HP is adding another business to its growing printing assets. The PC and printing giant announced that it has received approval for its purchase of Samsung's Printer division. But the company ended support for Microsoft's Windows Phone.
According to Reuters, the China's Ministry of Commerce has finally approved HP’s $1.1 billion purchase of Samsung’s printer business. But the deal has been approved with some restrictions, citing concerns about HP’s potential dominance of the domestic laser printer market, the website reported.
HP first announced plans to buy the printer business in September 2016.
The deal is expected to extend the company's reach in the Asian market.
About the deal
The China’s Ministry of Commerce filed the HP deal and started reviewing it on June 21 due to some concerns of laser printers and printing supplies in the highly lucrative Chinese market. The Ministry of Commerce has told the US-based tech giant about the potential effect of the deal to the Chinese printing market.
According to the Ministry of Commerce’s review, the US-based PC and printing giant will likely take up to 50 percent of the entire China’s A4 laser printer market after the deal. The MOFCOM (Ministry of Commerce) said that HP might bundle sell it own printing products by restricting its printer’s compatibility with third parties, thus restricting market competition and reducing the number of players in the Chinese market.
As a result of the review, the Ministry of Commerce decided to include a few restrictions. Additionally, the MOFCOM also added that HP needs to be fair and reasonable in selling its A4 format laser printers to the Chinese market. HP will also need to report data including prices to the MOFCOM every six months, Reuters reported.
In addition to that, HP is also not allowed to acquire any stakes in other A4 printer manufacturers in China or even minority shares or investments in a certain Chinese printing company.
Under the deal, HP would acquire Samsung’s printing business for a whopping $1.5 billion. The deal will also allow HP to gain access to Samsung’s massive intellectual property portfolio of more than 6,500 printing technology patents and nearly 1,300 engineers with deep expertise and experience in laser printing technology.
The tech giant ended support for Windows Phone
The tech giant has just announced plans to ditch the Microsoft’s Windows Phone. HP’s Nick Lazaridis, who heads HP’s EMEA regions, gave a good explanation about the company’s latest actions. Lazaridis told the media that the company has decided to stop making Windows Phones because of Microsoft’s change in its mobile strategy, which is now less focused on Windows Phone.
As mentioned earlier by The Verge, HP entered the Windows Phone world with the high-end mobile device Elite X3. The device was designed primarily for business users who always need a business-ready device capable of storing all types of files. The device has been described as HP’s last-ditch effort to get into the highly competitive phone business.
