Top Executives Say M&As Under Way
Samsung Electronics announced on March 20 that it would push for mergers and acquisitions (M&As) this year to look further afield for growth. The electronics giant has a cash mountain of over 100 trillion won and faces a growing need to take over overseas high-tech companies for its future growth in the non-memory semiconductor market and the 5G sector.
“In today’s Industry 4.0 era, we are making preparations with every possibility open, including M&As for new businesses as well as better utilization of internal resources for sustainable growth,” said Samsung Electronics vice chairman Kim Ki-nam.
Ko Dong-jin, head of the IM Division also said that his division is currently moving ahead with plans for 5G-related M&As and will continue to push for acquisitions in the future.
At present, Samsung Electronics is leading the global memory chip market, yet it is not a leading company in the non-memory sector. This year, the company’s M&A activities are likely to occur in the latter. Samsung Electronics was recently mentioned as a potential buyer of GlobalFoundries and NXP. GlobalFoundries announced that it is not up for sale. Samsung Electronics officially denied the possibility of its acquisition of NXP. Xilinx, an American system-on-chip manufacturer, is being mentioned as a target of Samsung Electronics, too.