Maytag/Whirlpool Laundry list

Investors reckon the chances of Maytag’s $2.7bn sale to Whirlpool succeeding are a coin flip. The stock is trading halfway between Whirlpool’s $21 a share offer and the lowest of the three bids it received last year, a $14 offer from private equity house Ripplewood. But this probably overestimates the likelihood that the Whirlpool deal will succeed, while also overestimating what other bidders would shell out if it doesn’t. First, consider the chances that Whirlpool will prevail in its bid. The...