HP will pay $1.05 billion for the South Korean giant’s printer business, with the acquisition expected to complete within a year. HP also said the deal will strengthen its position in laser printing, which it established with Canon.
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The acquisition, which is subject to regulatory approval, is expected to close within 12 months. Once the transaction is closed, Samsung agreed to make a $100 – $300 million equity investment in HP through open market purchases.
HP said Samsung had a “formidable portfolio” of printers and planned to merge it with its own technology in order to create a “breakthrough portfolio of printing solutions with the industry’s best device, document, and data security”. In addition to that business, which recorded almost $1.8 billion in revenue past year, HP will also get its hands on a “compelling” portfolio of around 6,500 printing patents.
According to Samsung, its printer business employs 6,000 people and includes production facilities in China and 50 sales offices globally.
Consumer and business electronics player HP, which evolved out of the split of Hewlett-Packard past year, makes the majority of its revenues from the supply of ink and toner for its printers.
“There is a strategic element to this deal as HP now licenses its laser print technology from Canon”, he said in a research report.
HP Inc CEO Dion Weisler added that the deal will allow the company to push forward with its goal of becoming the number one player in the printer market.
HP’s printing division took a bit of a hit with its revenue falling by 14 per cent in the latest quarter, while overall sales was down about 4 per cent to United States dollars 11.9 billion.
Samsung’s printing unit has 6,000 employees and posted total revenue of 2 trillion won (USD 1.8 billion) in 2015, the company said in its statement today.
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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.
