China gives nod to HP’s $1bn deal to buy Samsung’s printer business
Beijing — China said on Thursday it has approved HP’s $1.1bn purchase of Samsung Electronics’ printer business with certain restrictions, citing concern about the US firm’s dominance of the domestic laser printer market. HP announced the deal in September 2016, hoping to disrupt the $55bn copier market by focusing on multifunction printers and more deeply embedding mobile and cloud printing technologies to its product solutions. It hoped at the time to close the transaction within 12 months, pending regulatory review. In a statement issued late on Thursday, China’s Ministry of Commerce said sale of A4 format laser printers by HP in China should be done on "fair and reasonable" terms and the firm must report every six months on their prices and related data to the ministry. HP must not buy any stakes in other A4 printer manufacturers in China even if they are a minority equity investment, it said. It must not adapt its printers to restrict compatibility with third-parties or claim in...
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