Samsung is dumping half of its stake in Dutch chip-equipment supplier ASML

Samsung acquired 3 percent of Dutch chip-equipment supplier ASML back in 2012, the deal was meant to help the company speed up its research and develop a new generation of chipmaking systems called extreme ultraviolet lithography. Other companies who made significant investments in ASML for this purpose include Intel and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and Intel. TSMC sold its entire stake last year and Samsung has now confirmed that it's dumping half of its stake in ASML via a private placement that's valued at around $681 million.

Samsung is going to sell nearly 6.3 million shares in ASML which will account for almost half of its 3 percent stake in the company. A European division of Samsung also owns 2.9 percent of ASML so the conglomerate still remains heavily invested in the chip-equipment supplier. It was reported back in May this year that Samsung has signed a deal with ASML to purchase the latest extreme ultraviolet equipment for mass production of its 7-nanometer process. The company is expected to complete installation of this advanced machinery by the first half of 2017, making it the first time Samsung deploys EUV equipment in its chip-making process.