[BEIJING] China's Midea Group will buy a little more than 80 per cent of loss-making Japanese conglomerate Toshiba's home appliances arm for US$473 million, the two companies said. Toshiba, which makes everything from rice cookers to nuclear plants, will retain the remaining 19.9 per cent of Toshiba Lifestyle Products & Services Corporation (TLSC), which will retain its name, the two said in a joint statement. Under the deal, Midea will be licensed to use Toshiba brands for home appliances for 40 years, obtain more than 5,000 intellectual property assets, and be authorised to use other related patents retained by Toshiba, it said. The deal, worth 53.7 billion yen (S$639 million) pending unspecified "adjustments", is the latest in a series of overseas acquisitions by Chinese firms, and comes as Beijing seeks to retool its heavy industry-dependent economy to one more driven by consumer demand.