Some Maytag shareholders had felt the Ripplewood bid was too low

The bid for Maytag from larger US rival Whirlpool values the firm at $17 (�9.69) a share, $3 more than an offer led by buyout firm Ripplewood Holdings.

China's Haier is also interested, but has yet to make a formal bid.

Whirlpool would take on $969m of debt from Maytag if its bid - which values the firm at $1.3bn - were successful.

Maytag shares jumped more than 13% in New York, while Whirlpool gained nearly 5%.

Intense competition

Whirlpool said it would give more details of its offer, which it promised would be at least 50% cash, on Monday.

Its offer sets a value on Maytag of some 35 times expected profits for this year.

Whirlpool chief executive Jeff Fettig said a takeover of Maytag would "create strong value for our shareholders and provide direct benefits to consumer and trade customers".

Maytag has seen its profits fall as the impact of lower-cost competitors and high raw material prices have hit its Hoover division.

Several key US retailers have either stopped stocking its products - as is the case with Best Buy - or introduced more competition.

Often that rivalry has come from Asian manufacturers benefiting from lower unit costs, such as Samsung or LG Electronics.