By Lee Min-hyung
Samsung Electronics has boosted its overseas businesses through aggressive mergers and acquisitions (M&A), a report by the Financial Supervisory Service (FSS) showed Tuesday.
According to the report, the company added eight new overseas subsidiaries last year by acquiring stakes or establishing new companies, with the total number of its subsidiaries reaching 159 last year. Six firms are based in the United States, with the rest coming from Asia.
Its expansion abroad comes at a time when the company needs to find next growth engines to reduce its reliance on traditional business areas such as smartphones or appliances.
“Samsung Electronics has been aggressive in finding new revenue sources over the past two to three years,” said a spokesman. “The latest move is also part of our efforts to expand our presence into untapped yet promising areas such as the Internet of Things (IoT).”
The added subsidiaries last year include Paymate Global and Samsung Pay, formerly known as LoopPay. Samsung has identified the mobile payment business as a new profit booster. The other firms are also closely related with its plan for future growth, according to the spokesman.
In January 2015, Samsung acquired Simpress, the Brazil-based printing service company, in a bid to diversify its revenue streams in business-to-business (B2B) areas in South American market.
Samsung also held bought Japan-based semiconductor technology company, Future Technology & Service.
The report also showed that the company sold off six overseas affiliates last year amid concerns over growth uncertainty and declining profitability.
Meanwhile, Samsung Electronics posted 6.14 trillion won in operating profit in the fourth quarter last year, up 16.15 percent from the previous year. The company attributed the growth to improved sales of its televisions and home appliances.