Shares in Maytag gained over 9 percent to $16.91 in early-day trading in New York, while Whirlpool was up by over 5 percent on the announcement that Maytag will consider an unsolicited takeover bid from Whirlpool.

Whirlpool’s bid of $1.3 billion is higher than the $1.125 billion bid from a group headed by Ripplewood Holdings LLC, which the Maytag board still favors.

This makes the third group showing interest in Maytag, as Chinese appliance maker Haier Group has proposed but not made official a bid of $16 per share. Analysts’ opinions on the Whirlpool offer were mixed.

Some felt that the acquisition of Maytag would be advantageous to Whirlpool.

The fact that Whirlpool already has a relationship with the unions that work with Maytag gives Whirlpool an advantage over other bidders, according to some analysts.

However, other analysts felt that Whirlpool’s bid was mostly an effort to keep Haier, a stronger international rival, out of the bidding. Meanwhile, Maytag shareholders are slated to vote on the Ripplewood bid on August 19.