3354486

Whirlpool Launches $1B Stock Buyback

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Confident that the company's long-term plans will create value through the combination of industry-leading brands and innovative new products, Whirlpool Corporation has announced a $1-billion share repurchase program and an 11-percent increase in the quarterly dividend on the company's stock at board meetings in Chicago. 

The Benton Harbor-based appliance giant's board of directors increased the stock dividend from 90-cents to $1-dollar per share, payable June 15, 2016 to stockholders of record at the close of business on May 20, 2016. 

Chairman & CEO Jeff Fettig says, "We continue to execute our balanced capital allocation strategy to enhance returns to shareholders," adding, "Our new share repurchase program and increased dividend demonstrate our confidence," in the company's long-term plans ability to create value.

Meanwhile, corporate officials revealed the results of their annual stockholder's meeting, including the election of directors for the next year.

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Whirlpool stockholders elected 11 individuals to the board of directors. Samuel R. Allen, Marc R. Bitzer, Gary T. DiCamillo, Diane M. Dietz, Gerri T. Elliott, Jeff M. Fettig, Michael F. Johnston, John D. Liu, Harish Manwani, William D. Perez and Michael D. White were elected to the board for one-year terms, expiring in 2017.

Allen, chairman and chief executive officer of Deere & Company, has served as a director since 2010; Bitzer, president and chief operating officer of Whirlpool Corporation, has served as a director since 2015; DiCamillo, partner at Eaglepoint Advisors, LLC, has served as a director since 1997; Dietz, president and chief executive officer of Rodan & Fields, LLC, has served as a director since 2013; Elliott, former executive vice president and strategic advisor at Juniper Networks, Inc., has served as a director since 2014; Fettig, chairman and chief executive officer of Whirlpool Corporation, has served as a director since 1999; Johnston, former chairman of the board and chief executive officer of Visteon Corporation, has served as a director since 2003; Liu, chief executive officer of Essex Equity Management and managing partner at Richmond Hill Investments, has served as a director since 2010; Manwani, global executive advisor at Blackstone Private Equity Group, has served as a director since 2011; Perez, senior advisor to Greenhill & Co., Inc., has served as a director since 2009; and White, former chairman, president and chief executive officer of DIRECTV, has served as a director since 2004.

Stockholders also voted to approve, on an advisory basis, Whirlpool Corporation's 2015 executive compensation and to ratify the appointment of Ernst & Young LLP as Whirlpool Corporation's independent registered public accounting firm for 2016. These vote results are preliminary; final results will be reported on a current report on Form 8-K, which will be filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission within four business days.

Whirlpool is the number one major appliance manufacturer in the world, with approximately $21 billion in annual sales, 97,000 employees and 70 manufacturing and technology research centers in 2015, with global headquarters on M-63 North in Benton Harbor. 

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