Samsung joins drive towards connected cars
The smartphone maker has bought Harman, which makes high-end audio systems and internet-enabled entertainment systems for cars
Seoul — Samsung Electronics said Monday it would buy US auto parts maker Harman International Industries for $8bn in a bid to enter the growing market for automotive technology to produce "connected" cars. Harman produces high-end audio systems and other internet-enabled entertainment features for global car makers including General Motors and Fiat Chrysler. Board members of Samsung — the world’s largest producer of smartphones — had approved the all-cash acquisition of the Connecticut-based firm for $112 per share, Samsung said in a statement. The deal — the largest by Samsung in terms of value — would give the South Korean giant a "significant presence" in the global market for online-connected auto parts including telematics, the firm said. "Harman perfectly complements Samsung in terms of technologies, products and solutions, and joining forces is a natural extension of the automotive strategy we have been pursuing for some time," Samsung vice-chairman Kwon Oh-Hyun said in a sta...
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