Samsung Chasing Big M&A Deals

Samsung Electronics’ $8 billion purchase of audio electronics company Harman has given the technology conglomerate confidence to chase more big deals, its strategy chief said on Friday.

Young Sohn, the South Korean company’s Silicon Valley-based president and chief strategy officer, said he was keen for world’s top maker of memory chips, smartphones and televisions to expand in automotive markets, digital health and industrial automation, Reuters reported.

Samsung, which this year surpassed Intel to become the world’s biggest semiconductors manufacturer, has signaled its appetite for deal-making over the past year, saying it was seeking businesses to build software and services to further differentiate its products.

 “We are committed to using M&A as our tool, (and) I think the Harmon acquisition helped us to have more confidence,” Sohn told Reuters on the sidelines of the Slush tech start-up festival in Helsinki.

Sohn appeared to dismiss the potential for Samsung to take part in further consolidation in semiconductors or the smartphone markets, where it is also a leading player, suggesting the company is focused on organic growth strategies in these areas.

A category singled out by Sohn as “an area of opportunity” was digital health, specifically preventive health and related technologies.

Finally, in business software, he said Samsung is looking at companies in the areas of industrial internet, automation, networking, data transmission and security.

“We are a very careful and conservative company, so we will do it where it makes sense,” Sohn said, adding that it would also look for smaller bolt-on technology deals.