Samsung has sold off its printer business to fellow manufacturer HP in a deal worth around £760 million.
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Almost two years ago, HP announced plans to split into two publicly traded companies: Hewlett-Packard Enterprise (infrastructure, software, services) and HP Inc. Its production facilities are located in China. Samsung, on the other hand, has enjoyed considerable success with a range of large-format multi-function printers (MFPs), and it’s these – plus a 6,500-strong portolio of related patents – that forms the central target of HP’s acquisition.
While HP has always been a leading name in printing, it has thus far failed to capture one important arm of the market: photocopying, an industry valued at £41.3 billion annually. Its shares have risen 15.7 percent over the past year. After it merged its digital imaging business under its mobile business in 2013, it is now streamlining the camera business.
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The deal will see Samsung’s printer and copier workforce, including 1,300 staff in the research and engineering divisions, transferred to HP. The company also acquired Brazilian printing solutions company Simpress past year as part of the effort. But it failed to add new global business customers in the B2B market, which is crucial for printing solution sales, leading it to finally withdraw its printing business out of the market. The deal is expected to be closed within 12 months, and after closing, Samsung has agreed to make a $100 million to $300 million equity investment in HP through open market purchases, according to HP in a press statement. Despite posting revenue of two trillion won (approximately $1.8 billion) a year ago, Samsung’s printer business has continued to shrink over time, with IDC recording an 8.9% decrease in shipments since the second quarter of 2015.
