US HP to acquire South Korean Samsung’s printer biz for $1.05 billion

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 key engineering centre 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 gets a significant chunk of its profit from supplying ink and toner for the printers it sells. However, HP’s printing division revenue fell 14 per cent in the latest quarter, while overall sales was down about 4 per cent to $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 $100-300 million equity investment in HP through open market purchases, HP said in a statement.