share on the firm's common stock. The quarterly dividend is payable June 15th, 2005, to shareowners of record at the close of business June 1st, 2005.

Maytag Chairman and CEO Ralph Hake said, 'Today's decision by the board to immediately reduce the dividend by 50 percent should allow the company more financial flexibility to fund our restructuring plan and to have additional cash available for debt reduction and pension funding. Also, the additional cash will be invested in our business as we step up our advertising and R&D expenses in the second half of 2005 with the many new product introductions that are planned.

'The decision to reduce the dividend was not taken lightly,' Hake noted. 'The board understands the importance of the dividend to our shareholders; however, it is essential that our dividend payout is more in line with current earnings trends.'

Hake explained that over the balance of this year, Maytag will be finalising its plan to restructure certain manufacturing operations and determining the investments necessary to support these initiatives. 'These actions may require asset write-offs and accelerated depreciation as well as cash costs and investments,' he said. 'We are currently seeking a new credit agreement that will provide us substantially more covenant flexibility and funding stability to meet our financing requirements. We have received financing commitments from banks for multi-year credit facilities and expect to replace our current agreement with a new facility during the second quarter 2005.'