CHARLOTTE — Electrolux will acquire Fairfield, Conn.-based General Electric’s appliance division for $3.3 billion. The deal is expected to close in 2015. The Stockholm-based appliance-maker is spending $85 million to expand its North American headquarters here. North Carolina awarded the company $27.4 million amid plans to increase local employment from 760 to about 1,600 by the end of 2017.
INDIAN TRAIL — Harris Teeter will invest more than $5.5 million to expand its distribution center here, adding 41 jobs over three years to the existing 227. The Matthews-based grocery-store chain, a subsidiary of Cincinnati-based Kroger since January, has 220 stores in eight states and Washington, D.C. Average annual salary for the new jobs will be more than $46,000, higher than Union County’s average of $38,450.
CHARLOTTE — Wells Fargo named Rick Redden regional president for the Carolinas. A 21-year veteran of the San Francisco-based bank and president of the South Carolina region since 2007, he will be based here and succeeds Stan Kelly, who retired in August after holding the position since the bank acquired Charlotte-based Wachovia in 2009.
CHARLOTTE — Eaton will close its clutch-assembly plant here, idling 84 people by the end of 2015. The Dublin-based company will move its work to plants in Indiana and Mexico. Eaton, which employs nearly 4,000 in North Carolina, makes products for the electrical, aerospace and automotive industries.
CHARLOTTE — David Darnell became vice chairman of Bank of America and will move to Tampa, Fla. The Charlotte native was co-chief operating officer with Thomas Montag since 2011 and, before that, president of global commercial banking. Darnell, 61, joined the bank as a credit analyst in 1979.
CHARLOTTE — Sonic Automotive will launch a chain of used-car dealerships under the EchoPark brand. It will open three dealerships in Denver by year-end and more in Colorado next year. Sonic has more than 100 dealerships in 14 states and employs about 9,500.
CHARLOTTE — Premier will acquire Raleigh-based Aperek, which provides supply-chain services for the health-care industry, for $48.5 million. It’s the fifth acquisition completed or announced by Premier, which provides purchasing and data-management services to more than 113,000 health-care providers, since July 2013.