General Electric is once again looking sell its Louisville-based appliance business, according to areport today by Bloomberg.Citing “people familiar with the matter,” Bloomberg reports that GE is in talks with potential acquirers about selling the Appliances and Lighting division.Bloomberg adds: For GE, selling the division would be part of a greater strategy to exit businesses where the company is not a leader or poised for growth. Fairfield, Connecticut-based GE ranked third in U.S. market share in appliances such as dishwashers, refrigerators and cooktops as of 2011, with Whirlpool Corp. in the top spot followed by Sweden’s Electrolux AB, according to research service Statista. Chief Financial Officer Jeff Bornstein said after GE’s first-quarter earnings report that the company projects as much as $4 billion in divestitures this year. A spokesman for GE declined to comment.General Electric recently signed a $17-million deal to purchase the energy assets of the French-based company Alstom SA. Bloomberg reports that selling the appliance division would be part of a larger divestiture plan for exiting business in which GE does not have a majority of market share.GE considered selling or spinning off its appliance business in 2008, but instead boosted investment and production in Appliance Park, with new products such as energy-efficient water heaters.
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