The stock price of Rainbow Robotics surged following reports that Samsung Electronics could expedite the acquisition of the robot specialist company. However, Samsung Electronics has refuted these claims as baseless.
According to the Korea Exchange on Feb. 8, Rainbow Robotics saw its stock price jump by 16% in early trading, and by 2:35 p.m. it was up by 10.44% at 167,200 won (US$125.39). Elensys, also part of Samsung Electronics’ robotics value chain, saw its shares increase by 11% during the day’s trading.
The spike in stock prices came after reports suggested Samsung Electronics might exercise its call option rights twice this year to increase its stake in Rainbow Robotics to over 50%.
Samsung Electronics responded to these acquisition-related reports by stating that “no decision has been made.” Rainbow Robotics also issued a clarification in the afternoon, stating, “There has been no separate communication regarding the early exercise of the call option by Samsung Electronics.”
Early last year, Samsung Electronics participated in a third-party paid-in capital increase by Rainbow Robotics worth 59 billion won and, two months later, invested an additional 28 billion won to further increase its stake. As a result, Samsung Electronics owns 2,854,136 shares of Rainbow Robotics, which corresponds to a 15% stake (based on voting rights).
The connection between Samsung and robotics-related stocks appears to be due to Samsung’s increase in its stake in Rainbow Robotics last year and its emphasis on the robotics business at this year’s CES 2024.