Maytag Goes for a Spin

She thinks shareholders might be inclined to hold out for bids north of $20 a share, particularly because the company has stressed that it doesn't have a cash problem and that it's actually generating more free cash flow than it needs.

"It does make one wonder why they are accepting buyout offers at such a low price," Champine says. "I don't think it's unrealistic that shareholders could reject these offers altogether. With steel prices coming down substantially, with Maytag having a new laundry offering and with Hoover in a desperate attempt to turn its business around, I can see shareholders wanting a price higher than the midteens. But that's going to take a few quarters of earnings improvement."

However, she isn't sure that shareholder groups have the will to stand up to management and reject these bids completely. Eric Bosshard, director of research with FTN Midwest Research, says they do not.

"I think this will be as good as it gets," says Bosshard, who doesn't own shares of Maytag and whose firm has no investment banking relationship with the company. "Shareholders don't have the patience to see this turnaround through under the current management."