Chinese regulator approves HP’s $1.1 bn acquisition of Samsung Electronics’ printer business

Chinese antitrust regulators yesterday approved HP Inc's $1.1 billion acquisition of Samsung Electronics' printer business with conditions.

China's Ministry of Commerce said the sale of A4 format laser printers by HP in China should be done on ''fair and reasonable'' terms and the company must report every six months on their prices and related data to the ministry.

HP will not be allowed to invest or buy stakes in other A4 printer manufacturers in China even if they are a minority equity investment, it said.

The regulator cited concerns about HP's dominance on the domestic laser printer market.

In September last year, HP struck a deal to buy Samsung Electronics' printer business for $1.1 billion, in order to corner a sizable chunk of the $55- billion copier market.

The deal includes Samsung's printer business, intellectual property portfolio of more than 6,500 printing patents and a workforce that includes nearly 1,300 researchers and engineers with advanced expertise in laser printer technology, imaging electronics, and printer supplies and accessories.

Samsung has built a portfolio of A3 MFPs that deliver the performance of copiers with the power, simplicity, reliability and ease-of-use of printers and with replaceable parts.

HP plans to integrate Samsung printer business' products, including their mobile-first and cloud-first user experience, with its own next-generation PageWide technologies, which will create a breakthrough portfolio of printing solutions.