Samsung has announced that it will be acquiring US audio company Harman in an all-cash deal worth $8 billion. This marks Samsung’s largest acquisition in history.
The South Korean tech giant said that its expertise in displays, user interfaces, and semiconductor technology would create significant opportunities for Harman to grow its auto-parts business.
Harman owns a number of brands including Harman Kardon, AKG, and JBL. The company is expected to double its revenue within the next five years, thanks to large deals with automotive manufacturers like Fiat Chrysler and General Motors.
The transaction highlights Samsung’s efforts to break into the automotive industry, like Apple has with CarPlay and Google has with Android Auto. The greater use of software in vehicles, and the ability of cars to connect to smartphones, is offering technology companies new business opportunities.
Samsung agreed to acquire Harman for $112.00 per share in cash, a 28 percent premium to the U.S. company’s closing price on Friday. In a press release, Samsung CEO Oh-Hyun Kwon said:
“Harman perfectly complements Samsung in terms of technologies, products and solutions, and joining forces is a natural extension of the automotive strategy we have been pursuing for some time. The transaction will immediately establishes a strong foundation for Samsung to grow our automotive platform.”
What do you think of Samsung’s latest bid into the automotive industry? Let us know in the comments below.
[via WSJ]
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Great. All I need now are my speaker and headphones blowing up
Lol
Don’t forget microphones
By paying that much of a stock premium, are they expecting the automotive electronics market to explode?