Samsung Electronics to Raise $600 Million on Sale of Its Samsung Techwin Stake

Samsung Electronics will raise nearly $600 million by selling its 25.5 percent stake in sister Samsung Group subsidiary Samsung Techwin, a supplier of surveillance, aeronautics, optoelectronics and weapons technology, Samsung Electronics said in a Wednesday announcement. The buyer, Samsung said, is Hanwha Group, the South Korean defense contractor with 2013 sales exceeding $35 billion. The Samsung Electronics board authorized the sale, which is expected to close by June, so the proceeds can be used for "investments in new businesses" and to boost the company’s "core competency," the announcement said, without disclosing where the money will be spent. The sale comes about a month after Samsung Electronics reported a 48.8 Q3 net profit decline from a year earlier, as the company blamed lower average selling prices (ASPs) in smartphones on a "weak" product mix. Earnings in Samsung’s TV sector also fell on lower ASPs, higher panel prices and a slowdown in shipments in Latin America following the first-half sales surge that accompanied the World Cup in Brazil, the company said.