Italy has exercised its “golden power” law to clear Whirlpool’s majority stake sale of its European domestic appliances business to Turkish rival Arcelik, reportedly conditioned on remedies aimed at safeguarding technological assets, production facilities and employment.

Our partner Filippo Mazza, interviewed on this point by GCR, stated that “the Italian government has probably scrutinised more China-related deals than others because Chinese corporations have made so many investments in the past few years. But whenever an Italian strategic asset is at the heart of a transaction, it will be subject to government review and authorization regardless of the country involved.

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