Hitachi Ltd. said Wednesday it will sell its global home appliance business excluding Japan to Turkey's Arcelik A.S. in a $300 million deal aimed at expanding sales of Hitachi branded electronics worldwide.

Hitachi's global home appliance business will be transferred to a new joint company to be created in the spring of 2021 with Arcelik, which will then take 60 percent ownership.

Arcelik has expanded its home appliance business in over 145 countries, notably in Europe and South Asia, while Hitachi's home appliance unit Hitachi Global Life Solutions Inc. mainly operates in Southeast Asia and the Middle East.

The envisaged partnership will help boost global sales of Hitachi brand products, expand lineups and increase access to new markets, Hitachi and Arcelik said in a statement.

Jun Taniguchi, president of Hitachi Global Life Solutions, said, "Our strategic partnership enhances the complementary relationship we have in our sales networks and product strategy."

Arcelik CEO Hakan Bulgurlu called Hitachi a "strong strategic fit" and said, "This historic joint venture with Hitachi GLS serves as a major step in our ambitious global expansion and our journey to becoming one of the world's top home appliances companies."

Hitachi has been seeking to refocus its resources on its core businesses such as infrastructure and information technology.

The Japanese industrial conglomerate is considering selling all or part of its stake in its subsidiaries Hitachi Construction Machinery Co. and Hitachi Metals Ltd., according to sources close to the matter.

==Kyodo

© Kyodo News International, Inc., source Newswire