Samsung electronics to buy German cooling system maker FlaktGroup for $1.7 billion
South Korea's Samsung Electronics on Wednesday said it has agreed to buy FlaktGroup, a German maker of air conditioning and heating systems, for 1.5 billion euros ($1.68 billion) from private equity group Triton. Samsung, through its biggest acquisition in eight years, said it aims to tap demand for data centres for artificial intelligence projects, which require stable cooling.
The data centre segment has a high barrier to entry requiring global supply experience and the ability to present optimal designs and solutions, Samsung said in a statement. It expects the FlaktGroup deal to close within this year, it said.
Shares in the consumer electronics and semiconductor maker inched up 0.7% largely in line with the benchmark KOSPI.
Samsung, led by Chairman Jay Y. Lee, at a shareholder meeting in March said it was looking for deals to drive growth after largely missing out on an AI chip boom. In contrast, compatriot
SK Hynix
supplies advanced high bandwidth memory (HBM) chips to AI leader Nvidia.
Investors expecting bigger deals involving Samsung's cash cow chip business might feel underwhelmed by the FlaktGroup announcement, analysts said.
"This acquisition is more about reinforcing its consumer electronics and home appliance businesses, so it is not the game-changing deal the market had been hoping for," said Greg Roh, head of research at Hyundai Motor Securities.
Samsung's appliance business also makes commercial cooling and heating systems.
"It feels like the company is playing it safe rather than making bold bets," Roh said.
Samsung has shunned major acquisitions since its $8 billion purchase of car electronics maker
Harman International
Industries in 2017. This month, Harman agreed to buy the audio business of U.S. firm Masimo for $350 million.
Consumer audio is a new growth engine, Samsung has said, alongside cooling and heating systems, medical and robotics.
In December, Samsung became the largest shareholder of South Korea's
Rainbow Robotics
with the purchase of an additional 267 billion won ($189.03 million) stake.
($1 = 0.8937 euros) ($1 = 1,412.5000 won)
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