Maytag is best-known for the Hoover brand in the US

Maytag is a home and commercial appliance stalwart, which over the years has scooped up brands such as Hoover, Jenn-Air, Amana and Magic Chef.

Private equity group Ripplewood Holdings has now bought the century-old company for $1.13bn (�670m).

The deal should allow Maytag to build a lower-cost global enterprise.

Shares in Maytag soared more than 21% to $14.02 after the deal was announced.

Meanwhile, shares in Swedish rival Electrolux also surged on speculation that it too could be a takeover target.

Asian threat

In the past year, Maytag has suffered a sharp fall in profits, leading to 1,100 job cuts and the closure of a western Illinois refrigerator factory as higher steel prices and competition from abroad sucked up revenues.

The kind of work these guys need to be doing is best done behind closed doors and out of the limelight David MacGregor, analyst See Maytag's share price

Two of the Iowa-based company's costliest local factories are also threatened with closure.

The firm has warned that about 1,300 jobs at Maytag's Newton, Iowa, headquarters could go unless the company can cut costs.

Maytag's problems have been compounded by the loss of a major supply contract with Best Buy Stores, which has switched its alliance to more competitive Asian rivals such as LG Electronics and Samsung Electronics.

Larger domestic rivals such as Whirlpool and General Electric have major cost advantages because they already have sizable manufacturing operations abroad.

"Most of our competitors have half their production overseas," said Maytag's chief executive Ralph Hake.

Maytag only makes 12% of its products overseas.

Long haul

However, solving Maytag's structural problems are likely to take at least five years, US analysts say.

Buyer Ripplewood will offer an essential cash injection and Maytag will be able to take advantage of its knowledge of global markets, particularly in Europe and Asia, but one step removed from the public exposure that comes with a stock exchange listing.

"The kind of work these guys need to be doing is best done behind closed doors and out of the limelight," said analyst David MacGregor of Longbow Research.

"These are the types of challenges that are very difficult to execute when you're living in a 90-day revolving time frame such as is the case for publicly-traded companies which must be accountable to Wall Street."