Samsung’s next acquisition could be bigger than the $8B Harman deal

Samsung is eyeing the automotive semiconductor industry for a new round of mergers and acquisitions (M&A), revealed the company’s CFO Choi Yoon-ho during a conference call earlier this weekend. The company’s exact plans moving forward haven’t been laid out publicly but market watchers cited by the local media indicate that NXP, Texas Instruments, and Renesas are prime candidates for Samsung Electronics’ forthcoming wave of investments.

Rumors following the imprisonment of Samsung’s vice chairman Lee Jae-yong have hinted at delays to the company’s M&A plans but there’s no such reason for concern. Samsung should continue to move forward regardless of my situation, said Lee Jae-yong, and so the company will.

NXP, Texas Instruments, and Renesas could soon be owned by Samsung

Investment banking industry watchers cited by the local media suggest that Samsung’s aggressive push into the automotive semiconductor industry could involve companies like NXP in the Netherlands, who’s highly proficient in developing application processors for cars; US-based Texas Instruments, who specializes in high-voltage power semiconductors; and Renesas of Japan — the leading producer of micro controller units for the automotive market.

Samsung is reportedly targeting the automotive industry with new M&A deals because cars are becoming more dependent on semiconductors. In 2018, the average value of semiconductors in a car was hovering around $400 but market watchers expect the emerging EV (electric vehicle) to help boost this figure beyond the $1,000 mark.

If Samsung will prove industry analysts right and make this aggressive push into the automotive semiconductor industry, market watchers predict it will be the largest deal since the company’s acquisition of Harman for an eye-watering $8 billion back in 2016.