HP has announced to acquire Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.’s printer business in a deal valued at $1.05 billion. According to the official press release, Samsung Electronics will sell the entire global operations and assets of its printing business to HP.
This is the largest print acquisition in HP’s history and accelerates its growth opportunities in the copier segment. The deal also strengthens its leading laser printing portfolio that has been established with Canon. Samsung will spin off the Printing Business Unit into a separate company as of Nov. 1 upon the approval of shareholders, and sell a 100 percent stake of the newly created company and overseas assets related to the business to HP.
The company said that the deal will also create new avenues for growth and greater profitability for partners as they expand managed print services as sales models shift from transactional to contractual. According to the Fortune report, HP will inherit 6,000 Samsung employees once the deal closes. Of those 6,000 employees, nearly 2,000 are research and development engineers, 1,000 are sales and support staff, and the rest work in service and manufacturing.
“When we became a separate company just 10 months ago, it enabled us to become nimble and focus on accelerating growth and reinventing industries,” said Dion Weisler, president and CEO of HP. “We are doing this with 3D printing and the disruption of the $12 trillion traditional manufacturing industry, and now we are going after the $55 billion copier space. The acquisition of Samsung’s printer business allows us to deliver print innovation and create entirely new business opportunities with far better efficiency, security, and economics for customers”, he added.
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Samsung’s printer business also brings a compelling intellectual property portfolio of more than 6,500 printing patents and a world-class workforce that includes nearly 1,300 researchers and engineers with advanced expertise in laser printer technology, imaging electronics, and printer supplies and accessories to support continued innovation in print market solutions, streetinsider.com reported
Acquiring Samsung’s printer business will also strengthen HP’s ability to service customers in global laser printing, a category where it has enjoyed a strong, mutually beneficial partnership with Canon for more than three decades. HP is confident this transaction will provide new opportunities to further strengthen and accelerate this highly valued relationship.
The acquisition is expected to be accretive in the first full year following closing, with cost synergies and a strong financial model. The transaction is expected to close within 12 months pending regulatory review and other customary closing conditions. After closing, Samsung has agreed to make a $100 million to $300 million equity investment in HP through open market purchases.