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Samsung had a poor 2023 financially, as its profit dropped a whopping 85% from 2022. The Korean tech behemoth is estimated to have taken home just about $5 billion last year, its lowest annual profit since 2008. However, this hasn’t deterred it from moving forward with its investment plans. The company is looking for big mergers and acquisitions this year as a long-term plan to strengthen its leadership in the tech industry.
Samsung is looking for big mergers and tech acquisitions
Samsung is one of the biggest names in the tech industry. The Korean firm is a global leader in several technological fronts, including smartphones, TVs, semiconductors, and more. In a New Year memo last week, its co-CEOs Han Jong-hee and Kyung Kye-hyun encourage employees to strive for excellence while remaining flexible in this fast-evolving tech world. They said it’s the only way to enhance competitiveness in the market.
Han recently went on to share insights into Samsung’s long-term plans. Speaking at a press conference on the sidelines of CES 2024, which is currently underway in Las Vegas, he said that the company is exploring M&A (mergers and acquisitions) deals to strengthen and grow its businesses. “To strengthen our existing businesses and discover future growth engines, we’ve been steadily on M&A deals,” Han said.
The Samsung co-CEO, who is also a Vice Chairman at the company and heads its visual display, appliances, mobile experience, and network businesses, added that the firm is hopeful of securing an M&A deal this year. The tech giant acquired US-based OLED microdisplay firm eMagin last year. Its audio subsidiary Harman acquired Roon, a multi-room and multi-device music streaming platform.
However, it appears to be looking for a bigger acquisition this year. Perhaps something akin to the $8 billion mega-acquisition of Harman in 2017. Samsung has already made small investments in over 260 venture firms over the past three years alone. Its investments have come in the fields of AI (artificial intelligence), digital health, fintech, robotics, and electronics, according to a new report from The Korean Herald.
Samsung is in talks to acquire a Korean robotics firm
In March last year, Han revealed that Samsung was discussing an acquisition deal with Rainbow Robotics, a Korean humanoid robotics firm. While there has been no update about it so far, the companies may still be in talks. Samsung has a 14.83% stake in Rainbow Robotics, making it the second-largest shareholder of the firm. Perhaps the recent economic downturn slowed down the talks.
“We have made a lot of effort, continuously collecting and reviewing companies as M&A targets despite a series of unfavorable deal-making conditions, including the COVID-19 pandemic, geopolitical tensions, and global economic downturn,” Han said. It remains to be seen whether Samsung can secure a big merger or acquisition this year. The company plans to take a step-by-step approach to improve its market performance in 2024.
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