HC Holding Eta, a newly registered Swiss holding company in which the NIBE Group will hold 51% and Helvetica Capital will hold 49%, agreed to acquire Schulthess Maschinen, a producer of washing machines and dryers for private households, apartment blocks and industry, from Schulthess Group, a subsidiary of NIBE Group, a manufacturer of intelligent, energy-efficient indoor comfort solutions, for $147m. "As stated from the very beginning of our ownership of Schulthess Maschinen AG, although washing machines and drying tumblers did and still do not belong to our core businesses, we were prepared to remain as a committed owner of the company over the long run until we eventually would find a new ownership structure that would match the NIBE Group ́s own business principles and values as well as safe-guarding and ensuring the long-term prosperity of the company," Gerteric Lindquist, CEO of NIBE Group.