In the lead up to General Electric Co’s (GE.N) appliance unit auction, Haier Group did something Chinese bidders have rarely dared to do in a competitive global M&A deal. While informal discussions centered around a bid of $4.2 billion, people familiar with the matter told Reuters, Haier submitted a knock-out $5.4 billion binding offer, moving decisively to trump at least six other bidders including South Korea’s Samsung Electronics , China’s Midea Group and Turkey’s Arcelik (ARCLK.IS).