* U.S. acquisition of Aga completes this week
* Deal follows modernisation of 93-year-old stove
* New owner to take quintessential English brand furtherafield
By Kate Holton
LONDON, Sept 22 (Reuters) - The sale of oven maker AgaRangemaster to a U.S. owner with global ambitions capsthe transformation of a quintessential English country brandcreated by some of the biggest names in global design,advertising - and espionage.
The acquisition of Aga for $202 million by MiddlebyCorporation follows a brief bidding war with U.S. rivalWhirlpool for the maker of the colourful cast-ironstoves that can weigh as much as a male polar bear, cost $18,000and, in older versions, take two days to heat.
The deal, set to be completed this week, marks the latest ina list of premium British brands to fall under foreign ownershipin recent years, to the dismay of some business commentators whowant to see it kept in British hands.
But the sale to a U.S. company is also testament to theenduring appeal of a product invented in 1922, the year JamesJoyce's "Ulysses" was published and radio took off.
In Britain, it has become synonymous with aspirationalmiddle-class country living and inspires huge loyalty in owners,including members of the royal family and Prime Minister DavidCameron.
It struggled as demand was hit during the global financialcrisis, but has recently returned to form with modern, moreefficient versions of the cooker, and hopes to build on itsheritage by exploiting Middleby's global network.
"The fundamental design of the Aga has always been itsvirtue but behind the front and the look is now a completelydifferent product," Aga Rangemaster CEO William McGrath toldReuters, before he steps down as part of the sale.
"The design makes it iconic, the radiant heat makes iticonic but how it is delivered is something that has changedfrom generation to generation, from solid fuel, through oil andgas to electric and now programmable electric."
The heat, created by the continuously burning stove, madethe old Aga distinctive, but it also drew its critics.
Great in winter when it could heat half the house, one ownercomplained that you "sweat buckets while boiling an egg" insummer. For many the cost of fuel can also prove prohibitivewhile environmental groups criticised the impact of thetraditional stoves.
Modern versions can be easily switched on and off, includingwith a smartphone, while smaller models have been created toappeal to city dwellers.
Around 80 percent of those sold today are the newer, moreefficient designs that have been launched since 2011, and areoffered in a variety of colours from rose, pewter and lemon topistachio and aubergine.
"You can get all the virtues of an Aga in a 60 centimetrepackage, which is something we'd expect over the next five to 10years to become a more and more appreciable part of thebusiness," said McGrath. The largest version of the stove can be2.5 times that size.
ASPIRATIONAL LIVING
McGrath said the new owner was also drawn to its heritage -a company with a history that reads like a spy novel.
Created in 1922, the first Aga was invented by Swedish NobelPrize winning physicist Gustaf Dalen who, confined to his homeafter being blinded in an accident, witnessed his wifestruggling to cook on their old range.
By 1929 manufacturing had begun in central England, withearly sales driven by David Ogilvy, a salesman who went on tobecome one of the most famous advertising men in the world, theoriginal 'Mad Men' and founder of the Ogilvy & Mather ad agency.
Newer versions were designed by Raymond Loewy - who producedsome of the most famous product designs in history, includingGreyhound Scenicruiser buses, Coca-cola vending machines, LuckyStrike boxes and the livery of Air Force One. He worked withDouglas Scott, who later designed London's famous red buses.
A written history of the company notes however that severalof the leading protagonists including Ogilvy, his brotherFrancis and W.T. Wren, an early Aga boss, also played importantroles for Britain in World War Two, either as spies, writing forWinston Churchill or in aircraft manufacturing.
Britain is still Aga's biggest market but they can now befound in the United States, Europe and China, and Middleby aimsto take the brand further afield.
The sale adds to concern among some Britons about the numberof prominent companies that have been bought by foreign owners,including department store Harrods, toy brand Hamleys andchocolate maker Cadbury. They fear that such sales couldultimately put UK jobs at risk and dilute much of the brand'sappeal - its intrinsic Britishness.
McGrath is more positive, saying his firm hopes to mirrorthe success of another luxury British brand, Jaguar Land Rover,which has flourished under the ownership of India's Tata Group.
"We'd love to get in the wheel tracks of Jaguar Land Rover,"said McGrath. "Now the product has evolved, the potential can beimmense because the brand is much loved." ($1 = 0.6513 pounds) (Editing by Susan Fenton)
