Samsung Electronics printer business to be acquired by HP

American IT giant HP on Monday announced that it will acquire Samsung Electronics printer business in a USD 1.05 billion deal. The acquisition will allow the US-based company to further consolidate its position in the USD 55 billion A3 copier industry. The acquisition will bring an intellectual property portfolio of more than 6,500 printing patents and a workforce of about 6,000 employees globally, including nearly 1,300 researchers and engineers.

Samsung has major engineering centers in South Korea with operations in the US, India, China, Japan, Russia, Canada, Brazil and other countries. HP, created as part of the breakup of Hewlett-Packard Co. last year, sells personal computers. However, it derives a major chunk of its profit from supplying ink and toner for the printers it sells.

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 USD 11.9 billion. In India, HP is estimated to have close to 2,000 employees in the printer division, including R&D in Bengaluru. The acquisition of Samsung's printer business 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 USD 100-300 million equity investment in HP through open market purchases, HP said in a statement.

This is the largest print acquisition in HP's history and accelerates its growth opportunities in the copier segment, it added. "It also creates new avenues for growth and greater profitability for partners as they expand managed print services as sales models shift from transactional to contractual," it said.

HP said the integration costs are estimated to be in the range of USD 150-200 million over a three-year period. "When we became a separate company just 10 months ago, it enabled us to become nimble and focus on accelerating growth and reinventing industries," HP president and CEO Dion Weisler said. The acquisition of Samsung's printer business allows HP to deliver print innovation and create entirely new business opportunities with far better efficiency, security, and economics for customers, he added.

The deal 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, HP said. Canon is HP's supplier of printing engines in its existing product line.