BENTON HARBOR, Mich. (AP) – Whirlpool Corp.’s top executive fired the first salvo in a possible three-way bidding war for rival Maytag Corp., saying Monday his company’s $1.37 billion offer provides the “best opportunity to address Maytag’s needs.”

Jeff M. Fettig, chairman, president and chief executive of the nation’s largest appliance maker, also expressed confidence that potential antitrust challenges could be surmounted.

The North American appliance market is “very open and competitive,” Fettig said during a teleconference with industry analysts. “The combination would actually improve the competitiveness in our industry by setting higher standards for innovation, efficiency and customer service.”

Whirlpool’s $17-per-share offer tops a $14-a-share proposal that the board of Newton, Iowa-based Maytag accepted from an investment group, Triton Acquisition Holding Co., on May 19. A month later, Maytag said it also was considering a preliminary $1.28 billion bid from Chinese appliance maker Haier America, along with Bain Capital and Blackstone Group, that valued Maytag at $16 per share.

Officials at Maytag, whose brands include Maytag, Amana, Hoover, Jenn-Air and Magic Chef, said in a statement Monday that directors will consider the new bid from Whirlpool. But the company said directors have not changed their recommendation that shareholders approve the proposal from Triton, an entity organized by the New York investment company Ripplewood Holdings LLC.

Ripplewood spokesman Jeffrey Taufield declined to comment on Whirlpool’s offer. Officials at New York-based Haier America could not be reached for comment.

Maytag, the nation’s third largest appliance manufacturer behind Whirlpool and General Electric Co., has been squeezed in recent years by increasing steel and fuel costs, slipping profitability, sliding stock value and intense competition from Asian manufacturers such as LG Electronics and Samsung, both South Korean companies.

Best Buy dropped Maytag as a major appliance supplier in January, giving the retail floor space instead to brands more popular with customers such as LG, Siemens and Samsung.

Maytag eliminated 1,100 salaried workers and closed an Illinois refrigerator plant last year. It faces the prospect of closing two more factories – the flagship laundry appliance plant in Newton, Iowa, and the Hoover home base in North Canton, Ohio. Maytag CEO Ralph Hake has said they are the highest cost plants and has suggested they could be closed if cost savings are not found.

Fettig declined to discuss Maytag’s manufacturing plants in a conference call with analysts. He said it’s too early to discuss such details. However, he did say Whirlpool could help improve reduce Maytag’s costs.

The proposal “could be an enormously positive deal for both parties, but particularly for Whirlpool,” said Laura Champine, an industry analyst with Memphis, Tenn.-based Morgan Keegan & Co. Joining with Maytag would allow Whirlpool to not only get better prices for raw materials but also to combine research and development resources, she said.

Investors seemed to agree. Maytag’s shares rose $2.03, or 13.1 percent, to $17.48 in trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange, while Whirlpool’s shares rose $3.32, or 4.7 percent, to $73.31.

The Triton offer remains viable, Champine said, adding, “We could still see offers increased by any or all of these three players, and of course this opens the field for another player (to bid for Maytag).”

But, she said, “If there’s a definitive agreement from Whirlpool at $17 before the (Maytag) shareholders’ meeting, and if the regulators approve it, I think they’ll recommend the Whirlpool deal.”

Whirlpool’s offer would include an equal amount of cash and Whirlpool shares, Fettig said, and Whirlpool would assume Maytag’s debt of $969 million.

The Federal Trade Commission declined to comment on whether Whirlpool has filed for approval of the deal. The commission or the U.S. Department of Justice examines any proposed merger valued at $50 million or more.

Besides needing the approval of regulators and shareholders at both companies, Whirlpool said its proposal is subject to a negotiated merger deal.

Whirlpool identifies itself in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing as “the leading worldwide manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances.” Maytag’s 10-K report with the SEC says it is “among the top four major appliance companies in the North American market.”

Whirlpool has annual sales of about $13 billion, 68,000 employees and about 50 factories and research centers worldwide. The company sells Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Brastemp, Bauknecht, Consul and other major brand names in more than 170 countries.

It also makes Kenmore branded appliances for Sears Holding Co. About 17 percent of its 2004 sales came from Sears, according to the company’s 10-K filing with the SEC.

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Associated Press Writer David Pitt in Des Moines, Iowa contributed to this report.

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On the Net:

Maytag Corp. http://www.maytag.com

Whirlpool Corp.: http://www.whirlpool.com

AP-ES-07-18-05 1914EDT