Samsung Electronics reportedly considering acquiring part of Continental's automotive electronics business

According to South Korean media BusinessKorea, Samsung Electronics is considering acquiring part of the automotive electronics business from Continental AG of Germany. If the acquisition is finally completed, it will be Samsung Electronics' first large-scale merger and acquisition in seven years since it acquired Harman in 2017.

According to industry sources, Samsung Electronics is currently in in-depth discussions on acquiring Continental's advanced driver assistance systems ( ADAS ), automotive displays and other businesses. The review of the acquisition will be led by Harman Chairman Son Young-kwon, who was the general manager of Samsung Strategy and Innovation Center (SSIC) when Samsung acquired Harman and was the key figure in leading the deal at the time.

Although Continental has invested a lot of manpower and costs to expand its future mobility business product portfolio, the group has been struggling to ensure profitability as demand for future automotive-related parts has not met expectations. Therefore, it is rumored that Continental has long been interested in selling several business units including ADAS and in-vehicle displays.

At the same time, Harman, the automotive subsidiary of Samsung Electronics, believes that it is necessary to improve its competitiveness in areas such as ADAS, and has expressed positive opinions on the acquisition of part of Continental's automotive electronics business.

Although such a large-scale M&A transaction needs to be decided by the top management of Samsung Electronics, Harman board members who play a key role in Samsung Electronics' major investment decisions are also involved, so the possibility of the acquisition is worth paying attention to.

While Samsung Electronics' M&A activities have almost stopped, Harman has been very active in M&A. After becoming a subsidiary of Samsung, it has acquired a number of companies, including Silicon Valley automotive technology company Savari acquired in 2021, leading mixed reality company Apostera and automotive cockpit monitoring radar company CAARESYS acquired in 2022, and software engineering company Flux and music player platform Roon acquired in 2023 .

Continental was founded in 1871 and is one of the top 10 automotive parts companies in the world, along with Bosch , Denso, ZF and Magna. It is also one of the top three companies in the global tire market in terms of sales revenue.