Post the $1 billion sale of its printer business to Hewlett-Packard, reports of Samsung mulling over the decision to get rid of its struggling PC business. The Korean giant has initiated discussions with Chinese hardware behemoth Lenovo, who is recognized as the largest PC maker in the world, reports Korean publication Bell. The PC business may be sold for as much as 1 trillion won, which is about $850 million.
This move from Samsung follows in the footsteps of the company’s effort to streamline its business strategy by removing divisions which are showing flailing sales or stagnated growth. Though the Korean giant might be one of the largest smartphone shippers but its PC business has not exactly been able to stay afloat and compete in the present scenario. Also, the company is now looking to divert focus on brand building and recognition, which unfortunately has been burned to the ground (no pun intended!) due to the whole Galaxy Note 7 debacle.
Samsung has not hired a financial advisor for this sale but American law firm Paul Hastings and British multinational law firm Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer are lending a helping hand on the legal front. The company is of the opinion that the IT industry is now aligned to the smartphone and tablet revolution and PC business is facing the heat in the process. Continuing to drag the business, they believe will only add to deteriorating earnings in the IT and Mobile segment as a whole.
The report further adds comments from a senior executive who believes the decision of folding the PC business is the only natural decision after the printer one. They are clubbed under the same category and Samsung is pretty confident about their decision. He goes on to add,
Given the business relevance, printers and PCs should be tied to the same category. The sale was the expected procedure.
The company has been negotiating with Lenovo for months but it is still unclear whether the deal will go through or not. If the buyout goes through then it would be a humongous gain for Lenovo, who is looking to further grow its business opportunities and stay miles ahead of its primary competitors – Dell and HP. This also comes on the heels of the company looking to acquire its homegrown counterpart Fujitsu’s PC division.
Samsung is steadily moving away from its slacking business to explore new product categories and avenues. It is now releasing connected smart product developed at its C-Lab incubator within the company. Samsung is also making a swift move to soon-to-become ubiquitous technologies like AI and connected mobility. To carve out its way, it has acquired a next-gen virtual assistant platform Viv and renowned auto and audio part maker Harmon. It is also diverting focus to Internet of Things products and components.
