HP has agreed to acquire Samsung’s printer business for $US1.05 billion, in a move aimed at the A3 MFP market.
The California-based information technology giant will also acquire 6,500 patents related to printing and Samsung's printing team of 1,300 researchers and engineers.
The acquisition positions HP to disrupt and reinvent the $55 billion copier industry, a segment that hasn’t innovated in decades, said an HP press release.
Copiers are outdated, complicated machines with dozens of replaceable parts requiring inefficient service and maintenance agreements. Customers are frequently frustrated with the number of visits needed to keep copier machines functioning. Today, HP is investing to disrupt this category by replacing copiers with superior multifunction printer (MFP) technology.
Samsung has built a formidable portfolio of A3 MFPs that deliver the performance of copiers with the power, simplicity, reliability and ease-of-use of printers and with as few as seven replaceable parts. Integrating the Samsung printer business’ products, including their mobile-first and cloud-first user experience, with HP’s next-generation PageWide technologies will create a breakthrough portfolio of printing solutions with the industry’s best device, document, and data security.
This is the largest print acquisition in HP’s history and accelerates its growth opportunities in the copier segment, strengthens its leading laser printing portfolio that has been established with Canon, and paves the way for future printing innovation.
In 2014, HP announced it would split into two separate companies: Hewlett Packard Enterprise, selling servers and enterprise services, and HP Inc, selling PCs and printers.
“When we became a separate company just 10 months ago, it enabled us to focus on accelerating growth and reinventing industries,” said Dion Weisler, president and CEO of HP. “We are doing this with 3D printing and the disruption of the $12 trillion traditional manufacturing industry, and now we are going after the $55 billion copier space. The acquisition of Samsung’s printer business allows us to deliver print innovation and create entirely new business opportunities with far better efficiency, security, and economics for customers.”
Canon is HP’s main supplier of printing engines in its existing product line, a relationship that is expected to continue. HP’s new A3 laser printers rely on Samsung’s print engine.
Acquiring Samsung’s printer business will also strengthen HP’s ability to service customers in global laser printing, a category where it has enjoyed a strong, mutually beneficial partnership with Canon for more than three decades. HP is confident this transaction will provide new opportunities to further strengthen and accelerate this highly valued relationship.
Samsung ranks fifth in the global market for printers and copiers by shipments with a 4% market share, behind HP, Canon, Seiko Epson Corp. and Brother Industries.